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Sydney Table - December 2006

Qmin

December 13th 2006 11:22
207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, (02) 99665557

Good Indian restaurants are hard to come by in Sydney, and often do not represent the true flavors of India. Having never been to India, it is hard to say whether Qmin succeeds in providing an authentic Indian experience, yet it still does a solid job

Qmin, if you can find it and pronounce it, is a funky little place. Nice music playing and a decor that makes it look like an upmarket "contemporary" restaurant (and it carries the price tag accordingly). It promises to be a different style of Indian food, and provides three sections to its menu.


Chefs specialities- are the dishes that everybody comes in and knows it is good and of reasonable quality,

Traditional Favorites- are the dishes that any Indian restaurant goer will recognize and like. These include butter chicken and Rogan josh

Contemporary- Are the dishes that are a little more modern in their tastes while still combining the flavors of India



When we ordered our entrees, the waiter asked us if we wanted to share them. We indeed did and he brought them on this plate in little pieces.

Going clockwise from top, the Lamb and Onion roll is a very delicate mince of fine lamb and onion and tomato. It is appealing due to its simple taste and it leaves you wanting more. It is wrapped in a layer of roti

The fish is wonderfully delicious with a melt in your mouth texture and a flavour that matches the spearmint chutney perfectly


The deep fried prawns are wonderful, they are crispy on the outside and are soft and chewy on the inside, enough to turn any non-prawn eater into a definite sea-foodie



The curries may look small, but they are very tasty and after roti, entrees, lassi and rice, this was ample amount of food.

Clockwise from top-left.
The vin d'alho is a classic Indian staple, here it is done with very pungent vinegar and is a very unique taste. It is quite spicy and I could have eaten just this for the whole meal

The Lamb with star anise is a more mild dish, with a roasted cashew sauce it is more subtle and less in your face power like the vin d'alho

The Dry roasted potatoes are something else. They have a really nice spice mixture on it and i am not 100% sure of what it is, though i think it was onions, coriander and garlic. We ended up ordering twice because it was so good.

The Duck leg was a much lighter dish and it was the first coconut milk based curry of the evening. It came with mixed vegetables which were all braised in its curry goodness mmmmmmmmm!





Previous to visiting this restaurant, i had the blanket opinion that Indian restaurants were weak in the dessert area. Qmin is no exception, falling flat on its desserts with flavors that didn't do much or did not excite.

The rice flour pudding was bland, had not much taste and really failed to impress, the sweetness and consistency was alright, but all in all a very pedestrian dish.;

The wonderfully phallic dessert of Indian parfait is a much better dessert. Its texture is that of a semifreddo, yet it tastes like mango ice cream and comes with a thick sauce.

Qmin is a very nice Indian restaurant, and we were surprised to see it almost empty. I'm sure if it had been located somewhere in the east like Surry hills, it would have had more customers. Anyway, this is not your regular Indian take away (although it does that too) although i sometimes get the impression that they try too hard sometimes and the end result is compromised. Still it is a great restaurant and i will definitely be going back soon.

Eric
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La Locanda

December 8th 2006 08:16
65B Macpherson Street, Bronte, NSW 2024
PH 9389 3666


When you walk into La Locanda, you instantly feel like you are in a far away place. Maybe not Italy, but somewhere close. You are brought back to reality by the bustling street, Portuguese music, and young toddlers trying to pronounce "ragu".

Don't get me wrong, La Locanda is not a try-hard Italian joint. In fact, it is so good that it looks out of place in the beach-side, urban surroundings.

When you sit down, you are not offered a menu, as there is none. It is written up on a blackboard in the front of the restaurant, probably as it is always changing, so a position where you can read it is ideal. The menu itself is written in a hybrid of English and Italian, but mostly Italian. Surprisingly, the waiter came around to each and every table and explained the entire menu whether you were considering a dish or not.

As he was reading through the menu (I noted no female staff), I realized that the menu focused slightly on seafood. I also realized that the Pasta dishes (or Primi) looked all interesting, while the meat (Secondi) seemed to fall somewhat short.


What is poetically called "strudel di verdura" is actually damn good. It contains painstakingly thin slices of vegetable, between layers of puff pastry, with something that makes it taste like a gratin, maybe some bechamel. The vegetables were zucchini, carrot and leek. Although the waiter assures us it changes daily. Pretty close to perfection


The papardelle with duck ragu is very well done, with simple flavors. Somewhat unexciting yet a solid dish, if maybe a little to many peas. Definitely put cheese on this dish, as it helps dry up the liquid from the peas.


Ravioli di mare for a simple dish that really combines many cultures. The local Italian fishing village with very fresh seafood. The Traditional Italian staple of pasta, and the interesting French influence of the vermouth, fish stock and cream sauce. The ravioli themselves are made from crab meat and prawns, all minced very fine, wrapped in obviously handmade pasta, that was cooked a little too al-dente for my taste. All in all a very interesting and tasty dish.


The Maiale spezziato with braised cabbage and a prune sauce, is spicy marinated pork. The pork has a deliciously crispy char-grilled outside, and is impeccably tender on the inside. The cabbage, is well, cabbage, there is nothing special there. Cherry tomatoes dot the plate and add some acidity to cut the sweetness of the prune sauce. As the people from Iron Chef would say "This definitely brings out the natural flavor and quality of the pork". A very well rounded dish.

After all these dishes, we were all full, and desert passed us by. I glanced at the menu, Chocolate torte, pannacotta, semifreddo, gelati. Nothing really special there.

La Locanda is the authentic flavors of Italy, with the price tag of suburban Sydney, with its green decor, and funky Italian wallpaper, you will feel like you are in Italy. I would go back very soon.


Hope to see you there
Eric

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