The Choc Pot, Burwood

6:20 PM | Labels: , , , , ,


I'll be honest, I don't at all dig the entire 'having 50 stores of the same kind within a 20 metre radius' sort of thing. I'm not having a go at them all because I've had one or two good ones but admittedly they're just so wide spread that they get a little sickening; you all know what I mean. The thing that kept entering my mind when I arrived at The Choc Pot was whether it was just some knock-off Max Brenner and that's sadly not a mentality you want to have when trying a new place.


It's a only brief walk from Burwood station but it's a bit out of your way if you're not heading towards the Westfields there which is on the opposite end. It hits you straight away that this isn't some sort of hipster joint. Owners Ash and Deirdre (from a Medicine and Finance background oddly enough...) have adorned this place with top of the line gear, metalic kitchen, a soft colour palette, no pretense and a lot of love. 


Salted Caramel Milk Shake 8
Best milkshake I've had. A caramel shake that actually tastes of caramel and not just a jack load of sugar. Not surprising given that they make the salted caramel themselves. Serving size leaves much to be desired and I'm a little iffy with being asked 8 dollars for is essentially milk but the viscosity is spot on and using fatty jersey milk is just heavenly.


The Choc Pot 12
Their signature 'choc pot' arrives already erupting out of its pot. It's pretty much a fondant; fudgey cake enveloping a saucy centre is an incredibly indulgent dessert. Pair it with some ice cream and acidic strawberries and it's like a sweet and warm hug.


Marshmellow Alps 14
I can't leave without trying some of their waffles which are made to order and delicately crispy and light. I couldn't tell much of a difference between that and normal premade ones but the HOLY CRAP moment comes as you pop in one of their housemade marshmellows which hits you as an instant heavy and light juxtaposition; pillowy light marshmellows smothered in their Callebaut Belgian chocolate sauce makes for a wickedly addictive combination.


Waffle Bites 25
They also come with the usual waffle, ice cream, strawberry and chocolate dip combo to share. Pair it up with one of their palette loosening tea varieties and it'll feel like you can eat even more. Now to deal with the very much present calorie problem...



To answer the earlier question: Hell no. Not even comparable. For one they make all their things, generally on the same day and sometimes to order. I mean what? Who even does that? It's bloody fantastic and most of the time there's a noticeable delicious difference. Heck the only thing that's not housemade is the ice cream and the fact that they didn't go and milk the cows themselves but when you've got products like the deliciously fatty Jersey milk, why would you get it any other way? 



This isn't just a straight up choc hit; Choc Pot is exactly what happens when you pair great ingredients with an indomitable passion to create. At their (mostly) affordable prices, I'm not quite sure creating everything from scratch is a sustainable model but I know my taste buds and wallets certainly will appreciate it coming back in the future. Watch this space guys.

Petitfours attended this tasting courtesy of Deirdre Tshien from The Choc Pot.


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Taste of Shanghai, Hurstville

11:52 PM | Labels: , , , ,


Dumpling time again as we make our way into Hurstville's Taste of Shanghai which is also the group that runs the hugely successful Shanghai Stories 1938 down Chatswood.

You're given a little glimpse of all the dumpling action at the windowed store front where you see multiple veterans gunning out the little pockets of joy. Still... there's only so much that can entertain you whilst you wait that hour for a table to be free so you're best keeping preoccupied with something else.

Spicy Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao 7.8
Xiao Long Bao is almost like a requisite when you go to one of these eateries. You can't leave without having it. They're really really good as well; nice thin skin, soupy insides and nice meat filling but it needs a bit of ginger on the side. What little crab meat is in there, it's all real. If there was a xiao long bao eating competition here, I'd happily win it, hands down.


Marinate Chicken in Chinese Wine 8.8
Chicken of some sort is also always mandatory and it's done quite nicely here with non-fatty skin and a cold moist meat. Warning: drink the 'soup' at your own tasting peril, it has a wicked boozy kick which I should have expected. Duhhh... DRUNKEN chicken, silly me.


Lebanese Cucumber in Garlic and Vinaigrette 7.8
We order a side of lebanese cucumbers (cause y'know... vegetables... healthy) that's dressed in a wonderfully aromatic, chilli, garlic and sesame oil.


Spicy Beef Belly Noodle Soup 11.8
Beef noodle here is a definitely the highlight of the meal. Nice chewy noodles (which leaves me to suspect that they are hand made on premise or though I could be wrong) with really soft tender beef brisket bathe in a warm and hearty beef broth with a really nice chilli hit. 


Pan Fried Pork Buns with Sesame 9.8
Xiao long bao's big brother, Shen jian bao, is wonderfully done here, all pretty with the distinct layers of the frying caramelisation on the bottom and the soft bun on top. The tasty filling comes with the requisite soupy inside and it's just really delicious.


Grilled Onion Pancakes 6.8
Carbs, carbs, carbs and more carbs continue with another common Shanghainese feature: crispy green onion pancakes which are crispy, of course, and non oily.


Stir Noodle with Shrimp and Shallot 10.8
In the spirit of generosity, my mum goes ahead and orders more, well knowing that we won't be able to finish it. First round of the second order is a bowl of shrimps and noodles, a nice little carb load filled with filled with shallots.


Deep Fried Chinese Milk Bun 6.8
Deep fried chinese milk dough is a guilty pleasure that one can't resist. They're soft in the inside and they've got this crispy glass-like layer on the outside and when dunked in condense milk becomes such a simple delight.


Sesame Taro Pastry 7.8
They look like spring rolls but they're actually nice and crispy taro rolls and ends the meal on a sweet note.



I really really don't get the 36 percent rating on Urbanspoon, I really don't. But hey, it's only 11 votes. Service is exactly what you'd imagine from a dumpling eaterie, not exactly the most welcoming bunch but very fast and efficient when it comes to service. That 'fast' and 'efficient' label, however can't be applied to the table waiting times in which you can expect to wait for a table for 30 minutes to an hour. Still, besides the slightly steeper pricing (around 20 percent more compared to other xiao long bao eateries), there's so much variety and consistency when it comes to the food that you won't mind coming back and waiting that little bit extra. 


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Tomislav, Darlinghurst

4:35 PM | Labels: , , , , , , ,


Tomislav has been on my radar for a long long time. Comparisons between Gastro Park (my favourite restaurant of 2012) make the wait almost unbearable and before we know it we're heading off down the good ol' Kings Cross. 


I'm going to go unorthodox and start off with just saying that Anne Marie the maitre D is an absolute darling. Given it was just us for lunch which felt a little odd in an empty restaurant but we felt very welcome and it would appear she would be able to handle a whole restaurant in her own right. It did feel a little tedious having to constantly signal her for attention rather than a more responsive service but her upbeat attitude and amicable demeanor more than made up for it.



They're located on the corner of Kirketon and William Street and they've got a balcony overlooking the rest of the action (infamous giant Coca Cola sign and possibly a fight scene or two included) where you can just soak in some of the gorgeous Spring sun that's starting to come out.


RICE CRACKERS
sea salt & vinegar
Let the fun begin. Their famed rice crackers arrive at our table to much ooohs and aaahs. 

Too much of a good thing can't be bad right? Unless you take into account how oily the crisps are but seriously who does. There's much fun to be had here as you're advise to spray on the vinegar from the bottle with the salt and vinegar which brings a taste of nostalgia to our afternoon.


THREE CHEESE TOASTIE
Three cheese toasty gets us going with a toasted crisp and cheese marshmallow sandwiched in between. It gets everything right and whilst you can't discern the cheeses, it wasn't too sharp and the melting quality hits the right spot.  They should box the stuff and sell it. Come to think of it... cheese marshmallows... why hasn't anyone thought of that yet.



We're told that head chef and owner of this eponymous restaurant: Tomislav is in some sort of Nutella phase and much to our delight the bread and butter formula is jazzed up with a nitrogen frozen chocolate crumb which just melts beautifully. 

It seems like he's got a different combo every time and I would come back here weekly just to try what Tomislav has got in store. Can I?


SOFT POLENTA CREAM
apple ice - caramel ice cream
The first of our actual courses starts off with a sweet dish. Say whaaaat? 

As you gradually dig in and start figuring it out, the barbeque corn really gives it a subtle smokiness works really well more neutral savoury polenta but although the sweet caramel ice cream is intriguing, I'm not quite sure it feels right and soury cold apple granita just makes it ... well sweeter. 


SPANISH MACKEREL CARPACCIO
salad burnette - mackerel mousse prawn crackers
A thin raw mackerel slice is punctuated with a punchy caper salsa and the apple granita's tart coldness oddly working to boost its freshness and lightens the whole dish up. 

Adorned with prawn crackers and mackerel mousse gets the umami tastes revved up and it just feels complete in its entirety. Every element is there both texturally and flavourwise and it's just utterly sublime.  


GREEN PEA & HAM SOUP
shitake- onion rings confit chicken wings
Strong contender for favourite dish here. Not just any old pea and ham soup. 

This one's got guts in the form of onion rings and shitake mushrooms to complement the sweet creaminess of the soup and there's a sort of pronounced fragrant lemony background that really lifts the dish to new heights. I would have been happy there but noooooo they go one step further and add a buttery confit chicken wing which ups the deliciousness factor by a billion.


POACHED YELLOW FIN TUNA
sour potato - rainforest lime grilled Chinese cabbage
The other competing favourite dish today is the yellow fin tuna, poached so it cuts easily but retains its sashimi like quality. 

It's lean enough that it feels clean but was beautifully tender, and a simple slice cuts away the yielding meat, to be wrapped around the slightly charred chinese cabbage, potato foam and spritz of light rainforest lime zest.   

BUTTER POACHED SCALLOPS
seaweed - broccoli cream Crystal bay prawns
Yay for beautifully cooked, soft and yielding scallops. Not yay for only one. This much seafood is crying out for some acid balance which there doesn't seem to be any of, specifically some lemon going on which would have made it perfect.


ROAST VEAL SWEETBREAD
poached yolk - grilled mango foie gras crumbs
A made a joke that as if buttery sweetbreads as well as nitrogen frozen foie gras crumbs weren't enough, the richness is jacked with a quail yolk, naturally. 

On the note of the sweetbreads, it's an absolute revelation; full of gutsy powerful flavour and meltingly soft. Who knew offal could taste so good? I certainly didn't. This dish is a definite star with the piquant taste of charred spring onion cutting through it all although a touch more mango puree would get it going the right way.


ROAST RIVERINA LAMB NECK
frozen mustard - pickled radishes coconut pudding
Good protein continues with a ridiculously delicious, meat and fat layer alternating lamb neck. 

It's flanked by a ball of, you guessed it, nitrogen frozen mustard which gives you an exciting hot cold sensation initially but gets old quickly as soon as you figure that it sadly reduces the temperature of the warm dish. Coconut sago is a little odd and I'm not sure whether it's there for the sake of being eccentric but I can't exactly say it doesn't work either? I don't know...


LEMON CHEESECAKE
mint crumbs - frozen yoghurt grilled pineapple
I'm going with the 'general' consensus here and say that the cheesecake dish is good, but in comparison to the rest of the savouries, not amazing. 

It's more or a less a refined version with the usual dense cheese base being foamed up until it's all beautifully light, topped with cubes of cheese jelly paired with a delicious 'froyo' with a crumbly biscuit base, grilled pineapple and mint dust. 

Nothing to go absolutely bonkers about but it's a nice sweet and really fun finish and that's high praise for a restaurant that doesn't even have its own pastry chef.



We finish the meal with some jellies which are true to their flavour and super soft. Not much of a sweet tooth here but it feels like another sweet course wouldn't go amiss here, perhaps a light pre-dessert. 



Contrasts are a where it's at here; sweet and savoury, hot and cold, textures, classical technique and progressive innovation but never does it ever get stagnant. That's not to say they always work however, sometimes the whimsicality and 'wow factor' comes at the slight cost of balance issues which sometimes isn't quite right. A lot of people wonder why spend so much money on food. I mean it all goes down the same hole right? Places like Tomislav are exactly the reason I do so. Where else can you get this much excitement and fun, this much consideration? It's almost unmatched anywhere else and definitely irreplicable at home. 



Tomislav has proven that molecular gastronomy isn't quite dead in the 21st century; anything here that can be foamed and crumbed and frozen is pretty much foamed, crumbed and frozen, so there's much to be learnt from this place. 

Saying the combinations are down right surprising and exciting would be an complete understatement. Tomislav has been to high places (Heston Blumenthal) and back and it appears that he's borrowed a bit of Heston wizardry with him. We're all the better for it. 


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East Village Gourmet Food Festival, Zetland

2:03 AM | Labels: , , , , ,


Last Saturday noon was the East Village Gourmet Food Festival. As part of the Good Food month of October, it promised to be a showcase of the Sydney food scene and that it did deliver. 



Entry is free and the sun was out so needless to say finding parking was hazardous. Located down on Joynton Park in Alexandria, the likes of places like Longrain, Salt Meat and Cheese, Gelato Messina and Veggie Patch (without the van) are featured in make shift tents ready to serve out food to the masses. There's also a live band down in the center ready to bust out some afternoon grooves.



This is the first time I've ever tried anything from Longrain. 


Yellow curry of Mirrool Creek spring lamb with pickled mustard greens, chilli &  coriander 16
They've got a mild yellow curry going on with super tender lamb chunks, a lively curry and some pickled mustard greens that works wonders loosening up the gentle heat and giving some freshness.



I wasn't expecting this dish by Foley Lane to be cold but it seemed perfect given the weather. 


WA braised octopus with lime aioli 13
They've really braised it down so it's wonderfully soft and tender, livened up with a generously sprinkling of basil and finished off with a simple tomato sauce. Lime aioli was missing but we didn't bother to ask them for some because it seemed good enough.


Fresh drinking coconut 5
Hot day begs for some hydration so Coco-go-nut's offering of coconut juice is the perfect way to go. 



Messina always do spectacular gelato and on a hotter day, it always tastes better. 


2 Scoops 7
It's easy to fall in love with the italian nougat; delicately creamy, almost honey flavoured ice cream is interspersed with various nuts while the mango gelato tasted spot on with its delicious sweetness.  


Piggy from Dan the Man
Salt Meats Cheese
The rest of the day was spent walking around. There's heaps to find and eat but not enough stomach space for it all sadly.



Really sad that I missed out on dinner under the stars with Longrain but there's always next year. Prices are admittedly a little dear but it's a really nice food festival and definitely worth visiting if you have the time. Until then.


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