Showing posts with label Yummy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yummy. Show all posts

Friday, 30 March 2012

home is where the heart is.

On my recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam - amongst my many crazy and exciting culinary adventures, there's a restaurant which I think deserves a notable mention.

This restaurant is Cuc Gac Quan, translated in English simply means "The Brick Restaurant". The title is very fitting with the overall décor of the restaurant - a very provincial look and feel, it was built on the basis of an "architect's house". There's a pond with real fish, the staircases are made of wood and twigs, all the crockery are made from ceramic and even the drinking straw is made from a morning glory stem! Creative right?

The food takes you back to that special place when you were young, enjoying a simple family dinner. 
It’s nothing fancy in terms of garnishing and whatnot, however, the taste will leave you wanting more - or at least, fight with your fellow guests over the remaining pieces!

Overall, quality dishes, reasonable price and prompt service - the perfect formula for a great meal!

The entrance
Tables situated in the front courtyard
Interior  - very traditional

OUR AMAZING TABLE (used to be a bed, can you tell)

Menu - in Vietnamese and English for your convenience

burnt garlic popcorn
One of my favourite dishes in the entire world. Although my father's creation of this dish is still my ultimate favourite (just like his Pho) but Cuc Gac Quan does a pretty good job with this. It's called "mam" and basically it consists of pork, prawn paste, chilli, lemongrass, garlic etc
Grilled fish with shredded mango drowned in fish sauce...ummm...YUM!!!

Notice how the concept of the restaurant is consistent from the very minor detail such as the chopsticks holder? Amazing!!!
More traditional crockery - the teapot!

Beef, watercrest and tomato in vinegar sauce
Another ultimate favourite - water spinach crab roe soup!!!
Asian eggplant marinated in fish sauce - you can eat this together with the soup above.
Name an exotic fruit and you can have any shake you want! This is Coc aka Toad Mango, a very popular fruit in Vietnam. If you've tasted toad mangoes before, you'd know that the taste is rather sour and hence the drink is accompanied with honey!
dessert - jelly and lotus seed

So, if you're planning on visiting HCMC anytime soon, I highly recommend you drop by and have a bite here or at least try one of their amazing fruit shakes!

Address:
Cuc Gac Quan
10 Dang Tat, Ward Tan Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City District 1, Vietnam

Oh and did I mention Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently came here for lunch as well? ;) 

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

Let's Lunch.

Wearing; Asos wide leg pants, River Island leopard print loafers, Bardot floral blouse and carrying Dolce & Gabanna Miss Sicily bag in Lamb
Accessories; Fendi cuff, YSL Arty ring, Asos ring with OPI nail polish
Menu at Bentley Restaurant and Bar

course 1: Octopus with Almond and Garlic
course 2: Pumpkin custard with pumpkin seed and goats curd
course 3: Poached Mulloway with Celariac, Cracked Wheat & Black Sesame

course 4: Pork Belly with wattle, garlic milk and rhubarb
course 5: Caramelised Strawberries with Barley cream and Beer Sorbet


In Sydney, when it comes down to deciding on a nice venue for lunch, we are rather spoiled for choice.

A few weeks ago, I caught up with a close friend over lunch at The Bentley in Surry Hills. With different menu options available, we opted for the $55 per person fixed price lunch menu. The menu consists of 5 courses as pictured above.

The following menus are available at The Bentley:
  • The Main menu (À la carte)
  • The Tasting menu - $120 per person + $70 for matching wines
  • Vegetarian tasting menu - $110 per person + $70 for matching wines
  • The Bar menu
  • The Dessert Menu
  • The Dessert Tasting menu - a must for all dessert lovers
  • Fixed price lunch - $55 per person
The fixed price lunch menu is perfect for a nice lunch out in town. Although all courses on the menu were good, I'd have to say I enjoyed the pumpkin custard most - mixing the pumpkin seeds in together with the pumpkin custard, the taste was to-die-for!!!

Highly recommended, definitely one of my favourite place for lunch! What's also good about Bentley is that if you're ever too early and waiting for your guest/s to arrive, you can spend the waiting time wisely by visiting all the cool vintage op-shops nearby!

The Bentley
320 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Trading Hours
Tuesday to Sunday 

Sunday, 25 September 2011

Shining Star.

Black by Ezard at THE STAR!!!


Sydney has always been compared to Melbourne- the city of arts, crafts, culture and apparently good food (I have a lot to say in regards to this ongoing debate between the two cities but for now, let's just sum it up by saying I am totally team Sydney). Despite my disagreement with the idea that Melbourne is comparable to Sydney, I'd hate to admit that their Casino, Crown, is way better than our Star City. At least, when it was Star City!

Star City, or what it was formerly known as, has been reborn and given a new name - The Star! Not just in its name, The Star offers a fresh new look with new restaurants and high end retailers such as Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta are just to name a few.

However, this post is all about the FOOD!! There are a lot of expectations for the new signature restaurants at The Star. These includes; the famous Momofuku Seiōbo by David Chang, Stefano Manfredi's Balla, Black by Ezard, Sokyo and Golden Century!

I, as a food lover have been anticipating and dying to try one of the new signature restaurants.

Last night, finally, after months of anticipation, I dined at Black by Ezard.

I can't recall the last time I had such an amazing dining experience (I'm running out of new places to try). Yes, amazing will be overly used in this post.

From the staff welcoming to the actual seating - the entire experience was pleasant. From the waiters, to the food runners, to the bartender to the Maitre D', all extremely friendly and helpful!

The food, well, what can I say? Every dish was (pardon me for the mediocre language) "licked clean".

From the free Brioche bread to the starters to the mains to the sides to the desserts, every bite was a party in my mouth! Expressions around the table were "oh my god this is so yummy"!!! I think the only non-amazing taste we had throughout the entire experience were some of the cocktails. But hey, the blame is on us for being weak drinkers ;)

The verdict:
Price = affordable. Mains are $40+, entrees $25-30, Sides $10- $20, desserts $18-$22 and cocktails average around $18. Between us 4 girls, we had 2 entrees, 2 sides, a main each, a dessert each and 2 cocktails each and worked out to be only $120+ per person. I'd say that's a bargain for such great quality!!!
Ambience = unique dining experience, modern elegance, intimate and romantic. A combination of fine dining with great service.
Food = Contemporary Australian Grill with fun seafood dishes.

Overall, yes here it is again, AMAZING!!!


The Ipad cocktail menu
Entree 1 - Spanner Crab
Avocado, butter lettuce, apple remoulade, parsley ginger meringue
Entree 2 - Oysters
Crème fraiche pearls, fresh lemon
AMAZING bread! It's Brioche which according to the fabulous waiter is baked with extra additions of butter and egg which allows it to be puffy in texture. Tastes like croissants :)
King George Whiting - pan fried, spinach pudding, mushroom salad with champagne sauce
Lamb Rack - warm spring bean cassoulet with black garlic, cooked medium rare
Veal tenderloin - crispy sweetbreads, asparagus, wild mushrooms
Side 1 - Asparagus, quail eggs and fried prosciutto
Side 2 - COS with cos salad, chorizo and shaved cheese
Dessert 1 -  warm couverture ganache, banana ice cream, hazel nut mousse
Warm chocolate poured on top of the ganache for melting effect
Dessert 2 Apple Pound Cake - Calvados Ice Cream, walnut crumble with golden raisin syrup
Dessert 3 - Honey Crunch: Clover Honey Parfait, ginger biscuit, honeycomb and cinnamon
Dessert 4 - Passion-fruit cream, macadamia financier, mango sorbet and dried coconut

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