LuMi Bar & Dining- Pyrmont

One of my friends who is very well eaten raved on about how amazingly awesome her lunch was at LuMi the other day (4 course - $45) and so, I was sorely tempted to try. As, unlike my friend, hubby and I work Mon-Fri, we opted to try their 8 course dinner option instead ($95). I tried my best to lower my expectations before walking into the restaurant but it proved a difficult task due to my friend's exceptional experience here, and because of the head chef's pedigree (we are talking a chef with training at Ryugin, Ormeggio, Noma and Attica). Yes - I was ready for an awesome feast!

Stepping into the glass box on the wharf, we were greeted with the view of boats and expensive apartments. What's not to like about that? Quiet and serene was the outside - also quiet and calm was the open kitchen.

With much anticipation, the plethora of amuse bouches placed a huge grin on my face. Super thin rice wafers with salt and vinegar flavouring - my favourite! We've had it at several other places, it tastes roughly the same at each place, but I would always want more of this thin, crispy, moorish snack. There was also churros served with this brilliant french onion savoury dip. The churros were perfected - super crunchy yet not too oily on the outside, and soft and fluffy donuty feel on the inside. Its the first time I've had savoury churros and I have to say - it was amazing!!! This onion dip thing was to die for! It took a lot of self control to stop myself from licking this smooth and creamy dip clean.

Other starters included a potato and rosemary foccacia, a small tartlet with creamed corn and a pile of cheese, a pistachio, horseradish 'sanchobao' (cos lettuce), and a chawanmushi with basil, chilli and tomato water. The focaccia took me back to my uni days where I would have a toasted foccacia for lunch every second day. It was fluffy and soft, and the crusted potato/rosemary top was pretty tasty. The tartlet pastry was a tad too thick - but the creamed corn and cheese was a good combo. The 'sanchobao' had a really distinct creamy pistachio flavour to it, quite interesting. And the steamed egg custard was super super smooth with just the right flavour combinations. YUM. I have to say - by now, I was actually already satisfied - the meal could have ended here and I would have been happy.

The first real course was a plate full of discs of white cucumber, white radish and an apple sour dressing. Globs of sour cream rounded off this dish nicely. It gave off a very fresh vibe and tasted really clean. Edible flowers for decoration - but I don't really like edible flowers.

Next was the veal tartare. This came on a MASSIVE plate - tons of negative space. The veal tartare was smooth and soft, the chargrilled capsicum gave it this pleasurable smokey flavour. It sat on a thick, flavourful tarragon emulsion. I tasted the emulsion on its own and was slightly repulsed - but when you eat it as a package (i.e. with the veal, and the popped crunchy buckwheat), it was pretty damn tasty.

The spelt ravioli was my hubby's favourite dish of the night. Four perfectly shaped raviolis filled plumply with this super smooth pumpkin mixture, swimming in a pool of absolutely delicious burnt butter sauce with really tasty roasted pumpkin seeds and a greenery of chopped chives... O. M. G. Soooooo good. The caviar on top made it more impressive to look at, but I felt like it didn't add much to the taste or texture. Instead, if they really wanted some black stuff on top, truffle shavings might have added another element and depth to the dish. Not that I'm complaining about the dish .... it was pretty deliciousness already, even for me (a person who would not go out of her way for pumpkin).

I really liked the next pasta dish, but my hubby was less amazed by it. Squid ink pasta with a small pile of scampi, a creamy orange guerre blanc sauce, and bottarga powder. I rate it! I loved it! I could eat it all day because I love creamy sauced pasta, especially when it's squid ink pasta, especially  when there's a pile of super sweet raw scampi meat on top.

We got upsold into getting an extra dish. The waitress described their snapper dish as something to die for. She said that it was going to be perfectly cooked with a super delicious potato consomme and all these fancy onions. So we ordered one to share ($15) and the chef nicely spit the dish onto two plates for us. Yes the consomme was super clear, tons of flavour, and pretty delicious, but the hero of the dish - the snapper, was kind of average. Nothing too exciting.

The beef cheeks was my favourite of the night. I wish it was more photogenic as it tasted so so so so sooooo much better than it looks on my photo. I am talking, super melt-in-your-mouth beef cheeks that's crazily packed full of flavour. A splash of bonito and anchovy gravy on top and I am in beef cheek heaven. And - I love cauliflower. This fried cauliflower with its mix of different spices... YUM. Top that off with a spinach and lettuce puree that is just absolutely gorgeous? Yup - dish of the day. We can go home now. My stomach is fully satisfied.

The pre-dessert cleansed out palates quite well. The waiter named it the 'evergreen'. It was very very green. The sorbet, the frozen crumbs, leaves on top, and these beautifully done little mint meringues left wonderfully clean flavours of sorrel, lemon basil, mint and parsley dancing in your mouth. The meatiness of the previous course is forgotten and cleansed, all ready for the real dessert.

I expected myself to not like this dessert. I'm not a fan of white chocolate. I don't really like passion fruit. Ginger is not my top pick of an ice-cream flavour. And I dislike yoghurt. So how can I possibly like a ginger ice-cream with white chocolate and passionfruit sauce and yoghurt crumble? I have no idea - but somehow, I loved it!!! LuMi has done the unimaginable and made me eat yoghurt that is not in the form of yakault. I was seriously this close to licking the plate.

So can you tell that I loved this restaurant? I loved the food - the presentation and flavour combinations. The staff were friendly enough. The views were tranquil and serene. And $95 for a 8 course meal sounds pretty reasonable. I suspect that hats are coming this way real soon... so I suggest that you try out this place before the price hikes to become less reasonable.

Ratings:
Food - 9.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 8.5/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 34/40

LuMi Bar & Dining
56 Pirrama Road 
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9571 1999

Vic's Meats - Pyrmont

I've been meaning to check out Vic's meats at the Sydney Fish Markets for a while, but it's been a bit of a struggle trying to convince hubby to go to the fish market and not focus on prawns and sashimi and seafood platters.

Vic's meats is located kind of at the carpark of the Fish Markets. It's got a small ish but good-quality butcher attached to a smokery where you can grab a quick bite - pulled pork sandwich, brisket, cheeseburger, wings, lamb cutlets, pork ribs or beef short ribs. So in short, just a meat fest. There's also a section here where you can get super premium cuts of wagyu cooked teppanyaki style - a tad pricey though...

With our memories of how awesome smokey meats were in America, we were a bit dubious as to whether this could be replicated in Sydney. All the meats were smoked on site in this industrial, mean-looking smoker on the back side of the store. I ordered the pulled pork "sandwich" and hubby got an open beef brisket sandwich (which really just means that you get the meat and slaw separate from the bread. It was all put together really quite sloppily, but thankfully, it was quite tasty.

Hubby's beef brisket wasn't quite as tender or as smokey as the ones in America, but it was quite enjoyable nonetheless. The bbq sauce was really tasty, as was his slaw. I believe my pulled pork sandwich was tastier. The pulled pork was super juicy and succulent and packed full of flavour (with help of the smokey, slightly sweet sauce). The whole thing fell apart easily and the mustard pickle slaw went a bit everywhere but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Quite a tasty little bite :) If only I had some hot chips to go with it all, it would be perfect~

I think that Vic's meats is worth a try. Even if you're not super full after the bite, you can just duck next door and fill yourself up with prawns and lobsters and what not. Win win situation really.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40

Vic's Meats
Sydney Fish Markets
50-60 Bank Street
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 8570 8570

Balla - Pyrmont

I'm so behind on my blogging this year. Things have just been so hectic - just with the day to day stuff, and before you know it, it's Februrary! Hubby and I visited Balla at the Star for my birthday this year. I was looking for simple, delicious Italian food and was hoping to find it here. Being from a whole month ago, my memory of this place is quite hazy... so it probably wasn't as memorable as I wished, but I do think it was an enjoyable enough experience.

The restaurant on the night was busy busy busy. And extremely noisy. The packed environment stressed me a bit but I guess rowdiness is part of the Italian experience? Their wine list comes on an i-pad and the connoisseur basically told us to just flick through as he rushed from table to table.

Food-wise, we decided on an antipasto and an entree to share. We got 50g of Proscuitto San Daniele and 50g of the Finochietta Balla. The proscuitto was really delicious, as expected. Shaved really thin and full of flavour. The finochietta require more chewing action but rather tasty nonetheless. They were a bit stingy on the bread sticks and if there wasn't the bread (which comes normally) we would be asking for way more bread sticks.

The duck ravioli we ordered to share was reasonably tasty. Pasta cooked al-dente, but the filling was slightly uneventful. It came with crispy sage and a creamy potato and garlic sauce. I'm not used to having potato sauces... cos really, it's just a creamy creamy mash. Mash with pasta? Mmm.... a bit thick and gluggy, but atleast it was tasty mash :)

For the mains, hubby had the line caught snapper. Now this I remember as the fish was cooked perfectly. The fish was falling off the bone, still really juicy and came with delicious pesto. I think I liked the walnut pesto a tad better than the salsa verde - but really, both were good. So if you don't mind eating a whole fish - head and bones and all (which, being asian, we have no problems with), this is a good dish to order.

I had their pork special. I don't remember much about it. I think it was roasted well, with a good glaze. A good mix of fat and meat that made it just the right tenderness and juiciness. And it came with onion and a mustard??? sauce.... maybe? Hahaha! Other than - 'the meat was good' , the dish escapes my mind.

We also had a side of asparagus with reggiano which came really late. But the asparagus was good, especially with the slightly melted cheese. Can't fault it really.

By then, we were both really full. Nothing on their dessert menu excited me so we decided to skip that.

All up - not a bad evening of food. Didn't like the hustle and bustle within the restaurant very much... so, don't think I'll be in a hurry to return any time soon~

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 5.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 27/40

Balla 
Level G, Harbourside 
The Star 
80 Pyrmont St
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9657 9129

The Century - Pyrmont

A family friend had their 90th birthday recently and they invited us to attend their birthday dinner at The Century in the Star. The menu was pretty extravagant, the food was pretty tasty, and the waitstaff were pretty friendly and patient with us. And so, it was a good night all up :)

One of the first courses of the night was the lobster sashimi. It came on an impressive bed of smoking liquid nitrogen - just for the 'wow' factor, but it really didn't need it as the lobster sashimi itself was pretty 'wow' itself in terms of being sweet and super fresh tasting. Being so close to the fish market, we not only got pieces of lobster sashimi, we also got and oyster and salmon sashimi  - both of which were really tasty.

Course two was XO pipis on vermicelli. This was pretty steaming hot and well sauced. Everyone happily chomped on this and there were no complaints. So pretty good dish :)

Lobster braised with ginger and shallot was next. There was a pretty massive plate of lobster and had tons of meat. Funnily enough, this lobster had a more crab like texture - less chewy and more sweet - and so, I quite liked it.

The next course was abalone slices with veges. There was soooo much abalone. All thinly sliced and stir-fried. It wasn't chewy and tough like I expected but because it was so thinly sliced, it was subtly sweet and soft and delectable.

A steamed coral trout was next. Steamed really well, the meat fell off the bone. Pretty good for fish :)

Chicken and noodles, as well as garlic lettuce came next. These were pretty average compared to the rest of the meal. The noodles might have lacked a bit of flavour. Possibly needed a bit more salt or a bit more sauce? But noodles are noodles - and I eat all noodles.

Fruit, biscuits and Chinese 'birthday buns' came next. The birthday girl got the massive bun (which unfortunately was hollow) and the rest of us go the little buns which had red bean paste in it. Nice end to the night really.

The Century @ The Star
80 Pyrmont St
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9566 2328

Flying Fish - Pyrmont

For an extremely rare work training event, I was not only treated to FREE training, but also to an absolutely amazing three course meal at Flying Fish.

With bridge view on a gorgeous sunny day, we were given a choice of three entrees, three mains, and three desserts. However, as it was a work training thing, I could only take the photos of the dishes around me which were ordered by colleagues I knew.

The entree I chose was the Petuna ocean trout tartare This was AWESOME. Small fresh cubes of trout mixed in with bits of crunchy nori, ponzu, radish and scattered salmon roe. Every bite of this just danced in my mouth.

Ocean Trout Tartare

A couple of my friends had the Yellowfin Tuna. This was lightly seared slices drenched in a sweet soy ish caramelised ish sauce with crunchy puffed pork skin, grapefruit, black pepper caramel. I was lucky enough to sample a bit of it. It was pretty damn tasty!

Yellowfin Tuna

My manager at work is a vegetarian so he opted for the roasted beetroot. This looked like small ravioli of beetroot with a house made cashew cheese, raisin and mustard seed goop inside. No complaints from my manager.

roasted beetroot

In terms of the main, the only dish around me (and my dish) was the Barramundi. This fillet of fish was perfectly cooked. Crispy skinned and beautifully soft-textured fish meat. Spots of nori vinaigrette added flavour to the fish. The fish was accompanied by an eggplant stack with a miso paste sauce

Barramundi

The dessert did not disappoint. I had the coconut sorbet with young coconut marshmellow bits. The coconut sorbet was super super delicious. It sat on a sheep’s yoghurt which I didn't care too much for, but the eucalyptus caramel was something I loved and wish I got more of. There were also little discs of fresh mango and lime bits. Amazing!

Coconut sorbet

One of my friends had the dark and white chocolate ganache served with raspberries, mascarpone mousse, pistachio, balsamic, sour cherry sorbet. She adored this dessert - especially the 'popping candy' component which added to the fun of the day :)

black and white chocolate ganache

Coffee or tea, and a small macaron accompaniment was served to round off a great meal. I have to say, this restaurant definitely deserves it's hat. I think I'll have to come back and take my family here!

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 33/40

Flying Fish

19-21 Pirrama Road
Pyrmont
NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9518 6677

Black by Ezard - Pyrmont

For hubby's birthday, we decided to test out some yummy steak at Black by Ezard at the Star. Stepping though really big and heavy automatic door brings you into a dimmed, very nicely and elegantly decorated area. The music choice, however, was interesting and not particularly to my taste.

To start, complementary brioche was given. The loaf was super flaky (like a croissant), really buttery and awesomely soft. I loved it! Hubby didn't. I think he likes your normal bread rolls. He found it too fluffy or airy.

freshly baked brioche

Entree-wise, shared some oysters and their famous organic farm egg ($25). The farm egg was poached and lived in a crispy noodle ball. It all sat on some really tasty potato cream and a light herb salad was atop it. On the side, there was a very thin but crazily delicious slice of iberico jamon. All up, it felt a lot like breakfast. I swear I would be over the moon getting this for a weekend brunch but as an entree, it was a little bit odd. Tasty but odd.

organic farm egg - $25

The oysters ($4 each) that we got were served with yuzu and wakame jelly. The jelly was a crazy flavour explosion - recommended to be eaten with the oyster and not on its own (trust me).

oysters with yuzu and wakame - $4 each

For the main, we really didn't know which steak to order. Hence, we decided to share the Wagyu Trio ($170). This was wagyu 9+ marble scored rumpcap, flat iron and striploin. Normally at Black, you tend to get a tiny tiny piece of steak on a massively otherwise empty white plate. So we got considerable more steak than the norm - and it proved to be almost impossible to finish (atleast for me). Every bite was absolutely deliciousness! The beef was really tasty and really tender, each bite was 'melt-in-your-mouth'. Superb - and I guess for that price, it had to be! We had our steak with the marrow and shallot sauce ($4) which was super tasty also.

Trio of Wagyu - $170 (to share)

marrow and shallot sauce - $4

For sides ($10 each), we had a gratin with leek, brioche, chives and gruyere cheese, and a potato puree. In retrospect, I definitely would not have ordered these two sides. WAAAYYY to rich and WAAAAYYYY to cheese and buttery. I love the potato puree though - was like eating pure buttery heaven, so I probably would have ditched the gratin in favour of some sort of salady green.

leek gratin - $!0

potato puree - $10

I really wanted dessert. The chocolatey peanuty ball was crazily tempting but my stomach just would not comply. I was completely fully stuffed and could not eat ANYTHING. So next time, I'd go for just a tiny steak with just one side and definitely try to leave room for dessert.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30.5/40

Black by Ezard
Level G, Harbourside, The Star
80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9657 9109

Cafe Morso - Pyrmont

It was a Saturday, the weather was good, the view was awesome, great cup of coffee and good food. What more could you ask for?

Our visit to Cafe Morso was definately a good one. We were served by this energetic, lively waiter who was attentive and coped way too much abuse by the table next to us. Starting with a large capp ($6) which came in a gigantic bowl - it was possibly enough to be full on coffee alone! The coffee was good - smooth, creamy, aromatic and lasted the whole breakfast (unlike usually, where my coffee is drunk within the first 5 minutes of arriving).

Bowl of coffee - $6

Food-wise, hubby ordered the 'Cafe Morso Breakfast' ($19) which came with eggs (he opted for fried), bacon, mushroom, roast tomato, chorizo, bacon, tomato relish and toast.It looked simple but good. The meats were charred well and the bread was thick - toasted well on the outside, still soft on the inside.

Morso Breakfast - $19

I found it a tough decision to make and many options sounded delicious. In the end, the truffled scrambled eggs ($16.50) reigned. The eggs were creamy and just a bit runny (the way I like them). The mushrooms (wild and king oyster) were sauteed in butter and was absolutely devine! And the toast (from Sonoma) was gorgeously delicious!

truffled scramble eggs with wild mushrooms - $16.50

So this was probably one of the more relaxing weekend breakfastes I've had in a while. Thoroughly enjoyed the food, view and company :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 32.5/40

Cafe Morso
21 Pirrama Road
Jones Bay Wharf - Lower Deck
Pyrmont NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 96920111

Libiyamo - Pyrmont

One of our friends has been going on about a restaurant in Pyrmont which serves awesome pizza. He said that his Italiano colleagues and friends all recommend this joint as the pizza is relatively authentic. So on one cold autumn night, we set out to check it out.

We ordered 4 pizzas, 2 pastas and a salad to share between the 6 of us. The pizzas were opted for were the Capricciosa, the Vegetariana, Romana, and the Margherita. All of the pizzas cam on a thin yet still chewy crust. The crispy and nicely burnt flavour from the wood-fired oven was a good addition, and a nice contrast, to the somewhat soggy middle of the pasta - made moist and floppy due to the thinness of the crust and tomato sauciness of the pizza. The toppings were quite appetising and whilst most of my friends found the anchovies on the Romana too salty, I thought that it was rather tasty.

Capricciosa - $23
ham, mushroom, italian sausage, roasted capsicum, mozzarella, tomato

Vegetariana - $22
Mushrooms, eggplant, olives, onion, roasted capsicum, tomato, mozzarella

Romana - $22
anchovies, capers, tomato, mozzarella

Margherita - $17
tomato, basil, mozzarella

For the pastas, we got sucked into the yummty description of the pasta of the day, which was a mud crab spaghetti with cherry tomatos. The pasta was flavoursome and rich, a touch on the salty side. And whilst there were massive chunks of crab lying on the side of a big heap of pasta, it was somewhat disappointing that there was no actual crab meat in the pasta itself. The other pasta was the tagliatelle al ragu di vitella. This was a tried and tested pasta (by our friends) but unfortunately, the chef must have misjudged the salt levels. Whilst the pasta was yummy and the veal was tender, it was sooooooo salty. We sent the pasta back to the kitchen and confused our waitress quite a bit by saying that we didn't want a new one.

pasta of the day - mud crab spaghetti

Tagliatelle al ragu di vitella - $24
house made tagliatelle with veal shoulder ragu slow cooked in white wine

The mixed garden salad comprised of lettuce, cherry tomatos and green olives. I don't eat olives but my friends all said that these were the best olives they have ever eaten.

mixed garden salad

The food here is good but probably not excellent. The pizza's are tasty but... we've probably had better elsewhere. The service here was rather apalling. I don't know if that's the norm, but our waitress looked really confused the whole night. We would order, she would give us a blank look in return. She asked if we wanted water. We said yes. She did not return with water until asked again. And if you're wanting a receipt... think again. We spent more than 10 minutes waiting for them to give us a receipt...which at the end, was a little docket with the correct 'total amount' but filled with items of things we did not order and none of the things we did.

Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 27/40

Libiamo
2-14 Bunn St
Pyrmont
NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9552 1509