Christie and I are a touch frightened. It’s raining and there’s a note under the windscreen wiper. We’ve just attended the opening of the new Essential Ingredient store in Rozelle and we were just about to find somewhere around here to eat when we go to feed the parking meter and find this note. It’s wrapped in cling wrap and says “Wayne 04xxxxxxx Call me, Cute yellow car”. It’s so random and so doesn’t make sense – we don’t have a yellow car and there’s no yellow car around. Because it’s a sinister looking dark and stormy night, we abandon plans to eat locally and high tail it out of there wondering why and how someone cling wraps a note like that and sticks it under a windscreen wiper? And what kind of person carries around cling wrap? The kind that has human heads in their freezer? Yes, let’s get out of here, we agree.
I check my book for places to eat. Apres jumps out at us although it is in busy 1 hour parking only Potts Point. We ring and ask whether at this lateish hour we can secure a table and they tell us that the kitchen closes at 10pm but they’ll keep it open until 10:15pm if we just want one plate. Done. We arrive and by some miracle find a park and arrive. It’s in a gorgeous Art Deco style building with ruby shaded velvet boothed seating. The manager is friendly and leads us to our table. When he asks us what we’ve been doing that evening thus far we tell him and he remarks how their sister place La Grand Bouffe is near there. Doh! Except that we did want to leave the area pronto of course in case a human head hunter was after us. There is a 3 course set menu but we’re not hungry enough for that and we’re too late for that. Entrees are $18.50, mains are $29.50 and desserts $14.50.
Amuse Bouche: Escargot
Escargot or snails are absolutely divine, mostly for the garlic butter that they sit in and this is among one of the nicest ones I’ve had as the garlic butter is well seasoned and salty with a strong garlic and parsley flavour. We ask for more baguette to dip in the butter.
Baguette $4.50
Despite how large it is, we are glad that we ordered the baguette as it is served warm, with a square of butter. Dipping it into the butter we’re reduced to moaning. Few things can satisfy like simple bread and butter.
Poisson du Jour (Ocean Trout) $29.50
We’ve just opted for two mains tonight. Christie has the Fish of the day which is Ocean Trout. The skin is wonderfully crispy with the fish underneath silky and smooth and moist underneath. They’re out of crushed potatoes so they use lemon scented peas instead and there is some pesto to flavour it.
Poached Pork Tenderloin with Celeriac Remoulade, Cauliflower Puree and Jus Gras $29.50
I ordered this on the waiter’s recommendation. I didn’t want anything heavy so he suggested this. The pork is poached which gives it an altogether very different taste and texture and it is slightly pink in the middle. It’s served with a celeriac remoulade, a streak of cauliflower puree and a jus gras which is a jus made from the juices from roast chicken with veal and chicken stock. The pork is remarkably tender and the dish is quite rich but delicious with the tender pork, creamy remoulade and cauliflower and flavoursome jus combining well.
Pommes Frites $7.50
I can never say no to French Fries and these are moreish “We really shouldn’t eat all of these” we say to each other taking one after another and nodding in agreement “Mmm yes we really shouldn’t”.
Petit Pois $7.50 (supposed to be $6.50)
I had no hope of finishing these as Christie already had peas on her plate. We both adore peas but there is just no way we can finish this side of peas which are sauteed with onions although they are delicious and pop in the mouth.
Stuffed to the brim, we run to the car under the persistent drops of rain silently praying that there are no cling wrapped notes under the windscreen wiper.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever received a strange note or encountered anyone that has frightened you?
And in some exciting news, I was recently interviewed in the new Nine To Five magazine!
Après
32 Orwell Street, Potts Point, NSW
Tel: + 61(02) 9331 1889
Open:
Lunch- Thursday-Friday 12pm-3pm
Dinner-7 days 6pm until late
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39 Comments | Add your own
Yes, that guy on the bus in Savannah that I talked about in my blog! I honestly thought I was going to be kidnapped and dissected for voodoo purposes. In the end, I safely made it to and from the grocery store with nothing but too much chocolate to worry ahout
That message on your car was uber weird, though…
ooooh that note is a little strange!!!!!!
Loving that dinner though – I agree – escargot are delicious (and yes probably due to the garlic butter!)
looks like a lovely place. thanks for posting
I’ve never had escargot – I have a psychological block about it, even though I love the scene in Pretty Woman where Juia goes “slippery little suckers”. The pork looks devine – I incidentally made a lovely pork roast on Saturday night.
I have met plenty of people who scare me (eg a taxi driver who, during night-time trip, said, “You don’t know where you are going, do you?”).
Hi – someone else got a note that was meant for me. A friend saw a car he thought was mine and left a message saying “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Not sure what that did to the other person’s psyche but know if I’d found it I would have totally been freaked out and gone straight to the police.
I’ve had a dodgy car experience in Rozelle as well, but never a note wrapped in clingwrap – that’s just bizarre! Good idea to head out of their. Apres sounds lovely, I definitely want to try it as I didn’t get a chance to try a lot of good French restaurants whilst in Paris (hehe my funds went towards shopping!)
Never got any weird notes but have definately dined at Apres – group of us had the degustation. Yum yum yum! Was very very good value for money. La Grande Bouffe is closer to where I live, loved the food and atmosphere on both occasions I’ve been there too.
I definitely need to make my way to Australia to check this resto. out! Looks like a great place. And I don’t blame you for asking for more baguette! Baguette = HEAVEN!
Great post!
No cling wrapped notes , but I have had a weird vibe & left in a hurry. The food looks divine.
My mouth started watering so much I almost drooled with that picture of escargot.
It’s my favourite food- and those look deliciously drenched in garlic butter.
I’ve wanted to try apres for ages, thanks for the review!
Oh La Grande Bouffe is one of my favourite places to eat in the whole world! Did you run into David, the owner? You couldn’t miss him – tall, dark, very handsome Frenchman. We’ve been to LGB for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have never had a bad dish. But we’ve never made it to Apres, so it’s lovely to see photos of the place, and the gorgeous food!
In terms of psychos, yep, I’m with you, if I’d got a clingwrapped note on the car, I’d have hotfooted it out of there as well.
Now, (she says, quivering with excitement) how was the new Essential Ingredient?
Very, very weird… I have been followed home before – which was creepy. And this morning, one of my clients emailed me to ask “Did you enjoy your breakfast”.
I had nothing planned – so the email came off very Hannibal Lecter vs Clarice and had me looking around the house for secret cameras.
I may never enjoy my Vegemite on Toast quite as much again…
Oh my godness that note is v scary! :0 :0 :0
Excellent review. Wife loves classic French dishes so will certainly pay it a visit.
i don’t think you were given a square of butter but a cynlindrical shaped butter piece
I once came back to my car after training at the gym and a note had been left under my wipers. It was already night and getting quite dark. I saw the note and pulled it out thinking someone may have hit my car. When I read it the note said something like “saw you getting out of your car. You look like you like to have fun” and had their phone number. I looked around but there was no-one else there. I got in my car very quickly and locked the doors and drove off!
I remember wriggling my first escargots out of their shells with a tiny fork….they happen to be my last ones too.
But these Apres ones actually look slightly more appetising…and if they taste that good, I might try them again….
BTW understandably you didn’t show the full # which was on that sus note, but I hope you passed it on to the police for discrete checking out…
Oh dear.. That does sound quite startling and freaky! I don’t think I have received a freaky note but my uni friend has! You see, there was this guy at uni who was OBSESSED with her but she was too nice to tell him to back off! He would send her things and give her presents. One day he gave her this A4 envelop and I think it had a letter and also an A4 picture in it. What was the picture of? Well it was a picture of her taken as if she was unaware of it, something a stalker would take. And the odd thing was that there was a match stick sticky taped on it.. Very weird.. Didn’t know what it meant.
I once was at Westfield with the kids from work doing some shopping. I came back to a weird not about someone liking my belly button under my windscreen. I wasn’t wearing a midriff {I NEVER would}.
It was written on a docket so I turned it over and it had Hubby’s address typed on it. He’s so darn cute, the funny things he does!
So glad you did not encounter the human head hunter! So glad you had a lovely meal despite the fright! xoxo Mum
Hey NQN
It’s so true about the popularity of food The first thing I do when I finish work is check out the new NQN post . So far I have made Summer berry pudding , Green Papaya with prawns and nutty caramel popcorn. Good article in 9-5 , congratulations , full time job doing what you love . Way to go .
Omg I’ve had weird notes like that too! One time this guy popped a note into a slit sized open window… it detailed how beautiful my smile was and how cute her thought I was… I was 18 years old, he was in his late 30’s early 40’s… v.v. scary.
Don’t people understand what’s sweet and what is creepy.
Glad your head is safe! x
Also, just for safety sake, if you see the note on your back window, don’t get out to get it. It’s a ploy to hijack vehicles or mugg people.. pretty scary actually.
Escargots! *swoon* And you know that lots of butter settles the nerves after receiving random scary, cling-wrapped notes =p
A cling wrapped note?! Well, even if it was a crazy psycho killer, at least it was a nice organised one. Hang on… maybe it was a chef!
Can’t think of any weird notes I’ve received, apart from ones from my weird friends, but I’d like to get a note passed to me from a waiter in a bar, with a bottle of champagne for me and my friends just like in the movies. Provided it is from an appropriate person, of course. Not a cling wrap weilding loony.
People in general scare me.
But probably the scariest was when a woman came up to me, and whispered in my ear ‘I read your blog…’
Freaked me out.
Scary note but why wrap it in cling wrap, Neat Freak ?? You did the right thing and high-tailed out of there. No point in hanging around with all the weirdos that are on the loose.
Apres looks like a lovely spot and though I have to stay away from French food because of the butter etc for the moment ( Gym .week 7) I’d love to have some escargots, it’s been a long time.
Several years ago ,I parked at the local Westfield for my weekly shopping and when I returned to my car found the most abusive note from a female driver because I had parked too close to the rear of her car. It left me rattled all day long
I had that pork dish recently at Apres as well, it’s pretty good hey? You should’ve tried some desserts as well, they were absolutely heavenly
That’s one expensive meal you just ate there – price on French fries and petit pois had me raising my brows. LOL!
Strange encounters…hmm…plenty actually. LOL! Like I got a call from an unknown guy who somehow got my number and an ex language classmate of mine whom I hardly know in class and never gave him my number.
Your mysterious guy must live around the around the area or else he wouldn’t have the plastic wrap in handy. I’m sure he must have seen you beautiful girls getting out of the car. Either that or he’s colour blind.
OMG that cling wrap weirdo is HILARIOUS! I know, very scary for you, but loved the way you retold the story and YES he (and it’s definitely a HE) would keep heads in the freezer, cling wrapped.
Your dinner looks great too, I’ve recently (in the past few months) grown to love pork a LOT and while I would have never ordered it at restaurants before, I now find myself ordering pork more often than not!
And congrats on your interview *yay* xx
Ok that was really weird. Who on earth would want to glad wrap a note? I wonder how much Glad Wrap good ol Wayne goes through a night? He should be a spokes person for a brand of Glad Wrap. Wayne is clearly insane.. I’m so glad you both got out of there. The tenderloin of pork looks delicious. I am curious as I have never had a poached piece of pork before.
creepy indeed! i hope you carry a can of mace, if for no other reason than to spice up a drab dish.
this post cracked me up first thing on a Monday morning! my coworkers think i’m insane. sorry about your creepy note, but it does make for a good blogging post. love the pictures, as always!
Cling wrap available in the rain? That’s funny. Yes, I used to travel a lot and get all kinds of things happen to me. The best was when a New York Taxi Driver personally escorted me into Kennedy so he could buy me a stuffed animal. I also got a stuffed animal from the guy who parked my car at LAX. The creepiest..a pilot from Germany convinced the marriott hotel to give my room number (Florida.
Lorriane
Are you driving yet?
congratulations for being interviewed n featured in teh magazine.
tt was scary to hv recieved teh strange note. Ive never had a strange note like tt unless u count the weird ones in school.
That was definitely a creepy experience! I had to laugh at the cling wrap — you’re so right, who carries that around, lol?! All of the food looks incredible, but I have to say that the baguette with that butter would be my top choice!
Congrats on Nine to Five, I’m off to read the article!
v. creepy re: glad wrap note indeed!
ooohh i’m so glad someone else loves the simple things in life like good quality butter on good quality bread. this brings back fond memories of having lunch with my grandma, bread was always a part of the meal, & she always used to break it, no bread knife required.
Hi Hannah-Oh yes I know, you must have been so scared!
Hehe at least you had chocolate 
Hi Lisa-Hehe yes isn’t it!
I wonder what they taste like without the garlic butter!
Hi Simon-You’re welcome!
Hi Cakelaw-Haha yes that’s a funny scene and one that happens to me (not just with escargot
). Oh no, that’s a very scary moment! 
I worry about getting in taxis late at night too!
Hi Jillian-eeek that is so scary!
I wonder how they reacted?
Hi Betty-How funny, maybe it’s a strange resident! hehe fair enough, that’s just as valid!
Hi Angie-Yes I’ve heard that the degu is really good! I should really pay it a visit!
Hi kamran-Yes you should!
Thankyou so much and yes baguette with garlic butter is sublime!
Hi Mary-Oh how frightening! it was
Hi Marlo-hehe I got the same reaction when it was in front of me-all that garlic butter! You’re welcome!
Hi Celia-Ahh no I don’t think we did, is he at Apres though? I haven’t been to LGB-yet but hopefully soon. it was very nice and well stocked. I wanted to buy so much stuff
Hi Joy-that is very frightening. That’s happened to me and I was terrified. Really? Had they seen you at a cafe?
I don’t blame you!
Hi Brianna-it was indeed!
Hi Mike-Thankyou! I hope you enjoy it!
Hi audrey-Ah yes well that is a funny thing to notice!
Hi Su-Oh my god! Arrgh thatis so frightening and so not the way to approach a woman late at night is it! Glad to hear you are ok!
Hi Howard-I have to say they were really good and the nicest escargot I’ve eaten (not that I’ve eaten that much). I gave it to my friend Christie who showed her husband. Perhaps I should have kept track of the number!
Hi Phuoc-Oh wow, that is SO random!
A match stick? What the?
Hi fat mum slim-Haha! Ok that one had a happy ending. I’m so glad!
Hi Barbara-thanks mum! We were glad we go out of there!
Hi tonybalone-Aww thankyou so much! I love that!
That’s very sweet of you to say 
Hi Miss Marci-Oh wow, what a pervert! That’s so frighteningly pervy!
Thankyou! Ahh thanks for that tip! x
Hi mlle délicieuse-Absolutely, butter solves all problems
Hi Conor-Or a psycho chef!
Aww that’s nice! Yes cling wrapped notes, men should note, are strange! 
Hi Kelley-Arrgh she whispered it in your ear? How strange!
Hi Matilda-I am not sure, it was raining so I guess they wanted to protect it! Yes indeedy!
Ahh yes good to hear you’re still with it! Oh dear, that’s awful! You poor thing 
Hi Jacq-yes except we couldn’t fit another thing in!
Hi The Cooking Ninja-Really? It’s not that expensive for a Sydney restaurant, in fact it’s more reasonable than some
Yes that’s what we though. I mean people just don’t carry about cling wrap do they? 
Hi catty-hehe yes I agree it’s definitely a guy and he keeps heads in the freezer!
this pork was so different to to the other pork I’ve had. thankyou! xxx
Hi Katherine-I know, it just doesn’t quite make sense. Thankyou I am glad we did too! Yes it’s not often done like that is it! But trust me, it’s good
Hi grace-haha what does mace taste like?
Hi Nurse Lynds-Hehe thankyou!
I know, now that we’re safe, we can definitely laugh about it! Thankyou! 
Hi Angela-yes I know, bizarre huh! Wow I think you’ve left a trail of broken hearts
Ahh sadly not! *sigh*
Hi zurin-thankyou very much!
I know, it’s very scary! But I can laugh about it now 
Ahh school notes! 
Hi Faith-I know
I mean who does that? Thankyou so much! 
Hi nic-It definitely was! Absolutely good bread and butter and all problems are solved
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