Famous Hatted & Michelin star restaurants @Not Quite Nigella

Category Archives: Hatted & Michelin restaurants

Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental, London

Sometimes the only thing that will do when one is stressed is some coddling, charm and civility. So where does one turn but a 5 star hotel for lunch.The best part of dining in London is getting to try Michelin starred restaurants. Michelin doesn’t bother with Australia so whilst Tetsuya’s would be worthy of a Michelin star, he remains untouched with the fairy wand. So now is my chance to consume as many Michelin stars as possible. Housed in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Hyde Park London, never a shabby place to stay, Foliage has 1 Michelin star. This lunchtime Blythe and I are battling traffic congestion due to two tube lines being closed down and numerous roadworks near by. In fact we’re half an hour late for our booking and when we finally get there frantic and exhausted, we feel like we’ve really “earnt” our meal in effort.

We’re rewarded by broad smiles, soft welcomes and soothing tones. Foliage is a small room with enormous windows that offer a lovely view of Hyde Park, up close and personal. Guests are welcomed by not 3 but 4 courses. And for a price that’s an absolute steal in what can be a criminally expensive city £29. Yes you read right, £29 for lunch.

The menu has 4 choices which is generous and all of them call out in some way. We finally decide on some dishes after a little deliberation. We’re given bread, a choice of white, sourdough or walnut with salted and unsalted butter (walnut the clear winner, singing with walnut flavour through the copious amount of chunks).

Amuse Bouche: Chive Vichyssoise

We’re then bestowed with our Amuse Bouche, a Chive Vichyssoise. It’s creamy and smooth with a light mascarpone quenelle floating in the centre. A delicious start.

Starter: crab, mango, cucumber and coriander

Our starters then arrive, mine was the crab, mango, cucumber and coriander. The crab meat is delicate and sweet, the thing mango slices swirled on the plate with cucumber flavoured pasta and coriander sprigs. It all works beautifully together, never overwhelming the delicate crab. There are two delicious fried crab balls to give an alternate texture and taste.

Starter: Foie gras, beetroot, ginger bread and pecans

Blythe’s starter, a Foie gras, beetroot, ginger bread and pecans cleverly resembles rhubarb stalks. I do like Foie gras although sometimes I find it too strong. Not in this case, it’s beautifully balanced and beetroot goes wonderfully with the foie gras mousse. There is also a ball of foie gras rolled in pistachios which is also wonderful with the walnut bread which is thoughtfully topped up for us.

Intermediate: Scallops, squid ink, orzo, green almonds

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12 comments | August 25, 2008 by Not Quite Nigella

Drouant restaurant, Paris

I don’t know how we’ve managed to do it but somehow we’ve brought the English rainy summer to Paris. Arriving this morning we’re tired, not exactly jetlagged but feeling similarly so due to the early rise to catch the Eurostar. We’re trying to find Drount, a Michelin starred restaurant and one of Paris’s chicest restaurants neat the Opéra but of course we can’t as the street that it sits on is not on any of our 4 maps. We finally find it, a light grey elegant building, with vivid blue Juliet balconies above.

Drouant is not just the centre for things culinary but also the centre for things related to Literature. Every year it hosts the Goncourt, Renaudot and Apollinaire awards (France’s most prestigious Literature awards) on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the building. The baby of Antoine Westerman it’s interior is given its zing by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. We’re greeted with broad smiles and deferential service. We have a few options for lunch, Drouant has a Plat du Jour for each day of the week-today it’s stuffed provencal vegetables for an absolute steal at €20. There is also a 3 course menu for €43 as well as an la carte selection.

A friendly fellow diner sitting next to us, the helpful Monsieur De Ville, sees our confusion and offers his suggestions. He has just had the €43 3 course meal and whilst it sounds great, I am still full from breakfast so we have to decline. Monsieur de Ville has tried so many items on their menu except for today’s Plat Du Jour and he explains that on Saturdays, there is an opportunity to meet some winemakers and enjoy a 3 course meal with 2 matching wines for €55.

Unusually, although we had read that Drouant does hors d’eovures sampler plates of 4 items, it appears that this is no longer the case. Monsieur de Ville, one of Drouant’s more regular customers confirms this with them and is surprised at this. My husband settles on the Plat du Jour and I choose the Duck Livers with peach, one of the “exceptional items of the season”.

Chateldon water €7

Apart from recommending us restaurants, he also suggests that they bring us the Chateldon water-the water that Louis XIV loved so much that he would order it be brought up to him at great trouble and is in such a limited production that it is only available at finer establishments like this. He flags down the manager who is bringing us regular sparkling to ask him to get us this one. It is actually markedly better which even my husband echoes (hopefully I haven’t created my own Louis XIV!).

Bread and butter

Stuffed provencal vegetables €20

Our meals arrive, the stuffed provencal vegetables look spectacular and fairly substantial. The eggplant, zucchini and capsicum are stuffed with a combination of pork and finely diced vegetables, in fact my mother makes something very similar at home, sauce and all!

Duck Liver with peaches €26
The duck liver with peaches are tender and lovely with a seared outer. I am ambivalent about strongly flavoured liver but this is so cleverly done as to reduce the strong liver taste. The peaches are a wonderful complement to it and are dressed with coriander. Even my husband, skittish with organs, is blissful eating this.

Petit fours

We’re too full for dessert, not used to eating this much for lunch although the desserts sound wonderful. We instead sip the Chateldon sparkling water, feeling just like Louis XIV and nibble on the delicious Petit Fours, sweet stewed candied orange slices and dark chocolate squares.

Napoleon’s Apartment, The Louvre

And speaking of over the top, I leave you with some photos of Napoleon’s apartment at the Louvre. A little over the top, but I’d say yes to that Dining Room any day!

Napoleon’s Dining Room, The Louvre

Drouant

16 Rue Gaillon, 2nd arrondisement (8 minutes walk from the Louvre)
Open: Monday to Sunday 12-3pm, 7pm – Midnight
http://www.drouant.com

13 comments | August 4, 2008 by Not Quite Nigella

Juuri Sapas Helsinki, Finland

Juuri Sapas is a not quite Michelin starred newbie on the Helsinki scene. Popular and recommended by some of my husband’s gourmand cousins, we were eager to try it. Sapas is like tapas, albeit slightly smaller, small plates of food.

We’re meeting my husband’s cousins whom he hasn’t seen in about 20 years. They’re Helsinki natives and love fine dining and a good drop of wine so we are eager to take advantage of their knowledge of the city. The menu is contemporary Finnish cuisine with a lot of local ingredients and native foods which makes it rather exciting. All 4 mains are savoury and sweet and have meat combined with a fruit in some way. There are some little issues, a couple of people at the table have to ask for new plates as they were given dirty ones, my husband having to ask for a new plate twice.

The Sapas are €3.50 each and we choose the Lingonberry marinated salmon on maltbread, tarragon garlic oil; raspberry marinated arctic char with radish sauce; smoked small perche from Pielinen with egg sauce; crayfish cottage cheese filled cabbage leaves with melted dill butter; fresh sausages a la Juuri with vodka mustard; terrine of reindeer liver with jelly made of berries; smoked lamb with gooseberry jam.

Array of 3 breads

Carrot butter

We’re given a large basket of 3 different breads with a carrot butter. The carrot butter is interesting, distinctly carroty in taste but with the creaminess of butter.

Lingonberry marinated salmon on maltbread, tarragon garlic oil €3.50

The salmon is gorgeous, lightly sweetened with the lingonberries and perched on top of the maltbread which soaks up the tarragon and garlic oil nicely. It’s much better than regular marinated salmon.

Raspberry marinated arctic char with radish sauce €3.50

The slender slice of arctic char resembles salmon in texture but is a whitefish. I’m not usually a fan of radishes but the sauce is creamy enough but still retains the radish flavour.

Smoked small perche from Pielinen with egg sauce €3.50

The small smoked fish are intensely flavoured whilst the egg sauce is an interesting accompaniment. The fish aren’t too dry and the sauce is delicious.

Crayfish cottage cheese filled cabbage leaves with melted dill butter €3.50

The stuffed cabbage leaves resembles a small spring roll but the taste is distinctly different. The sauce is gloriously delicious, with a honeyed tone to it. It’s one of my favourite dishes as well as my husband’s although anything with crayfish is a winner with me.

Fresh sausages a la Juuri with vodka mustard €3.50

The tiny sausages aren’t particularly distintive and the mustard isn’t particularly vodka-ey. It’s a bit of a disappointment given there are so many other delicious dishes.

Terrine of reindeer liver with jelly made of berries €3.50

The pate like reindeer liver terrine is delicious and unusual. Distinctly different from other liver terrines or pates it is enhanced by the berry jelly. If only we had some little toast points to eat it with.

Smoked lamb with gooseberry jam €3.50

The smoked lamb is very smokey in aroma and I’m not sure about the gooseberry jam with it. Although the lamb is delicious when I dip it in the other sauces.

Grilled salsify with rosehip jam €3.50

Pike quenelle in wild herb bouillion €3.50

Beetroot and nut stew with small mushrooms €3.50

Eggcheese spiced with oregano baked on top of straws €3.50

Willowherb asparagus €3.50

Roasted swede with cauliflower puree €3.50

Mains menu

The mains we choose are the Wild Boar Ribs with apple butter and vegetables cooked in beef stock, Organic Lamb Tenderloin with dark orange bolete sauce and fried organic barley porridge and Artic Char (a fish native to Finland) braised in whitecurrant wine, jeruselum artichoke puree, beetroot sauce and parsnip chips.

Wild Boar Ribs with apple butter and vegetables cooked in beef stock €22.50

My Wild boar ribs with apple puree, dutch carrots and other vegetables are absolutely divine, sticky sweet and soft they completely conquer regular pork ribs or any other ribs I’ve had. I almost sob that I know that I can’t get them in Australia and I begrudgingly give some to my sister and husband, knowing that they will love them too.

Organic Lamb Tenderloin with dark orange bolete sauce and fried organic barley porridge €25.50

The Lamb is soft and tenderly pink inside and the accompaniment of fried porridge is delicious. It’s similar to fried polenta but softer and stickier. Like Chinese radish cake or something similar in texture although not in taste. The dark orange bolete sauce is a midly sweet accompanying sauce.

Artic Char braised in whitecurrant wine, jeruselum artichoke puree, beetroot sauce and parsnip chips €22.50

The fantastic looking Arctic Char with a streak of fuchsia beetroot puree as mentioned before tastes like salmon whilst being a whitefish.The artichoke puree and beetroot sauce not only providing visual contrast to the fish but also flavour that never overpowers the fish.

Fried perch fillets with Finnish original onion and tomato salad, rhubarb sauce and new potatoes €22.50

Dessert menu

Chocolate cake de capo with seabuckthorne mousse €7

Although we are full we can’t pass up on the desserts-there’s one that has caught my eye-the chocolate cake de capo with seabuckthorn mousse. My husband’s cousins tell us the seabuckthorne is actually used in a medicinal sense-whenever someone is feeling ill or coming down with something, they take some seabuckthorne juice. So not only is it tasty but good for you. The chocolate cake resembles a brownie and the mousse a sweet slightly tangy tamarillo mousse. It’s finished with a streak of thick butterscotch sauce.

Selection of Finnish cheeses and crowberry jelly €7.50

My sister orders the cheese plate and when it arrives, with 4 small cubes of cheese with crowberry jelly €7.50. I don’t have the heart to ask her to share any of her tiny 4 cubes with me and she reports back that 1 was “ok” but the rest were unmemorable. She actually wanted to spit out one of the hard cheeses. Not to mention the tiny portions. The crowberry jelly is more like a syrup than a jelly and honeyed in taste although the consistency doesn’t lend itself to all of the cheeses.

Seasonal sorbet Rhubarb €5

We sample some of the Rhubarb sorbet, intriguingly it’s a forest green shade. it tastes like a fruit and vegetable juice, almost like parsley or another herb has been added to the rhubarb.

Rosehip and white chocolate ice cream with marinated strawberries €7

Later, we head off to Mecca bar, an ultra chic and a bit posey bar populated by Helsinki’s beautiful people. We’re persuaded to try the Sweet Salty licorice drink. It’s a glisteningly black tar shot glass and even the smell at a short distance is heady with aniseed. I take a sip, after all I’m not a big licorice fan and indeed it is just like the salty sweet licorice lollies. My husband adores this and wants to buy a bottle.

We leave whilst the night is still young, after all in the Midnnight Sun season, night never falls.

Juuri Sapas

Korkeavuorenkatu 27, 00130 Helsinki
Tel. +358 9 635732
www.juuri.fi
Reservation: ravintola@juuri.fi
Seats: 34+6
Open: Mon-Fri 11–24, Sat 12–24, Sun 14–20

8 comments | July 20, 2008 by Not Quite Nigella

Restaurant Balzac at Randwick for Birthday Dinner

There are some advantages to having a mid-week birthday. Usually I feel lucky if my birthday falls on a Saturday, thus making it easier to plan my birthday. However this only happens once every 7 years. One advantage to having a mid-week birthday is spreading out your birthday dinners to cover two weekends, thus prolonging your “Mememe It’s MY birthday” moment.

I’m not one of those people who hates celebrating my birthday like my mother in law, or one that doesn’t care about my birthday like my husband, an attitude borne out of being given rocks from the back garden for his 10th birthday present from well meaning alternative parents. It’s an unashamed “ME” fest and I am trying to coax the inner kid out of my husband and make him love celebrating his birthday too by giving him a full birthday weekend of activities and surprises and loads of gifts. I think I’m getting him to like Christmas too, he was also traumatised by a Christmas gift box of toilet cleaning supplies from his mum received about 8 years ago so he was similarly unenthusiastic about Christmas. My aim is to have him as enthused about birthdays and Christmas as I am.

So with my friends Teena, Philippe, Gina and Hot Dog, we decide on Balzac. Housed in a lovely sandstone building that has previously housed a Pizza Hut for over 10 years and changed hands many times over, it’s finally settled on Balzac. The 2 hatted restaurant featured in the SBS show Heat in the Kitchen was one that we’ve always been meaning to go to but for some reason never have. The couple Matthew Kemp (ex Banc chef) and Lela Radojkovic were living in their parent’s garage while the restaurant was starting up, giving us a glimpse into the hard life of a restaurateur and we shared their relief when they got their first hat and now they have their second.

The main thing when dining with this particular group of friends is the service. Hot Dog is one of those patrons that loves to make friends with the waiter or waitress but on his terms. He loves to cajole and tease them and try and get them to give him something for free or refer to an item as “Item 24 dollars”, and this is especially true when we visit expensive restaurants . Some waiting staff have been unsure how to deal with him slinking away uncomfortably with a scared expression on their face but some just laugh along with him and tease him right back which he loves. So it’s fortunate tonight that our waitress Yasmin is extremely lovely and seems to be a deft hand at dealing with Hot Dog. She has him eating out of the palm of her hand.

There are 6 mains to choose from and between the 6 of us we manage to sample 4 of them. Hot Dog is the only one to order an entree and I have a quick peek at the dessert menu which looks promising.

Our Amuse Bouche is the first to arrive and it’s a fennel veloute with harissa foam atop served with a salmon croquette. The tiny cup of soup is lovely and creamy and foamy but the harissa, usually a spicy and hot ingredient is very mild with virtually no chili taste to it at all. The salmon croquette is freshly fried and packed with salmon and an instant hit with the table and certainly does it’s job of exciting our tastebuds.

Big man+ small cup – Philippe takes a dainty sip

The accompanying bread is soft and warm, almost like a damper with a slight panini crust to it. It’s delicious and even a confirmed low carber like me takes a roll with the perfect temperature butter.

Smoked Salmon en Papillotes with Vichyssoise Mousse and House Smoked Oyster Vinaigrette $24

Hot Dog’s entree arrives, Smoked Salmon en Papillotes with Vichyssoise Mousse and House Smoked Oyster Vinaigrette. The mousse and potatoes are lighter touches and I expected to taste a more sharp flavour via capers or the usual smoked salmon accompaniments. Nevertheless Hot Dog is a satisfied customer and any grumbles he may have about the size are quickly quietened after his first bite.

Beef Short Rib with Smoked Ox Tongue, White Onion Puree and Mustard Dressing $36

Our mains appear at the same time, starting with Philippe and Gina’s Beef Short Rib with Smoked Ox Tongue, White Onion Puree and Mustard Dressing and it looks impressive. I try some of Gina’s rib and it’s deliciously soft, and prying it from the bone is easy. I wish I had ordered this instantly and the softly textured beef is fragrant and unctuous. The Ox Tongue is very thinly sliced and despite preconceptions of it being chewy, is delicately delicious to eat.

Confit Pork Belly with Shaved Cuttlefish, Chorizo, Chickpeas and Capsicums $35

I try Hot Dog’s Confit Pork Belly with Shaved Cuttlefish, Chorizo, Chickpeas and Capsicums and whilst he isn’t that impressed, Gina and I adore the taste and find it full flavoured and beautifully textured with the slightly crisp on the edge fatty pork belly perfect against the soft capsicums and other flavours. Another dish I wish I had ordered.

Ballontine of Chicken Leg with Pancetta, Potato Fondant, Baby Leeks and Parsley Jus Gras $34

I try some of my husband’s Ballontine of Chicken Leg with Pancetta, Potato Fondant, Baby Leeks and Parsley Jus Gras. It was nice but not as wowing as the other two mains. Granted he only gave me a bit of the actual Ballontine of chicken leg so I didn’t get to try it with the accompaniments which may have been cause for the less favourable comparison.

Barramundi with Duck Confit Rillette, Lentils and Thyme Butter $38

My Barramundi with Duck Confit Rillette, Lentils and Thyme Butter is covered with a foamy thyme butter sauce which is mildly fragrant. The barramundi is beautifully cooked, being slightly undercooked in the centre but not raw so that it is beautifully moist. The piece of fish needs a little more seasoning. The Duck Confit rilette is delicious perfection, soft and stringy in that glorious Duck Confit way and the pebbly lentils provide a textural contrast to the softness of the fish and duck.

Mixed Leaf Salad with Walnut Dressing $7

I try our sides, the Mixed Leaf Salad with Walnut Dressing is full of herbs and mixed leaves but a little light on the dressing.

Roast Sebago Potatoes with Beef Dripping, Thyme and Garlic $8

The Roast Sebago Potatoes with Beef Dripping, Thyme and Garlic sound the most promising and look glisteningly so but the potatoes themselves are awfully starchy and dry inside, they’re like eating roast potatoes that have been sitting under a buffet heat lamp for hours: dry and unappetising.

We take a short break before we’re lured by the dessert menu. Teena and I choose the Chocolate Bombe Alaska with Hazelnuts and Hazelnut Liquer, Gina chooses the Pumpkin pie with pumpkin seed ice cream and Philippe chooses the Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with ginger ice cream and custard, $2 of which will go to the HeartKids NSW for the month of May.

Pre-dessert: pannacotta with sweetened stewed plums and a praline top

Before our desserts arrive, we are given our pre-dessert which Hot Dog mishears for a Free Dessert which makes him rather happy but he was hoping more for ice cream with chocolate sauce. It’s a pannacotta with sweetened stewed plums and a praline top. It’s gorgeously soft with the crunchy praline on top providing the necessary crunch and ending.

Chocolate Bombe Alaska with Hazelnuts and Hazelnut Liquer $17

It’s not long before our desserts arrive and I dig into my Chocolate Bombe Alaska, the outside is nicely singed and spiky like Lisa Simpson’s hair. The inside ice cream is rich with bittersweet chocolate ice cream and it’s surrounded by hazelnut liqeur foam and crushed, roasted hazelnuts.

Our waitress is not happy that my Bombe has arrived sans a birthday candle so she has a word to the kitchen and she brings me out a lit candle with 3 petit fours: a cranberry fudge square, a chocolate fennel fudge square and a Chai truffle. It’s a lovely little touch to make me feel special. The Chai Truffle is very interesting, certainly very heady in scent. The fennel fudge isn’t very strong in fennel and tastes mainly like a rich dark chocolate fudge whereas the cranberry fudge square is lightly flavoured with cranberry resembling a slight cranberry flavoured jersey caramel.

Pumpkin pie with pumpkin seed ice cream $15

I try Gina’s Pumpkin pie with pumpkin seed ice cream. Being Canadian she is very well versed in Pumpkin pie and makes a mean pumpkin pie, draining her pumpkin mix for days to ensure that it’s the right consistency. She finds it too spiced for her liking and indeed it is very heady with nutmeg and cinnamon. The pumpkin seed ice cream is delicious, resembling a pistachio ice cream studded with lots of nubbly nuts.

I don’t get to try Philippe’s dessert, he is a little averse to sharing having grown up in a family of boys where mealtimes are a fend for yourself event but I am assured that it was indeed delicious. I adore the little copper pot serving style and mini jug of custard.

As we’re leaving our waitress wishes us a nice night and a Happy Birthday to me again. Hot Dog proclaims the service to be the best he’s ever received and we can see why it won the Silver Service food award from the SMH. High praise indeed for the service fussy Hot Dog!

Restaurant Balzac

141 Belmore Road Randwick NSW 2031
Tel: + 61 2 9399 9660
Fax: + 61 2 9399 6929
Email: restaurantbalzac@tpg.com.au
Web: www.restaurantbalzac.com.au

Open Tuesday through Saturday
Dinner from 6 pm onwards
Fridays for Lunch 12- 3
Last Sunday of Each Month for the Seasonal Degustation Dinner – 6.30pm onwards

16 comments | May 5, 2008 by Not Quite Nigella

Icebergs Dining Room and Bar at Bondi Beach

There’s very little that can go wrong with a view like this. The view uninterruptus from Icebergs has got to be one of the most iconic Sydney vistas, that of Bondi beach. Icerbegs opened with a splash and since then reviews on the ground have been mixed but the chef Maurizio Terzini still received his two chefs hat this year from the SMH.

We’ve booked for 6.30pm, a little early we know but seeing the view as it descends from daylight to twilight to the fall of darkness is something quite spectacular and I find that watching a pool of glossy black water isn’t quite as exciting as seeing it develop to hand.

Its surprisingly busy with diners given the early timeslot. We’re ushered to the best seat in the house, right next to the window. Service is efficient if not especially warm and relaxed, the staff seems a little stressed out and serious.

Sourdough bread and olive oil is brought to the table while we ponder the menu and the scenery. Along with the menu items, there are quite a few additions to the menu for the evening with 3 entrees, 2 mains and 2 extra desserts. I find that the entrees are beckoning me more as they seem more creative so I order one of the special additions to the menu suggested by our waitress: scallop sashimi with crispy garlic, marjoram and grissini $32 and a regular entree: crab, soft polenta, garlic, chili, lemon $28. Blythe orders the figs with gorgonzola, ricotta, walnut and honey $26 and the Flinders Island Salt Crusted Suckling Lamb and mache salad $48. She’s intrigued by the idea of Polenta chips with sour cream $14 which she saw on the website which are actually from the bar menu so we order those.