It’s a steamy Thursday night in Sydney and the Sex and the City discussion pops up. “As everyone gets older, they end up wanting to become Samantha. Essentially we work our way through these female archetypes until we all become cougars” The Second Wife says. There are four of us girls having dinner one night in Surry Hills and indeed it does feel a bit Sex and the City but with some of us wearing thongs having punished our feet all day in high heels (oh would Carrie approve?). We choose a SATC personality for the evening and The Second Wife confesses to feeling a bit Samantha, Tess claims Miranda quickly and Naomi takes Charlotte. I’m Carrie but hopefully less annoying and self centered (hopefully!).
We’re ensconced in Fico, a very dark, very subtly signposted bar where people that aspire to eat at Il Baretto huddle over glasses of wine and flirt amongst the flatteringly dark lights. We nibble on some baby calamari fritti and some chicken and mushrooms on skewers but it’s too dark to photograph. “Charlotte” has ordered these because when you walk into Il Baretto at 7:30pm asking for a table, you know you may be waiting for some time. Thankfully her phone rings after a short time and they tell her that there was a cancellation and that a table is ready if we leave now. We take our barely touched bottle of mineral water with us and they don’t bat an eyelid – Fico and Il Baretto are owned by the same people.
We take the short walk to Il Baretto and they’re getting the tables ready. Space is a premium here and we look on in horror at a table clearly for two being set for four diners and we worry that it’s our table. There’s a bar style section at the front side where diners can gaze out towards the street rather than at each other. Thankfully we get a table out towards the back where a breeze blows through on this hot Summer’s night.
“Charlotte” and “Miranda” battle each for the attention of the waiter but true to form, he is busy flirting with The Second Wife aka Samantha. We have to choose their signature dish, the Duck Ragu with Papardelle. I look around and the pasta dishes are huge. I sniff the air and get very hungry “I want that smell” I say.
Duck Ragu with Papardelle $26
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February 24th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
I’ve never been much of a poet. Until I was a teenager, I always thought that poems had to rhyme. I’ve never quite understood haikus but I don’t mind the odd spot of non rhyming poetry. It doesn’t help though that Mr NQN guffaws whenever he hears poetry from yesteryear. If I were to write poetry, it would probably be an ode to a cake or food and in this way I thought that these cookie pops, based on Bakerella’s incredible cake pops, would be the most appropriate Ode to a Biscuit.
I had a packet of Tim Tams and Mint Slice biscuits in the pantry-a leftover from Halloween when I bought them intending to use them as gravestones (I bet Arnotts never envisaged them being used like that!). Made up of three ingredients, these would have to be among the easiest and most smug making items I’ve ever made. Not only were these cute, but they were easy to make and did I mention only required three ingredients?
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February 23rd, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
The only thing more fabulous than a Champagne Bar is possibly arriving in time to enjoy it and not misreading an invitation. So begins my dilemma when I arrive at what I think is the right time of 7:30pm only to learn that the launch of Etch’s Champagne Bar has been going since 6pm. “I’m fashionably late right?” I offer up feebly knowing that fashionably late doesn’t involve arriving right the end.
But all is not lost because I still have some champagne and cocktails and following on from the cocktails is dinner at Etch. When offered a choice of cocktails including Pepper Berry Martini (sloe gin, black pepper infused vodka and summer berries), St Clement’s Bells (Aperol, Vanilla Absolut Vodka, Absolut Citron and a lemon ice block for a swizzle stick), Apple Sherbert (Absolut Vodka, green apples, star anise infused vodka and sherbert) and Perrier Jouet Champagne.
Did someone say apple cocktail? I go straight for the delicious apple cocktail which has a slight Asian flavour to it from the star anise. It’s a stunning space with a Florence Broadhurst-esque rug, custom made panels, silvery velvet chairs and Venetian glass. Becca and I are then led to our table and the waitress asks us if we’d like to choose or would we like Justin to make up some courses for us. Justin then comes over and asks us if we’d like 5 or 10 degustation sized courses. As I’ve had a weekend full of food, I go with Becca’s suggestion.
Marinated Hiramasa Kingfish, carrot escabeche, Champagne vinaigrette
I’ve had a similar dish with the Hiramasa Kingfish here and it has a really gorgeously pure flavour. Escabeche is similar to ceviche where an item is cooked in acids or vinegars. Here, in a visual mindtrick where you think you’re being served beetroot, purple carrots are pickled in a vinegar.
Local mushroom tortellini, Madeira consomme, sauteed mushrooms
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February 22nd, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
After my Duck Off adventure which was preceded by a 10 course Japanese meal, I needed to compensate for my unholy ingestion of food by balancing it with seven days of salads. When we holidayed in Thailand a few years ago, we were told that Thai women turn to this Som Tum salad when they want to lose weight as it’s healthy, high fibre and low fat. They use tiny dried crabs which are things that I don’t particularly go for (and I had no idea where I would find them). I was also told that the secret to the petite and slender Thai figure is that Thai women infrequently have the coconut laced curries and if they do they eat small portions of it whereas whenever we eat Thai foods, we go straight for the delicious but calorie laden foods.
I was sent some gorgeously sweet and fresh Crystal Bay prawns and I knew that these would be the perfect substitute for those tiny crabs. I’m used to seeing Crystal Bay prawns on restaurant menus – you know when they’re something to write home about when they name the origin or brand of an item and they are reportedly used by Tetsuya and Neil Perry.
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February 21st, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
Happy Saturday! The best way to start a Saturday for me is with a giveaway and today’s is for a fun package. I have four sets of three gorgeous Dandi tea towels and a Masterchef Masterclass DVD to giveaway. The Dandi tea towels comes in gorgeously delightful patterns and are made of a blend of linen and cotton. The Masterchef DVD is the long awaited Masterclass DVD with 3 discs with over 40 recipes from making home made pasta to filleting a fish!
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February 20th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
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