wasted: a pop-up for neglected delights

Last night Jonas and I enjoyed the Wasted pop up dinner at Ten Buck Alley, celebrating the unloved bits of animal and vegetable often neglected from restaurant menus. It's a limited time event on Thursday 12th, Friday 13th and Saturday 14th May.

Despite it being Friday 13th, our hosts, British chef Douglas McMaster and self-confessed pop-up restaurant vigilante Kym Lenoble, put on a good show.

It sounds cliché, and Jonas will certainly roll his eyes at me, but it’s great to see chefs so excited and passionate.

I’m a big fan of these pop-up events because they give younger chefs and sommeliers a chance to be inventive and test their mettle.

We filed in, group by group, into the tiny café. It had been spruced up for our arrival with some quirky decorations and scenes from the 1995 post-apocalyptic film Waterworld projected onto the wall.

As Kym said, Waterworld is what we’ve got to look forward to if we don’t start eating and living more sustainably.

Seating was tight. Tables were flush against each other and elbows knocked. The small, backless stools were a touch uncomfortable for such a long meal, but the squashy set up meant I could lean on the person behind for support. Lucky for me that person turned out to be a blogger I already knew, Minh from Eat.Show.Tell.

Dragon Fruit Bellini

The night got rolling with a wonderful Dragon Fruit Bellini, the dragon fruit (pitaya) giving an elegant flavour to the sparkling wine, which became tinted a pretty pink from the fruit. Unfortunately there’s a certain sliminess to dragon fruit that floated to the surface of the bellini, forming a lipidic foam, but it was easily dispersed with a quick stir.

Visually it needs some finesse to avoid the foam, but I could easily steal this one for a dinner party.

Salt pork, pickled celeriac, celery leaves

Two amuse bouche kicked off the food.

First a spoon of salt pork, pickled celeriac and the fresh celery leaves. As a celery hater I was surprised to discover the celeriac root gave a fresh flavour when pickled and the leaves were very mild. The salt pork was delicious. A nice intro.

Chicken heart, dock weed, wheat

Next up was a tiny green jar with an equally tiny chicken heart, smothered in puréed dock weed and accompanied by some roasted wheat kernels. The dock weed’s acidity was a perfect match to the iron flavour of the heart. Another winner.

Anchovy chips, anchovy mayonnaise

While we waited for the team to prep our first course, they passed around ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and anchovy mayonnaise. It was like fishy chips and dip, enjoyed by many more people than I would have imagined given the strength of flavours. Tick!

Nettle soup, back fat, nasturtium

Our first course, a Nettle Soup, had a beautiful creamy texture and subtle verdant flavours that would have been lifted to dizzying heights with a little seasoning. As we discussed with our neighbours, including Daisy who blogs for London’s Evening Standard, so many young chefs are often afraid of salt.

Fortunately, tiny cubes of crackling-like back fat floated throughout providing mouthfuls of nutty pork flavour. The decorative nasturtium tasted like wild salad leaves.

It was a restorative course, served with an unwooded 2010 Printhie Chardonnay (Orange, NSW). Without the food it tasted a little unfinished, heavy on alcohol at the end, but after tasting the soup the wine balanced out perfectly.

Blood, brains, skin

The anxiously awaited Blood, Brains & Skin course was the most frightening dish for the majority of the crowd. Thickened blood sauce, flavoured with caraway seeds, was a bed for lamb brains fried in a mixture of breadcrumbs and pork crackling. It was all topped off with micro herbs and tart pickled apple.

Served on large square tiles, this was my favourite course of the night. It could easily have featured on any 3 hat/star restaurant menu.

The pickled apple gave fresh acidity, the brains were flavoursome and soft, but not limp, and the crackling added a wonderful crunchy texture contrast. The blood sauce was a rich punch to the softness of the other flavours, but many found its presence psychologically overwhelming.

Not me. I could have eaten another two plates of the stuff!

The brains were paired with the gutsy 2009 Devil's Ridge Block 22 Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa Valley, SA). This wine was lovely. Low on tannins, and strong with cherry and anise. I’m going to keep a look out for this one in the stores.

Yabby, dill stem, wild rocket

Ironically, the yabby course was the most challenging for me, simply because it contained dill - my most hated of herbs.

The velvety texture of the yabby tartare was perfect, a sweet and striking contrast to the intense vegetal flavours of the wild rocket granita. In the dim light and intense green of the plate, the finger lime caviar disappeared visually, but the bursts of fresh acidity in the mouth proved they were there.

Again, a sprinkle of salt flakes would have lifted the flavours of the yabby and rocket dramatically, and perhaps curtailed the overpowering dill. The flavour from the stems is stronger and more anise than the commonly used tips and the stringy texture was also a turn off. Jonas and our neighbours had no such issues with the dill, adoring the fresh, clean flavours, but everyone agreed salt was needed.

I love that they served the yabby course on plastic black Frisbees. Afterwards we checked out the bottom and discovered they were promotional items from Espirit. Talk about recycling!

It worked well with the 2009 Brokenwood Semillon (Hunter Valley, NSW), matching the acidity of the finger lime.

Intercostal, potato skins, cauliflower root

Our last savoury course were beef intercostals, cooked into soft, gelatinous sweetness and accentuated by caramelised onions. They were served in crispy carved out potato skins and topped with cauliflower stems.

One of the groups sitting next to us were extra anxious as to what intercostals might be, but I assured them it was nothing dramatic: merely the muscle tissue between the ribs.

The matching wine was the 2008 Grant Burge Miamba Shiraz (Barossa Valley, SA) fruity and thick with chocolate, liquorice, plums and cherries.

Whey sorbet, feijoa, violet

The palate cleanser and first sweet course was a whey sorbet, sprinkled with crushed crystallised violets and chunks of fresh feijoa.

Jonas found the feijoa fruit overwhelming and pungent, whereas I enjoyed the sweet-sour tropical flavour, similar to a guava. The whey sorbet was quite sour, almost salty and entirely delightful.

This came with a delicate and sweet 2009 Batasiolo Moscato d'Asti (Piemonte, Italy).

Smoked wood custard, molasses, pomegranate

Our last course was a salute to the New Nordic food movement. A layer of molasses sauce was topped with natural yoghurt, a smoked custard mousse and splashes of reduced pomegranate juice. All decorated with glistening ruby pomegranate jewels and chewy crumbs from an ANZAC type biscuit.

The yoghurt counterbalanced the sweetness of the molasses while the earthy pomegranate mixed well with the smoky wooded custard. And who doesn’t like ANZAC biscuits? C’mon!

Twas wonderful.

This was paired with the Buller Tokay (Rutherglen, VIC), sticky and strong enough to match the smoked custard, but probably the weakest wine pairing of the evening.

We left the evening impressed with these young whippersnappers.

The food had focused on sustainable nose-to-tail or foraged ingredients and the wine matching was inspired with inexpensive options signing like a well practiced choir beside their partner course.

They'd managed to turn the ugly and the under-utilised into something wonderful.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable evening, heralding many good things to come from Douglas McMaster and Kym Lenoble.

~ ~ ~

Anna & Jonas were NOT guests of the Wasted team and paid $123pp for 6 courses with matching wines.

capital grill & pomegranates

When I was invited to Capital Grill, in Sydney’s Circular Quay, I have to admit I hadn’t heard of it.

It was in a familiar building, The Gateway, where I’d had many meetings but the grill itself hadn’t been there before.

What a difference its arrival has made to the area, providing a long open bar protected from the elements yet open to the breeze coming off the Harbour. It was clear from the tables filled with suits that it was a popular spot for a post-work drink and meal. I imagine the business lunch crowd would be equally enamoured.

Is that an angel with halo & wings? 
No it's Chef Mike delivering my dinner!

The Restaurant Manager (Ron) and Chef (Mike) made Jonas and I right at home for the special pomegranate tasting menu we were there to sample. True hospitality.

Our amuse bouche to start was a beautiful, strong flavoured Berkshire sausage on radicchio with slices of creamy, fresh avocado, glistening pomegranate jewels and tangy aioli. The flavours were well-balanced with no bitterness from the raw radicchio. Jonas loved this so much he wanted to order a side of Berkshire sausage!

Sydney Rock Oysters ($3.80 ea)
Freshly shucked w pomegranate granita, cracked pepper

Next up were lovely Sydney rock oysters from Foster, served natural with a simple pomegranate granita flecked with freshly milled black pepper and finely diced shallots. It was sweet but still had an acidity which matched well with the oysters. These were the first raw oysters that Jonas actually liked, which I should add had been perfectly back shucked (from the hinge). Too often in this city oysters are shucked from the brittle end of their shells leaving unpleasant shards for diners. It’s wonderful when a kitchen takes the time and effort to undertake the more difficult but ultimately more rewarding back shuck.

Back shuck . . . does that sound rude? Ahem, moving right along.

House Cured Atlantic Salmon ($18)
Pomegranate, crisp caper aioli, potato thins, shaved fennel

Cured Atlantic salmon was exquisitely flavoured, the fattiness of the fish perfect against thin slices of waxy kipfler potato, briny capers and crunchy shaved fennel. Aioli laced the plate, again accompanied by bejewelled pomegranate seeds. I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would.

But then again, I love pomegranate anything!

Grilled Kingfish ($30)
Crisp bacon, spring peas, bouillabaisse sauce

In addition to the pomegranate menu, the chef added an extra course of grilled kingfish. It was a mild flavoured fish with a robust seafood sauce, texture from the peas and a wonderful sweet smokiness from the crisp pieces of speck.

This came with a side of steamed broccoli with sugar snap peas and garlic confit ($8).

Mango Martini ($17)
Fresh mango and grapefruit, pomegranate frozen vodka liqueur

We were almost too full for the dessert, but the light fruity option was a perfect finish. Served in a martini glass, fresh slippery cubes of mango flesh were served alongside bitter pink grapefruit segments that had been doused in icy cold pomegranate vodka. The macerate fruit was topped with a rich cream, heavily laden with vanilla beans, the white dollop flecked with millions of tiny black specks.

With this we were sated and leant back into our chairs to rub our bellies and chat to Chef Mike who confessed he had been a food blogger too (Scallops & Pancetta) before this chef role took up all his time. Perhaps that’s why he and his crew were so relaxed with me snapping away at all the food that hit my table.

After such a lovely, relaxing meal and drinks we discovered that everything was entirely on the house. We knew some of it would be “gifted” but not everything (wow, thank you)!

With that in mind, we made sure we left a good tip. That’s only fair, afterall.


Morsels & Musings dined courtesy of Capital Grill and POM Wonderful.

Capital Grill
The Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Place
Circular Quay, Sydney
www.capitalgrill.com.au

porteño, surry hills

I have visited Porteño twice now, and I am a huge fan.

The first time I visited, we arrived at 7pm and the restaurant waiting list was already full for the whole night. I can tell you it wasn’t just the pigs that felt gutted.

Instead we headed upstairs to sip on cocktails and snack on the well-thought-out bar menu.

For the second visit, I booked Sunday lunch for six and scored a table in the brightly lit interior.

No expense has been spared decorating Porteño. Even the water glasses are Riedel, the tabletops are grey speckled marble, handmade decorations like the hide and wood screen at the entrance, the waiters' amazing rockabilly uniforms and chocolate leather aprons.

Everything is immaculate and gives you a sense of stepping into an elegant Spanish villa, exposed brick and whitewashed walls, old tiled floors and cut out windows to peer from the upstairs bar down to the sun-drenched indoor courtyard. It's the perfect Sunday lunch ambience and a classy salute to the Argentinean asador.

We started our meals with an aperitif and I went for an Americano, the Campari and red vermouth poured over hand-carved ice and the soda elegantly served in a separate beaker.

The asado burnt fervently and chefs Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate stood over their marble workspace, sleeves rolled up to expose their ink, as they eagerly await the first orders to be placed.

Abrahanowicz (Adan) stands solemn as he tends the fire and turns blistering chorizo over the parilla. He’s a renown chef in his own right, having marked his territory on the Sydney dining scene with Bodega’s side venture Argentinean Cocina.

Milgate and Abrahanowicz Jnr are patient as we snap photos. They’re no doubt under attack from food tourists every day and, with the number of blogs that have already descended upon Porteño, I’m sure they’re reluctantly getting used to the pervasive food paparazzi.

Because we all know it’s hard being fabulous.

To kick our meal off we are given two sauces, garlicky chimichurri that has a mild kick but is oilier than other versions I’ve tried, and criolla which has red chilli, onion and oil but which is more sweet than spicy.

The house baked bread ($2pp) comes warm and soft, perfect for scooping up the olive oil and pork pâté accompaniments.

But you don’t want to fill up on bread.

Instead we munched down flaky beef empanadas ($4ea), and the house pork and beef salami ($10).

For wine, we try a 2009 Fefinanes albarino from Rias Baixas, Spain ($89), its dry acidic edge cutting through the fats of the meats we sup upon.

First up was the pickled veal tongue (Lengua En Escabeche $8), probably one of my favourite dishes of the day. The texture was firm but easily broken with a fork, gently acidic and flavoursome without any strong offal edge. Amazing.

The blood sausage (morcilla $10) was ultra soft and served with sweet roast red peppers and garlic to counteract the iron intensity.

Another clear winner was the veal sweet breads (Mollejas De Corazon $16), the thick slices of spongy, fatty tissue melted in my mouth and the caramelised edges added an exquisite flavour and texture. This was superb, although not everyone at the table could handle it.

With the white wine finished in a blink, we went red with the 2005 Beronia Reserva from Rioja, Spain ($84). It’s not a fancy tempranillo, but it’s a good, honest drop that never fails to satisfy with its soft fruits.

A perfectly cooked beef inside skirt (Entraña $32) was flavoursome and pink inside with crusty charred edges, but the cut had sinew running through it, dampening the experience.

Luckily there was absolutely nothing to complain about when it came to the woodfired suckling pig (Chanchito A La Cruz $48). The skin was wafer thin and crisped to perfection, while the meat melted after 8 hours of roasting, crucified, on the asado. It was amazing, but for $48 it seemed a slightly small portion.

Maybe I was just feeling greedy?

The vegetables we ordered (yes, we ordered vegetables) did not disappoint either. A silverbeet salad with pinenuts, anchovy dressing and whole parlsey leaves (Espinaca Con Piniones Y Anchoas $14) was good, but my shock favourite were the crispy fried brussel sprouts with lentils and mint (Repollitos De Brusela Frito $14) that could convert any sprout hater to a major fan. The brussel sprouts were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, without even the slightest hint of bitterness. I could have eaten the whole plate if I hadn’t been so full of meaty goodness.

But there’s always room for dessert, right?

Again, the dessert I imagined would be my favourite turned out to be my least.  Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, it’s just that the dessert I wasn’t so keen on turned out to actually be worth all the hype it’s been getting.

The Leche Quemada ($14) was a take on South American flan, a burnt milk custard with a rich texture and slightly caramel flavour. It was drizzled with sticky cumquat jam and served with salted popcorn and dark chocolate ice cream. Good (the salted popcorn was inspired), but there were better things to come.

Such as the chocolate fondant-esque pudding ($14),  filled with oozing dulce de leche and served with a scoop of banana ice cream. There’s not much that can beat oozing dulce de leche.

But in my opinion the Postre Chajá ($14) deserves all the media fuss it’s getting because the Porteño crew have taken this simple Uruguayan dessert and upped the ante. Shards of meringue, soft sponge crumbs, sous vide mango, swirls of dulce de leche and salty peanuts make the perfect combination of sweet, salty and fruity.

But the pastry chef at our table found it a little too sweet and the table voted fifty-fifty between the Postre Chajá and  Leche Quemada for campeona absoluta.

I’ll be back for more cocktails and more food, because there are still so many things on the menu that I want to try.

The bill was not cheap, but it was worth every greasy, carnivorous cent. And then some.

Porteño

358 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 8399 1440

www.porteno.com.au

Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm
Lunch: Sunday from 12pm
Bar: Tuesday - Saturday 6pm - late; Sundays  2pm - late

bbq feast at zaaffran

It’s the third time that Jonas and I have been to Zaaffran.

The first, many years ago, was a romantic Valentine’s Day banquet when I lovingly ate vegetarian food with him.

naan

The second was a New Years Eve when some staffing issues resulted in a tasty yet chaotic celebration (isn’t NYE always chaotic though?).

And in late September we were back again, this time with a host of food bloggers, being treated to a BBQ Banquet.

Zaaffran is located in a strange spot, accessible through the touristy Harbourside shopping mall in Darling Harbour. Fortunately once you enter the restaurant, the bright fluorescent shopping strip is replaced by soft, intimate lighting and the twinkling of the city skyline reflected across the water view.

potato dumpling

The air is thick with the spicy aromas of the kitchen, promising a good meal.

I do a head count around the restaurant and note that more than half the clientele are Indians. Always a good sign!

Our host for the evening, owner Rush Dossa, had certainly done his research when he hand-picked the group of bloggers. My own email invitation made reference to a raft of ideas and recipes across the years, indicating he had done more than just skim through my blog, and when I arrived he greeted Jonas and I with knowledge of our lives and even of Jonas’ vegetarian past. It was the first sign of the great warmth and hospitality Rush displayed throughout the evening.

Rush had invited us to demonstrate that Indian food isn’t always about curries. And while we all (well, those of us with any sense) love Indian curries, there’s so much more to try from the vast Indian continent and its diverse ethnic groups.

And so we were all shouted the 5 Course BBQ Banquet, usually charged at $54.50 per person.

We start with canapés on the balcony. Three delightful little morsels: wonderful whole-wheat pancake-like wraps stuffed with mushrooms, mint, coriander and cheese; fat and round potato dumplings plumped up with carrot, peas, ginger, cashews, mustard and chilli; and spoons of prawns in fragrant coconut broth flavoured with saffron, chilli, lemon and lime. So rich and flavoursome, easily everyone’s favourite of the canapés and already sparking ideas for new recipes at home.

prawns in coconut broth

To start the meal proper we’re served a pleasantly-salty salad of greens and brimming bowls of pappadums and steaming garlic naan. The four colourful dips are a thick, syrupy date chutney (not too sweet), beetroot & yoghurt, tomato & chilli and mint & yoghurt. Surprising even myself, the date turns out to be my favourite.

dips

Gol Guppas are next. These strange mini pooris are like the Indian answer to Mexican tortilla chips and salsa. Their hollow, spherical shape was perfect for holding the moong bean & potato mix, and dousing in mint or tamarind water, then shoving into our gobs before the liquid destroyed the thin crunchy shell and gushed all over us.

gol guppas

My favourite starter, as always, was the chaat. I’m a sucker for these street snacks, usually made out of vegetables (spinach, potato), always drizzled with mint, yoghurt and tamarind. I adore them and Zaaffran’s Aloo Makkai Tikki Chaat were particularly good: 20-cent sized circles of warm potato and corn crisscrossed with yoghurt, date-tamarind and mint sauce.

aloo makkai tikki chaat

Our second course arrives: Tandoori King Prawns and Chicken Seekh Kebabs. The prawns are cooked perfectly and flavoured heavily with cardamom, their tails crunchy enough to eat. The chicken mince kebabs are flecked with loads fresh minced coriander leaves, just the way I like it.

They serve the second course with mushroom and truffle naan! It's delicious, and while there's a heady scent of truffle in the air, the truffle flavour is not very strong.

mushroom naan with truffle butter

Throughout the meal we drank Blickling Estate Riesling 'Methode Champenoise' 2007 (New England Tablelands NSW), Aja Sauvignon Blanc Semillion Verdelho 2008 (Polkobin NSW) and Kalleske Clarry’s Grenach Shiraz 2008 (Barossa Valley SA)

Rush was thoughtful in his choice of wines to match the food

Fried seasonal fish turns out to be barramundi. The flaky white fish meat is complimented perfectly by a very spicy, crispy batter and a side salad of red chilli and spinach.

crispy seasonal fish

The oven-roasted salmon is flavoured with ginger, garlic and chilli, then covered in a lemon-turmeric reduction, drizzled with mint chutney and sitting atop a bed of fiery mustard mash. A surprising winner.

oven baked salmon

Interestingly, we’re served a small scoop of mango kulfi to cleanse the palate for the next course. In European restaurants, this is usually served after the savoury courses and before the sweet dishes, but after the spicy fish dishes it’s an excellent reprieve before launching into the meats.

mango kulfi

Jonas hates eggplant, which was problematic when he was a vegetarian, but fortunate for me because I love it and therefore get his serving. At Zaaffran they served thin slices topped with spicy lentils and doused in tamarind and mint sauces and fresh yoghurt.

eggplant

Tandoor lamb mince skewers, singly with the vibrant notes of onion, herbs, ginger and garam masala, lay across pretty streaks of bright pink, green and black sauce.

lamb seekh kebab

The moreish, rich lamb ribs had been braised and roasted, flavoured heavily with ginger, honey, pepper, cardamom and yoghurt. They with an inspired and wonderfully refreshing salad of julienned celery, carrot and green apple – a perfect accompaniment to the fatty ribs.

lamb ribs

Dessert was a combination of the usual and the unique. Kulfi, an Indian classic, was taken to new levels in a cone of subtle saffron, luscious honey and almond crunch. I adored it. The sphere of rose kulfi was almost as good, but matched the dome of gulab jamun well. But the hitherto untried, newcomer on the plate was the Bibinca, a Goan multi-layered cake strongly spiced with honey, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

banquet dessert platter

Overall it was a wonderful evening and Rush and Vikrant were very successful in demonstrating how amazingly diverse and delicious Indian barbecued food can be.

The regular BBQ menu that we were served is great value for money at $54.50 because you really do get a lot of food and a chance to sample a wide range of dishes from the delicious Zaaffran menu.

Yes, I will be back to Zaaffran again for Round Four!