Sydney: Dinner at Assiette

Picture from Assiette website

To be brief and to the point: So we were at Assiette for dinner last night. This place comes as a recommendation from Alex's sister and it was a very good choice.

Firstly, the restaurant has a simple elegance to it and a lovely ambience.
Secondly, the staff really do a good job of being friendly, informative and attentive.
Thirdly, the food is definitely the cream of the crop and the plating of each course is so artful you lose yourself for a minute or so staring at the handiwork before you remember to eat.

The owner-chef Warren Turnbull is a Kiwi and his restaurant has been awarded 2 chefs hat in the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide 2010. We had starters, mains, desserts and a bottle of red to complete our meal. However we are very keen to return again for the degustation menu. We had a little time constraint (we had another reservation at Tony Bilson's for dessert later in the evening - it's The Sydney International Food and Wine Festival this week) and as such had to forgo the degustation menu. More details on the menu here at the restaurant's website.

And now for the pictures.

Our amuse bouche - Butternut soup with parsley oil

Cured Wagyu beef with white asparagus, artichoke, summer truffle and crispy quail egg

Squid ink and prawn raviolo with sauteed squid and sauce vierge

Assiette of quail with macaroni cheese, bacon, succotash and sweetcorn puree

Roasted cutlets and breast of lamb with Provencale vegetables, olive powder and pomme fondant


Panfried barramundi with chickpeas, chorizo, mussels and bouillabaisse vinaigrette


This was served as a pre-dessert to cleanse our palates - Granny Smith Jelly

I don't remember the exact description of this dessert - oops!
Vanilla pannacotta blood orange sorbet


Again, I don't recall the exact description of this dessert but the sorbet was absolutely delicious! Strawberry champagne cheesecake, puree and sorbet

Our happy faces

We must, must go back for the degustation menu sometime. The next special occasion maybe...

cheryl

Miracle Baby Survives Accident

For those who missed the news about this freak accident that took place in Melbourne on Thursday, here is a video link of the incident that was recorded by a camera installed on the platform of the track.

The young mother had just let go of the stationary pram for 2 seconds to adjust her pants before a gust of wind pushed the pram over the edge of the platform. She had broken no rules, she wasn't standing on the edge nor had she stepped over the yellow warning line. The weather has been rather unpredictable of late with strong winds and occasional rain causing spring to feel more like winter and it was on a cold, windy day that this happened. The baby was really blessed to have survived. I myself watched the video in shock. I can only imagine the horror the mother and the onlookers must have felt.



This video serves as a shocking reminder to all parents about how easily an accident can happen. Never take little things for granted. Lesson learned: Always use the parking brake on a pram. ALWAYS.


cheryl

Quirky Names

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Shakespeare

I think Shakespeare had it right when he wrote that line in Romeo & Juliet. Sometimes I look at an apple and wonder who first called it that or why red is red, blue is blue and so on so forth.

A name expresses individuality and identifies one person from another but don't you think the whole naming a kid something special is overrated? Parents agonize for weeks prior to birth over what to name their kids only to have the kid hate their name when they grow up. Or even worse have the carefully thought out name made into the butt of school yard joke and sick rhyme. (This happens a LOT with chinese names).

We have all heard of the names celebrities come up with for their newborns. Here's a few and their fathers ..

Kal-El Coppola - Nicholas Cage
Moon Unit, Dweezil, Diva Muffin - Frank Zappa
Pilot Inspektor - Jason Lee
Poppy Honey - Jamie Oliver
Rufus Tiger, Tiger Lily, Lola Daisy - Roger Taylor
Shiloh Nouvel - Brad Pitt
Tallulah - Bruce Willis
Willow Camille Reign - Will Smith

But I think I have the winner. The one that tops the list above.

A father named his daughter A-A.

Yes, it is not a typing error. Her name is A-A.

Its the pinnacle of creativity. I think this would stump even the most experienced teacher in school. How would you call out this student on the first day of school?

Her name is pronounced A-dash-a.

In other words, it is Adasha spelt with a punctuation mark (-) in the middle.

I think there is a very big possibility she will change her name later in life. What do you reckon?

cheryl

Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia left me absolutely astounded. This one gets my vote for the best movie of 2009. I loved how Meryl Streep and Amy Adams brought the characters to life, each with so much individuality yet so very easy for the viewers to identify with. This movie is bound to strike a cord with any woman who cooks.

I went in expecting it to be a good show and came out wow-ed because of the fantastic job the leading ladies did with their roles. The first 15 minutes are magic. It captivates you and holds your attention right to the end. As I watched the movie, several thoughts crossed my mind and there are 3 things I am certain of.

1. This show is bound to inspire many ladies (possibly even some men) to renew their interest in cooking - cooking books/old recipes and especially, the Boeuf Burguignon!

2. This show will also inspire many to take up some form of food blogging as done by Julie Powell in 2002. Since then there has been an explosion of food bloggers everywhere and I think this show may just cause another food blog quake.

3. The sale of Julie Powell's book and Julia Child's recipe book is going to sky rocket.

I was so very impressed by the show that the first thing I did when I got home was to google for Julie Powell's blog, the one that brought on the printing of her book and subsequently the making of this movie. Secretly I thought that they might have closed the blog down as it has been 5 years since her last post. However to my joy and delight, its still up! Here is the link for it below.

The Julie/Julia Project

This link brings you right back to her earliest entry.Click here if its her last entry that you want to read.

If you haven't watched the show, do go watch it. I have spoken so much about it that the hubby is insisting I have to take him see it. I usually don't like watching the same movie twice and even less so when I have to pay to do it. However I make an exception for this movie. (I went to see this movie on a Girls Night In - organised by the Cancer Council. So hubby was not allowed to make it)

So here I am signing off on this entry by mimicking Julia Child in saying..... 'Bon Appetit!' ... to your watching the movie and to any cooking endeavours you may embark on after watching the movie. :)

cheryl

Floriade 2009

It is spring and therefore its Floriade time again! This year it is my plan to visit at least twice before the fest ends. Unfortunately the weather this spring has been incredulously ridiculous (pardon my English) but really its been nothing but cold and wet for the last 2 weeks, everything that Spring should not be like. As such I have not gone back for my second helping of greens. However my first visit to Floriade did garner some good pictures so without saying more, scroll down and do enjoy the flower power!

I took this shot off one of the signboards as we entered the grounds.

Even though the day was slightly cloudy it did not stop the crowds from coming


I love this photo. Yellow under the sun automatically brightens a persons day


This year showcase gardens were a big part of the fest. This unfortunate piano left to be exposed to the elements caught my attention. My curious fingers tested the keys and I discovered that while the frame was real, the keys were not. Whooh... relief!


This was the Zen garden showcase, with an outdoor day bed. I like the sleek simplistic design..


Whats a visit to the gardens without a pose next to some flowers?

There were also many themed garden beds this year. I wasn't high enough (away from the ground) to capture the overall images of each garden bed so what I did with my trusty camera was to focus on colors and individual flowers.








I love these flowers. Daisies?

My bee fascination is back! I caught one on lens! Yay!

I thought these lanterns made the trees look magical. Brings me back to my Enid Blyton days as a kid.

I took a picture of this cute couple sitting on the bench, enjoying a moment to themselves under the warm sunlight.

Now for flowers up close.

Daffodil

This is a different variety of the tulip.

For the hungry there was food on sale to satisfy every taste bud.

I hope to be able to return to Floriade one more time before the fest ends so I can take a ride atop the Ferris wheel. I hope to capture pictures and better appreciate the themed gardens from up high.

We were dressed in so little in this picture - layer wise I mean. As I'm typing this I have two thick layers on me, long thick pants, socks on both feet plus the heater going full blast behind me.

So here is crossing my fingers that this weekend will be warm and sunny once again. I want one more visit to Floriade before it ends on Oct 11th!

cheryl

Breakfast Dreaming...

Wan Tan Mee

I woke this morning craving for this warm bowl of egg noodles tossed in a perfect merriment of dark soy sauce, regular soy, sesame oil, lard oil and sugar, topped with freshly cooked vegetables, wonton (also known as wan tan), char siew pork and a side of green chillies.

Breakfast dream aside, in reality I had a ham and cheese sandwich with coffee.

I have noticed that I seem to always be thinking of my next meal. I think its a Penangite thing to do. Or maybe its a nationwide Malaysian epidemic. We are always on the hunt for the next place to eat at. The next big meal to have. The flavours to satisfy the palate. It's probably why food bloggers do so well in Malaysia.

So what's for lunch? :)

cheryl