Chi + Co, Canley Heights

It's been a LONG while since I bought a meal deal voucher, but when one popped up for Chi + Co I quickly grabbed it.

Chi + Co is a modern Thai/Malaysian/Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney's Canley Heights.Where is Canley Heights I hear you ask?  Think Cabramatta and you're in the general vicinity. The suburb has a similar ethic diversity to Cabramatta and it's a great area bustling with vibrant street life, delicious eateries, Asian grocery stores and Vietnamese coffee shops. It's not quite as busy as Cabramatta...but finding a park close to the main street will still make you feel like you've won the lottery!

In a suburb of homely, laminate table clad Vietnamese eateries Chi + Co sure stands out! The sleek warehouse-style interior (and the modern menu) reminds me of a cross between Ms G's and Melbourne's Chin Chin...all within 20 minutes of home!

Our six course meal (all for the bargain price of $39 with our voucher) kicks off with smoked trout on betel leaf with galangal, roasted chilli and fried shallots.  We both enjoyed the fresh flavours of this dish alongside the earthy smoked trout.

Course two is the happily named "chicken lettuce delight".  This delicious san choy bao came heaped with lup cheong sausage, minced chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts and crispy glass noodles. The iceberg lettuce cup were super fresh and really added to the crisp texture of the dish.

Next we had a bite-sized pulled beef slider with tender beef rib on a steamed bun with mint and house pickles. I really enjoyed this - probably barbecue it was more "bao" than "slider" and a soft, fluffy steamed bao is hard to resist.

Our last entree (and course four) is the son-in-law eggs with housemade XO sauce.  These were cooked perfectly and had a lovely fried crust whilst still retraining a lovely, oozey yolk.  I find it total magic how an egg can be deep fried to have a firm white whilst keeping a soft, runny yolk (I obviously have issues soft-boiling my eggs)! MAGIC!

On to the mains with the arrival of the Shaken Beef. This dish was great - so flavoursome! We loved the wok-tossed scotch fillet cubes that were cooked in aromatic garlic and pepper. The meat had lovely little caramelized pieces throughout and was served with a zesty watercress salad we mixed through the beef before serving.

I tried to claim the entire tile of crisp salmon skin that came with our final course but I lost that battle (surely the purchaser of "the voucher" gets full ownership of any crispy skinned objects that come to the table)!  Course six is a fried crispy skin salmon and green papaya salad with Vietnamese mint and fried garlic.  Besides the son-in-law eggs I think this was my favourite dish. So much flavour, so fresh...the total epitome of Vietnamese cooking I think.  I also loved the addition of the salmon which is something I've not see a lot of in Asian cooking.

Our mains were served with a side of steam rice and a lovely plate of stir-fried broccoli, snow peas and bok choy.

I loved our lunch at Chi + Co and I cannot wait to return. The staff were very friendly and attentive, and the food was wonderful - so packed full of flavour, so fresh and vibrant. Whilst it's obvious that the menu has its roots in Vietnamese cooking I loved the modern twists on some of the dishes - like the inclusion of salmon in the Papaya Salad.

Chi + Co is at 3/264 Canley Vale Road, Canley Heights. Phone them on 9727 2068.

Food Society, Darlinghurst

Food Society is another of those places that has long been on my wishlist, but I just never got around to visiting. Too many restaurants, too little time - the day job gets in the way of so many of my eating dreams.  That same day job however always allows me to buy a good voucher deal when I see it land my inbox. Which is how we finally ended up checking out Food Society in Darlinghurst.

The food at Food Society has a distinct Eastern European leaning so it's little surprise we've arrived to try a Vodka High Tea - not a champagne flute, mini sandwich or cupcake in sight. Our High Tea kicks of with a Lychee + Rose Vodka that tastes like cordial. I demolish my share in seconds.

This place reminds me a lot of The Victoria Rooms. I love the comfortable, romantic decor - every nook and cranny has some quirky, interesting nic nack to admire.  The dark lighting makes photography hard but it sure is romantic...and just a tad girly.  The Boy handles it pretty well though.

Our high tea kicks off with a pretty plate loaded with Savoury Canapés. Everything is perfectly bite sized and perfectly delicious - with flavours and textures that meld perfectly with one another. Everything on the plate has a definite Eastern European leaning to it.

We have (clockwise from top left): croquette of confit duck with horseradish cream and smoked paprika; ocean trout roe Jerusalem artichoke tartlet; spiced lentil salad in witlof (I love the bitterness of the witlof); blini of vodka and beetroot cured ocean trout and burek cigar of Bulgarian feta, spinach and ouzo.

After we've quickly inhaled our plate of daintiness it's time for the Substantial Canapé - a (not very Eastern European, though very tasty) mini brioche slider of poached chicken, walnut and celery mayonnaise, fresh apple and celery leaf with a petit side salad of watercress, tomato and shaved baby radish.

Oooh, is it time for the Sweet Canapés already? Excellent! We start off with a luscious mini lime meringue pie which was my favourite of the sweet canapés (I loved the tartness of the lemon). We also enjoyed a little glass of coffee cream with housemade honeycomb and The Boy's favourite, ricotta doughnuts with lemon sugar and amaretto honey.

I really enjoyed the Vodka High Tea at Food Society - it was definitely something different in what I think has become a bit of a "same same" type of afternoon tea experience. The food was different to the high teas I've been to before and I'd love to come back here and explore their dinner menu.  Eastern European food is perfect for the cooler months that I hope are just around the corner!

Food Society is 91 Riley Street (Lower Ground Floor), Darlinghurst.  Call them on 8090 3462.

Assiette, Surry Hills

Assiette in Surry Hills (which is now called the Albion Street Diner) is the big brother restaurant to the recently closed District Dining. It's a little bit French, a little bit Mod-Oz and a lot delicious (that's probably a great example of really bad grammar right there, but just go with it...it's been a tough week).

Assiette can be found on Albion Street, just down the road from hipster hangout Rueben Hills and yet the two couldn't be further apart.  Asseitte puts the capital "S" back into Schmancy- look at all those white table clothes - there's not a polished cement floor or exposed brick wall in sight. It feels lovely and grown-up my friend Miss M + I are delighted.

Dinner kicks off with a bread roll that we slather in butter and sprinkle with sea salt. The roll is still warm and the butter melts and oozes into the soft pillowy centre of the bread.

We decide to go with the 6 course degustation. At $105 each it seems like a good deal, especially as we have a travelzoo voucher giving us $50 of the total bill (I'm always the bargain hunter - what can I say...it's in my DNA).

The feast begins with a light summery starter of Hiramasa ceviche with coconut, heirloom tomato, jalapeno and yuzu.  The fish is yet tender to the bite and the addition of the yuzu gives the dish a lovely zesty flavour. We're off to a good start.

Next up is the wonderfully luscious Jannei goats' curd with vincotto, figs, golden beetroot and "cereal". I enjoyed the crunch of the cereal against the creaminess of the slightly tart goats' curd and the figs were delighted sweet.  The golden beetroot was so lovely and fresh tasting with the basil crumb being just a little sour. Another summery dish and beautiful looking dish.

Miss M was little hesitant about the next dish - Glazed Silver Lake smoked eel with black sesame, grilled leek and onion puree - never having eaten eel before. I on the other hand am a HUGE fan of eel (the food, not the football team - just to be clear).  I love the firm meaty texture and slight oiliness of the fish and smoking the eel made it even more sublime and earthy.  I also enjoyed the onion puree that was seasoned with just a hint of fennel seed - the slight aniseed taste went so well with the eel. The leeks were perfect - as leeks always seem to be. I surprised Miss M by eating them roots on all...i figure if it's on the plate it's meant to be eaten (I think). 

Next up we had Bass grouper with saffron parsnip mussels, dulse and candied lemon.  No idea what dulse is - anyone?  The fish was nice - very simple in flavour.  I really loved the candied lemon in this dish - slightly tart, slight sweet.  It's a good example of "nose to tail" vegetable cooking (I'm kidding, but now that I think about it is good to see a wonderful use for something that often ends up in my bin at home)!

The crispy-skin quail with pickled carrot, Szechuan salt and ginger vinegar was AMAZING - possibly my favourite dish of the night! The quail was so delicious that it was a crime to just have two pieces each.  The skin was amazingly crisp yet the meat still tender and just a little pink.  The meat almost had a slight cinnamon flavour to it which I suppose came from the masterstock it was sous-vide in.

Another highlight of the night was the tender Milly Hill lamb loin with aubergine (aka eggplant) puree, baked Jerusalem artichokes and balsamic. I've only recently come around to eating my meat in anything less than a charcoaled state, but to have beautiful lamb cooked to almost burnt would, like I have in the past, really is a crime - what an idiot I've been!  I especially loved the balsamic tomato hidden in this dish - it was like eating a puff of air - so light!

Despite the six courses we've just consumed we've still got plenty of room for dessert. The portion sizes were perfectly balanced and we didn't leave Assiette felling overly full, or still hungry. Desserts commence whit a little pre-dessert of vanilla panacotta and blood orange sorbet.  It's only a mouthful or three, but it's just enough to get us into the mood for the main event.

Chocoholics will LOVE the chocolate marquise and sorbet with salted caramel ice-cream and cocoa nibs. My favorite part of this dish would have to be the salted caramel ice-cream, there's almost nothing better. The chocolate marquise was a circular disk of very dark, very rich chocolate mousse. Perfection.

We finish the meal with a little petit four of candied marshmallow - a bit too sugary sweet for me, but I did enjoy the soft pillowy marshmallow.

Assiette is at Albion Street, Surry Hills.  Phone them on 9212 7979.

Watts on Crown, Surry Hills

Watts on Crown hasn't really been open very long. They flung their doors open around March this year so I was very surprised to seem them offering a Travelzoo voucher not long after. The compassionate part of me hoped their business wasn't in trouble already and the tight-arse part of me jumped on that voucher so hard I nearly melted my credit card!

The voucher was too good to be true - $55 for a three course meal plus a glass of bubbles. WHAT? We choose to go for a Sunday lunch and they kindly let us book for a few days after the voucher had actually expired so we wouldn't miss out.  We arrived bang on noon so there were quite a few lazy Sunday brunchers whiling away the morning - the brunch options looked pretty good I must say. But we were here for lunch so let's get to it shall we?

Despite a few funky Chinese Masks adorning one of the walls the food at Watts on Crown is as non-Asian as it comes - it's Modern Australian at it's best I'd say (whatever that is). To kick things off  The Boy choose the Grilled Quail with chorizo, crisp basil + braised red peppers - he was swayed by the promise of tasty chorizo. Weak.  Being virtuous (and kind of...much fatter...since I started blogging) my entree was a salad with roast Jerusalem artichokes, baby beetroot, goats curd + almonds. It was light + lovely and the goats cheese was so lush and creamy.

The Boy went all out for his Sunday lunch and ordered the Roast beef with carrot + horseradish mash, greens, gravy and an ENORMOUS Yorkshire pudding. This was was his first Yorkshire pudding experience and I think he enjoyed it (I sure enjoyed the bits I nicked off his plate)! But wait, there's more! The roast came with a HUGE bowl of duck fat potatoes.  Now, I'm assuming the duck fat wasn't from a free range duck but I decided to try a tatter anyway as there's soooooo much hype about duck fat potatoes I just wanted to seize the moment. The Boy loved them - he thought it added to the potatoes, but for me = meh. The potatoes toasted the same as regular old spuds to me. My duck fat taste buds must be broken.

My lunch was substantially lighter, but I was still full by the end of the mains (not full enough to skip dessert mind you). My plate of saffron + root vegetable ravioli with almonds, parsley + Parmesan was so flavoursome, a beautiful dish. Loved the sage in this dish so much that I want to grow my own at home!

Loosen your belts - it's time for dessert! Neither of us could pass up the oozy, gooey, delicious Chocolate Fondant. The fondant was served with vanilla bean ice-cream and a crunchy yet chewy nut caramel. Delicious!

All in all a great lunch. The service was very friendly and the food thoughtful and delicious.  A great addition to the Crown Street strip.

Watts on Crown is at 368 Crown Street, Surry Hills. Phone them on 8068 0461.

 

Xanthi, Sydney

The idea of restaurant dining inside a shopping centre is a bit of a foreign concept in Australia (well it is to me). As far as I know Westfield Sydney is the first shopping centre in Oz to have no only a food court but a plethora of restaurants, and some very good restaurants at that.

My inner-tight arse is lured to Greek restaurant Xanthi for their $30 Tuesday night dinner as part of Westfield’s “Chefs Club” – an initiate aimed at boosting diner numbers during the slow winter months.

I’m pretty impressed with how nice Xanthi is – for most of the evening I forget we are inside a shopping centre and bore The BFF to tears exclaiming “wow, it really doesn’t feel like we’re in a shopping centre does it”? I get a roll of his eyes in reply.

For our $30 we are treated to a dinner of Greek Cha (little bites) and I’m well and truly full by the end of the night. Service is quick and fairly friendly, though we do almost end up with our food in our laps a few times as the waitress keeps sneaking up behind us to put the plates on the table. Stealthy.

Things kick of Tarama (fish roe dip) and Pita Bread. The Tarama is light and fluffy with just the right amount of saltiness for this salt fiend. The Pita Bread is like a soft, fluffy pillow. This is good stuff!



Moving right along we're presented with a great Greek Salad. Greek salad is my all time favourite salad and this is great - the big creamy hunks of feta and dried herbs really making the dish a winner. The Spinach Pie comes in neat little cigars, like a Greek spring roll and it's delicious. The pastry is super crunchy and the filling lush and creamy.

Next up is a delicious serving of crispy Fried School Prawns.  Man, these are good. I love crispy school prawns - it's a dish that never fails to disappoint wherever I have it.  The BBQ Octopus is another winner, being charred perfectly and wonderfully tender.

The Lamb Chops are amazingly tender and flavoursome and it seems a shame to just have one chop each.  And last but not least another of my all time favourite dishes - BBQ Haloumi Cheese with just the right amount of squeak.

We finish our Greek Cha with a lovely Patsavoura - a sticky, sweet phyllo pie that is the dessert of our dreams.

Xanthi is on Level 6, Westfield Sydney (take the escalator up from Pitt Street Mall, next to Sportsgirl - or just follow your nose).

Etch, Sydney CBD

Etch is another restaurant in the Justin North stable - a successful Sydney restauranteur who has an empire within Westfield Sydney that by all accounts is doing very well. There's a fancy restaurant, a slightly less fancy restaurant, a bakery, a providors, a cooking school and a burger joint tucked away in another section of the food court.

So it seems a bit odd that on a Friday night in late May my friend Miss M and I are dining at Etch (in the Intercontinental Hotel) in what appears to be a dining room FULL of people on Travelzoo vouchers. Don't get me wrong, I love my meal deal vouchers...but I get the sense that restaurants often offer them up when things "aren't going so well".  To have a room full of people on a meal deal on a Friday night is not great.  For a restaurant as lovely as Etch I hope this overabundance of vouchers doesn't signal the beginning of the end. That would be sad.

The meal is a six course tasting menu that starts with an Amuse Bouche – a delicate corn soup served in a dainty little tea cup. The first entree (how fat do I feel saying "first entree" like one entree just isn't enough) is a salad of char grilled zucchini, goats curd, lemon, capers and raisins.

The entrees continue with Crispy Spencer gulf prawns, peach and a wasabi cream - a lovely dish with plump and juicy prawns.  I don't recollect any peach in this dish but I inhaled it in about 10 seconds so it's a wonder I remember tasting anything at all.  Next up is the Autumnal vegetable risotto that is topped with a few crispy, salty lotus root chips.

It's time for the main event (or the two main event, but who's counting right)?  Miss M has the caramelized pork belly, with beetroot and pear puree - she's pretty happy with it.  I decide to have the non-red meat option of baked snapper with Jerusalem artichoke and braised pearl barley - it's good, really good and fairly filling as it comes served on a medley of beans, corn and red onion.

The final main arrives - aromatic slow braised lamb shoulder, onions, spinach, mint and balsamic for Miss M.  She loves this dish, and says the lamb is so tender it falls apart with the touch of the fork.  My pumpkin gnocchi with pumpkin seed crisp, parmesan crisp and a black pepper vinaigrette is not at all what I was expecting. The gnocchi is more like a deep-fried croquette...not the pudgy little potato dumpling I was expecting. It's delicious though...sometimes it's great to be surprised.

Pre-dessert - for when one dessert just isn't enough.  The rhubarb compote, wine jelly, rhubarb jelly vanilla chantilly is a fun looking pre-dessert (and tasty too).  The jelly is almost like grown-up wine gums and the chantilly cream is as light as a feather. The lemon parfait, pineapple, coconut salad topped with coriander calls an end to the evening. The coriander was an interesting touch - not something that I've had on a dessert before.

Etch is at 62 Bridge Street, Sydney. Phone them on 9247 4777.