Turkanz

Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant, revisited

We went back to Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant on Friday night. I wasn’t going to take photos to write a review because I did that not long ago. I didn’t even take my low-light-handling-well-camera with me. But, the food and the staff were fantastic. So, I couldn’t help myself. Here’s what we had from Bentley’s a-la-carte menu:

My starter: Carrot + Chamomile + Buttermilk + Grapefruit

John’s starter: Charred Onion + Wood ear mushroom + Brussels sprouts

This is the only vegetarian main dish on the menu: Beetroot + Black rice + Blackberry + Purple kale

John’s dessert: White chocolate parfait + Pear + Saffron + Cashew. This was recommended by Guillaume and John said it was fantastic.

Complementary sweet nibbles, thanks to Guillaume.

In short, I can say that Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant and their fantastic staff did it again!

Nilgiri’s – Feast of India, Sydney

We went to Nilgiri’s on Friday night to try their new menu. Here’s what we had:

Bhel Puri (above) whole meal flour crisps, sprouts, fresh herbs, tamarind chutney & chick pea flour vermicelli.

Tali Gobhi Hara Dhania Chatni (above) batter-fried cauliflower, green coriander & cashewnut chatni.

Khumb Makki Saag Methi (above) corn kernels and mushrooms with pureed spinach.

Zeera Aloo Muttar Nariyali Khurma (above) chat potatoes and green peas coconut khurma.

Mango Creme Brulee (above).

Manjit’s at The Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney

We went to Manjit’s at The Wharf last night. It is located at Darling Harbour therefore the restaurant has a harbour view. The cuisine here is modern Indian and it is divine.

The view before it gets dark.

The view after it gets dark.

Starter no 1: Gol Gol Gappa (above)
A contemporary twist on a classic street food delight. I believe it’s pani puri. They are tiny, crunchy, puffed bread filled with spiced chickpea, potato, onion, herbs and flowers. It’s served with tamarind and amchur (mango powder) caviar. You pour it into the puri and eat it all in one go. It was very fresh and spicy. It tickled the back of my palate. Just the way I like it.

Complimentary poppadoms and they were rolled! Photo above.

Starter no 2: Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Khumb (above)
Grilled whole organic mushrooms filled with paneer and cottage cheese, spiced corn and water chestnut.

Main no 1: Kaju Ki Sabzi (above) is one of their signature dishes. It is (as described on the menu) “a preparation of cashew nuts sautéed with mixed spices, served with caramelized onion” but there is a surprise there. This sabzi is topped with a spinach kofta stuffed with paneer. It looks like a saag paneer scotch egg!

Main no 2: Phool (above) is described as cauliflower pan cooked with coriander seeds, served on potato espuma and toasted cumin. Espuma is Spanish term for froth or foam, by the way. So, if you are expecting aloo gobi kind of dish here, you are in for a treat.

Desserts

My dessert: Apple Jalebi (above)

John’s dessert: Chai Creme Brulee (above)

Yellow, Potts Point – Sydney

When I did Bentley’s Bar and Restaurant review, I promised to go and try their sister restaurant, Yellow and tell you all about it. I am keeping my promise.

The Place
Even though it was our first time, Yellow has been around since 2013. However, in early 2016 it became exclusively vegetarian. The décor is quite contemporary with deliberately unfinished areas on the walls. Yellow is in Potts Point. Is there anything yellow in this place, you may ask? Yes. The walls outside.

The Wine
The wine list at Yellow is quite eclectic with a range of natural, bio and organic vintages from around the world. And, they complement the menu nicely.

The Food
The menu at Yellow is exclusively vegetarian. Peter, the assistant manager was kind enough to let me keep my copy of their menu so that I could match my experience with the dishes properly. It always helps when I write about it. Here, I typed in their 5 Course Tasting Menu for you:

5 Course Tasting Menu

Fennel + Fresh Curds + Apple
2014 Weingut Dr Salomon ‘Kogl’ Reisling from Kremstal, Austria
Grapefruit Spritz

Heirloom Zucchini + Pepitas + Juniper
2015 Partida Creus VN Blanco Field Blend, Catalunya, Spain
Turkish Apple Tea

Spaghetti Squash + Shimeji Mushrooms + Salted Egg
2015 Ruggabellus ‘Fluus’ Grenache Blend, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Pear + Yuzu

Forbidden Rice + Butter Beans + Smoked Yoghurt
2014 Moranza Tempranillo, Rioja, Spain
Apple + Beetroot + Carrot

Blood Plum Sorbet + Toasted Buckwheat + Wattle Curd
2014 Domaine Delevaux Coteaux Du Layon ‘Passerille’ Chenin Blanc, Loire Valley, France
Nectarine + Kombucha

Before the menu above was served, our dinner started with complimentary bread and butter, followed by Mexican Cucumber and Baby Turnip in Buttermilk and Toasted Black Sesame Seeds (see photo below).

Fennel + Fresh Curds + Apple
This is a contrast of textures with the softness of the fresh curd, creaminess of the sauce and the crunchiness of the fennel and unexpected sweet bursts of cured and fermented apple. The dish was paired with 2014 Reisling from Austria. We are a huge fan of Austrian wines. This one is young and crisp with a touch of acidity and residual sweetness. Quite well balanced and it works well as a great aperitif. Perfect match!

Heirloom Zucchini + Pepitas + Juniper
Zucchini, zucchini flowers: all the best of the zucchini family. Zucchini flowers are the male ones and the stem was used in this dish as well, not just the flowers. They were cooked to perfection; totally melted in my mouth. The dish was paired with 2015 Partida Creus VN Blanco Field Blend from Catalunya, Spain. And, it’s an interesting one. It is quite funky on the nose, almost like an orange wine. It is cloudy because the wine maker does not like filtering his wines very much. Fully biodynamic winery and this one in particular, almost sulphur free. Glen, the manager, told us that the little amount of sulphur which is added is in there for the sake of lasting the journey. This was my favourite wine of the night; it is vibrant, fresh with complex flavours. I will be talking about this wine for many days to come. However, our waiter, Ryan, was kind enough to give us the details of the wine company’s importer so we may be able to get some.

Spaghetti Squash + Shimeji Mushrooms + Salted Egg
With this dish, you are moving on to more savoury notes and the portions are getting bigger, too. It is also the time that you feel you need to slow down. I absolutely loved the salted eggs and the sauce in this dish. It was paired with a blend of Mataro, Syrah and Grenache from Barossa Valley, South Australia. The first Australian wine of the night and the first red wine of the night, too. With its 13% alcohol, it is almost like Pinot Noir. And it complemented the savouriness of the dish very well.

Forbidden Rice + Butter Beans + Smoked Yoghurt
This was quite filling and rich. The dish has black rice crisps on top (which you cannot see in the photo because I ate them) and cabbage powder around.

Because the dish is quite rich, it was served with a palate cleanser: Heirloom Tomatoes + Grains of Paradise + Fresh Basil (photo below).

The dish was paired with a 2014 Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain.

Blood Plum Sorbet + Toasted Buckwheat + Wattle Curd
As you can see in the photo, this is the dessert of the night. It was quite refreshing after two savoury dishes. I personally loved the contrast of textures. It was paired with a 2014 Domaine Delevaux Coteaux Du Layon ‘Passerille’ Chenin Blanc, Loire Valley, France.

Sunday Lunch with Don, Lorraine and Moet

Don and John chilling…

Gigi Pizzeria in Newtown

Gigi Pizzeria is one hip vegan pizza place we have been thinking about going for a long time. I don’t know how many times we talked about it. In the end, though, it all came together when a friend from the area suggested to have dinner together at Gigi Pizzeria on a Saturday evening.

No reservations
They do not take bookings and the place is always busy, especially on the weekends. So, you queue outside until a table is available. We would’ve liked to sit at the entrance overlooking the street but ended up sitting so close to the oven. I would say we felt the heat, especially on an incredibly hot evening. You know how hot it gets in Sydney and you sweat in all kinds of weird places even without the help of a pizza oven.

Food at Gigi Pizzeria
Well, everything is vegan here. They use the traditional Neapolitan method of pizza making. Their pizza oven is a wood-fired one with a stone base. All of their pizza is same size: 13 inches in diameter.

Here’s what we had at Gigi Pizzeria:
Funghi e Radicchio (below)
Swiss brown mushrooms, garlic, dairy free blue cheese, parsley, radicchio, & roasted walnuts, extra virgin olive oil.

Cavolo (below)
Cauliflower puree, artichokes, pine nuts, capers, currants, garlic & parsley, extra virgin olive oil.

This was quite an experience with vegan pizza and we are actually thinking of going back to Gigi Pizzeria again soon.

Chatkazz, Harris Park with Madhu and Kushal

Our friends, Madhu and Kushal, took us to Chatkazz last night for a night of Indian street food. It was fantastic! We are thinking of bringing Dad here. He would love it.

It is such a busy place. With all the hustle and bustle it actually feels like you are in India!

They have chairs, menus, pens and order slips outside where you wait for a table. While you’re waiting, you choose what you want from the menu and then scribble it down on the order slip.

Once you are inside, food just keeps coming so fast; you wouldn’t believe. Here we are, just before having incredible street food…

And, here’s what we had:

Sabudana Vada (above)

Chhole Bhatura (above)

Pani Puri (above) They are one of my old time favourites.

Dahi Puri (above)

Khaman-Dhokla (above). Another old-time favourites of mine.

Chinese Bhel (above): This was everyone’s favourite. I have just tracked down the recipe this morning. I will make it.

Chatkazz has a separate sweet shop. Those colourful sweets were so inviting when we popped in before dinner. I mean, look at them.

So, we bought some sweets after dinner but Kushal had already picked up some jalebi before dinner. He says jalebi is the first one they run out at the shop. Jalebi is one of my favourite Indian sweets. Thanks to Kushal I came home with some.

New Years Eve at Taronga Zoo

This year, we entered new year at Taronga Zoo!

One of our neighbours has been doing a volunteer job at the zoo for years. She was allowed to bring 3 guests on New Years Eve and she asked us if we wanted to go. An offer we couldn’t turn down. It was a fabulous night and the giraffes seemed to enjoy the fireworks, too.