The Bridge Room - 12 May 2015

You might have noticed that I have been extremely quiet on the food blogging front these days. Please excuse my lack of updates as my wife and I are counting down the days til our lives will be changed forever with the arrival of life's most precious gift. Since June will be a month of confinement for the both of us, my wife decided to book a very early birthday celebration for me at The Bridge Room. If we're not going to be able to have a nice, quiet meal out for ages, we may as well do it in style, right?

The Bridge Room is the 2-hatted establishment of Ross Lusted (ex-Rockpool, Harbour Kitchen & Bar and Aman Resorts in Singapore). Bridge Room offers a modern Australian menu with Asian influences (there is no tasting menu, a rarity for restaurants above the one-hat category). It's been more than a couple of years since my last visit to The Bridge Room, so a revisit to one of my favourite CBD restaurants was well overdue.

To toast the evening, I had a berries & yuzushu cocktail (because... yuzu) and my wife had a cucumber & coriander mocktail (because... non-alcoholic).  

Sourdough bread and butter

For bread, there was a sourdough and a rye bread on offer, sourced from Iggy's Bread. Iggy's is one of the most reliable in Sydney when it comes to artisan breads. The thick crust is a trademark of Iggy's breads and was no exception with my slice of sourdough. Asking for seconds of this bread was a given.

Rock oysters, south coast NSW w/ shallot, red wine vinegar and white miso dressing, chives ($4.50 each)

I decided to start off with a couple of freshly shucked-to-order rock oysters from Merimbula in the south coast of NSW. These oysters went down a treat and came with plenty of salty brine. The oysters came with a white miso dressing and a shallot, red vinegar dressing. I preferred the more conventional, zingy shallot and red wine vinegar dressing. The white miso with accents of ginger and sesame, whilst nice, I wasn't sure how well these flavours paired with natural oysters.

Steamed scallop mousse, grey ghost mushrooms, torn scallop, chives, cured pork cheek ($34)

For entree, I had this pretty assortment of steamed scallop mousse with grey ghost mushrooms, a pan seared torn scallop and guanciale. The steamed scallop mousse was a textural highlight: so soft, smooth and silky. The torn scallop was perfectly cooked with sweet, translucent flesh and beautiful caramelisation of top. Mushrooms (pine and grey ghosts) featured all over the menu on this evening, which pleased me to no end given I love mushrooms. The grey ghosts were slippery and earthy. The guanciale added buttery richness to this impressive entree.

Robata grilled cos lettuce, grilled and smoked enoki mushrooms, creamed parsnip, pickled parsley leaves ($25)

My wife opted for this simple yet delicious entree. Cooking with the robata grill is a signature of The Bridge Room kitchen, adding smokiness and depth of flavour to anything that touches it. The grill intensified the sweetness and the umami in the cos lettuce and enoki mushrooms. A quenelle of creamed parsnip provided additional sweetness, earthiness and creaminess to the dish.

Rangers valley 7+ wagyu sirloin, grilled banana shallots, smoked milk, spinach, crisp potato ($52)

I had no idea what to order for main so I asked my waiter for advice. Being my indecisive self, I asked him about every main on the menu, so I was no closer to deciding on my main! The waiter ended up convincing me that the wagyu (rather amusingly, this was the dish that I thought I had ruled out before the waiter arrived). This dish turned out to be a fantastic choice! 

The Rangers Valley MBS 7+wagyu sirloin was cooked sous-vide and then finished on the robata grill, which added that trademark smokiness and caramelisation to the beef. The sirloin was cooked medium-rare and retained a nice, slightly resistant texture. Grilled banana shallots and smoked milk naturally complimented the sirloin. The thin, glass-like potato crisp was interesting and added another texture to the dish.  

Silken tofu, cucumber, daikon, shiitake mushrooms cooked in broth, Randall family organic brown rice, greens, cloud ear fungus ($30)

My wife's main was a clean, light and enjoyable dish of silken tofu, cucumber, daikon, shiitake mushrooms and cloud ear fungus. The only minor criticism was that the silken tofu could have been silkier (I think my wife was hoping for the texture to be more like my scallop mousse). There was also a paper thin sheet of rice chip. 

Randall family organic brown rice

The silken tofu also came with a bowl of organic brown rice. The rice had an amazing, nutty flavour. My wife said that she would be happy to down bowls of this rice.   

Black Russian tomatoes, sesame dressing, sprouts, chia seeds ($11)

I needed some vegetables so I ordered this delicious side of black Russian tomatoes with sesame dressing, sprouts and chia seeds.

Whipped 15 month old Parmigiano Reggiano, burnt apple, spiced bread ($18)

My wife and I decided to share the composed cheese course. I loved the simplicity of this course, with not too many things on the plate. 15 month old Parmigiano Reggiano was whipped and had a very smooth and creamy texture. The burnt apple puree, discs of fresh aple and thin spiced bread were a great match to the sharpness of the whipped Parmesan.    

Aerated passionfruit, roasted nougatine, passionfruit ice cream, passionfruit seed powder, glass biscuit ($18)

This dessert was intense in passionfruit flavour with aerated passionfruit, passionfruit ice cream and passionfruit seed powder. This dish fits perfectly on menu as a refreshing end to a meal at The Bridge Room. Roasted nougatine, meringue and glass biscuit add a variety of textures to this excellent, well-rounded dessert. 

Whipped black sesame, toasted sesame powder, melon, puffed black rice, coconut sugar ($18)

One of the dishes that I was keen to try at The Bridge Room was the black sesame dessert, which was featured in the Good Food Guide's top desserts of last year. So much has been said about this dessert that I was happy to discover that it is every bit as good as it is hyped up to be. As a huge fan of black sesame, I was absolutely blown away by this dessert! The whipped black sesame and toasted sesame was intense with black sesame flavour. The black sesame with puffed black rice was an amazing combination in terms of flavour and texture. Melon and coconut sugar rounded out this divine, Asian-inspired dessert.

As I left the restaurant, I didn't just farewell the waitstaff, I farewelled my days of fine dining for a life of sleepless nights and changing nappies! Although fine dining is one of my favourite things in life, I look forward to this new, exciting chapter in my life!

Verdict
Highlight: The black sesame and passionfruit desserts are worth the price of admission alone. 
Lowlight: I'm going to miss nights out like this with my wife.
Overall: Bridge Room is always a dependable choice for a top-notch fine dining meal without committing hours sitting through a tasting menu. The robata grill is the star here! 8/10 (Excellent)

The Bridge Room

Address: 44 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact no: 02 9247 7000
Website: www.thebridgeroom.com.au/

LuMi Bar & Dining, Pyrmont - 20 March 2015

LuMi Bar & Dining has been on my radar well before its opening in September last year. I don't keep my love for Ormeggio at the Spit a secret, where LuMi owner and executive chef, Federico Zanellato, was head chef for 4 years before leaving to open his own venture with restauranteur, Bill Drakopoulos. After several booking changes due to circumstances beyond my control, I finally made it to LuMi on Friday night with my wife.

LuMi is located in Pyrmont in a space that resembles a glass box.  Lumi is Italian for small lights, reflecting the multitude of pendent lights hanging from the ceiling. LuMi is also the combined name of Federico Zanellato's twin daughters, Luna and Mia.  

Federico Zanellato in the open kitchen

Federico is a chef that has a CV that will make most chefs jealous. He's done stints at 3-Michelin star restaurants (La Pergola in Rome and Ryugin in Tokyo), Noma, Attica on top of his head chef gig at Ormeggio. So it's no surprise that LuMi has been a very popular restaurant since its opening and has received widespread praise from food critics and bloggers alike.

LuMi is pitched as a casual fine dining restaurant and offers an 8 course degustation-only menu for dinner. At $95, LuMi represents unrivalled value  in a city where $100+ tasting menus are the norm. The food is modern Italian with Japanese influences. As always, my wife had the vegetarian menu.

Course one    

Porcini brisee, mascarpone, walnut; Rice chips salt and vinegar

The meal kicks off with a series of snacks delivered to us in rapid sucession. There was a crumbly porcini brisee with mascarpone and shaved walnut and salt and vinegar rice chips. Salt and vinegar chips seem to be a mainstay at fine diners these days, but these ones were a standout: light, paper thin and very well seasoned.

Sourdough, butter

LuMi's sourdough has a robust flavour, a lovely thick crust and is served with a house churned butter.

Mussels, coconut, seaweed

Mussels, coconut and seaweed was like a Thai-style mussel dish cooked in coconut milk, which were served as purees in a mussel shell. Coconut was the dominant flavour in this snack, with the sweet, mineral flavour of mussel being quite subtle. The vegetarian version was the same as mine minus the mussel puree.

Chawanmushi

Since its opening, LuMi has been offering an Italian interpretation of a traditional Japanese dish, chawanmushi. Instead of dashi, LuMi's chawanmushi was cooked using Parmesan consomme and topped with tomato water and strands of basil.The chawanmushi was silky smooth, and wobbly, which are traits of every good chawanmushi. The dish tasted unmistakably Italian, but executed with the precision and balance found in Japanese cuisine. Just heavenly!

Potato & rosemary focaccia

The potato and rosemary focaccia is not like any normal focaccia. I often find focaccia quite heavy but this was light and fluffy. Amazing!

Course two

Calamari & scampi, cucumber, yogurt, fennel

Chopped raw calamari and scampi sat in a cooling cucumber broth and was topped with yogurt, fennel fronds and sesame seeds. The calamari and the scampi were sweet and there was a nice contrast in texture between the firmness of the calamari and the softness of the scampi. I enjoyed this clean and refreshing dish.

White cucumber, apple, sour cream

My wife's first full course consisted of discs of white cucumber from the Blue Mountains, fermented Granny Smith apple water, sour cream, fennel fronds and radish flowers. My wife loved this fresh, cooling dish!

Course three

Veal tartare, tarragon emulsion, roasted capsicum, buckwheat

Finely diced veal tartare was mixed with roasted capsicum on a pool of tarragon emulsion and topped with puffed buckwheat. The softness of the veal with the crunch of puffed buckwheat was a textural delight. The tarragon emulsion, which was sweet and had a slight aniseed taste, added another dimension to the dish. A dusting of togarashi added some nice kick to the dish. This veal tartare is up there amongst my favourite tartare dishes in Sydney and was one of the highlights of this meal.    

Roasted capsicum, tarragon emulsion, buckwheat

The vegetarian version of this dish leaves out the veal and increases the portion of roasted capsicum. This dish was also one of my wife's favourites. The togarashi did make her lose her marbles for a bit and she has been kicking herself since for not developing an appreciation for togarashi earlier.

Course four

Spelt ravioli, burnt butter, pumpkin, avruga, chives

Four discs of spelt ravioli were filled with burnt butter and pumpkin puree. We were instructed not to cut these on the plate, instead we should eat them whole. The pasta is delicately thin and the raviloi bursts almost immediately in the mouth, releasing the most incredible flavour! For me, brown butter is a total game changer: nutty, "caramelly" and was so good with the sweet, creamy pumpkin.  This creation is surely an ode to the famous fagotelli carbanora, a dish that Federico would have cooked countless times during his time at La Pergola. The ravioli was topped with pumpkin seeds, avruga caviar (omitted in the vegetarian version) and chives.

Course five

Tonnarelli, bottle squid, orange, purplette onion

You know the pasta course is going to be awesome given the chef used to ply his trade at Ormeggio (where you will find the best pasta in Sydney)!  Al dente strands of tonnarelli were glistening with squid ink sauce. The sauce tasted of the sea and was damn delicious, but there is no mistaking that it's salty and intense. The bottle squid was tender but retained a nice bitey texture. Candied orange peel and purplette onions help cut through the richness of the dish.

Risotto, tomato, balsamic, fennel, chives

The vegetarian course was risotto cooked with tomato water. The risotto was on point, with its perfectly al dente grains of rice and creamy texture. The tomato flavour worked extremely well in this risotto and was well balanced with the balsamic reduction, fennel and chives. This risotto is up there with some of the better risotto dishes we've tried in Sydney.         

Course six

Beef cheek, cauliflower, parsley

My final savoury course was beef cheeks, which were covered with a blanket of paper-thin cauliflower and dusted with smoked kale powder. I always get excited when I see beef cheeks for its rich, deep flavour and its melt in your mouth softness. The braised Angus beef cheeks were, to no one's surprise, tender and had a nice, slightly crisp exterior. The pairing with parsley emulsion and the subtle kick of horseradish was a winner.

Turnip, gruyere, porcini powder

My wife's final course was salt baked baby turnip with Gruyere fondue and porcini powder, another of my wife's favourite dishes for the night. The Gruyere fondue was pretty freaking incredible and shows up most cheese fondues out there. The turnips were juicy thanks to the salt baking process.   

Course seven

Evergreen

The first dessert, Evergreen, is one of LuMi's signature dishes and has been on the menu since day one. Evergreen is part palate cleanser, part dessert and part genius - a really clever transition from savoury to sweet. Basically it consisted of five herbs presented in five different ways. There's sorrel sorbet, lemon basil granita, mint meringue, shiso jelly and parsley salt. Put all these together and you get a dessert that is ridiculously refreshing with well rounded flavours and a variety of temperatures and textures. In short, this was an awesome dessert! I suspect that Evergreen will be talked about for a while yet and Federico will have a hard time taking this off the menu (at least I hope he doesn't!).

Course eight

Ginger ice cream, white chocolate, passion fruit, yogurt crumble

The finale to what has been an incredible meal was another stunner in young ginger ice cream with white chocolate foam, passion fruit powder, lime zest, yogurt crumble and meringue. The young ginger ice cream was very pleasant and not at all overpowering. The passion fruit and lime zest added a sour tang, which was nicely balanced by the sweet, milky white chocolate foam. The yogurt crumble and meringue provided texture.       

Verdict
Highlight: Evergreen is one of my favourite desserts in Sydney at the moment.
Lowlight: I am not the biggest fan of the glass box design of the restaurant.   
Overall: At $95, LuMi Bar & Dining represents some of the best value on the Sydney fine dining scene, especially given the talents of the head chef, Federico Zanellato. The food here is some of the most innovative, thoughtful and clever you will find. A shoe-in for hats from the next edition of the Good Food Guide. 8.5/10 (Excellent) 

LuMi Bar & Dining

Address: 56 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Contact no: (02) 9571 1999
Website: http://www.lumidining.com/ 

Out-Boned at Pinbone, Woollahra - 8 March 2015

The Pinbone crew have vacated their restaurant for 3 weeks to attend the Omnivore World Tour in Paris. During their absence, the space will be occupied by two restaurant pop-ups, namely, old Woollahra favourite, Buzo, and Out-Boned. 

Out-Boned was originally billed to be Silverbone, with ex-Noma chef Sam Miller looking to trial some of his dishes prior to the opening of his first restaurant, Silvereye in July this year. But due to personal reasons, Sam Miller has pulled out and has been replaced by another Noma alumnus and ex- Noma sous chef, Tom Halpin (the pop-up has consequently been renamed Out-Boned). I might have been a bit dismayed initially with Sam Miller not behind the pans for this pop-up, I was still remained excited about this pop-up diner with another ex-Noma chef at the helm.

My wife and I had a Sunday lunchtime booking at 1pm today. Out-Boned will be in its final week of operation next week, with only a Wednesday & Thursday night, and Sunday afternoon service remaining. 

The $65 menu offers 2 snacks, followed by what our waiter describes to us as, "4 more substantial savoury courses" (in truth, the portions were quite tiny so I am not sure if the term "substantial" is appropriate here). A dessert and a petit four round out the menu. With prior notice, the restaurant catered for my wife's vegetarian dietary requirements. The menu has changed each week, so by the end of Out-Boned's life, there will have been three different menus (see Not Quite Nigella's review for her write up of her meal during the first week).

Oyster and malt

My menu starts out with a Port Stephens rock oyster with fermented melon and malt oil. I normally prefer oysters served on their own to enjoy their natural flavour, but I didn't mind the fermented melon and malt oil here, which added some sweetness and acidity to the oyster without overpowering it.   

Courgette, lemon, malt, melon

My wife's first snack was shaved courgette, lemon, fermented melon and malt oil. The flavours of the fermented melon and malt oil were more discernible here compared to the oyster as the flavour of courgette is much more mild.  

Fried fish and dip

My other snack was garish with bottarga, served on a crisp stem of bok choy filled with sour cream. This was a clever little snack with the flavours of all the components working well together. 

Potato skin, sour cream, bok choy

My wife's last snack consisted of thin, crisp potato skins with sour cream and bok choy. 

Snow peas, pink grapefruit, pistachio

The first savoury course was a vegetarian dish with snow peas, pink grapefruit, crushed pistachios and pistachio praline. The flavour combinations might sound unusual at first, but I thought this dish was a winner. There was a enjoyable medley of sweet, salty, bitter and sour flavours at play here. I would happily eat a big bowl of this.      

 Potatoes, mussel

Sweet, "minerally" Tasmanian mussels and cubes of fermented potato sat in a creamy potato broth, with mussel foam and chopped sea spinach. This dish was simply delicious, with the flavours of the sea being quite prominent and working well with the potato. This was my favourite savoury course this meal.      

Boiled egg, potato, sour cream, chives

My wife's dish included a boiled egg, which had a warm, thick yolk, fermented potatoes, sour cream and chives. Potatoes and eggs are some of my wife's favourite things in this world, so she resoundingly enjoyed this course.   

Aubergine and mushroom

The next course was another vegetable based course. My aubergine was cooked with chicken fat whilst my wife's was just cooked with oil. The soft aubergine was sitting in slick of mushroom broth and pepper oil and topped with slices of button mushrooms. The pepper oil was quite intense but worked quite well with the earthy, umami-laden mushroom broth. Whilst not the prettiest dish, this was another solid and enjoyable dish.          

Smoked lamb

My final savoury course was roasted smoked lamb breast, which looked quite modest sitting alone on the edge of my plate. The lamb was smoky and had quite a nice flavour, but unfortunately the lamb was very dry and cooked til completely white in the centre. I noticed that the cut of lamb that was brought out to other tables was quite different to what I had. 

Roasted swede

My wife's final savoury course was roasted swede. The swede was amazing: wonderfully sweet, earthy and cooked with what appeared to be a heap of butter. I only tasted a little bit of the swede, so I developed serious food envy as I watched my wife devour the rest of the swedes.    

Cavolo nero

With the last savoury course, we had a side of cavolo nero with rhubarb vinaigrette. I always enjoy cavolo nero and this was no exception. 

Turnip gratin

A side of turnip gratin and parmesan was also served with the final savoury course. This was a hearty and enjoyable side dish. I liked how the turnip retained a nice, crisp texture.  

Apple and herb tart

The dessert was an apple and herb tart with stewed apples, marjoram custard, sliced apples, lemon thyme, fennel fronds and a dollop of cream on top. This tart was incredible, with a great marriage of sweet with savoury. Apples are one of my favourite fruits, especially in pies and tarts. The use of so many herbs was unique and added a lot of different yet complimentary flavours. The shortcrust pastry was also a highlight:it was thin, short and buttery. The apple and herb tart was my favourite course of the meal.        

Pumpkin cake

To conclude our meal at the pop-up diner, we were served a pumpkin pound cake topped with candied pepitas. The pumpkin cake was quite moist, not too heavy and an enjoyable end to what has been mostly a positive experience at Out-Boned. 

Verdict
Highlight: The apple and herb tart was an absolute winner!
Lowlight: Small portions left me wanting more at the end of the meal. Smoked lamb breast was unfortunately dry. 
Overall: Out-Boned is a pop-up restaurant that has divided Sydney diners with its unique food offering. With the exception of the smoked lamb, I enjoyed all the courses. The apple and herb tart and the potatoes and mussels were particularly noteworthy. 7/10 (Great)

Out-Boned at Pinbone

Address: 3 Jersey Road, Woollahra NSW 2025
Contact details: 0450 155 377 or outboned@gmail.com
Open for dinner Wednesday & Thursday, Lunch Sunday until March 15