Mings Wednesday 15 August 2012

(Photos to come...)

Present

Kim, Karen, Jim, Ron, and John

Wines

McWilliams Hanwood Sauvignon  Blanc 2011 - a light table wine.

Star Lane Beechworth Shiraz 2008 - which is very difficult to obtain, and which is brought out for special occasions.

 Main Discussion points

1. Reminisced about the fantastic weekend in Beechworth - especially the dining out and the visits to the wineries.

2. Discussed the logistics necessary for Jim and Karen to drive the kids around to their various activities in the leadup to the dinner.

So, while the Wednesday evening water polo practice continues into the future, it was decided to commence our Wednesday night dinners at 7.30 pm.  

3. Talked about Lara and Daniel, including Daniels's trip to the USA.

4. Kim shared some of her cooking experiences, and some stories about Lisa's activities.

5. There was a review of Megan's birthday party celebrations.

6. There was a discussion of Megan's absence (we all missed her), and the difficulty of coordinating Megan's busy life with our dining visits to Mings.

Food

1. San Choy Bau (entree):Interesting texture with lots of onion, celery, and carrots wich gave great character. For some it was a little bit salty.We could have done with some more lettuce leaves.

2. Fried Two kinds of Tofu in Sambal Sauce: Described by some as not mashy enough, it was nonetheless a favourite. Comments ranged from delicious to spectacular.

3. Fillet Steak with Samboy(?) Sauce. This well presented claypot dish proved somewhat controversial. While the flavours were very nice, the meat was a bit chewy, and could have benefitted form being cooked for longer. Inspite of this, it did rate as a favourite for one of the diners.

4. Shantung Chicken: Comments on this dish stretched from somewhat dry to delicious.

5. Yu Shiang Eggplant: While this claypot dish met expectations, it did not generate very much discussion.

6. Red Curry Seafood: This very watery dish proved to be the least liked of all the dishes consumed. The curry could have benefitted from a richer blend of flavours 

Other Comments

1. We made a great selection of dishes from the menu.

2. The service was really good.

3. There was a great variety of vegetables.

4. All servings were of generous proportions.

5. As all five main courses arrived within a short periods of time, it was difficult to capture everyone's comments.

Artisan Narrabundah Shops 1 August 2012

Zucchini flowers

ocean trout

Scallops

Consomme

Pork

Mushrooms

Beef

donuts

Wine:
Bubbly something (forgotten what; I think a fleur de lys)
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 1991

Food:

It was my birthday, so as per usual we chose to go upmarket and booked into the Artisan. http://www.theartisanrestaurant.com.au. And as per usual, we chose the degustation but changed the oysters for the zucchini flowers. The dish that decided me on the degustation was the dessert, donuts with blackberry something and blackberry liquour, which does not appear on their online menu anymore, mores the pity.

Changing to the zucchini flowers was a good move, they were absolutely divine. The group was inspired enough to come out with some incredibly erudite quotable quotes, but unfortunately I have lost that bit of paper I wrote them on. Suffice to say they were a highlight, crisply fried, with dukka and a smidge of lebanese eggplant finely sliced, deep fried and then dried (??). Superb.

The trout was gently poached with a sweet-ish sauce, and a potato salad underneath. Comments were "okay" "salty", the vineager was lovely the sauce sweet. It was very different from the zucchini flowers, demonstrating a versatility of flavours between the two.

The scallops with prosciutto, well the proscuitto didn't quite work, it overwhelmed the scallops. Ron thought the cauliflower sauce created a bridge betten the two, the hard prosciutto and the squishy scallops: the blokes thought it was good but the girls though it a bit plain.

They brought out a very cute little soup/consomme, capsicum flavoured but sweet/bitter. The group settled on "eruption of initial sweetness followed by a lingering bitterness"

The pork was spectacular, simple yet beautiful, the maple syrup was a nice contrast and the hazelnuts went well .

The mushroom dish was just beautiful, fried enoki fantastic, the frying brought out the sweetness, with garlic and stilton underneath.  The sweetness of the mushroom complimented the cheese and garlic and the flavours were fabulous.  Truffles included.

The steak, with potato souffle was a standard dish, not much experimenting but just superb all the same.  The "glorious tender steak was complemented perfectly by the fluffy souffle"  Piece de resistance.  (Ron talking).

They gave us a little watermelon souffle, followed by the jam donuts, words fail us they were just brilliant.

The degustation doesn't come cheap ($100 each) but we brought our own wine so not much was added on.  The restaurant was not full on the Wednesday, so not too noisy.  The waiters were friendly, liked talking to us about the food and the wine and even brought out  a truffle for us to inspect.  I'd never seem one before, on it's own.  Apparently they go to the truffle place somewhere out of Canberra and dig their own.

Fabulous meal, be prepared to eat heaps. but well worth it.  Still not quite Sage in my books, but the downside of Sage is that it can be crowded and noisy and they insist on two sittings per night.