Here are some eats from various places, where, on my bad behalf, I didn't take enough photos for each to deserve their own post. So, here's a collation of all of them.
1. Macarons from La Belle Miette
La Belle Miette
30 Hardware Lane,
Melbourne
From this box of 13 macaroons, I shared this with Viv, who happened to be in Melbourne for work. Ohhh.. I can't thank her enough. I must say, I have never eaten this many macarons in my lifetime. They were made perfectly. And given that they were one day old, you couldn't taste any "oldness" in them.
The best, Ohh, the BEST out of this box happened to be the last one we ate. We were lucky enough to have one each. It was hazelnut. Not only was this made with intense hazelnut flavour, but it also had a little crunch of wafer within the filling. Tasted exactly like a Ferrero Rocher.
Next time in Melbourne, need to remind myself to head here!
2. Stitch Bar
61 York Street,
Sydney
The basement of an office building has been converted to a cute little underground bar. It seems very secretive and mysterious. Didn't take too many photos as it was just too dark. But, as recommended by Time Out, we came here for the hot dog selection. They try and succeed (to some extent)to be creative with their new and revitalised hot dog menu.
My cocktail: nice and yum
But as you can see, extremely dark at the bar, and had the most uncomfortable seating. They use chests of drawers as tables, so your legs can't fit under, like normal table. So you're legs are squished to the side, and with the cramped space, you're not exactly comfy.
Mack ducky dog with curly fries $19
Duck, orange and pistachio sausage with foie gras de canard and truffle sauce
I'm usually not a fan of foie gras, but given that it was the most distinct and creative hot dog on the menu, I thought I would give it a try.
It was .. ok. Nothing special, slightly weird. It was not exactly appealing, and I don't think it can be blamed on the fact that I rarely eat these ingredients, but yeh.
I did think the curly fries would win the meal. Except, they came out barely luke warm. Definitely not fresh and definitely disappointing.
My rating: 5/10
3. Omerta
235 Victoria St,
Darlinghurst
I came here because of a voucher offering $59 for 5 course degustation. Given that it was a one-hatted restaurant, I thought it would be a good buy.
You would always hope, that if someone offers a voucher to their restaurant, it is a marketing tool, to then promote their restaurant for you to return to pay full price. It was a good degustation, but once again, nothing to tell home about.
Starting bread: Nice, soft and warm, great!
Cured scallops with peas and celery: Picture isn't the best quality, but the scallops weren't that great. It was mediocre.
Gnocchi with beef ragu: This was good, cleared the plate absolutely clean.
Braised beef with polenta: This dish tasted remarkably similar to the dish above. This is what I meant by the fact that a restaurant would showcase their finest dishes for their vouchers. I know they offer the vouchers at a discount, hence, would offer cheaper dishes to reflect the cheaper prices. But, you would think, it is used as advertising, hence dishes to want to entice you to come back again. This was cooked well, the meat was soft, and the polenta was cooked in a way that I have never tasted before. But, the only downfall was just because it tasted so similar to the dish before, therefore didn't do justice in their "advertising".
Pre dessert: Lemon / Lime sorbet: Just way to cold in Sydney to eat
Chocolate fondant with a toasted marshmallow on top: This could have been so much better than it was, if only it was served warm. The toasted marshmallow was previously heated, but by the time it was served, it was cold. The googey-ness of the marshmallow just tasted a little sickening and definitely not as nice as you imagine when you eat them in front of a fireplace. The chocolate fondant was made well, except, it was not warm.
The googey insides
My rating: 6.5/10
The dishes were cooked well, however, not fantastic. This could be because we used a voucher, hence, cheaper prices offers cheaper dishes. But, it was not good enough to entice me to come back for more, at full price.
This is a one-hatted restaurant, could say that other places were a lot better than this.
xoxo.. Mich