I keep telling myself I’ll never go back to China, but family matters always come up and I inevitably revisit. I’d consider my expectations of the place to be so low that I really shouldn’t be disappointed, but alas, but I’ve actually increased the amount of spoiledness (I know that isn’t a word) from polite, Western society that I continue to be surprised.
The story of how I came across Commune Social isn’t super long, but is a story nonetheless – once upon a time, I was stalking a tumblr about Benedict Cumberbatch, when I saw a post that he was at the opening of a fancy new restaurant in London called City Social. I decided to book it as it boasted a view, and I figured my brother might like it since it overlooked the Shard, Gherkin, Walkie Talkie and Cheese Grater. Then, upon further inspection of their website, it turns out their chef, Jason Atherton, had restaurants in China, Hong Kong and Singapore too. And thus, I got the opportunity to visit Commune Social.
The setup of the restaurant was quite Western, all courtyardy and open, and in a quick visit before actually going, we were advised that the food portions were very small – but luckily I had known that already, it being fancy and tapas style, so I was prepared. The downside was, I had never ordered tapas style food for more than four people, so it became awkward when we were dividing tiny portions into six! I should have doubled all the orders, and that would have been enough.
Not only is this kind of food grossly more expensive in China, but I felt that there was a far lower level of service than in a Western country – perhaps it was just this visit though. I also admit to having no experience or knowledge about how to adequately staff a restaurant, but I’ve been to a fair few and every now again observe the waitstaff observing customers because it’s interesting to watch. I use the “magical refilling water test” as a benchmark of restaurant service, but here it felt like there just wasn’t enough attentiveness overall – plus the waiters looked a little stressed out, and I had no way of knowing if they had staff call in sick. That being said, I was excited that I frequently saw the dessert chef popping out to present her dishes.
Beetroot, burrata, gingerbread
I was pleased with the prettiness of the plating, but having had only burrata once before where it came whole, this one was already broken up for sharing and just as tasty. I really liked the gingerbread component here as well.
Rockpool, a place I’ve wanted to visit since before Rockpool Bar and Grill, but never found the opportunity to until I decided to squeeze it into a two day Sydney visit. Their new place on Bridge St is super pretty and I love waiters that are suited up and are wearing lapel pins too!
It’s essentially a degustation plus up to three extra courses (2 savoury and 1 sweet) to finish up. Since everything on the menu looked tasty, I went for three courses. Having had no time (or computer) to blog for a good five or so weeks, there’s not too much commentary except that there was a lot of deliciousness!
Prawn tempura with daikon, soy, shiso, prawn cream and dashi jelly
Who doesn’t love fried stuff with a creamy sauce! This tasty morsel was a great way to start the night.
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