I really wanted to do a Saint Peter post, but I don’t think I’ll make it to a dinner service, so this post will be about two places: Saint Peter for brunch, and Victor Churchill.

I can’t remember exactly when Saint Peter started popping up on my radar, but its signature dish, oysters with blue scampi caviar, really caught my attention. Then once I saw the fish offal, I knew I had to go. However, I didn’t really arrange a dinner since I was more interested in their brunch since it was equally unusual, and I hoped, to be more accessible.

So here I was. Turns out you kind of need a booking for brunch, which I had an inkling might happen, but I was hoping one wasn’t needed, but if I were to be asked if a reservation was essential, I’d say yes. We were lucky enough to have a table for an hour, and since I saw Artificer post that Saint Peter was using their coffee, I decided to try it out. Their batch brew was not as bright and acidic, but that kind of explains the side of milk. An interesting approach, to serve just filter coffee. I kind of like it!

Okay. Yes, this picture has been shopped. I actually had to tone down the blue so that you can see all the different shades of caviar. When I tried this on my phone, I completely washed out the lemon so that it was almost white! That’s how brilliant and bold this caviar is. Yes, it’s tasty too! I was worried it was going to be too oceanic and briney but it actually was quite nice with the oyster. Because of its price though, I only put it on one of my two oysters. If I had the money, yes, I would put this $14.50 supplement on all my oysters!

Sea urchin crumpets! I found this to be a really interesting concept and wasn’t sure it would work, since it would largely depend on the crumpet. I really enjoyed this; the crumpets, being house made, were not plasticky, and they were fried (I think), making them deliciously cripsy and therefore giving a complimentary textural contrast (can I use those three words like that?) with the smooth smooshiness of the sea urchin and its gooey umami.

There was totally not enough urchin for the crumpet though!

Guyra Destructor Yabby scrambled egg toast! I love the name of this yabby because it’s so adorable! It makes up for the fact that this day wasn’t featuring the Donnybrook Marron scrambled eggs. But hey, when the crustacea is cooked this nicely, who cares! Plus there’s that saying, two heads are better than one, right? When you think about it, you’re forking out $38 for one slice of toast, a couple of eggs, and the rest of the money is going into these adorable creatures. Wow!

So that’s all I have for Saint Peter. I really want to come back and try the lemon tart and some of the fish offal that Mr Niland seems to be really good at preparing, but I am a little sad that I might not be able to… this restaurant would have to thrive the next three years for me to get another chance. So we’ll see!

Since I was in the area, there was another place that I was meant to visit last time but didn’t make it to – the glory that Victor Churchill. This kind of shiny is totally worth the trip – but bring a cooler bag! When there’s what I think is a quarter cow greeting you, you know the stuff inside is good.

When I saw the stuffed pig ear terrine, I knew I had to get it. The downside to not planning ahead was that I had no way to take anything home, should I choose to buy things. The terrines were not suited for more than a couple of hours outside, even with ice, so what did I do? I bought the smallest amount the lady could cut – some pig ear terrine, a knob of saucisson, and a sliver of chicken liver pate – and ate them at a bench outside the shop! Why not, right? It’s like a ghetto picnic with the best food ever. The pig ears were so crunchy, my favourite!

I could stare at butchers preparing meat behind a glass display forever…

And that chicken liver parfait with foie gras… oh my. If only I had money!

Paddington is so shiny!