Saint Peter
At last, my first dinner visit to Saint Peter. I really really loved the brunch that I had, so I was eager to have some of the other seafood delights only available on the night menu.Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take a picture of the menu, which means much of the detail - especially the fish type and where it comes from - has been lost to time. Oh well, I still have pretty pictures and descriptions of the food!
I took a friend along, and instead of the usual 2 oysters each, I figured we needed 3 each, especially as I won't have access to delicious, super fresh oysters for another six months. We asked the waiter which we should pick - though there was one condition - we had to have the Wapengo oysters because we loved them so much at Embla. He recommended the Petit Clair for its creaminess, then the Shoalhaven as an in between, and then gave us the Wapengos. Wow, I could actually taste the difference between all three! Amazing! And it was exactly as the waiter described, too! I have an even higher level of appreciation for oysters now!
Next up, barbecued blue mackerel with witlof. Oh yeah, look at that fish. It's so gorgeous! We were told to eat it from the tail up, to allow the thickest part to continue cooking. For an oily fish, this was quite mild for me. Probably because usually my mackerel comes from a sushi restaurant and has been marinated heavily in vinegar. So this was really nice and delicious, plus the witlof leaves weren't bitter and in fact, were deliciously sweet! Really good stuff.
Another barbecue dish, this time pippies in house made XO sauce and donuts. Oh yeah, those were some super plump pippies! That XO sauce was house made and deliciously tangy and spicy! I've not had anything like it and I think it tasted amazing. If only they bottled that stuff and sold it! Not only did it go well with the pippies, but the donuts tasted great as sauce mops.
Yum, fish and chips! What a classic, and to think I haven't had any in years! So I had to get it. I can't remember what the fish was though, all I know is that it was cooked really nicely. And those chips were amazing, what tasty potatoes! This came with an assortment of condiments including gherkin, tartare sauce, lemon, and tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was so good, none of that supermarket stuff. It went so well with the chips!!
These are no ordinary onion rings. My friend wanted to order them, so here they were - salt and vinegar onion rings. But as soon as I bit into one, I realised this was like nothing I'd ever had before. Yes, it was salty and crispy on the outside, but that't not where the vinegar was. The vinegar was on the inside; those were pickled onion rings!! How cool! I love the concept, though it got a bit too vinegary for me.
I really wanted to order the self saucing potato scallops too, but the waiter advised us against it since we already had the chips and onion rings, and he suggested a green salad instead. I didn't particularly want leaves, so instead we went for the tomato, white peach and vanilla salad. How beautifully presented! And I like the tomato and peach combination, and the aromatic olive oil really worked too. However, the vanilla really messed with my mind and I felt it didn't really belong. I think this would have been delicious without it.
And lucky last, the super famous lemon tart. Oh yeah. I love the simplicity of this. I also had to wobble this around since there are heaps of videos depicting its wobbliness. So much fun! And look at that thin base. SO THIN. Quite amazing. and the actual lemon curd is super soft! It's got a lovely lemony punch, and it's just so melt in the mouth, it's amazing that it even keeps its shape! So impressive! And a nice dollop of cream to offset the acidity.Oh yeah, this is a really nice restaurant. When it comes to cooking fish, I'd say Cirrus and Saint Peter are on par with one another (I still love Cirrus' flathead fish and chips too). In my eyes, what sets Saint Peter apart is the ageing of fish, and the offal. But I didn't get a chance to try either of those this time round, so I reckon a revisit would be fantastic. The 2 hour limit for a table is pretty tight though, we just made the time! And we had over ordered, since the chips and the onion rings were both pretty heavy. But we had to try them!!! So maybe next time we'll get one dish less. And more oysters. Hopefully with tasty supplements!And I got to see Mr Niland in action! Yay!
Aloft
Aloft. Out of the three restaurants I visited, this was my favourite experience. I can't really make a direct comparison with Franklin since I didn't have a dinner sitting there though, so now, Aloft was the one I enjoyed the most as a whole.I actually had some reservations (pun intended) about eating here simply because their style was Asian, and I have a tough time liking Asian food, but it's a hatted restaurant and had great views, and they had kitchen counter seats, so why not! I didn't need a view of the water, I needed a view of the chefs. However, the kitchen was limited to the banquet menu, though I didn't mind that too much. And what a surprise the kitchen was. As we were walking to be seated, I saw a super eye catching thing: fire.
I got so excited that as soon as politely possible after being seated, I stood back up and started taking pictures of it. I must have looked so excited that the chef actually told me I could walk into the kitchen and take pictures. Wow, how nice! He even adjusted the flame intensity for us too, but it got pretty hot! That was so amazing, I couldn't believe he let us in!! Already a winner in my eyes!
The lighting was great so I took heaps of pictures.
It's always nice to see what a restaurant's bookshelf is like. They have Pier, the first restaurant book that I'd ever encountered and got me into fine dining!
Masterstock pig's ear + prickly ash
Okay, onto the food. First up, pig's ears. Oh my goodness. My last pig ear experience (not counting China where they do it they way I like by default) was at a Perth restaurant and it really wasn't nice because it was a single hard, crisp texture. However, these were crispy and flavour packed on the outside, and still crunchy-gelatinous on the inside, just the way I like it! They were seriously addictive!
Pacific steamed oyster , kimchi + sesame
Flirty Bay oysters make an appearance once again! But still, I couldn't make out the exact pronunciation of the word, so I still had no idea if it was Flirty or Floaty. I did try asking the all knowing Google, with various pronunciations that sided to Flirty, then to Floaty, but all I got were tips on how to flirt like crazy, or Flutes on eBay :(These were very good, but I didn't like them as much as I liked them au naturale. Probably just personal preference - nothing except maybe a dash of lemon!
I had to make sure to take full advantage of my position at the counter by taking as many action shots as I can! Also, being so close, we had a great conversation about the swarming seagulls in the harbour. We commented that the seagulls were swarming, then one of the chefs said that it was unusual for them to be this close - usually they'd be flocking much further out in deeper water. Who knows, maybe they found some tasty stuff nearby.
Fig leaf + turmeric wafer, BBQ pork belly
Woot! Pork belly tacos! Well, that's what I kept calling them. Royal gala apples were shaved over the top of these, which added great flavour to the pork belly, and they were using a tool that looked like how crinkle cut potato chips are made! The turmeric wafer looked delicate and prone to shattering, but they were actually quite sturdy, which was great. The pork wasn't as soft as I like, so these were just okay.
Drunken chicken wing, buttermilk + avruga caviar
But this next dish. Woah, what a turnaround! A fried chicken wing! I honestly didn't think I'd get to eat fried chicken throughout my trip, especially as I couldn't do Belle's Hot Chicken's fried chicken and waffles since I was busy on the weekend, but lo and behold, fortune favours the... insane? This wasn't just any old fried chicken, it was fried in shaoxing wine, so it was tasty fried AND tasty drunk!!! I love drunken chicken, so this was a win win, then another win because that avruga caviar was super smokey and aromatic.These were eaten with hands (as were the tacos, oysters and pig ears), and we were given the magical towels that start off dry and tablet sized, then just add water and POOF! they turn into wet towelettes!!!Oh, by the way, does this slightly remind you of Rockpool 1989's kombu butter chicken wing? Maybe that's just me haha.
LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE CHUNKY KNIFE THAT I DIDN'T EVEN USE FOR THE NEXT COURSE EVEN THOUGH I WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CHUNKINESS
But first, another plate up shot, because I can.
Yellow fish curry + coconut pickled fennel
Fried fish!!! Tonight's fish was black trevally, and the curry sauce was really, really mild, so much so that I actually wished there was a teeny tiny bit of spice to it, but no matter. No burning is better than burning. I didn't like the pickled fennel only because it was a little too acidic for me. I would have been happy with just the fish curry since it was light enough.
Chargrilled koji beef, miso + eggplant
I was really, really full, and then this came out! A massive (not really massive, just looked that way because of how full I was) chunk of really incredibly tasty Cape Grim beef, with eggplant and miso mayonnaise. And topped with kale. There was a lot of eggplant, and I think I had to eat my friend's portion of eggplant cause she didn't like it, so I was really, really, bursting full at this point, but that beef. was. so. good. Wow. Yep, I definitely love Cape Grim Beef. The only time David Blackmore's wagyu has been better, is in Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney's David Blackmore full blood wagyu burger. Every other time, a Cape Grim cut will do, it's that good. Absolutely loved this dish.
Our classic condensed milk ice cream, coffee + sable
And finally, dessert. My friend was happy this was an ice cream dish so she wanted one to herself. I was really full, so I didn't really care. What was hilarious is that we saw how the palm sugar curls were made - a couple of chefs took out these trays of palm sugar stuff and started scraping away at it with spoons! Madly scraping! My friend had pointed it out and as soon as I looked, I had that stupid happy face that I get when I'm really excited about seeing food being made, so much so that the chef noticed!So, when he had plated up our dessert and handed it to us, describing it, I asked, "is this meant to be shared?" at which point he said yes, so I asked if we could have one each pretty please, so he was happy to make another one. We must have looked like crazy dessert lovers! Yes, I did manage to eat all of mine. Dessert is a second stomach, after all! It was quite delicious and I loved the sweetness level of the palm sugar. Having the word sugar in it made me worry that it'd be too sweet, but it was actually really balanced with a deep, almost toffee/burnt caramel flavour. Then a hit of bitterness from the coffee syrup was really nice too.All in all, yes, Aloft was my favourite experience because the chefs were so friendly, also the view of the chefs, and because I enjoyed a good number of these dishes. If I came back, I would want the a-la carte menu so that I can order the pig's ears, natural oysters, chicken wing, but also I really wanted to try their dumplings because the dumplings looked absolutely amazing, and I'd not order the fish curry or the pork belly tacos. But as an Asian themed restaurant for someone who doesn't like Asian restaurants (Spice Temple being the exception), this place did really well.And that's my Hobart restaurant adventures done. I'm exhausted from all this writing!
Franklin
Yay, Franklin! While Franklin has always been on my Hobart list, my excitement grew recently after discovering that a chef I am aware of (but didn't actively stalk at the time) moved here and started working at the restaurant. I would have loved to come here at night for their full dining experience, but because I had far too many places to go and not enough time, I ended up shuffling this one to lunch simply because it was open for lunch while my other restaurants were dinner only. That bumped Templo right off this visit, but maybe next time....
To start with, a house soda. It tasted kind of elderflowery to me, which was very cool. Not too fizzy, not too sweet, and very drinkable.
Delicious bread and butter. I love how the butter was scraped on the side! I still find that Sepia's perfectly round butter was really weird to see (even though I said it was cool, because it was also cool); I like messy thing sometimes better than neat.
What's even cooler? This was the shot down the bar towards the entrance - what you see in the background there is actually Pigeon Whole Bakers! How awesome!
Oyster
To start with, three oysters. Usually I get two for myself, but this is Tasmania, land of the best fresh produce you could ever get, so I treated myself to one more. When they were served, the waitress said that the oysters were from Flirty Bay, however, Flirty sounds a LOT like Floaty, especially if you moosh the vowels a little bit. So I literally had no idea what she said. I wasn't sure about asking again because I didn't want to come across as hard of hearing lol.These were probably the best oysters I've ever eaten. Yeah, better than the Wapengo ones from Embla. Before, my Tassie oysters of recent memory all came from "my local fish shop" and weren't that nice at all, to the point where I would avoid buying Tassie oysters, but the real deal is actually nigh unbeatable! I think also, SA oysters taste better than TAS oysters when in Perth simply because it's closer so there's less time lost in shipping?
House pancetta and cicely mustard
I had to try the house pancetta, mainly because I love cured meats and I also wanted to see how this compared with Embla's jambon. Sorry, the jambon still wins. But look at that fat! So good! I almost didn't want to add the mustard, but, the mustard did make it taste even better.
And guess who is here!!! A super sneaky shot of Analiese Gregory!!!! I was pretty sure it was her, but I didn't want to seem like a creepy fangirl, so I kept my distance. Also, because I wasn't absolutely sure, just mostly sure, I would have felt awkward if it wasn't actually her. I managed to confirm by overhearing the waitress as someone else came into the restaurant looking for her.
Chicken liver parfait, pickled cherries and yeast crisps
Alright, now the real deal of the restaurant. Chicken liver parfait. Yes. Look at that. Isn't it so picture perfect? And I love those wafer thin parfait receptacles! This was my first time eating pickled cherries and they were nice, and offset the richness of the parfait really well! Also, I deliberately held back on eating my bread too quickly to be able to mop up leftover parfait :)
Raw littlewood lamb with anchovy and horseradish
Raw lamb with anchovies and horseradish. I feel like I've eaten so many new things while here! My first time eating lamb tartare, and it was absolutely delicious! I loved the presentation of this one too!
Crispy potato with brown butter and salted caramel
However, it was dessert that really took the cake. It was described as crispy potato with brown butter and salted caramel. Oh my goodness. The waiter recommended it and said that if I couldn't eat it, he would. Too bad, I wanted to try this anyway since this is the first time I've seen potato in a dessert dish. Oooooh yeah. Those potato slices were so thin and crispy and the natural savouriness of it worked!The brown butter was soooooo good and it was just the right texture too, but the real winner, the thing that made this dish so godly, was that salted caramel. You think other salted caramels are good? Wait till you try this one. It's like, if Werther's Original was taken to the highest level possible by the most talented chefs in the world, this is what you get. Something you can't stop eating because when mixed with the potato and butter cream, was just. Amazing. Wow. Oh yeah. Come here for this. Lots of this. Yesssss.
And some pictures of the restaurant because I like their decor and setup. I would have loved to come here for dinner simply because they make use of their oven and that's when all their meats come out (according to their website, their oven can actually fit a whole cow in there!).Yep, I definitely like this place!
Dier Makr
Dier Makr. What a funny name. I didn't even know of its existence even though it's a one hatted restaurant in Hobart. I had my eye on so many other restaurants and had already got my reservations and lists together, when one of my baristas told me I had to go here.I usually don't actually do something unless more than one person says the same thing except on rare occasion, and this time I thought, why not. These guys have good taste so I'll try it out! And that resulted in me reshuffling Franklin from dinner to lunch to accommodate for this place.
I only did a very small amount of research for this, just enough to check if it was a nice restaurant or not (I still didn't realise it was hatted), and what intrigued me the most was the menu. I like succint menus and prefer ones with the main ingredients and processes described, so this very "simple" sounding menu wasn't enough to trigger my imagination since I wasn't used to the style. But the reviews were all good, so I left it at that. Let's give it a go!
This place is fairly small (20 seats?) and has really cute decor. Two things I noticed were one: those wine glasses had really nice stems. Super thin, I don't think as thin as Zaltos, but they got close. I really liked the stems! How do I know this? Because this is a hipster restaurant, so I went and ordered an orange wine. But because wine glasses are tall, and because I still don't know how to take photos, I didn't get a good shot.And two, if you choose the tap water, it comes in a fish shaped jug. But not just that, it's a glurgle jug! Basically, it gluggs a little bit before the pour, then it goes, glug glug glug if there's enough water to go back down after the pour! The way I described it probably makes no sense; it's basically a jug that makes noises as water is poured. Maybe google it.
Beet that root
First up, the beetroot dish. What cute little morsels! This was eaten with hands, and it was a slice of what appeared to be raw pickled beetroot and curd on the inside. A failsafe tasty thing!
Lettuce, oyster
Oh, this was cool. I've never seen this before. Half a lettuce with oyster and oyster cream, and crunchy bits. See, I thought maybe we would get just raw oysters and something interesting with the lettuce, but it was actually the other way around! Having the oysters lightly grilled was really nice, and they were really good oysters! My friend doesn't eat oysters so I had more piled on top of my plate, so I was happy.I actually really liked that the descriptions of each dish were listed as they are, because now I realised that I had no idea what to expect! This is a new adventure!
Beef
On the menu, it did describe the beef as raw I guess. I would have thought they'd just put beef. Maybe because raw beef freaks some people out if they don't know beforehand? It didn't matter to me, and this was really, really good. Again, really flavoursome beef. It must be the Cape Grim stuff because the cows from there are just so tasty! It was lined with sour cream and topped with sansho leaf, I think. Really good stuff!
Uh, apple
Isn't this so cute! These were tiny and adorable. Apple roses that were bound in "apple leather" (like rollups?), and apple puree inside. This didn't just taste like apple though. There were varying textures and acidity levels within these bite sized treats, so it felt like I was tasting all parts of the apple, but separately! A simple looking, but complex palate cleanser.
Really wide beans
When the waiter gave us this dish, she said that the chef described this as "peas and friends" - how cute! I seem to really love vegetable dishes now. I can't remember exactly when it all changed, but the headlines that Yellow made was probably a good starting point. Anyway, broad beans! Yay! And peas! The creaminess of that burrata too. I think it was burrata. It was super creamy, and tasted like the inside of a burrata. Oh yeah. Also, my friend was convinced that the crunchy bits were fried chicken skin, but I thought that this might be a vegetarian dish. Turns out she was right, the waiter confirmed that it was indeed chicken!
Fushies
I'll admit, I have no idea because I didn't ask what "blue eye' was. I assumed it was cod, but what if there's a different fish that also has blue eye in its name??? So I will always have to describe this as just "blue eye" as a result. Sigh. I really should do better next time. Self chiding aside, this fish was really tasty! And what made it tastier was the pil pil sauce! That stuff was really addictive! The fried celeriac on the side was nice too, but I don't really like celeriac much so I was kind of wishing it wasn't there, even though it's the tastiest celeriac I've tried.
I scream
And dessert is served. Fig leaf ice cream with peach and macadamia. That's a cool biscuity thing on top, though it hid the rest of the dish. There was a lovely fig gel surprise underneath the ice cream that I totally loved! Again, because it was described as fig leaf, I didn't expect it to be the ice cream component of the dish. I love it when I guess wrongly!It was a very quick, short and light dinner. I love that there were some really unexpected combinations (that lettuce and oyster dish was brain-bending!!!) along with classics (beetroot, beef). It was a really reasonably priced restaurant, but I felt like there maybe wasn't enough food. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't hungry after it, but I did think that I could eat a lot more, and the Vue de Monde joke of walking out and eating a burger seriously crossed my mind (but a small tasty burger, I couldn't have eaten a large tasty burger). I couldn't be exactly sure if I was hungry or not simply because the last three days in Melbourne, I'd been absolutely stuffing myself to the brim so I was worried about my metabolism being in overdrive too. Luckily, I didn't actually get hungry and I didn't wake up particularly hungrier than usual the next day, so the serving size here was fine. It was just me being panicky, especially in contrast to Tipo 00's $69 chef's menu where I actually didn't finish one of the dishes.Overall it's a great place and super causal, but, a little too hipster for me, if such a thing is possible. I'd need to come here with someone classier and more hipster than me to be able to feel at home here. The food and the people were great though, so nothing to fault there. The waiter was super friendly and when I told her why I'd chosen this restaurant, she guessed correctly which barista recommended the place! So yeah, very nice, surprising dishes, but I felt a little out of place.Also, you definitely have to look at the receipt here. Why? Because the chefs receive the order names slightly differently than what's on the board, and it's a fun read :)