Earl grey panna cotta

I wanted to make some earl grey and rosewater panna cotta, and then garnish it with blueberries, blackberries and some sort of green leafy thing - I was thinking shiso rather than mint. But I didn't want to spend money or time buying rosewater and shiso, so I used what I had instead - which was dried rose petals from a shopping spree ages back, to give the rose aroma without needing rosewater. I can't figure out how to homogenise the panna cotta yet though, I always get the separation....

Commune Social

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.

Black sausage, duck egg, potato

I love black sausage, so when I saw this combined with egg, I had to order it! It's always a winner for me - especially when it comes in a cute little pan.

Cured salmon, lotus root, bok choy

As this was on their board menu, I can't remember what the sauce was. Possibly wasabi, possibly miso? I really liked the salmon here and that vegetable with the pink bulbs on it was something I enjoyed.

Marinated sea bass, pickled kohl rabi, apple

I didn't realise this was a raw dish as I tend to avoid it while in China - otherwise I would have chosen the beef tartare! This was quite nice though and all the vegetables complemented the flavour of the fish.

Char grilled octopus with beetroot

This octopus was quite tasty, though it was probably a little tough for a few others at the table.

And here is some fried chicken! Three tiny morsels per plate, and I had to order a second place as soon as I saw this one come out. Fried chicken never fails and I would have loved to have more.

Iberico pork and foie gras burgers with avocado and pickles 

What cute little sliders! I wasn't too sure where the foie gras was, but I assume it was mixed in with the pork to create tender and juicy burgers. Those pickles were perfect too, to the point where I devoured the other two plates of any leftover pickles.

Grilled veal tongue and zucchini

And there's so much more to this plate that I can't remember, but it didn't matter so much because that tongue was so tender and well cooked! Had I known this was going to be so delicious, I would have ordered a second plate of this too.

Caramel popcorn

We saw these go out to every table and wanted some for ourselves, and it turns out it's complimentary! Tasty caramel popcorn served with liquid nitrogen.

Vanilla and chocolate ice cream

I've always been interested to see how restaurants approach the presentation of ice cream because of how simple "just ice cream" is - and this is the first time I've seen two flavours served in separate bowls, on ice, in a bowl, and doused with liquid nitrogen. Overkill much? But it did produce something quite theatrical so why not!

Lemon meringue pie with basil sorbet

This guy has a thing for basil in sorbets - and I love him for it. The deconstructed lemon meringue pie was already a winner, but even though I was sitting across the table, I could smell wafts of the basil sorbet and oh wow, it both smelled and tasted so good - plus I actually love the richness of the green colour as well! Even though this wasn't the dessert I had ordered, I couldn't get over that basil sorbet.

Creme catalan

A neverfail cute cream dessert, with delicious wafers.

Banana, honeycomb, goats cheese

More liquid nitrogen! All the liquid nitrogen! Well it seems like a very popular presentation strategy here - which I'm secretly glad wasn't used in my other Jason Atherton visit - mainly because while the smoke is very pretty, I don't feel it was needed for all the dishes here. It was a very pretty dessert nonetheless, and delicious.

And that concludes my first fine dining experience in China. While I would have liked to sampled a Chinese fine dining experience, this will do for now. Overall the food is as good as anywhere else, however in this particular visit I felt that the service was underwhelming. It's definitely still a place I'd consider frequenting.

Apothecary 1878

So I've been looking for a replacement for Rockpool Bar and Grill, thinking I'd never find one, but lo and behold, after strolling down a dodgy-looking part of the city on a Sunday afternoon, I ran across a little treasure-looking-like place. That's when I found out that it was a cute little wine bar that has all Victorian decor, and does high tea on Saturdays!So I did a little research on it, and apparently it won best wine list in South Australia (cause Rockpool wins for Australia!). Plus they don't advertise their list online, so I had to visit. My expectations were: giant wine list, and servings by the half glass, and was secretly hoping for varietal specific Riedels.Of course, when I got there, they do indeed have a noteworthy wine list! Plenty of quotes throughout, as well as a Provenance to read through. Except... the list was much much smaller than I expected. Maybe 20 pages? I'm sorry, but I wanted a Rockpool-thick encyclopedia! They did have a great range of 75mL "tasters", served in baby Riedels, which made me happy. Plus they were incredibly cheap at $5 - $5.50 per serving, considering at Rockpool I'm paying $16 for 75mL for their reserve stuff.And while they don't serve burgers, they do have a highly respectable bar menu much like Rockpool Bar and Grill, with excellent presentation and great range.

Goat curd, pink peppercorns and honey toast

The pink peppercorns made these little toasts super tasty, and the honey offset the goat curd nicely. They were a little expensive at $4 each, but it is goat curd, plus pink peppercorns, so yes, I will always order these! And make it myself one day.

Cured salmon with radish and white gazpacho

I can't remember exactly what the gazpacho was made of, but I was anticipating like, cured salmon in soup. But this was more like grilled salmon on sauce. It was so tasty as it was seasoned just right, and those are some amazing radishes! I want ones like that as they are very pretty.

Lamb backstrap with almonds and split pea puree

It is so hard to find lamb backstrap, and when I do, it's expensive. This was tasty and the puree was awesome mixed with the lamb!

They also have amazing prosciutto with this fennel pretzel thing, tasty olives and have a balmain/moreton bug dish - I was just too lazy to take pictures of them.

When it came to dessert, they had a few cheese options. I had a white mould cheese but it was sharper than I liked; I wanted something earthy and mushroomy. Nevertheless, I love cheese and enjoyed it.

Dark chocolate mousse with toasted coconut marshmallows, and cherries

I couldn't resist a second round of dessert and had to get their special. I loved the mousse but had a little giggle when I was taking pictures because of how the quenelles of mousse looked! I also thought that toasted coconut marshmallows would look like standard toasted coconut marshmallows, but no, these were different and snowy! I wanted more of it!

This place makes me miss Rockpool Bar and Grill so much - in fact it's the only reason I want to go back to Sydney. I want my 75mLs in full, varietal specific Riedels, not baby Riedels! While the two have a very similar classy atmospheres, Rockpool Bar and Grill is overall busier and louder, which I like. Both places have exceptional waitstaff, who remember things without writing them down and both magically refill water!

I love being asked if I want another drink; too bad a lot of cafes don't ask me this when I'm by myself. I need a sign above my head saying "ASK ME IF I WANT ANOTHER COFFEE".

So after this and Celcius, I must find more places to blog about!

... And I need to find people to drag here on a regular basis.