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!
Adventures in Paddington
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!