Moonmachines at Cara & Co

 

You may have already read my post about my afternoon of MB&F Machine Madness. Well this is the second part of my MB&F Marathon Friday, otherwise known as 'Max Büsser eats half of Australia’s coat of arms'.

But more about that later.

I, along with half a dozen others, had been fortunate to have been invited by Purist friend Sidneyc to join Max for a private dinner held at Cara&Co, a restaurant situated at the back of a boutique which sells everything from clothing and accessories to books and cameras.

We were in the middle of Sydney in a Russian owned restaurant eating from a menu devised by a Belgium based chef to meet a Swiss who had just collaborated with a Finn on a watch.

Having not seen the latest MB&F collaboration with the wonderful Stepan Sarpaneva when I met Max a few hours ealier, I was looking forward to seeing whether my initial uncertain response to the Moonmachine in photographs would be maintained. My problem is that I am a Sarpaneva purist of a number of years standing, and I adore his moon in its natural habitat.Would I like it in a HM3 Frog?

But I digress. First up, the food.

An amuse bouche to start : goats cheese (very mild) and mandarin lollipop

Plus some warm fresh bread rolls (which were constantly replenished) with some salted butter. Quite addictive bread and butter.

Max’s entrée of choice was ‘chicken oyster’.

Chicken Oyster - Chimay beer, potato, hazelnut, foie gras, coffee

What is ‘chicken oyster’?

They are the hidden-away sections of meat tucked under the chicken’s backbone. In this case, served in an oxtail jus with Chimay beer, topped with potato foam and, oddly, macadamia nuts with gold leaf.

My entrée was beef tartare, which was served with a 20 degree quail egg and a rather unexpected addition of some Avruga caviar. An unconventional tartare, but I really liked the saltiness of the caviar with the beef, and if beef tartare purists are aghast I’m sorry, but I really enjoyed this iteration.

Veal cheeks - Mustard, aioli, egg yolk, lettuce

For mains, Max had his first taste of national emblem, which I also ordered.

The kangaroo came two ways, including a cube of tartare with a parmesan marshmallow atop, black lentils, and artichoke cooked three ways - puree, baked and crisp. The meat looks rare but it wasn’t; and it was tender, yielding easily to my knife. I’d feared having a red meat overload, but this didn’t turn out to be the case.

Other mains were :

Rock Flathead with quinoa, cauliflower, silvered peanuts, peanut foam and gerkin juice

Australian wagyu rump with eggplant, miso, anchovy, baby carrot

Yellowfin tuna with tomato, cinnamon, white beans, watermelon

Accompanying side dishes were some random watches, including these :

Finally, time for some Moonmachines. The reconfigured HM3 Frog now comes with Sarpaneva’s poignant moonphase seen through a Korona shaped opening, with the winding rotor actually a blued 22k gold disc with a laser-pierced northern constellation.

They are available in three limited editions of 18 pieces each: titanium case with white gold moon faces in a light blue sky, black titanium case with white gold moon faces in a dark blue sky and red gold case with red gold moon faces in an anthracite sky.

What did we think? That they were quite different in the metal. Far more appealing. Even someone who has held the thought that Stepan Sarpaneva’s moon is “too depressing” found himself drawn to the titanium version. 

Below is the titanium on my wrist. For a size comparison, see my previous post with my wristshots with other MB&F Machines.

During the evening we learnt not just about the Moonmachines, his friendship with Stepan, thoughts about the watch industry and his career trajectory, but also about his childhood, his family, his passion for car racing (we should take him out to a racetrack on his next visit), and even his foray into learning to play a guitar.

I know that I sound like an old record (and I realise that I am dating myself by even saying that) when I say that meeting independent watchmakers is an honour, but it is. They are the best people to communicate about their own watches, and it really is only by hearing them in such a small intimate setting that you properly understand what they are about, and why people are so drawn not just to the watch, but also to the watchmaker.

 Max finally gets to try Vegemite (photo credit : RJW)

Many thanks to sidneyc for his kind invitation to this wonderful evening.

In closing, two final photos for the road.

During the week prior to the Sydney dinner, the following happened to Gaz :

"So I get a call from a fellow Hong Kong watch collector. "Are you in Hong Kong and are you wearing your Sarpaneva? You have to come to dinner tonight with your Sarpaneva". So off I go to dinner with my Sarpaneva...

 ... only to find that I was hanging out with Max. Stepan was there in spirit and well represented by his merry men on the moon. Gaz"

[AP]

Cumulus Inc

Cumulus Inc
45 Flinders Ln
Melbourne
VIC 3000
Ph : (03) 9650 1445

Cumulus is in a large open warehouse like space with an almost deceptively casual décor. I say ‘deceptively’ because once you sit down and look around, you realise that it’s actually quite a beautiful space with an understated style. With a mix of tables, a front bar and a long rear bar which frames the kitchen, I sat at the latter, and was pleasantly surprised to find bag hooks underneath the bar. A small thing to some, perhaps, but it would be nice of it was the norm rather than the exception.

Dining solo, and with a desire to eat as much as I could on this first visit (and rare visit to Melbourne), I decided, with consultation, on three courses that I thought I could manage. I was offered the choice of having a half-size of the main, but a communication breakdown at some point during the discussions meant that I ended up receiving a full-sized version. Which I finished.

Before that, however, was the complimentary bread and butter, served in a small cast iron 'tray'. The bread turned out to be useful for my first course, foie gras parfait with toasted brioche ($17).

Fortunately, parfaits are light, or I’d have felt, by the end, that I wasn’t going to manage the three courses. I'm not sure how much foie gras was actually in it, but nontheless, it was airy with a strong gutsy flavour, definitely rich enough to share. The bread supplied wasn’t enough, so I used the complimentary bread with it as well.

Golden Fields

Golden Fields
157 Fitzroy St
St Kilda,
VIC 3182
Ph : (03) 9525 4488

I try to avoid reading much about hyped up restaurants, as there is a point at which the same superlatives seem to be used, the same dishes eaten, and it all becomes a big overexcited blur. I also have a tendency to veer away from restaurants with too much early buzz, mostly because of natural caution towards laudatory excess.

Nonetheless, I decided to visit Golden Fields, hype and all. Situated amidst the noise and restaurant overload of Fitzroy Street, they do not take bookings, so we arrived at just 6.15pm or so to find that it was still fairly empty, though it reached table (but not bar) capacity up later on that evening.

Golden Fields is large, filled with shiny sleek surfaces that exuberantly inflate the noise of a full house; if you want a quiet conversation over a meal, don’t come here.

It took a little while for things to get started in terms of being able to get anyone’s attention, but after we placed our order, the first in what turned out to be a trip down taste memory lane arrived – pumpkin seeds.

If I had to describe these with one word, it would be ‘salty’. Initially they seemed too salty, but the reptitive motion of picking one up and putting it in my mouth became strangely addictive, and I can see how they would work well with a beer.

Inevitably, we ordered the New England lobster roll, hot buttered bun, cold poached crayfish, watercress and Kewpie ($15).

Estelle Bar & Kitchen

Estelle Bar & Kitchen
243 High Street
Northcote
VIC 3070
Ph: (03) 9489 4609

Hours:
Wednesday 6pm till late
Thursday – Sunday 12pm till late

Most of the time, my memory is vaguely intact, and decision-making processes remembered, but apart from a general idea that I somehow surfed my way there online, I can’t remember what it was that brought me to Estelle Bar & Kitchen.

Whatever it was, I am thankful that I made the decision, as it turned out to be my favourite meal of the trip. It was also the one involving the least amount of decision-making required, as dinner at Estelle amounts to making one of three choices from the chef’s tasting menu :

3 courses for $50pp (with matching wine $70)

5 courses for $70pp (with matching wine $100)

7 courses for $90pp (with matching wine $130)

In addition, you can select from a range of charcuterie (including terrines and parfait) and oysters from Cloudy Bay and Coffin Bay.

The menu on the night of my visit, Saturday 26th November 2011, was as follows :

CHEF’S TASTING MENU

Vegetable

Cauliflower sausage, cous cous & curry oil

Beetroot & ashed goats cheese

White asparagus, 63 degree egg & brioche

Fish

Smoked eel, carrot & camomile

King salmon, baby peas & shiso

Yellowfin tuna, red cabbage & horseradish

Meat

Pork, cheek and ear

A taste of spring lamb and heirloom carrots

Kangaroo loin, celeriac & black mushroom

Sweet stuff

Rhubarb, rose & musk

Strawberry, vanilla & basil

Sour cream, pumpkin & salted caramel

The diner only has to choose how many courses they wish to have and to list any allergies or food that they can’t eat. After making that one (food) decision the kitchen, manned by Scott Pickett and Ryan Flaherty, will take control. It's great for those who find themselves paralysed by indecision when given too much choice, and an exercise in letting go for those who like to carefully compose their meals and want to know what is coming next.

It is also interesting to see what other tables are having, as the chances are high that you will get a different series of dishes to your neighbours.

Sardine 'fossils' and chickpea chips

We chose to have three courses, and these were preceded by two amuse bouche.

Orto Trading Co.

Orto Trading Co.
39 Waterloo St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Ph : +61 431 212 453
 

 

Light.

High ceilings with flower filled bottles hapahzardly hanging down, rows of herbs lined up outside, the warm Winter’s sun streaming in, a small vase with a single flower on each table. First impressions count, and Orto Trading’s were that it was going to be an agreeable place to spend a few hours.

The menu is seasonal, and its 'June Winter' version very much British inspired, with Scotch eggs, smoked eel, Toad in Hole and Beef & Guinness stew making an appearance. There is a note at the top of the menu, stating “Please note that our main meals are designed for sharing and are approximately one and a half times a normal main.”

Ah, more shared-food-on-planks in Surry Hills.

Despite my doubts about whether in fact the mains were actually going to be that large, we decided to take the proffered advice, and ordered two entrée planks, a main plank, and a side plank.

First plank - Scotch egg ($9).

Yolk perfectly runny, the mince not too dry. Don’t let appearances deceive, this was a surprisingly filling half egg. 

The second plank was the Cured meat plate with cider-cured ham, bresaola, prosciutto, chicken liver pate and house pickles. ($16)

Its arrival lead to the realisation that perhaps we should have skipped the Scotch Eggs. This is arguably one of the more generous cured meat platters I’ve had the pleasure of eating. The photo is a tad deceptive, as there were a fair few slices of each item. The meats were all freshly sliced and terrifically tasty, the chicken liver pate smooth and quite light, the toasted bread of sufficient quantity. Just a great all-round selection. My only negative point is presentation related – one of the problems with using wooden planks and platters is that it doesn’t take very long for them to develop those unattractive deep grooves. They detract from the overall appearance of the dish.

The main plank was Pomegranate glazed duck with hazelnuts, prosciutto, radicchio and prunes ($36).

Tender, meaty, juicy, and definitely enough for two people who had already eaten two entrées. The hazelnuts proved unexpectedly addictive, the radicchio was not only visually appealing but a nice bitter counterpoint to the richness of the duck and the oh-so-crispy prosciutto. The surprise for me was the prunes. I am not known for being particularly fond of meat with any type of fruit, so I had to be convinced by a fellow non-prune-eater that they were, in fact, good, before trying one. They were good. The sweetness of the scattered pomegranate was not overwhelming, and added visual appeal.

Again - deeply grooved planks...

Accompanying the duck was side plank Spunta potato batons with chilli salt ($9). 

This was a huge serving of not so much batons as wedges. Light on the chilli salt, each baton was supersized, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and pretty tasty, though I was more taken by the thin crunchy slithers of potato. We didn't manage to get through this serving, despite my valiant attempts.

Orto Dining is a relaxed kind of eating place, its bistro style food full of good fresh clean flavours that you want to eat again. We left with the thought that was a lovely all-round experience that we'd be happy to have again.

What more could you ask for?

[AP]

Sprout Dining

Sprout Dining

2 Honeysuckle Drive

Newcastle NSW 2300

02 4023 3565

We knew it was always going to be a wee bit difficult getting table at a restaurant on a Saturday night over the Easter weekend. Our first choice was, alas, not open, so "Sprout" was really a 2nd choice…

Great weather in Newcastle

I have heard great things about the Newcastle food scene. There are great cafes, especially on Darby Street, and we can certainly vouch for that. Great atmosphere, great and friendly service, coupled with great weather, I could've hung out there all day, and just watch the nice cars, really really nice cars drive past. So you could say we had high hopes of the dinner scene, too.

Cafes on Darby

And perhaps there is a great dinner scene. Perhaps just not the night we went. To be fair, it certainly wasn't all bad. But I think that was mostly due to the company. Almost everything else left a sour after taste…

Ezard, Melbourne

Ezard
187 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph : (03) 9639 6811
Open Weekdays 12pm-3pm, 6pm-10:30pm; Sat 6pm-10:30pm

I was fortunate enough to have spent a quick weekend in Melbourne recently with a friend to celebrate her birthday. Our only criteria was that the restaurant needed to be open on a Monday evening. After much searching, we were recommended Ezard. This Melbourne establishment has been around for the last decade, and we looked forward to trying the degustation that was created by Teage Ezard and the head chef, Sharn Greiner. Talking to the maître d', it seems Teage Ezard is more of a menu consultant than being on the ground, cooking.

The restaurant is partially hidden on Flinders Lane, with the entrance below ground level. Initially we walked passed it without realising, but soon enough we found the restaurant. Being such a well-known establishment, it doesn't need to "shout and draw attention" to itself for patrons. We were greeted warmly at the door and efficiently, we settled into our table. The surrounding was semi-dark, and romantically lit with table-top candles. The ambience is one of warmth and sophistication.

We chose the 8 course degustation and the sommelier was accommodating to customising matching wines to our specification.

The bread was an interesting experience. The bread is dipped into the garlic and parmesan infused olive oil and three different dipping salts, first the bonito and kombu, second the chilli and sugar, and third condiment being Szechuan spice. This was a taste sensation, I overloaded on the bread with all permutations of the olive oil and the condiments!

Our amuse bouche was Salmon sashimi with coriander and soy sauce. Taken in  a single mouthful, I was met with a mouthful of carefully balanced sweetness from the salmon and the coriander. This was indeed a delight.

Verandah Restaurant

Verandah Restaurant and Wine Bar
55-65 Elizabeth St
(Entrances on both Elizabeth St and Castlereagh St)
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph : (02) 9239 5888
Open : 12-3pm Monday to Friday

British politics, links from the Daily Mail, and very likely the best gingerbread cookies in Sydney.

These are some of the things that I associate with chef Jonathan Ingram (or @jonathaningram3 as he is known on twitter) of Verandah. We crossed paths once, at the opening of the Wine Library, but didn’t actually meet or speak on that occasion, so a visit to Verandah was a long overdue event.

The sunny spacious restaurant is accessed via a walkway from the popular Verandah Bar area, and easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.

On this particular day, the clientele was very much the Suited City type, which made our table somewhat incongruous. I’d like to think that we added err ‘variety’.

We faffed around with our orders, one course or two? Quite ridiculous, really.

The problem was solved for us, in the end.

Zucchini flowers stuffed with Wild Rocket, Ricotta and Parmesan; Prawns on Ratatouille;

Crab and Avocado tian

My favourite of these three (yes the plate was as large as it appears) was the zucchini flowers, both the batter and filling of which were light texturally and tastewise. Sometimes I find zucchini flower filling a bit heavy, but these? Well I wished that I'd had more than one.  The tian contained generous amounts of crab, the classic avocado combination creamy but with the acidity of the accompanying tomatoes cutting a nice bite through the creaminess. Oh, and I think that the middle item was a small dollop of ratatouille beneath the plump fresh prawns, or if not, then something akin to it.

Mélange

760 Pacific Hwy
Gordon NSW 2072
02 9498 8575

It's not often that we find a good modern Australian cuisine restaurant out in the suburbs. There's one in the leafy north shore suburb of Gordon, although how long this place remains leafy is yet to be seen, no thanks to the massive medium density development that's going on at the moment. But let's talk less about the sorry state of NSW's real estate and generally suburbia-related planning issues and get back to talking about the main point, which is the food.

A & I walk past this restaurant very often, en route to and from the station. It's a little unassuming restaurant. It doesn't stand out, and its darkish decor certainly doesn't scream out for attention. Really the only reason we see it is because we walk past it so often. Otherwise we would not know of its existence.

They have a small blackboard outside which changes from time to time, informing passers by of the latest promotions that they have, and this latest one felt like it was good enough to take up, finally taking the plunge to visit this little place so close to home. So, one fateful night, rather than saying that "we should try this place sometimes" we said, "let's go try this place tonight." Before taking the plunge, of course, I do my due diligence and I turn to my trusty o' Google to see what others (if any) have said about this restaurant. Of course, like most restaurant reviews, it's either really good or really bad, but the overall impression and score was quite good, so my confidence rose a little.

Grazing Restaurant & Capital Wines : Gundaroo

Grazing Restaurant & Capital Wines
Cork St
Gundaroo
NSW 2620
(02) 6236 8777

Open : Lunch Fri - Sun and most Public Holidays; Dinner Thurs - Sat

The sky was blue, the air fresh with a gentle breeze, and the temperature sitting around 26 degrees as I left Canberra cross the border into Gundaroo. What for? Through aptronym, I got an introduction to meet Jenni at Capital Wines for some wine tasting.

What better way to do it than to have lunch at Grazing in Gundaroo as well?

The drive out to Gundaroo

Gundaroo is some 35km outside of Canberra on the NSW side. A historic town that lies in the Yass Valley at altitude of some 600m, it was established back in the 1820s and settled mainly by graziers, and an important stopover for goods and travellers travelling from railway station at Gunning to Queanbeyan.

Arriving at Gundaroo

Firefly Bar

24 Young Street

Neutral Bay

Ph : 02 9909 0193

We wandered into this place quite by accident. Driving past Neutral Bay, our hunger dictated that we made a stop and to look for something to eat. Deciding to forgo the usual places such as Oporto and Subway, in light of something a little more… shall we say, cultured? We stumbled upon Firefly. Seeing that there were people inside already, it was a good start…

The place had a great ambience. Wooden panels and wooden tables and chairs give it a warm atmosphere, and the soft jazz playing in the background suited the mood quite well - that of the lazy Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t too full, so the noise level was low.

On the first cursory glance through the menu, the prices seemed a little on the high side, until AL realised that there was a stimulus package special on - it was $20 per person, and you get 2 plates to share, and a drink. So between the 2 of us, we ordered 4 different plates and AL had the house white, whereas I went for the Peroni. It just felt like that sort of an afternoon.

First up were the seared scallops with caramelised fennel and Spanish vinegar. It was so delicious that I doubt it could’ve been improved. This could easily take on restaurants twice the price and still beat them hands down. The combination of the flavours was simply perfectly weighted, and the scallops almost melted in my mouth. It went with the beer really well, and I could not have asked for a better way to start the meal. The potato fries came along with it, and again, fried to perfection. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and lightly salted - just right…

Then came the Chicken Parmigiana with Italian coleslaw. I think this was the surprise dish of the day. The coleslaw was laid on top of the chicken and the crisp, fresh salad juxtaposed with the warm chicken fillet, giving an interesting palette that worked amazingly well together.

Last up was the chargrilled sirloin with celeriac puree. It looked delicious, with enough pink for me to think that it’s not overcooked. Sadly, it was quite firm, so you really had to chew through the meat, which was great if you wanted to give your jaws a good workout, but maybe not the best time… However, again the combination of the beef with the celeriac puree was divine. I was thinking that the dish would’ve been perfect if wagu beef was used instead. I’d gladly pay the extra.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and it had exceeded my expectations. (Actually, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I just hoped that it would be half decent.) Definitely a place I would go again in a blink of an eye. I think it’s a great place for a lazy Sunday afternoon late lunch, as there are a few other plates I would love to try. -K