Acacia Modern Japanese Dining

 Acacia Modern Japanese Dining

Shop 6&7 GPO Building

741 Pacific Hwy Gordon

02 9499 5214

info@acaciadining.com.au

The redevelopment of Gordon’s GPO building was completed quite a long time ago, with a lot of the building remaining empty. It took ages for the pizza place to open up in what used to be the Gordon post office. It was only very recently that another restaurant opened up in the building.

You can’t see this restaurant from Pacific Hwy, which may or may not be ideal. But if you’re like me, and take the train everyday, then yes, you can see the restaurant from the station side. Acacia is a modern Japanese restaurant, but really, it’s more of a Japanese/Western fusion, but with a lot more Japanese influence, but served in a Western style.

The décor is very modern, clean and the seats are comfortable. One issue I have with the décor is the noise suppression aspect. Or, should I say, the lack of it. It’s a fairly busy restaurant, meaning that the noise level can be quite high, almost to the point of lunch time yum cha levels. It is not at all romantic, as suggested by the restaurant’s advertising material. This is quite unfortunate.

It is also a very new restaurant, with the wait staff still learning the ropes and hence service is friendly, but inconsistent. Sometimes you get the feeling that the staff still aren’t quite sure about what to do, and  they can look a bit hesitant at times.

The Pawn Restaurant

The Pawn
62 Johnston Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong

No. 62 Johnston Road is a building consisting of four historical tenement houses located in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong. Completed in the late 19th century, these tenement houses or “shop houses” were designed so that a business owner to operate his enterprise on the ground floor, and use the upper levels for residential purposes, either for their own family, or even more enterprisingly, to be rented. This particular location has been heritage listed and according to historical records dating back to 1899, the building was a pawn shop.

What more apt way to name a dining establishment, The Pawn, than after its historical roots? Well, actually the building houses two dining establishments – The Pawn (on levels 1, 2 and 3) and Ovologue on the ground floor.

Let us concentrate on The Pawn for the moment, as my wife and I had the hankering of some good old fashioned English fare. There is nothing like a good fish and chips and Yorkshire pudding to remind us of Hong Kong’s colonial past.

The Missus and I were dining on the terrace of the second floor, or The Dining Room. Surprisingly, this is a quiet night for Wanchai.

The first rule of Duck Club.....

Well it all started with a blog entry on Peking Duck that lead to one of the member of  "The Sydney Tarts" (TM pending) suggesting that Peking Duck matches well with pinot noir. That lead to another member taking the initiative and organising the final Tarts GTG, called "Duck Club 2009".

By 730pm, most of DCers had arrived at the Golden Century in Chinatown. Our resident sommelier, Dr DY, picked out a selection of wines for the occasion (the Cyder taking the place of another bottle which had decided to sneak into a corner and hide).

(left to right) Agrapart et Fils Champagne,

2002 Duck Creek Estate Springflat Shiraz,

2008 Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay, 2004 Bindi Original Block Pinot Noir,

2009 Norfolk Still Cyder, 1999 Louis Latour 1st Cru Burgundy  

We started the celebration with an Agrapart et Fils Champagne.

While we waited and before we got too umm "happy", the obligatory wrist and table shots of the timepieces for the night were in order.

Table shot of the watches

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

On the Road to Canberra

featuring:


Cafe Courtyard

Level 7 Shop 15
02 9233 4937
MLC Centre
Martin Place Sydney 2000


Artespresso

31 Giles St 
Kingston 2604

Ph: (02) 6295 8055

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was in the nation’s capital. Many people’s thoughts seem to be that it is a hole not worthy of effort nor time. Friends who have stayed there for extended periods of time due to work commitments tend to want to escape from there as soon as possible, even to the point of driving out of said location in order to breathe and retrieve some sort of sanity. I mean, surely, apart from all the politicians that work there, it can’t be that bad? Can it?

You know there is possibly one good thing about Canberra, (and no… it’s not the roundabouts… especially giant ones featuring 3-4 lanes with some sort of a triangular building in the middle with grass for a roof and a massive flag mast…) and that is the lack of traffic. Of course, being weekend could be a reason, but coming from Sydney where weekend traffic more or less rivals those of weekdays, I think it’s a good sign. The roads are long, straight, (only interrupted by roundabouts) wide, and easy enough to drive. My road rage took a holiday.

My chosen companion for the trip (apart from the beautiful A) is the Omega Speedmaster Moon Phase. A classically designed watch that managed to stay in fashion for over 50 years, it is a convenient go-anywhere watch. I don’t plan to swim on this trip, so its 50m water resistant rating is plentiful. It’s a robust piece with chronograph (good for timing parking), stainless steel bracelet and sapphire crystal, dressy and sporty enough to pull of day and night festivities, perfect for these sort of trips when I don’t want to wear more than one watch. I know there’s a moon phase and date display, but generally speaking I don’t bother with these. Date’s too small to see and moon phase? Hmm… I know when it’s full moon when the crazies come out…

But before setting out to Canberra, we took a detour into the city. I had a hair appointment in the morning and believe it or not, it was difficult finding parking early on a Saturday morn. Whodathunkit? The hair appointment was to take advantage of Detail’s 1^st birthday bash and they were giving the presents. If you were a first time customer, you get your 1^st cut/consultation for free. Since I thought they did a good job, this is the free plug.

Detail For Men

6 O’connell Street, Sydney

We then headed on over to Cafe Courtyard at MLC centre for a hearty breakfast before the long drive that lay waiting. The portion size was a delightful surprise to us both when the food came to the table. We’ve come to expect small portions for high prices, especially places like MLC, but this was a genuine revelation. Except for the fact that we’d ordered assuming the worst, meaning neither of us could really finish the meal…

Eggs Benedict

The Big Brekky (well...not quite... we had to option a few things, but still excellent!)

It took us a while to get out of the city and its surroundings and on our way South. We never really planned on going straight to Canberra, but to actually take detours along the way towards Canberra, with it being the final stop for dinner and rest. Of course, a run south has to always include a quick stop at Stanwell Park With its fantastic views on a clear day, makes for a great wedding venue and excellent value proposition. Which is exactly what these people did.

After a quick stopover at the beach we headed for Canberra, but not before experiencing some of the best mountain passes between Berry through Kangaroo Valley and on towards Goulburn. The 180 degree turns while climbing uphill, tight turns and switchbacks, it was a real treat for anyone that enjoys their driving. These slow corners joined onto faster, flowing curves and wider roads for a completely different experience. It was just too bad that I was in the wrong car. I needed something that had a few more ponies under the hood and I was definitely missing low down torque. However, I must’ve been doing something right as I managed to catch up to a V8 SS Commodore, and keep it within my sights for the rest of the fun roads. I must remind myself to enjoy these roads again when I have a more powerful steed.

Artespresso

Dinner was at Art Espresso, which came highly recommended. What caught our eyes were the reasonable pricing and the large portions. That had us sold. The environment was very relaxed and mood lighting wasn’t over the top (as in I can still see my food). The service was prompt and friendly, and I have to say, the bestest steak that I’ve ever tasted! Yes, even better than places that does steaks well like Prime in Sydney, Meat & Wine Co, Kingsleys, etc. This was head and shoulders above them all. Yes I know, I went with the safe choice of steak, but I could not be happier with my choice. It went great with our drop of the night- a 2005 St Hugo Cab Sauv. Should’ve brought the 2004, but what can you do?

“A” had the sashimi entrée followed by the king salmon with almond crust, braised fennel, preserved orange and caramelised eschallot. I had the squid, seared with fried eggplant, pickled cucumber and Szechuan pepper caramel, followed by ‘Filet Mignon’ wrapped in bacon, with potato puree, roasted eschallots and red wine jus.

Sashimi Entree

 king salmon with almond crust, braised fennel, preserved orange and caramelised eschallot

The fish was good, but really, nothing could’ve compared to my steak. Thick and juicy, perfectly medium rare, but not soaked in blood. Quite the opposite, in fact. The texture was spot on and the flavour was just right. As a sauce guy, it is very rare that I eat a steak without drowning it in sauce. I almost didn’t want the meal to end, it was that good!

squid, seared with fried eggplant, pickled cucumber and Szechuan pepper caramel

‘Filet Mignon’ wrapped in bacon, with potato puree, roasted eschallots and red wine jus.

All in all a great way to get reacquainted with Canberra. It's turning out better than expected!


[Onomatopia]

Murrumbateman Wine Visit

McKellar Ridge Wines
Telephone: (02) 62581556
Email: info@mckellarridgewines.com.au
Postal: 2 Euroka Ave, Murrumbateman, NSW 2582
Cellar door opens: Sundays 12noon to 5pm. Other times by appointment

Clonakilla

Telephone: (02) 6227 5877

Email: wine@clonakilla.com.au
Postal: 3 Crisps Lane, Murrumbateman, NSW 2582

Cellar door opens: daily 11am to 5pm

Helm Wines
Telephone: (02) 6227 5953
Email: ken@helmwines.com.au
Butts Road, Murrumbateman NSW 2582.

Cellar door opens: daily 11am to 5pm

Sunday midday in Canberra was cold, wet and windy. Not exactly the sort of weather that encourages outdoor activity. However, the good people at McKellar Ridge Wines had already invited me to their Christmas Celebration and so with my jacket on, Google Maps on, I set out from Garran.

Canberra is blessed by some nice wine-growing region and although Murrumbateman, being only 30mins drive over the border into NSW from Canberra, it is clustered as part of the Canberra District wines. While wine-growing and wine-making has been around since 1840s in this region, it was not till 1970s when it was established by John Kirk of Clonakilla and Edgar Riek of Lake George Winery. Today, this region is well-established as a wine-making region due to the popularity of Clonakilla's Shiraz Viognier and Helm's Premium Riesling.

The wine from this region fascinates me. The altitude of around 600m and the cool climate means it is suited to some cool climate grapes and certainly shiraz and riesling grow very well here. However, pinot noir is not suited to Murrumbateman. Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle in this region but judging from my trip today, there are some very nice cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc coming out of this region. The shiraz and riesling are of different style to those from Barossa Valley or Eden Valley but just as pleasing.

As opposed to the more commercialised wineries in Hunter Valley in New South Wales, or McLaren Vale or Barossa Valley in South Australia, many wineries and cellar doors are quite small and family operated. As a consequence, I found it easier to talk to the vigneron and to learn and discuss their approach and philosophy when making their wines. The experience is more intimate and satisfying. You do not need to be part of wine club or tour group or super-star to enjoy the wines at many cellar doors in this region. Most importantly, you do not get scoffed at or laughed at when you ask a trivial question.

McKellar Ridge Winery was first up. This is a very young winery established in 2005. They produce roughly 400-500 dozen cases annually. Driving up the driveway, I could smell the BBQ shrimps and snags. The winemaker, Brian Johntson, was hard at work cooking for the guests while wife, Janet, was busy serving  the cellar door. Since the last time I was here, the new 2008 vintage has been released and I'll briefly talk about the wines I tasted today with the BBQ and salad provided!

McKellar Ridge Winery

1. 2009 Sauvignon Blanc: A refreshing and dry white with hint of passionfruit and citrus. A very nice contrast to sauvignon blanc from Margaret River or New Zealand.
2. 2008 Shiraz Viognier: The grapes are hand-picked and basket pressed and matured for 14 months in French oak. This wine is very approachable with nice blackberry fruit and a very velvety tannin without being overly spicey. I really like this SV.
3. 2005 Shiraz Viognier: The Johnston's opened their remaining 2005 as a comparison to the 2008. They sold out the 2007 but I was fortunate enough to tried some at my last trip. The 2005 has the advantage of few more years of maturation with deep blackberry fruit, good tannin and even better structure in the mouth compare to the 08 SV. I'm sure if given a few more years the 08 will be just as nice.
4. 2008 Merlot Cabernet franc: A very nice oak to the nose, plum on the palate  with nice tannin. I find this a very nice wine although it is on a slightly sweet side. The vigneron was aiming for a St-Emillion style of blend. While I have not tasted wines from St-Emillion, I still quite enjoy this particular blend.
5. 2008 Trio (cabernet sauvignon 70%, cabernet franc 20%, merlot 10%) : a blend closely resembling a Bordeaux blend, I really really enjoyed this particular wine. It shows good structure, fine tannin, oak to the nose and great depth of ripe berry with nice finish. It's amazing how allowing this wine to breathe really brings out its character. Definitely my pick of the lot.

 Next year's wine in the barrels

Brian Johnston, vigneron and BBQ extraordinaire, hard at work

After a very fulfilling lunch, my next stop was Clonakilla. While I have tasted most of the previous vintages, I have yet to try the new riesling and the new shiraz viognier.

2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

1. 2009 Riesling: A clean, refreshing white with good aroma of citrus/lemon. Nice aroma and beautiful finish. Certainly a different style of riesling to my other favourite, the Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling.
2. 2008 O'Riada shiraz: This is a shiraz with viognier co-fermented. Whilst the viognier is grown by Clonakilla, the shiraz are sourced from around the region. I find this a more approachable wine than the 2008 shiraz viognier (more on this later). It has good structure, fragrant and spicy with nice blackberry fruit. It has a very smooth tannin.
3. 2008 Shiraz viognier: Let's face it, everyone who comes to Clonakilla wants to try their flagship. This is shiraz (94%) co-fermented with viognier (6%). Initially, a very young wine and certainly less approachable than the O'Riada, but give it space and air, it shows that this is a very complex wine with spicy bouquet of blackberry, intense and spicy but a very savoury finish. One thing I notice is the SV is less intensely coloured compare to other shiraz I've had.

2008 Shiraz Viognier up against the light

Sun finally shining through by the time I was leaving Clonakilla

Ready to be picked March/April next year

My final destination was Helm wines. By the time I got here, the cloud came over and rain came. I was lucky enough to have made it in time to run into the Helm cellar door, which, interestingly, was an old school building.

Yep, 420pm at Helm Wine, I still have 40 mins before closing time

Ken Helm planted his first grape back in the 1970s. He is a big promoter of the region's wines and of his own riesling. Again, I was here tasting some of the new vintages.

1. 2008 Riesling: this is the 32nd vintage of this fantastic riesling. It is young, refreshing with citrus on the nose. 
2. 2008 Premium Riesling: Drinking the premium riesling is like comparing a C and E class Mercedes. Whilst both are very good, the premium riesling (E class) is that much more better than the riesling (C class). It has a more intense citrus/lemon aroma with a nice palate and finish. The premium riesling is not made very vintage as only the best fruit is used to make the premium riesling
3. 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: a definitely rare varietal to be growing here as cabernet tends not to mature well in the cooler climates. However, this is a very good wine with good structure, beautiful oak to the nose, deep red and black berry palate with a very smooth and well structured tannin. This cabernet is not as big as other cabernets I've had from Coonawarra or Margaret River regions. 

The '08 Shiraz in French oak barrels

Overall, I had a great half a day in Murrumbateman tasting beautiful wines and chatting to very enthusiastic vignerons about their wines. I hope this little region remain as it is so the charm and warmth is not lost to over-commercialisation.

As for the timepiece, it is the Jaeger Le-Coultre Master Geographic as reviewed in previous post.

[JH]

A Weekend in Canberra

My girlfriend J1 flew down for a weekend in our Nation's Capital, Canberra. After much delay, like 4 LONG hours delay, Virgin Blue DJ 633 finally arrived at Canberra "International" Airport.

Our national capital's "international" airport is equivalent to a regional airport with 10 bays for planes. The runway has been upgraded to carry the A380. I don't know, however, if Canberra has the passenger numbers to support A380 flying to and from it.

July being a truffle festival in Canberra, many restaurants run special truffle-theme menus. One such restaurant we tried was Anise. This restaurant was recommended to us by work colleagues. J did further research before flying down and decided that the truffle degustation at Anise sounds enticing. Sadly, our experience was far less than positive, certainly way below the 13.5/20 scored by SMH Good Food Guide.

The olive was nice enough but the $75 2006 Bourgogne (Burgundy) from Cote d'Or was not up to scratch. J2 (the author) was particularly disappointed as he has developed an affinity to Bourgogne. Maybe he should've ordered a good solid Australian or New Zealand pinot noir? Or should we have gone the matching wine option?

The first dish was potato and truffle salad, poached truffle interweave freerange egg. What disappointment. The balsamic vinegar used over-powered the truffle. We saw specs of truffle but couldn't taste it.

The second dish was Potage of scallops, mussels, leek and truffle. While the scallops were very fresh, I thought my mussel was less than fresh, the potage being very salty and again, we saw truffle but couldn't taste it.

By this time, J1 and J2 were very unimpressed and did not continue to take photos. The third dish was Fillet of Beef Rossini - beef fillet, duck liver pate, potato galette, madeira and truffle sauce). This was probably the best dish of the night but sadly, the truffle was over-powered and the afore-mentioned bourgogne was less than suitable to this dish.

We felt rather disappointed with our experience at Anise and certainly felt ripped-off. I do not think we would be visiting Anise any time soon.

The next day, J1 and J2 set out to visit Murrumbateman. This is a little known region of NSW producing some great cold climate wines. It is a short 40km drive from Canberra.

The first winery we visited was Clonakilla. This boutique winery has developed quite a cult following with its Shiraz Viognier (SV) which is their flagship wine. While very little 2007 vintage SV was made due to crop loss to frost, J1 and J2 await patiently for the 2008 vintage to be released. However, the O'Riada is equally impressive being also shiraz viognier blend BUT with shiraz sourced from Murrumbateman and Canberra region instead of being single vineyard shiraz. The viognier, however, is still Clonakilla's own grape.

While Clonakilla is less known for its white wine, we really enjoy the 2007 Viognier. This is a beautiful white wine that is lightly oaked in 30% new oak barrel.

Clonakilla vineyard.

Lunch was at Crisps Lane Cafe at Yass Valley Winery. This was recommended to us by Tim Kirk of Clonakilla. Again, in keeping with the truffle theme, the cafe offered a few truffle dishes. J1 and J2 were cautious due to their previous night's experience.

J1 ordered the chicken vou-le-vent with truffle which was a pleasant surprise.

J2 ordered the pumpkin risotto with truffle and again this was a pleasant surprise. J2's only complaint was that there wasn't enough in the serving!

The next winery we stopped at was at Helm in Murrumbateman. Helm wine was established in 1973 by Ken Helm on the site of the old Toual Public School (from 1888!). The cellar door is situated in the old school building. J1 and J2 had a great time at Helm, enjoying the 2009 Helm Riesling while we were given a private tour of Helm cellar by Ken himself.

Old grape press at Helm.

Apart from the 2009 Riesling, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon was fantastic as was the 2007 Cabernet Merlot blend. Ken was very happy to inform us that he was recently achieved 5 stars in the new James Halliday wine book.

The last place we visited was Gallagher Wines. Again, another surprise. We were impressed with the Sauvignon Blanc. This 2008 Sauv Blanc has a rather punchy taste, good structure and nose full of passionfruit. A very crisp flavour that lingers long after the wine disappears down the oesophagus. Certainly a very different style of Sauv blanc compare to Margaret River or NZ Sauv Blanc. Other notable wines include the 2008 riesling and the merlot. J2 has never been a merlot fan but the 2007 merlot has nose of black cherry with light hint of oak. The berry flavour being persistent and quite a velvety finish. at $22, the 2007 Gallagher Shiraz was again a surprise. The Shiraz has a deep garnet red in colour and taste of plum and cherry, soft tannin and again, nicely oaked. Along with the beautiful wine, Gallagher also produced camembert and labneh, both of which went really well with the whites and reds! More on these later!

Random cherry blossom at Nara Park in Canberra.

After a "hectic" day 2 of wine and cheese tasting, J1 and J2 had a slow Sunday. Breakfast was at Deli Planet at Fyshwick Market. The ricotta tart and the breakfast pizza was recommended to us by locals.

While we waited for our breakfast to arrive, watch shots were in order. J1 was wearing her Omega Speedmaster with white MOP dial while J2 was wearing his Omega MK IV Speedmaster on mesh. Both watches were lying on top of J1's Fendi leather gloves.

J1's Speedmaster Reduced MOP is powered by Omega's Cal 3220. This is based on ETA 2892 with DD Chronograph module piggy-backed on top of the ETA movement. J2's MKIV (176.009) is powered by cal 1040. Cal 1040 was based on Lemania cal 1341 was first used in the 1970 in the MK III. In 1973, Omega introduced the Speedmaster 125 based on the cal 1041, which was the COSC version of the cal 1040. In the last fortnight that J2 has been wearing his MKIV, it has gained no more than 10 seconds per week, not bad for a non-COSC chronograph movement from the 70s!

Arghhh, yes, the mocha with ricotta tart. The mocha was well made, good coffee bean but froth was not perfect. The ricotta tart was very nice and certainly highly recommended.

Finally, after 10 minutes, our breakfast pizza arrived. The ingredients of both breakfast pizzas are thus:

Pizza number 2

Pizza number 1

After a fulfilling breakfast at Deli Planet, we went for a walk along Lake Burley Griffin to work off the calories.

Parliament House

National Carillion

Blundell's Farm House along the Lake Burley Griffin.

The Telstra Tower (I know it as the Telecom Tower) on top of Black Mountain. Btw, for any serious cyclist, this is a fantastic climb to the top :)

J1 and J2 then spent the rest of afternoon at Nara Park. We had chicken liver pate, 2009 Helm Riesling, the Gallagher Camembert and the Gallagher labneh.

The Gallagher Camembert is a fantastic cheese. Very creamy and very tasty. We're not big cheese connoisseurs but we still love it.

Gallagher's labneh, again a fantastic labneh that goes well with our Riesling.

The blackening sky, cold wind and temperature down to 5 degrees did not damper our enthusiasm for a picnic.

A view from top of Red Hill.

Overall, a fantastic weekend. Although it didn't start well, it ended well.