Chiado Restaurant and Wine Bar, Potts Point

I love best kept secrets. It's those hidden gems that make Sydney or any other city special. Chiado restaurant seems to fall into this category with the location being hidden away from the insane nightlife of the Cross and tucked into the much more quiet Kellett Street. I have rarely been to Portuguese restaurants in Sydney. Before this night, my exposure to Portuguese cuisine has been through Portuguese chicken in fast food places. Whether those eateries are considered as authentic is a whole different story.

We were supposed to be dining at Hugos Bar Pizza for MT's birthday party but due to overbooking and a bit of disorganisation on a Saturday night, our booking got cancelled. After calling heaps of restaurants in the area at the very last minute, we eventually settled with the recently opened Chiado who gladly let us make a booking for a group of 8-10 ppl. This is partly why I love best kept secrets :p.  

Since it was a large group, we ordered for the banquet menu which is $40 per person. Because of the lack of website (except for the Facebook page), we really had no idea what to expect that night. I did have a look at the A La Carte menu and was already drooling by some of the dishes they have. 

After receiving our complimentary bread (sorry no photo), this dish showed up. I wasn't sure which dish it was when I looked back at the menu but it looks like a croquette or a crumbed empanada. Loved the breadcrumbed coating and thought that the filling of prawns and some kind of creamy and lumpy white sauce had a rustic texture.

Rissois de Camarao - Portuguese prawn empanadas ($13.00)

While the beef was soft and tender, we thought that the red wine sauce was too strong for our liking. Tried dipping the bread in the sauce and the only thing we could taste was red wine.

Pica Pau - Cubed beef in red wine and garlic sauce ($10.00)

I love mixing the poached egg with anything in my dish so seeing this put a smile on my face. The broad beans were a bit too soft for my liking but the oozy poached egg was amazingly cooked and added a nice eggy flavour to the beans. I also loved the chorico which was well-cooked and added a tasty meaty touch to this dish. Great comfort food on a cold day.

Favas com Chourico - soft broad beans with homemade smoked chorico and topped with a slow cooked poached egg and truffle oil ($16.00)

I'm a sucker when it comes to oxtail so imagine my reaction when this plate arrived to the table. The presentation reminded me of the way some dishes were presented at fine dining restaurant but with a much bigger serving size. The veggies and the tender oxtail were cooked to perfection and the legumes added a grainy texture to the plate. While I was satisfied with this dish, I was getting too full possibly from the other dishes and perhaps the sangria as well. 

Rabo de boi - Oxtail prepared in a stew and served with celery and legumes ($26.00)

While half of us had the ox tail, the other half had the soft shell crab dish. I only tried a little bit but thought it tasted very creamy like risotto. 

Arroz de Caranguejo - soft shell crab on a bed of seafood infused rice ($28.00) 

We were sooo stuffed by the end but as CC often says "I have that spare stomach for desserts". Thankfully this wasn't too filling for us. It reminded me of a creme brulee tart with the creamy custard and the flaky pastry. I don't eat Portuguese tarts very often but I think this dessert is a winner for me.

Pastel de Nata - Portuguese tart ($6.00)

It was interesting leaving the noisy and messy Bayswater Road and entering into the quiet, intimate and leafy Kellett Street. As you walked past, you wouldn't have immediately notice the restaurant from the outside as it looked a bit like a terrace house based on the surrounding buildings. Inside, it was also fairly intimate but we made lots of noise in the restaurant that night due to our crazy antics (thanks sangria!). For those who are not familiar with Portuguese cuisine, I'd say this restaurant has done a decent job in introducing us to a wide selection of traditional dishes from that culture. I'd definitely recommend this restaurant not just because it is perfect as a way to introduce us to Portuguese cuisine but it is just something we barely see around in Sydney. It certainly got me curious all night. And presenting us the bill in a Portuguese passport was a nice and pretty hilarious touch. 

Moving to Portugal LOL

Chiado Restaurant and Wine Bar

50 Murray Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009 (formerly at 3 Kellett St, Potts Point)

(02) 9357 7706

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BocaLocaRestaurant

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