Three Williams, Redfern (II)

By now, most of us would have heard about Three Williams and their narnies and French toast. Some of you love it, some of you don't. Regardless, it remains successful with countless people queuing up each weekend. For me, it's one of the cafes in Sydney that I would be happy to return again and again especially after noticing a few specials popping up every now and then on their social media sites. Sure enough, those specials are now available on their brand new Spring menu. Recently, I was invited to a tasting session of Three Williams' new menu one evening where we got to sample a decent selection of their new dishes from the new narnies to the generous salads and the infamous French toast. 

Super Smoothie ($8.00)

Since it was getting dark, it was harder for me to spot this hidden cafe since the only signage was the W on the door. However it was easy to spot once you get to see the light coming from that familiar spacious cafe. Once I was seated down, I was treated to a sample of the Super Smoothie. This contains kale, apricot, apple, LSA, banana, ginger and cinnamon (dairy free). Was expecting it to be similar to a matcha smoothie when I saw the colour but it was quite sweet, smooth and refreshing like a pressed juice. So good to have on a warm day and it's healthy too! 

Seasonal house made soda - Raspberry and lime soda ($5 for glass/$12 for jug) 

The seasonal house made sofa was also a treat to have during the warmer seasons. It was not too sweet, lightly flavoured and had a nice fizzy sensation. Finished more than a few of these drinks throughout the evening.

Crispy school prawns ($8.00)

Man the crispy school prawns were so addictive that our table had no problem finishing this off. Loved its crispy batter which matched well with the zesty aioli. It didn't bother me at all eating these prawns whole one by one. They are quite sharp though so I wouldn't recommend popping them into your mouth too fast.

Herb rubbed free range roast duck with roast pears, rocket, apple balsamic and aioli ($16.00)

We were getting very excited when we saw the duck narnie ending up on the table. The roast duck was very tender and blended well with the creamy aioli. Though what surprised me about this dish was the pear. As soon as I chomp into the familiar roast duck meat, I came across the sweet and chunky pieces of pear hidden inside. While it was unexpected, the sweetness of the pears and the apple balsamic worked so well with the rest of this otherwise savoury dish.

Wild mushrooms, baby spinach, truffle balsamic, Stracchino cheese sauce and Parmesan ($15.00)

For the strict vegetarian readers, fear not! The wild mushrooms narnie was absolutely delicious to the point that I wouldn't mind going vegetarian (for a week) myself. My eyes gazed heavily on this narnie especially when I could smell that truffle aroma from the balsamic. Combining that with the succulent and juicy wild mushrooms plus the intriguing and flavoursome cheese sauce (!!!), you get a winning food-porn worthy combination that will convert any meat eater. It's no surprise that this was one of the fave dishes of our table.

Grilled Atlantic octopus, savoy cabbage, preserved lemon, radish, chilli, hazelnuts and jalapeno dressing ($17.00)

After the calorie-intensive narnies, we settled ourselves down with a couple of salads starting with the Grilled Atlantic Octopus salad. I found this to be light, zesty, colourful and substantial on its own. Loads of flavours and textures whether it was the crunch of the cabbage and the hazelnuts; the softness of the grilled octopuc; the tangy sensation from the peserved lemon; and the mild spicy tastes from the chilli and jalapeno dressing. It would actually convince you to be friends with salad.

Organic tofu, charred broccolini, roasted almonds, Japanese seaweed and fresh peas ($15.00)

At first I thought that the tofu looked like feta cheese from afar (I had an exhausting day). Not a huge fan of tofu in the past but its softness worked itself well in balancing the texture on what was otherwise a crunchy salad. With all these ingredients, it's another welcoming and healthy addition for the vegetarians.

Slow roasted free range pork loin, caramelised apple puree, cherry tomato and black pudding ($18.00)

By this point, I was filling up and the main dishes have arrived so we soldiered on. Due to its slow-cooked method, the pork was so tender that it melts in your mouth with lots of fatty bits that can tempt you when you're on a diet. Matched well with the sweet apple puree and the tomatoes. Personally I don't mind black pudding at all and this was quite good too. From afar, this actually looked like a dish you may get at a fine dining restaurant judging by its presentation, only with bigger servings.

Beer Battered Chips ($8.00)

One can't go to Three Williams without trying a bit of their beer battered chips. These were no exception. Crunchy on the outside and piping hot and soft on the inside, it was no wonder that we got really addicted to having more chips than we really should.

Rangers Valley mbs 7+ Wagyu minute steak with red wine butter and chips ($19.00)

Just when we were satisfied by the bowl of chips, even more chips showed up on our table along with a generous slab of wagyu minute steak. While it was hard to cut, the steak was actually quite tender when we had a taste of it. Haven't tried the red wine butter before but it was intriguing dabbing into this. Personally I thought it had an unusual flavour and seemed too creamy and buttery for my liking but I'm sure others would have enjoyed this.

Pan seared market fish with pea puree, broad beans and snow pea tendrils ($20.00)

Even though the dishes were shared across the table, we were getting very full by this point. However, I couldn't resist this simple yet beautiful looking seafood plate. Especially after looking at the dabbles of pea puree scattered around the plate that blended nicely with the other greens. The fish used that evening was the silver dory, which I found to be well cooked and seasoned though I couldn't help coating the fish with a squeeze of lemon for the flavour boost. 

Crunchy Brioche French Toast - caramel bananas, hazelnuts and Belgian chocolate ($16.00)

The one thing that kept our stomachs from going into food coma mode was, of course, the infamous Crunchy Brioche French Toast. While their original French toast from its opening day is still on the menu, Three Williams has added another option on the Spring menu for the chocolate and caramel lovers. It is incredibly sweet but oh so decadent. Just look at the spoonfuls of chocolate, crunchy hazelnuts and caramelised banana pieces topped over the warm, crispy and crumbled toast. As soon as I cut into the toast, you can gaze at how soft and fluffy it really is on the inside. Everything on this sweet dish is so bad yet so good. While it's not gonna get me thinner for Summer (sigh), it is worth the cheat meal when you dine here this season.

Gotta say guys, I am impressed and satisfied by what Three Williams has offered at this tasting. While we tried a generous selection of new dishes this time, there were even more dishes from the that we didn't get to try. The atmosphere was chilled and relaxing. Also, the service has been attentive not only on this occasion but at other times that I've visited this cafe in the past. Will certainly be returning again to try more new dishes as well as the classics on the new menu before the next seasonal menu arrives. 

The Random Foodie Vault: check out my previous post of Three Williams back in April 2014.

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie dined as a guest of Three Williams, courtesy of Wasamedia. Opinions are however, my own.

Three Williams
613a Elizabeth Street, Redfern NSW 2016
(02) 9698 1111
http://www.threewilliams.com/
Mon-Sun: 7:00am - 4:00pm