Taste the Mediterranean with Bakers Delight and De Bortoli Wines Launch

Recently I was invited to the launch night promoting the new Meditteranean Delights Turkish breads from Bakers Delight and exploring a broad range of wines from De Bortolli Wines. This event was held inside a intimate dining room at Cafe Nice in Circular Quay. When you stepped inside, it feels like you have been transported to the Mediterranean or even an exotic place somewhere in Turkey especially with the cushions, lamps, aromas and a tray of various herbs and spices to taste.

For a limited time only, Bakers Delight has released a new line of Mediterranean Delights Turkish breads which are Sea Salt Flakes and Chilli and Garlic. Both types of bread were soft, chewy, light and flavoursome. The Chilli and Garlic did have a slow and spicy hit after a few bites while the Sea Salt Flakes was mild and not too salty though it was still flavoursome on its own. We got the chance to sample both types of bread from this range with a variety of dips including the delicious olive oils from River Flats Estate and La Barre plus La Barre's special blood plum vinegar.

Sea Salt Flakes Bread with Olive Oil and Vinegar 

Chilli and Garlic Bread

Throughout the evening, we were treated to a selection of canapes served with bread from the Mediterranean Delights range. My personal faves that got me grabbing for seconds were the creamy, sweet Pate de foie de canard with fig paste and the simple yet tasty Prosciutto di parma and Reggiano. 

Antipasti platter with a selection of dips and vegetables

Baby peas with goat's cheese and mint 

Pissaladiere 

Prosciutto di parma and Reggiano 

Pate de foie de canard with fig paste

Braised peppers and white anchovies

There was also the chance to try a couple of dishes from Cafe Nice including the succulent and creamy duck pate accompanied with a couple of slices of sourdough bread. It was tough sharing this one plate with a group of us but we managed to sample enough to enjoy the taste and flavour of this classic French dish. And this is coming from a former fussy eater who avoided pate during her childhood.

Duck pate with sourdough bread

The other dish we tried was a Salad Nicoise, a healthier alternative after eating a dish like duck pate. There were loads of fresh ingredients to take in with this colourful bowl of greens though the star would have to be the soft boiled egg. 

Salad Nicoise

There was also a selection of wines from De Bortoli Wines available for tasting that night. While we sample each glass, there was also a sommeliere who explained the differences between each wine from this brand. Personally I'm not a wine expert so here's some notes I was able to gain from each glass on the night, courtesy of De Bortoli Wines.

2013 BellaRiva Pinot Grigio - this white wine (seen above) was light and aromatic in flavour. It has a fine, pear-like, fruity and nutty taste with a bright colour and good texture and complexity. Perfect to drink on its own.

NV Rococo Yarra Valley Premium Cuvee

NV Rococo Yarra Valley Premium Cuvee - this was served as a sparkling wine on the night and was noted for its pale colour with green tinges. It had a biscuit-like aroma with citrus and white pear type of flavour with a soft creamy textured palate. It wasn't as light as the Pinot Grigio but it had a sweetness that complemented well with the canapes served that evening. 

2013 BellaRiva Merlot

2013 BellaRiva Merlot - this had a dark red with purple appearance. The overall palate was a soft, smooth and juicy texture with rich flavours where you could sense black fruits in the ingredients. This was personally my favourite from the night with its smooth, fruity yet balanced flavour. I can imagine this would be ideal to have with red meats.

2011 BellaRiva Sangiovese Merlot

2011 BellaRiva Sangiovese Merlot - this was a red wine with good garnet edge. Unlike the Merlot, this wine had a rustic, complex and earthy aromas. It has a dry, brooding, autumnal and savoury palate that would be suitable for a meal on a cool night paired with rich dishes such as red meats and pasta.

All in all, it was a cozy and fun evening catching up with other fellow bloggers as well as meeting the team from Bakers Delight and De Bortoli Wines. While I wasn't hopping on a plane anytime soon, the event really felt like I was back in Europe exploring the classic Mediterranean dishes and sipping lots of wine especially with the lovely, vibrant atmosphere. 

Bakers Delight's Sea Salt Flakes and Chilli and Garlic Turkish breads from the Mediterranean Delights range are currently available for four weeks only so remember to head to your local Bakers Delight branch for a sample before its too late. 

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie attended the Taste the Mediterranean Launch event, courtesy of Keep Left PR. Opinions are however, my own.

Jones the Grocer, Sydney CBD

Firstly, Merry (belated) Christmas, Seasons Greetings and happy crazy Boxing Day to all of my fellow readers! Hope you had an epic time pigging out with your family/friends/special someone and drinking so much like I have been over the last two weeks. Recovery has been messy.

When Jones the Grocer opened at the former site of Justin North's Quarter 21 and Becasse, I thought that it was a brand new restaurant. In fact, it had actually been around for more than 16 years when it was based in Woolahra. In December 2012, the flagship store was relocated to the easier-to-access Westfield Sydney City. As the name indicates, it opens as both a restaurant and a cafe with a patisserie and a retail and deli store containing lots of foodie essentials and gourmet ingredients. 

We (CC and I) were kindly invited to try out the menu at Jones the Grocer which is interesting since I have tried this restaurant once prior to this night and walked past this dining joint nearly everyday this year. Given that I was satisfied by the food I've had previously, I was intrigued to discover what else it offers to satisfy my lunch/post work dinner cravings. 

With worldwide branches in New Zealand, UAE, Qatar and Singapore; Jones the Grocer delivers excellent quality gourmet ingredients sourced from specialised food producers. It even has space for loads of cheese and a meat slicer that gets me drooling.

CHEEEEESE!!!

Loads of wine to choose from

The atmosphere has its noisy and quiet moments but generally it was a calmer atmosphere compared to the small bars and casual dining joints that have been populating the city lately.

We got a glass of white wine [sauvignon blanc?] and a sweet and fruity glass of pink lemonade (thanks CC!) on the night, which were refreshing and essential given what we ended up eating...

We started our night off with the Salt and Pepper Squid with yuzu mayonaise, Thai herb salad dressed with Tamarind, chilli and lime sauce; that was recommended to us by our waiter. Gotta say that we were impressed by the colourful presentation of this plate. The Thai salad had a sweet and zesty taste thanks to the yuzu mayo and chilli and lime sauce. However, we were blown away by the crispy and lightly crumbed squid. After eating away the batter, I've found that the squid itself had a tender bite which matched well with the strong flavours of the tamarind sauce. With all those ingredients, it was no surprise that we could detect some Asian inspried flavours in this yummy plate. While it was CC's dish, she was not a fan of coriander so I helped out in eating the salad greens and some squid pieces on her behalf hehe.

Salt and Pepper Squid with yuzu mayonaise, Thai herb salad dressed with Tamarind, chilli and lime sauce ($18.00)

Since Jones the Grocer opened at Westfield, the Angel hair pasta with blue swimmer crab, chilli, rocket, garlic and grana padano was on my food radar mainly because I love any dish with crab. Again, we loved the presentation with this plate though I was surprised that this would be considered an entree dish (it is pasta after all...). Again we noticed the Asian incluences due to the thinness of the pasta reminding us of vermicelli or egg noodles. Everything on this plate worked well with each other as you take each bite from the thin and silky angel hair pasta to the relatively mild chilli flakes and the bitter yet fresh rocket. While there was a slight buttery taste, the grated grana padano cheese adds another layer of bite to this textual dish. Didn't expect to enjoy this dish with cheese but it actually made it even better. As for the crab, there was generous servings of crab meat prevalent in this dish which is absolute perfection for us.

Angel hair pasta with blue swimmer crab, chilli, rocket, garlic and grana padano ($19.00)

I was extremely indecisive about my choice of main but ended up going with the free-range slow roasted pork cutlet with carrot puree, poached prune and shaved cabbage pangrattato salad. Partly because of my weird obsession with anything involving breadcrumbs/pangrattato. On the night, I've found that the pork was a tad dry though it was still quite tasty especially with the lovely pork crackling. It was quite intriguing trying out the poached prunes which had a heavy and very sweet texture.  Also the cabbage salad had a bitter taste but the crumbled pangrattato balanced out the flavours. 

Free-range slow roasted pork cutlet with carrot puree, poached prune and shaved cabbage pangrattato salad ($32.00)

While the waiter told us that it will take a while to make this dish, CC couldn't help ordering the slow-cooked beef short rib with roasted eye-fillet, mushroom and red wine. If you think that sounds like a mouthful, believe me it is. The serving was delivered to us as a (VERY) massive chunk of meat with a smudge of green pesto sauce on top and the small pile of mushrooms hidden underneath the short-rib. The pulled beef was so tender that it was easy to cut through each piece when we wanted to share. There wasn't a lot of mushrooms nor was there much red wine sauce but we made the most of the additional ingredients on this plate to balance it out. There was also a generous amount of fat on the edge of the meat which will make meat-lovers drool. Apparently there was a small piece of eye-fillet in this dish but I don't remember spotting this at all when I helped out (CC can you help fill in the blanks please? Thanks bro). Will definitely recommended this as a shared dish unless you really love eating that much meat in one sitting. We both ended up suffering a terrible case of meat sweats by the end. Maybe we should have gotten a seafood main?

Slow-cooked Beef Short Rib with Roasted Eye-Fillet, Mushroom and Red Wine ($35.00)

OK we were dying by this point but as the saying goes: there is ALWAYS room for dessert! After seeing the choices on the dessert menu, we knew we had to order them no matter what. And man we did not regret that decision. At all. 

CC opted for the warm sticky date pudding with salted caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream aka her idea of heaven on a plate. While I had a few bites, I've noticed how amazing this tasted with all of those ingredients. The warm pudding itself had a soft and moist texture and it was only slightly rich but manageable to handle. The (thankfully) generous amount of salted caramel sauce and the perfectly rounded vanilla bean ice cream added even more flavour to the already amazingly delicious pudding which will bring happiness to your taste buds. I'm generally not a fan of vanilla ice cream but this version just made me fall in love with it (plus I do love vanilla bean). So heavenly! I'm pretty sure it ended with us attempting to scoop up all of the sauce. It was no surprise that CC wasn't as keen to share this dish. Not even surprised that she was still craving about it a week later! 

Warm Sticky Date Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream ($12.00)

The Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse was equally lovely with its smoothness. It was a bit heavier and richer compared to the sticky date pudding but the sprinkles of shaved dark chocolate was pleasing to the eye and added a good amount of crunch. Loved the raspberry layer, which added a lighter, sweet and fruit taste to this decadent dessert. There was also loads of tiny chocolate balls which are pretty much like popping candy that bursts in your mouth as you eat each of those treats. 

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse ($12.00)

The atmosphere was generally chilled and relaxing with jazzy music playing in the background. Bonus points for the service being friendly and attentive to our requests. Since it's close to work, I wouldn't mind coming back here again during lunch or after work one day to try out other dishes from the menu including the seafood mains and the sticky date pudding. Would even do some shopping here once in a while. Probably won't eat here regularly though because the prices for some of the dishes do lean towards the more expensive side. Aside from the prices, we're pretty impressed with what Jones the Grocer offers whether you wanted a quick coffee, a take-away sandwich from the bakery, dessert cakes or just simply a round of gourmet food shopping since many of the ingredients in the menu were also available in the grocery.  

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie dined as guests of Cavcon and Jones the Grocer. Opinions remain personal.

Jones the Grocer
Level 5, Westfield Sydney, Cnr Market Street and Castlereagh Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 8072 7755
http://www.jonesthegrocer.com/
Mon-Sat: 8:00am - late
Sun: 8:00am - 7:00pm

Let's Do Lunch: Fix St James, Sydney CBD

One of my favourite events of Good Food Month was the Let's Do Lunch specials. It is where you get to sample a dish at the participating restaurant for only $38 including a glass of Brown Brothers wine, Coopers beer, sparking or still water, tea or coffee. More than 70 restaurants were involved in Let's Do Lunch this year so you have a wide range of choices on where to go for a decadent lunch feed. So sad that it's over for another year but at least you get an idea on what dishes to expect when you head to one of these restaurants between now and next year's event.

At Fix St James, the crowd is predominantly corporate office workers, lawyers, business people and the like who are working nearby. Don't expect to rock up here in casual gear. Still, the vibe is more casual and social than your usual hatted restaurant like Quay, Rockpool, Sepia with its minimal decor gearing towards modern and contemporary dining. Bonus points for friendly and attentive service.

For starters, Fix St James offer a slice of foccacia bread. While the texture of the bread was slightly tough, the highlight was the garlic flavour on top as you bite into it. Would have been nice to have a small bowl of extra virgin olive oil as a dip.

Complimentary foccacia bread

Fix St James' offering was the duck confit with new season carrots and boozy prunes which showcases the restaurant's focus on delivering European cuisine (with a focus on French and Italian) with a modern flair and bold flavours. This was certainly displayed in their prunes delivering a strong fruity flavour. The veggies were well-cooked and ripe while the duck was seasoned and gamey with a slight crispiness in the skin. I can imagine this hearty dish would be perfect for one of those cooler days and you don't want to resort to carbs for a warm feed. Overall, the serving was enough to get you full and satisfied for a few hours until dinner. 

Duck Confit with New Season Carrots and Boozy Prunes ($32 on the regular menu)

My choice of complimentary beverage that day was a Brown Brothers red wine (think it was Shiraz if memory serves me right) to match with the duck. It had that rich, full, intense and fruity  flavour as you taste the wine for the first time. Quite nice to have while digging into your main dish. Since the restaurant is also a wine bar, it's no surprise to discover that they stock at least 200 different types of wine! With the owner, Stuart Knox, knowing a thing or two (and much more) about wines; you know you are onto a good start for your alcoholic beverage needs.

Brown Brothers Red Wine

There is heaps of other food that I'm keen to try on the regular menu including the beef tartare, the 'Ode to Fergus', and Coorong Steak Tagliata. Will definitely be making more visits since it's close to work. The prices are leaning towards the more expensive side but at least the substantial portions for most of the food makes up for it. Definitely recommended if you are looking for a place to dine for a business meeting or having fun with your colleagues for lunch or after work. 

Fix St James

111 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9232 2767
http://www.fixstjames.com.au/
Lunch: Monday - Friday 12pm-3pm
Dinner: Monday - Thursday 5:30pm-9pm, Friday 5:30pm-10pm, Saturday 6pm-9pm

 

Essen Restaurant & Beer Cafe, Ultimo

This is one of those places that I always walked past during my uni days but never seem to bother going inside despite their student deals - back then we were more into Satang Thai and anything Japanese nearby. Before heading to Europe, my main exposure to German or Austrian food has been pork knuckles and chicken/pork schnitzels at Bavarian Bier Cafe and Lowenbrau. Essen has the usual meals and much more which is good if you have any friends who are vegetarian or other strict diets and you are in the mood for European food from Germany, Austria and even the Netherlands.

The layout is similar to the beer halls in Sydney and Europe with all the chairs and decor being wooden and brown along with a noisy, bustling atmosphere and an extensive range of European beer to satisfy your drinking needs.

BEEEEEER!

For the entrées  we started with a whole lot of crumbly goodness. Starting off was the mushrooms coated with breadcrumbs which was irresistibly crunchy to our liking. And the mushrooms inside were juicy enough to sustain the coating's crispiness. Tasted great with the zesty saffron aioli. It was a sure favourite for us as it was finished very quickly. 

Crumbed mushrooms with saffron aioli ($8.50)

Deep fried cheese? Hell yeah! It may sound unusual as Camembert is generally a soft, creamy cheese but it is totally worth it to expand your taste buds. Like the mushrooms, the crumbed coating is also very crunchy throughout each piece. Yet the Camembert cheese still remains very creamy, melted and gooey despite being deep-fried. A total guilty pleasure for meat lovers, cheese lovers and vegetarians. The cranberry sauce on the side complemented the rich and cheesy dish with a sweet and tangy flavour. 

Deep fried Camembert with cranberry compote ($10)

For anyone who ordered a schnitzel dish, there were complimentary sides of roesti and cabbage salad. I really enjoyed the roseti especially eating the thinly shredded, crispy bits of the potato. The cabbage salad at Essen was coated with some kind of spice (maybe paprika?), which I found overwhelming as personally I thought the cabbage was good on its own.

Cabbage salad

Most of my friends had the Jager Schnitzel (schnitzel with creamy mushroom). We were stunned by the name of this schnitzel and hoping there is some kind of Jagermeister in the sauce but I guess it's just a name. And the servings were incredibly huge. Seriously and massively heavy...is an understatement! Laid out in two big fillets of chicken schnitzel and covered with creamy mushroom sauce which sat on a small pile of potato roesti, it is a whole load of rich and hearty goodness. I tried a few pieces and I can tell you that this is surely one of the better schnitzels I've had. It wasn't dry but it wasn't soggy either. It was actually better than some of the schnitzels I've tried in Germany and Austria! Will definitely try this on my next visit.

Jager Schnitzel ($22.50)

I forgot which schnitzel this is but based on the menu, I am guessing this is the Gypsy schnitzel (let me know if I'm wrong). Like the Jager schnitzel, this one is equally big in portions but with a more seasoned taste with a tomato based, capsicum, onion and chilli sauce. I did not get the chance to try it but the friend thought it was very filling yet satisfying.

Gypsy Schnitzel ($22.50)

I went a different route and chose the pork belly which has caught my attention the moment I looked at the menu. The servings here is just as generous as the schnitzels but I managed to finish it. The best bit was of course the crispy pork crackling which was incredibly hard to cut through with the meat which is slightly dry though it still tasted flavoursome. This one is served with roesti and the good old sauerkraut which played a well deserved role in helping with finishing up the plate. In my opinion, it seems like one of the better versions of pork belly that I have tasted across Sydney especially when combined with the sides on this dish.

Pork belly with roesti, sauerkraut and apple chutney jus ($27.50)

Another thing that caught out attention was the Schnitzilla challenge. If the schnitzels that we got were massive enough, this just takes it to a whole new level of 3.5 kg! We initially considered eat it as a shared dish but decided to try more options. On the way to the restroom, there are polaroid pictures of the many many people who failed the challenge. I wasn't able to find a picture of anyone who actually won so that's an idea on how tough it really is.

The portions are incredibly generous so bring a few friends to share some of the dishes as it was a struggle for some of us to finish the main meals. I really enjoyed the service as well as the many beers and schnapps we had that night. If you want to try a more authentic version of German/Austrian cuisine, then this is the place to check it out as it does a decent job in bringing out a wide selection of hearty food instead of the usual staples. And it's good value for money and not too pricey either when you consider what you get in return.

Since it's almost the end of the year, I want to thank you readers for checking out my blog throughout the year. There will be more to come in 2013 with even more new restaurants and foodie events coming up soon. Happy New Year and Prost!

Essen Restaurant and Beer Cafe 

135 Broadway, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9211 3805
http://www.essenrestaurant.com.au