SIFF Let's Do Lunch - Baroque Bistro, The Rocks

It's sadly the end of Crave Sydney for 2011. So much to try in so little time. Baroque Bistro is not just your average French restaurant, it is renowned for its desserts, macaroons and other sweet treats. Ended up trying out this menu as I have never tried an assiette plate before. And lamb is one of my food weaknesses. The layout of the restaurant has a modern contemporary feel with the beautiful Sydney Harbour view in the background. It was in fact still buzzing at 2pm at lunch on a Tuesday.

Complementary bread and olive oil

I am definitely a sucker for the good ol bread and olive oil. Which isn't doing well for my attempt in a low carb diet. Bread was a bit crusty which is well suited for a French restaurant.

red red wine...

Assiette of spring lamb, spiced arlette, onions and anise

This was definitely a dish bursting with flavours! It was interesting in trying out the lamb in different forms. It ended up being a mess when the lamb was mixed with the watercress puree and the white block of what I assume is the spiced arlette (as described on the Crave Sydney guide). This was unique as I have never heard of an arlette. Google didn't help either surprisingly. From what the white block tasted, it was creamy. Too creamy for my liking. But combined with zestiness of the warercress puree, the overall flavours were balanced out.
(Since Crave Sydney is over at time of print, this item is no longer on the menu sadly :(. However the whole menu looks very impressive!)

Crispy potato skins with aioli

I gave this side dish a go in case I am still hungry from the main meal. Boy was I mistaken! This was definitely a bigger serving than I expected and struggled with finishing especially after the bread and the main meal. The potato skins were very indulgent despite being so filling. It delivers its crunch even by the end. The disappointing thing about this dish was that the staff forgot that I've ordered this dish and brought it to the table after delivering the main meal. Had they decided to bring it out soon after the bread and olive oil, the whole meal would not have been a struggle to finish.

Macarons!!!

A sample of Baroque Pastry Kitchen's Masterpieces

By the end of the meal I was sooo stuffed that I had to force myself out of my seat. The staff here were friendly and attentive although the late delivery of the potato skins was slightly disappointing. However, I would still come back here to try the rest of the menu as it does look very tempting to taste. And the macarons and masterpiece dessert creations were hard to resist even with a full stomach!

YUMMMMM!

Baroque Bistro and Patisserie
88 George Street, The Rocks 2000
Contact no: 02 9241 4811
http://www.baroquebistro.com.au/

El Loco, Surry Hills

It's time for Mexican food to get some recognition. And finally! In the last couple of years, numerous branches of Guzman Y Gomez and Mad Mex were opened as well as the surge of Mexican and Latin American eateries situated in bars including Barrio Chino, The Abercrombie and El Loco. A friend wanted to do her birthday at a Mexican restaurant. Initially we were planning to go to Baja Cantina or Flying Fajita Sistas but there were last minute attendees so we went to El Loco instead. Because it was a Saturday and it gets very packed around 7-8pm we decided to show up around 6pm to get a table since the restaurant does not do bookings.

Classic Margarita

Situated at the Excelsior Hotel, this operates as both a restaurant and a pub. Which leads to crowded venues and countless patrons standing around and eating without a table. But that did not spoil anyone. It is the fun, social, noisy, buzzing atmosphere that made El Loco what it is. It has a very affordable menu including $5 tacos and with the rest of the menu being $15 or less. More importantly, the tacos were absolutely divine!

Pollo taco (chicken)

Carne Asada taco (beef)

Al Pastor Taco (pork)

When you see a Mexican restaurant using soft corn tortillas instead of hard shells, you are onto a good thing here. While it isn't strictly authentic (salad and cheese can still be seen but that didn't distract us), it is the fusion of flavours in its tacos that brings the spark of Chef Dan Hong's work to the taste and palate of the diner. Such examples include the tofu taco and the ever changing 'Secret taco'.

Secret taco - we're guessing lamb hearts? - alot tastier than you think

A special deal that night was a chorizo with haloumi taco. My friend enjoyed this immensely. Although he loves haloumi cheese. I thought this was another example of interesting taco fillings that Dan Hong (chef of El Loco) dishes up.

Special one off taco - chorizo and haloumi

The corn chips with guacamole and salsa were surprisingly addictive. Initially I wasn't sure becuase it looked like the corn chips you would see from Woolies or Coles but it went down a treat that we ordered another batch.

Corn chips with guacamole and salsa

In my opinion, my fave one was the taco al pastor as it reminded me of the ones I've had in LA with the sweet pork and pineapple flavour. In previous visits I have also tried the camaron taco (prawn) and the queso de soya taco (tofu) - both I would definitely recommend. My friends have tried these fillings but I was too full by then. While it may not be the most authentic Mexican restaurant, it still does a good job at interpreting this cuisine as closely as they can whilst appealing to the taste familiar to Australians with unique flavours. And with the many eateries opening across Sydney, this demonstrates that Mexican food is much more than simply hard shell tacos filled with sour cream and cheese.

El Loco
Location: 64 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills
Contact no: 02 9211 4945
http://www.elloco.com.au/

SIFF 2011 Let's Do Lunch - Mad Cow, Sydney [CLOSED]

I've been planning to check Mad Cow for a while but the menu prices usually put me off a bit. This is coming from someone who lives less than 5 minutes from Cooks Hill Hotel ($10 steaks!) and used to dine on $5-6 steaks back at uni while the prices of steaks at Mad Cow range between $36 for a minute steak to $110 if you want a wagyu sirloin.

As part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival, Mad Cow and numerous restaurants across Sydney are offering a $38 Let's Do Lunch set menu including a matched glass of choice.

Mad Cow's Let's Do Lunch menu

At Mad Cow, they are offering a wagyu 250g rump steak with spicy barbeque sauce, shoestring fries and green salad. On the Let's Do Lunch menu at the restaurant, they also offered two other dishes they weren't listed on the SIFF website: mushroom risotto and a pan roast fillet of cone bay barramundi but hey it's Mad Cow! Might as well try a steak when you have the opportunity.

Complementary bread and butter

The staff were very attentive. One of them asked if this was my first time trying out a LDL meal. In fact it was. It took a while for them to get the complimentary bread but they apologised immediately. The bread was sooo good! From what I remember, it was the Sonoma Soy Linseed bread. I might buy the loaf when I get the chance.

Wagyu rump steak (250g) with spicy BBQ sauce

When the waiter presented the steak, my initial reaction was "that's a pretty small steak". It was good that the fries and salad were included otherwise I would have ordered more. The wagyu steak was tender, juicy and oozing with flavour. The barbeque sauce was the perfect match with its tangy spicyness that complemented well with the steak. If there is anything that I have learnt, it was do not underestimate the size of the steak. As small as it looked, I almost wasn't able to finish up the steak because it was more filling and denser than I thought.

Check out the steak!

This is a knife!

The chips and salad were great side dishes. While the chips are addictive with its crunchiness, the salad balanced out the oils from the steak and chips as well as the butter and the carbs from the bread.

Shoe string fries and green salad

Shiraz - definitely an ideal combination with a meal like this

I would definitely recommend coming back here to try out the steaks or check out the non-steak dishes or even Mad Cow's signature steak tartare and some of the other starters. For a deal like this, it is definitely worth the experience - and the cost! Plus you can't go wrong with complementary red wine.

Mad Cow
Location: Level 1, 320 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact no: 02 92403000
http://merivale.com.au/madcow/

EnThaicement, Liverpool

Thai restaurants make the best name puns ever. Thai Me Up and Thaitanic are a couple of classics. EnThaicement is not a place familiar to those who do not venture to Liverpool very often. For the locals, this restaurant across the street from Westfield Shopping Centre has been there for years though under a different name and different owners. All this time, I have not tried this place but have been curious to see how it compares to other local Thai staples ala Thainamic and Holy Basil, both in Canley Heights. Plus my friend is a regular at this place during his work lunch breaks and we've organised a catch up session.

My friend liked sitting near the monument of Buddha as it looked very peaceful and quaint. I thought it was a very interesting addition to the restaurant.

Pad Thai with chicken

I enjoyed the restaurant's version of this dish. The sauce used in was enough to make me want to polish up the entire contents of the plate.

Green curry with chicken

My friend tried out the Green curry with chicken. He had noodle-based dishes numerous times so he wanted to get something different. I was surprised and the way it was presented as it looked lighter and less clumpy than the green curry dishes I have seen at other Thai restaurants. The menu said that this dish is very spicy. I did not try this as I was already full from the pad thai.

Check out the cutlery!

It was very quiet when my friend and I went but it didn't matter since we enjoyed the food and the intimate atmosphere. It was your standard Thai fare that you would expect. At lunch time they do the lunch special with meals costing between $9 and $12 depending on the choice of meat you want to order. The service was very friendly and cheerful. As for the food, in my opinion it was not the best compared to Holy Basil and probably Thainamic for your south-western Thai feed but it is definitely worth to check out when you venture out to Liverpool and you feel like Asian food more than Rashays and the local food court. As it has opened recently, hopefully this restaurant will last longer as it already has a local following and who knows, it may become the next best thing to Thai food in South West Sydney.

EnThaicement
Location: Shop 40, Elizabeth Street Liverpool
Contact no: 02 9600 9262
http://www.enthaicement.com/

Miro Tapas Bar, Sydney

Yesterday was my third visit at this place. A friend of mine wanted to catch up and she preferred any place that has sangria. Who doesn't love sangria? The weather was pretty gloomy so we went somewhere closer to Town Hall in the middle of the Spanish Quarter. It was initially hard to pick on where to try but it came down to this: my friend and I already went to one place, I went to another Spanish restaurant a week ago and the others...well wasn't really keen on the experience after previous visits.
So it came down to this place.

This time we settled on tapas and of course sangria!

Garlic Bread - The bread itself was so delicious as it was very soft and chewy. I'm not the best at identifying bread types but it may have been ciabatta. And I do have a soft spot for any bread that has flour left on the crust.

Tortilla Alhambra - eggplant, onion, capsicum and chilli tortilla with Morrocan spices. On the menu, this is listed as a new item. For those who are not a fan of spicy food, no need to worry. This is actually very mild and is worth to try for the vegetarian although I did expect a bit of a chilli kick.



I can't remember which chorizo I have ordered. I think it was the BBQ chorizo with the caramelised apple (Chorizo con Manzanas Caramelizadas). It was slightly harder to chew but it got very addictive that I wanted to nibble on all of the chorizo pieces eventually.


Gambas al Ajillo - Garlic Prawns. After having these last week at another Spanish restaurant, I had the urges to try these again and hoping that it tastes just as good. When it was presented to us, the prawns were sizzling with hot oil and filled with chopped garlic. I wanted to get all the garlic from the bowl just to sprinkle them on the prawns on my plate for that extra garlic taste. A must try!

SANGRIA!!!

Even though we didn't have the paella this time, I would definitely recommend trying it. It had a bit of a crust when I had it here last time and the smell of this from nearby diners is very tempting.

Yum!

Service was good and friendly and the prices are reasonable for those who want to save a bit. The restuarant is located underground so it was initially harder for me to find when I first heard of it. The setting is dark and has a very romantic, lovely vibe to it. The servings sizes can be reasonable although in previous visits I did have a couple that are best for sharing with a larger group of friends. Overall it's an enjoyable place to check out. And the sangria? Well in my last 2 visits, at least one or all of us walks out tipsy. Just saying.

Miro Tapas Bar
Location: 76 Liverpool St, Sydney NSW
Contact no: (02) 9267 3126
http://www.mirotapasbar.com.au/

Hello Hello

I'm not so good at introductions. I'm even worse at saying goodbye. But that's another story. I've always been keen on writing about my culinary adventures ever since I've started my job in the city last year where I have dined out regularly. Been taking countless photos of foodie experiences that are already uploaded on Facebook. One way to put it: I love eating, going to restaurants, reading about food and taking photos of food and annoying my fellow workmates while doing so. Also right now my house is full of unused cookbooks...

So yes enough about me. Here's the food!