ah the 2006 review where do i begin…

some fantastic degustation and tasting menus at Alio, Pello, Eat City, Trevi Lakeside, Tetsuya,
Rise, Waqu and Rockpool

the arrival of beard papas in chatswood


and puffy cookie puff in world square

2 weeks after uni finished i scored the job of quality assurance manager at Eat City. 8 months later i left and began work in the kitchen of Pancakes on the Rocks Northmead

road trip to canberra with potr staff for a reconnaissance mission to another pancake eatery

the following couples have gotten married: Charis and Derek, Elizabeth and Phil, Emil and Anna congrats guys!

me and noods’ annual trip to terrigal

twinhead laptop died a spectacular death meaning a new birth in the family of Acer laptops

noods’ mum finding out she had breast cancer, having 2 operations and a crapload of blood tests


i fulfilled my dream of making candy jewellery

the brother uni scored his first job at Sambal restaurant

and now im looking forward to 2007 for more great food, meeting new people, spending time with the boy, holiday in malaysia and of course my first business venture! not too many people know but im buying a small buisness with the parental unit… making and selling homemade biscotti and shortbreads mostly but once the changeover happens we’re looking to expand and hopefully selling overseas. but yes happy new year to all and may 2007 find you safe and well!

having had the very pleasurable experience dining at Tetsuyas, i decided noods’ xmas present was dinner for two at Rockpool. Like Tetsuyas, we had very high expectations of Rockpool but we didnt want to compare the two restaurants because we know they have their own styles etc


Rockpool

Our booking was at 6.30 and we arrived 10mins early, a little more dressed up than normal with noods in a suit and me in a dress. They told us our table upstairs wasnt ready so we were led up the green carpeted walkway towards the back to the crappiest table in the restaurant right next to the toilets and next to the aisle!


so you see that dude in white he just came out of the toilet and you see the ramp and how we’re right in the middle of the way! and when i say the waiter led us to our table i mean the waiter walked about halfway saw that we were behind him, gestured vaguely at the table and whooshed off! Throughout dinner we saw him being perfectly courteous and pulling out the chairs to seat the ladies and placing napkins down for everyone and grrrr 2mins after we sat down he showed some people upstairs! [shakes fist] was it because we look young that he was so rude to us? i couldnt help but notice a couple of eatability reviews said similiar things… beh but service became alot better when we got a new waitress who was polite, smiley and super friendly


bread! fresh bread! and butter! tasty butter! we like our butter


Mussel, Saffron, Lemongrass and Galangal Soup. mmm the soup was so fragrant and tasting almost like prawn laksa and the little biscuit was very moorish with just the right amount of aioli


Sterling Caviar with Lobster, Lobster Jelly and White Asparagus. the lobster was fantastic! super sweet and meltingly soft and the lobster jelly just melts in the mouth leaving an incredibly intense lobster taste. and my first taste of sterling caviar did not disappoint with a very delicate slightly salty texture but i didnt realli like the asparagus…


Tuna and Hiramasa Kingfish “Tapioca Sushi” with Braised Shiitakes – Ginger Rice Wine Vinegar and Organic Soy Dressing. i prefered the tuna over the kingfish but thats just me and my taste buds but both were very very fresh and the ‘tapioca sushi’ was interesting it was like eating sago balls and you see the tiny green balls on top of the tuna? that wasnt flying fish roe… it was WASABI! oh boy did that burn but it was a very good concept and dya see those pink sticks in the middle yeah theyre pickles…


Salad of Abalone, Mussels, Clams and Tea Smoked Oysters with Truffle Oil and Mushroom Soy Dressing. the flavours in this was fantastic! that white rectangle looks like rice huh but its actually FOAM that tastes like TOM YUM mmm tasty foam.. the tea smoked oyster was a little too creamy in texture for my liking but the mussel was fresh as was the tiny singular clam and the abalone but i dont really like truffle oil on seafood and reckon the taste of it overpowered the abalone

The next course we had a choice of 2 dishes:

“Ham and Eggs” – Joselito Iberico Ham on Toast, Organic Hens Egg 60 versus 65 Theory and Sauteed Mushrooms. if you were to eat one thing at Rockpool it would have to be this. the name ‘ham and eggs’ is a rather modest ploy, the ham is Spain’s Iberico jamon the KING of cured pork and the egg is poached at 60C – the temperature that sets the white in a jelly-like fashion and not the yolk. one mouthful off the ham, egg and mushrooms is enough to make you close your eyes as your brain tries to imprint the taste of such a simple sounding but brilliant tasting dish


King Prawn and Pumpkin Agnalotti with Minced Prawns, Lemon Oil and Burnt Butter. this was nowhere near as mindblowingly good when compared to the ham and eggs nevertheless the pasta was light and fresh and the pumpkin and prawn was an interesting combination with the burnt butter


Marron “Sous Vide” with Roman Beans and Shellfish Sauce. i liked the marron and the sauce not so much the beans but i felt this dish was a little misplaced on the menu maybe move it to the beginning after the abalone salad?


Twice Cooked Murray Cod with Caponata – Artichoke and Olive Tapenade and Black Olive Oil. THE softest fish EVER. perfectly cooked and would go realli well with the olives if you liked olives…


“Moroccan Style Lamb” Slow Cooked Best End Lamb Chop, Tagine of Lamb Shoulder, Almonds and Olives – with Nut Stuffed Date. hmm very strange end to our savoury courses. it felt like the previous dishes had very clean flavours and textures and then you come to the lamb and it feels like they just dumped a truckload of spices on it…

Dessert time!!!

Roquefort, Pear, Walnut and Pain d’Epices Open Sandwich with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise Jelly. oh dear apparently i dont like blue cheeses… i pawned this off to noods hehe but the jelly cubes were very refreshing and i wanted a whole bowl more


Vanilla Cream Cup with Raspberries and Rose Granita. hee preetty! mmm a refreshing layer of granita on top, berries in the middle and a layer of cream on the bottom makes a beyootiful combination


Pineapple and Gingersnap ‘Splice’ with Mango and Lime salad. i loved the gingersnap! crunchy goodness that i could eat by the handful


Tea. noods was amused.


Petit Fours.


Passionfruit Marshmallows. so so soooo good try stopping yourself eating the whole lot


Toffees.

so i guess when comparing Rockpool to Tetsuyas i would say Tetsuyas wins handsdown when service is an issue. the food i would say Rockpool is more creative with the tastes combinations and barely edges out Tetsuyas in that category. but hey dont let me stop you from going to either restaurant just make sure you get a table far away from the toilets as possible and seek out the happy waitress!


Merry Christmas noods! hope you enjoyed your food!

ah christmas. i swear this year has gone by so so fast it must be becos im getting old hmm. xmas this year involved a lunch at noods’ rellies house where they taught me the art of texas holdem poker and dinner at my house of assam laksa and peking duckie and of course the huge stash of pressies from noods hee loveeeee youuuu


me haul: prison break box set, lost 2 box set, atlantis 2 box set, superman and mi3 dvds, 500 cupcakes compendium, $100 westfields card, cash from the grandparents and like a kilo of chocolates…


my heaps mad foto bracelet!


and card/foto frame

in search of a certain icecream sandwich as posted a coupla times by beverly, me and noods made the journey to paddington markets (395 Oxford Street, Paddington) in the grounds of the historical Paddington Uniting Church.


people


retail therapy


jackaroos


my cheesesteak… only $8.50 and dude look at that monster! i asked for no capsicum or mushrooms and in hindsight i shouldve asked for that beast to be cut in half too…


its bigger than my head


himalayan


big foot special $9.50 came with tandoori chicken, chickpeas, savoury potatos, vegetarian noodles, spring roll, rice, relish and a papadum. and yes noods finished it all


pat and stick’s icecream sandwiches


Double Chocolate- Rich Belgian couveture chocolate ice cream with a choc-fudge cookie. i didnt find this mindblowingly good so i uh pawned this off to noods and stole his hehe


Caramel Pecan- Butterscotch ice cream with a nutty pecan cookie. oh my so so tasty. a very tasty baby.