Tomislav - a taste of Heston's madness in Sydney

From In Search of Perfection to Heston’s Feast, it’s hard not to be amazed by Heston Blumenthal’s mad scientist approach to food.  His wild imagination and unconventional ways of cooking allow him to create wonderful feasts based on distinct historical eras and fairytales. His restaurant, The Fat Duck, has been awarded three Michelin stars and is one of the best in the world. Upon hearing rumours that we have in Sydney someone who had worked alongside Heston at The Fat Duck, we knew we had to pay him a visit, so Tomislav here we come!


Tomislav Restaurant is a small bistro with half the tables inside with an open kitchen, and the other half outside on the balcony with a nice view of the iconic Coke sign. Usually I enjoy watching chefs do their magic in the open kitchen, however this time I’m not too sure. Rather than being amused by his culinary skills, we were distracted by the “heat” in the kitchen as the head chef was constantly telling off his staff. 


That aside, there is a lively vibe at this restaurant, partly because of the delightful waiter we encountered, but mostly because of the extremely innovative and appetising food creation placed in front of us that sparked excitement and cheers!

View from Tomislav Restaurant... the iconic Coke sign!

Head chef and Owner Tomislav Martinovic 
NB. You do not want to mess with him!!

Pre-meal pre-dessert???

Hand-churned whipped butter
with complimentary bread 

When this was served, I thought it was some sort of pre-meal pre-dessert (how wonderful would that be?!), it turned out to be hand-churned whipped butter and it was fantastic!

Rice crackers with sea salt & vinegar

The crackers are made from sheets of rice paper, brushed with egg white and briefly deep-fried. Tomislav came up with a playful approach to add flavour with a vinegar atomiser. I think even Heston would be proud of this idea :P

Poached Comboyne Hen's Egg, peas, warm potato cream

The egg is delicately poached in a water bath for 70 minutes at 62"C, while the ''toast'' is a crisp of baked batter. The smooth egg and potato cream is just such an indulgence... mmmmmm its like breakfast in a bowl :)

Basmati Rice Risotto with poached Yamba prawns chives – lemon zest

The risotto is made of aged, toasted basmati rice. The dish is beautifully executed with the right amount of chive and lemon zest which accentuated the delicate prawn taste and balanced out the creaminess.

Grilled Salmon Roll served with toast – wasabi crumbs

L Loves... Heston Blumenthal style triple-cooked crinkle cut chips!

The "perfect" chips!! The potatoes are first steamed, then twice fried, with lengthy cooling down-periods between each stage to ensure they are extraordinarily crisp outside and fluffy inside. Heston you're a legend!

Poached Yellow Fin Tuna with Egg Linguine, Parmesan and Celery Cress

Egg Linguine with Jannei Goat's Curd, Broccoli and Anchovy

The egg linguine was a rich and lovely dish, but perhaps it was "too much of a good thing" :P

o'Connor Scotch Fillet with Grilled Mango, Chives and Bone Marrow 

The beef came pre-sliced and was cooked medium rare. It was simply paired with roasted bone marrow, a smear of grilled mango sauce and a chive sauce.

Pasture Burrawong Duck Breast, olive oil sponge, baby beetroots 

The duck breast also came pre-sliced and was paired with baby beetroot and an olive oil sponge which was as light as a chiffon sponge, finished with a smear of beetroot. My concern for pre-sliced meat dishes are that they can become too dry. This was definitely not the case here, the duck breast was perfectly moist and tender!

Caramel Pudding with Yoghurt Sorbet and Caramelised Walnuts 

Beneath the crunchy caramelised walnuts is a creamy caramel pudding. The sweetness of the pudding is contrasted by the sourness of the yoghurt sorbet... more please?

L Loves… Vanilla Cheesecake, cream cheese, rhubarb sorbet 

A luscious, light, wobbly dessert with cream cheese jelly cubes scattered throughout. It’s accompanied with candied rhubarb which has an unusually firm texture and a refreshing rhubarb sorbet and large cheesecake crumbs.

L Loves… Apple crumber served with macadamia nuts and clotted cream ice cream

The sous vide apples have been poached for 1 hour at 70"C, served on a yummy macadamia sponge. Scattered on top was a surprising hit of popping candy included in the crumble. This dessert took us back to our childhood memory lane - you'd have to try it to see how a dessert can dance on your tongue!!! :P

Dark chocolate & coconut bar, served with coconut milk ice and chocolate sorbet

Dinner at Tomislav was definitely memorable and a lot of fun. Tomislav uses a variety of special techniques to enhance flavours and add textural contrasts and surprises to his food. So tell me, out of all the innovative and playful dishes, which one would you like to try?  

L's Verdict:

• Taste: 8/10
•  Ambience: 2.5/5 (angry chef need to de-stress... maybe someone can introduce angry bird to him?)
•  Value: 3/5
•  Service: 4/5 
• Creativity and other WOW factors: 4.5/5  

Overall rating: 22/30

Tomislav

2/13 Kirketon Road 

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Ph: (02) 9356 4535

Open Tue-Sun 6pm-11pm

Visited May 2010

Friendly advice: Go there with your mates for the fun, quirky and delicious food! Do not go there for romantic first dates, unless you and your date have a common interest in listening to what people in the kitchen or at the table next to you have to say.

WAQU - when East meet West

Continuing on the birthday theme from the previous few posts, two years ago, for the second year in a row, I went to one of my all time favourites to celebrate my birthday with my family. It was the first time in at least a decade that I got to celebrate my birthday with my entire family - Mum and Dad flew into Sydney from Auckland, and my sister K and brother in law J flew in from Taiwan. Also with us was my sister M and Mr M's family (who always warmly looked after me during Mr M's time in Japan). I was so touched!! 

WAQU is the perfect restaurant if you’re looking for somewhere semi-casual, with a “value for money” price tag, serving exquisite and delicious food. Waqu serves modern Japanese cuisine which fuses the best of “East and West” in a stylish intimate setting. Their tasting menu changes seasonally every three months, with a choice for entrée and mains. 

L Loves… Course 1. amuse

(clockwise from the left) Spicy soft shell crab taco,‘renkon’ chips, crystal bay prawn, peach, chorizo, cauliflower puree and tomato essence, creamy corn soup,  fresh tofu, sweet miso and soy flavoured ground beef 

This platter of bite size amuse was incredibly flavoursome and marked a wonderful start to the meal.

Course 2. sashimi

Ocean trout tartare, wasabi cream sauce

L Loves… Entree option #1: CALAMARI + ABALONE + RISOTTO
Lightly fried ground calamari cake, abalone and squid ink risotto. 

This was such a heavenly dish – it was sooooo creamy and the calamari was lightly battered and fried - the Japanese are real masters when it comes to deep frying!!

L Loves… Course 3. entree option #2: RACK OF LAMB

‘Panko’ and herb crusted rack of lamb, dry miso, ‘tamari’ garlic sauce
The lamb was so tasty, perfectly cooked and crispy on the outside.

Course 4. Main option #1: QUAIL

Roasted quail, ‘yuzu’ butter sauce, hoba leaf, ‘satsuma’ potato

A closer look at the quail

Main option #2: BEEF TENDERLOIN STEAK

Red wine sauce, ‘satoimo’ potato, baby carrot, ‘eringi’ mushroom

Course 5. dessert

Vanilla ice cream, glass tiramisu, green tea crème caramel 

Worthy to note the vanilla ice cream was hand-made with real vanilla bean pod. The Green tea crème caramel was my favourite dessert of the night – it was mellow, creamy and had a great green tea taste. Yummm!


Overall, this was one of the most memorable dinners I've had. Not only was the food fantastic, but having my whole family there meant the world to me!   

L's Verdict:

• Taste: 9.5/10 (everything I had was fabulously delicious!)
•  Ambience: 4/5
•  Value: 4/5
•  Service: 3.5/5 (not professional, but at least friendly)
• Creativity and other WOW factors: 3/5  

Overall rating: 24/30

WAQU

308 Pacific Highway

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Ph: (02) 9906 7736

Dinner only: Tuesday-Sunday from 6pm

Visited May 2009

Friendly advice: I had some difficulty in getting the waitress to understand I wanted my dressing on the side. So best to bring a Japanese speaking friend along, or speak s-l-o-w-l-y, or perhaps employ some Japanese accent Engrish if you have any special dietary requirements.

Chophouse - 2011 birthday dinner (part II)

As I mentioned before, for me, one of the greatest joys about birthdays is the opportunity to share great food with loved ones. This year, my birthday was extra special as it was the first time in five years that I got to celebrate it with Mr M :) I was lucky to have my birthday celebrated twice this year - part I with family @ Sepia and this post is on part II. 

The challenge for me was to find a restaurant that could satisfy both his and my inner cravings (his for meat, and mine for desserts) as well as making sure the place is good for groups and not too pricey (so that I could invite some of my close friends to share the good time with). Upon doing some research, I found the perfect venue that had everything I wanted – Chophouse! 

Chophouse is a contemporary adaptation of the New York style steakhouse – a tick for “good for group and value for money”. The head chef is David Clarke (ex Executive Sous Chef at Quay) – a tick for “quality food and delicious desserts”. Chophouse is also voted by diners throughout Australia to be the National Winner for Favourite Steak by Lifestyle Food’s "I Love Foods 2010 Award" – a tick for “tasty meat”! Yay!

This was my first visit to Chophouse and I can already see myself coming back here again and again! The interior of the restaurant is rich and bold, just like the food they serve. 

I really like their rustic and edgy decor :)

White sourdough bread

Shucked Pambula Lake Oysters on Ice
with lemon & oak aged mignonett

Chophouse's salads are not only generous in size, but also very creative and tasty! Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of one of the salads, which is the Crisp Pork Belly & Sea Scallop salad (or did I do that on purpose so that I have a reason to revisit :P). It was packed with flavours. The skin from the crispy pork belly was nicely caramelised and the scallop was so tender and juicy. This salad was Asian themed - it contained a mixture of chinese cabbage, coriander, pea shoots, fried noodles and soy vinaigrette. 

F1 Chopped Wagyu Steak Salad
Onion rings, grilled wagyu striploin, brioche, baby iceberg, cheddar, house dressing

The presentation of this killer salad created a lot of "Wow" and "Ah"s :P

Char Grilled Lamb Fillet Salad
mache, roasted baby beetroots, peas, toast & sheeps milk yoghurt

Sauteed wild mushroom salad
smoked mozzarella, roquette & lemon oil

I was slightly worried about the limited choices for vegetarians at Chophouse, but my vegetarian fellow foodie assured me his salad was very tasty! 

Dark Ale Marinated Wagyu Flank

L Loves... Glazed Beef Short Rib with house-made BBQ sauce 350g, 

Riverine District NSW, Angus-Hereford Cross, 150 days grain-fed, slow cooked 

The Glazed Beef Short Rib was cooked for three days in a special sauce, then further braised for six hours - it was so tender and delicious!! The only downside, if I had to be picky, was that the BBQ sauce was a tad bit too sweet... nevertheless, this was a yummy dish!!

Crumbed pork chop, sage & hazelnut with apple sauce 320g Otway Range, 

South-West VIC Grain-fed 6-7 months, hormone free 

L Loves... F1 Wagyu Tenderloin MB 5+ (250g) , QLD
Maitre d' Butter & Pomme Puree

The tenderloin was cooked perfectly and topped with cubes of Café de Paris butter (butter blended with spices, sauces and herbs). The heat from the steak melts the butter overtime and it lifted up the already flavoursome piece of wagyu tenderloin. It was so awesome we had no difficulty in seeing why Chophouse was voted to have the best steak in Australia!

Pear & Vanilla Crumble, rhubarb creme brulee
A yummy pair of desserts, perhaps missing a scoop of vanilla ice cream? :P

L Loves... Fig & Espresso Zabaglione, almond panacotta & brittle

This is such an indulgence!! Surprisingly the natural sweetness of the figs complemented the espresso zabaglione (which is an Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar and sweet wine) perfectly! I loved the creamy, silky panacotta and crunchy sweet brittle that sits at the bottle of the glass. A wonderful singing combination of flavours and textures ^o^

Chophouse Swiss Milk Chocolate Block (100g) with caramelised hazelnuts

If you are looking for something simple and sweet to finish off your meal, their signature chocolate blocks are fantastic - served on a chopping board with your own cleaver to chop away! Too cute :P

Everything we had that evening was exceptional and I think Chophouse is now one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney! Besides the delicious food, the service was great too - we had a friendly waiter dedicated to serving our table. All and all, we had an amazing time and went home fully satisfied with big smiles on our faces. *Special thanks to my man Mr M who, to my and everyone else's surprise, paid the bill for all 12 guests who joined me for my birthday dinner. Thanks babe and thanks everyone who made the night extra special and memorable - love you all :)

L's Verdict:

• Taste: 9/10
• Ambience: 4/5
• Value: 4/5 
• Service: 4/5 
• Creativity and other WOW factors: 4.5/5 

Overall rating: 25.5/30 


Chophouse
25 Bligh St
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: 1300 246 748 (1300 CHOP IT)
Open: Mon to Fri from 12pm
Saturdays from 6pm


Visited May 2011 and again in July 2011 (see below)

Friendly advice: Who’s up to try the Chophouse’s whole roasted suckling pig next time? We will need to pre-order for 10 people minimum @ $60pp. See the beast @ Billy’s Blog :P

As promised, I revisited Chophouse to take photos of the yummy Crisp Pork Belly & Sea Scallop salad, along with a few other dishes. Again, a satisfying night! 

Chophouse here we come again!

L Loves... Crisp Pork Belly & Sea Scallop salad

L Loves... Castricum Brothers Double Lamb Chops
mint jelly, free range, tender stretched, Dandenong VIC

Creamy Potato Puree, Victorian Dutch creams

Macchiato for Mr M

House Churned Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
with Hot Chocolate sauce & Honeycomb

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake