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