The Devonshire Degustation

I am not a big fan of degustation mostly because I like to choose what I eat and the whole thing takes too long. But I may be swayed by my experience at the Devonshire. The Devonshire is craftily simple, with a range of mirrors embellished on one wall. The chefs here demonstrate their creativity in the dishes while keeping their food genuine and understandable. Tonight we had the 8 course degustation and each dish teased our taste buds in their own ways.

We began with the salt fish brandade with caper sauce to match our glass of Champagne, followed by house baked bread and two types of butter. The house-churned honey butter is wonderfully soft and sweet and in no time we demolished our lovely warm bread and butter. The salad of heirloom tomatoes is much more interesting than it sounds. It is ever so refreshing and the slight acidity brilliantly awakens our appetite for the deep fried goodness in our dishes to come – the quail eggs and risotto balls.

The taste from the prawn ravioli is so intense it is a triumphant dish for prawn lovers. The texture is softer than I expected and combined with the taste reminds me of Cantonese prawn dumplings but only tastier. The final savoury dish concluded the savoury on a high note, everything is perfect with this marvellous pork belly with crumbles of delicious crackling and chorizo. Our waiter came to check up on how we’re going and whether we are full. “Full for the savoury stuff, but always room for desserts!” we answered.

Our pre-dessert is a shot glass of raspberry panna cotta. It is absolutely beautiful with the crisp, sugary crumble providing the perfect contrast in texture. The final course for the evening is a wonderful bittersweet chocolate mousse and sorbet with salted caramel parfait. The chocolate mousse and sorbet look almost identical but the mousse is denser in texture and in flavour. There is just the right amount of bitterness from the mousse and saltiness from the caramel parfait to make the dessert an indulgence without overloading on the sweetness. 

L Loves... Champagne, freshly baked bread
and house churned honey butter

Tonight’s menu

Salad of heirloom tomatoes,
woodside goats curd, olive biscotti, basil and almonds

Cold smoked Black Angus tartare,
poached enoki mushrooms, asparagus and quail egg

Steamed Ora King Salmon, squid ink noodles, 

summer daikon, pickled ginger, and radish 

Vegetarian (non-fish) alternative course - Risotto ball

Prawn ravioli, curly kale and roast prawn oil

L Loves... Roasted pork belly and loin,
fricassee of cabbage, pepita, sage, chorizo and scratchings

 L Loves... Raspberry panna cotta, 
poached peaches and biscuit crumble

Bittersweet chocolate mousse and sorbet, 
salted caramel parfait and hazelnut

The bill arrived in a cute tea cup

The blackboard at the front quoting Julia Child: 

“Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.” 

Mirror, mirror on the wall

L's Verdict:

•    Taste: 8/10

•    Ambience: 4/5

•    Value: 4/5

•    Service: 4/5

•    Creativity and other WOW factors: 3/5

Overall rating: 23/30

The Devonshire

204 Devonshire St

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Ph: (02) 9698 9427

Lunch Friday Noon – 2.30pm

Dinner Tue to Sat 6pm – 10pm

Visited March 2013

Friendly advice: I highly recommend trying the degustation at the Devonshire as it is one of the best value degustation in town. The food delivers on quality and on taste. Service is excellent and we cruised through 8 courses in a pleasant course of 3 hours. 

Twine Restaurant @ Hunter Valley

We are drawn to Twine Restaurant at Wynwood Estate by an eye-catching picture of a chilli mud crab in the Hunter Valley Wine and Dine Guide. Little did we know they not only serve outstanding seafood, but they serve it with a picturesque view to the rose-trimmed courtyard and vineyards.

On this relaxing sunday with sunshine, we enjoyed beautifully plump scallops that are seared to perfection. The shimeji mushroom is slightly acidic and goes well with the slightly sweet carrot puree. When our mains arrived, so did an army of flies. They must have been attracted by the aroma from the chilli mud crab. The crabs are masterfully cooked, absolutely succulent and juicy. There’s no time to worry about getting our fingers smudged as we barely had time to eat while trying to keep the flies away. The duck breast is also delightful. The parfait is incredibly smooth and rich. I’d hate to think about how much damage we’ve done to our cholesterol levels, but hopefully nothing some Q10 can’t mend :P

Arriving in style

L Loves... Seared scallops with braised shimeji mushroom,
saffron carrot puree & crunchy spec

Twine style chilli mud crab served on a high tea stand

Twine style chilli mud crab with coconut rice

Hickory wood smoked duck breast and 

parfait with blackberry puree and cauliflower three ways

I would definitely recommend Twine Restaurant if you are in the Hunter region. The charm of this restaurant comes from its beautiful setting, luring food and friendly staff. 

L's Verdict:

·    Taste: 8/10

·    Ambience: 4/5 (1 score deducted for the annoying flies, though not the restaurant’s fault, maybe they could do something about it?)

·     Value: 3/5

·    Service: 4.5/5

·    Creativity and other WOW factors: 4/5 

Overall rating: 23.5/30

Twine Restaurant

310 Oakey Creek Rd,

Pokolbin 2320

Ph: (02) 4998 7449  

Open 7 days for lunch

Friday and Saturday for Dinner "a la carte"

Every Sunday evening for "Fireside Dining Menu" from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Visited March 2013

Friendly advice: They are holding a “Game on” outdoor progressive dinner on Saturday 23 March 2013. It is 8 hours of entertainment (including live magician show, music and dancing) and 12 courses with matched wine served from 2pm to 10pm. Check it out if you are serious about fantastic food, wine and view!