Auge, Adelaide

We couldn't think of anywhere we would rather celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary than our favourite restaurant in Adelaide - Auge which is well located in the city centre. We love everything about this place:

• the decor which manages to combine a slick and modern interior whilst still feeling warm and inviting
• the food which is Italian, but not cafe style, using only the freshest ingredients. You know they are serious when you can choose the olive oil you want served with your bread. The menu is comprehensive but easy to read as it is split into cured meats, appetisers, entrees, pasta & risotto, main course, sides, desserts and cheese. There are also a selection of degustation menus but we are yet to indulge in one of them - we keep promising oursevels "next time".
• the wine there is something for everyone although we generally don't even look at it, putting our trust in the sommelier.
• the service is professional, friendly, discreet (if you want it to be) and I just love the aprons worn by the staff. They look neat, tidy and so very Italian. Thanks in particular to Martin (Restaurant Manager Extroidonaire) and Terry (Host with the Most)!

The website states:

For the ultimate combination of modern dining and style, you have to experience Auge pronounced (OW-je). Welcome to our warm and modern atmosphere in the dining room from the long bar, where guests can enjoy a selection of Spuntini or a drink before or after their meal. If you are looking for a something relaxing and casual, why not just come and enjoy a simple classic Italian meal and a aperitivo in our Spuntini bar. Come relax and enjoy the experience that we take pleasure in offering to our guests.

So, onto our night. We started with champagne in the bar and a plate of "fritto misto di pesce" which translates to "fried local fish & shellfish with fresh lemon". I'm not a fan of fried food generally but found some firm white fish amongst the octopus which was delcious and not covered in crumbs or dripping with oil. Needless to say Sean had no trouble polishing off the entire plate - he loves salt and pepper squid which is a very similar dish. The presentation was exceptional.

We moved from the bar and onto our table which was intimate and set with a crisp white tablecloth, candlelight, quality glassware, sea salt and pepper.

To start with I went light and fresh, selecting the "finely sliced citrus cured salmon with a petit salad of organic herbs & extra virgin olive oil". This was the highlight dish for me, complimented perfectly with a glass of crisp white wine from local winery, Bridgewater Mill. The flavours were amazing, particularly the addition of lime segments amongst the oranges and nothing works better with soft, juicy salmon than dill. Loved every mouthful, especially with the carroway seeded fresh bread. The meal looked like art....., lovingly presented.

Salmone agli agrumi con piccola insalata da coltura biologica

Sean went with his favourite Italian entree - finely sliced beef tenderloin with pickled mushrooms, truffle cream & extra virgin olive oil. He described it as "delicate, fresh, clean and a top class carpaccio."

Carpaccio di manzo

The time gap between our entree and main was perfect, not too rushed. We talked and sipped our wine, enjoying the restaurant ambience. A bottle of Barolo had been decanted earlier and we looked forward to tasting it when our mains arrived.

The fish of the day was pan-seared kingfish served with mussels and prawns in a white wine broth. I just love this sort of dish. The crispy skin of the fish with some of the juiciest mussels I can remember having (wish there had been more than 3!) and a rich but not creamy sauce to dip my bread into and douse the broccolini in.

Last time we were at Auge Sean had tried to order the pork dish but it was sold out. You should have seen his face! Thankfully there was pork available for him, specifically "12 hour braised berkshire pork belly stuffed with aromatic herbs & served with shaved apple & fennel salad garnished with micro radish & sour apple sorbetto". What an amazing description - it almost made me want to order it too. I tasted a mouthful and it was delicious. A beautiful piece of pork - crunchy and salty - happily served next to an old-school slaw and unexpected and fresh sorbet.

Porchetta aromatizzata alle erbe servita con salsa al finocchio e mela, piccolo ravanello e sorbetto alla mela acerba

I love sides dishes almost as much as mains and Sean generally lets me choose. That's why we've been married for 12 years. Bring on the crisp lemony broccolini and bitter radicchio with fennel and walnuts!

Broccolini al limone e aglio

A thoughtful surprise by the staff was the presentation of a white chocolate pannacotta with a message just for us :)

We won't be waiting until our 13th wedding anniversary to enjoy a meal at Auge again. Highly recommended if you are in Adelaide.

We dined on 3 March 2012

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Bijan, Kuala Lumpur

I love the first night out on holidays. Whilst it's true that it generally takes me a good 48 hours to wind down and relax, being somewhere tropical means that tends to happen a little faster. I love the heat and I also love any type of Asian cuisine.

After much online research, I made a dinner reservation for our first night in Kuala Lumpur at Bijan. The website states:

Bijan opened its doors in September 2003 to offer a unique dining experience to discerning palates. The Bijan experience is modern in presentation yet wholesome in flavour. Traditional Malay cuisine is taken out of hawker stalls and buffet lines, and served against a lush backdrop. Modern in its surroundings with distinctive Asian accents, Bijan is warm, yet chic; intimate yet spacious.

We enjoyed a slow walk to the restaurant from our hotel, through the night markets and hawker stalls which made us even more hungry by the time we arrived.

As much as I'm completely in love with Asian food, often it looks ugly in photographs! I mean a whole fish with a red sauce heaped over it or chunks of beef (tender though they might be) served in a mound just don't look pretty.

We loved Bijan. The decor was Malay in style and simple but there were canldes on the tables and clean white tablecloths as well as a good variety of wine glasses.

Did I mention just how fresh, authentic, delicious and CHEAP everything was? My plain rice was less than $1 and whole fish for main course one of the most expensive items on the menu at around $18.70

We shared a couple of entrees and the one below was completely unlike anything we had ever tasted before. We both marvelled at the lightness yet intensity of flavour and I would have happily ordered another but held myself back.

Daging Bungkus Kukus
 Delicate parcel of steamed minced meat & herbs wrapped within a layer of pancake & coconut gravy

For main course we ordered a dish each, a vegetable side and a couple of serves of rice - Nasi Putih
(Steamed white rice) and Nasi Lemak (Rice cooked in coconut milk & served with deep fried anchovies, peanuts and sambal). By the noises Sean was making from across the table, I knew his lamb had amazing flavour and tenderness. My fish was fresh and firm but was served with a lot more sauce than I had envisaged which was perhaps a little overpowering for my clean and simple tastes. The green vegetables were spicy and crisp and a great accompanyment.

Kangkung Goreng Belacan
Water spinach stir-fried with belacan sauce & dried shrimp

Rendang Kambing
Chunks of lamb shoulder cooked in an aromatic infusion of spices & coconut milk
over a slow fire

Ikan Bawal Serkam
Black pomfret grilled in banana leaf with a spicy & tangy topping of fresh herbs &
chillies

Bijan gave us the spicy and traditional dinner we had hoped for. For me, the entree was the standout and I'm on the search to find something similar at a restaurant back home.....

We dined on 22 November 2011

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The Fireplace, The Hyatt, Sanctuary Cove

After days of splashing around the pool with our two daughters and eating our meals in a rush due to early their bedtime, Sean and I were looking forward to a relaxing evening out. 

We dropped the girls at 'Camp Hyatt' and proceed to the Regency Club. The canapes and drinks on offer were standard fare (couple of dips, carrot sticks, stodgy sushi, salami and cold quiche squares) but we still ate enough so that main course only was required.

The Hyatt website states:

With cherry wood wine cabinets, classic rustic décor and signature wood-fired oven provide the perfect stage for our chefs to create delicious contemporary grill and provincial style cuisine. 

That could have been written last week or last decade..., the decor description still applies. It's simple and kind of out of context with the beach resort feel but there is that 'colonial' aspect which I suppose is where the design originates. The table settings consisted of a single clear glass tealight holder and that was about it. Nothing amazing there. The feature of the room is the wood-fired oven and I couldn't see much that wasn't plated up right on the bench in front of us all except for the desserts.

The menu was simple in layout and dish descriptions.

I ordered the Queensland snapper with cherry tomatoes and asparagus. That was exactly what arrived. All mains come served with roasted chat potatoes (in a plain white bowl, no garnish) and The Fireplace house salad (served in same plain white bowl and consisting of what I suspect was tinned corn, cucumber, capsicum and assorted greens). Whilst all the flavours and presentation were simple and perhaps a little uninspired, the crispy skin of the snapper and smokiness from the wood oven were sensational. When food is of high quality there really isn't much you need to do to it to make the meal memorable.

Sean was all set to order steak but was disappointed the largest serving on offer was only 250g of fillet. So instead he went for the Frenched lamb rack with crsip white polenta and spring vegetables. The lamb looked sensational - served medium rare and a very generous portion. Here I found the presentation and "provincial" aspect mentioned in the description to be a little more apparent.

The only other accompanyments were wood oven warmed white ciabatta and bearnaise sauce.

Whilst on first glance the prices seemed high, the side dishes were included in the price and we were dining at a major international hotel which generally means add 10%.

The service was ok but they only just squeezed our meal out before we had to collect our girls from Camp Hyatt. Mind you, they wouldn't have cared if we had stayed out another hour or two......

We dined on 8 November 2011

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press* food & wine, Adelaide

Ballsy. That's how Sean described it. "If they can sustain the quality and therefore the high levels of current patronage they will do well."

It's certainly a big restaurant by Adelaide standards and maybe that's why it also feels a little "Eastern States". The decor is warehouse cool and a bit masculine. Downstairs it's more relaxed and communal while upstairs there are white tablecloths and separate tables.., even booths if you choose.

Menu wise, this was the perfect choice for dinner to celebrate Sean's 40th birthday. The range of meat on offer is diverse and plentiful from a variety of steaks to offal and even a whole Berkshire pig if you give the restaurant enough notice.

We weren't sure how many of the 'Small' plates to order for entree but our efficient waitress suggested three would be a good number and she was right. Given it was Sean's birthday I let him choose and he went for Pork and Prune Terrine, Duck and Cumquat Boudin with Toast and Beetroot, Red Onion, Cabbage and Creme Fraiche (ok, I insisted on the salad).

Our selection of 'Small' Starters

The salad was excellent - really crunchy. The duck tasty and the cumquat's really strong in flavour. The terrine surprisingly light. We agreed that whilst it is excellent presentation to use bread boards, having three on our table at once (the bread was also served on the same board which is out of the shot above) was perhaps a bit much. Having said that, it was nice to have a variety of plates used throughout the meal in place of standard white round ones.

For main course I can never go past fresh barramundi which was the fish of the day listed under the 'Wood-grilled Seafood' section on the menu. It was served with dill mayo (which I didn't have) and Ngeringa Leaves which was a simple salad all supplied from the Ngeringa farm the restaurant owns in the Adelaide Hills. Nice.

Of course it's personal, but I always prefer my fish served with the flesh side up rather than ugly looking skin?

Sean had chosen his main course within two minutes of receiving the menu. Six hour braised brisket with macaroni and cheese. He couldn't stop raving about the brisket and made me taste some.

Not what you would call a beautiful looking dish..., unless you love meat and carbs ;)

Our waitress was excellent, particularly when it came to selecting appropriate glasses of wine for us to match our food. She was very fast and chatty without being over-bearing. I think it was the confidence in the food and wine she was serving that shone through. The restaurant was very busy but she never appearing flustered or under pressure. Certainly she was experienced.

We can't wait to go back to press* in a few months to see how things are going. There were lots more items on the menu we'd like to try and it's really nice to know there's a place like this in Adelaide - taking risks, making bold choices, and buzzing.

Finally, I love a restaurant that has Aesop products in the bathroom. press* even provides Aesop handcream which gets a big (moisturised) thumbs up from me.

We dined on 29 October 2011

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