Blu Grill

So after more than a month hiatus, I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! To kickstart my blog again, I want to recap Sly Mr Fox's birthday dinner at the Blu Grill. This place is nice and cosy with its mood lighting and the large windows open up to the park across the road.

I might have mentioned it before but you'll soon realise just how much love I have for peanuts. I absolutely adore them and was so pleased when I saw the jar of mixed nuts on the table. They had a bit of an odd taste to them that made me keep coming back for just one more. It was salty and smokey but also a bit sweet, almost as if they were finished off with a final dusting of sugar. I didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner so I had to sadly turn away from the nuts.

I'm absolutely nuts for nuts

After everyone had chosen their main, we debated a little bit over what we should have for entrees. The bruschetta sounded pretty nice but we were pretty disappointed when the waitress said that it's just one piece of bread for $16 - yeahhhh, no. We decided to be a bit more adventurous instead and opted for the rabbit rillettes. Being avid bread lovers, we also chose the selection of breads. 

Selection of breads with
dukkah, olive tapenade, balsamic & olive oil

Everyone were really please with the breads. They had different textures and flavours and it was exciting to try them with the different condiments. The olive tapenade really surprised me as I'm a bit of a hit and miss with olives usually but it provided the bread with a nice salty hit without the overbearing olives taste.

Rabbits are so cute but oh-so-tasty!

The rillettes on the other hand wasn't to my liking. I prefer my rillettes to have more texture from the meat being shredded instead of formed into a pate. There was so much going on that I couldn't really taste the rabbit, especially since the texture was lost in the pate. The red cabbage remoulade overtook the whole dish so much so that within a mouthful I started and finished with the cabbage taste.

I don't know if I should be trusted with this many knives!

The thing that really impressed me at this restaurant was the platter of knives that the waitr(ess) brings out for you to choose from. I went for the one that looked the most serrated and was pretty happy with it. Until I actually went to cut my meal...

 

'Roos are definitely another one of those "so cute but so tasty" animals!

At first I had an internal debate between choosing the kangaroo, lamb and spatchcock. They all sounded so good but in the end I decided to 'roo since a few years ago I made a pledge to myself to choose kangaroo if it appears on a menu. It's really a shame that not many restaurants offer kangaroo on their menu. I was pretty impressed when it came to the table. However when I cut into my kangaroo with my "really serrated knife", I soon realised that the serration didn't go all the way to the tip of the knife. With my cutting technique, it felt like I was using a butter knife. The energy I expanded cutting probably exceeded my energy intake. The kangaroo didn't really taste like kangaroo to me. Usually when I have 'roo I can taste the gaminess of the meat but this tasted like beef... I found the pancetta on top on weird and it didn't contribute anything towards the dish. It almost felt like an afterthought. The veggies were a bit on the crunchy side, which I don't mind, but with the crisp from the daikon I would've preferred the carrot to be softer.

Spinach fettuccine

 The pasta was nice and creamy with loads of seafood but I don't know if I would've been able to finish the whole plate. 2 of my friends got this and neither of them could find the crab meat.

One of the steaks from the menu

A side of hand cut chips

 The bit of steak that I got from my friend was nice and tender but it looked really lonely on the plate. It came with a few slices of soggy potatoes and a sauce. The mushroom and blue cheese sauce was a great accompaniment to the steak but the blue cheese was really subtle. The roast garlic and peppercorn sauce had a bit of a kick to it and the pepperiness really hits you. However I think the steaks are pretty expensive for what you get.


We were all pretty full from the generous serving of the mains but we still couldn't go pass the dessert menu. We decided to try different ones. In my haste of contemplating whether to have dessert or not I decided on the mocha creme caramel thinking it can't be bad!. I was proven wrong once again.

Mocha creme caramel

To be honest I was a bit shocked when this came to my table. In hindsight I should've really looked at the menu properly and considered how mocha and berries would go together. The answer was not well at all... The creme caramel was really grainy and the strawberry ice cream tasted synthetic. I I thought that it might've been one of those desserts that you have to mix everything together to fully appreciate the flavours but my tastebuds instantly went nope. I really hate wasting food but I couldn't finish this weird combo.

Chocolate trio

Amarula malva pudding

The chocolate trio and the pudding were pretty good though. Although the chocolate ice cream tasted watery (I doubt they make their own ice cream and they should really get a better brand), the warm chocolate fondant was nice. The pudding was moist and reminded me of sticky date pudding, especially with the butterscotch sauce and toffee ice cream (the shocking flavours of the other two ice creams have omitted the flavour of this one from my memory). This was my first time having warm sago and I think I much prefer mine cold.

WICB? The savoury dishes were pretty good and there are so many other things that I want to try from their menu. The desserts were so disappointing that I don't think I would order them again unless they completely overhaul them. All in all, it was a nice meal with good company. Happy birthday golden boy and thanks for the meal!

Zambrero Waterford

Today was the opening of Zambrero at Waterford Plaza and they did one of those famous burrito giveaways. To be frank, I was pretty excited about it as I've always wanted to try Zambrero. When I drove past the place 40 minutes before it opened and saw a line of ~30 people already I decided to start lining up too. Once they opened the doors, they were pretty quick with making the burritos and got through everybody in front of us in about 5-10 minutes. I was pretty impressed with the 'factory-line' assembly of people serving on the other side of the glass display case. One person to toast the tortillas, one to put the refried beans & rice, one for the meat & guacomole, one for salad, one for salsas, one for sauce, one to wrap and one to work the till. We were pretty chuffed with our free burrito and decided to eat it at home.

My lovely wrapped burrito tucked in like a baby

I got the pork burrito with everything (except for the red onion and coriander salsa) + chipotle sauce. I was really enjoying my burrito until I got down to the last few bites. I came across something 'crunchy' in my mouth and took it out. At first I just assumed it was dried bayleaf or something from the pork until I examined it closely. I could start to make out some legs and a mangled wing before realising what it was. My appetite quickly shut down. 

I cropped the critter out cause I didn't want to ruin your appetite too but here's the link to it
http://oi61.tinypic.com/2vknehz.jpg

WICB? I'm not sure. It was nice but I'm a bit 'ickked' out about the bug. To be fair, this could've happen to anyone at any establishment. I considered going back to tell them but I don't know for sure where it was hiding. I want people to note though that this is no way a reflection of the restaurant or the company and probably just my bad luck!

The Trustee

Following our room escape, we went to our dinner reservation at The Trustee. I've heard of a lot of hype with this place so I had high hopes. Plus being a peanut lover, I was looking forward to their Snickers dessert. 

Usually I try to avoid Wilson Parking like a plague since we found out they charge $15 for the first 30 min during the day. Needless to say, we quickly got out of that Wilson and parked at one of the CPP. Funnily enough the same parking is $6 flat rate from 5pm to midnight when you pre-book it - a bargain in the CBD! It took out a lot of stress trying to find parking in the city on a Friday night.  Although the car park entry is directly opposite the restaurant, we had to go around the Central Park building for 'safe passage'.

We went downstairs to the Bistro part because that's what they indicated when we booked online for 6 people. There were 2 waitresses chatting by the till and the one facing us ignored us (she looked 'new' so maybe she didn't know what to do yet?). It wasn't until they finished chatting and the waitress with her back to us noticed us that they looked up our reservation - which was actually upstairs. 

Our waiter was attentive at first but we soon found ourselves looking around for him throughout the night and having to flag the waitress (who was very nice and friendly). I was keen to try their marron as it's not a very common ingredient on menus and it seems like a pretty good deal for what you get. Unfortunately the marron wasn't available that night but they've got a special menu item instead: ribs slow cooked for 12 hours (I think, I forgot sorry!), falling off the bone, with beetroot and espresso sauce served with chips. The waiter assured us that the sauce is actually "very good and not weird". 

Slow cooked ribs with beetroot and espresso sauce served with chips

My ribs were actually pretty good. Not what I expected and wasn't as tender as I would've liked but still nice. I don't think my other friends' ribs were as tender and definitely weren't "falling off the bone". I liked the salsa-type sauce on top better than the espresso sauce (he was right, it wasn't weird but it was interesting...). My chips were pretty soggy but okay with the same salsa that came in a little pot. However it definitely paled in comparison to the side of fries my friend ordered that came with "dill aoili and paprika salt".

Lamb osso bucco with pearl barley risotto; veal T-bone; fries side dish

Beef cheek with pearl cous cous and beetroot puree

I didn't try the veal but my friend said it was average. The lamb osso bucco was very nice and I quite liked the bit that I tried. I was quite keen on the beef cheek too but was left disappointed. It was a bit too acidic, stringent and weird for me. My friend and I agreed that we don't like it.

Snickers bar

Lastly, dessert! I really like their take on a Snickers bar. It was the right texture and amount of peanut, chocolate, caramel and sweetness. The salted caramel ice cream tasted more like a lovely vanilla ice cream but there's plenty of caramel on the side.

WICB? Maybe. Their service and mains were a bit of a hit and miss. My love for peanuts and desserts is strong enough to want to come back though. I want to try their pork belly parcels and duck rillette if I come back next time.