Lunch in Paris

 

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Lunch @Aria

For our daughter’s 2nd birthday we decided to have lunch at ARIA restaurant. it was out first time to eat there and it did not disappoint us. We went there on a Thursday, thinking that there would be less people..We were hoping to get a table with the view of the Sydney Opera House but didn’t manage to as most of the tables were already reserved (booking is essential). Our view was the Sydney Harbour Bridge, still good though. Prior to coming to Aria we had already browsed the menu online and decided we’ll both have a three-course meal (85aud/pax).

We started with an amuse-bouche of sweet corn soup and sour dough bread which kept my daughter busy for the next two hours…

busy with her bread

For our entrée, we had crisp confit of pork belly that melts in your mouth..

Kurobuta sweet pork belly with pork croquette, apple purée and a white cabbage and apple salad

I had beef for mains while hubby had salmon cooked sous-vide (I think!) .

char-grilled sirloin with roasted bone marrow, potato gratin and a watercress and pickled onion salad

steamed fillet of king salmon with broccoli, toasted almonds and a white anchovy and caper salad

rich chocolate délice with chocolate sorbet

And for dessert we had chocolate tart, with matching candles and a Happy birthday greeting.. Little Gabbie liked it so much that she didn’t want to share it with Mum and Dad

we also got complimentary petits fours…yumm!

For me and my hubby the pork belly confit was a winner that the following weekend I made pork belly confit for the first time.. I’ve read and heard about how to make a confit but it did not really inerest me that much as it requires hours before you get to really finish the dish. The confit method is what makes this pork dish really amazing. It’s worth all the effort and since then almost every week I make confit of pork or chicken…

un petit slice of pork belly confit on potato galette

Bon appetit….

The Masterchef Challenge #1

this is my version of Caramel Parfait Glace with Salted Peanut Caramel and Milk Chocolate Mousse- featured on the Celebrity Masterchef challenge, recipe by Chef Philippa Sibley

It took me 3 hours to finish this dessert, including the prep time. The day before, I had to go to Coles for the liquid glucose as I didn’t have it on hand and Officeworks for the acetate( transparencies). The most challenging part was the tempering of the chocolate (to be used as the roof of the dish) as it didn’t set right away and when it comes to plating the dish, making quenelles of chantilly cream was not easy! my quenelles didn’t look good to my standards and I wondered how on earth did Callum (the challenger) managed to make perfect quenelles??? The next day, I read in the Sunday telegraph that the dish was re-plated, that’s why his quenelles looked perfect! Hubby (who’s my No.1 fan and critic ) was very proud that I pulled it off (he’s biased of course!). After having tasted the dessert, he said he now understands what Matt Preston meant about combination of textures, complexity of flavours, etc.

So..was it worth it? -it’s a Yes for me! It gives me great satisfaction to know that I can do a dish from scratch, specially those with higher level of difficulty

The damage?- almost 40 dollars! But if you go to a high end restaurant, a slice could cost you 15-24aud…so it’s still reasonable.

Will I serve this to my guests? …….Definitely!

Note: my quenelles look darker as I used 70%cocoa and not milk chocolate.

Bon appetit!

In God’s perfect time…..

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Bonjour..

Here is my version of Caramel Parfait Glace with Salted Peanut Caramel and Milk Chocolate Mousse- featured on the Celebrity Masterchef challenge, recipe by Chef Philippa Sibley.

It should look like this :

the original dish

while mine looks like this….

my version of the dish

It took me 3 hours to finish this dessert, including the prep time. The day before, I had to go to Coles for the liquid glucose as I didn’t have it on hand and Officeworks for the acetate( transparencies). The most challenging part was the tempering of the chocolate (to be used as the roof of the dish) as it didn’t set right away and when it comes to plating the dish, making quenelles of chantilly cream was not easy! my quenelles didn’t look good to my standards and I wondered how on earth did Callum (the challenger) managed to make perfect quenelles??? The next day, I read in the Sunday telegraph that the dish was re-plated, that’s why his quenelles looked perfect! Hubby (who’s my No.1 fan and critic ) was very proud that I pulled it off (he’s biased of course!). After having tasted the dessert, he said he now understands what Matt Preston meant about combination of textures, complexity of flavours, etc. 

So..was it worth it? -it’s a Yes for me! It gives me great satisfaction to know that I can do a dish from scratch, specially those with higher level of difficulty  

The damage?- almost 40 dollars! But if you go to a high end restaurant, a slice could cost you 15-24aud…so it’s still reasonable.

Will I serve this to my guests? …….Definitely! 

Note: my quenelles look darker as I used 70%cocoa and not milk chocolate.