Cutting up my rice cakes
At least, it is spent productively because I have successfully made rice cakes, something which I directly ripped off Poh's Kitchen. She calls it cubic noodles but it's rice cakes, really.
A huge band aid as an accessory
Yes, they did use huge needles
Also, I donated 500 ml of blood today. My mood improved thousand-folds compared to my dreadful yesterday. It might be the rice cakes. It might be due to the new haemoglobin being synthesized. I just seem to enjoy novelty.
At the end of Bligh Place, lies The Deanery
Speaking of which, I decided to bring my sister to The Deanery, the second restaurant on my must-try list.
Why the Deanery?
Maybe because it's neo-Mediterranean.
The restaurant was pretty difficult to locate as I am not familiar with Flinders Lane. Flinders Lane is one part of the city which I rarely pay attention to, not until lately.
My table was against the glass window which separated the dining area from the wine storage area
The dark decor punctuated by nicely ironed table cloths seems to suggest strict luxury. In addition to that, the sight of racks after racks of wines could be intimidating.
Wildflowers
Yet, the clever use of empty wine bottles as nests for wild-looking flowers spins a different story for the character of the restaurant.
It is a very raw, organic form of presentation. Somehow, this lessens the unsettling feeling which I had upon reaching the entrance of the restaurant.
Golden pumpkin bread
Our meal begins with a prelude of hazelnut-mint bread and pumpkin bread.
I have a strong preference for the hazelnut-mint bread than the pumpkin bread. I find the mint-dominated aftertaste of the bread interestingly refreshing and out of the box.
The pumpkin bread, on the other hand, is ordinary despite its lovely shade of gold.
Struggling with cold butter
It may seem non-relevant, but my sister in this picture is struggling with the butter. I wonder why they did not leave the butter out in room temperature like the other restaurants.
Digression aside, my sister and I did the set lunch. It was such a steal!
35 dollars for a 2 course meal. Add another 10, you get away with 3. I did 3 courses and my sister did 2. As usual, we shared.
Quail, mushroom agnolotti, game consomme
My first impression of this dish was that it was simple but when I popped one of the quail breasts into my mouth, I had an immediate dislike towards it because I was punched by the amount of salt they had on the quail.
Then, I decided to combine the mushroom agnolotti, the clear game consomme and the quail. The outcome was a mesh of complex flavors, resulting with much smiles and praises.
The mushroom agnolotti, which relied only on the mushrooms was a good pair with the salty quail breasts. Together with the consomme, the outcome was a far cry from the sea.
Snapper, capsicums, eschallots - a reminder of the grilled Greek snapper I made the other day
Similar to the quail, the grilled fresh snapper will not do without the fiery colored capsicums and sweet eschallots.
Snapper onwards, I realized that the kitchen uphold a strong belief on balance apart from delivering very fresh, seasonal ingredients to its customers.
Chicken, lentils, cabbage
For me, the philosophy was very consistent and well-delivered.
This is notable in this chicken main as well, which I also shared with my sister. The robustness of flavors from the sauce and the lentils serves no other purpose but to compliment this rather succulent chicken. Like the fish mains, I silently enjoyed it.
The very Australian chocolate ripple, white chocolate mousse, candied hazelnuts
Still, I could not have loved the mains less than this chocolate ripple dessert even though I felt that the presentation was somewhat lackdaisal instead of minimalistic. My sister's hazelnut infused white chocolate mousse was very tired looking.
Nevertheless, the dessert scored brownie points for its taste. The pairing of chocolate and hazelnuts is a very successful one, leaving me wanting more hazelnuts and dark chocolate. And I thought I tasted cheese somewhere in the chocolate ripple slice.
A candid shot of me
Therefore, the hazelnut and Excellence 70 percent delices from Lindt.
How can I not be happy?
Little things:
-Portion: Pretty small for huge eaters. In my opinion, it is reasonable.
-Service: Prompt. No fuss.
-Budget: A total steal for lunch, provided if you don't order anything from the wine list. Damage done: 80 dollars
-Non-halal, non-allergic friendly - the waiting staff did not ask me if I am allergic to anything.
-Webpage ( Click here )
-Location:
