For more photos, check out the website at http://www.droolworthyworld.com/#!Max-Brenner-Sydney-CBD/c1h7x/566e285c0cf23910687a0762
In my mind, Max Brenner has always been the restaurant chain that popularised the concept of ‘dessert cafes’. The bald man has been with me since childhood and I have always been obsessed over its delicious and addictive dessert treats. The cafe has even followed me through to university, with a Max Brenner cafe conveniently located within my university. I regularly visit this cafe, catching up on my readings over a smooth and silky cup of hot chocolate.
i was truly excited to hear that Max Brenner was offering a special Christmas menu, and that the staff wanted to me to sample the treats on offer! I was blown away by their creativity of their creations with the dessert aficionados creating three specialties to celebrate this festive season.
The first treat on the table was the “Hammer Time”. As the name suggests, the dessert came complete with an adorable little hammer to accompany the giant hemisphere of chocolatey goodness. It was rather difficult to smash, as the chocolate coating seemed to be refrigerated for some time. After this slight struggle, we successfully smashed our way through the chocolate. It revealed fluffy honey meringue with rice crispie base.
Eggnog is a quintessentially Christmas treat, so it was very appropriate to have this dish on the Christmas menu. Max Brenner did a slight variation of the traditional egg nog by incorporating a rich chocolate ganache. The cinnamon spices were strong in this drink, which helped to enhance the overall flavour.
The final drink was the Candy Crush Cane Milkshake. My friends and I thought this dish had a very inventive name, playing homage to the popular game and alluding to the ingredients (most likely crushed candy canes). It really tasted like candy cane, just in a liquified form! It was a very sweet and condensed drink, so best share this dessert with a couple of friends as there’s simply no way one single person can drink the entire thing!
Overall
This limited options truly epitomise the Christmas spirit! They are sweet, decadent and best shared amongst friends and family. The Hammer Time is a fun and entertaining treat, with the miniature hammer a truly unique addition to dessert. The crazy milkshakes were packed full of flavour, and I particularly liked the eggnog milkshake. I would highly recommend any of these treats, for the taste but also for the novelty! Hurry because this Christmas menu ends on the 31 December 2015. You don’t want to miss out.
>> LocationAddress: 5/19-21 Grosvenor St Neutral Bay
>> Italian Street Food
>> Website
>> Dined as guests
For more photos, visit http://www.droolworthyworld.com/#!Italian-Street-Kitchen/c1h7x/564071430cf2708e0011ac07
Italian Street Kitchen recently opened in Neutral Bay, brought to you by the Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group, the same minds behind Ribs & Burgers and The Meat & Wine Co - places known for their authenticity and very thematic restaurants. Italian Street Kitchens is marketed as an authentic Italian experience of eating and sharing. Not really being Italian ourselves and having never been to Italy, it was different for us to gauge whether or not this was the case: but we brought along our imagination to this tasting session, keeping in mind what it would probably be like in the streets of Italy.
The set up is reasonably compact, with tables situated reasonably close to each other, likely due to the floor plan of the restaurant, which requires the kitchen and food prep area to take up much of the space. But there were two good points about that kind of floor plan: first, closer tables means that it resembles that of a "street" dining type of atmosphere; and second, it allows us to view the kitchen with impugnity. What we saw in the kitchen was quite pleasing: lots of scrumptious dishes being freshly prepared for us. A lot of the meats were hung on racks, very similar to a marketplace, and hence in this way, it was a good embodiment of street food culture.
As per the goal of the restaurant, we were given plates to share the food with. The cutlery and table ware was very clean; we were also given fresh knives and forks after each course, which was good to avoid mixing the flavours together. The table themselves were reasonably big, but so were the plates. As you may have experienced before, many Italian dishes a big, such as tasting platters, pasta dishes and pizza plates. A bigger table is almost essentially for this type of cuisine, so luckily the courses were presented separately with clean up in between.
The rosé that was served with the entreés was a pleasant, fruity and aromatic drink. Served optionally with a green olive and slice of orange, it was a great palate cleanser and a great way to start the night.
Salami Board
Prosciutto, Salami Casalingo, Mortadella, Bresaola served with Parmesan, olives and cherry tomato & rosemary focacciaThe antipasto began with the salami board. The meats were very flavoursome and slice perfectly thinly. In particular, the prosciutto is a classic and highly characteristic Italian flavour that oozes with flavour. The salami was a bit of a "harder" taste, and much tougher, even sliced so thinly: not really for everyone but quite good to follow the softer meats. The olives were another highly, due to their interesting marinade that had chilli, garlic and a herbaceous fennel taste. Very addictive.
Arancini
Roasted pumpkin, smoked Provolone, Parmesan, thyme and panko crumbThen, we were served the fried items: the arancini, fried cheese and calamari. The arancini is another very typical Italian dish. It was served boiling hot, which was great: upon opening it up, stringy cheese oozing out, but still bound together with roasted pumpkin. It was very nice: thick, sticky and fulsome.
Fried Cheese
Fior Di Latte, Parmesan, Champagne ham, basil and panko crumb
The fried cheese ball, on the other hand, was less favourable in our opinion. It had a very strong flavour, and even more cheese - were that even possible! - compared to the aracini. Perhaps it's better if it was one or the other, rather than both, because it was simply so heavy. The addition of basil and ham was an intelligent idea: we would have preferred more of that though because it really brought a lot more balance, but perhaps still not enough to overcome the cheesiness of the dish. It was advertised correctly - maybe too much so, and probably most suited to the most ardent cheese lover.
Calamari
Flour dusted and fried, served with fresh lemon and aioli
Calamari was the last antipasto to be served. It was much lighted than the fried cheese, which was a good change after the fried cheese. The use of aioli was good - what can we say? It was smooth and pleasant.
After that, we were served the mains. At this point, the rosé was taken away and replaced by a red and a white wine for the mains.
Buffalo Margherita
Buffalo mozzarella, Parmesan and basil
The mains were served together. Firstly, a buffalo margherita pizza. To me, this was my favourite dish of the night. It really embodies the best of Italian food: fresh and simple ingredients combined together to form a cohesive unit in every single mouthful. The crust was nice and thin, and hence, didn't feel very heavy. There was a perfect blend of mozzarella, parmesan and basil - sweet and bitter in one. Although it was a vegetarian dish, it really didn't feel like one. Beautifully made.
Rigatoni Amatriciana
Pork cheek, pecorino cheese, cherry tomato in Napoli sauce
The rigatoni amatriciana is an example of a dish that I would not be able to make at home, and have rarely tried outside. It combines a number of different components that are not really the main types of cuts or types that I normally have, but by virtue of its uniqueness, it was a very interesting and oddly pleasant dish to share as well. The reason why I say to share is best is because its Napoli sauce is reasonably strong in flavour: say, in contrast to a more subtle pizza - yes, in this case the pizza had a subtler flavour - it was quite powerful and would make it prone to overpowering the flavours from other dishes. Due to the shape of the pasta, the sauce was everywhere: on top and within, making each mouthful of pasta presenting with an equal amount of sauce, augmented by its extra internal surface area.
Oven Baked Gnocchi
Home-made semolina gnocchi baked in bechamel and Napoli sauce with Parmesan, buffalo mozzarella and basilWe were told that the gnocchi was uniquely made: its size and shape were a testament to that. It had a very soft texture, but also slightly grainy, by virtue of the sauce and other components. Interestingly, it contained the same main flavours as both of the above dishes: the sauce, and the cheese and basil. However, it was a bit confusing in that respect. I think I would have preferred one or the other; hence, it was not quite as memorable as the awesome pizza that came before it.
After that, we had our second main course. But we were just so full already - quite a feast so far.
Wood-Fired Oven PorkTraditional wood-fire roasted Roman pork belly
The wood-fired oven pork was a centrepiece dish; guests had already eyed it lustfully at the beginning. The pork belly was very nicely cooked - great effort there. There were some subtle herbs padded at the base which added an interesting razor sharp flavour near that area. There was a very nice smoky flavour - maybe not for everyone, but I quite liked that. The slice was also perfect for that purpose: not too thick and not too thin - just right.
Radicchio, fetta cheese, fennel, Kalamata olive and lemon oil dressing
The fresh salads were a welcome change from the dishes that preceded it which had mainly consisted of fried or baked foods. I think I preferred the rocket salad. It had a subtler flavour, which was, again, a welcome change from the sauce heavy primi dishes. I think maybe if this had been served with the primi it would have enhanced the dishes and made a great complementary serving.
Tiramisu
Traditional layered espresso dipped savoiardi biscuits, Marsala and mascarpone cream
Cremafritta
Italian custard creme, fried and dusted with icing sugar. Served with chocolate gelato
Desserts were served to wrap up the night. Both of them were fantastic, but I think I preferred the tiramisu. It was to die for: the layers were all excellently defined and textures were beautiful. The expresso flavour really shone through as it should: a very well-thought out dessert. The cremafritta was another deep fried item: unfortunately, I had had quite enough of that up until that point. But fortunately it was served with a chocolate fondue, which presented a nice balance overall, to finish up the night.
Overall
We had a good night at Italian Street Kitchen. Based on the dishes of the night, we can see their vision of designing authentic Italian street food designed to be shared. Indeed, we believe that their dishes are optimal when shared in a group of at least 4. Many of their flavours are very strong, and some of them are even niche, which isn't a bad thing, but, as mentioned, best to share in a large group in case there's someone who, say, can't have too much cheese, or too mcuh smoky flavour, or whatnot. What flavours it advertises, it does very, very well. I imagine, in particular, those who enjoy cheesy and saucy flavours will have an especially good time. The highlights to me were actually the deceptively simple dishes: the salami board, pizza and tiramisu. Although overtly they were simple, the thought that went behind them was incredible. As another suggestion for other diners, we would recommend ordering dissimilar dishes; for example, the arancini and fried cheese balls were very similar, and having one means that the other becomes less special.
Gourmet Gumbo has been to FireFly before and was very impressed, in fact #mindblown by her experience. This time round, there was an exciting new menu to sample because of an exciting new tool the FireFly chef had acquired - a cryovac machine for sous vide.
Service was excellent and the staff were very friendly and willing to explain the menu items as well as the wines.
The night kicked off with some fancy schmancy wine in snazzy looking FireFly wine glasses.
Pooley Cooinda Vale 2014 Tasmania
Cherry Ripe, Strawberry, hints of rhubarb, perfume of rose oil and woody spice. This wine was very elegant and had an intriguing musky flavour of oak.
Trofeo Estate 2013 Mornington
Red fruits, black cherries, pleasant vanilla and sweet spices. This wine had a much sharper taste.
Dead Mouse Shed 2014 Yarra Valley
Fresh and bright. Earthy, mushroomy & dense cheery fruit. This was similiar to the Pooley Cooinda Vale 2014 but had a lingering aftertaste.
Smoked Trout ‘Hand Held’ Salad with Citrus & Coconut Dressing
The citrus dressing cut through the smokiness of the trout. The crunchy bean sprouts and squid flakes added an excellent texture. The mint added a decided freshness.
Canadian Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree, Morcilla, Pickled Pear
There was a delicious contrast in textures in this dish. The solid pear, chewy scallop and smooth sausage just melted in your mouth. The sour pears were a nice contrast to the salty sausage. The scallop had the beautiful taste of the sea and the cauliflower sauce was beautifully creamy.
Pumpkin Tortellini - Beurre Noisette, Crisp Sage
The pumpkin was sweet, creamy and had a chew to the skin. The softness of the filling in the tortellini was bursting with flavour with a subtle addition of crunchy almonds.
The muted taste of haloumi complemented the sharp citrus taste of chickpea salad.
Crisped Pork Belly - Chilli Caramel, Asian Herb Salad
The pork belly was cooked to perfection. It was tender with a deliciously crispy skin. The bean sprouts and shallots added an oriental touch. The flavours were nicely balanced.
Roasted Lamb Rump - Crushed Minted Potato, Pea Puree
The pea puree was creamy and the crushed mint puree melted in our mouths. The lamb was cooked perfectly, pink in the middle, and had a adequately chewy texture.
Overall:
FireFly has acquired an exciting new gadget for sous vide and they’re not afraid to use it. The new menu items were amazing, especially the melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin tortellini. Truly incredible and creative dishes which are a must try at this trendy restaurant in Neutral Bay.
