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Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar, Washington DC: 18th December 2008
This is a comfortable little place right behind around the Library
of Congress which offers a nice wine list to backup a nice selection for
your cheese and charcuterie boards. The crispy pork trotter croquettes
lightly fried in olive oil with a sprinkling of sea salt were tastily
garnished with an apple mustard and pea shoots while the red wine braised
lamb shank was soft enough to fall off the bone onto the shiitake-wheat
berry ragout. My rating: 3.5/5
The Laurel Glen 2006 Red is a blend of Zinfendal, Carignan and Petite Syrah
from the Lodi region. A simple drink offering supple dark fruit with
moderate levels of firm tannins and prominent oak influences. 86/100.
The Monte Schiavo 2006 Lacrima di Morro d'Alba from Piedmonte was a good
accompaniment to the lamb shank with its sour cherry flavours with sweet
chewy oak. The light fruity touch is very pleasing and was good to was down
the ragout. 89/100.
Hanabishi: Monday 28th & Thursday 31st May 2007
One
can easily walk past Hanabishi without giving it a second thought. Located
near a Subway, chinese takeaway and pizzaria, this restaurant at 187 Kings
St is easy to miss. From the dark aqua green signboard displaying only its
name in simple font to to choice of dark interior fittings and dimmed
lighting, the unassuming and simplistic exterior does well to hide unique
japanese cuisine of good quality and offering excellent QPR (with
exceptions). My rating: 3.5/5
Moriawase:
Tuna, Kingfish, Salmon, Swordfish - 4x nigri, 3x tuna sushi rolls, 4x3
sashimi. Fish was served at the perfect temperature, not like it was
straight out of the fridge. Texture was firm and thick. Sushi rolls were
more fish, less rice; ditto for the nigri.
Tempura: batter was perfect, light in colour as well as oiliness.
Agedashi tofu: oh my god! How can fried tofu be this light and soft
on the inside, with such a thin and crisp outer layer! Dish of the night.
Gyusahi: Raw beef slices cut to abotu 1mm thickness, with a tiny
splash of soy-based sauce.
Shirauo: white bait fish, our first serve was bad - had a strip of
plastic inside.. sent back, got a new batch, good and light. (We weren't
charged for this dish eventually)
Sugiita yaki: Patagonian toothfish, wrapped in dried bamboo leaf with
mushroom and baked/grilled to perfection. Exotic fishy smell and creamy
texture of the meat, texture of the meat was vaguely similar to snowfish.
$146 for 3 ppl.
Sashimi ($34): same 4 types of fish served as before, slices were
slightly more chilled than previously. Still great stuff!
California rolls: spanner crab meat with avocado and cucumber. The
rich creamy texture of the avocado goes perfectly with the light nature of
the crab meat, uplifted by the fresh cucumber.
Agedashi tofu: had to have this again.
Soft shell crab ($17): 3 half pieces of crab. There was abit of
residual oil on the palate, but the frying was close to perfect.
Salmon skin salad: A generous serve of crisp salmon skin with a mix
of salad leaves.
Bamboo-grilled barramundi ($39): overnight seasoned de-boned barra
wrapped in fresh bamboo leaf and sealed in a case of packed salt, then
baked. Aroma of light soy enhanced by the bamboo leaf, meat was perfectly
soft whilst retaining it's compact texture. Dish of the night.
Tempura udon ($20): I've got gripes about this solely because of the
price. The soup was light and clear, no hint of excessive flavours. Udon was
supple, and the 2 tempura prawns were great. But for $20, you'd be better
off trying some other dish. It's more of a $15 dish in my mind.
$168 for 3 ppl.
312 Drummond: 29th May 2007
Location: 312, Drummond St. Junction of Faraday St (Brunetti's corner) and Drummond,
across the street from the Lygon Crt Safeway carpark.
Meal options: a la carte (entrees $20+, mains $30+) or 7 course degustation
dinner; $95 per person, $55 for paired
wines.
Heard good reviews
about the place and food. Decor was nice, nothing too fancy. Bar counter
faces the entrance, and the kitchen is visible as you walk to the back
stairs to access the second level of
dining. Overall impression was good, food wasn't too bad either, and
certainly not as refined as Vue de Monde (but what can you expect for dinner
at half the cost of VdM). For the price and 2? hats, I think the Court House
might be a better go. My rating: 3/5
Clair de Lune
oyster, with Goya sherry (Portugal)
An excellent opener, the oyster was well marinated with good subtle flavours
and this was washed down well with the cleansing effect of the sherry. 8/10
for the oyster.
White cut
chicken & prawn, with Freeman (NSW) white blend of (I forgot..)
This was a terrible dish! The prawn was not fresh, the shell had dark
blotches and the head had a powdery feel typical of less-than-acceptable
quality. I'm not sure the combination of chicken and prawn works at all.
3/10
The wine was aromatic but had a poor aftertaste. 86/100
Kingfish, crab &
cuttlefish salad, with Leo Buring 1999 Eden? Valley Riesling
There was too much flavour going on in this dish, which was served with
pernot dressing separately, but the dressing was totally unnecessary in the
confusion of sauces. 5.5/10
The aged riesling was good, with the typical notes of petroleum. 91/100
Slow cooked
pigeon, foie gras cigar & chocolate sauce on green lentil and pea base, with
Chinon 2003? Cabernet Franc
2 cuts of pigeon were served, a good breast fillet but a less than
satisfactory thigh. The breast fillet was perfectly juicey and soft, and
matched very well with the chocolate sauce. 6.5/10
The Chinon had earthy, mild herby notes and was a good match for the pigeon.
However, not much fruit to talk about. 87/100
Seared Wagyu beef
rump with truffled pearl barley & sautéed mushrooms, with Mt Langhi Ghiran
2004 Nowhere Creek Shiraz
The rump was slow cooked to perfection, just a slight layer of brown on the
outside, uniform deep purple middle. Pair excellently with the barley
accompaniment. 7.5/10
The shiraz was too young and tannic. It's fruity with notes of plum, but
lack any solid character. 88/100
Note: I mentioned the wine didn't go well with the dish, and the waitress
said that this wasn't the originally intended pairing, but the intended
Barolos kept turning up corked (3 out of 4), so they had to ditch that case
and make a substitute.
St Agur with
poached quince, toasted walnuts & pain d'epics, with Carmes de Rieussec 2004
The blue went very well with the quince. No complaints there. 7/10
But to pair something that strong with a light sauternes?! that's just
attempting the silly. I'm not sure whether the decision was an insult to the
cheese or the wine. If I were harsher, I'd say both. The 04 is way too young
and light to be served now. It had the expected honeyed aromas with almond
pear. 89/100
Note: I did mention that the Carmes was too young to be served now, and
that I thought either the 02s or 03s would be a better match, and the
waitress asked me 'Are you in the industry?' My reply, 'No, I just drink
alot'.
Lemon chiboust
with vodka granita and poached rhubarb (Palate cleanser)
Chiboust is like creamy ice-cream. Rhubarb was a substitute for fresh
raspberries. Very nice. 7/10
Chocolate ganache
with parsnip cream, malt milk chocolate parfait & tarragon, with Bress 2006
Kindest Cut
Nice way to finish before a pot of tea. Would've been nice if served with
thick, piping hot coffee. 7.5/10
The Bress was a nice light clarified butter colour, sweet mix of Riesling,
Muller, and gewurztraminer.88-89/100
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The Melbourne Good Food Guide for 2006 has been released, with only 2 restaurants receiving the elusive 3 golden hat standards. Restaurant of the Year goes to Vue de Monde run by chef Shannon Bennett, a local exuding heavy French influences moulded by modern style philosophies. The French outfit is tucked into Lt Collins St where soaking up the ambience is an experience in itself and you're best making reservations for weekday lunches a good month before, and dinners 3 months in advance. The other 3 hatted place is another French diner sited in Prahran, Jacques Reymond. The Flower Drum has been rightfully dropped from 3 hat status to 2, due to an unevolving, unimaginative traditionalist menu, and a less than satisfactory setting brought about by tacky commoner diners with excess cash to splash. Cecconi's which received 2 hats last year is no longer in operation at Crown. The ever popular MoMo (received 2 hats this year), boasting exquisite Moroccan cuisine, has rather unfortunately made way for Jamie Oliver's 15 venture Down Under. However, they will be re-opening on new grounds in the new future. The Court House Hotel just up the road from me in North Melbourne also gains the glory of 2 hats. The place looks the quite old man sports weekend type of pub from the outside, but the food is lovely. Duck parfait gets a particular mention. Libertine, another French eatery also located in North Melbourne gets Best Short Winelist.
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