The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally. All meals are independently paid for - the author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Slow cooked braised beef tenderloin in a special chili sauce ($14.80) – There was much meat, which was good, but much of the meat was quite fatty. The flavour was slightly umami and slightly ma la, but ultimately I didn’t feel like these noodles were anything to write home about.
Succulent chicken feet with chili garlic toppings ($6.80) – The taste of these with fresh chili was good, but sadly the paws were skinny and not very meaty.
COMMENTS – Would I come back? I don’t know that I would. There’s so much variety in Burwood that unless a place is very very good it tends to be a one time visit.
Every so often I try and have a meal out and my body just won’t let me. It happened at Moxhe, and it happened again at Gimlet. This particular episode of bad food bolus obstruction sensation was precipitated by my downing of a large volume of psyllium husk and probably not enough water just prior to the meal. My gastroenterologist friend CJP thinks it might be eosinophilic oesophagitis, but my actual gastroenterologist hasn’t had a chance to weigh in yet.
Let me therefore treat you to a description of our meal at Gimlet at Cavendish House, mostly through the eyes of someone watching my girlfriend eat.
We started with some raw albacore tuna with compressed cucumber, sorrel, and vinaigrette ($36). The menu lists a similar dish with bonito instead of albacore, and I wonder if this was an on-the-day substitution to suit whatever was available at the fish market. In general the compression of fruits and vegetables is foreign to me, though I did not believe this particular version of cucumber to have been compressed as completely as it could have been by, for example, the hydraulic press channel. Overall I didn’t have the best impression of this dish, I think because as humans my partner and I prefer bluefin and yellowfin tuna greatly over albacore, which has a bit more of a floury texture than we would like. Rather than being the star of the show, the albacore tuna here was more of a vessel for the good flavours of the vinaigrette.
My enjoyment of the Half Southern Rock Lobster, wood-roasted in saffron rice with bisque sauce ($150) was greatly diminished by my weakened physical state. My impression of this, from what little I had, was that it was absolutely quite delicious, surprisingly big (though it was a solid $150), with beautiful rice that had a bit of crispiness around the edges, a little similar to claypot rice but I’m sure more similar to other rices from other cultures that I’ve not yet experienced. The capsicum dip was not really necessary with such a wonderful intrinsic flavour of the seafood and rice. My partner absolutely demolished this, almost exclusively on her own.
I did not have a single bite of these kestrel potatoes with buttermilk and caper dressing ($16), but my potatolord partner did not like them, so that I think is quite telling.
We enjoyed this gelato ($17), with rhubarb, jasmine rice and candied ginger. The flavours were interesting, and in a different lifetime could’ve been served in a chicken-rice themed degustation as a palate cleanser.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: We had not a cheap meal at Gimlet at Cavendish House, with the only true standout dish being the wood-roasted lobster. That said, that expensive-ass lobster was actually extremely delicious, and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to someone with the money to burn. I would suggest that you call ahead to ensure there is lobster availability, and also avoid the other things we ordered so that you may happen on some other smaller dishes that are better than what we had.
It took about six months of heavy targeted ads on social media for me to succumb to ordering LeTAO’s made-in-Japan cheesecakes.
The first thing that struck me about the LeTAO cheesecakes were their size. Even though their size and weight are explicitly stated on the website, I clearly did not pay close attention to this as both cheesecakes that I ordered were much smaller than I had imagined, especially given their premium price point.
It was a matter of quality over quantity, however, as these cheesecakes, though expensive were quite good. The melon double seasonal limited cheesecake ($40.99) had a pleasant mouthfeel, not too sweet taste, with a hint of melon flavouring. It was well enjoyed by the entire family, who are usually more used to Savoy’s taro cake but were forced by me to try something new.
The Parfait D’or Fromage ($37.99), a rectangular cheesecake of also very small proportions contained a mixture of camembert, soured cream cheese and mascarpone. The camembert definitely added a dimension of strangeness to the cake that the melon cake did not have, though none was more strange than its dimensions. It should be noted that the promotional pictures on the LeTAO website feature this particular cheesecake being served on a wooden board, with nothing of a known size to compare it to.
THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS These LeTAO were pretty good, classically not too sweet given their East Asian origins, and definitely an interesting change up from the classic sponge cake that might rule your family traditions. Their price point and small size are however quite challenging, and important to consider for anyone planning to feed more than a few people.
I’ve enjoyed Black Bear BBQ ever since my first visit during internship; back whilst I was living and working in the Deep West. Their little restaurant in Blacktown’s industrial district was my first introduction to Texas-style BBQ, and even though it took a few attempts to try and go (their opening hours were very strange at the time) I finally managed.
My first bearlesque adventure in 2018 was with their Hungry Bear Breakfast Box, featuring big slabs of their beef brisket, pork belly, a hot link, two sunny side up eggs, and some baked beans. My memory fails me (it’s been three years), so enjoy the pretty picture instead. This item is no longer available on their menu.
I recently had the opportunity to enjoy a quick takeaway meal just as the Delta variant of COVID-19 struck Sydney, which is almost funny looking back at it and writing this in the early days of the Omicron strain.
These tater tots ($6) started off pretty strongly. Freshly fried and seasoned with parmesan and rosemary salt, each little tot came with a nice crunch and a warm centre. Unfortunately, as is often the case with deep fried starchy and cheesy foods, as these tots cooled down they started to taste a little bitter. Unavoidable.
The O.GBurger ($14), not to be confused with an O&G Burger, was pretty good. The beef brisket patty was moist with a good mouthfeel, while the salad added a good degree of freshness to balance out the fatty patty and associated cheese. It’s a good thing that this burger is essentially the same as the cheeseburger but with extra salad, as any other differences would have meant us ordering both.
The Hungry Bear Box ($32) is designed to satisfy not only a hungry, but also a peckish* black bear. While you can order Black Bear BBQ’s boxes with a choice of either beef brisket or pork belly for a slightly lower price, truly hungry bears are able to experience a tasting of both, along with a jalapeno and cheese hot link (sausage), some potato crsps, pickles, and coleslaw. Both the pork and beef were tender and juicy, though both my partner and I preferred the brisket over the pork. The hot link is quite tasty and nice, and at $4 a pop are great as a stand-alone or add-on order.
COMMENTS Black Bear BBQ is a true friend to bearkind. I’d recommend every (non-vegetarian) bear that every there was to gather here.
I have been informed that the word peckish does not describe a bear who wants a little bit of everything, merely a bear who is a little hungry but not fully hungry. I refuse to look this up, and what I don’t know can’t hurt me.
Navigating and parking in the tiny Inner West streets is one of my least favourite things to do in Sydney, but an unavoidable experience if one wishes to drive to Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel’s weekly drag bingo night. While I could attempt to write about the activities and entertainment of the night, I fear that I would be underqualified to do so and must therefore refrain. I will tell you about the food instead, paid for by one of my senior colleagues.
My boss was pretty sad about these heirloom tomatoes with preserved lemon ($12). They are exactly as pictured – about one or maybe two tomatoes cut up into slices topped with little slivers of lemon. In their defence, they were extremely healthy.
The Parmigiano-reggiano ($10) also made my boss sad. It is also exactly as imagined. Also fit my macros so no complaints from me.
I thought that the Prawn pizza ($26) with san marzano tomato, garlic, chili and parsley was a bit light on flavour, but overall not bad. The ratio of prawn to pizza was quite reasonable though not above and beyond, and the flavours were enjoyable if a little mild for my taste.
The Salumi pizza ($26) with San marzano tomato, salami, ‘nduja, italian sausage, fior di latte was really good. I think I probably have a bit of bias for pizzas with salami or ‘nduja, as it’s rare for me to meet such a meaty and spicy pizza and not like it. Each bite of this pizza was an explosion of taste, owing to the good distribution of toppings throughout the pie. The italian sausage was moist and juicy, and the ‘nduja great for that extra kick of spice. This was a pizza done well.
This is a woodfired bread ($10) with extra virgin olive oil that I didn’t eat.
This is a margherita pizza ($18) that was on the wrong side of the table for me to eat. I could not reach it, but I was very happy with the salumi pizza right in front of me.
COMMENTS Some of the pizza was quite good, but I suspect it’s not their top attraction.
