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.
Saint Marks on Clovelly Road is just one of two unrelated establishments with the same name in Randwick. The one we’re interested in today is a cafe – the other, a hotel on Rae St, will not be mentioned again in this post.
The sweet corn fritter stack was quite well plated and visually appealing. My partner, who as you may know by now is a big fan of corn fritters really enjoyed it. She liked the sweetness of the fritter, which helped this dish stand out from the rest. A further point of distinction was the texture of these fritters, which were quite loose and corny, in a good way. Unfortunately the poached eggs that were added on for an additional fee were not good. As you can see from the photo one of them was very well cooked. No good.
The Saint Marks Burger (with extra patty and cheese – $20) was a tall but very expensive burger. The patties were slightly underseasoned but otherwise had good texture with a very meaty mouthfeel. The pickles were tangy and I appreciated that there were both internal pickles as well as external pickles. At the $20 price tag I would have expected this burger to at least have come with some chips.
DISCUSSION Despite the good internal airflow supplied by large ceiling fans we chose to dine in Saint Marks’ outdoor seating due to extra risk-averse nature (and in view of recent new COVID-19 cases in the area). Towards the end of our meal, whilst all internal customers had left we started to hear the staff inside make a series of seal noises. This was quite odd.
My partner and I had a late post-work dinner at Clove Lane recently after a difficult and scary medical procedure. While we were tempted to order their $99 per head tasting menu, we ended up choosing more granular control and picked some of our favourites from the a la carte menu. Any savings we might have gleaned by skipping dishes we weren’t interested in were immediately negated by the Clove Lane’s expensive but delicious Clovemopolitan cocktails.
Very small pancake with baba ghanoush and capsicum
The amuse-bouche, a very small pancake with baba ghanoush and capsicum, was an unexpected treat, though not very good. It was a soft and floppy pancake with very mild flavours that didn’t amuse the mouth but rather disappoint it. Luckily this amuse-bouche was not indicative of the quality of the rest of the meal.
Iggy’s warm sourdough, whipped burnt butter
The warm sourdough with whipped burnt butter ($8) was a wholesome start to the meal. Whilst not in-house, the bread was good quality, soft and warm, having being sourced from Iggy’s. The whipped burnt butter had a caramel-like aftertaste which I wasn’t a fan of but my partner enjoyed.
I enjoyed the stracciatella, confit cherry truss tomato ($18), especially eaten with the aforementioned bread. The stracciatella was nice, light, milky. While I was drawn in by the concept of confit tomatoes, it was difficult, when eating them, to differentiate these tomatoes from other tomatoes cooked in more traditional methods. The stracciatella was ultimately good, but I don’t think the confit process added anything special to the dish.
Seared scallops, almond, golden raisin, cauliflower
The seared scallops, almond, golden raisin, cauliflower ($37) was excellent. The base dish comes with three scallops for $28 though we added an extra scallop for $9. The scallops were huge, full and plump, though I thought their flavour was a bit mild on the seafood side. The sauce of chopped almonds, golden raisin and cauliflower was salty and sweet with a lot of umami. Though $37 for just four scallops the taste and presentation excelled and ultimately justified the price. I can recommend getting this dish.
My partner – a huge potato fan as readers of this blog will know – couldn’t walk past the roast kipfler potato with capers, shallot, truffle cured egg yolk ($12). I personally didn’t really like them. I thought they were too potatoey and not flavourful enough, however she thought that the capers provided enough variety and flavour to the dish and ultimately enjoyed five out of seven potatoes.
Roast pasture fed sirloin, green beans, butternut pumpkin in red wine sauce
The roast pasture fed sirloin, green beans, butternut pumpkin in red wine sauce ($45) was another star of the night. The beef was soft, juicy, and tender, rested for 45 minutes prior to serving but still warm inside. There was very generous amount of the beautifully savoury red wine sauce, enough for the steak as well as the pumpkin and greens. I would strong advise against leaving Clove Lane without having had a serve of this sirloin.
Saltwater barramundi, du puy lentil, green apple, kohlrabi
The saltwater barramundi, du puy lentil, green apple, kohlrabi ($42) was the weaker of the two mains, with its light and subtle flavours. The fish was a little dry and had a very light taste only. It was only when combined with the lentil and kohrabi cake that the meal had any real taste to it. While more suitable for pescaratians I’d definitely pick a different main over the barramundi were I to go again.
My partner enjoyed the clovemoplitan ($20) so much that she got two. It was a bit tangy and not too sweet.
One negative aspect of our meal was that we did feel a bit conned into donating $4 towards DineSmart. The $4 donation came directly onto our bill without us being asked, and it was framed in a way where we would’ve had to ask them to produce a new invoice to remove it. While I have a no problem donating to social enterprises like DineSmart it did feel like our hand was forced in this, and that wasn’t really OK.
VERDICT
We had a good meal with good service and good food. While a 2% donation on our bill was definitely a very small amount of money, the way it was sought left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
Wow! So yummy! I’ve been a banh mi fanatic ever since I was a young child living in Burwood. My grandparents would occasionally treat me to some pork roll on the way home from school, from the Vietnamese bakery across the road from the park.
Vina Bakehouse in Royal Randwick brings me back to memories of those early banh mi days, as well as memories of further banh mi days from Wentworthville mall.
The bread is soft rather than crunchy, which I prefer as it doesn’t cut your mouth. The fillings are standard and the quantity of butter and pate is generous. The flavours come together perfectly to make an exemplary pork roll.
What’s not generous however is the price, and at $7.50 for a standard pork roll this is one of the most expensive banh mi I’ve ever had, especially from a legit Vietnamese bakery.
I would not hesitate to recommend Vina Bakehouse and I think it is likely that it will become a common haunt for me.
Vina BakehouseRandwick Royal Randwick Shopping Centre, 73 Belmore Rd, Randwick NSW 2031 (02) 9399 6760
My partner has been trying to get me to go to Kurtosh for a good six months. I was never keen as I’ve had a lot of baked goods in my day, but one day we found ourselves at Kurtosh after we travelled to Albee’s Kitchen only to find it closed.
Kurtosh’s slab cakes are cut from the slab and sold by weight, which is handy because it means you can get a few small pieces of different cakes to try at any time. These were reasonably good but not memorable enough for me to even remember what they were. I think the white one was tiramisu.
The smashed potato roll ($3.80) was good.
One thing that was memorable about Kurtosh was the extra-slow extra-poor service. There were two people working in the store that day, and I think we definitely got the less capable one (although it may have just been an off day for her). It felt pretty unusual being asked to repeat our order 3 times while we were the only people being served.
I think that if you work in Randwick you will eventually find your way to Kurtosh at some point. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’ve just done a 12.5 hour night and the person who’s serving you has too it has the potential to get pretty dicey.
Kürtősh Randwick 20B/20C St Pauls St, Randwick NSW 2031 (02) 9314 5353
Cafe Mckenzie is one of the new cafes that has opened up across the road from Prince of Wales Hospital. I first ate at Cafe Mckenzie while picking my partner up after a night shift, and then again after an interview (results pending).
Beef Brisket Hash
My partner really likes the Beef Brisket Hash ($19). She eats at Cafe Mckenzie with her colleagues sometimes and she tells me she’s had the dish five or so times in total. She’s a big fan of potato, which this dish has plenty of, so I think her feelings may be a bit skewed. I enjoyed the fresh radish, which is not something I normally go for. The beef brisket was yummy, and the poached eggs and beetroot relish provided a good balance for the more oily, heavier components. I can recommend this dish.
Lemon Ricotta Hotcake
Mandarin is one of the fruits that I never think to eat, but often enjoy when I try. The menu sells the Lemon Ricotta Hotcake ($18) with raspberry and lemon butter short. It’s topped with fresh raspberries and mandarin, which help to freshen up the pancake. The hotcake itself was soft and fluffy, and the flavours all blended together successfully. Maybe only a little bit too sweet.
Chicken Baguette
The Chicken Baguette ($12) with lemon poached chicken, mayo, avocado, shallots was quite good. Upon general inspection I was worried that the bread would be too hard, but the first bite allayed my fears completely. The bread was fresh , warm and crisp. The chicken filling was mild but good, and the surprise rocket was a nice addition. This baguette reminded me of the first time I had had rocket, which was back in 2011 during an open day at UNSW. I had purchased a chicken rocket sandwich from Biblio outside the Matthews Food Court for the exorbitant (for a high schooler) price of $7, which I enjoyed so much that I started buying rocket all the time for the rest of the year.
The Triple Cheese and Mushroom Toastie
I can’t believe how happy I am to spend $14 on a toastie. The Triple Cheese and Mushroom Toastie ($14) with mixed mushroom, gruyere, parmigiano reggiano, ricotta, dijon and thyme is one of the highlights of Cafe Mckenzie. The flavours are complex and delicious, and the quality is very consistent. The pickles on the side were a delightful surprise, and I wonder if it would help for these guys to actually start advertising all of the components of their food. Great for a quick breakfast. Can recommend.
The Lamb Meatball Soup ($17) with freekeh, tomato, lemon, toast is strong, but perhaps the weakest of a very strong bunch. I thought the soup was a bit sour, and we could’ve used a bit more bread keeping in mind just how much soup there was. The meatballs were delicious and I think this would be a good dish on a cold day. The soup and bread actually comes with Pepe Saya butter, which again I feel is worth mentioning on the menu, as it is a premium component.
THOUGHTS (2020)
I am a Cafe Mckenzie Stan. If POW gives me a job for next year I suspect I’ll find myself here very very often. I think they would be perhaps even more successful if they added all of the secret elements of their food onto the menu. There’s no reason not to advertise that they serve Pepe Saya butter, or keep the rocket a surprise. 10/10.
UPDATE (2022)
I never did get that job, and ended up spending the next two years working in Western Sydney. My partner however was lucky and skilled enough to be chosen for a Eastern Suburbs training program, and I found myself back here with her and her colleagues after their run of nights. I think it is important to mention that they were happy to serve their lunch (11AM and onwards) menu to us at 9:30AM.
Along with a redo of the triple cheese and mushroom toastie (still fantastic, by the way), we also had the fattoush salad ($16) with optional grilled chickenbreast ($9, hence $25 all up). This fattoush was perhaps the best I’ve ever had, and that’s spoken having lived as a working adult with access to food delivery apps in Western Sydney and now Sydney’s South West for four years now. I loved the freshness of all of the components, especially the variety of herbs (some combination of mint, parsley, and/or coriander) within. The chicken breast was an expensive addition, but reasonably well done with a tender, juicy, and tasty result. The total cost ($25) was reasonable despite the large cost of the chicken due to the quite good pricing of the non-proteinaceous base salad. Quite good!
I don’t know if this is made in-house or from an external vendor, but this passionfruit and raspberry cake ($6) was really quite nice. A bit on the sweeter side, but great moistness and combination of fruity flavours.
