For the meat lovers!

Fancy a protein meal?  Then head to Churrasco (pronounced Shoo Has Ko) where you will be served up to 16 different types of meat.  I went to one of this restaurant's branches along William Street, Sydney.  There is also a branch in Coogee and they will be opening in Caringbah soon.

Upon entering, this restaurant looked quite deceiving in size.  There are long tables lining one side of the glass wall.  On the other side, there were more long tables - I think they can sit close to about 200 people.  I was there on a Thursday night and as the night progresses, the restaurant began to get quite full with different groups occupying the long tables.

Again, didn't really know what to expect but decided to try as it was constantly full when I happen to pass by.  We were seated on a smaller table and the menu looked simple with drinks menu and a few desserts.  We were then told that we would be served up to 16 different types of meat!  These were accompanied by rice, beans and chimichurri sauce on the table.

As we sat on our table, the first round of meat in skewers came round - the eye fillet was delicious.  It was then followed by chicken, rump steaks, sausages, pork ribs, beef ribs, chicken heart... ok, I lost count. All the meat was cooked to perfection i.e.succulent and tasty having been slowly cooked (roasted) on long skewers over a pit of flaming coal.

Majority of the customers were men given the generous rounds of meat which one can savour until full to capacity and for $35.00 per person, this restaurant offers great value.  

What a class act!

I took some clients to the Glass Brasserie last Friday night.  It was my first time at Glass and I didn't know what to expect.

To start with ... when you call to make a reservation, it's most likely that you will be put on hold.  However, Luke's voice can be heard on the other side of the phone advising you on how long you have to wait and then apologising that it could be a while and you might want to leave a message.  If you are in a hurry, probably best to just email them with your reservation.

On the night itself, we headed to the Zeta bar first.  We were early i.e. just after 6pm but the place was already quite full and there were no empty chairs or seats.  Some of the private booths were also occupied or reserved.  I think we are clearly over the Global Financial Crisis.  After a few drinks, it was time to take the lift down to Level 2 where the Glass Brasserie is.

I must say the service was very good from the minute one arrives.  I had a bag with me and there was a staff at the reception ready to take your bag to the cloak room.  The restaurant looked three quarters full and it was only about 7.30pm.  We were seated in a U-shaped booth, making it really cozy.  The service was really attentive without being obtrusive.  The menu arrived and it was a hard choice.  The waiter explained the specials for the day making it even harder to decide! Not that the menu contained a lot of interesting combinations of food but I thought the menu was appealing from the way the food was combined in a simple manner.  For example, I ordered the organic egg omelette with blue swimmer crab meat, enoki mushroom and herb salad with miso mustard broth.  Simple dish but tasted wonderful.  The taste combinations was quite exquisite.  For mains, I ordered the King George Whiting, papillote of scampi, scallops, corn puree, baby zucchini and chestnut mushrooms.  One would think the ingredients is simple enough but again the combinations were wonderful!  What a taste sensation!

The food was neither too little nor too much. We had two courses each and did not have room to fit in desserts.  Overall bill including a bottle of wine, sparkling and still mineral water, a tea and an espresso came up to under $100 per head.

The restaurant also has it's own pattiserrie and as the night progresses, there were customers coming in just to savour the desserts.
Would definitely recommend this restaurant (I think the food is more exquisite than Rockpool).  The restaurant has certainly kept up to its trademark - "Simplicity and elegance are key to food at glass".

Upcoming events include a Rusden Wine Dinner - a five course dinner complimented by the intense, luscious red wine Rusden is renown for on 10 November for $160 per person.  If you are tired of Christmas cooking then spend it at Glass with a three course menu including traditional roast turkey and Christmas pudding bombe with brandy anglaise ($155 per person).

Let's do lunch!

Sydney International Food Festival is back with a vengeance!  The program contains a lot more varieties and festivals and events around the city - awesome.

Let's do Lunch is one of the events that showcases various restaurants and is only available weekdays.

My colleagues and I decided to try out Ash St Cellars last Wednesday.  Tucked away in a laneway, the furniture had a Parisian feel.  This restaurant is not very big and tables are small.  There were not many people when we arrived but it was soon filled with the lunchtime crowd.  Note that they do not take bookings.  There were two other choices offered but the three of us decided on the spiced pork cutlet with spanish onion, cherry tomatoes and wild olives.  We enjoyed it tremendously, it was tasty and the pork was nice and tender.  The service is a let down and we were not offered coffee with our meal.

The following day, I went with another friend to Est.  I haven't been to this restaurant before and it did not disappoint.  The service was impeccable and the restaurant (on the 1st level) exudes a warm feel.  Both of us settled on the duck confit which was nice and tender - with the meat just dropping off the bone.  We then finished it off with coffee and petit fours.  Definitely a place to go again.

Check out what else is on for the rest of this month ... http://www.siff.com.au/