Restaurant-ing: Bilsons & Pier

I was spoilt for my birthday awhile back, I managed to go to Bilsons and Pier - but not at the same time!

S brought me to Bilsons for a lovely dinner degustation, we had eaten there previously but we had never had the degustation before, so it was a treat! We had quite a late sitting due to the popularity of the place, but by the end of the night we were the only patrons which was nice.

We opted for the 'Fine Bouche' with a few glasses of pinot to go with the meal. Here are some shots of the night:

All the mains were delectable! Top Main dishes were:

1. Freshwater Crayfish & Lobster Bavaroise, Green Pea a la Francaise (2nd pic) - Flavours were so nicely intertwine with each other and surprisingly delicate textures
2. Roasted Scallop, Petit Sale of Puy Lentis and Foie Gras Vinaigrette (4th pic) - scallop was cooked to perfection - lovely crispiness on the outside and nice and juicy meat. I really enjoyed the lentils with it, interesting texture
3. Roasted Partridge with Beetroot Braised Red Cabbage, Glazed Carrots and Rocket Pistou (5th pic) - I've never had patridge before but I really enjoyed the meat and went really nicely with the sweetness of the beetroot and the crunch of the cabbage.

Dessert was such a treat, last two photos were the start of the dessert - first the cleanser of the palate. If only i remembered was what in it - but it definitely cleansed the palate. The last picture above was a pear inspired dish - even with pear jelly on the bottom. We were so engrossed that we forgot to take the 'before' picture and so there is a missing element to the dish on the right - oops!

Last dish was 'Autour Du Chocolat' which translates to 'Around Chocolate' - and I definitely like to be around chocolate. It was so delicious - from start to finish. So many different types of chocolate were on the dish - I wish i knew all the names for each part - but delicious! Even the petit four pictured at the bottom were lovely! Cute macaroon and friands was a lovely ending with a nice cup of English breakfast tea. I think we finished eating at around midnight.

So we managed to out-eat everyone else in the restaurant I think - pretty empty when we left so we snuck in some photos including their wall of 'hats' - Bilsons has been a pretty top rated restaurant in Sydney for awhile now and I agree with their high rating - absolutely delicious!

The next day, I had my birthday lunch at Pier Restaurant - I was still ridiculously full from the food fest from the previous night! In hindsight, I probably should not have had the squid ink risotto, since that fills the stomach even more!

Pier Restaurant has a beautiful view and seats a small number of patrons so it did have a cosy feeling to it.

We all had seafood mainly because it is known for its seafood, being a seafood restaurant!

Pics from the top

1. Crab Omelette with Asian Greens - Interesting fusion of Asian methods and v. tasty (and large)
2. Roasted Barramundi with caramelised endive ,dutch carrots and bitter orange sauce - Really well cooked barramundi - lovely crunch!
3. Bread Crusted Kingfish with piqullo puree, preserved lemon and almond foam - look how foamy it is. what a cute dish!
4. Squid Ink Risotto with Calamari and a hint of truffle - i love truffle - this is what I had it was really tasty! They originally only had it in the entree size but we asked for them to up size it. Only issue with squid ink risotto is that you can't really talk whilst eating it without scaring the people around you with the black spreading over  your mouth and teeth!

Anyways, 2 days of excellent and indulgent eating! Highly recommend giving Bilsons a go, top notch!

Happy voting all

mw

Orange - Philip Shaw Winery

Orange - Philip Shaw Winery, originally uploaded by mindy_w.

We had the best time in orange. Wine, food, snow!

Not necessarily in that order. Its such a treat to get away from the city and working life and go into a 'country town' and just slow down. We're all chipping away at such a fast pace, its nice to stop and consume a lot of alcohol. good alcohol as well, which was v. surprising!

This particular winery was one of my top 2 wineries i visited at Orange. Philip Shaw winery had a beautiful cottage where guests were welcomed into a home and were not pressured into leaving - but just to stay and soak in the wine goodness.
My other favourite winery was 'Word of Mouth' which coincidentally not ironically was recommended to us by your B&B host (Milthorpe Bed & Breakfast - which was fantastic btw). I think best Riesling i have ever tasted! Not to say I'm a wine buff, but I thought it was special.

Other highlights include:
- Racine Restaurant at the La Colline Winery: excellent steak and gorgeous fondant!
- Lolli Redini in Orange: v. tasty desserts!
- Beautiful food and views at Borrodell Winery @ Sisters Rock Restaurant: had a lovely mushroom and truffle rissotto there.
- Basalt Wine Bar in Milthorpe: lovely poached pears and quince. yum.

- Lovely breakfast at Tonic in Milthorpe - v. relaxed atmosphere.

Anyways, hope your week goes well.

mw

Where in the world....

Hi Everyone,

I haven't blogged in awhile, it may be a symptom of not taking many photos. It's been a busy few months, I have quite the backlog and I am determined this week to be less lazy and get stuck into them! That and going back to the gym. And potentially doing the metre pile of ironing ...I am definately running out of clothes.

I was driving home today and I was reminded of how much I enjoy quiet time, time to contemplate, sing-a-long to the radio and let your mind wonder. It reminded me of the relaxing week I spent up north in Yamba.

Anyways, the photo taken outside a friend's house in Yamba is a beautiful spot in northnern NSW. We did the double date holiday where we spent one glorious, relaxing week doing nothing but fishing off the jetty, eating home cooked delcious meals, walking about and playing a lot of Super Mario Bros on the wii. Good times. Might I add, I used to be awesome at Supe Mario Bros 3 but alas no more. The lack of skills I had was appalling, the team really had to carry me - literally.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed your weekend. More to come later. Promise.

mw

i wish i was...

somewhere warm, tranquil and not needing to bring a box of tissues due to a runny nose. sigh. taken in port douglas, northern queensland - australia

iPhone Fun

Sydney 5th June 2010, originally uploaded by mindy_w.

I didn't think I would warm to the iPhone, but I definately do like it! I love how I never get lost anymore, well - i love that I can find my way around when I get lost. Yesterday I downloaded the Hipsmatic app on the iPhone which lets you use different 'lenses' and 'flashes' when taking photos.

Here are some photos I took today on the iPhone at the local Annandale cafe Revolver, some shots of Paddington and the windscreen of Lan's car. Best $1.99 I spent on my iPhone!

good luck to sam stosur 2nite! back to processing photos!

mw

Lest We Forget - Anzac Day 2010

I think all Australian students should learn about World War 1, I always think that it is important to understand and know the past before we can move forward.

The sacrifice that those men made on what is known as Anzac Cove. The sheer determination, will and bravery it would have taken to scale those mountainous hills is staggering. What fear and pride they must have been feeling on the dawn of the 25th. It was wonderful to see people out in the city today, men and women in their uniforms paying tribute to the lives before us. Ancestors of soldiers past wearing their medals with pride.

Lest we forget. 

Happy Easter!

I'm always greatful to take a breather from work, so i love easter in that respect. It's so good to just relax, do the things that you love to do and just get out there and do something different. Easter is a great celebration of family, friends and chocolate! 

My homage to Easter including the coverted Lindt Easter Bunny and topped off with the best hot chocolate i have tasted, and i've tasted quite a few! Also tried their peanut butter easter egg, best $1 I spent that day. And let's not forget that it is a religous holiday, and people were out giving thanks for the reason why we have this holiday through sky writing.

Anyways, I trekked down to Darling Harbour as there was a free festival going on - the Hoopla Festival which showcased circus and street theatre for all to enjoy. 

 
Most of the activities were quite interactive including an amusing pair of brothers that had a fire/ladder/pole act going on and got the crowd participating - they tended to pick on males to volunteer in their act, they actually picked a real fireman. The second shot, he said would be a good photo opportunity, he wasn't wrong. i love the expression, he's longingly looking for the audience to clap.

Walked along, and there was a 'Circus Playground' and inside were circus tricks like the stiltz, juggling balls, colourful ribbons, juggling plates on sticks and other fun stuff and lots of kids and adults giving it a go. 

Last but not least we had 'The Tiny Top' where they had two fun characters welcoming everyone intot the tiny top. The lady by the popcorn machine was kind enough to make a face for me. :)

Anyways, hope everyone re-charges their batteries during this lovely break. Hope you all enjoy yourselves and spend well deserved time with friends and family. 

mw  

P.S. Thanks so much to the website Coffeeshop  for the lovely 'Honey Retro' action I've applied to all the photos from the Hoopla Festival. Check that website out for excellent freebies!