If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food.(Sally Edwards)
Restaurant Balzac has been on my wish list for a long long time. Each time I drive past the place, I would always think, 'Gotta try it, gotta try it!'. Finally, my wish came true yesterday, when my husband suggested maybe we should try Restaurant Balzac, it's so close to where we live and his colleague has highly recommended this to him too.
So I went to their website and to my suprise, they actually offer a $55 Pre-Ritz dinner, which is a 2 course dinner plus tea/coffee (between 6-8pm). What a great value for a one chef hat restaurant! So I picked up the phone and reserved a table for two.
The dining room is very cosy with an elegant sandstone wall. The staff is friendly and attentive. Service is five-star and everything seems perfect so far. Now let's see if the food will impress my taste bud too.
The staff served us with a complimentary corn valoute that kindle our appetite. It's very creamy and full of corn flavour in it. We are impressed!
Entree: Cannelloni of Tuna Tartare with Panfried Mackerel, Poached beetroot and Horsedish sorbet ($24). The Tuna tartare is superb, it's rolled with something like a jelly sheet and the horsedish sorbet is sweet and matches very well with the caviar. We are impressed!
Entree: The Warm Citrus Cured Ocean Trout with Baby Fennel , Pink Grapefruit and Radish ($25). The ocean trout is really fresh but overall it failed to impress me, as there's nothing really distinctive about this dish. We were not dissapointed but I would recommend you to perhaps try other entree.
Main: Pasture Fed Black Angus Sirloin with Bone Marrow and Wild Pine Mushroom ($42).
We ordered medium rare but I think it was cooked closer to medium. The sirloin was complemented well with the sauce and I absolutely adore the bone marrow, it's so rich, unctuous and full of flavour. It's just indescribable how it enhances the flavour of the sirloin. But be warned that you will actually feel like you are swallowing fats and the beef smell is really strong.
We ordered medium rare but I think it was cooked closer to medium. The sirloin was complemented well with the sauce and I absolutely adore the bone marrow, it's so rich, unctuous and full of flavour. It's just indescribable how it enhances the flavour of the sirloin. But be warned that you will actually feel like you are swallowing fats and the beef smell is really strong.
The mushrooms come as a side with some dutch carrots and to my surprise again brussels sprout.
(It was not long ago, in my previous post I actually asked myself, if there's any restaurant do serve brussels sprout since so many people hate it)
Main: Suckling Pig with Black Pudding, Celeriac Puree, Savoy Cabbage and Peridog Truffle ($38). I actually like this better than the beef, it's really tasty and the black pudding is delicious, it's meaty, with a little sweet and spicy taste. This impressed me!
Complementary Dessert: Pineapple with crust ice and Panna cotta. After such a tasty meal, this dessert come just at the right time, the pineapple is sligthly sour, it's icy and panna cotta is perfectly creamy.
Finally, the star of the evening is the Bread and Butter Pudding with Pain d'Epice Ice Cream. $16
This beats any of the above! It's so good!
Even the waitress told us we picked the right choice, their Bread and Butter Pudding is never disappointing.
The bread is warm, with a crispy burnt layer on top, so buttery with some raisins in the middle.
Not only the ice cream melts in your mouth but the bread too!
What a satisfying dinner. So if you wish to indulge yourself with a french cuisine at a fraction of price, I can't see why Balzac is not on your list.
Restaurant Balzac
141 Belmore Road, Randwick NSW 2031
Ph: (02) 9399 9660
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