Glass Brasserie, Hilton Hotel - Sydney

My Perfect Weekend Celebration at Glass Brasserie

Last weekend, my husband and I celebrated my birthday at Glass Brasserie in Hilton Hotel. Upon arriving the restaurant, we were greeted by a beautiful attendant who then walked us to our table. Once I sat down, I was enamored by the stunning interior of the restaurant, I actually took a good 10-15 minutes to appreciate the elegant dining room. The service was absolutely excellent here. There was one particular staff that look after us, who was really attentive and constantly checking us out making sure we had everything we needed. For me, this place is truly a five star dining experience.

For starter, we were served with some complementary breads. The bread was really nice, the crust was amazingly crispy! There were four breads in one serving. After we finished, the staff actually offered us another serving. We made an intentional mistake of having two servings of the breads. Not to mention the full of flavour Luke Mangan olive oil to dip in.

First entree we had was the Organic Egg Omelette ($30) filled with blue swimmer crab meat, enoki mushroom and herb salad with miso mustard broth. The taste of the mustard was quite subtle which really enliven my appetite. 

The second entree we had was the Seared Sea Scallops ($28.00). The were 5 scallops in one serving, served with cauliflower cream, black bean and tabouli dressings. The scallop was undeniable fresh. This dish has a clean taste that is great to get the taste bud ready for main course.

For main, I had the Port Lincoln Jewfish & Prawns ($42), cooked in XO sauce and served with spicy sausage snake beans and king brown mushroom. I was a bit surprised when I had my first mouth, it's obviously an asian influenced dish, the spicy sauce  taste very similar to those you find in Asian restaurants. If you eat alot of asian food, I would not recommend this dish, but if Asian food is not on your daily menu, this dish is worth a try.

My husband originally wanted to have the rib eye, but on that day the rib eye has been replaced with 500g T-Bone steak, of course he wouldn't mind the T-Bone ($59). The T-Bone was fantastic! It was definitely the winner of the meal! The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare as requested. Even without the BBQ sauce, the meat was flavoursome by itself.  My husband absolutely mad about the brown mushrooms, bone marrow and parsley on the side. 

I have to say it was indeed very tasty! My husband even confessed that he has not enjoy a steak so much lately.

When I was browsing through the menu, my eyes were set on the Parmesan & Truffled French ($12). It was the best decision I've made that evening, the truffle infused french fries was to die for. The perfectly thin and crispy french fries with the earthy truffle flavour was divine!

It's pretty unusual for us to finish our meal without dessert, but we were too full that we couldn't stomach anymore dessert (Must be the two servings of bread). What a shame, cos I heard/read good reviews on their desserts. I guess, now I have another reason to come back.

Overall, me and my husband truly enjoyed our meal here! Not only the food was good, we were really pleased with the service too. We promised we will come back again. But like all restaurants, there are always mix opinions with different people, as food can be pretty subjective. Personally, I would recommend this place to everyone, especially if you have an entertainment card, buy one get one free is a steal for such delightful meal!

Glass Brasserie

Level 2, 488 George St (Hilton Hotel)

Sydney - 2000

Ph: (02) 9265 6068

The Razors Edge Restaurant, Enmore

 "A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness". (Elsa Schiapirelli)

On Saturday, my friends and I dined at The Razors Edge Restaurant in Enmore. This small and cosy restaurant serves an International fusion dishes with French, Japanese, Asian and Modern Australian influence. No doubt the food is exquisite, service is delightful, there are some disappointments too. The major disappointment is the kitchen was really slow, we waited almost an hour for the entree to be served, unless you have a great company to dine with, it might be quite dishearten to have to wait for so long. 

The main dining room is elegant, it resembles a Parisian Bistro with its dazzling chandelier that softly radiating the small but yet intimate dining room. We were seated at the courtyard which has a rather fine ambiance too. The staffs were very professional and friendly, they politely apologised to us for taking so long to serve the food.

One of the reasons we chose this restaurant is because we wanted a nice BYO restaurant.

The Oysters were really fresh. This entree was definitely a Japanese influence, it is really interesting to have the creamy rock oysters topped with salmon roe and wakame seaweed, the splashes of mirin certainly added more kicks to this appetizing entree.

One dozen rock oysters $31.90

The Pork Belly Roulade was rubbed with Italian herbs and almond paste, rolled with sundried tomatoes and fennel then toasted with a balsamic vinegar and orange glaze. The meat was deliciously savoury without being overly fatty. It was a really unique taste and the crispy skin was to die for.

Italian Pork Belly Roulade $16.80

I was told that Kangaroo meat is really good, but I never try it before. So we decided to order one to try. The slices of kangaroo fillet were dusted with cajun spices then lightly seared served with black bean, tomato, capsicum, corn, lime and coriander salsa and topped with sour cream. Having this entree was a novel experience! This aromatic and tasty dish was definitely a dish that you wouldn't want to share with anyone.

Cajun Kangaroo Medallions $16.80

The obvious chinese influence main of The Orange Glazed Duck Breast was marinated in honey, orange juice, and olive oil pan seared, served with salad of chinese cabbage, crispy noodle, snow peas and shallots dressed, with soy and sesame vinaigrette. This might be quite a common dish, but it was a succulent, tender and perfectly cooked duck.

Orange Glazed Duck Breast $29.90

I ordered the Roast Poussin with Catalan Sauce. It was a whole roasted spring chicken on a chunky Spanish sauce of chick peas, chorizo sausage, capsicum, black and green olives, almonds, tomatoes and currants cooked in white wine with garlic and smoked paprika. This is another interesting tasty dish, it is a dish that dances with flavours.

Roast Poussin with Catalan Sauce $29.90

The Fillet Mignon was the table's favourite, three of my friends ordered this eye fillet steak wrapped with Bacon, served with a salad of fresh beetroot roasted in Marsala wine, juniper berries and baby english spinach topped with onion relish and crumbed feta cheese. As requested, the beef was cooked perfectly pink, although it might be slight dry as there's not much sauce to go with the steak, however as my friend said, "They are playing with our taste bud!". The combination flavours of everything was again...unique.

Fillet Mignon $32.80

Although the rating for entrees are slightly higher than the mains, all three main dishes were still delicious.

However, I'm sad to say that the creme brulee was a failure. The sugar was overly burnt and what meant to be a smooth creamy pudding like custard was too watery, the brulee wasn't set at all and it tasted pretty bland too.

Creme Brulee  $12.80

However, I do like the other dessert that we had. It was Cinnamon - Orange Chocolate Mousse. It was a rich mousse  of  semi sweet chocolate, honey, cinnamon and grand marnier topped with fresh orange. As a big fan of cinnamon I absolutely enjoyed this rich but not overly sweet mousse, but my friends thought the cinnamon was too strong.

 Cinnamon - Orange Chocolate Mousse  $12.80

Even though there were some dissapointments, It was still throughout unusual and throughout enjoyable.

The Razor's Edge Restaurant

129 Enmore Road, Enmore

Sydney NSW Australia

Ph: (02) 9557 5867

Firestick Cafe, Hunter Valley

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.”(Benjamin Franklin ,1706-1790) 

Firestick cafe is the daytime sister of Rock Restaurant. It's located in the Poole's Rock Winery Estate in Hunter Valley. This two hat chef restaurant certainly has a lot to offer. Great food, great ambiance and great service.  The dining room is modern and spacious with magnificent views.  

 Complementary entree: Beet Root with Goat Cheese

The Burger was excellent. The herbs bread is very crispy, wagyu beef is so juicy and tender, served with the perfectly crisp french fries on the side. Two thumbs up!

Wagyu burger with caramelized onions, tomato, mesclun salad, grilled herb bread and fries  $23

Confit is one staple in french cooking, a traditional and delicious way to add flavour to the meat. This dish might look really basic but it has so much flavour in it and surprisingly good.

Cured duck breast and confit leg with fennel, braised witlof and orange vinaigrette  

$26 Entree /$ 39 Main

Pork schnitzel with crushed potato, rocket and waldorf salad  $24 Entree / $36 Main

Salt Cod and Tomato Bruschetta on Grilled Sourdough $12

 This could be the perfect spot for a mid-afternoon lunch on your next stroll to Hunter Valley.

ROCK Restaurant & Firestick Café

(located within Poole's Rock Winery estate)

576 Debeyers Road

POKOLBIN NSW 2320

 Tel: 02 4998 6968

 

 

Sugaroom, Pyrmont

 

Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.  (Jim Davis)

Sugaroom is a Modern Australian restaurant that is secluded from the busy street of Pyrmont, it is located beside the water at the end of Harris Street.

The atmosphere of the dining room is lovely. It's spacious and quite, there's a good distance between each table so you can bearly hear what's the next table gossiping about. 

It is definitely a great place if you want to have a good chat over dinner. Food is a mixture of good and bad, but I think it's quite common for a restaurant to have some very good dishes and some average ones. And when it comes to food, it can be pretty subjective too.

This restaurant is right for you, if you are looking for a place for a slow and long dinner to catch up with friends/family, as the food is served pretty slow, we started ordering our meal at 8.30PM and I think we waited around 40 minutes for the entree to come and by the time the main came, it was 10.00PM. Lucky, we had a great company that evening, we didn't even realise that we waited for so long as we just couldnt stop talking. Best part of the restaurant is the desserts are excellent. Everyone truly enjoyed it.

We ordered 3 different entrees, they are all good. The salt and pepper squid's seasoning tasted abit like Kentucky, but it's not crispy. I think it wasn't intended to be crispy anyway. 

Salt and Pepper Squid, Lime Wedge and Wasabi Oioli $16

beef carpaccio, parsley, radish, capers and lemon oil $15

Tartare of Ocean Trout, Lemon Vianigrette and Salmon Pearls  $17

The good thing about being a food blogger is your lovely friends will offer you to have the first bite on their dishes =p (Thank you guys!)

The best mains are the Chargrilled Beef Fillet and the Risotto. The Chargrilled beef was cooked to perfection, very juicy and very tasty. Risotto was very good too, creamy and full of seafood flavour.

Chargrilled beef fillet, roasted field mushroom, creamed parsnip and port wine jus $36

saffron risotto, scallops, mussels, fresh peas, capsicum rouille  $28

The Pork cutlet is abit dry and I didn't think the couscous goes well with the tomato salsa sauce. So this one is quite a disappointment to me.

Cajun spiced pork cutlet, burghel, spinach and chimichurri

grain fed sirloin, café de paris and fries  $28

The Barramundi was cooked well but the taste of the caper skordalia is too strong for my liking.

seared barramundi, caper skordalia, beetroot tapenade  $32

The Sirloin is pretty average, if you are going for beef, definitely go for the chargrilled beef fillet.

grain fed sirloin, café de paris and fries  $26

One of my friends had the  Green mango and crystal bay prawn salad, peanuts, chilli, lime and papaya jam, this is pretty good for a Thai style salad to be served in a Modern Australian restaurant.

green mango and crystal bay prawn salad, peanuts,

chilli, lime and papaya jam  $25

Now, the desserts. Desserts are absolutely wonderful here! 

The Chocolate Pave was so rich and smooth, it's not suprising that this is the table's favourite. Just perfect!

chocolate pavé with crème anglaise,

frosted pistachios and pistachio ice cream $15

The Baked date and custard tart is very good too, tart is firm and love the date filling inside with abit of caramel on top. The tart is not overly sweet too.

 baked date and custard tart, vanilla bean icecream,

 roasted macadamias  $15

The Panna Cotta might not be the best, but it's still good enough. It could be better if it's lighter in texture.

vanilla bean panna cotta,

spiced cherries and clove shortbread  $15

Overall, we had a good dinner that evening, everyone just enjoyed the food and laughters throughout the slow serving dinner.

But don't expect a knowledgeable staff, as they are certainly lack of knowledge on their own menu, when we asked the waitress what are the most popular dishes in the restaurant, it took her 5 minutes to come up with something which she didn't sound convince herself too.