1945, Pyrmont

Travel back in time and discover the authentic Dutch East Indies Cuisine at 1945. This less than two weeks old restaurant is located in Pyrmont. 1945 is inspired by "Rijsttafel" also known as rice table, it was introduced during the Dutch Colony, where there are wide variaties of dishes to be enjoyed at a single sitting. It might sound simple, but back then it was a lavish feast with as many as 40 dishes of meat, seafood, vegetable and condiments.

After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945 (Now you know why it's called 1945), the rice table has slowly disappeared from Indonesia's restaurants. However, now it rediscovered itself in Sydney.

 

As narrated in the menu:

Here at 1945, we are reliving the era to bring to you the finest of cuisines that pay  homage to various regions of Indonesia. Served in small servings, one can savour the many distinct flavours, colours and textures of the vast array of dishes spanning from Classic popular to unknown hometown fares in just one sitting. 

1945 invites you to take a journey back in time and to taste the rich blend of Indonesia's vibrant cultures on a plate.

Selamat Makan! (Happy Eating!)

The dining room feels homey, with a mix of traditional Indonesia and Dutch decor. There is a large potrait of a famous Indonesian Heroine (Raden Ayu Kartini) in the center of the dining room which adds more cultural values to the restaurant. 

I was honoured to be invited to their tasting dinner.Below are some of the items that I've tasted. Given all the dishes were served in a big platter, I'll try my best to describe all the dishes in the photos below.

The unique wooden menu

From Left: grape appetizers, Iced green beans & Air Roejak

 

Sate babi $3 (each) & Baso Goreng $3 (each)

Tahoe Gedjrot $5 and Daging Goreng Renjah ($5)

Top right:  Ajam Boemboe Roedjak $ 5 (each)

Bottom: Kerang Soes Padang $6 (there are two portions in the photo)

Top left: Coconut Rice and Tumeric Rice $3 (each)

Top Right: Sajur Asem $6

Bottom Left: Condiments $3 (each)

Dessert: Kolak Pisang and Es Pelangi

 A good meal including entree, main and dessert will set you between $40-$50. There are many dishes that are quite unique that I haven't seen anywhere else in Sydney. They also offer a set menu of $30-$40 pp.

My must try list:  Sate Babi, Baso Goreng, Perkedel Djagoeng, Sambal Goreng Kentang Buntjis, Boentoet Bakar Madoe - Grilled Honey Glazed Ox tail ( This is a must try, even my husband that doesn't usually eat Ox tail, found this really good) and their dessert Es Pelangi (This is a perfect refreshing dessert to finish the tasty meal)

Last but not least, please meet the head chef, Natasha Roesli and her team!

 Head Chef: Natasha Roesli

1945

2/42 Harris Street

Pyrmont, Australia, NSW 2009

Ph: 02 9660 9699

http://www.1945.com.au/

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.