Is it okay for a guy to be so fascinated by all the pretty decor of a restaurant? I think when I first entered this place I was more captivated by the all the little details of the charming and delicate interior design of this place than Pupu was hee hee. I especially love the curly curly ‘E’ in their logo whheeeee swirllss! Considering how Etch is owned by the notorious Justin North of Becasse (I realllly realllly want to try >_<!) and Plan B, I had high expectations of the food. Also because I had drooling over the photos and descriptions from Grab Your Fork, NQN, Jenius and Chocolatesuze.

I was a bit surprised at how empty it was but I guess we did have a bit of a late lunch on a weekday. But that just meant more space for us hee hee ^^! *Ahhh lounges down on the couchseat*

Good food is all about the quality of the raw product. Etch encourages ethical eating through supporting our local producers and their sustainable produce

We eagerly peruse the menu and actually had a  pretty hard time deciding on what to order as everything looked so good! With the help of our friendly staff we managed to finally decide and so…

Here Comes the Food

Basque style cassoulet with herb crumbs ($18)

This cassoulet consisted of beans, chorizo and beautiful fatty cubes of pork belly with a sprinkling of herb crumbs on top. This is a winter warming winner of a combination and with each bite I could feel my insulating coat increase. This spruced up baked bean dish was a great start to a gorgeous meal ^^!

Caramelized pork belly, roasted Queensland scallops, sherry gel and sweet corn puree ($23)

There are just some words that instantly catch your eye and this dish has a number of them: Pork Belly, Caramelized, Scallops and Puree. The pork belly was so soft and tender it fell apart with a poke of the fork and the side of fat is oh-so-heartcloggingly-good! The scallops were on the firmer but still bursting with juicy and moist flavour so were also a great delight. The sherry gel, however, was a bit too strong for our liking but when spread thinly went well with the others. I could have had a whole bowl of the puree mmmm sweet, thick and rich with flavour.

Cauliflower, cepe and macaroni cheese ($28)

28 doras for mac’ n cheese?!?!? Better be the best damn mac’ n cheese in the world! This one did not fail although the price is still very very steep for something like this it was definitely worth trying out at least once. With specks of Parmesan breadcrumbs dusted on top and cheese melted throughout, there was adequate cheesiness which made me a happy camper. A harmony of textures presented by the cauliflower, pasta and cepe mushrooms completed the dish but it can get a bit too creamy and there was also a detectable dash of alcohol in this dish.

Braised lamb shanks with herb crushed potato and piperade jus ($32)

I love the comet-shaped puree but the lamb was the best part of this dish (as it should be). The lamb was fall-apart tender with a decent flavour of lamb and each bite renders the flavour spreading throughout the whole mouth. The herb crushed potato was a bit of a let down after the beautiful soft lame and the rich puree as it just sort of stood out of place. But the lamb was soooo good mmm ^^!

Caramel date tart with burnt butter ice cream and earl grey tea syrup ($15)

After the entrees and mains we couldn’t fit 2 desserts which is a biiig pity since the lolly tray and chocolate delice also looked and sounded sooo good (Next time fo sho!) The tart won us over with the burnt butter ice cream mmm buttery ice cream. The tart was smooth and a bit like pudding while the ice cream was very creamy and went down beautifully with the tart. The earl grey tea syrup was thick and heavy with tea flavour which was brilliant! The strong tea flavour prevented the dish being overly sweet and added a between edge to it.

Purdy lights! I want a fire place!

Hee hee flying lightbulbs ^^! And the clock that goes Cuckoo!

I forgot how often the clock ‘cuckooed’ but the one on the site goes off every 5 mins which left me baffled one night when I forgot I had the site open and was doing other work. I thought I was going crazy hearing a cuckoo every 5mins haha!

Etch is a most definite must-try place even though it is not as good value as say a $10 wagyu beef burger but from the tasty food to the beautiful atmosphere it was a totally satisfying dining experience and I am promising myself another visit hee hee ^^!

Justin Northed:

Plan B – Sydney CBD, Sydney

Etch by Becasse

62 Bridge St

Sydney, 2000

Ph: (02) 9247 4777

Executive Chef: James Metcalfe

Head Chef: Tristan Robertson

Pastry Chef: Tiffany Jones

FFichiban

Wow haven’t posted in yonks!!! Been uber busy with things ><

So decided to post something rather gastronomical!

For my mother’s birthday she requested to go to Quay Restaurant located on the 2nd level of the beautiful Overseas Passenger Terminal.  Went a little while ago so I am going to do my best remembering what each dish was (as poor quality as my photos were).  It is one of the few lucky restaurants with an incredible view of the Opera House and Circular Quay.  Below are some of the dishes we tried as part of a degustation of 5 courses.  Though we all tried to get different things – some bits on the menu just stood out more than the others!

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The cold chill of winter is getting to everybody including these cool polar bears who are rugging up with some rainbow scarves hee hee ^^! But I prefer to warm up with a nice mug of creamy and rich hot chocolate at Noob, I mean Boon hee hee. On a cool night there is nothing better than walking into this brightly lit shop and greeted warmly by a cheery Alex and Fanny and the rows of pralines and other chocolatey goodness!

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