Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Late Valentines Meal at Wooden Spoon

On Saturday night the Hubby and I went for a late Valentines meal at Wooden Spoon Bar and Restaurant in Cremorne. The Hubby's Mum had got us a Red Balloon voucher for their 5 course degustation meal for Christmas so we figured Valentine's Day was the ideal time to use it.

We arrived at the restaurant and we greeted by the server (who I believe is also the owner) who showed us to a table in their stunning inside courtyard area as there was a party going on inside. She remembered that my mother in law had bought us the voucher so she bought us the degustation menu (which she left with us so we can see the elements in each dish) and a glass each of complementary champagne and took our drinks order.

She returned pretty quickly with our water and a slice of bread and butter each which the Hubby and I quickly gobbled as we were both starving. The Hubby inquired if the bread was made by them or bought in (professional interest and all) and we were informed the chef made it by hand. It was a white loaf with a beautiful crust and I thoroughly enjoyed it although the Hubby (being the perfectionist he is) said he thought it was slightly underbaked and a little doughy in the middle still.
Our first dish came out shortly after which was lemongrass smoked mackerel, kipfler potatoes, baby onion rings, tatsoi, strawberry tea and plum vinegar. I have to say off the bat i'm not really a fan of fish but I loved this dish. The mackerel was deliciously lightly smoked and was cooked to perfection. The flavours of the baby onion rings, the bite of the tatsoi and the sweetness of the sauce complemented the fish and the balance of flavours was perfect.The only slight criticism that I would have is the sauce didn't really have much flavour but this is really just nitpicking as it did add a nice sweetness to the dish.
Our next dish was white cooked chicken, black rice, silverbeet, galangal puree, goji berry and wooden mushroom. I absolutely adored this dish and it was a close contender for best dish of the night. The galangal gave a nice heat to the dish and the goji berry sauce was absolutely delicious.
Our next dish was sous vide ocean trout, celeriac puree, sweet corn mousse, baby zucchini, water chestnut and miso egg yolk. As I said i'm not really a fan of fish but I can appreciate that it was beautifully cooked and although I don't normally like sweet corn I loved the mousse. By this point in the meal I was starting to get a little full so I gave half of my fish to the Hubby to save room for the beef.
Next up was Korean BBQ beef short rib, buckwehat, carrot top puree, heart of palms, prunes and pine nuts. I absolutely loved this dish it was definitely my favourite of the night. The beef was cooked to perfection and fell apart. The flavors perfectly complemented each other and it was simply perfection.
Dessert was doughnuts with smoked pineapple guava sorbet, gingerbread and tapioca. This was unfortunately my least favourite dish. I found the smokiness of the dougnuts too strong and whilst the sweetness of the guava sorbet did help cut through the smokiness I would have been happier with a dish with just the sorbet as this was rather delicious.

Overall we had a fabulous night the meal was beautiful and amazing reasonably priced at just $56 dollars a head for the 5 course degustation. Drinks were also well priced as I ordered a vodka martini which was $15 which is quite reasonable compared to some places in the city.  Service was fantastic as the wait staff were friendly and personable and very helpful, the decor was lovely and the atmosphere was perfect for a romantic meal with a loved one.

Whilst driving there we questioned whether we would normally go to a restaurant that take us an hour to drive to and if it will be worth it but having tried to food we would definitely go back although we may use public transport next time as we did have a little trouble finding parking.

Wooden Spoon Bar and Restuarant is located at Shop 3/362 Military Rd, Cremorne NSW 2090 and is open 5pm until late daily. 

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