restaurants - Glampacker.com

Glameating: Degustation Dinner in Paris

October 6, 2012 By glampacker 3 Comments

I’ve always wanted to try a degustation dinner in Paris. This is not a budget meal. It is an extravagant, theatrical, gourmet dinner worth saving for. If you appreciate fine food, eating your way through a degustation dinner in Paris is like a theatre performance. You don’t know how each dish is going to look, smell and taste. Just when you think you’re full, and I felt rather full after dish no. 4, another encore dish appears.

My very first degustation dinner in Paris was at the La Grande Cascade restaurant. This opulent Michelin starred restaurant is located on Allee Longchamp in the gardens of Bois de Bologne. There is literally a waterfall nearby. The restaurant is huge, with immaculate gardens, and has a belle epoque interior. We dined out in the terrace which is shaded by carefuly crafted trees.

The service at the Michelin starred La Grande Cascade is very attentive. The waiters all speak English and will explain each course to you. The only way to start a degustation dinner in Paris? With a Champagne toast of course. Having just learnt about Champagne during my recent day trip, it felt like a big celebratory drink!

The degustation menu was an epic gastronomic affair. It started with a small amuse bouche and a palate cleanser of lobster sushi and gazpacho like soup.

I was a bit amused to choose my bread for a basket of bread rolls of all different shapes and sizes. I opted for a light croissant like bread with just a small slather of French butter. This accompanied my first dish – a cappucino like crab ‘soup’ with star anise nicely. This dish was very light and had small hints of the star anise flavour.

The second course was a Saint-Pierre filet of fish with roasted almond chips, leeks and potatoes with a light salsa style dressing. Beautifully presented, the fish was cooked well and it tasted like a light healthy dish.

For third course we experienced the posh version of ‘macaroni and cheese’. Only this French ‘mac and cheese’ came with celeriac, fois gras, black truffles with a parmesan gratin. I don’t mind truffles however I felt like this dish had a very strong flavour to it and was quite salty. Good thing I still had my Champagne to polish off…and later white wine!

The fourth course was lamb, I love lamb and find it hard to eat anything that comes close to Australian lamb. This lamb was tender and juicy, served with Mediterranean vegetables and a pesto of pimentos (red peppers). I loved this dish!

Now that the main courses were done, it was time for the start of the dessert courses. That’s right, there’s more than one dessert. Technically it was three but given that the meal finished with petit fours I’d like to call it four. I ate four desserts during my degustation dinner in Paris. I admit it. It’s not so much glameating and gluttony! However as my glampacker motto is travel in style on a budget, and given that the meal was expensive, you can’t waste dessert!

It began with Saint Marcellin cheese with toasted brioche containing lemon peel and acacia honey. The brioche was very sweet and a great accompaniment to the cheese. I’m not a big bread and cheese after dinner person so sadly didn’t finish the rather large slice of cheese. It was creamy and rich though!

The first dessert was salted caramel chocolate icecream topped with a gold leaf. It was so very good! This was followed by a Granny Smith apple emulsion with banana cream. This dessert had a chocolate cylinder around it which tasted more like white chocolate. Finally we were presented with petit fours. A macaron, chocolate tart and raspberry mousse. At this point I felt like I was going to burst!

My stomach thorough enjoyed my degustation dinner in Paris. Yes the eight course degustation was extravagant. However it was my last night in Paris and since I wasn’t sure when I’d be in one of my favourite cities in Europe again, it was the perfect way to end a summer trip to Paris.

Filed Under: food, paris Tagged With: culture, drinking, eating, michelin, restaurants

Best places to eat in Melbourne in summer

January 11, 2010 By glampacker Leave a Comment

I’ve just returned from a relaxing 10 day visit in Melbourne, soaking up the sun, nabbing a few bargains and doing lots of eating. Below are my top three Melbourne Eats, I confess I am missing Chapel Street and my brother’s inner city apartment already!

1. Suzuki Night Markets @ Queen Victoria Markets

Before you enter the markets you can hear a thumping folk band entertaining the hungry crowd. An intoxicating mix of smells greets you as you gently nudge your way through the people. The problem is how do you choose what to eat? Stalls sizzle with an international array of freshly fried, battered, stewed, grilled and baked foods. Worse still is watching what other people are eating – this induces serious food envy. The lack of empty tables necessitates eating wherever you can, perching on any empty space while you feast on New Orleans Creole Jambalaya with chicken and chorizo or honey dumplings and wash it all down with a sangria.

2. Hutong Dumpling Bar, 162 Commercial Road, Prahran

This upmarket Chinese restaurant has a dumpling viewing window so you can watch the chefs in action. The duck roasting oven is also on customer display and apparently cost $300,000! Either way, I enjoyed the shanghai dumplings as an entree when yours first bite releases the hot soup into your mouth, the specialty claypot melt-in-your-mouth scallops and eggplant and the very sweet pork spare ribs in a honey sauce. The service was a bit hit and miss though.

3. Ganache, 250 Toorak Road, South Yarra

My best friends swears this is the best chocolatier in Melbourne. I opted for the hazelnut fan slice and she had the passionfruit and mango slice accompanied by lemongrass T2 tea. The milk chocolate was velvety and smooth perfected by the wafer base sandwiching the crunched hazelnuts. I tasted her slice too which was light and fluffy, the sweetness of the fruit offset by the white chocolate mousse. This made for a rather decadent afternoon tea.

Whilst this isn’t a “top 3″ you have to eat Lord of the Fries if you’re in Melbourne after a big night or snack attack, just a pity they ran out of the below:

All photos were taken on my iPhone. Big thanks to my bro for letting me crash on his futon! =)

Filed Under: melbourne Tagged With: festivals, restaurants, reviews

Lunch at Subiaco Hotel, Perth

June 8, 2009 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Sometimes I wake up on Saturday morning and feel like the weekend holds so much potential. It’s the feeling of absolute carefree, unstressed weekend wonderfulness that I would simply like to bottle up.

After a spot of shopping, I had a lovely lunch at the Subiaco Hotel on Saturday. I’ve only ever been there for drinks and never for a proper meal.

I ordered the squid fritters with ginger wine, mushrooms, spring onions and sweet potato and had the NV thorn clark SA sparkling. For dessert I shared a sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and ice-cream. It was divine!

The servings are fairly small though, as I only ordered an entree, I could have fitted in a main but I wanted to save room for dessert. Yes, I’m rather bad like that.

Nevertheless the Subi has great service and a relaxed and pleasant ambience. It’s a nice place for a formal occasion or for a whimsical lunch for people watching and gossiping.

Filed Under: food Tagged With: restaurants, reviews

Photolog: Melbourne in Autumn

April 8, 2009 By glampacker Leave a Comment

The secret is not to have what you want, but want what you have.

Lunch at Orange @ 126 Chapel Street, Windsor

Meeting the dogs on Chapel

Cat in the window surrounded by sexy books

Working on being a model/photographer’s assistant

Late light afternoon at Victoria Gardens

Thanks to Ryan for some of the above photos.

Filed Under: melbourne Tagged With: autumn, photolog, restaurants

5 Secret Delights of Melbourne in Summer

February 7, 2009 By glampacker Leave a Comment

For a born and bred Perth girl like me, Melbourne has become a home away from home. I have adopted regular haunts and favourite places to eat, drink and play. As a result, it’s a little difficult returning home to Perth. There are many secret delights of Melbourne in summer – best of all most of despite Melbourne being glamorous its possible to discover the best the city has to offer on a budget.

1. See the Penguins at St Kilda Pier

Melbourne’s best kept secret is that penguins live in St Kilda in the rocky groyne area – past the infamous jetty. We spotted a wet penguin who stepped out of its abode but quickly got a bit shy and hid again when he noticed how much commotion he was causing. A little boy then spotted another penguin right near the path, “Is it real?” he asked his parents. Yes indeed.

2. Dance at the St Kilda Festival

St Kilda is a little boho and a bit rough around the edges. It has a Fremantle vibe to it but its not as clean nor as picturesque. It does attract a mixed crowd and in summer the St Kilda Festival brings song and dance to the little square next to Luna Park. It was a balmy evening and hippies and non-hippies alike took off their shoes and danced in the sand to acts like Lee Morgan.

Also had a spot of coffee and dips at The Fringe Cafe. This bustling corner St Kilda cafe has a nice ambience with cozy couches inside and sidewalk dining outside. The homemade dips were very yummy!

3. Go shopping and strutting on Chapel Street

I prefer shopping on Chapel St than in Melbourne CBD, perhaps I find it easier to hunt down those bargains or I’m less likely to get lost. Either way Chapel Street is a well known favourite for Melbourne fashionistas with boutiques and chain stores dotted along the strip. Even if you’re on a tight budget it is possible to find a few low-priced goodies. At a little stall called 2% in the Chapel Street laneway I bought a dress reduced to $25! I later found a belt at Dangerfield (on Brunswick St) that cost $38 (more than the dress!) but completed the look. Why are nice belts so hard to find at a good price?

4. Enjoy a cocktail at Cookie

Cookie is a much-loved Melbourne bar which is fun and glamorous without being pretentious! At Cookie my vodka and cranberry was served from an individually chilled cranberry juice in a test tube shaped bottle. Interesting touch. I like the different levels at Cookie which gives you the option of bar hopping within the same bar! On the third level a DJ spun mainly old school beats whilst late-twentysomethings got their groove on the dance floor. There was some rather interesting dance moves and two enthusiastic guys jumped onstage to give an impromptu camp performance – complete with a ladder as a prop. Nice improv.

5. Dine alfresco at Lygon Street, Carlton

Lygon Street in Carlton reminds me of Fremantle’s cappuccino strip except its about 20 times the size with plenty of Italian restaurants and is bustling with cafe patrons dining al fresco. We ate at this fantastic no-fuss Italian place called Cafe Correto which was heavily decorated with Grand Prix paraphernalia on the walls. I had penne pasta with mixed vegetables – mushroom, semi-dried tomato, capsicum – and bacon. The penne was al dente perfection! It was a huge plate and only $16.50. Great value for money when you’re visiting Melbourne on a budget. An “astonishing” fact – we ate dinner at 11pm. I don’t think any Italian restaurant in Perth has a kitchen open that late.

What are your favourite things to do in Melbourne in summer?

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: bars, nature, restaurants, shopping, st kilda, summer

Dispelling Myths About Japanese Food

November 20, 2008 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Japan has an amazing variety of food. However, its not always everyone’s cup of tea. Wei and I met an young American couple during our Mt Fuji/Hakone day tour who couldn’t stomach the local cuisine.

“I don’t eat cold meat,” the girl claimed. They picked their way through lunch whilst Wei and I happily ate deep fried lotus, salted chicken, grilled fish and the side salad.

They were missing out big time. Not only on lunch but of experiencing a big part of Japan’s culture. On a daily basis we would eat onigiri, drink miso, have numerous cups of matcha and eat dessert pocky.

My favourite meal in Tokyo was at a place called Toringen in Akasaka. The restaurant didn’t have an English menu so we ordered with a bit of help from an English-speaking waiter.

We wanted to try yakitori so we ordered chicken and beef sticks. The waiter asked how many and I said four, but really I should’ve said eight. Four meant four sticks in total, not four of each…Oops. The yakitori came out with a dipping sauce and was divine!

The chef at work

We also ordered a Japanese style salad with bonito flakes. I didn’t realise what the flakes were – dried fish shaved ever so thinly that it was almost like the skin of an onion.

Wei and I were considering dessert when we were delivered a plate of beef. Surprise dish! This was the most succulent, melt in your mouth wagyu beef. Fatty? Yes. But it was absolutely amazing.

All up it was only 3400 yen, not bad to escape a rainy Tuesday night in Tokyo.

Filed Under: Asia, japan Tagged With: Food, restaurants, Tokyo