Bites: Modern Dining @ St. Michael, Mount Lawley

Sitting in the place of Jacksons, WA’s legendary status degustation spot, St. Michaels is the new kid on the Beaufort Strip.  While I never knew the exact details of the owners, I did know that St. Michaels were the brainchild of the Red Cabbage establishment which hmmm did not provide me with much confident at all.  Do not get me wrong, Red Cabbage is a fine place but  I was not the keenest person after being scarred by the lacklustre of creativity from my first attempt there.  However, my sister was keen to give this place a chance and so I went anyway.  For those who are not aware, St. Michaels is now open for dinner which had just happened a couple weeks back ;)

However, because no one knew they were open for nights, we were one of the only two tables that night.  I loved being treated as if I had booked the whole place but really, it was just pure luck haha.  The dining style here is a choice of a la-carte tapas or degustation but we went for the degustation which was a no-brainer considering the $89 tag will be quickly surpassed if orders were done a la-carte.

After enjoying some crisp lavosh and bread with whipped vegemite butter, my attention turned to St Michael’s first course, the cold pickled vegetables and Bresola.

Highly acidic on the first bite, I quickly grew fond of this setup.  The musky beefy Bresola paired with the sour-sweet roots  made summer dining a bliss.  The taste was fresh and crisp.  A meal that left a very clean feel to the palate.

Australian seafood is a major highlight during the summer.  St. Michael brings the flavours of South America to plate in this dish of seared scallops.

The perfectly seared scallops were of a decent size but not massively huge. But where flavours were concerned, the dish was well-composed with the tasty salsa and sweet almost buttery charred corn complementing the fresh scallops.  Likeable at every aspect, there was a certain predictability about this setup that might have made the experience all a little too “common”.

The next dish was something a little more special with pumpkin puree, orecchiette and pecorino making their way to the table.

On the plate was pureed pumpkin with little pasta shells called orecchiette and roasted pumpkin, topped with fragrant pecorino cheese.  Sweet, a little cheesy with some pasta is how I would describe this one.  It was quite basic and could easily have been a really good dish.  However, there was an inconsistency across the plate with the doneness of the pasta.  Some were a little soft whilst a few were hard with a few sitting al dente in the middle.  I honestly did not mind it but sitting on the Jacksons’ spot where I had previously dined commands a lot of integrity :P!

The next dish of quail, carrot puree and deep fried crumbled ricotta was absolutely gold.

Cooked spot on, the quail was perfectly pink in the middle and superbly tender.  Then comes the silky gel-like carrot puree that was just sensationally seasoned.  Not too sweet, or salty, but just nicely ripe in the middle!  One its own or together, the crumbed ricotta is every kids dream snack.  Fluffy in the middle, crispy on the outside but more important, delicious. To finish was some popped buckwheat to give the dish a crunch.   Have all the elements at once and you would be thoroughly impressed.

After grazing through the appetisers, the plat de résistance arrived.  It was a dish of lamb. My first bite quickly reminded me of the lamb & scallops dish at Nine Fine Food in Highgate.  The lamb was slow cooked and pulled apart before being formed and temporarily pan fried to caramelise the outsides.  The fat contents were definitely pretty high with this one as it literally melted in my mouth!  Little bits of nifty tricks to break the norm like the mint jelly was quite a joy to have.  To sum it up, the lambs falls into the category which I call “same but different” and I like it.

After resting my buds for a bit, our maitre d introduced me to the pre-dessert course.  Described as being neither savoury or sweet, the dish consisted of a thin carrot cake slice topped with celeriac ganache, little mounds of blue cheese, pear sorbet and poached pear.

I do not know where to start because this was literally my "dish of the night".  Its description falls way short in explaining how delicious this combination was. The spongy carrot cake with a tart almost sweet blue cheese paired with the refreshing sorbet was simply genius.  Add the crunchy walnuts and juicy pears to the equation and it was even better.  This was an exemplary reinvention of the cheese course where one has blue cheese with pear, candied nuts and crackers.

Last but not least was a dessert course after an oatmeal palate cleanser.  Themed parsnip, and honey, this was an all vegetarian dessert.

Parsnip sponge, and parsnip sorbet on cornflakes with honey drizzled all over.  To end the night, it was quite right.  Refreshing, light and over all quite easy to eat without leaving one feeling as if he/she had just eating a block of  meat.  Now, if only it was a little less salty!  For some reason the sponge has salt in it, which I found to be unnecessary because the cornflakes itself already has some salt.  Not a major fault but something that could have been easily prevented for sure.

At the end of the night, I enjoyed the meal at St. Michael quite a fair bit.  Unlike its more established sibling Red Cabbage, I found myself more enticed to the creations at St. Michael.  Dishes like the scallops as well as the lamb were rather predictable in flavour but still, faultless in all ways.  The carrot slice with the walnuts, pear condiments and blue cheese were exemplary in reinventing the classic blue cheese plate.  In saying that, there were a few errors which displeased me especially with the last dessert being quite salty or the pasta dish being inconsistently prepared but otherwise it was good.  Nonetheless, this has got to be one of the better $89 dollars spent in 2014!

WenY

Melbourne: Perfect Steaks @ Rockpool Bar and Grill, Crown Melbourne

Rockpool Bar and Grill in Perth was my first massive steak crush.  Between its bolder flavoured grain-fed or the more mellow, lighter tasting grass-fed beef, there was always something for everyone.  As Australia’s first internationally acclaimed restaurant, I have always wondered how does Rockpool Bar and Grill in Melbourne compare to the one back home in Perth.  On a cool Sunday night, I decide to take a trip to Bovine Heaven.  Whilst I have no pictures of the entrance, the original Rockpool Bar and Grill in Melbourne sports the same long hallway graced by cuts of beef being dry-aged.  A true sight to behold!  Its interior was darker than the establishment in Perth but sets the mood for a good night out.

But food beyond anything else is key to my verdict of any restaurant.  Why should it not be after all?  Our starter was a Wagyu Bolognese.  A classic favourite since my first trip to Rockpool back in Perth!  Here, the waiter takes courtesy of plating a main size one into two appetiser sized ones to avoid the fuss of splitting.

With no questions, the mince melts in your mouth whilst the sauce was just perfect.  But the pasta was not as thin as the one in Perth!  

The grain-fed rib eye.

Its dark red middle is symbolic of why dry-aged beef is such a priceless commodity among foodies and beef lovers alike!  The flavour is just yums and the way Rockpool cooks the steak always elevates the joy of eating it.  At Rockpool, a perfectly charred steak that never fails to hit the sweet spot is a norm.  Tender, cooked to order and the temperature of frying the steak is just spot on!  For my condiments, I chose the Dijon Mustard and Harissa as both help bring the best out of the steak!  But if you are not a fan of mild mustard, the spice laden Harissa might just be your thing.

No meal at Rockpool is ever complete without its famed Mac n Cheese side.  And what can I say?  Fat on fat on fat?  Nobody got time for concerns!  It was yummy!  But for some reason though, the charm it first had on me 3 years ago had seemed to worn off.  It no longer felt all that special.. and I wonder why!

We also ordered a side of chopped salad which looked absolutely rubbish after being tossed in the dressing but here is a picture of the oven-roasted pumpkin and sweet potatoes topped with a roasted garlic yoghurt.  This was really nice! It was my second time having it at Rockpool and I still cannot get over the way the garlicky condiment harmonises with the sweet edible tuber!

A sweet ending of what I can only remember now as some sort of cheese cake with strawberries, meringue and what I believe instead of a biscuit base, was grated coconut?  Hahaha I really was so full at this point that sharing a dessert was all my stomach can afford.  

But I have to say, it was an impressive slice this one.  I was quite hesitant to follow XL’s choice of cake because cheesecakes had always been a fairly “heavy” dessert but this felt nothing like the conventional cheesecakes!  Instead it was rather refreshing and led the dinner to a good ending!

A meal at any Rockpool establishment comes with a tag that most find unjustifiable.  But coming here once a year for that once in a blue moon treat makes a lot of sense to me.  You get the prime service, absolutely delicious steaks and over all, an amazing meal.  The food here does not carry the cues of modern molecular gastronomy and lacks the necessary elements of surprise of fine dining but what Rockpool does is make the classic staples like steak & chips, absolutely spectacular.  I mean after all lets be honest to ourselves, how many times have you been served an absolutely rubbish $30 steak? 1 too many I’d say.

WenY

Melbourne: An Italian Affair @ Kaprica, Carlton

What does a graffiti-laden-facade 1 man kitchen bring to the student suburb Carlton? Authentic pizzas and minimalistic pastas!  Housed in a shop opposite the Lincoln Square skate park, Kaprica sits quietly in its spot only to be revealed by buzz of patrons buy pulling stringy mozzarella apart and twirling their pastas.  Needless to say, I was one of them.

That day we ordered a couple of pastas to go around the table and a pizza to share. To start was a serve of garlic and chill prawns topped with parsley.  Unlike most prawns that come out in a cream based sauce, these were panfried an topped with crispy bits of garlic and chilli that was a mix of salty fragrant goodness!

With the bread that came as a starter, I mopped up the tasty oil that has been infused with the flavours of garlic and chilli.  Quite a joy it was!

Next up was a pork sausage, with fennel and chilli pizza.  The pastry at Kaprica is thin, light and fluffy.  Every bite into the pizza was not greeted by a hard crust but a crisp one and when you tear it apart, you know it has been made just right.  Despite it being a fairly large pizza, I could have easily ate the whole thing by myself :P!

The toppings on the pizza was not over the top.  Instead it capitalised on quality produce like homemade sausages and fresh herbs.  Kaprica’s home made sausages were absolutely more-ish.  Have it paired with the little bits of pungent onions and chilli sprinkled on the top and the pizza experience became even better !!  Also, I do not know how Kaprica does its tomato base but it was highly commendable.  It struck the right balance between its acidity and sweetness.  

Next was a mushroom fettuccine in a cream based sauce XL’s friend’s choice.

Its approach was simple, slices of plump swiss mushrooms, silky pasta, lashings of cream and a generous grating of parmesan.  Despite looking rather heavy, the pasta as a whole was really yummy and light.  Even more so when shared amongst the table.  It was a bit of a surprise win this one!

Gnocchi Napolitana was XL’s order.  

Fluffy little pillows that were cooked just spot on.  Neither was it mushy on the outside or doughy on the inside.  I quite enjoyed the flavours on the plate but is not quite sure whether I could eat the whole plate by myself. Sure, the  over all flavours were quite traditional and basic but the tomato sauce-cheese combination just did not seem substantially interesting enough for me down it solo!

Fettuccini alle Vongole was Mei and Hendra’s choice for the table.

The briny flavours of the clam brings a whiff of the sea to plate.  Imagining the little pieces of fleshy clams paired with a sweet white wine sauce and freshly chopped parsley almost made this dish the winner of the night.  But twirling my fork through the noodles, I soon found a systematic error.  The food in Kaprica needed more salt.  Perhaps my taste buds have been polluted by the heavily flavoured food I have had in the last few days but a tad more salt would be very nice!

Simple, traditional and satisfying are three words I would use to describe the food at Kaprica. There is no try hard, sugar-coated dishes but instead, honest dishes that keeps the meal simple. But do not worry, the handwritten  menu at Kaprica changes depending on what’s in season so it remains simple but never boring :)!  Simply sublime.  This was another great introduction by XL’s friend KK. 

WenY