Vincent (Woollahra, Sydney)

I do enjoy a good French meal every now and then. This one was in Woollahra, a suburb I don't frequent much. But after hearing quite positive reviews about it, it was time to visit.

I was surprised to discover Vincent is actually located in a boutique hotel. The only way into the restaurant is through the main doors of the hotel.

As I sat down, I looked around to try and gain an impression of the surrounds. It did feel quite French, which is good. I also had a peek at their cheese fridge, is that even the right word? Hmmm....

We started with entrees.

Seared scallops and leek, soubise, and vadouvan spice. The scallops were perfectly cooked, the leeks were beautifully charred and had a nice smokey flavour. A rather delicious entree.

Baked cantal soufflé with fine herbs. We had to try this as it was highly recommended by the waitress. It was light, fluffy, and super cheesy. A classic French dish.

Our mains were:

Steak frites with 'beurre Vincent'. It was plated interestingly enough on a metallic dish over the top of a small gas burner. The small fire was for the butter to slowly melt over the grilled steak which was to my surprise not a complete piece of steak but neatly sliced. The steak was medium rare with a touch of pink.

Antoine's Grill (Concord, Sydney)

Wow! I cannot believe this will be my 250th post. 3 years on, my blog is still very much alive! Here goes...

I felt like a good piece of steak and when it came time to organising a catch up with some dear friends of mine, I started looking at restaurants which offered quality steak.

Antoine's Grill caught my eye. A French restaurant located in Concord that had a rather nice menu was our choice. Antoine Moscovitz is the chef with a CV filled with having worked under Alain Ducasse, was private chef to the House of Roderer Cristal Champagne, and in Australia had worked at Salt and Bather's Pavilion. Not too bad I say!

Majors Bay Road in Concord is certainly getting busier and busier. And it looks like there are a couple of other restaurants I should bookmark to check out.

When we stepped into Antoine's Grill, I had a sense of being in an European restaurant. The front of house and wait team all had French accents, bar 1 Aussie lad. The tables were square and made of roughly hued wood. Quite rustic but not out of place.

We were seated at a table which looked out to the front and would be considered a private little nook. And little bits of decor accented the French theme.

We started off with an appetiser and entrees:

Toasted sourdough with aged olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The crustiness of the French style bread came through.

Confit diver scallops, green papaya and pickled asparagus, served with beetroot and sweet leek, and preserved Calypso mangoes. I cannot resist scallops and these were perfectly cooked. Succulent, sweet and beautifully offset by the julienned green papaya and asparagus. In terms of balance of portions, I felt there was a lot more of the beetroot puree than was necessary but the colours sure popped on my plate!

Crispy pork belly, sweet capsicum puree caramelised apple, lemon myrtle honey glaze. It went down a treat, NF finished off the plate and throughly enjoyed the dish.

Our mains were:

200g Eye fillet with green peppercorn sauce. The beef was from Darling Downs in Queensland and was 200 days naturally pasture fed. It definitely had a creamy, buttery texture. I had it medium rare and it was beautifully cooked. A very good piece of steak indeed! I forgot to take a picture of the middle of the fillet to display its lovely colour, sorry!

Pastis (New York City)

Pastis is a French bistro located in the Meatpacking District. That day was coincidentally French food themed. We had breakfast at Balthazar and now dinner at Pastis. The place was full but I am no longer surprised by that. It had a nice vibe when I walked in, very French!

When I looked at the menu, I immediately saw something that perked my interest. What is it about a steak frites that catches my eye every time? Tonight only half the group of ladies attended dinner. The main reason being there was a show that they were going to attend that started about 10.30 pm and would end around 2.00 am so they decided to take a nanna nap before the show. Clever move for them.

I was not attending the show so here I am perusing the menu to work out what I wanted. I did finally decided on Steak Frites with Bernaise and so did NC. I think we both were looking forward to a good piece of steak and some fries.

MA decided to go for the homemade Fennel Ravioli with Spinach, Parmesan and Butter Sauce. She was initially unsure how the dish would turn out but ultimately it was her most favourite dish of the trip so far. She really did enjoy it!

Meat & Wine Co (Southbank - Melbourne)

When I was in Melbourne, I met up with K and S at Meat & Wine Co in Southbank. As I was walking along the promenade, I noticed how busy the place was. It was full of life and activity. Every restaurant and bar along the strip was packed with diners. I guess it helps that it is a Friday night and the weekend had kicked off!

Believe it or not, this is my first time at a Meat & Wine Co restaurant. K chose the venue as he had a craving for pork ribs. I went along to check it out. Plus he was buying me dinner so he gets to choose the venue. :-)

I had the 130 day aged 300g fillet cooked medium rare. My sauce of choice was the green peppercorn sauce.