My first
visit to Albert St Food and Wine was deeply unsatisfactory. Why? Because
Philippa Sibley’s famous Snickers dessert had sold out by the time we ordered
(how?!). And I didn’t like my quail saltimbocca – it wasn’t quite what I was
expecting.
Despite this
bitterly disappointing venture, I was willing to give the place another shot –
surely if we came early enough, they can’t sell out of Snickers that quickly,
right?
So I went on
Friday night with a few friends from work – of whom we’ll refer to henceforth
as EK, KYC, WJL, BL and SC (their dispensing initials). We’d called only the
night before and managed to secure an early table for 6, with the condition
that we’d be finished by 8.15pm.
Although I’m
not usually one to tuck into the ethanol (I know certain of my friends may beg
to differ...but they shall be silenced), I had a taste of EK’s French martini
(because it was pretty) – surprisingly it was also delicious! Tasted just like
strawberries and cream.
The menu was
divided into sections – the food sections (which looked quite Mediterranean)
consisted of small entree dishes ‘to start’ (which our waitress explained was
designed to be shared), pizza, pasta, ‘from the grill’, other mains, sides,
cheese and desserts.
While
waiting, we were offered crusty sourdough bread with basil infused oil whipped
in butter. The green butter was tasty, reminded me a bit of Vue de Monde’s
green tarragon butter – not as good of course, but then again, I don’t think
anything could really compare to that. Now, if they could produce and package
that tarragon butter into jars for mass distribution, they would certainly make
a killing (and not just by means of escalating the nation’s obesity epidemic...exponentially...)
Oh, how I dream of the day when I can return to Vue de Monde and eat that
butter...
Alas, I think we have
gone off topic. Back to Albert St.
We ordered a
couple of small dishes to share.
Potted
rabbit, heirloom carrots, sauternes jelly, mustard
I didn’t have a taste of this one – wasn’t quite game
enough :P
.
Cauliflower,
peppers, black sesame, yoghurt
Despite being such a simple dish, this was delicious! One
of my favourites of the night – the yoghurt and black sesame really enhanced
the flavours of the dish.
Portuguese
sardines, caper currant dressing, pine nuts
The only sardines I’d tasted before this was out of a can
(you know the tinned sardines in tomato sauce that every little Asian kid would
have eaten for breakfast at some point) – therefore I wasn’t quite sure what to
expect. Surprisingly, none of my companions that night had ever ordered
sardines from a restaurant before either! When I asked if anyone knew what
sardines were like, the only reply I received was from EK, the only vegetarian
of the group – she said it’s meant to be quite salty (she also said many of us
omnivores tend to just eat and not really pause to think about what our food
really tastes like, which sadly is true sometimes).
This dish came out on crisp flat bread, and was topped with
a nice sweet caper and currant dressing, which worked well against the
saltiness of the fish. I really liked it, very different from what I usually
order. Careful though – it was quite a small serving; I wanted to save room for
dessert!
Angus
tri tip, pumpkin, caramelised witlof, maple, walnut granola
SC ordered this dish; he said
it was good. KYC had also wanted to try this, but she baulked when our waitress
described how rare it was – she wanted something well done.
Macaroni
gratin, asparagus, king browns, truffled pecorino
This was the dish which caught
EK’s eye from the menu, but she almost didn’t get to order it! Having misread
the ‘king browns’ as ‘king prawns’, she made a comment about how this looked
really good and she would order it if she wasn’t vegetarian – good thing I had
a closer look and queried whether ‘king browns’ were actually mushrooms! I also
had a taste of this dish, it was cheesy goodness. And I loved the presentation.
Pearl
barley risotto, grilled leek, smoked pancetta, parmesan
WJL’s risotto, which she said
was tasty but couldn’t finish; on these occasions we’re glad to have boys
dining with us – BL and SC were more than happy to help her.
Pork
Belly
KYC decided to order the
special of the day, and what can I say? Pork belly’s always good. This one
looked a tad on the fatty side – yes, even for pork belly; KYC likened every
spoonful to applying a really emollient lip gloss to her mouth!
Artichoke
Salad
Our artichoke salad to share –
it was different from what I expected, once again, but it was tasty. A bit acidic, which worked
well to balance out my meal.
On to desserts!
Blueberry
clafoutis, toasted almond milk ice cream
I had tried this one before; it
takes 20 minutes to bake, so it was the last to arrive. Tasted like a blueberry
pudding with lots of nuts, served with ice cream. It was nice, but I would have
perhaps preferred to have the ice cream served on a separate side dish, and
spooned on as required – having the gigantic ball of ice cream served directly onto
the hot plate meant you had to eat it really quickly, as it melts and the
pudding becomes soggy.
Pink
champagne parfait glacé, strawberry & melon salad
I’d also had this one on my
previous visit, and it was just as good this time around. Nice, light and
fruity, a great dessert to balance out the heaviness of the other two!
Caramel parfait
glace with salted peanut caramel and milk chocolate mousse (aka Snickers)
This is what we came for – and
it was gooood...well worth the second trip - (Apologies –
my photo doesn’t do it justice!) It tasted just like snickers, but better.
Definitely plan to share with 1-2 other people though – even me with my
infamous sweet tooth probably couldn’t handle eating the whole thing if I tried,
it was that rich.
The ambiance of the place was
nice that night – it was busy but not so loud we couldn’t hear ourselves across
the table; the restaurant remained well lit throughout the night – they must
dim the lights after 10pm or something, because last time by the time dessert
arrived, I couldn’t even make out what was on our plates.
The layout of the restaurant
was cool – all high ceilings and long window panes, it exuded an urban
warehouse type of feel, while remaining classy.
The confusing thing was that our
wait staff kept changing throughout the night. We had a different waiter taking
our order, topping up our glasses, bring out each course – at times we weren’t
sure who to ask if we had a question.
When we did ask a question
about the menu however, it was very well explained; each staff member seemed
particularly well versed with their descriptions of each dessert – they must
know a lot of people come for the dessert, with the head chef’s reputation and
all.
Overall it was a pleasant
dining experience – good food, good company, a good night out!
Ratings (based on my own
experience, on this occasion):
Food – 7 ½ / 10
Service – 6 / 10
Value
for money
– 7 / 10
OVERALL CONSENSUS: 3.5 bags (out of 5)
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