est.

To celebrate our 2.5 year anniversary, Josh and I dined at est. Part of the Merivale family, est. is a 3 hat restaurant with Peter Doyle as head chef. I had heard great things about the restaurant and Josh and I were very excited to finally try it for ourselves! 

We arrived right on time for 6pm booking, took the elevator up, and walked into the beautiful restaurant that is est. with its high ceilings, dim-lighting and beautiful architecture. We were greeted with service that was just as beautiful and promptly seated at our table for the night. 

Faced with the dining options of Chef's Menu ($150pp), Tasting Menu ($175pp) and a la carte, we opted for the Chef's Menu as opposed to the Tasting Menu as we normally would've done, because it just didn't sound as appetising to us. We did not regret that decision in the slightest. 

Fine dining would not be fine dining with the fancy, but delicious, bread and butter. I went with the sourdough whilst Josh enjoyed wholemeal. 

We also decided to indulge in a bottle of Dirty Three Riesling ($60) which was a sweet accompaniment to our meal. Cheers!

The Chef's Menu involves 4 courses of deliciousness. My meal started off with a bang, with a sashimi of ocean trout, dashi, tapioca, ocean trout roe, puffed quinoa, white soy and lime. The sour, sweet, soft and crunchy elements of the dish complemented each other so well. The dish was just so delicious, fresh and lovely on the palate. I definitely wanted more and I will come back to est. just for this. Definitely my favourite dish of the night. 

Josh's first course was also a winner, with a refreshing salad of spanner crab, cauliflower, apple jelly, white radicchio, nasturtiums and avocado. 

Due to our excitement in ordering our main meals, we forgot to order some oysters to start with. Thank goodness we didn't completely forget because these oysters from Merimbula were amazing! The freshly shucked oyster accompanied by a light sauce and a dash of lemon was just a match made in heaven! So fresh, tangy and tasty. At $5 a pop we had only ordered two, but after tasting them, we just had to order another round. Best oysters we've ever had. 

After settling down from the excitement of the oysters, it was time for our second courses. I had grilled scallops with white carrots, pickled pear, foie gras and hazelnuts. The scallops were fresh and perfectly cooked and the rest of the dish complemented them well. 

Josh had caramelised pork belly with bug tail, pickled cucumber, buckwheat and bonito jelly. The pork belly was well cooked and the jelly was surprisingly very tasty!

My third course was lamb rib eye with trompette mushrooms, green peas and goats curd beignets. I love lamb and I was expecting a cracker of a dish, however I was pretty disappointed. Whilst the lamb was well cooked, the black coating tasted burnt, and to me, the dish just wasn't tasty overall.

Josh's third course was duck breast with toasted oats, celtuce leaf, yams, hazelnuts and verjus. The duck was well cooked and tasty, however Josh did remark that he enjoyed the duck he had at Meze Me (see earlier post) more. 

We also ordered some mashed potato ($12) which was creamy, puffy and delicious.

And finally, it was dessert time. My fourth course was a valrhona chocolate delice with wild rice praline, caramelised pear and toasted rice ice cream. It was chocolatey, rich and yummy. 

Josh had a mango dessert which consisted of fresh mango pieces, mango ice cream, and a sort of deconstructed rice pudding. It was light and fresh, though I wasn't a fan of the pastry. 

To celebrate our anniversary, they served us a lovely chocolate slice which we quite enjoyed. 

But wait, there's more! Just when we though we were done, we were served with a patter of petit fours. Some were a hit, some were a miss. 

After nibbling our way through the petit fours, we were full, satisfied, and on our way, with a little box of est. chocolate mints in hand.

est. was a fantastic dining experience. I thoroughly enjoyed myself thanks to the amazing food and service... and company, of course. Though our third and fourth courses weren't the best, the outstanding oysters, first and second courses well made up for it, as well as the beautiful restaurant itself, service and ambience. I can't wait to try other dishes on the menu and I can't wait to go back!

Parramatta Laneways Festival

So. Word on the streets is that Parramatta is hosting a food festival of its own. And I figured I'd better hurry up and post about it before the festival actually ends (tonight!). 

Josh and I paid a visit on the opening night of festival, the day after we went to the Night Noodle Markets. Clearly we like to eat. I was pretty keen because I had taken a look at the list of vendors beforehand and there seemed to be an interesting and yummy mix of food choices available, and best of all, it was local! 

We started off in section 1 which was hidden in Connection Arcade (we had walked right past!) and said hi to my friend Julie who was selling her handmade 'The Jolly Cottage' goods as part of The Vintage Market.

Then, hungry and expectant, we moved onto section 2 to find a band (The Brassholes) playing on top of a Parisian crepe cart, and were disappointed to find out that the American diner food truck had not shown up.

Section 3 featured a variety of Circa's teas and baked sweets and some Turkish gozleme, all of which we passed on. 

We continued to roam the streets of Parramatta, admiring the obvious effort in decorations, whilst waiting for something to appeal to our tastebuds. 

Finally we reached the 'Laksa Lounge' featuring locally famous Malaysian restaurant, Temasek, a Korean food stall, and a Thai food stall. There weren't as many stalls as I was expecting, but nonetheless I was headed straight for Temasek anyway. 

I ordered my favourite, Temasek's hainanese chicken with rice ($10) and a fresh iced lemon tea ($3.50), whilst Josh ordered beef bulgogi with rice and salad ($10) from the Korean stall. As expected, the hainanese chicken was tender and the sauces perfect, and Josh's beef bulgogi was also tender and tasty. We had a lively band playing whilst we ate our delicious dinner and the atmosphere was great.

We mixed our next sections up as we wandered through the streets and carparks of Parramatta, and ended up at section 6 next. We headed straight for the Mexican food truck and ordered a soft chicken taco ($5) and a beef burrito ($10), and whilst waiting for our food we ordered a cider ($7) and beer ($7) from the courtyard bar.

The atmosphere was buzzing with everyone clearly enjoying themselves, and a bubble blower wearing a pink balloon costume even made an appearance. 

The soft chicken taco filling and sauce was delicious but I wasn't a fan of the huge (!) beef burrito because I don't particularly like pulled beef. The cider and beer were sweet and refreshing, which I liked but which didn't really work for Josh.   

We were also keen to try out the smoked BBQ but by then we were too full. 

Instead we went on walkabouts to section 7 where we had some yummy hazelnut and brownie gelato.

We finished our night at my favourite decoration setup. So pretty.

Parramatta Laneways Festival was a little dead in terms of people turn-out and the stalls and food choices were a little limited, but nonetheless it was a nice night out. Whilst it can't compare to the Night Noodle Markets in terms of food, it was a good effort and it is nice to see a local event such as this come along. If you wish to drop by, tonight is your last chance!

Element 6

Saturday was girls day and we kicked it off with a hearty brekky at a locally famous cafe in West Ryde, Element 6. I must say that I have not and do not frequent the area, so I felt a little like I was in a foreign land. West Ryde is approximately half an hour's drive from Baulkham Hills but is also right next to West Ryde train station, so it's nice and easy to get to if you're catching the train. 

Just before 11am, we arrived at the cute little, hipster-esque cafe with a moose head on the wall, cute decor and crates for seats outside. The place was buzzing but luckily there was a spare table for us inside.

We thought breakfast was only served until noon, but that's only the case for weekdays; on Saturdays breakfast is served until the closing time of 2:30pm. 

We started off our meal with drinks. I had heard about the Sultan's Sunrise ($5.50), which is a refreshing drink containing orange juice with a splash of pomegranate, and recommended it to Cherry and Marina. I felt as if there would be an opportunity cost if we ordered 3 Sultan's Sunrises so I went with a Milo Explosion Shake ($5.50), which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - a Milo chocolate shake with Milo sprinkled over the top. 

Marina and I couldn't decide what to order from the regular menu, and then we realised there were awesome specials. 

Eventually Marina and I decided to share. One of the dishes we ordered was the chorizo baked eggs with roast potato, herbed passatta and gremolata ($16). The dish was tasty, the chorizos were well cooked, and I liked the addition of the potato which I haven't seen in other baked eggs variations. (Excuse our lack of makeup in the below photos; we were preparing for a facial/makeup day that afternoon.)

The other dish Marina and I shared was the rosemary garlic mushroom with poached eggs, haloumi, roast tomato and baby spinach ($15). I love mushrooms and these mushrooms were seriously tasty. The poached eggs were a tad overcooked because the yolk didn't spill out, but the veggies were cooked well and the haloumi was a tasty addition to the dish. As expected, this typical breakfast combination was a winner. 

Cherry had the French toast with ricotta, poached fruit and pistachios ($13) with ice cream ($2) and oh my goodness! I only had a bite but it is seriously the best French toast I have ever tasted. I would come back just to have their French toast. The toast was just so crispy and light but fluffy at the same time, and the sides would have complemented it perfectly. 

Element 6 was a great find and I really enjoyed my meal and the atmosphere. The food, drinks and service were great, and except for the fact that it is so far from home, I can't wait to go back for the french toast and to try the rest of their menu!