Becca Johnstone

Freda’s

109 Regent Street

Chippendale

Last Wednesday night saw fab new bar Freda’s officially open it’s doors for the first time. Danny and I were lucky enough to attend with a bunch of our mates to celebrate this auspicious occasion. Freda’s is the beloved baby of Simon Cancio, Marty Campaign and Ibrahim Kasif. The boys will be slinging high quality sandwiches during the day and at night Freda’s the bar comes alive, with bangin’ cocktails and tasty Mediterranean morsels to match.

Now there will be a full Freda’s write up in the coming weeks, but for us Wednesday night was all about celebration. I did manage to bring the trusty camera along however, so please take a look and enjoy the little photo journey that was the opening night of Freda’s! And more importantly get down and check it out yourselves, these guys are open every day (the saying ‘no rest for the wicked’ springs to mind!). They are really easy to find too (I won’t bring up my poor direction giving to some friends… there’s really no need) - look for the giant tongue (not a set of lips, as I assumed it was in my ‘Brooklyn’ state of mind) on Regent Street, then go down the little driveway - BOOM, you’re there! Order a Brooklyn, the superb pickled octopus and for God’s sake, mop up everything with some of the best bread in Sydney - so delicious!

Beautiful Freda’s - who doesn’t love open beams?

I don’t think there’s much more comforting than a really well stocked bar…

Chef, Ibrahim Kasif, doing what he does best.

The Brooklyn aka Becca’s Ruin: Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey, Luxardo Maraschino, Rosso and house-made amer picon.

Cocktail master Marty mixing a Brooklyn for yours truly.

Happy diners, being oh so happy!

Even more happy diners - a good lookin’ crowd at Freda’s that’s for sure.

Warm trout salad.

Pickled octopus.

Smoked eggplant salad.

Arguably the happiest of diners - so many smiles!

What Freda’s is all about - good people, with good drinks, sharing good food.

Smoked mussels - our table’s favourite, unbeatable with a chunk of bread.

From what we saw at Freda’s the other night it is going to be the hotspot over summer, so get in now before all the hipsters find it! Chef Ibrahim Kasif is on Twitter, so get following kids. Freda’s can be found on Facebook also. Don’t forget to check back in a couple of weeks for the full Freda’s experience as seen through the eyes of this Bon Vivant. Viva Freda’s!

Have you been to Freda’s yet? Let us know what you think on Twitter or feel free to shoot me an email, becca@thebonvivant.com.au. All of these photos, plus many others are also up on our Facebook, so feel free to pop in and say hello.

Lat Dior African Eatery

Danny Ryan

150 Enmore Rd Enmore (just up from the Enmore theatre)

9957 4467

BYOB

$

I have been to Lat Dior twice in the past month and seeing how I haven’t written anything for The Bon Vivant for about the length of time (– Bad Danny) I thought I should share my experiences with you, the Bon Vivant’s loyal followers/readers/twitterers.

I am ecstatic about discovering Lat Dior. This is the kind of place which you very happily call one your local haunts. This is because Lat Dior has a lot of good things going for it. Firstly, it is relatively easy to find located on Enmore Rd just up from the Enmore theatre. Secondly, the staff at Lat Dior are friendly and attentive. Finally and perhaps most importantly however is that there is a good range of traditional offerings with all the ones I have tried being incredibly delicious and terrifically priced. They don’t even mind if you bring along a bottle (or two) of your favourite drops to enjoy with your meal either!  

The menu itself brings you a large array of African dishes from all across the continent with dishes tradition to West Africa sit above or below dishes from Madagascar. Typically each dish is served with what Lat Dior calls a “starter” which is normally a healthy servings of greens. It is a good foil to each of the one of the mains where greens and other vegetables are somewhat lacking. These starters are fabulous – my favourite is the green beans which are served just how I like them, crunchy and covered with spices and sauce. It is light years away from having to force your greens down as a child.  

In the mains I have sampled enough of them now to have my favourites. Here are some I reckon are definitely worth a trip on the 423/426.

Varenga: A beef dish, marinated overnight in African spices and then fried. A delightful dish if I do say so myself the beef is delicately cooked and the spiciness of the dish brings it to another level

Thiou: Slow cooked chicken marinated in African spices and served with a good bit of fried onion. Not as spicy as the varenga above but served moist not overcooked at all

Ndambe Lamb: My personal favourite, cubed lamb served with Red Kidney beans and lentils. The lamb is perfect –melt in your mouth stuff with the Red kidney Beans and lentils providing good crunch to the dish. I would probably say it is a little bit spicier than the Varenga but it isn’t a hot spice it simply adds more sensation to your meal.

Other important things worth mentioning are firstly the ginger drink which is a homemade mix of freshly squeezed ginger with vanilla sugar. If you are adventurous or you just like ginger beer give this a go. Initially this starts quite sweet on the palate with the Vanilla sugar component of the drink coming to the fore but then you begin to notice a zing from the ginger come through it starts off quite small but it builds significantly from there. A definite crescendo of flavour leaving you with lasting burst of ginger well after you have finished your drink.

Overall, I am very happy to add Lat Dior to my list of regular haunts. The food is fantastic and the value can’t  be beat. The last time I was there I got away with an order for a main with a starter and the ginger drink for $20 which I think is cracking value.

Obviously given I have written anything here for a month or so I would love to hear your feedback on this. Are there any other African places that you have been to across SYdney that I should visit?  Let me know at my pretty new email address – I can access it on my iPad now -  danny@thebonvivant.com.au

Final Tip: Bring along a bottle of cool climate shiraz to enjoy with your meal. Think of regions like Orange (NSW), Heathcote  (VIC) and Great Southern (WA) the spiciness you regularly find in these particular wines should add to the overall flavour of the dishes you choose. Afterwards, head across the road for Cow Moon Gelato – The lime in the coconut Gelato is to excellent.   

By Becca Johnstone

MUMU Grill

70-76 Alexander Street

Crows Nest

Cow, Pig, Rabbit. It sounds like the start of a Beatrix Potter tale, full of wilful optimism, polite adventures and probably a little girl named Fanny. Cow, Pig and Rabbit are probably the best of friends – in reality it turns out they are… on a plate at least! Last week Danny and I were lucky enough to attend the Cow, Pig, Rabbit dinner held at MUMU Grill in Crows Nest, hosted by MUMU, Alvin Quah and Denea Buckingham.

A little about our hosts…

Supplying the Cow we have MUMU Grill, Sydney’s only sustainable steakhouse, owned by Chef Craig Macindoe. It is also home to Sydney’s first Jamon Bar. Keen participants in the Slow Food Movement, MUMU believes in sustainable, seasonal and regional produce. Located in central Crows Nest, this relaxed and funky restaurant was our setting.

The Pig for the evening came from Alvin Quah. Most people will be familiar with Alvin from his efforts on the past season of Masterchef – and what great efforts they were! Life PMC (Post Masterchef) has seen Alvin launch his own website, Cinnamon Pig, featuring a blog and recipes. He has also been cooking at a number of great restaurants around Sydney, and even a couple of TV appearances on Keri-Anne and The Circle.

The night’s Rabbit was brought forth by Denea Buckingham, aka Jess Rabbit, Editor in Chief of Gourmet Rabbit magazine. A simply brilliant food magazine, written by industry pro’s for industry pro’s and Foodies alike. Denea brings together exploring, creating, foraging, sipping, discovering and munching in Gourmet Rabbit – a crash course in local gastronomy.

It was a delightful, warm Spring night and it kicked off with 18 month Jamon Serrano and a glass of Poverty Hill Riesling 2008 at the Jamon Bar. All wines were provided by United Cellars. The Jamon was passed around and Danny and I shared the exact same thought: the Italians do it better. Blasphemous? Possibly. But we had only weeks earlier experienced the best Prosciutto di Parma at the Italian Festival. It’s really just something that comes down to personal preference, and we prefer the pungency of prosciutto more. The Riesling had a bit of hype around it having been written up by Huon Hooke a week prior. It didn’t have much freshness on nose or palate, and not a lot of fruit either – if you like those keroseney type Rieslings than go for it!

We took our seats and after a brief introduction from our hosts, the first course arrived: a tasting plate of pork and rabbit rilletes with an orange and date chutney with beef knuckle onion rings. What I loved about the rilletes was it really tasted like rabbit – often I find that rich flavour can be overladen with too many herbs in rilletes, but this was well pronounced. And perfectly matched with the chutney. The beef knuckle onion rings were the highlight though – an absolute revelation! The knuckle had been slow cooked, then thinly sliced, fried and served with caramelised fried onions. It was sticky, meaty and absolutely delicious, Alvin aptly described it as meat popcorn. This was matched with the Paco and Lola Albarino 2009, a highly aromatic wine – lots of rich tropical fruitiness on the nose. It was actually quite mellow on the palate, not too sweet and no great length. It was a good match and a very pleasant drop indeed.

Next up was the white bean, dark ale and rabbit soup topped with crisp Guanciale (pig cheek). A dark, rich and all too enticing soup, again with that really strong taste of rabbit. It was super intense, which I really enjoyed, but for those that found it a bit strong, the white beans in the base balanced it out nicely. The crispy Guanciale was a great textural contrast and packed full of flavour – this was a truly hearty dish. This paired well with the Brown Magpie Pinot Noir 2006, which was my favourite wine of the night hands down. From Geelong, the wine had a wonderful savouriness, made more in the Burgundian style of Pinot. And as it sat in the glass a while, really opened up into a complex and enticing wine.

The fourth course was a wonderful blend of flavours and temperatures. We were served beef shin and rabbit ravioli, truffled mushroom wonton with tomato jelly. I really enjoyed this one, the tomato jelly stopped me mid-sentence to say “oh my God, this is delicious.” And what I loved most was the contrast of the sweet and cold tomato jelly against the earthy and warm ravioli and wonton. It was a really exciting course for the palate, both with bright and hearty flavours. This was served with the Lowe Preservative Free Merlot 2008. Unfortunately, I don’t feel this wine did this dish justice: it was just a little lacklustre. Admittedly, I’m not a Merlot drinker, and there was a certain mustiness to the wine I didn’t enjoy. But I had a little of the Pinot left, and enjoyed it immensely with this dish also!

Following this we had Alvin’s offering for the night: caramelised pork hoc with bok choy, chilli vinegar and black sesame rice. I think this one was definitely the crowd favourite – it certainly was ours!  It’s very similar to a Sailor’s Thai dish I’ve had before, but with a little more heat from the chilli. And the whole hoc was served, sort of pressed into this brick shape. It was sweet and sticky and completely naughty. I challenge anyone who doesn’t enjoy pork not to devour this dish greedily! The wine for this one was a Sanguine Tempranillo 2007 – a good match I felt. It had some nice fruit weight, but a few fine, drying tannins to clear the fattiness of the pork from your palate, encouraging more consumption!

The final savoury course was a simple offering that truly let the quality of the ingredients sing. Slow roast grass fed Sirloin with duck fat potatoes, asparagus and bone marrow sauce. The King Island beef was melt in the mouth tender and had a flavour like no other I’ve tried at steakhouses across Sydney, and it’s no wonder you normally have to take out a mortgage to buy a few steaks. The asparagus was as it should be peak of season – sweet and perfectly cooked, I love it still a bit crunchy.  The duck fat potatoes and rich bone marrow sauce rounded out the dish. It had the feeling of French bistro, but the quality and sophistication of fine dining. It was served family style, dropped in the centre of our tabe, and I honestly thought a dish of that calibre should have been served individually – but I’m knit-picking. The wine it paired with was an unconventional one – the Gemtree ‘The Phantom’ Petit Verdot 2008. It was by no means a bad wine, but I question why it was matched with the dish. As Danny said “why couldn’t we get a hearty Barossa Shiraz?” Touche good Sir.

For desert we were served cardamom poached fruits with sheep’s milk Labna alongside the Delatite Late Harvest Riesling 2009. A delicious combination and a favourite of mine. The poached fruits were rich with spice, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise and I found myself rather greedily digging out as many peaches as I could find. The Labna was rich and creamy and helped carry the sweet, fruity and spicy flavours around the mouth. The Delatite Riesling was a good match – but it needed all elements on the spoon to really do it justice. Otherwise it was just that pinch too dry on it’s own. It was a perfect end to the meal – not too heavy and really celebrating what’s in season.

All in all it was a wonderful night at MUMU, filled with tasty offerings from three very talented people. It also made me very keen to come back and sample MUMU’s actual menu. A huge thankyou to Craig, Denea and Alvin for a great night out!

These chappies are all on Twitter as well! Denea @GourmetRabbit, Alvin @cinnamonalvin and Craig @Chefmumu. Don’t forget to look us up while you’re there @bonvivantblog.

Ross Hill Estate, Orange

The October Long Weekend

By Becca Johnstone

It was surreal. I was seated at a table supping Chardonnay, in what was once a giant apple-processing shed, surrounded by cherry trees and oak barrels. A cold, rainy, Sunday in Orange – it was the thing of poignant afternoons in the French countryside, curled up with Madame Bovary. Except that there were 90 other people at my table, one bikie and a tantalising onslaught of chilli and lime and fish sauce coming at me. Four Thai chefs and three city-slicking fine-dining restaurant staff made the journey West to prepare a 9 course Royal Thai banquet (matched with 8 premium wines) for 100 very hungry, very thirsty people. Welcome to the Long Lunch…

Ross Hill Wines are a family owned and operated company situated at the base of Mount Canobolas in the heart of Orange’s wine region. They are relatively young for a vineyard, starting in 1994. They have a great environmental policy that sees the use of no insecticides, and a reduced irrigation scheme. They are in a cool climate, high altitude area of the state, which lends itself perfectly to wine production. Sailor’s Thai is one of Australia’s flagship high-end Thai restaurants. The brainchild of the Godfather of Thai food, David Thompson and restaurateur Peter Bowyer, Sailor’s has three locations across Sydney: The Rocks, Pott’s Point and a new restaurant at The Ivy. Combine Ross Hill’s cool climate wines, the spice and energy of Sailor’s Thai’s food with a boozy business meeting and an idea is born: “I know! We’ll put on a Thai banquet in Central NSW! And invite 100 of our closest friends!” I love it.

I have dined at Sailor’s a couple of times before, and was thrilled to see that my favourite dish was to be coming out first: a delicate starter of Yamba prawns, peanuts, chilli, roasted coconut and lime with caramel dressing on betel leaves. But alas! Disaster had struck last night in the Ross Hill kitchen. The poor fresh Thai herbs, not used to the chill of Orange in October, froze – rendering them all but useless. It is one thing to run around sourcing coriander and mint at Orange Woolies, but an entirely other trying to find betel leaves! So our betel leaves were thawed, and floppy unfortunately. But no one was complaining – the explosion of flavour in your mouth would forgive nature, just this once. This intensely sweet, spicy morsel coupled with the 2010 Pinnacle Pinot Gris was just splendid. It was going to be a very good day…

Next we had an interesting dish of smoked pork sausage, red chilli paste and peanuts dressed with salmon roe and eschallots. Along side these was a little complimentary number, not on the menu, of oysters topped with salmon roe and kaffir lime leaf. When I read this I was skeptical – smoky pork, red curry and salmon roe? But was pleasantly surprised when I popped it in my mouth. There was lovely heady heat from chilli (but not too overwhelming), smokiness from the sausage all helped along by salty oily roe. And never in my dining life have I seen anyone be more generous with salmon roe! Not even in my own home! Matched with the 2010 Jessica Rose, the wine was fresh and was a great way to clean the palate for the next course.

The dish that followed fought for dish of the day in my head – and a brave fight it was, but unfortunately it came second. A simply delicious dish of deep fried fish and green mango salad. The fish was crunchy, the salad having that perfect balance of sweet/salt/sour/spice that the Thai do so well. I could have happily eaten the bowl all to myself! This was paired with the 2009 Pinnacle Sauvignon Blanc another fresh and zesty wine with great limey acidity. For me, this match was one of the most successful of the day. It just screamed summer!

After a brief, but much needed, interlude we were served an aromatic curry of chicken, alongside my favourite wine of the day: 2009 Pinnacle Chardonnay. It was one of those perfectly balanced Chardys, a little kiss of oak, but still nice and acidic, with some great peachy notes. Personally, I felt the curry lacked that bit of oomph. I was expecting a bit more heat, as most of the chilli on the menu had been pretty tame (and I have often sat at Sailor’s panting, cursing that pesky Scud). But still a well balanced, but mildly spiced curry that was helped along by the Chardonnay.

Up next was another Sailor’s favourite of mine: Caramelised pork hock, red chilli and vinegar sauce. Again, an enormously generous serving – and everyone was well and truly full at this stage – but we all managed to pack away a fair bit of pork! It’s sticky and gooey and sweet, with the fattiness cut away by sharp vinegar and warming chilli. Just divine. We ate this with the 2009 Cabernet Franc Merlot – a very good Aussie rendition of a typical Bordeaux blend if you ask me. Some nice drying tannins helped with the richness of the dish too.

And now we are on to the hands down dish of the day: Grilled beef with tamarind dressing. A dish subtly named, but completely scintillating on the palate. It took ‘Thai beef salad’ to a whole new level. The beef was so meltingly tender you could cut it with your spoon, and it really just came alive with the sourness from the tamarind. I was worried that the 2008 Pinnacle Shiraz would overpower the dish, but I was happily proved wrong. The pepper from the beef worked a treat with the spicy Shiraz. My tummy is rumbling just thinking about it!

Just when we thought we couldn’t eat another thing, desert arrived! The tapioca pudding was quite refreshing, but it wasn’t a crowd favourite. I didn’t mind it, but it was very different to the Malaysian style I’m used to. It had green tea added to it (I think) and was missing all that unctuous coconut and sticky palm sugar. And it was also a cold desert on a very cold day, which probably didn’t do it justice. The coconut cake on the other hand… my lord what a treat! A gooey, slightly gummy texture and just warm in the middle, it was pretty special. So special that many around me were asking for more! These two were matched with the 2009 Pinnacle Cordon Cut Riesling, which really complemented the coconut cake with it’s lovely honeyed sweetness. A great finish to a truly decadent feast!

When these guys say long lunch, the really mean long lunch. After 6 and a half hours we poured ourselves in to taxis and made the short journey back to centre of town. A few kicked on at the pub, many retired early for a little sleepy. All certainly left well fed and ‘watered’ and extremely content at the more than pleasant afternoon. Now at $150.00 a head I personally think it was exceptional value: incredible, endless plates of food and what seemed like bottomless bottles of wine. I understand for some that it’s pretty steep, but if you can spare it, DEFINITELY check out the next one. Well worth not only the cash, but the trip to Orange – a truly lovely part of our country.

A big thanks to: the crew at Ross Hill for looking after us so well, Peter, Colin and the rest of the team from Sailor’s Thai and of course the wonderful Sally at Camelia Cottage – the best B&B in Orange (in my humble opinion). Obviously you can visit Sailor’s at the Rocks, Potts Point or Ivy, but if you’re after Ross Hill wines in Sydney give CBD Cellars a call.

Don’t forget, if you want to weigh in on this piece feel free to leave us a comment below. Or shoot us an email thebonvivantblog@gmail.com or on Twitter @bonvivantblog.

Harbourside Shopping Centre

Darling Harbour

There is something bizarre about parking your car in a multi-level car park, walking through the blaring halogen lights of a Mirvac shopping centre, past souvenir stores and odd boutiques, to get to an actual ‘sit-down’ restaurant. It just feels like you should be queuing for popcorn and choc-tops, instead of behemoth steaks and dinosaur ribs. But I figured, ‘It’s Hurricane’s! It’s gotta be worth the hype.’ I have been to the Bondi restaurant a few times, and had some not too shabby takeaway from there as well, so when Hurricane’s Darling Harbour was picked for our next ‘Dinner Club’, I was keen.

We arrived at 7:30 to a throng of people waiting outside (at least 30 I’d say) – I do find it odd that you have to queue to get in, even with a booking (doesn’t that defeat the purpose of making said booking?). We had a 10 minute wait for our table, which was ok, we were a party of 18, arrangements had to be made. The smell of chargrilled meats and barbecue sauce was all too enticing, not to mention the impressive array of interesting spirits behind the bar! We were fine to wait, and take in what was about to happen.

We were seated on the balcony, with a not too shabby view of Darling Harbour. All 18 of us eyed the 14 or so chairs that were set up, and knew we were in for a squishy night. Seats were added, an extra table was promised, drinks were served and menus studied. The table never came, the drinks did their job and the menu excited! As I decided between more ribs than I’ve ever eaten in my life, or a steak the size of my face, I supped a gorgeous concoction that under-promised and over-delivered: The Rose Blossom Martini. A combination of vanilla vodka, Pimms, rosewater and a splash of red grapefruit juice, it was simply delicious. It is definitely one I will be making when the summer months roll around. But I am a complete sucker for anything with rosewater – the fact that it was Martini strength was merely a bonus.

The menu features all your classic steaks, in various sizes. From the baby sized 200g short cut steak, to the 350g rib eye… all the way to The Goliath: 1 kilogram of T-bone steak in all it’s calorific glory! Hurricane’s are known for their ribs, in pork, beef and lamb (full or half racks) and that seemed to be the most popular order of the night. Though a few of our party were game for a couple of the combos: short cut steak and a half rack of ribs, or half a chicken (no joke) and a half rack of ribs. The menu also features a selection of burgers (which, based on past visits, I can more than vouch for), lamb cutlets, a few seafood items and even fewer vegetarian options. They also offer boerewors as a shout out to the chain’s South African heritage. 

Rump is my absolute favourite cut for a really good steak, so I went with the 350g option with pepper sauce and a baked potato. As mammoth plates of meat and carbs rained down on our table I must say I noticed the absence of anything green. I’m by no means a girl that cries without salad, but I honestly missed it. And I feel that if you’re forking out anywhere between $30-$56 for a steak, a complimentary bowl of vegies or salad wouldn’t go astray. It was cheeky enough asking for us to fork out for sauce on our steak, but charging $17 for a mixed salad is a little nuts I think.

But the evening was not about vegies. My rump arrived, with a pot of sauce, a foil adorned potato that wouldn’t have fit in my sizeable handbag and a pot of sour cream that must have had a Napoleonic complex.  My Queensland beef was ordered rare, but came more on the medium rare side of things. This made me glad I’d requested it rare in the first place, which isn’t something I expect to be saying at an upmarket grill. It was a beautiful piece of rump though, very tender and the sauce was that perfect balance of peppery heat and soothing creaminess. One thing I didn’t enjoy though was the marinade on the steak. I’ve had this problem at other South African inspired steak houses as well, so it’s my fault, I should have said something. All their steaks come pre-marinated in a sweet, almost barbecue style glaze. I find that detracts from the real flavour of the meat and certainly doesn’t pair well with your optional sauce. But hey-ho, it was enjoyable nonetheless. I ate about a third of my perfectly fluffy baked potato and then had to call it a night. My dining colleague did offer me one of his lamb ribs though – how could a girl say no? And it was simply delicious! Talk about massive food envy.

The wine list was actually pretty impressive, though ridiculously over-priced (but what else is new?).  It wasn’t a ‘wine’ evening though, and I was on to a winner with my martinis. After 2 hours of battling with our inner carnivore, the bibs came off, the fingers were licked and the bill was settled. Boys left men, women left…well, men too.

All in all I think Hurricane’s is a good night out. The service was decent, especially given our large group (well, except for the forgotten extra table). The food is what it is – MEAT! I don’t know if I’d be ordering a steak from them again, but the ribs and burgers are out of this world. The décor is inner city chic, with funky fire features dotted around the place. And while the location is convenient and central, I just don’t think it has the same vibe as the flagship in Bondi. There’s something magical about walking out on to Roscoe Street, the smell of the Pacific Ocean and the knowledge that the Bondi Hotel is only feet away. But give Hurricanes a go, it’s certainly an experience.

Overall rating: 3/5 

How do you take your steak? Let us know! thebonvivantblog@gmail.com