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Showing posts with label Restaurant Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurant Review. Show all posts
A Foodie's Review - Restaurant Amuse
Saturday, July 4, 2009Those unfamiliar to the culinary dining experience called a ‘dégustation’ may find themselves in unchartered territory with Restaurant Amusé as all they offer is a dégustation or a petit dégustation.
Wikipedia defines a dégustation as ‘a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods’ and focuses on the ‘gustatory system; the senses of high culinary art and good company’. It involves ‘sampling small portions of all of a chef’s signature dishes in one sitting usually consisting of eight or more courses’.
This is fine dining at its best and probably described as a western dimsum- not really but you get the idea. Hadeleigh and Carolynne Troy, a husband and wife team opened Restaurant Amusé in 2007 after stints in Perth’s very best restaurants Jacksons and Loose Box, 5 star hotels in London and Michelin Star Restaurants. Since opening they have won numerous awards, and I was interested to see what the fuss was all about.
Situated in an odd location in East Perth, one would not notice the unassuming front on 64 Bronte St. As you walk in, you are greeted by staff and escorted to one of two closed off sections. My ‘good company’, aka my date and I were situated in a nice cosy corner. It was a Thursday night; usually a quiet night for normal restaurants; but Amusé is not your typical restaurant as not one table was empty.
At $115 per head for the full dégustation, this is not your usual dinner out. It’s purely for that special occasion or special person! Note: Don’t kid yourself by going for the cheaper alternative by going for the $80 petit! For $35 more, you get 3 more courses.
For those new to a dégustation, be prepared to sit down for a solid 3 hours and although portions look small, after 11 courses, it all adds up! You can also add on matched wines for $65/$35 (7 pours for the full and 4 pours for the petit). If you’re adding the wine on, be prepared to take the cab home as you will be getting a pour of handpicked wine at each course of the meal which will surely bring the blush to your cheeks.
The ingredients on the menu look sparse, but I challenge you to catch what your attendant says when they give you a run down on how each dish in created including the ingredients. Me and my partner tried to remember ingredients in each dish but failed miserably as they seem to have rote learnt each description and have probably repeated it countless times day-in-day-out to the point that they seem to have lost the purpose of even saying it.
One of my all time favourite Jacksons in Highgate, which serves a dégustation they call the Dego, did seem to have more confident attendants. Dishes were served with white-gloves and an articulation of the ingredients and method in which way each dish was created was added with poise; an elegance lost by Amusé’s staff.
Start with some freshly baked warm crusty bread and some French Normandy butter- Beurre D’Isigny, which has 82% butterfat. Absolutely glorious.
1) Amuse bouche, translated as ‘mouth pleaser’, or also known as a hors d'oeuvres was an appetising parsnip foam soup served with croutons to get your taste buds rolling.
4) Rabbit, foie gras and parmesan broth with linguine, tomatoes, spring onion and mascarpone cheese- pasta like you never had before. Parmesan cheese flaked on top of pasta will never be the same again! I can only dream that every restaurant offered you a parmesan broth poured over your pasta...
5) Salmon, cooked medium rare to perfection which falls off layer by layer but which yet has a consistency that befits the freshest salmon, with perfectly sautéed scallop and fennel. A crisp salmon skin rested on top with bordelaise sauce and bittersweet orange puree and a melt in your mouth fatty pancetta (the way it should be!). As I look at this picture, I find it hard to decide which is my favourite for the night, as both did amuse me!
6) This was also known as the ‘main course’ and you get to pick between the beef or pork. The beef was by far the winner in this course; a Margaret River Wagyu beef cooked to medium rare (the way meats SHOULD be cooked), with avocado puree, artichoke and mushrooms. A lone spring roll sat on a creamy sauce, filled with beef floss made from moist and tender back strap. The other main was a pork and crackling with compressed pineapple, squid and blackpudding.
8) The combination of parsnip, berries, muesli and yoghurt sorbet may at first sound weird, but like everything else so far, all the flavours and textures were a hit.
9) I was never a fan of the beetroot burger, but beetroot is as Australian as one can get in food. A homage to all things Australian, we had a chocolate, beetroot and honeycomb plate as well as a beetroot ‘Rollup’ (like the Uncle Toby Rollups we had as kids) and finished with a bitter dark chocolate truffle.
10) Last dish of the taste journey, was the petit four, a mix of chocolate and cake served with coffee.
Wikipedia defines a dégustation as ‘a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods’ and focuses on the ‘gustatory system; the senses of high culinary art and good company’. It involves ‘sampling small portions of all of a chef’s signature dishes in one sitting usually consisting of eight or more courses’.
This is fine dining at its best and probably described as a western dimsum- not really but you get the idea. Hadeleigh and Carolynne Troy, a husband and wife team opened Restaurant Amusé in 2007 after stints in Perth’s very best restaurants Jacksons and Loose Box, 5 star hotels in London and Michelin Star Restaurants. Since opening they have won numerous awards, and I was interested to see what the fuss was all about.
Situated in an odd location in East Perth, one would not notice the unassuming front on 64 Bronte St. As you walk in, you are greeted by staff and escorted to one of two closed off sections. My ‘good company’, aka my date and I were situated in a nice cosy corner. It was a Thursday night; usually a quiet night for normal restaurants; but Amusé is not your typical restaurant as not one table was empty.
At $115 per head for the full dégustation, this is not your usual dinner out. It’s purely for that special occasion or special person! Note: Don’t kid yourself by going for the cheaper alternative by going for the $80 petit! For $35 more, you get 3 more courses.
For those new to a dégustation, be prepared to sit down for a solid 3 hours and although portions look small, after 11 courses, it all adds up! You can also add on matched wines for $65/$35 (7 pours for the full and 4 pours for the petit). If you’re adding the wine on, be prepared to take the cab home as you will be getting a pour of handpicked wine at each course of the meal which will surely bring the blush to your cheeks.
The ingredients on the menu look sparse, but I challenge you to catch what your attendant says when they give you a run down on how each dish in created including the ingredients. Me and my partner tried to remember ingredients in each dish but failed miserably as they seem to have rote learnt each description and have probably repeated it countless times day-in-day-out to the point that they seem to have lost the purpose of even saying it.
One of my all time favourite Jacksons in Highgate, which serves a dégustation they call the Dego, did seem to have more confident attendants. Dishes were served with white-gloves and an articulation of the ingredients and method in which way each dish was created was added with poise; an elegance lost by Amusé’s staff.
Start with some freshly baked warm crusty bread and some French Normandy butter- Beurre D’Isigny, which has 82% butterfat. Absolutely glorious.
1) Amuse bouche, translated as ‘mouth pleaser’, or also known as a hors d'oeuvres was an appetising parsnip foam soup served with croutons to get your taste buds rolling.
2) Crab, kingfish and horseradish, an interesting mix of avocado and juicy pop in your mouth roe and a hint of Japanese mustard- wasabi! A unique mix of ingredients, textures and flavours starting with little droplets of heavenly roe and ending with a slightly spicy wasabi afterthought.
3) Chestnut, balsamic and truffle: this was by far the highlight of the night for us, but unfortunately, my date and I let our excitement get the better of us and did not take a photo. It was in fact a chestnut polenta sitting under a balsamic ice cream (yes, that’s a balsamic vinegar ice cream, and yes it was divine!), topped with shallots, chilli, crouton and a shred of truffle.
3) Marron, witlof and vanilla emulsion and caramelised with a twill pastry and sesame seeds.
4) Rabbit, foie gras and parmesan broth with linguine, tomatoes, spring onion and mascarpone cheese- pasta like you never had before. Parmesan cheese flaked on top of pasta will never be the same again! I can only dream that every restaurant offered you a parmesan broth poured over your pasta...
5) Salmon, cooked medium rare to perfection which falls off layer by layer but which yet has a consistency that befits the freshest salmon, with perfectly sautéed scallop and fennel. A crisp salmon skin rested on top with bordelaise sauce and bittersweet orange puree and a melt in your mouth fatty pancetta (the way it should be!). As I look at this picture, I find it hard to decide which is my favourite for the night, as both did amuse me!
6) This was also known as the ‘main course’ and you get to pick between the beef or pork. The beef was by far the winner in this course; a Margaret River Wagyu beef cooked to medium rare (the way meats SHOULD be cooked), with avocado puree, artichoke and mushrooms. A lone spring roll sat on a creamy sauce, filled with beef floss made from moist and tender back strap. The other main was a pork and crackling with compressed pineapple, squid and blackpudding.
7) A palate cleanser with lime vodka jelly and celery and apple sorbet, to remove any flavours from the main, and prepare you for the next course and in preparation for dessert.
8) The combination of parsnip, berries, muesli and yoghurt sorbet may at first sound weird, but like everything else so far, all the flavours and textures were a hit.
9) I was never a fan of the beetroot burger, but beetroot is as Australian as one can get in food. A homage to all things Australian, we had a chocolate, beetroot and honeycomb plate as well as a beetroot ‘Rollup’ (like the Uncle Toby Rollups we had as kids) and finished with a bitter dark chocolate truffle.
10) Last dish of the taste journey, was the petit four, a mix of chocolate and cake served with coffee.
A food adventure that did not disappoint, and without a doubt, one of Perth’s best restaurants which needs to be savoured for that special day or that special someone. With a discount in the Entertainment Book this year, giving you up to $40 off the bill, save those pennies and give this one a go! Try something similar at Jacksons, Loose Box or Star Anise but Amusé sits amongst the echelon of Perth’s best.
Thanks to Jason Tay...
Thanks to Jason Tay...
Bachelor of Food (BFoo)With 23 years of experience in the industry, Jason started his love of food with humble beginnings and developed his taste over a lifetime. He puts his 2 greatest loves as food and Fran, and is at war with which he loves more, but believes they go very well together.
***If you know of a great restaurant, cafe or cool eating spot - do write up a review and send it to Deliciouz - we will love to hear from you!!!***
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