Bites: The Merrywell.

The Merrywell is one of Crown Casino’s latest effort to boost its image from what was an aged complex to a more upmarket complex.  This high end pub showcases the dynamic duo chefs Grant MacPherson and Sammy De Marco whom Fishman have seen on the television a couple of times.  With a fancy interior and a new courtyard area, the Merrywell clearly distinguishes itself from other more casual pubs.  Unfortunately, the crowd is still typical. 5 men all trying so hard to woo one lady hahaha.

 

Walking up to the reception, we were served but was told that to get a sit on the inside, we would need to leave our names and they would call us back.  But guess what?  That is the worst system ever.  Some people take forever to come, leaving many sits empty!  In the end, the little darling, fishman and I decided to sit in the courtyard which means we had to order food from the bar.

 

When this restaurant first opened, there were rave reviews on food websites giving it a 90% approval rating and such.  Since then, it has plunged to 68%.  Rocking up to the bar counter to order my food, I totally understood why.  Wait for 10 minutes, lean over the counter and the grumpy lady tells you that this is not a service counter, go to the middle to order your food.  Head over to the middle counter, wait 10 minutes to be served and the next young lady says we do not do food at this counter.  It has now been 30 minutes and still no food.  The little darling gave them the WTF treatment and they UNHAPPILY served us.  Add this to half drunk blokes spilling their beers over her leg and that was a really bad and shit service.

 

For the purpose of this review, the quality of the food is kept separate from the service.

What really surprised us after we ordered is that Merrywell actually serves food quite quickly in contrast to what the reviews have mentioned recently.  Our wait for the food only look us 15 minutes.

For starters, we ordered a Mac and Cheese with in-house HP Sauce to share.

These delicious morsels of cheesy goodness definitely qualifies to be a Merrywell specialty.  It was crunchy with a balance of stringy melted cheese and macaroni making it absolutely yummy!  And for me, the HP sauce was definitely another highlight with a rich and tangy taste to it, elevating  the taste of the slightly bland Mac and Cheese.

 

The Lollipop Buffalo Wings were another specialty highlighted on the menu.Coming from home where American Pub food is enjoyed for lunch, delicious buffalo wings are no stranger.  To start, I was really pleased with the celery although I do not really like celery.  The ones used were well aged and not overly old and fibrous.  The Buffalo wings were not dry and was well-cooked.  But my complain lies in the lack of robustness of the flavor.  I wanted more acidity, more heat and all the other intense taste which one would normally dunk in the blue cheese fondue to cool.  For me and Fishman, it could have been better.

 

For our mains, the little darling ordered mini Wagyu burgers.I think these are easily one of the more impressive burgers I have eaten in awhile.  For me, it was the simplicity the stood out.  Its condiments were simple cheddar, BBQ caramelized onions, and pickles.  While the patty was not as juicy as other burger places like Jus Burgers, these little burger were impressive.

 

 

The Fishman as his names suggests, ordered the Roasted Tasmanian Salmon with Potato Pierogi, Pickled Beets, Sour Cream.He said it was pretty good and I would have to agree.  It was also the first time I have tasted Potato Pierogi which is a potato filled dumpling.  All the elements of this dish worked really well although all I had was one bite.  What might be a little turn off was that the salmon felt a little dry.  To be honest, such thin fillet should not be cooked for too long!

 

For me, I ordered Granny Grecco’s Chicken Parma with Spaghetti and Napoli Sauce.Arriving at the table, one thing which instantly caught my attention was the intensity of the sauce.  The flavors of the ripened tomatoes were such a hit in this dish that the slightly soggy chicken parma did not bother me the slightest bit.  The pasta was smooth and plausible but I really did not care about anything because, at that moment, it was all about the sauce.  It was really a good sauce in my opinion.  Most places tend to serve a very light and subtle sauce which sometimes makes me feel that the tomatoes used was barely ripe but the one at Merrywell was really just spot on.

 

At the end, I was really satisfied with my food.  It was pretty much a class act for pub food.  However though, for $40, it might look a little pretentious because pub food is not only about quality, but QUANTITY.  The serving sizes at Merrywell was OK but nowhere near a typical pub.  Service is barely worth mentioning unless it is about its crappiness.  BUT, would I return?  To be honest, I would.  Perhaps not on a weekends without an inside booking and service.

 

WenY

Bites: Imp @ Victoria Park

Recently, the little darling bought me a birthday present which was about 2 months too early.  Nonetheless, it has come at the right time considering the amount of food reviews I would be involved with in the coming weeks.  My new camera deviates from my usual DSLR as the new Olympus OMD EM5 which I now use feels significantly lighter and smaller.  However, adapting to a new system takes time and this is no different.  What better way is there to learn than bringing it out for a spin?!

What a beauty!

 

The Imp had been a brekkie place I would have gone to until Crumpets came by, died and then we had Sayers, Mrs S. and a whole lot of other capable brunch spots.

The Imp still keeps its minimalistic fittings with no rendered walls, all of which gives it an old warehouse look except for its low ceilings.

 

Imp is a popular hangout spot both in the day or at night.  At night, the Imp serves out delicious hot drinks with scrumptious cakes to match.  I have been there for many times now but the cakes I liked best were the spiced pear cake as well as the sticky date pudding.  Others gone on to complement the Imp for their chocolate fudge cake commenting that they never knew cakes could ever taste so good.

 

Last night, the little darling, Yvonne and I called two cakes to share.One was the apple and berry crumble while the other was the chocolate cheesecake.  The little darling loves her berries and for me, the crumble was spot on with all sugar levels kept moderate.  This gives the dessert a well-toned sweetness which complements its acidity.  However though, large pieces of apples tend to absorb the acidity of the berries making them a tad too sour for my liking.  While the berry crumble was pretty good, we were let down by the chocolate cheesecake.  This was especially so by Yvonne as she was expecting a deep chocolate well in the center which was not the case because it was on topped by a chocolate no more than a spoonful.  Cheese taste was milder than what I like and it felt as if they had used sour cream too!  Not too sure but that is alright.

 

While I am not the biggest fan of coffee, sipping tea is probably what I am keen off.  A chamomile tea wrapped in a fury little tea warmer?  I’m sold!  

 

Overall, the Imp is a pretty good night place to spend with friend nibbling cakes and drinking hot drinks.  But do note that Fridays are easily made nightmarish as the small sitting area does not accommodate large groups nicely.  Not to mention diners having dinner does not make things anything easier as they often spend the whole evening sipping wine and ordering tapas.   But for me, a group of 4 would probably be just nice.

 

As for the OMD test run, all I can say is OMG.  If I could fault it, it would be the lack of sharpness which is more likely a lens problem than a camera one.  So perhaps in a bit I will be able to full kit my camera up!

 

WenY

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Bites: Fuku @ Mosman Park

Yesterday, was a Monday which was far exciting than I expected.  Coming home from work, I quickly dressed myself before pacing myself through a horrible jam to the suburb of Mosman Park.  3 weeks ago, I was invited to the opening of something different.  Owner of Tsunami, Brett and his capable crew has establish a new exclusive eatery called Fuku.  Believe it or not, the venue only sits 16 at any one time despite having enough sake to fill the bellies of a entire ship crew. 

 

Seeing is believing:

Diners are spoilt with a whole wall arranged with premium sakes all hand picked by the chef!

 

The menu at Fuku is a degustation which comes in three trims.  A entry level Omakase @ $110, a mid level one @ $160 and the extravagant one at $280.   These prices include unlimited bottle water as well as green tea for diners. For the night, the little darling and I had the mid level degustation @ $160 per person.  These degustation featured many Japanese food which at first might seem a little typical, but in reality is prepared to provide a heightened sense of satisfaction.

Upon being seated, the chef quickly trimmed the finest slices of sashimi I have had in an extremely long time.  To begin with, I hate sashimi and to convince me to eat it, it has to be pretty good!  The salmon was perfect but what caught my attention was the swordfish sashimi which was spot on.  Definitely a textural kick.  Felt like the smoothest slice on the plate! Spot on.  Finishing the raw slices, we tucked into the blow torched Nigiris which I always like due to the buttery richness of the fish when torched.

 

The next course was another serve of spoon size food which featured the wagyu, a lobster on a spoon and a shell fish.  Is this surf and turf at its finest?   Maybe so!  My favourite of the lot would be the Tsubugai and Octopus served on a small bed of cucumber strips.  That one has just perfect balance of freshness and that slight hint of acidity made it a real pleaser.  Beef was nice with a miso concoction and some salsa.  Really nice!  If anything was missing, perhaps a touch of salt on the lobster would have been nice!

 

After this course, we served a quail course. No picture on this one but the quail was cooked for 12 hours before being smoked on a charcoal grill.  These quails are from Hunter Valley which boasts to have some of the largest quails in the planet.  Over all, the sauce was good and the quail was finished with a note of smokiness which was a nice touch!  We were also served scallops with prawns which is one of the other sure hit combination besides pork belly and scallops.  For me, the large scallops were cooked spot on.  Really sweet and tasty with no loss of juiciness like one would expect from a plump scallop!

Kajiki steak with Daikon radish and preserved ginger.  Each individual element was very well prepared.   The Kajiki or swordfish was spot on and to people like me who has not had such fish before, its texture is really quite different.  Some might mistake the texture to an overcooked fish which in fact is not overcooked.  Daikon radish were soft through with just enough resistance when being cut.  Overpowering ginger performed really well when small bits were eaten with the fish and radish!   This was one of the dishes I liked best!  

 

One of the two chefs entertaining the diners.  This chef is cheeky and is very crafty with his hands.  He easily juggles the eggs with his Teppanyaki spatula!  Sitting around the kitchen is not only a Teppanyaki experience, but rather an entertaining one!

 

Wagyu sirloin steak Mayura Station grade 7.  While this was not the highest grade, it was certainly enough for a decent melt in your mouth sensation when prepared at medium.  And for me, that was good enough.  The steak was served together with a classic Japanese Garlic fried rice.  A state where fried rice and simplicity is at its best.  What turned out to be a let down for me was that the fried rice lacked salt.  A great amount of salt.  Luckily enough, a quick soy fix made it right!

 

At the end of the night, I was filled.  Fish, seafood, bird and beef.. it felt complete.  Freshly slices sashimi, perfectly cooked scallops and beef.  It was all pretty good but the boss was not going to let the night end without a sweet note.

 

For dessert: Genmaicha Pannacotta, Japanese Baumkuchen and Mountain Peach with Kinako!

The Baumkuchen felt a little dense as it was a layered cake.  It had a nice crust of lightly torched sugar.  On the inside, its texture felt a little more like a semolina cake rather than a layered sponge.  What felt really nice is that the mountain peach feels connected to the Baumkuchen in a way that having one of the other helped cut through the sweetness a little.  As for the Pannacotta, I can only insist that such fine things should come in larger serves.  I gave half mine to the little darling as I knew she loved her Pannacotta a lot!  It was silky smooth with a hint of tea taste that felt very subtle.  Perhaps a little subtle for green tea fans.  A very delicious Pannacotta!

 

At the end of the meal, there always is a question to be answered.   Was the experience a good one?  Well, I cannot help but feel indebted to be invited to something so special in Perth.  Food is prepared to my expectations and as I have learned from my sitting at Fuku, the small group of 16 at any one time also felt part of a social experience as everyone can talk to one another despite being strangers.  Not sure how much would other couples like this but it was definitely lovely to be able to chat with other people without any awkward feeling because the restaurant felt intimate in many ways.  At the end, some might question the price tag but everyone would have different a opinion. In my opinion, everyone needs to try and get their own :)!

 

WenY