VictorsFood Blog

Sassy and styled, Morena restaurant is giving Sydney a boost in the right direction. It shows a side of South American culture beyond kitschy pre-conceptions; even travelling to South America on a regular basis and being a big fan of South American cuisines, I was impressed with Morena’s particular take on it. Through passionate chefs such as this we take on new culinary challenges. First of all it’s important you go with no pre-conceptions of Peruvian cuisine (even if you’ve been there!). Go with eagerness to learn new flavours and to sit and talk to your friends over a lovely dinner. Yes, you can talk here. The ‘scene’ here is all about sharing with great friends; enjoying together food cooked with passion by a great chef, who is also one of the owners.

Morena is owned by chef Alejandro Saravia and his business partner Sumedh Kataria, an architect, who did the interior design.  It is a dream come true for Alejandro, who hails from Peru, which is known for some of the most sophisticated restaurants in the world.

Arriving at Morena, in the St. Margaret’s complex in Surry Hills, make sure you notice the entrance with its lovely herb garden in the front window. This lets you know someone is paying close attention to where the food is coming from. The dining room is small and minimal in its look but has a casual warmth about it. The coloured classic fabric for the banquettes has been chosen to add a bit of splash to the room and give you a sophisticated South American flair.

Service was casual but prompt and efficient on the night we dined here. The music was perfect for the setting; I dreamed I was back in Brazil a few times, hearing familiar female Brazilian singers inviting me to visit another life. It created a bit of sway in the room without overstepping the food, which was the star.

Pisco sours were first to hit the table. They are not to be missed, with their frothy egg white topping and perfect sweet and sour balance. Pisco is a colourless or yellowish-to-amber coloured grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. I could have drunk more of these, but was holding out for a South American red.

The meal started with Peruvian ceviche with pink snapper, cancha (toasted corn) and caramelised sweet potato. The tender freshness of the snapper with the crunch of the cancha gave this dish an elegant flavour and texture. (I love ceviche. It is perfect for the Australian summer, made from fresh seafood  combined with various ingredients and marinated in lime or other citrus juices thus ‘cooking’ in their own juices. I make one in my Modern Mexican cooking class using mango, tomato, red onion and lime to set it off.)

We also tried the causas three ways. Causas are chilled potato, with wonderful toppings, like octopus. The creaminess of the potatoes against the crunchy toppings made this one of my favourites. (At Rattlesnake Grill, we used blue conga potatoes in a variation of this dish, highlighting the nearly endless variety of potatoes on offer in South America.)

For our mains we couldn’t go past the Escabeche de pato, duck breast marinated in annatto seeds and aji mirasol chillies. Escabeche is another acidic marinade (using, for example vinegar), which gives the meat an intense flavour. This method is used in a variety of cuisines, especially in South America. Asado con chimichurri played well on the tenderness of charcoal cooked short ribs against the punch of the chimichurri (parsley and garlic marinade), ensuring a great combination of high and deep flavours. Morena’s addition of a beet salad and smoked salt flakes rounded out this lovely dish. Finally the Seco de alpaca backstrap hit the table, served with a traditional coriander and beer sauce, celeriac puree and Peruvian style carapulcra (a Peruvian Andean dish of stewed dried potatoes). I am familiar with llama from my travels in Argentina; I found alpaca richer / fattier and a bit more flavourful.

We didn’t have much room for dessert but still couldn’t go past the Tres leches, which seems to jump out from everywhere when travelling in South America. It’s a traditional sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk, served here with roasted pineapple ice cream. It’s moreish and brings the journey of South American flavours to a pleasant close.

Morena also serves piquedos (share plates) in its outside area, which might include some of your favourites like duck empanadas, cassava and manchego croquettes, baby sardines and 30-day cured Peruvian jamon. Whether for a light snack, with a Pisco sour of course, or a dinner, with excellent local ingredients, you can have a choice of different experiences.

What I love about Morena is it’s chef-owned, passionate, experimental, conscious of what a restaurant should be, trying to bring something new to the Australian palate, and doing an admirable job of it, without the shtick!

Morena

15/425 Bourke St.

Surry Hills, Australia 2010

e: bookings@morena.com.au

p: +61405 902 896

Located in cosmopolitan Surry Hills, Bentley’s offers innovative “molecular-gastronomy” style dishes on their menu. We dined there with our student intern, Andres Castello, who wrote this review.

The restaurant interior is simple, modern, and elegant. Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt make a great team; the food and the wine pair beautifully together.To begin we ordered the Kingfish ceviche, the duck liver foie gras parfait, and the pork belly.

The kingfish ceviche was disappointing. It was very difficult to find any fish amongst all the ribbons of pickled daikon and the yuzu mayonnaise. The acidity of the pickled daikon cleverly mimicked that of a traditional ceviche, but it surprisingly had very small and few pieces of the kingfish.

The duck liver foie gras parfait came served as a log served over a bed of puffed rice and topped with pickled raisins. It was puzzling as to how they build such a precise log!

Next, we shared the pork belly with wattle, garlic milk and rhubarb.

The pork belly was tender and topped with fried brocollini florets. It was served with black fungi, wattle, a sheet of gelatinised garlic milk and rhubarb. The rhubarb was a great contrast to the fattiness of the pork belly, great combination.

As for our entrees: we ordered the duck breast, poached kingfish, and the fillet of Black Angus beef.

The slow roast duck breast was served with cuttlefish and mushroom ‘soil’. The duck was perfectly cooked and the flavours and ingredients on the dish were great. The mushroom ‘soil’, as our waiter called it, was incredible. It was very earthy, a distinct earthiness from your typical mushrooms, and had a great umami flavour that brought together the cuttlefish and duck beautifully.

The poached kingfish was served was served with a fennel purée, white fungi, and leeks. There was also some parsley oil and lemon in the sauce.

The fillet of Black Angus beef was incredibly tender. The dish was served with carrots, and adzuki bean pure and white sweet potato cake. We also ordered a side of cauliflower with mustard, which was delicious, simple but definitely one of the highlights of our meal.

For dessert we tried the frozen goat cheese mousse with violet, buckwheat praline & passionfruit ice cream. There was a lot happening on the plate, but we felt that it was lacking. There was not anything that truly stood out: on its own, or as a whole. We also shared the triple crème cheese, which was delicious.

Chef: Brent Savage

www.thebentley.com.au

320 Crown Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Phone: (02) 9332 2344

When did you start your blog?: In 2009. The domain name was registered on my birthday on 1^st May.

Why did you start it?: I’d had a couple of previous blogs, and they were started to share originally to share my family recipes.

What was the last thing you ate?: Leftovers from the New Year’s Eve party

What is your favourite food and why?: I’m not sure that I have a favourite food, rather I’d say I like to eat food that is fresh and in season.

Who is your favourite Chef and/or restaurant and why?: I eat at a lot of restaurants and have a lot of chefs that are friends, so wouldn’t want to single out one. While flavour for me is always of the utmost importance, I really admire chefs that have kitchen gardens and support sustainability such as Peter Gilmore, Stefano Manfredi and Jared Ingersoll.

What is your favourite ingredient?: Salt.

What is your favourite foodie country and why?: I do love Paris but am hard pressed to pick one country out of France, Italy and Spain. I’m definitely mostly inspired by European cuisine.

Who are your favourite bloggers?: My favourite food blog is Gaestroenophile by Bruce Palling who now also writes for the Wall Street Journal. And I also like to read travel and fashion blogs.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?: A group that are good conversationalists, enjoy good food and wine and will try anything.

What would you cook?: It would depend on the season, but I’d probably include one dish in my favourite cookery technique of ‘en papillote’

What is the one foodie experience everyone should have before they die?: I’m yet to go truffle hunting so I’ll say that.

Please finish this sentence: ‘When I am in the kitchen, I…’ am as happy as a kid in a candy store.

To visit Rebecca’s blog click here.

Many of you will have heard of the death last month of Blair Milan, son of our dear friend Lydney Milan. This is sure to be a great series, and a fitting tribute to Blair, set in one of my favourite destinations in the world – Greece. — Victor

In the wake of the tragic news surrounding Blair Milan’s death last month, Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece will premiere exclusively to SBS ONE on Thursday 26th May 2011 at 8.00pm AEST.

The seven part series will be aired earlier than expected, as a tribute to the 29 year old actor, who passed away on Sunday 17th April 2011 from Acute Myeloid Leukemia. “He was the most positive person I had ever met, and it was a joy and a privilege to have been his mother. It still hasn’t really sunk in”, says Lyndey.

Seeking culinary delights, adventure and antiquities, Lyndey and Blair toured the fascinating Peloponnese with a film crew in 2010. The result, Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece, showcases the cuisine, culture and beautifully undiscovered land of this region, which is so accessible to Athens.

The series follows Lyndey and Blair as they cook, eat, drink and engage with the locals they meet along the way – a charming and eclectic mix of home cooks, winemakers, producers, chefs and restaurateurs.

While starring the cuisine of the Peloponnese, the historic heart of Greece is also explored with an adventurous edge, full of humour and insight. The unique mother/son relationship between Lyndey and Blair adds another layer of fun and banter.

“This is a road show like no other,” says Lyndey, “not quite your average family holiday – and we are both food-seeking missiles”.

“Travelling and shooting a television program with your mother is a little out of the ordinary! Put it this way; with my mother there is never a dull moment. The beauty of a mother son relationship on camera is that you can’t fake it, or replicate it, all the complexities have been built up over 29 years,” explained Blair just days before his sudden demise.

More information about the series can be found here – www.sbs.com.au/tasteofgreece

When did you start it?: July 2008

Why did you start it?: I used to sit next to a friend at work, and she got really sick of me talking about food; where I was planning to go, where I’d been, what I’d eaten, and on and on, and one day she snapped and just said, ‘Enough! Just start a blog already!’. So I did. I was also hugely inspired and devoted to reading foodblogs, in particular NotQuiteNigella and the old school Grab Your Fork.

What was the last thing you ate?: A banana. The problem with loving food is that it can have deleterious side effects including weight gain, so I’m battling the bulge as we speak

What is your favourite food and why?: Hmm, good question. I’m not sure. I’m currently obsessed with oysters and their natural companion, French champagne and /or Italian Prosecco. I also love chocolate (of course! The Lindt chilli choc and /or the salted are favourites)  and Maggie Beer Burnt Fig, caramel and  honeycomb icecream, but pretty much anything with figs gets me.

What is your favourite Chef and/or restaurant and why?: Favourite chef? Honestly, I couldn’t say. I really love trying all sorts of things, and each chef brings his or her own spin to things. However my favourite restaurants are Fix St James, Buzo, Perama and La Casa for diversity, excellent service and consistency. These restaurants rarely drop the ball.

What is your favourite ingredient and why?: Eggs! They really are remarkable, from making cakes rise, to luscious custards to a simple boiled egg on toast, sweet and savoury they are a super ingredient.

What is your favourite foodie country and why?: I think I’m having a love affair with Italian food at the moment. I just finished a gorgeous book called ‘Sicilian Food’ by Mary Taylor Simeti about the history of Sicilian food with all these amazing recipes etc. Also, most of my favourite restaurants seem to be Italian or Italian inspired.

Who are your favourite bloggers?: NotQuiteNigella, David Lebovitz for his witty observations of Parisians, Melbourne Gastronome for the lowdown on Melbourne, Lemonpi for her exquisite creations, Pikelet & Pie for her amazing travels and taste, the Ortolan’s Last meal, and for the Sydney buzz before it hits the mainstream The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?: Not chefs! Actually, I would have loved to have had Paul and Julia Child to dinner, I’m currently reading My Life in France and I just imagine that they would be the *best* dinner party guests. I would also invite Stephen Fry to match wits with the Childs (I could sit in awe), Maggie Alderson so I could get some fashion tips, and a bunch of my food-obsessed friends.

What would you cook?: Hmm, with that line up I wouldn’t attempt it! I’d be too nervous! I think I would call on trusted professionals to do it, so I could relax and enjoy the evening. But I would dictate that it be fresh and seasonal, as well as sustainable and as local as is practical.

What is the one foodie experience everyone should have before they die?: Oh, I don’t think it can be narrowed down to one experience, particularly as food can be so ritualised. I think the best experiences are unexpected. Approach food with an open mind and as the Italians say Gusto and you’ll find a whole new world of flavour and taste will open up to you.

Please finish this sentence: ‘When I am in the kitchen, I … tend to boogie with the music up loud …

Visit Reem’s blog bly clicking here.