Bistro Guillaume

Bistro Guillaume was my restaurant of choice to celebrate my birthday. The restaurant occupies what used to be Allure bar and restaurant and underwent a $7 million face lift. The interior has so much colour, mainly shades of lime green, black and cream. There are puffy sofas, pantaloon lightshades, mirrors and an outdoor area overlooking the renovated pool area. Impressive.

Family and myself were placed by a window overlooking the pool and the best thing about it wasn't so much the impressive renovation done outside or even the coziness of where we were sitting, but rather who was opposite our table... *DRUM ROLL* The chef and owner Guillaume Brahimi in the open kitchen working away and olympic swimmer and owner of Louis Baxter cafe, Eamon Sullivan in the company of one of Australia's celebrated chef's, Matt Maron (having their dinner, obviously). So hey, that means we were in for a treat right?

We started off the night by having a Charcuterie plate to share. A rather generous plate with a variety of meats, sausage, cornichons, lettuce leaves, quince, terrine, parfait, pork rillettes, and of course sourdough bread. I'm usually not a fan of charcuterie plates, mainly because I find that the quality of produce and the taste isn't all that great, however, Bistro Guillaume, proved to me that there can be great charcuterie plates, enjoyed it thoroughly.

Charcuterie plate

(unfortunately already have eaten!)

Since there was 7 of us, we decided to share the salad Nicoise with rare yellow fin tuna.The salad came out deconstructed, which was kind of nice, allows you to pick at it a bit more. The tuna was actually slightly seared, juicy, 'fat' and so fresh. The salad was refreshing and the beans were so good. So far, rather satisfying start to the dinner.

Salad Nicoise with rare Yellow Fin Tuna

Bf also grabbed himself a French Onion Soup, he's been craving it ever since I ordered some from Ptite Ardoise restaurant. The onion was so sweet, there was decent amount of cheese, and toasty crisp bread on top, but it didn't do much for me. I think Ptite Ardoise did it better, but still not bad.

French Onion Soup

As for the mains, mum and I decided to share their "meal for 2" and opted for the roasted whole liveringa organic chicken served with their very creamy, silky Paris mash and an aromatic rosemary sauce with a salad of salad. It was meant to be dish for 2, but everyone ended up having pieces of it, far too much for just 2 (unless you have a massive appetite). I'm usually scared of ordering chicken, it tends to get too dry, but not this one; the chicken was moist, juicy and flavoursome.

Roasted whole chicken 

Paris mash

The Paris mash is to die for - honestly one of the best potato mash ever! Silky, smooth, creamy, potato goodness served in a cute pot! We got an extra to share. It was that good.

Bf got his favourite type of meat - Berkshire pork belly with salad of lentils, green apples and tarragon vinaigrette. The pork meat was juicy and tender, crackling was crispy (the way it should be) and the whole dish went beautifully with the lentils and apples, although the sauce was a little too sour - someone over poured the vinaigrette.

Berkshire pork belly with salad of lentils, green apples and tarragon vinaigrette

Dad and little little bro had the rangers valley sirloin steak with kipfler potatoes, watercress salad and bearnaise sauce. It was just your perfect chargrilled steak delight. Nothing else needs to be said.

Sirloin steak with kipfler potatoes, watercress salad with bearnaise sauce

My little bro had the venison tenderloin with beetroot, parsnip and horseradish. The sauce on this dish was just heavenly! The venison was also rather tender even for such a game meat. However, the poor boy, a big eater of protein was a little disappointed by the amount of meat on his plate. But hey, at least it was polished and he loved it immensely. 

Venison tenderloin with beetroot parsnip and horseradish

Then the best bit of the night happened - and I thought I had enough lovely dishes, but no the desserts topped it all. But then again, we are at a French restaurant, if they couldn't do desserts I'll be worried.

I ordered the chocolate souffle with pistachio ice cream. The staff recommended that I place the pistachio ice cream into the souffle and after it was mixed, and I had my first bite, it was absolute deliciousness. Orgasmic!

Chocolate souffle with pistachio ice cream

Bf had the profiterole with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce (the chocolate sauce was poured over the profiteroles). It were probably one of the best profiteroles ever. 

 Profiteroles with vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce

Little bro had the Riz au lait with poached rhubarb and strawberry sorbet. Razzled rice pudding, creamy, sweet with a refreshing punch of the sorbet. He loved it and I enjoyed the small share he gave me. 

Then to top the meal, I had a glass of wine to boot. Velvety goodness to drown a year of getting older. 

The food at Bistro Guillaume is impressive and it really was a lovely birthday treat. The service was impeccable. Although, I'm not sure if I like the casual look of the waitstaff. But, I suppose it adds to that light, casual but stylish service in a beautiful room, filled with relaxed ambiance. It's probably one of the most relaxed fine dining places ever.

Have a go, be pampered and enjoy Bistro Guillaume's simple, beautiful French cuisine.

Bistro Des Artistes

I've been wanting to go to Bistro Des Artistes since well for a while, especially seeing as it is owned by two well known French chefs in Perth's dining scene - Alain Fabregues and Emmanuel Mollois and I finally had a chance on a Friday night last month, October 19th to be precise, with my boy and a couple of friends.

The first thing you would notice about the restaurant is that it is very very bright. It doesn't help that there is a floor to ceiling mirror that seems to further illuminate the place. It hurts the eyes somewhat with the bright light and the fluorescent whiteness didn't help romanticise the place at all, in fact it made it somewhat sterile. If only they dimmed it just a tad then it would make for mood lighting.

A bit of the interior of Bistro Des Artistes

We were given a corner facing the floor to ceiling mirror and next to the pastry cabinet. The menus were around on our table - postcard menus, very cool, one I can take home. It's a 5 course menu for $75 with the entree, main and dessert having three options for you to choose from. Nicely priced, I like it so far.

The menu for the night

I think that's pretty much when it went a little pear shaped. We had a very inattentive waitstaff. He was too busy looking at himself in the mirror that explaining to us what the dishes actually were (considering they were all in French!). Not only did he not explain to us what the dishes were, when informed that my bf had an allergy to nuts he looked blankly at us (like nut allergies were unheard of!) and then said.. "hmm.. I think none of the choices for sir has nuts.." then went off. There was not a word of "I'll double check with the chef" and his reponse wasn't exactly reassuring. Shocking really.

Our bread and butter were delivered to the table - cold bread - I think I've been spoiled and have been given warm bread at so many other places that I just expect warm bread now. Still it was nice bread and butter (so silky, smooth and slightly salted).

We ordered a bottle of French red - Domaine Charvin 2010 Cortes du Rhone, rather lovely, rich, fruity velvety red. Our glasses were never topped up. Our glasses of tap water was never filled up when emptied nor were we given a bottle to fill ourselves. Service really was lacking, even for a Bistro! Especially one that is owned by two well known chefs (each having very successful and amazing venues of their own - Alain Fabregues and Emmanuel Mollois).

So anyway back to the meals.. for entrees, one of the guys had beef carpaccio served with watercress and blue berry dessing. It looked rather freshing and the carpaccio was thinly sliced and drizzled all over with the dressing. He enjoyed the dish and commented on the quality of the beef carpaccio.

Beef carpaccio served with watercress and blue berry dressing

Bf and DS opted for the roasted scallops with cream leeks and a citrus emulsion. I was lucky to have a little taster of this dish and the scallops were cooked to perfection and the cream leeks gave this dish richness, although the citrus emulsion was a little too tangy and tart for my liking and the acidity and the citrus flavours seems to be just sitting at the bottom of the dish. Wasn't well emulsified perhaps?

Roasted Scallops with cream leeks and a citrus emulsion

I ordered rather blindly, mainly because I wanted something different that the boys didn't have and I wasn't explained what a champignon farci was (I'm really not cultured when it comes to culinary names that I don't come across often and this happens to be one of those). Suffice to say the dish came out and I was pleasantly surprised. Stuffed field mushrooms at its best! The mushroom was nice and juicy and the sauce was creamy goodness. The whole dish worked really well together and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Then the mains came. Bf was the odd one out and opted for the braised lamb shank served with flageolets. It came out somewhat like a stew/curry/very Moroccan inspired. Something he wasn't expecting. Filled with chickpeas, beans potatoes, and spices. The lamb however fell off the bone and was very tender. However, it had that intense lamb smell which wasn't to my liking. However, the flavours of the dish was nice, although it could be a little stronger.

Braised lamb shank served with flageolets

The rest of us opted for the cobble of Atlantic salmon with aromatic beurre blanc and herb mash. This was just divine. The salmon was cooked perfectly. Nice and pink on the inside. It had this wonderful buttery texture and just melted in your mouth. The herb mash was yum and the beurre blanc sauce was delicious was creamy and thick. Melt-in-your-mouth salmon/perfectly cooked salmon is hard to come by and this was one of those moments that was perfect.

Cobble of Atlantic Salmon with aromatic beurre blanc and herb mash

Next is one of my favourite courses that I don't ever get. Cheese. I'm actually not sure what type of cheese we got, but I'm pretty sure it was two different cheese and this apple date salad thing. We weren't explained by the waiter what exactly was on our slab. It was just placed down in front of us. All we knew was that it was cheese and bread and apple matchstick salad with a creamy yogurt dressing.

Le Fromage du jour; La Buche D' Affinois 

If anyone knows what the two French words I wrote up are please let me know because that was what was written as our cheese course. I would love to know as I really enjoyed the cheese and wouldn't mind finding it at the shops for myself. Cheers ^_^

Once our cheese course was finished we were given our pre-dessert, which was this very lovely creme caramel rice pudding with caramelised walnuts on top. It was creamy, sweet, cold and somewhat palate cleansing and perfect way to get ready for the dessert. 

Pre-dessert - Creme Caramel Rice Pudding with caramelised walnuts

 

For the dessert I wanted the creme brulee but they ran out which I was very disappointed about, because after all they are a French bistro how can they run out of brulee!! Very sad. So instead I opted for the Dessert of the day which was a fruit of the forrest tart. It was very sweet and the base was very well done, but I really am not one for sweetened fruits and should have known better than to have chosen it, but for those that fruit tarts this would be for you. I loved the ice cream though and thought that the pre-dessert was better and wished there was more of the pre-dessert! I didn't end of finishing it because it really wasn't to my taste.

Dessert of the Day - Fruit of the Forrest

Bf on the other hand opted for the petite pot de creme vanille with canelle de bordeaux. Which really is vanilla creme and baked/caramelised custard. The custard by itself is a little dry but when eaten with the vanilla creme it is delicious. Light for a dessert and very typically French. 

petite pot de creme vanille with canelle de bordeaux

After our desserts were done our coffee/tea orders were taken, although our dishes were left on the table. They were eventually cleaned well after our pots of tea and coffee were served on our table. In fact we had to ask for our dishes to be cleared in order for us to drink our tea and have the petites four. 

The other disappointing thing was that we were given one pot of small tea between two people, just because we ordered the same tea. Jasmine Tea. Seriously, tea for the restaurant is just throwing in the tea leaves (leaves if you are lucky.. at times it's just a tea bag!) and boiling water. I'm sure they can spare to give us a pot each. The petites four given to us were a jube and chocolate truffles, which were lovely indeed and was the perfect way to end the meal.

Choice of tea/coffee and petites fours

Overall, the food at Bistro Des Artistes is pretty good more hits than misses. Definitely value for money if you are having their set menu and 5 course meal. They also have a nice selection of wines on offer.

There is however, a huge problem with service - lack of service, which really impacts on how your enjoy your night. It's worse when you were 15 minutes late to your car because you couldn't find ONE waiter in sight to ask for the bill at the end of the night. They seemed to have vanished. AND because of looking for a waiter and ONLY 15 minutes to your car - you got a parking fine (and you already forked out $10 on parking ticket!). NOT nice. There is also a lack of ambiance in the restaurant, nothing romantic or cosy or warm and I think it has a lot to do with the lighting, because the decor it self is nice.

If those two things are fixed, in particular the service I think this restaurant has ticked on the boxes.

Will I go back? Maybe, but I'm not in any rush to.

P'tite Ardoise Bistro

J'aime un bon restaurant français, I love a good French restaurant. The cosiness and simplicity of P'tite Ardoise and the friendliness of the very Frenchy staff takes me back to my time in Paris, (except perhaps the staff at P'tite Ardoise was nicer and much friendlier).

“P’tite Ardoise” means “little blackboard” or “little slate” in French, and the blackboard motif is used throughout the restaurant with a lot of their food being served on black slates - which I think oozes sophistication, elegance and simplicity. The decor is minimalistic, sleek and is very French. The waiters and waitresses are authentically French, one of whom was from just outside of Lyon and was here to study English. So you really were transported there!

The menu at P'tite Ardoise consists of a selection of regular menu items and a selection of seasonal items. It's intimate and yet quite a fine selection of food to choose from. 

Bf and I opted for a three course of French flare and the menu offered so many lip-smacking good dishes it was hard to choose. Whilst we were pondering what to get, the waitresses were rather helpful and were very knowledgeable about the dishes. The one thing lacking on their menu though was a wine list - when we visited last month the place was still waiting for their alcohol license and it was still BYO. I really hope they get it, because we forgot to bring a bottle and the meal would have been fantastic if we had it accompanied with some red. We instead opted for lemon lime and bitters - which really isn't the same.

Before the entree, we were asked if we would like bread (which I thought was free - but it turns out it's $3.50 for bread - so if you are a bread eating and planning to eat more than just one then get it otherwise forget it). Having said that though, the butter, olive oil and olive dip was rather delicious.The ambiance of the place was also remarkable - very much like we were in France - I was very much nostalgic and wished I was back in romantic Paris.

For entree bf opted for the scallops with pumpkin and pesto (i believe - i can't remember what the dish was called) . I remember it being very well cooked - the scallops were perfect - not rubbery and it had beautiful balance of flavours.

I on the other hand, opted for escargot cooked chefs way. It came in ceramic dishes with this lightly toasted bread on top and what was underneath was a bit of a surprise. There was a creamy, delicious broth (although slightly on the salty side for me) filled with escargot. With the bread soaked in the broth and with spoonfuls of the escargot, both and bread it was fantastic!

For the mains, bf ordered the steak while I opted for their signature twice cooked duck. The steak was tender with a great cut and fantastic sauce (which was served separately in a gravy boat), while the duck literally fell off the bone it was perfection, although I wished they gave more of the sauce. Although the duck did come with a side of vegetables. Despite that it was truly an amazing dish and bf thoroughly enjoyed his meal too!

Then the best part of the night - the dessert. There was such a lovely selection to chose from. I really wanted to try the chef's tasting platter but decided that I can get that next time I came back to P'tite Ardoise, so instead tried their seasonal dessert which was this "flowery" patisserie - the smell was so fragrant and the taste was sweet. The patisserie was unbelievable good and mixed with the melted chocolate sauce the dessert was sensational - granted it was huge!

Bf on the other hand got this chocolate delight - however it had peanut on the top so had to be sent back and they carefully scrapped it and gave it fairy floss hair! And the ice cream that came with it had intense flavours.

All in all, P'tite Ardoise was a culinary delight, and one with attentive, obliging, friendly service and smiles. The only downfall is that it is hard to get a booking -in fact they might have changed their rules since we were there and no longer excepts bookings. Apart from that, once their alcohol licensed is approved it would be the perfect place for a date.

ps. Sorry the photos were taking on my iphone without flash so they turned out a bit yellow from the lighting in the restaurant.

Paris Marais Falafel

I'm spending my first night in the city of lights, one of the most romantic and idyllic cities in the world, Paris!

Despite having had a massive day I'm not sleepy and it's past midnight. Alas it means I must blog.

Instead of blogging about my trip I'm going to review tonight's very late dinner in Paris. We ventured into the heart and soul of Marais and i have determined to find the famous falafel restaurant (and of course the local's favorite dine in and take away venue, and the New York Time's and Rick Steve's favorite falafel restaurant), L'As Du Falafel.

The restaurant is just your local restaurant, almost hearty fast food like hawkers. Small, intimate, not necessarily 100% clean but packed to the brim with local French and some international diners. There is also a take away area at the front of the restaurant which had a line when we got there at 9pm. The restaurant itself was also packed out.

They served us with plastic plate and folk but that was only really needed to stop the spillage! Bf and I had the pita sandwich. I opted for a vegetarian falafel special while bf had it with lamb. It came out folded like a pocket in baking paper served by one the guys from the restaurant who just held the pocket in his hands.

The serving was generous, more than enough. There was plenty of falafel in the pocket of pita bread and plenty if lamb too!! Lots of vegetables and sauce (but not too much that it soaked through the bread.)

It really was delicious and definitely worth saying the best in the world. The falafel was cooked beautiful not dried out and the coating was not too thick that you lose out of actually tasting the falafel. The lamb was also cooked superbly and not dry or tough.

Although downside is that it's hard to eat, although I suppose that's also the excitement and the fun of it too!

To top it off I got to sit next to two very nice French girls who comes to the place often and recommended me their favorite dishes on the menu, one of which I tried tonight and if I get a chance again I might get the chicken that she recommended. One of them agreed that the servings are large but she is so used to eating and lives it so much that she always feels as though she should eat two!

I must say if I get peckish during the day and I'm around Marais or get peckish at night, I hope to make it down from our hotel and cross a few blocks and grab a take away! It's that hearty, yummy and satisfying! To top it off it's cheap-ish eat (7-8 euros) not snotty it's warm friendly and welcoming, although it feels a but rushed, but at least your food is served quickly.

Ps don't bother with sides of chips like we did. Although we did manage to finish the fries too, but it's just over kill.

The Beaufort Street Merchant

I walk pass The Beaufort Street Merchant and drive pass it even more. Having visited their unique wine shop and gourmet goodie store, I have always wanted to try their food but have never had the opportunity.

I finally ventured into The Beaufort Street Merchant with a group of work mates - all of whom are avid foodies. We managed to book a Friday night dinner for about 12 people about a month ago and I couldn't have been more excited.

We managed to find a two very nice red wines from their wine range (which is not just limited to what's on the list but you are also free to chose any wine that is sold at their wine cellar area) their list is not just limited to wines; cocktails and beers are also available. We grabbed the 2009 BONE TREE HILL CABERNET MERLOT and the 2009 SOL DE MAYO MALBEC ARG ENTINA - both were easy drinking and went perfectly well with their menu.

The dinner started off with two share plates - the Spanish Tasting Board and the French Tasting Board. I didn't have the opportunity to try the French Tasting Board, but I was a little disappointed with the Spainsh tasting plate. I've had better. But the olives, roasted almonds and the cheese was fantastic and the bread was beautiful.

The Spanish Tasting Board

 

The French Tasting Board

The mains, however were beautiful. Our group ended up picking a few different dishes from the menu. 

There was the Coq Au Vin Pie - which was so hearty and beautifully flavoured. The slow cooked chicken coq au vin was tender, it was well mixed with bacon and the red wine sauce was just the right touch. All this was served on top of a nice layer of mash potatoe. It was the perfect meal for a cold winter's night. Highly recommended.

  Coq Au Vin Pie

Then there was the fish of the day - barrumundi - it was cooked to perfection, cripsy skin juicy fish. In a fantastic sauce.

Fish of the Day

One of the girls had the steak burger - something light and easy. But it was still a massive serving and looked and smelt fantastic. The chips that came with it was from sliced pieces of potatoes and was nice, cripsy and well salted, and the aioli that came with it was one of the better homemade aioli I've had.

The Steak Burger

The last dish and the one that I ended up getting was probably the most disappointing. I had one of their specials the Duck - cooked in several different ways. It was a bit dry in some areas and just seemed lacking compared to the flavours of their fish and the pie.

Duck Special

After such a disappointing main, I had a fantastic dessert. I had the Nutmeg and Quince Custard Tart with spiced pear compote and it was just so divine. The perfectly baked crisp tart shell enhanced by the silky custard filling. This was made even more enjoyable by eating it with the spiced pear compote.

Nutmeg and Quince Custard Tart with Spiced Pear Compote

The Double Chocolate Jaffa Pudding with vanilla bean icecream

Mixed Berry Cobbler with maple pecan ice cream

with anglaise

The mixed berry cobbler was beautifully warm and hearty dessert with beautiful homemade pecan ice cream.

The Beaufort street Merchant has shown why it is so popular with the locals and foodies alike. The quality of their food is high, well executed, flavours wholesome and the dining experience was wonderful with great ambience and loving that haphazard, rustic, found-objects & Asian timber carvings interior. I can't wait to try it again and to come one day for breakfast!