We're now mid-way through the trip and Day 5 is the main event -- Jacquie's birthday!
Click here if you missed Sydney, Days 1 and 2
Click here if you missed Sydney, Days 3 and 4
Day 5 : Wednesday
Jacquie chose to have her birthday celebration at her favorite place on Earth, a restaurant called Bathers' Pavilion on Balmoral Beach. As soon as we arrived, I understood why. The beautifully appointed restaurant overlooks one of Sydney's many striking beaches, and the food was out of this world. The afternoon was an unforgettable array of great friends, food and tributes to Ms. Jacquie. We also had the pleasure of meeting Bathers' Pavilion's owner and executive chef, Serge Dansereau.
Here's the birthday menu:
Tuna Sashimi with Bribie Island soft shell crab tempura ~ celeriac and chive salad, wasabi flying fish roe
or
Assiette de canard ~ Hoisin breast, rilletes cannelloni, foie gras custard
or
Moreton Bay bug tail ~ fennel and ruby grapefruit salad, shellfish butter
* * *
Cone Bay barramundi with pancetta ~ horseradish and cauliflower cream, basil oil
or
Farmed Tasmanian Arctic Charr ~ scallop, ginger and pork crepe, coriander pesto
or
Twice cooked Wagyu beef cheek ~ portobellow mushroom with brioche and white anchovy
* * *
Petit Fours
Birthday Cake (an incredible chocolate hazelnut treat)
I chose the tuna appetizer and barramundi main. Jacquie had put the barramundi on the menu in part because I'd enjoyed that fish so much at South food + wine bar, Luke Mangan's Aussie/Kiwi restaurant in San Francisco. Apparently friendly competition among chefs Down Under is heating up, and when I tasted Serge's barramundi, I understood why!
Below are some photos that capture a few of the memories of the day. The food tasted even better than it looked.
Top to bottom: Me with the birthday girl, my place setting, the amuse, the tuna and crab app, the duck app, the barramundi main, the beef main, the Arctic charr main, petit fours, birthday cake, me with Chef Serge.
Wiped the drool off your chin yet? Great. Let's keep going... Believe it or not we kept eating! After that four hour lunch, we had a lovely dinner with Jacquie's family at her sister and brother-in-law's home in Killara.
Day 6 : Thursday
We spent Thursday morning touring the Northern beaches. No Hugh Jackman sightings. (Sigh.) I did, however, have ... one of the best burgers of my entire life (do I say that a lot, darlings?) at Blue Water Cafe in Manly. Traditional Aussie-style, with beets, cheese and grilled onions -- on a fresh, squishy bun. If restaurants in the States offered something similar, they'd make a killing. (Would have to be at the nicer places, of course - don't think this would appeal to the fast food nation.) My only criticism would be the fries -- typical of those I found most places in Sydney, they were not quite thin, not quite thick -- and I like them thin.
After a bit of shopping in Mosman in the afternoon, that evening we met up for drinks with some of Jacquie's friends at Bondi Icebergs, a mod lounge housed in the clubhouse for Sydney's version of the Polar Bear Club (they'll swim no matter how cold it is). Sporting my new red dress from Country Road and perched in the retro wicker swing chair, I enjoyed spending time with Jacquie's friends -- especially Melinda, a nice, funny version of Posh Spice who actually knows how to smile!
Stay tuned for Days 7 and 8, including Chef Neil Perry's Rockpool -- a contender looking to oust the incumbent, Bathers' Pavilion, for best meal of the trip!
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