Rockpool Est. 1989

In conjunction with celebrating Josh’s graduation, his sister, Ange decided to treat all of us for dinner at Rockpool – thank you again!
I had super high expectations for Rockpool. Being 1 of the 4 three hatted restaurants in Sydney, you’d definitely do not want to expect anything less right? I’ve set my standards on the basis of the other 2 three hatted restaurant I have already had the pleasure of dining at – Sepia and Quay.

Not to mention that I have finally the time to write my thoughts of the night as I am going into my 3 week of clinical round in the hospital. I’ve decided to take the day off and we came here on a Thursday night (14th May). The atmosphere of Rockpool was very dim in lighting, kind of featuring sort of a smoky-esq and mysterious setting to the area. And seeing as I’ve only got a table lamp to work with, these are the best pictures I could come up with to showcase the amazing degustation we had that night.

First course – 

Chirazhi zushi of snapper, kingfish, bonito, squid and uni with cucumber jellies, avocado, kimchi

Oh man! How complex does this dish look? I can’t imagine the amount of technique that goes into slicing the different types of seafood to the companions that is the cucumber jellies, kimchi and chilli.
It was a very fresh start to the course.

Second course – 

Mud crab with silken toufu and fermented black vinegar

This really reminded me of one of my all time favourite comfort foods – hot and sour soup. The combination of flavours just tasted exactly like it. One of the other textures of this dish also reminded me of how shark’s fin soup tastes like. You can’t really see the toufu, but beneath all of that lies a bed of really soft toufu that just melts in your mouth.

Third course –

Prawn mousse in squid ink sauce

Getting into the hot dishes, this was a great start. The prawn mousse had the texture of toufu with actual bits of prawns in the centre. The chilli crumbs on the top added the crunchy texture to the dish and the squid ink sauce – despite giving us black coloured lips – tied all the creamy-ness together.

Fourth course – 

Duck heart with hazelnut sauce

I would have to say that this was my least favourite dish. Only because of the duck heart as I am not really one for spare parts. It’s probably a mental thing rather than a taste thing. HAH! But that hazelnut sauce was amazing! So nutty and so much depth of flavour. It was definitely what made me want to finish the whole dish.

Fifth course – 

Spanish mackerel with shiitake condiment

Haven’t I mentioned that I don’t eat fish at all? Definitely several times. However, this dish was a winner! Might have made me liked fish a little bit more! But only if it’s cooked as good as this. The condiments were definitely the highlight. It had a really good kick of spice to it which is always a win for me.

Sixth course – 

SA lamb with buckwheat risotto and mint sauce 

A hearty dish to end the savouries with an all time favourite Aussie meat – lamb. The lamb was very well cooked as it’s evident in the picture. The risotto was creamy and the rice still had a bit of a crunch to it. The mint sauce gave everything freshness amongst the heartiness of the dish.

Seventh course –

Ricotta parfait with strawberries, almond, grapefruit and coconut sorbet

Palate cleanser! So refreshing. It’s everything you’d want after such a hearty meal.

Eighth course – 

Vecherin of pandan custard with coconut parfait, jasmine sorbet, kaffir lime granita

Almost like follow-up to another palate cleanser. The flavours of the dessert was very spot on, there was no subtlety in any of the mentioned flavours by the waiter. I could just go back for this. The favourite element of this dessert was the pandan custard for me. It just reminded me of home, and there is nothing better than food that take you back to your home.

Petit fours – 

Date tart & white chocolate and green tea mini eclairs

The ever famous date tart from Rockpool has lived up to the hype from so many people I have heard before coming here. Chewy and dense crust with a thick curd and dates on the inside. The down side was that there was only one each.
The texture of the mini eclair was to my surprise, was very good! For something so small, you’d think the texture of an eclair pastry would be different than of a larger one.

The waiters and their services was friendly and very accommodating. Their presentation of the meals was insightful and a pleasure to listen to as we weren’t given any menus at all. It kept it wondering what was next each time and that was very exciting. The meal portions were so generous that we left with a food coma.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Rockpool Est. 1989
11 Bridge Street SYDNEY 
www.rockpool.com/rockpoolsydney

Hawker

Hawker, a sister branch of the famous Mamak restaurant down the road, recently opened while I was already back in Malaysia and Singapore for the summer holidays. So when I came back to Sydney, I wasn’t at all eager to try it as I’m still stuffed with the real deal from back home. I then decided to save this place for when I start to miss Malaysian food again. Which didn’t take long because here we are, craving Malaysian food not even after a month of leaving Malaysia. Going to Penang religiously every year since I was born just to eat and eat could mean that it’s fair to say that we’ll be good judges of the dishes here, also accounting for the two Malaysians and a Singaporean at the table, that we were fully equipped to judge how good (or bad) the food is going to be. Obviously taking into account that it’s based on overseas standards.

Wah Tan Hor ($11)

If you’re not familiar to this dish, it’s one of the underrated dishes of Malaysia really. It basically comes with fried kwey teow (rice noodles) which is the brown bits sticking out and a thick egg gravy with usually seafood and pork. One of the main comfort foods besides Nasi Lemak for me. Fair to say that this was the best dish of the night with everyone agreeing on that note. Also one of the best versions of a  Wah Tan Hor in Sydney after trying a couple. The flavour of the egg gravy was pretty spot on in our books and the prawns were so fresh and huge. This is a must go-to when dining here.

Char Koay Teow ($12)

No stranger to the food scene, this dish does not need an introduction at all. I’ve obviously asked mine to be extra spicy that’s why it’s appearing so red. The frying of the dish was really well done. I love a good deep fried Char Koay Teow. Again, the prawns was so fresh, succulent, and huge! Where ever they’re getting them from, keep it up! And this dish would also be not what it is if it wasn’t friend with pork fat, LARD! That’s where the intense flavour of CKT comes from! There’s no way you can have a great one without lard. The only main concern I had with this dish was that they used really thin rice noodles. Like the ones used for making Pad Thai. After enquiring as to why,  they told it us it was because after extensive research in Penang, to quote, the chefs found that in the olden days, they actually used to cook it with thin rice noodles! I was quite shocked to hear it so I had to ask my mum who’s from Penang Island. She’s yet to quote me on it so look out for my edit. But if you readers have any parents/grandparents who are from Penang, get asking! I need to know because I’ve only ever had/seen it with noodles like the ones used for the Wah Tan Hor. **Edit: Mum replied. Mum had me recall the actual size of the noodles we have in Penang which to me memory is actually thinner than ‘normal’ size rice noodles that they use in shops here. However, because they Sydney does not produce the actual size of the ‘real’ rice noodles used for CKT, the only option left I guess was the next best thing which is the ones use for Pad Thai noodles! There you have it.

Lor bak ($12)

Sad to say, this was not a hit at the table. We found the loh bak itself to be too skinny and lacking in pieces on the plate. For those not familiar with the dish, the loh bak is the darker brown meat, usually pork, rolls on the plate. The ratio is that it’s to be more loh bak than any other ingredients such as the prawn crackers. Although, the thick black egg sauce used for dipping was pretty good. But I probably would not go back to this dish. There is room for improvement, maybe add more loh baks.

KL Hokkien Mee ($12)

Ikan Bakar ($14)

This is one of my dad’s favourite dishes in KL, it’s more or less his go to for comfort food (if it isn’t my mum’s cooking that is). The sauce as mentioned by Nic, could be less watery. I agree as it should be able to be sort of a thicker, gooey-er consistency. But overall it was a great flavoursome dish! The prawns was definitely the star again! I have to go back and see if the prawns still remains as fresh as it seems. The chilli to accompany this with was really spot on in flavour and heat. You guys already know I hate fish, but sometimes, I do make the exception. Especially when it comes to ikan bakar. Literally translated to burnt fish. In the case of ikan bakar, stingrays are always used. Absolutely loved it, they were really spot on in cooking this dish. The stingray was not over done and the marinade was really well flavoured and spiced as well! It could very well be a dish to have on its own. The dipping sauce was really good as well, the tangy-ness and spiciness of it was really good. Will definitely come back for this. Highly recommended.

Goreng Durian ($8)  

Nic and I really LOVE durian, to see that they had the Musang King got us all tingly with butterflies in our stomach. There were a couple of tables who also ordered it and every time it was cut into, the room fills with the aroma of durian. Although, Josh didn’t like that too much. So when it was time for dessert, we couldn’t wait to cut into ours! Nic said before that she would be able to tell if the durian flesh was not even from the Musang King. Hawker is safe because it was! Would have loved to have more of it but the downside was that it was really pricey. As you can see that it’s $8 for that small one piece. Overall, the restaurant was priced well with majority of the dishes across the menu which gives it good value with sizing and flavours as well. The thing is with Malaysian food overseas, they’re just lacking that SOMETHING (be it the dirty water or something) but I hope Hawker will be on the right track to bringing true Malaysian flavours back into the Australian scene. With some improvements, I think they would be well on their way soon. Overall rating: 7/10 Hawker 345B-353 Sussex Street SYDNEY CBD http://www.hawker.com.au/