Review - Guillaume - Eastern Suburbs

My partner took me to Guillaume as he knows I love a great degustation. We had our degustation with matching mixed wines. What an outstanding experience!

The menu

“These are a few of my favourite things” would have to be the theme song. The following ingredients (across various dishes) jumped out to me as I perused the menu: Scampi, Truffle, Marron, and Patagonian Toothfish (anyone who’s followed my updates knows I’ve been ogling and coveting this lately).

Across the 8 courses, the Marron was my favourite followed by the Toothfish.

Nothing to complain about at all across any of the dishes – just three things I thought odd. The first being a sandwich as the amuse bouche. The second being the risotto was served with a side of mashed potato. The third was our booking was for 6pm and we were told to be out by 7.45pm. Really? 8 courses in  1hr 3/4??? We put time limits on couples spending $600???

Wine

Selecting the mixed option (versus the sommelier choice) did not sell us short. All wines complimented the dishes superbly.

Modifications

They couldn’t be more accommodating, it went as far as “I tell you what I feel like for dessert … “et voila my wish became reality. Love, love, love.

Staff

The staff are world class. They were flawless in terms of service and always available. Also, their passion for food came through every time a course was introduced. We found them conversational, down to earth and genuine – but I’m sure if other diners wanted to roll their “r’s” they could easily keep up.

Décor

Old school minimalist. Minimal décor, minimal noise, minimal colour. 

Nice Touch

They are currently gifting brioche and jam for your breakfast.

Pictures

Sorry – none of the food, just the menu ... which I later discovered is online anyway! Every time I pondered a snap I heard my mother's and late grandmother's voices in my head insisting I act more elite. As this was not the first time I’ve received this request, I put my phone back down on the table and it’s many layers of white tablecloths.

Top 3

My Sydney degustation top 3 are now (in no particular order) Café Pacifico, Pendelino and Guillaume.

Recipe - Watermelon and Tomato Salad

4 great ingredients. 1 awesome flavour. Serve as a side dish with nearly everything! Cherry tomatoes (halved) + watermelon (diced) + feta + fresh mint.

Recipe - Marinated Grilled Prawns

Recipe by Diane Kochilas http://www.dianekochilas.com/recipe-of-the-day-ouzo-marinated-grilled-shrimp/

Ingredients

·       1 large tomato, peeled and seeded

·       1 cup extra virgin Greek olive oil

·       4 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, minced

·       2 garlic cloves, minced

·       Grated zest of 1 lemon

·       2 tbsp. ouzo (I substituted with Sambuca)

·       2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

·       Pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)

·       2 lbs. raw medium shrimp, deveined and shelled

·       Pita bread, sliced and grilled, for serving

Diane’s Instructions

·       Coarsely chop the tomato and puree in a food processor. Alternatively, grate the unpeeled tomato along the coarse side of an upright hand grater, to get the same affect. Combine the tomato with the olive oil, basil, garlic, lemon zest, ouzo, and vinegar. Mix in the cayenne, to taste.

·       Toss the shrimp in the marinade and let stand, covered and refrigerated, for one hour.

·       Preheat the grill or barbecue.

·       Divide the shrimp evenly among six or eight skewers. If using wooden skewers, soak them first in water to prevent them from burning.

·       Grill the shrimp for 3-5 minutes, turning to cook on both sides. When the shrimp are bright pink, remove and serve.

My tweak

·       I love getting totally hands on when it comes to my prawn eating – as my prawns were small I left the shells on then cooked them in a baking tray on the bbq

Recipe - Silvia Colloca's Apricot and olive oil cake (torta all’olio e albicocche)

LOVED this delicious Apricot and olive oil cake (torta all’olio e albicocche) - a recipe by the beautiful Silvia Colloca. I used nectarines due to season therefore also switched the rind over to orange - it was just delicious!!!

For full recipe – even terrific video go to http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/apricot-and-olive-oil-cake-torta-all-olio-e-albicocche?cid=23255

Ingredients

·       170 g caster sugar

·       230 ml milk

·       finely grated zest of 1 lemon

·       1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

·       100 ml extra virgin olive oil

·       3 tsp mistrà or sambuca (optional; see Note)

·       2 eggs, lightly beaten

·       1⅓ cups (200 g) self-raising flour  

·       ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

·       7–8 apricots, cut in half

·       flaked almonds, for sprinkling

·       fresh ricotta and honey, to serve (optional)

Instructions

·       Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease and flour a 21 cm square or 27 cm x 21 cm rectangular cake tin (or line it with baking paper).

·       Place the sugar, milk and lemon zest in a medium saucepan over low heat and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let the milk come to the boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla seeds, olive oil and liqueur (if using), then let the mixture cool for 5–10 minutes.

·       Add the beaten egg, flour and bicarbonate of soda and whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and arrange the apricot halves on top any way you like. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake for 30–35 minutes or until pale golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before cutting. Serve just as it is or with honey-drizzled ricotta.

Note

·       For an alcohol-free version, replace the liqueur with milk.

·       If using very small apricots, layer quarters on top of each other so that they won't completely sink into the batter as it cooks.

This recipe is from Made in Italy with Silvia Colloca on SBS ONE.