Bathers' Pavilion, Balmoral

In a city seemingly obsessed with restaurant openings and closings, it can be a welcome change to revisit the classic stayers. Bathers' Pavilion still has one hat, boasts one of the prettiest beachfront views, and head chef and owner Serge Dansereau can regularly be found on the pass.

The modern Australian menu includes touches of French influence (a nod to Dansereau's French Canadian background) as well as south east Asian ingredients. Diners can choose between two or three courses ($90 and $110 respectively) or take in a full degustation (5 courses for $130 or 7 courses for $150). A separate vegetarian page lists six options.


Amuse bouche: Daikon roll with pork, crisp potato and salmon roe

The dining room takes full advantage of the view, with tables positioned perpendicular to the beach. Glass bifold doors afford diners a tantalising backdrop of oceanic blues. Seating is noticeably roomy, with a luxe beach house feel.

As the summer sun lowers toward the horizon, our dinner party of three votes for a la carte. A complimentary amuse bouche arrives swiftly, a delicate roll of pork wrapped up in a thin sheet of daikon. Perched on top are four glistening pearls of salmon roe. A tumble of crisp potato shreds on the side provide an element of crunch.


Appetiser: Yellowfin tuna tartare 
with ponzu and avocado, rice paper and sesame

We share everything, of course, and when we tell staff they wordlessly provide extra dining plates as well as serving utensils for each course.

Yellowfin tuna tartare is a light and refreshing way to start. A fine dice of yellowfin tuna are springy with freshness, contrasted with a ponzu and avocado puree and bubbled sheets of deep fried rice paper.


Appetiser: Galantine of quail 
with pickled nameko mushroom, quail egg and confit leg and garlic puree

Galantine of quail is an impressive amount of expertise of a plate, running from the pressed quail to the perfectly poached quail egg to the tender shreds of confit quail leg. Pickled nameko mushrooms are a rare treat, a Japanese mushroom not readily found in Australia.


Appetiser: Seared deep sea scallops
scallop mousse with nori, fennel, salmon and shellfish sauce

The shellfish sauce beneath the seared deep sea scallops remind me of breaking waves at the beach. The sea theme continues with nori sheets wrapped around scallop mousse, coupled with briny pearls of salmon roe.


Main: Poached blue eye trevalla 
with blue swimmer crab, seared baby cos, sea vegetables and avruga caviar sauce

Our poached blue eye trevalla is hidden beneath a sheet of compressed blue swimmer crab mousse, draped across the top like a modesty blanket.


Poached blue eye trevalla beneath the blue swimmer crab mousse

We pull back the covers to find an expertly poached fish fillet, flaking apart easily. The subtle sweetness of blue swimmer crab is a little lost in its transformation to sheet form but I'm happily distracted with the shimmering hunks of jelly that are intensely flavoured with crustacean. There's a lot to explore on this dish, including seared baby cos leaves, the salty hit of sea bananas and a chase for the last remaining pearls of avrugar caviar around the plate.


Main: Lamb loin
with beer braised lamb shoulder, zucchini, potato gnocchi and lemon

Lamb loin is the ideal shade of pink, two islands of perfection that probably didn't need the fancy panfried columns of potato gnocchi or the dabs of sweet lemon jam. But we couldn't get enough of the seared baby zucchini or the meltingly tender beer braised lamb shoulder.


Pouring jus over the roast beef tenderloin

Table side pouring of jus over the roast beef tenderloin offers welcome theatrics although I do wish the waiter had left that whole jug on the table. The sticky salty silky sweetness is so brilliantly executed, it's drinkable.


Main: Roast beef tenderloin
with asparagus and pickled onion, braised oxtail and smoked onion puree

It's a fitting flourish to the roast beef tenderloin. That should be tender with a capital T. Carving each slice is like sinking a knife into butter. The braised oxtail is a sigh of rich unctuousness.


Bathers' wedges $12.50

We order the wedges because crunchy potatoes cannot be resisted. It's piping hot deep-fried carb heaven.


Bathers' pomme puree $12.50

And when presented with a choice of potato dishes, you may as well order both. The pomme puree is a Paris mash of dollopable deliciousness, a thick and luscious melange of butter and potato that is ridiculously good.

Savour each spoonful slowly, and then maniacally dip those wedges in there like nobody's watching. Nobody saw me, right?


Dessert: Ginger and rum baba
with mango and pineapple, tropical fruit sorbet and sesame tuile

Desserts include five choices plus a cheese plate option. We pass on the dark chocolate mousse, the raspberry and fromage blanc gateau and the passionfruit mousse in favour of the ginger and rum baba.

We don't detect much ginger or rum in the rum babas but there's a definite tropical theme with fresh mango and pineapple, fruit sorbet and sesame tuiles.


Dessert: Coconut meringue with grapefruit
guava sorbet, Prosecco jelly, lime curd and olive oil dressing

Coconut meringue is the definite showstopper though, an elegant meringue orb that we gleefully smash to smithereens. Inside we find a soft muddle of Prosecco jelly and guava sorbet. Coupled with the pink grapepfruit arils and lime curd, it makes for a well- balanced palate-cleansing end to our meal.

We can only manage two desserts after our carb blowout, and even then we need a post-dinner stroll for digestion. A walk along the promenade while the moon shimmers over the water couldn't be more Sydney.




Bathers' Pavilion
4 The Esplanade, Balmoral
Tel: +61 (02) 9969 5050

Opening hours
Lunch Monday to Sunday from 12pm
Dinner Monday to Sunday from 6.30pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Balmoral - Bathers' Pavilion Cafe 
Balmoral - Bathers' Pavilion Restaurant (2007)
Cammeray - Toriciya

Tipo 00, Melbourne

Seven different housemade pastas and two risottos make up the standard menu at Tipo 00. If carbs are your weakness, this bustling little pasta bar could well be your kryptonite. We're talking tortelloni with king brown mushrooms, risotto with Moreton Bay bugs, seashell pasta with nettle pesto and pappardelle with braised wagyu. Just. Take. My. Money.


Complimentary housemade ricotta with focaccia

The Italian hospitality at Tipo 00 starts as soon as you sit down. A complimentary serve of housemade ricotta and rosemary focaccia is simple but nourishing, and the perfect start to lunch.

It's 12.05pm on a Wednesday lunchtime and this intimate 30-seater is already half-full. By 12.20pm, every seat is taken, even the eight counter stools at the marble-topped bar.


Lingua $15
Grilled ox tongue with balsamic vinegar and pink peppercorns

Tipo 00 might be a pasta bar but there's a good selection of entrees too. We kick things off with a serve of grilled ox tongue, much prettier in presentation than I'd ever imagined. It's a skewer of grilled succulence, unravelling itself to reveal paper thin shavings of ox tongue. A squiggle of balsamic vinegar glaze and a handful of crushed pink peppercorn add sweetness and bite.


Fegato $16
Pan-fried calves liver and balsamic sauce

We'd been tossing up between the grilled calamari and the pan-fried calves liver but the waiter is firm in his advice. "Get the liver". We're glad we do.

All too often liver gets a bad rap, but that's because few know how to cook the darned things. Here it's transformed into some glorious melt-in-the-mouth lusciousness that reaffirms how offal can offer so much joy. The liver is cooked to the right side of pink, drenched in a sticky balsamic and onion sauce. It's just the thing for soaking up with the accompanying crispy polenta chips.


Gnocchi di patate $28
Braised duck, porcini mushroom and pecorino pepato

Gnocchi is another one of those dangerous dishes in the wrong hands, too often resembling rubber bullets. Here it's just as your Italian nonna intended - light and fluffy clouds of love. A generous amount of braised duck and a mountain of pecorino shavings will keep you going until dinner.


Tagliolini al nero $27
Squid ink tagliolini with squid and bottarga

But I'm all about the squid ink tagliolini, jet black strands of al dente pasta, tossed through with wafer thin slices of tender squid. The broth in the bottom of the bowl is satisfyingly briny with an umami hit. Finely grated bottarga amplifies the taste of the sea, and you know I saved those precious pearls of salmon roe, slowly bursting each orb on my tongue, one by one.

Tipo 00 had long been on my Melbourne list so I'm glad I finally managed to get there on a recent fleeting visit. Expect a terrific Italian feed in relaxed surrounds with friendly staff. Do make a booking (you'll have to call or email them) to avoid the heartache of seeing a queue out the door.






Tipo 00
361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9942 3946

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11.30am-10pm
Closed public holidays


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Melbourne - Meatmaiden
Melbourne - 7 of Melbourne's Best Cafes
Melbourne - 8bit burgers, Footscray

Yang Tz River, Eastwood

If you’ve ever watched a Korean drama – and if you haven’t, you should – there would have been at least one scene featuring black bean noodles. In South Korea, jajangmyeon is as ubiquitous as pizza – cheap, fast, home-delivered and hugely popular with anyone too lazy to cook. The dish has its roots in the Shandong dish zhajiangmian, but now it’s a Korean Chinese classic made with thick ropes of wheat noodles sauced up with sweetened black bean paste, chunks of pork and loads of onion. Its near-black appearance also makes it a nationwide favourite on Black Day, when singles meet up to commiserate on April 14 each year.


Ganjjajang black bean noodles $15

But if you’re not toasting to dinner for one you can try jajangmyeon and other Korean Chinese food at Yang Tz River in Eastwood (also spelled Yangtze on the door), one of the few restaurants in Sydney focussing on the fusion cuisine that dates back to the late 1800s. We bet most people walk straight past the entrance – there are two and both feature nondescript staircases leading up from the street. Inside the dated dining room you’ll find the place filled with homesick Koreans getting their jajangmyeon fix, which is a very good sign.


Ganjjajang black bean noodles ready to mix

Jajangmyeon is good, but for maximum credibility, upgrade to the fancier ganjjajang ($15) and the kitchen will panfry a load of diced vegetables into a thicker black bean sauce. Just like jajangmeyon, the sauce and the noodles arrive separately so you can mix them together in ratios that please you.


Tossing together the ganjjajang black bean noodles 

Ganjjajang black bean noodles ready to eat

Traditional accompaniments to jajangmyeon and ganjjajang are kimchi, slices of yellow pickled daikon and raw onion that you dip in black bean sauce. Eat them in between mouthfuls of the oily noodles.


Yang jang pi seafood and vegetable noodles $16

Like throwing your food around? Order the yang jang pi ($16) and you can mess up a neatly arranged rainbow of prawns, squid, mussels, jellyfish, octopus, vegetables and stir-fried noodles into one big glorious muddle. Then you need to add as much sinus-clearing mustard sauce as you can handle.


Tossing together the seafood, vegetables and noodles with mustard sauce


Yang jang pi seafood and vegetable noodles


Ggan poong gi sweet and spicy Korean fried chicken $26

Sure you could cave into ordering lemon chicken, chop suey or shredded beef, but if you do you’ll be missing out on what every other family in the joint knows, which is that you should order the ggan poong gi ($26). The reward is a jumble of deep fried chicken fillets drenched in a sweet and sticky spicy sauce.






Yang Tz River
22 Railway Parade, Eastwood, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9874 6557

Open daily 12pm-9pm


This article appeared in the December 2016 issue of Time Out Sydney. Read online here or read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews.

Queen Chow by Merivale at Queens Hotel, Enmore

If you haven't tried stir-fried milk, you need to rectify this. Immediately. It's one of the highlights at the newly opened Queen Chow, finally flinging open its doors in December after months of delays. But you know what? The wait has been worth it. There's been some serious investment in the concept, fit-out and menu by the Merivale group, resulting in a quirky mash-up of suburban hotel bar meets Hong Kong street food headed by executive chefs Patrick Friesen and Chris Hogarth, both ex-Papi Chulo.


Ground floor bar at Queen Chow

Merivale look to be rebranding Enmore's Queen Victoria Hotel as Queens Hotel but I reckon locals will always call it the Queen Vic. The ground floor has been overhauled from RSL-style bistro to an old-fashioned pub. The small dining tables at the back score a view of all the action in the kitchen.


Upstairs dining area

Upstairs the changes are even more dramatic, with a moody cocktail bar area called The Smelly Goat. The covered outdoor dining area is immediately worth seeking, bathed in natural light but cleverly sheltered from any wind or rain.


Queen Chow steamed dim sum platter $32

Housemade dumplings headline the Hong Kong-themed menu at lunchtime. Dim sum master Eric Koh previously worked his dumpling magic with Merivale at Mr Wong before being poached by Tim Ho Wan Australia. He then returned to the Merivale fold with dim sum pop-up Work in Progress before joining the Queen Chow crew.


Wild mushroom dumpling

Dumplings may be a dime a dozen in Sydney but there's a noticeable level of finesse in the dumplings by Koh. The skins are thin and just the right level of stickiness, steamed so the dumplings are still plump and juicy without feeling soggy or waterlogged.

You can order dumplings individually, but the easiest way to try several at once is to order the steamed dim sum platter. The dumplings vary by day - today we score the scallop and prawn, jade seafood, wild mushroom and crystal pumpkin.

The scallop and prawn dumpling is adorned with a generous splodge of tobiko flying fish roe and the jade seafood dumpling skin is tinted a pretty shade of green by using spinach. The crystal pumpkin is expectedly sweet, with an impressive translucency to the tapioca and wheat starch skins. My surprise favourite of the lot is the wild mushroom, yielding an intense umami hit.


Stir fried milk, prawns, prawn roe, tobiko and fried bread $24

Equally satisfying is the stir fried milk. This Hong Kong classic involves a mixture of egg whites, milk and corn starch carefully heated until the mixture barely sets. Add in sweet chunks of prawn and an avalanche of tobiko and relish the textural contrast against the wobbly clouds of milky egg white.

We do find the you tiao deep fried bread sticks a little on the dense and chewy side, but expect these to improve as the kitchen finds its feet.


Hokkien noodles, Sichuan pork slices, black fungi and garlic stems $24

There's no mention of chilli against the Hokkien noodle dish but be warned, this one packs a punch. It's a satisfying, and sambal-heavy tangle of chewy Hokkien noodles tossed with tender pork slices, crunchy black fungus, crisp garlic stems and a smattering of sesame seeds.


Slightly fires the emperor of cuttlefish, macadamia and garlic chive $16

Winner of most poetic dish on the menu is the slightly fires the emperor, a textural crunchfest of garlic stems, young corn, cuttlefish, black fungus and macadamia nuts.


Chong Qing hot and numbing chicken wings $18

And if you're looking for maximum flavour, Chong Qing hot and numbing chicken wings deliver on its promise. There's a ridiculous amount of Sichuan pepper in here, coupled with dried red chillies that will wallop your tongue into submission. But you won't be able to stop eating that chicken, fried to an audible crisp and dancing with chilli and mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper.


Typhoon shelter mud crab market price - we paid $140 for 1kg

If you really want to splash out - and we're celebrating two birthdays so we do - go for broke and order the typhoon shelter mud crab. You'll be rewarded with enough deep fried garlic to ward off all of Transylvania. It's one big mess of garlic, chilli, black beans and soy.


Crab goodness inside the carapace

Go in with your fingers and lick, suck and scrape every last skerrick of crab meat that you can find. The best bits are in the carapace of course.


Coffee milk tea $15

Unlike most Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, dessert is not just a bowl of the housemade red bean soup. Coffee milk tea is a clever homage to the Hong Kong addiction to coffee and tea mixed together in the one drink. Yes, really.

Queen Chow's assembly of chocolate mud cake bites and caramel ice domes (infused with tea and then bruleed to the surface is caramelised) piled high with instant coffee mousse is far more pleasurable. Its combination of cream and coffee flavours is reminiscent of tiramisu. Tiny salted caramel balls and a shower of praline dust provide textural interest.


The forgotten koi fish in the frozen pond $15

The forgotten koi fish in the frozen pond is a story you'll have to ask your waiter about. Tastewise, it's just the kind of dessert you want in a Sydney summer, combining fresh coconut, mango and pink pomelo with lychee granita, mango ice cream and two beautifully shaped and shaded koi fish made from mango pudding. The purple frilly pieces are tosaka seaweed. They add a terrific savoury note.


Executive chef Patrick Friesen in the kitchen

And the best news of all? Queen Chow is open until 2am every night except Sunday. Win.



Queen Chow 
Queens Hotel (aka the Queen Victoria Hotel)
167 Enmore Road, Enmore, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9240 3000

Opening hours
Monday to Thursday 12pm-2am
Friday 12pm-3am
Saturday 10am-3am
Sunday 10am-10pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Fred's, Paddington
Mr Wong, Sydney
Papi Chulo, Manly