Tomislav, Darlinghurst

Tomislav @ Night

Tomislav has been on my to go list for a while now since I've read so much on this place on other food blogs, plus they do it the molecular gastronomy way.

Which is not surprising since Chef Tomislav Martinovic, prior to opening up his own restaurant had worked in well know dining establishment in Sydney such as ARIA & Guillaume at Bennelong, and also at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in the UK. Heston of course is renowned for mixing science with cooking, which is exactly what molecular gastronomy is all about.

Rice Crackers - Sea Salt Vinegar

We ordered a starter to share and of course it has to be the famed Rice Crackers. The crackers were wafer thin, almost transparent even. Despite it had been deep fried it wasn't greasy at all. 

There were 2 versions on the menu, one with sour cream & chives and the other sea salt vinegar. The waiter suggested we should try both but we decided not to since we still have 3 more course to go through :)

The sea salt vinegar comes in a spritzer bottle, very cute indeed ! It was suggested that we do two spritzing onto the rice cracker, more if you wish. 

As soon as the crackers touches your tongue, it just melts into nothingness ! I'd give it 10 / 10 for its fun factor and taste sensation !

Bread & Butter

The freshly baked bread is from Iggy's Bakery in Bronte and it is not just an ordinary butter served here in Tomislav. The butter has been churned in house and sprinkled with smoked onion powder. It was very light, creamy and I love the smoked onion powder that gives a touch of smoked aroma and sweetness to it.

Roast Red Gate Farm Quail

For entree, my cousin opted for the Red Gate Farm quail that has been roasted, sprinkled with chilli and coriander and served with a wedge of grilled pineapple. 

The quail was tender and sweet , it was delicious :) I wonder what type of coriander was used as it doesn't look like the usual ones. If you look closely at the herbs, they have this little round seed like thing at the tip of it. Some of them looked like a pair of antennas ! 

Clear Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

I am very very happy with my choice of entree, the clear heirloom tomato gazpacho. The cold gazpacho was poured slowly on the table and in no time the grilled scampi, cucumber , cherry tomatoes, and deep fried cube of brioche were drenched in the refreshing soup. The crumbs on the right side of the plate is frozen and then shaved foie gras ! I finally get to taste frozen shaved foie gras !! Sooo happyyy T___T

This was such a perfect entree for warm Spring night like it was, the extra virgin olive oil on the base of the plate added flavour and richness to the refreshing gazpacho. The tomatoes and cucumber definitely screamed "SPRING !" on the plate. The scampi was tender and sweet, perfect. 

The foie gras with its super high fat content naturally will not mix with the gazpacho (water phase), so it will remain as fine powder even when mixed. There you go, Science 101 on a plate of food :D

Braised Murray Valley Pork Belly

I wasn't too surprised when my cousin ordered the pork belly for her main.

She is quite predictable, if anything pork belly is on the menu, there is no doubt it shall be ordered !

The glimmering pork belly was served on a bed of finely shredded savoy cabbage, sprinkled with diced carrots and broad beans. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender, not quite sure what the broth was but I remembered it being slightly sweet. One downside was that the dish was too salty, luckily my cousin liked salty food so it didn't bother her too much.

Pasture Fed Angus Scotch Fillet

I knew I just had to order this dish after seeing it in many blog posts.

The presentation was amazing, the pre-sliced ( yay !) medium rare fillet arrived on a rectangular black slab with the roast bone marrow and a dollop of horseradish creme on the side. 

The fillet....oh my goodness...where should I start ?? It came pre-sliced, cooked to perfection, full of flavour and melts in your mouth. It was the best best piece of fillet I've ever had, EVER ! 

The fluffy horseradish creme complemented the already amazing beef. I was not to sure about having mango puree with beef, it sounded like an odd match. Surprisingly it worked quite well, the mango flavour was quite soft so it didn't overpower the beef's flavour, it instead added a touch of sweetness to the dish.

The bone marrow was equally delicious , it was like eating a savoury jelly, gelatinous and rich, yumm....:)

Queso Valdeon 

When it comes to desserts, it wasn't as easy to decide what to have. Everything on the menu looked so interesting and I want to have them all.

After much deliberating, the shortlist comes to the Queso Valdeon or the Apple Crumble. Luckily my cousin had her eyes on the first, so problem solved !

Queso Valdeon is a pickled tamarillo pie, served with clotted cream ice cream, a wedge of blue cheese and a drizzle of what tasted like pomegranate syrup to me.

The clotted cream arrived with a bed of diced....vegetable ?!? Celery to be exact ! As odd as it may sound (yet once again), it actually tasted really good with the clotted cream ice cream, believe me.

I was imagining an open faced pie to arrive, but instead we have a fold over pie with the pickled tamarillo in the centre. It was deep fried pie too, the outer layer was crispy and flaky, while the inside was almost like half cooked dough, interesting combination of texture.

I'd say this is more like a cheese plate where the taste is more towards the savoury end than sweet.

Apple Crumble

When the waiter approaches, I can hear *crackle*crackle* ... could it be.....popping candy ?!?!?

It was indeed and we both get very very excited ! 

Such a pretty interpretation of apple crumble, wedges of caramelized apples were lined on top of a bar of moist macadamia sponge, topped with a mixture of crumbles and the popping candy. Every crumble must be eaten with ice cream ( I think so at least) , a refreshing and not so sweet clotted cream ice cream was a perfect accompaniment. 

Popping Candy ! ; Skim Cappuccino

I think I've made the right choice of dessert, loved everything on the plate. I wonder if they make their own popping candy ? Because it actually tastes slightly like salted caramel....if it is..that is such an ingenious idea !

It was indeed an experience of the senses while eating this dessert,  it got visual (sight), it tasted delicious (taste), the smell of caramelized apple & crumble (smell), and the never ending *pop*pop*pop* till the very last spoonful (hearing).

So was it a molecular gastronomy experience dining at Tomislav ? Yes indeed ^_^

We had so much fun dining here and the food was superb. If I have to choose a dish to return here for, it would have to be the beef fillet & the bone marrow - I hope this stays on the menu forever.