Cafe Sopra by Fratelli Fresh , Walsh Bay

Fratelli Fresh Grocery Section  ; Cafe Sopra Blackboard Menu

After a non-fruitful shopping trip to Eveleigh Artisan Market on a Sunday afternoon, we decided to try out Cafe Sopra's new branch in Walsh Bay for a late lunch.
It's located opposite Sydney Dance Company Theatres so I would expect the cafe to be packed when there is a performance on :)

There is a small section of Fratelli Fresh where you can get imported products and local fresh produces.
How wrong was I that I thought we have beat the lunch time crowd, it was packed when we got there and had to wait for a table. Which is thankfully not too long at all (I've heard stories of long wait at the Waterloo cafe).
Reading the menu board can be quite dizzying *__* Even worse when you are trying to read it from across the room as I was waiting for our table @_@.
So many things are cramped into the blackboard !!
The waiter/waitress would occasionally go over and cross off the dish that has sold out for the day.

All of them sounded delicious and it took us a while to decide what to order...eeny, meeny, miny, mo....

House Wine

I'm not sure how much house wines usually cost, but Cafe Sopra's house wine is only $3.50 a glass !
Which I think is really cheap !
My two dining companions who had them said that it's a tad watery, but it's still okay.
Can't expect much for that price I suppose ?

Braised Beef Cheer Risotto

I know...it doesn't exactly look appetizing to the eye. It's a different story altogether when you put a spoonful into your mouth.
Even for someone who doesn't like risotto this is one amazing dish ! The risotto is cooked together with the braised cheeks and the rich beef broth.
It's packed full with warm flavours and it's just one of those comfort foods that's perfect for cold winter days like now.

Buccatini alla Carbonara

The buccatini is like a chunky spaghetti, "meaty" and cooked al dente. I was expecting a dish of pasta with white creamy sauce , but what we have is pasta with crisp bacon pieces resting on a small pool of raw egg yolk sauce.
You mix the hot pasta with the egg sauce and voila ! Delicious pasta ready to be tucked in !
I took a bite, and it was indeed delicious ! What I was expecting to be a heavy dish turns out to be quite light.

Shaved Brussel Sprout with Cavolo Nero, Poached Eggs, Crisp Pancetta

I opted for a lighter meal as I had a heavy breakfast earlier. I am very happy with my choice, it is super fresh ! The shaved brussel sprouts are sweet and so were the baby cavolo nero. The oyster mushrooms and crisp pancetta adds more textures to this dish.
And last but not least....the perfectly poached eggs !

Soft yolks - perfect !

It is definitely a lighter and healthier option and you still feel satisfied and guilt free at the end.

Afternoon Tea Coffee Time

By the time we finish our lunch, it's already time for some afternoon sugar rush.
To be honest, we have been eyeing the dessert menu since we sat down hehehehe ^_*
As the weather outside takes a drastic turn from warm sunny day to strong wind and heavy rain, it is a good excuse to stay in don't you think ?

Buttermilk Pudding with Fresh Berries

This is really good ! The texture is creamy like pannacota, but the buttermilk has a slight tang to it and lifts up the flavour. It is surprisingly, a refreshing dessert especially when served with fresh berries and coulis around it.
If you see this on the menu, do try it ^_^

Spiced Blood Plums, Rhubarb & Custard

I had a taste of this, and yep, confirmed once again, I don't like rhubarb :P
If you are fan of rhubarb & plum , like my friend, then you will enjoy this dish as she polished the plate clean ^_^

Eton Mess

I was not expecting to get an Eton Mess of this size 0_o
It was a mountain of what I know will be a sugar overload ! If it's a mess now, it's a wreck by the time I tucked into it LOL
Eton mess is a dessert made with crushed meringue, fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberries. I can see vanilla bean specks in the cream as well.  The cream is (thankfully!) not sweet and the freshness of the strawberries help to cut back the sweetness, just a little as it is still very sweet >_<
The portion is very generous and there is no way I could finish this on my own. Half-way through, I was flicking the meringue pieces off and trying to scrape the cream and strawberries off it.

As we are tucking into our desserts, there is waft of something good coming from the kitchen ( we were seated next to the kitchen) and spotted a pot of Macaroni & Cheese on the pass !!
It looked so damn good , big fat macaroni baked in three cheeses sauce - I WILL ORDER IT NEXT TIME !!

Cafe Sopra is perfect for a laid back lunch or just catch up time with some friends :)
Like the other Cafe Sopra locations in Waterloo and Potts Point, they do not take bookings.
First come first seated rules applies, so get here early on weekends !

Restaurant Arras, Walsh Bay

Restaurant Arras is located in the quiet streets of Walsh Bay area, across the Sydney Dance Company.
The owner & chef, Adam Humprey has worked in some of Michelin starred restaurants in England and hence the menu is influence by British cuisine & flavours.

When I saw where we are being seated, all my fears prior to arriving here has come true T__T
Our table is at the corner where there is very minimal lighting available. So please excuse the upcoming out of focus pictures.

Crisps to nibble on

Once we are seated, the waitress brought over this pretty bowl of crisps. I'm not exactly sure what flavours were there, but I remembered tasting a sugary crisp and a sesame crisp.
They are great to nibble on while we peruse the menu.

Restaurant Arras menu page

We decided to go for the degustation menu, as it is the best way to have a taste on what the chef has to offer.

Cold butter on a rock slab & fresh sourdough rolls.

The waitress returns with a basket of a huge variety of their freshly baked sourdough rolls. There were at least 8 different types and it was hard to choose !
My cousin got the Happy Goblin ( we probably got it wrong since it sounds real dodgy!) and I chose the Quinoa roll.

Amouse Bouche - Red Mullet Tagine 

The fish is cooked just right and the sauce is to die for. It's fragrant, spicy and tangy at the same time.
We polished off the plate clean, it was that good !

The Raw & The Cooked 

As the waitress described it, it's an elegant salad of a selection of vegetables. Indeed it is an elegant salad.
This has to be the pretties plate of vegetables I've ever seen.
I love this dish, it is plain but the way it is cooked or uncooked brings out the best of their flavour, crisp and fresh.

One more shot of the pretty plate, from top

Smoked, Roasted & Dressed

This dish consist of Smoked Sardines, Roasted Scallop and I don't remember what was the dressing :P
The green balls are rounds of cucumber, of which then a question was raised...what do they do with the rest of the cucumber ? LOL
The roasted scallop was cooked perfectly, however I found that the sardines is way too fishy for me. I suppose can't do much about it, since it is a very oily fish.

Quinoa Kedgeree

Kedgeree is usually consumed as a breakfast dish in the UK during Victorian era. Traditionally it is made of rice, fish, egg, Indian spices and butter or cream.
Restaurant Arras has transformed this simple dish into something more.
Our version tonight consist of smoked eel, quail egg and quinoa instead of rice. The Indian spices are subtle and does not over power the smokey flavour from the eel.
I like this dish although it is a tad salty.

Birds of A Feather

I think this was the least favourite dish of the night for me. Birds of A Feather is a 3 layered chicken terrine, with sweet pumpkin puree and mead soaked raisin.
I can taste some cinnamon in the puree which reminds me of pumpkin pie, the combination of this plate is just not for me unfortunately :)

St.Clements Duck 

Served with foie gras souffle and carrot mash. Don't quite remember what was the duck resting on nor the white cubes on the far left side :P
The duck was tender and medium rare, delicious !

Slow Cooked Lamb, Lavender & Honey Sweetbreads

I actually asked for this course to be swapped with something else, because I usually don't eat lamb as I found the smell is too strong for me.
The maître d' asked the chef whether I could swap it with something else, she came back and offered squab in place of the lamb. 
However, she mentioned that the chef is a bit hesitant as it could alter the full experience of the degustation. I trust the chef, so I just pray that the lamb is not "lamby".


Thankfully the lamb has no smell at all *phew*
It was perfectly cooked and the lavender & honey sweetbreads are delicious !
I love sweetbreads, although it is best not to know what it is for the squeamish people out there :P

Pre-Dessert - Raspberry Cheesecake

The 2 cubes of cheesecake are served with some granny smith apples cubes and raspberry sorbet, and there are a couple chunks of cheesecake base crumbs. 
It's refreshing after the rich dishes we've had earlier.

An Adolescent Breakfast

Our eyes lights up when it was placed in front of us. We are still kids after all  \^o^/
It's supposed to bring you back to your childhood breakfast memories, so let's begin !
The chocolate bar has 3 layers, caramel top, a chocolate aero bar in the middle and a brownie base (lucky you who has ever had chocolate bar as brekkie !). Next in the cup is your Milk & Cereal - fresh milk sorbet and cereal crumbles, loved this one..mmm...
Last but not least...is Creme Chantilly in the toothpaste tube resting on a bed of peanut butter cereal crunch. Nothing beats peanut butter & cream , yummo !!


Since we are left with no instruction on how to apply the tube of cream, it's time to be creative.
We tried drizzling it on top of the caramel, lifting the caramel top and squiggle the cream on top of the aero bar, straight onto the peanut butter cereal or even straight into the mouth  LOL

Creative time with creme chantilly tube.

Then it's the moment I've been waiting for....*drum roll....*
The Arras Petit Four Slab !!! 

Restaurant Arras Petit Four Slab 

So many to choose from, and by the time the waitress finish explaining, I already forgot what they were.
We can choose as much as we want from the slab, very dangerous....

Peppermint Tea & Petit Four Selection

Let's see what we have selected here , from the top - Unknown Truffle, Gingerbread Truffle, Raspberry Marshmallow, Honeycomb, Raspberry & Creme Truffle, Grapefruit Pate de Fruit and Ginger Truffle.


Overall, the dishes throughout the night does show the flavours of England, a well mix of Indian and classic English flavours. 


The service on the night was sort of a mix, we have the friendly maître d' and a waiter, and on the other hand we have a waitress that just doesn't smile and doesn't really explain much when she put down dishes in front of us. 
Thankfully some of the dishes were served by the friendly waiter so we know what we are eating, sometimes...