Celebrate New Year's Eve @ Tomislav, Darlinghurst

Chef Tomislav Martinovic
(Image courtesy of Tomislav / The Mint Partners)

It's only 16 days to the new year and why not celebrate the last night of 2010 with a good food and view of the always amazing midnight fireworks at the Sydney Harbour Bridge ?

The lovely Emma from The Mint Partners has asked me to share with you guys the special dinner that is happening on the 31st December 2010 at Tomislav in Darlinghurst.

I've dined there on two occasions this year and I must say I was very impressed both times.

For this special dinner, Chef Tomislav has created an indulgent 7 course degustation menu with matching wines including his signature Vanilla Cheesecake with grilled strawberries, basil and rhubarb sorbet. 

If you are looking for a perfect occasion to dine at Tomislav, this will be the perfect time to experience his molecular gastronomy take on Modern Australian cuisine.

There will be 2 sittings for the night (price includes 7 course degustation and matching wines, any additional drinks will be on consumption) :

• 1st Seating @ 5.30pm - $225 per person 
• 2nd Seating @ 9.30pm (with view of the midnight New Year's Eve fireworks) - $350 per person

Here is what the Chef has put together for the special night :

Tomislav New Year's Eve 2010 - 7 Course Degustation Menu

1st Course

RICE CRACKERS - sea salt & vinegar

2nd Course

KANGAROO TARTARE - hazelnut dressing, fried bread

3rd Course

CLEAR HEIRLOOM TOMATO GAZPACHO - foie gras, cucumber, grilled Yamba prawn

4th Course

GRILLED COFFIN BAY OYSTERS - lime, honey, smoked potato cream

5th Course

GRILLED JUNEE LAMB CUTLETS - lamb rib, mint sauce, baby onions, crinkle cut chips, iceberg lettuce

6th Course

VANILLA CHEESECAKE - grilled strawberries, basil, rhubarb sorbet

7th Course

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BAR - coconut milk ice, chocolate sorbet

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BAR
Coconut Milk Ice, Chocolate Sorbet
(Image courtesy of Tomislav / The Mint Partners)

Has the menu caught your attention yet ? ^_*

The Kangaroo Tartare sounded really interesting, and the Clear Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho is heavenly, I still can remember how it tasted, the fried brioche and the freeze dried foie gras...mmm....

( PS: Let me know how they tasted if you are going, would love to hear about your dining experience :D)

If you are still looking for a place to spend the New Year's Eve with great food and view of the spectacular fireworks, why not give Tomislav a call ? ^_^

Remember, you can only get the fireworks view at the 2nd Seating later in the night, so be quick and secure a table !

Tomislav

2/13 Kirketon Road

Darlinghurst

Phone (02) 9356 4535

Email : info@tomislav.com.au

SIFF 2010 Just Desserts @ Tomislav, Darlinghurst

Just Desserts

After waiting for almost a month, the day has arrived for the special "Just Desserts" dinner at Tomislav as part of this year's Sydney International Food Festival.

This dinner is quite unique as out of the 6 courses, there were 4 desserts and only 2 savouries. Also, the degustation was served in reverse !

We start with something sweet and it was very cleverly formulated so that there was a smooth progression from sweet to savoury. 

"Just Desserts" is a special collaboration between Chef Tomislav Martinovic and Christopher The, the pastry chef and also owner of Newtown's Black Star Pastry.

I've read that this would be the first time Chef The is back working in a professional kitchen since he opened Black Star Pastry. Before that he was the pastry chef at Claudé and Quay :)

Unfortunately, my cousin who booked it for us had to travel out of town for work, so I was on the verge of having to cancel the booking. 

Thankfully, managed to drag miss life is 2 mu(n)ch to come along with me.

So, thanks to miss i.eat.sweet who had booked it for us, wish you were there though :)

To Start
Violet Granita with Delamotte Champagne

We were asked whether we'd like matching wines to go with our dinner tonight, we had to say no due to my allergy and miss life is 2 munch still has her leg in cast.

It was such a pleasant surprise that Ann-Maree, the maître d', informed the kitchen of my allergy without me even requesting it. How's that for attention to customer needs !

So, I got a tube of lemonade instead of champagne hehehehe.

Delamotte Champagne ; Violet Granita

We got 2 test tubes each, one filled with a spiral of very pretty violet granita, and the other the champagne / lemonade. We were instructed to pour the liquid onto the granita, as we like it.

Fizzzzzz ; Prettiness in a tube

I was squealing with excitement as I saw the granita dissolves, releasing the violet petals from its ice prison and tinting the liquid with a light violet colour *sigh*

Too pretty to drink....but we must do what had to be done....

Flavour wise, we can only taste the champagne / lemonade, but it had visually took our breath away.

1st Course
Grilled Strawberries w/ Mint & White Chocolate

Doesn't it just looked like a strawberry field to you ? The presentation was just impeccable. 

The grilled strawberries were so sweet and slightly caramelized, then there were dollops of clotted cream and a quenelle of yoghurt sorbet.

See the green and white powder ? Those were the mint and white chocolate !

The powder were so fine and it just melts straight away into nothingness as you put some in your mouth.

The most amazing thing on the plate for me would have to be the mint powder, I wouldn't mind eating a tub of that honestly. 

Mint powder I love you....

Prettiest dessert plate ever !

2nd Course
Goats Curd Cheesecake w/ Elderflower & Pistachio

My nemesis the goats curd has returned....

I was freaking out when I saw it on the menu....so I just prayed and prayed that its taste is not too prominent in the dish.

*drumroll....*

"Mushroom" Cheesecake ; Elderflower Jelly, Grape, Pistachio & Lemon Balm

Safe !! The goats curd cheese mousse capping the vanilla cheesecake body did have the grassy taste, but it was very light and the other flavours on the plate help made it palatable to me.

This dessert reminds me of Black Star Pastry's Elderlfower Cheesecake - cheesecake base topped with thinly sliced grapes and a layer of pink elderflower jelly. 

It was deconstructed tonight on the plate, the grapes and tart elderflower jelly cubes were served together with an addition of lemon balm leaves and pistachio. 

The lemon balm was new to me, it has this lemon / lemongrass flavour that worked so well with the other flavours. 

I had to ask the waitress what it was and it was then I learned that these tiny leaves packed with flavours were lemon balm.

3rd Course
Caramel Ice Cream w/ Toasted Peanuts 

For the next course we were given 2 empty small plates each (huh ?).

The not long after the waiter returned with a metal ice cream stand , "please take one each".

We did nothing for a second as we thought he was going to leave the stand there, but he was just waiting for us to take them off the stand LOL

The caramel ice cream had a soft serve consistency, very soft, not too sweet and had this nicely balanced caramel flavour. It was good that it wasn't sweet as the tuile cones were quite sweet.

The cone was topped with toasted peanuts and...POP ROCKS !!

I didn't notice it at first as the colour of the candy blended in with the peanuts, so I was pleasantly surprised when I hear popping as I took the first bite *pop*pop*pop*

This 3rd course was a play on textures, softness of the ice cream, crunchiness of the tuile and peanuts, and the popping sensation from the pop rocks. Loved every single bit of it.

4th Course
Warm Chocolate Mousse w/ Olive Oil & Sea Salt

I was torn between this dish and the strawberry dish as my favourite dish of the night. 

Sea salt and dark chocolate would have to be the best combination ever. The warm mousse was served with a refreshing mulberry sorbet, crumbed sable biscuits and the amazing horseradish snow !

Horseradish ice, brilliant !!! See how we now have savoury and sweet flavours on the one plate ?

A subtle and smooth transition into the course after this.

Warm Chocolate Mousse ; Mulberry Sorbet & Horseradish Snow

The best way to describe the warm mousse would have to be this...

Imagine a warm chocolate fondant, remove the sponge part of it and you are left with this gooey, velvety, warm dark chocolate lava (except it's not lava here). Top with some sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil...

I had tears in my eyes....seriously...I did...LOL

I also loved the horseradish snow, it has the kick of the horseradish and the coolness of snow.

That was the last of the dessert dish, and we are now moving on to the savoury territories...

Please excuse the blurry photos, by this course the sun has completely set and where we seated in the corner that was quite dark.....

5th Course
Beef Mince Pie w/ Grilled Onion & Tomato Sauce

As much as I love my desserts, I still need something savoury for dinner after all....
The smell of the pie was just....*sigh*

Grilled Baby Onion ; Beef Mince Pie ; Tomato Sauce Snow

The beef mince complete with gravy and its distinct nutmeg taste was encased in the crispiest puff pastry ever !! Say goodbye to soggy pie pastry *bye bye* 

The beef mince was rich, perfect when coupled with a crispy buttery puff pastry. 

The grilled baby onion was oh so sweet and tender, and the "tomato sauce" was very interesting.

I was definitely not expecting an icy cold tomato sauce to go with beef pie, but it worked wonders.

Hot beef filling + icy cold tomato sauce = right temperature :)

To Finish
Rice Crackers w/ Sea Salt & Vinegar

Something light to finish the dinner, Tomislav's signature paper thin rice crackers with the sea salt & vinegar spritzer.
Made a big mess on the table this time in my attempt to spritz lots of sea salt & vinegar onto my crackers :P

When the plates were cleared and we were just chit chatting, the lovely Ann-Maree returned and asked my friend if her leg was feeling okay - how nice !

She also asked what we thought of the degustation and what was our favourite dish of the night. I was torn between the chocolate mousse & strawberries, while life is 2 mu(n)ch was torn between goats curd cheesecake & the chocolate mousse.

I must say, this is the happiest dinner I've ever had.

Every dish that came out was just simply amazing, the play on textures and combinations of different flavours were just brilliant. Both chefs' signature were clearly represented on the dishes they have created for these special dinners. Chef Tomislav's experience in molecular gastronomy and Pastry Chef The's skills in making amazing desserts.
Thank you for bringing these amazing flavours to a plate for us to enjoy and experience :)

The wonderful foods were complemented by the impeccable service we had through out the night, we were so well looked after.

But that is not it....

We were given something to take home on our way out....

Take Away Box
Black Star Pastry

We were grinning from ear to ear....so very happy !! Not only we just had an amazing dinner, we got a box of yummy goodies to take home too !

Sweet treasures !

We had not 1 but 4 of Black Star Pastry creations !!!

Lemon Curd Sable Cookie ; Plum, Fig & Orange Cake ;
Canelé ; Violet & Rose Macaron

I couldn't resist taking a bit of each as soon as I got home, you may call me *oink*oink* ^@^

The buttery sable cookie's sweetness was balanced with the tartness of the lemon curd, the plum fig & orange cake has always been my favourite from the bakery (after their Strawberry, Rose & Watermelon Cake).

The canelé has a slightly chewy texture on the inside and nicely caramelized on the outside.

The macaron....did I mention it was a jumbo ?

(excuse my wrinkly hand)

It was huge !!!! It is almost as big as the palm of my hand LOL

The rose white chocolate buttercream has a light scent of rose that wasn't too overpowering.

"Just Desserts" at Tomislav by Tomislav Martinovic & Cristopher The of Black Star Pastry is on for 2 nights only, 19th & 20th October as part of the SIFF 2010.

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.