Big Crunch Sushi

Wholesale ... sushi?  Yup, that is what I'm here to review today.  Pre-made, packaged sushi (and other Asian dishes) that you can find in grocery and convenience stores in Australia, from Big Crunch Sushi.

"Deliciously fresh food to go."

There comes a point when traveling when you get a bit fatigued from eating out all the time.  Where you just want something simple, and easy, particularly when you are on the road for a long time.  While I'll often get takeout from a restaurant, or go eat in a mall food court during these times, sometimes I also just go to the grocery store, and get some basics: fresh fruit, cereal and milk, pre-made salads, and, um, yes, sometimes sushi.  Like, Big Crunch Sushi.

"Our philosophy is to create deliciously tasty, honest and healthy fresh food. All of our products contain wholesome nutritious ingredients with no artificial preservatives, flavours or colours."

Big Crunch Sushi aims to create healthy and fresh items, many of which are gluten-free and even offers some vegan items.

Assorted Items.

I tried a few things, and had mixed success.  I mean, after all, it *is* pre-made ...  did find their logo at least entertaining?

Rolls

The first thing I went for was a sushi roll.  Big Crunch Sushi makes a variety of Roll-Your-Own sushi  rolls, with either brown or white rice.  The offerings are your classic tuna/spicy tuna/California, along with, um, more non-traditional choices like teriyaki chicken or beef, chicken schnitzel, and smoked salmon.

California Roll.

The rolls are Roll-Your-Own style, which means there is a diagram on how you are to pull the wrapper back to reveal the nori, which is separate from the rice so it doesn't get soggy, and then magically turn it into a hand roll.  This is much like the sushi found in convenience stores in Tokyo, where, uh, I struggled to properly form them, but at least I could claim to not be able to follow the non-English instructions.  I had little excuse here, as they were in English.

I oped for the white rice California roll, which I expected to be crab stick, rather than real crab, but I like crab stick, so this was no problem.  I also assumed there would be avocado, that I'd need to remove, due to my allergy.  The white rice was decent, not dried out, lightly seasoned, reasonably sticky. 

DIY ... not so great!

Clearly, my rolling skills need some work.  That said, I did love the crisp nori, and this technique for keeping it separate is very effective, even if I didn't make the prettiest roll.

This was a really, really odd California roll.  I was confused as I ate the filling.  I was glad to see no avocado, usually part of a California roll.  But the texture seemed wrong from crab or crab stick, and it really seemed like there was shredded carrot in it.  Crab stick usually has orange die, so, I still believed it must be crab stick, but, with every bite, I was more convinced that it was carrot, and, definitely not crab ... it was too firm, it seemed like shrimp.  The filling wasn't very good, even with the mayo mixed in.   I wished it came with a soy sauce packet though, and ideally some wasabi or ginger, as it was very plain without.

I dug the wrapper out of the trash (it was right on top!) and took a look at the ingredients.  Um, yes.  It was, indeed, carrot and shrimp.  No crab, no crab stick.  Carrot and shrimp.  What?  How is that a California roll?  This was such a confusing item, and, besides the nori, I didn't actually like it at all.

*+.

Rice Paper Rolls

Rice paper rolls come in twin packs or singles.  Options include chicken, prawn, beef, sriracha pork, veggie, or vegan beef all of which come with sweet chili dipping sauce, or duck with a hoisin sauce.

Vegetarian Rice Paper Roll.

I was actually pretty excited for the rice paper roll.  I was craving something light and healthy.  

Inside the rice paper wrapper was lettuce, rice noodles, carrot, red cabbage, thai basil, mint, and fried bean curd.

It wasn't very good.  The rice paper wrapper was slimy and hard, the fillings kinda slimy too.  It had no sauce with it, and I definitely needed to go get some sauce sauce and duck sauce to jazz it up.  The twin packs do come with sauce, but the singles don't.  The fried bean curd was lightly seasoned, but otherwise, it was just bland.

Meh. **.

Salads

"Salads" come with two bases, neither of which are mixed greens.  Instead, base options are rice noodles or brown rice.  Toppings include poke style raw salmon or tuna (or, um, chicken?), along with teriyaki chicken, Thai beef, and Vietnamese chicken.  They come in two sizes.

Salmon Poke Brown Rice Bowl.

I really wanted a salad with a base of greens, but, I opted for the brown rice rather than rice noodles.  I went poke style, salmon.

I was impressed with the toppings - there was a little bit of mixed greens on top, plus shredded carrot, cabbage, and ... oddly, zucchini.  I appreciated the lemon wedge to drizzle over it, the seaweed salad, and the sprinkle of sesame seeds on the salmon.  The poke sauce/dressing was in a separate packet to mix on.  Actually all fairly fresh, and very poke-appropriate.

That said, I wasn't really into the salmon itself.  It was reasonable quality for grocery store sushi I suppose, but, raw salmon from a grocery store pre-packaged item isn't really ever going to be great.  It wasn't fishy, the texture was good, and the cubes were a nice size, but, it didn't taste particularly fresh.

Overall, not the best item for me, although I was happy to use the toppings, minus most of the salmon, with the dressing and my own salad base to make a nice creation.  ***.

Soups

The soups are "Fresh Noodle Instant Soup", you must add boiling water.  These come in many styles: ramen (chicken, veggie), pho (beef, chicken, veggie), laksa (chicken, prawn), udon (beef), and a few others.

Veggie Pho.

Inside the bowl was rice noodles, shitake mushroom, pickled carrot, red cabbage, onion, celery, thai basil, and fried bean curd, along with the veggie stock.

Much like the poke bowl, the toppings for this were actually quite good.  I liked the pickled carrots and cabbage, the shitakes were flavorful, everything else was fresh and crisp, and the fried bean curd was juicy and marinated in tasty sauce.  The rice noodles were kinda meh, and I actually ended up just taking all the toppings, including the sauce, and threw it on top of mixed greens and quite enjoyed a salad instead.  

***+ toppings, *** pho.

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Virtual Teakup

It was an unusually warm day in San Francisco, and a group at work was having a social at Spark Social, the food truck park not that far from the office.  Hot weather called for many things, like some excellent onion rings from the Sarap Shop truck (review coming soon!), paired with a lighter platter from Rasa Rasa, but after I was done feasting on savory food, it was time to seek out something sweet.

I had many options, ranging from fresh donuts, to deep fried cheesecake, to hand pies, but, I was more in the mood for something refreshing and cool ... like, bubble tea.  Luckily, Spark Social had just the place: Virtual Teakup.

"Here at Virtual Teakup, we don’t take any shortcuts when it comes to your boba. We take pride in cooking our bobas daily in small batches and serving them warm with the right amount of sweetness. Our teas are brewed fresh and our toppings are made from scratch in house. In doing so, we’re able to offer our customers high-quality drinks on-the-go at reasonable prices. Follow us and find out our next creations!"

The truck is a regular vendor at Spark Social, and had quite the line, again, likely given the weather.  Drinks were prepared quickly.  Unlike most of the trucks, they did not have a tablet or other digital ordering system, which I thought was ironic given that they were the "Virtual" one.

Food Truck.

The menu at Virtual Teakup trends heavily in the "dessert" direction, only one is really a classic bubble tea.  The rest are things like the "Cheesecake Spundae" with cheesecake and crema and berries, or a Instagram worthy "Cloud 9" with cotton candy and butterfly pea flower, or the seemingly very popular Creme Brulee.

Boba, jellies, cheesecake, and a few other things can be added in, but there aren't that many mix-ins available.  Only regular dairy, no soy or alternatives offered.

Pink Dragon (Less Sweet). $6.45.

"Dragon fruit puree, milk, brown sugar and yogurt. (contains dairy, no caffeine)."

I kinda randomly picked the Pink Dragon. For some reason, dragon fruit called out, as did the yogurt.  I've been kinda into yogurt drinks lately.  I got it less sweet.

My order was prepared very quickly.  It looked nothing like the image on the menu, with the base of dragonfruit, the topping dripping down  ... it looked like homogenous pink milk.

And it tasted ... like homogenous pink milk.  I did not taste dragon fruit.  I did not taste yogurt.  No tang, no thinkness.  I just tasted milk.  That happened to be pink.  I'm still quite confused, as I certainly didn't get the wrong drink, there are no other menu items that would be just pink milk either.

This was, hands down, the most boring drink I've had from a bubble tea shop, and I'm still curious if something just went wrong ... shouldn't I have at least tasted yogurt?  It was, um, fine for milk, but, totally and completely not what I was expecting.

** because it was fine milk?

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Sushi @ Kabuto Sushi

Update Review, September 2022

10 years ago, I went to Kabuto sushi.  I was drawn in by the creative menu, but, didn't really love it, as you read in my original review.  And yet, here I am, 10 years later, getting the sushi again, and this time. delivery of all things.  You see, I was on a quest for good uni.  This was the 3rd sushi restaurant I had ordered from in a week, seeking out uni everywhere.  I also wanted to give one of their signature items, the baby lobster, anther chance.

I easily ordered on Door Dash, as Kabuto fully embraced delivery offerings during the pandemic.  That said, the Door Dash delivery wasn't great, as my Dasher batched up a bunch of orders, and thus picked up my sushi 1 hour before actually heading my way.  It made me question ordering sushi delivery in the future, as it was 84* out (yes, really, in SF), and that was a long time for uni to be out in that heat ...

Packaging.

My order came in a generic cardboard takeout box, with a very small amount of ginger (not nearly enough!), a tiny bit of wasabi, and a packet of soy sauce.  The uni was in its own little cupcake wrapper, which was a unique way of packaging that did work to isolate the pieces.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Signature Sushi

The "Signature Sushi" is what likely drew me to Kabuto years ago, and much of that menu remained unchanged.  10 years, and still signature!  And I was again drawn by so many of the options.

Baby Maine Lobster. $18.

"Seared lobster with spicy sauce."

Ok, so I have a thing for baby lobster sushi.  It started at Sushi Sam's, where they serve it with a spicy mayo and slivered almonds on top, and it used to be one of my favorite pieces of their omakase.  I knew from my previous visit that the baby lobster at Kabuto was an entirely different style, but, I still went for it.  I wanted to give it another try.

Let's just say, it didn't please me.  At some level, this was due to the long delivery time, I'm sure.  This is seared lobster, so it was presumably hot when originally served, but, an hour had elapsed, and it was cold.  Cold lobster is fine, some styles of lobster rolls are made that way after all, but this was just oddly chewy and really not very good.  After kinda chocking down the first piece, I took the second piece and threw it on my indoor grill for a minute or two, and it actually was much better that way.  That said, grilling it basically lost all the sauce, and the sauce really as quite tasty.  Not spicy as described, more sweet actually, but it was creamy and unique, and it did go well with the lobster.

The sushi rice was also a let down.  Again, perhaps something that suffered in transit, but it broke apart and was rather mushy.  It didn't seem particularly seasoned.

So, overall, besides the tasty sauce, this was not good, and I wouldn't get it again. *+.

Nigiri

The regular nigiri are priced per piece.

Uni - Japan. $17.

As part of my uni quest, of course I had to get the uni.  They had both local and Japanese on their online menu, but Door Dash only had the Japanese, so, Japanese it was.  This was a very pricey piece, $17 for the single piece, but, I hoped that meant it would be great quality.

This piece definitely suffered from my Dasher driving all around for an hour before bringing me my sushi.  I almost didn't eat it, as I really was worried about it being out in the heat for so long but ... uni!  The portion was my biggest disappointment.  This piece was majority rice, there was just a very, very little bit of uni on top as you see here.  There was no uni under it.  I ordered uni from several other sushi restaurants that week, and this one had remarkably less uni.

So, portion size aside, how was it?  The rice was again not very good - mushy, falling apart, not seasoned.  And the uni ... was fine.  It had a slightly odd taste to it, that I hoped was just my brain warning about warm uni, but, I couldn't quite ignore it.  It didn't taste bad exactly, just, slightly off.

This piece was definitely not worth the $17, particularly with such a small amount of actual uni. **.

Original Review, February 2012

We went to another new sushi restaurant tonight, as part of my quest to try out new sushi places. This one we knew was going to be an "interesting" experience, as the sushi menu was full of things like foie gras, lamb, duck, and fruits. I read through a bunch of the Yelp reviews and knew that the lamb and duck weren't supposed to be great, but reviews for all of the other unique sushi were good, so I had high hopes.

Protip: don't trust the Yelpers!

In all seriousness, I'm glad we tried this place, as it really was a unique experience. The presentation of the dishes was generally quite nice. They were trying very interesting things. And they take reservations!

Unfortunately, the quality of the fish was just not there, and all the creamy sauce just couldn't mask that fact. It was mostly mediocre quality, with one piece being actually good (the live scallop) and a few pieces being really awful (hamachi, oyster). The fruit was even lower quality than the fish. I know I'm spoiled by eating pretty much exclusively farmer's market fruit, but this stuff was pretty flavorless, and it just didn't go with the fish well at all. I also have no problem with fruit in my sushi, as I love a lot of the rolls at Sushi Zone that include mango and papaya, and one of my favorite pieces at Sushi Sam's has kiwi on it. So, it isn't just that I don't like fruit + fish. There were a number of execution issues as well, such as the fruit being sliced too thick and the ratio of rice to other ingredients being off in a few of the pieces.

The pacing of the meal was also off. The first 6 or so dishes arrived rapid fire, faster than we could finish the ones before it. Since some of them were hot/seared, this was overwhelming. The waitress recommended things to us that were really not good and did so unsolicited, definitely trying to upsell and get us to order more. And the price certainly was high for the poor quality, $70 per head for 12 pieces of sushi each. I don't mind paying a lot for good quality fish, but this was very high for what we got.

I most likely will not return here. See photos for individual reviews.

Hamachi jalapeno.

We ordered our sushi, and then the waitress talked us into ordering this. She said it would be a great appetizer.

It was the worst dish of the night. The quality of this hamachi was horrible, some of the worst fish I've had in recent memory. The little slice of jalapeno on it was nice, as was the dot of hot sauce, but this was pretty bad.

I sorta wonder if she was just trying to upsell us, I forgot to look on the bill to see how much this item was.

Gross.

Ceviche: Halibut and salsa wrapped with deep fried seaweed and served with lime and sea salt.

This was a cute idea, a play on ceviche. To eat it, you wrapped it in the seaweed and ate it taco style.

The halibut itself was decent, but I didn't really get any flavor from the salsa and definitely didn't get any lime or salt flavors. The strangest part was that the seaweed was dripping wet. I think it must have been with oil from being deep fried.

Cute idea, but was lacking in the promised flavors.

Hamachi Pear - Yellowtail sushi topped with sliced pear and kabuto fruity mustard sauce.

The "fruity mustard sauce" was pretty tasty and it worked surprisingly well with the pear and with the yellowtail. The hamachi was fairly decent, far, far, better than the hamachi used in the appetizer. The pear didn't work though - sliced too thick, and lacking any flavor, it just made it hard to eat and weird.

Foie Gras Sushi - Seared marinated goose liver served with balsamic raspberry sauce, raspberry, chives, roe.

The piece of foie gras was pretty tiny, particularly given the quantity of rice, so the flavor was drowned out by the rice. This is too bad, as it was decent foie gras and did go quite well with the raspberry and the raspberry balsamic sauce.

This either needed more foie or less rice. I guess there is a reason why you don't normally have foie gras sushi ... Still, it was interesting and I'm glad I got to try this one.

Baby Main Lobster - Seared lobster with spicy sauce

Very nice presentation!

I liked this - decent quality lobster, seared in a way that gave it a grilled smokey flavor. It was nothing like Sushi Sam's baby lobster though, which totally sets my standard for baby lobster dishes (at Sushi Sam's, it is not seared, a much smaller baby served almost whole, and covered with amazingly delicious mayo sauce).

I have no idea why there was a random piece of seared fruit on the plate. Or more dried cranberries. They so did not go with it.

Ono grape - Wahoo sushi topped with grapefruit and basal basil cream sauce.

I didn't like this one. The flavors just did not come together at all. Why was there grapefruit on my sushi? Why the cream? The grapefruit was pretty flavorless, poor quality. And the fish wasn't particularly good. Meh.

Shrimp & Crab Tartar sushi - Chopped shrimp and crab mixed with Kabuto tartar sauce served with egg yolk, capers, anchovy, cilantro, and grape.

This was probably my favorite dish of the night. Basically, a shrimp and crab salad, on top of some seaweed, on top of rice. It was kinda impossible to eat though. You can't see it in the picture, but there was nigiri rice under the nori, I'm still not sure how on earth you were supposed to do this.

Although I thought the flavors were great and really enjoyed the crab/shrimp salad, it didn't really make sense as a piece of sushi, and I'd just prefer to have the tasty salad on its own.

Live scallop - scallop nigiri, scallop chowder.

The scallop was just standard nigiri but very good, tender and fresh. My second favorite piece of the night.

The scallop chowder wasn't good. I couldn't really determine what anything was, just that it was probably some sort of chowder base and the somewhat chewy stuff in it must have been scallop, perhaps cooked?

1849 Oyster: Oyster, quail egg, 3 types of roe, uni, gold leaf. 

Close up of 1849 Oyster: Oyster, quail egg, 3 types of roe, uni, gold leaf. 

This is one of their special famed dishes. It reminded me of the "Spoonful of Happiness" we got at Koo a couple weeks ago (that was uni, quail egg, roe, ponzu), except the spoonful of happiness was MUCH better.

The name comes from the gold leaf, cute idea, but pretty gimmicky ...

There was a lot going on here. The uni was decent, but the quantity was so small you didn't get to taste it that much. I'm not a huge roe fan, so all this roe didn't thrill me, but it did add to the experience to have it popping in your mouth as you took this all in. The quail egg added a richness. I can't say I tasted or noticed the gold flake :) But ... my oyster was pretty nasty. Very fishy and not in a nice briny way. If the oyster had been better, I could see this being pretty ok, but as it was, it left a horrible taste in my mouth.

Hot Apple - Seared Scallop served with apple and fruity mustard sauce (says the description ... this was a creamy sauce instead).

This was similar to the baby lobster, seared with a nice smokey flavor. But the quality of the scallop was poor, and it was tough and way overcooked. It didn't go with apple at all.

The description said it had a "fruity mustard sauce", which the hamachi pear piece also said, but the sauce on these was not even remotely the same. The hamachi pear one did have a fruity mustard sauce ... this one had a fruity sauce and a cream sauce. I definitely did not taste any mustard. And like the hamachi pear piece, the apple was sliced too thick and was poor quality. You can't see it, and the description didn't mention it, but there was a piece of shiso leaf under the apple, that was actually really nice and crisp and refreshing, and went really well with the apple.

We had one of these left over at the end since no one wanted to eat it, and I deconstructed it to have just an apple-fruit sauce-shiso nigiri, which was kinda ok, and made for sorta a dessert ...

Wild buri

At the end, we wanted to give them one more chance, and decided to order nigiri off the fresh fish of the day menu. This SHOULD be the best stuff they have, and we were sick of the "special" sushi with its cream sauce and bad fruit. We ordered the butterfish, but the waitress told us this was the freshest thing of the day and the best.  So we got it instead.

Again, she led us astray. This was the second worst thing of the night for me (after the hamachi jalapeno she recommended).  Seriously, do not take her recommendations!

I didn't even bother trying the tamago.

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Rasa Rasa Food Truck

Singaporean food.  Not something I come across much in San Francisco, so I was really happy to find Rasa Rasa at Parklab Gardens, a food truck park in San Francisco.  I don't think they have any other locations.

Truck.

The "truck" is really more of a cart, a permanent vendor at Parklab Gardens.  When I visited, there were no other customers.  The staff was friendly, and my order was prepared quickly.

Menu.

The menu is fairly small, only 8 dishes, but hits the Singaporean classics: beef (or mushroom) rendang, chicken satay, laksa, and a few others.  No sides, no desserts (missed opportunity there! I *never* see Singaporean desserts around SF!).

Gado Gado. $12.

"Vegan. Vegan lover, mixed steamed and fresh vegetables, pairing with fried tofu, tempeh, and crackers; topped with peanut dressing sauce."

I was looking for something healthy and light, and the gado gado called out immediately.  While I'm not vegan, and don't actually care for tempeh or tofu, I wanted everything else in this dish.  

It really was perfect for my mood.  Eating it felt healthy - which was great, as I also may have had an order of Sarap Shop's Dirty Onion Rings alongside {LINK}.  

The shredded purple cabbage, cucumbers, and bean sprouts were fresh, crisp, and colorful.  The other veggies were steamed (but cold), which was novel to me when I first had food in Singapore, but I'm accustomed to now, and I liked having the juicy cooked veggies to contrast.  I was a bit surprised that the shredded carrot wasn't raw though.

The protein portion was kinda skimpy ... just one piece of tempeh and two cubes of tofu, but, as I didn't actually want that stuff much anyway, I certainly didn't mind.  They were, as I expected, not anything I liked - tempeh had the fermented funk to it I don't like, tofu was tofu, fried and spongy.  Not my thing at all.

Everything came together with the peanut sauce, served on the side, and a pretty generous handful of roasted peanuts scattered inside for some crunch.  I really liked the peanuts in the mix.  The peanut sauce was delicious, but very thick, very rich, and actually a bit too sweet.  Don't get me wrong, it was very, very good, but, I didn't quite like it with the veggies.  I used the extra later at home spread on toast (delicious!) and with a leftover fried spring roll (also delicious!), both of which seemed like better applications of the sauce.

Overall, this was good, nothing extraordinary, nothing novel, but, nice to have Singaporean food for a change.  ***.

Vegan Garlic Crackers.

Every platter comes with crackers.  The non-vegan dishes come with shrimp crackers, the vegan ones with garlic crackers, although you could substitute either.  The portion was quite small.

The crackers were good though - legit hit of garlic, crispy, not stale.  I actually liked the vegan garlic ones more than the shrimp ones, which surprised me as I usually go for the shrimp taste, but, the shrimp ones were a bit too oily.

***+.

Extra Shrimp Crackers. $2.

I wanted to try the shrimp crackers too, so I got some as an add-on for an addition $2.  While the ones that came with the platter were a tiny portion, this most certainly was not.  A nice value for $2.

The shrimp crackers I think were actually house made, as they were kinda dripping in oil, as if they had been freshly fried.  They were good - crisp, lightly fishy, and colorful, and went well with the rest of the meal, but definitely a bit too oily.  

***.

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Nuncha Empanadas

Empanadas.  Definitely not something I care about.  Sure, I'll eat one if its what is being served or something, but, not an item I would ever seek out - the flavors just don't usually do it for me (although the ones from Piecemeal Pies had such glorious crust that they kept making me *want* to like them!).  Anyway, empanadas, particularly traditional ones, not really my thing.  And yet, I visited a empanada shop, Nuncha Empanadas.

"​Our empanadas are stuffed with a variety of delicious fillings & Nucha empanadas dough  is handmade from scratch in our local commercial kitchen using 100% butter (no beef fat) We also strive to use organic, local ingredients whenever possible. "

I've seen Nuncha Empanadas at a few farmer's markets, and, I remember looking them up at one point and seeing pretty lackluster reviews.  I haven't ever been inclined to seek them out, but, if they've been in business since 2010, surely, they must be decent, right?  Plus, I liked that they use local ingredients, etc. 

While I went the sweet rather than savory route, I did not enjoy my order, and don't really care to try another. 

Truck.

My visit was to the food truck location at Spark Social.  They also have a location at the Soma Street Food Park, and are regulars at several farmer's markets around town.

Menu.

Nuncha of course makes a wide range of savory, traditional empandas, served with chimichuri, along with many vegan ones too.  But I had eyes for one thing: the dessert sweet ones, dubbed "hand pies".  

The desert lineup of the day was peach cobbler, blueberry crisp, apple, or pineapple.

Blueberry Crisp Hand Pie. $5.75.

"Blueberries, sugar, Lemon juice, ​flour & oats."

I opted for the blueberry crisp, curious how the "crisp" part of this would translate into a hand pie filling.  Oats ... inside?  My empanada was warmed up, and served at a nice temperature.

I took one bite, and disappointment came fast.  While I care about the filling of course, I certainly care about the crust.  I'm totally a crust person, and thus, hand pies or double crusted pies are the best kind of pies, because I get so much crust.  And yes, all you crust haters, those who leave the back crusts behind, just, send me crusts!  That is, if they are good crust.  And this, as you may have guessed, was not.  It was not buttery, it was not flaky, it was actually quite hard, dense, and, seemingly a bit stale.  I didn't care for the crust.

But, perhaps the "blueberry crisp" filling would redeem it?  After all a fruit crisp doesn't need crust.  But, alas, I don't know where that crisp was.  The filling just seemed to be the berries, with I guess some flour and sugar.  The filling was not your standard gooey fruity filling, it too was very thick and dense.  It didn't seem to have any spicing.  I certainly didn't find any oats.  

I even tried warming up the other half at home and serving it with equal parts ice cream and whipped cream to attempt to enjoy it, but, alas, this just wasn't very good at all.

All dessert empandas are $5.75, a bit pricey for the fairly small item.

*.

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Rockpool Bar and Grill, Sydney

Update Review, August 2022

Rockpool is always on my short list of places to visit in Sydney, as the food is always very good, the desserts are fabulous, and the wine and cocktail lists will impress anyone.  While I still have yet to dine in the formal dining room, I continue to return to dine in the bar area, and have never once left not thrilled with the experience.  You can read all my prior reviews below.   This visit was no different, although it was for dessert only.

Dessert

Our visit as a group of 4 was for dessert and dessert wine only, after having had a fantastic dinner a few blocks away at Menzies Bar, which was easily accommodated at the bar.  It was glorious.

Beige ... but not boring.

Our group opted for 3 different desserts, two people doubling up on one, and when the dishes arrived at the table I had to admit that they looked, um, a bit ... beige.  We had light brown, white, and not much else.  But these were anything but boring, each was an extremely good execution of what may have not looked extraordinary.

Creme Caramel. $23.

Creme caramel.  Not a particularly unique item, but, when you read reviews for Rockpool, people *do* rave about it.  And for something so seemingly simple and basic to be featured for a long time on Rockpool's dessert menu, you know it must be a fairly stellar version, right?

One of my fellow diners ordered this, and I was amazed at how massive the slice was.  Certainly one you could share.  I didn't get to try it, but our server did say it was less sweet than you'd expect, and the diner who ordered this opted for the sommelier's suggested pairing of a sweet sauterenes to accent it.

Date Tart (off-menu).

"Lorraine’s signature, silky baked vanilla custard with californian dates."

The date tart.  The famous Rockpool date tart.  For the unfamiliar, this was on the Rockpool menu for years, made only by their exec pastry chef, Lorraine, and made in very limited quantity (I think only one tart per day?) as it is so labor intensive.  It followed Lorraine to her offshoot patisserie, where you can pre-order it by the slice or whole tart.  It is no longer on the Rockpool menu.

However, I was chatting with the server about my favorite regular Rockpool dessert, the warm pudding with custard, that I thought was a staple and just rotated through which fruit is used with the seasons, when I learned that it is actually off menu entirely in the midst of winter.  Sensing that I cared more about desserts than your average gal, she actually offered up calling over to find out if they just happened to have any date tart on reserve.  Not on the menu, but, some nights of the week, they do actually have a few on hand, for the discerning guest in the know.

Now, I've heard about this tart for years, but I haven't actually been that excited about it myself.  Dates just aren't my thing for the most part.  And a tart?  Eh.  But I was drawn in by the exclusivity of it, and, well, if I was ever going to like a date tart, it most certainly would be this one.

It was ... ok.  The vanilla custard layer was stunning, you can see it sorta oozing, but somehow holding its shape too.  The top was lightly baked.  I really have no clue how they do that.  Below the custard is the date layer, soft and sweet, and, well, tasting like dates.  Which I just didn't really love.  I found this fascinating, and could tell the labor involved, but, as I just wasn't into the date flavor, it let me down a bit.

Luckily for me, one of my dining companions really liked it, and I really liked his, so, we traded, and I think we were both happier.  I'm glad I tried this, but, definitely not my style of dessert.  ***.

Slow cooked William Pear, Butterscotch and Creme Fraiche Chantilly. $22.

So what dessert did I end up adoring?  Yeah, the poached pear.  

This was glorious.  Simply, glorious.  The pears were poached for 12 hours, first sous vide, and then butter poached.  They were amazingly soft, rich, buttery, lightly spiced, flavorful, just, wow.  I had no idea that a poached pear could taste that very good.  The pears alone rather blew my mind, but the other elements of the dish were stars in their own rights.

The creme fraiche chantilly didn't have quite the tang I'd expect from creme fraiche, but, it was thick, rich, and a perfect compliment to the soft pears and the crunchy wafers.  Speaking of those wafers, they weren't  puff pastry like you'd find in a mille-feuille, even though it sorta looked that way.  Instead, they were more like ... caramelized ginger snap?  While a bit hard to eat without making a mess, they added a crunchy element that I really appreciated.  And then, the butterscotch, not too sweet, thin but not runny, and the final element that just tied it all together.

This dessert had everything going on, complimentary flavors and sweetness level, a variety of textures, and, it just ate really, really well.  I savored every last bite of it, and would get it again in a heartbeat.  I was so, so very pleased my other diner was willing to swap with me.

****+, although honestly I don't know what would make it a perfect *****, I see no faults.

Update Review, February 2018 Visit

It took me several years of visiting Sydney before discovering Rockpool Bar & Grill.  But once I did, it took near top place on my "Must Visit" list.  I've reviewed it twice before, always dining in the bar rather than full restaurant, and this visit was no exception.  Feel free to start with those reviews for discussion of the setting, concept, etc, as those were unchanged on this visit (original review, 2016 update review).

A Lovely Feast.

For this meal, I dined with one other.  Our plan was to just have a lighter meal, given our earlier indulgences.  That said, we also did plan to get fish & chips and dessert, so, take "lighter" with a grain of salt here.

We were interested to try out fish & chips at such a high end place, and of course, I wanted to introduce her to the signature dessert.  We threw in some cocktails/mocktails, and a random starter to complete the meal.

It was very good, particularly that starter.  Dish of the night.  I'll gladly return, and even considered a return visit during my limited remaining time in Sydney (as did she, saying, "Can we go back this week?")

The Raging Bull. $24.

"Buffalo Trace Bourbon is stirred with Tenuta Tamburnin Vermut, Cherry Heering and Hellfire Bitters. Served with a new season Drunken Cherry."

Cocktails at Rockpool always sound good, are full of complicated ingredients, and yet, tend to leave me fairly dissatisfied.

This one was no exception.  It sounded like it would have a lot going on.  I expected bitter, I expected spice.  I expected to taste bourbon.

Instead, it was a very mellow drink that tasted more like fruit juice.  Yes, somehow, it tasted like fruit juice, and not much else.

It did have a large, juicy cherry in the bottom (hence the little bowl on the side for the pit), but, even that cherry didn't soak up booze, so "Drunken Cherry" it really did not seem to be.

Not that it tasted bad, but it certainly wasn't good, and $24 was steep for such a boring cocktail.

Grilled Figs with Stracciatella, Almonds and Parma Prosciutto. $29.

This came from the Hot Starters section of the restaurant menu, a rather random choice on our part, and something we kinda added on because we felt strange just ordering fish & chips to split.

Wow.  It was amazing.  Dish of the night, no question.

The base was a pool of perfectly ripe, runny stracciatella (e.g. the base that burrata is made from).  It was creamy, gooey, and quite delicious on its own, even better when accented with the oil and balsamic that were drizzled all over it.  I would have been quite happy with just a bowl of this cheese, perhaps with some bread to slather it on.

But the grilled figs are what set the dish apart even further.  Three very large, juicy, grilled figs, with incredible smoky flavor.  I'm not sure how how they got just so much wood smoke flavor into those figs, but it was incredible.  It made me want to try the other wood fire grilled items that Rockpool specializes in (like the seafood).  The figs were topped with thin pieces of prosciutto, which literally melted into the hot figs, enveloping them in a thin layer of salty, slightly porky, goodness.  Much like the stracciatella/oil/balsamic, the prosciutto topped figs alone would have made for a great appetizer.

Finally, almonds.  Little chunks, roasted, crunchy.  Not what I would have ever thought to throw in, but I loved the crunch they added.

I adored this, although I still think it would have worked fine as two separate desserts.  I'm one for creating "perfect bites", and even when I combined different combinations of this, I found that I didn't really want the cheese with the figs & prosciutto, as it tended to mute the flavors.  Still, wonderful, I'd gladly get it again, and hands down favorite dish for both of us.

Shoestring Fries. $6.

Since we were ordering fried fish, we wanted a side to go along with our fish & chips theme.  We had a choice of the thicker hand cut chips that I have had before, or thin shoestring fries.  We could have had our potatoes other ways too, as a potato puree or sautéed with Wagyu fat, garlic, and rosemary, or we could have gone for fried onion rings instead, if we wanted fried, but just something different.

We opted to try the shoestring fries, mostly because they were an item I hadn't tried yet.

The serve was large, a big bowl of thin crispy fries.  They were ... aggressively salted.  "Is it just me, or are the fries a tad too salty?", my companion inquired.  I told her they were more than just a tad too salty.  And I appreciate salt level!

They were fine though.  Freshly fried.  Crispy.  But, just thin fries.

I had a few and planned to not touch them again, until I made an amazing discovery.  Fries dunked in stracciatella.  Yes, really.  We had lots of extra cheese, with no figs (or bread or anything) to go with, and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.  I really liked the combination, and the cheese helped balance the salt.

I probably wouldn't get these again though.

House Ketchup.

As with the onion rings I had my first visit, we were served a pot of housemade ketchup.

I didn't use much, since I preferred to dip my fries in either the stracchiatella or the sauce from the fish, but it was fine, slightly curried.  Now that I knew to expect the curry, I liked it more than my previous visit.

Fried Fish with Sauce Gribiche. $22.

The fried fish was on the Small Plates section of the bar menu, however, our server warned us when we ordered it that it wasn't really a Small Plate, and really was an entree.  Since we were sharing everything, and only ordering one starter, one side, and this, we weren't worried, but, it did turn out to be too much food (particularly as we wanted dessert).

The portion was 4 full pieces of fried fish, perched on top of  a crispy potato slice, all on a mound of gribiche sauce, with a lemon wedge on the side.

The fried fish was decent.  Moist enough white fish inside, fairly flaky, not fishy, well coated in batter, crispy.  It was a touch too oily for my tastes though.

It looked like there were 5 pieces, with the base piece thinner, perhaps a different type of fish.  I snagged that one as my second piece to try something different.  My companion was clearly a bit jealous as it was obviously more crispy.  It made a serious crunch sound when I cut into it.  But ... I was confused.  I knew it was thin and so I didn't taste much fish, and it was really oily, worse than the previous piece, but ... something didn't seem quite right.  On my second bite, i figured it out.  It wasn't fish!  It was a slice of potato, battered in the same batter, fried crispy.  A pretty awesome move on their part really, but, again, just too oily for me.

The gribiche was fine, although fairly mild, not much flavor to it.

Warm Rhubarb and Strawberry Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. $26.

This dessert was certainly part of the reason I was at Rockpool.  But unlike "normal Julie", this is a case where it really was only a part of the reason.  Its a fabulous dessert, but, I've had such amazing other dishes at Rockpool that it doesn't entirely rule my decision to go there.  I'll say it was ... 60% of the reason :)

This is a signature dish, and one that is always on the menu, just with different fruits.  This time, it was actually the exact same as my previous visit at similar time of year: strawberry rhubarb, which did disappoint me slightly, but still, I couldn't wait to introduce my dining companion to this dish.

It really is unlike any other dessert I've ever had, anywhere.  You've read my reviews of it twice before, but to recap: a base of pound cake that soaks up everything else, a layer of stewed fruit, and then ... light and fluffy souffle pudding, with a brulee top, and crispy bits of almonds, garnished with powdered sugar.

It arrives without the vanilla sauce, which is poured on tableside, in a moderate quantity.  The rest is left behind to use as you wish (and, use it you will!).

Warm Rhubarb and Strawberry Pudding: Close Up.

It is massive.  It looks, well, entirely unfamiliar.  And as you dig into the layers, it doesn't make any more sense, unless you know what to expect.  I loved watching my companion take this all in.

The brulee top was my favorite element, caramelized, crispy, and the bits of candied almond added a nice crunch.  I wanted more of them.

The souffle was light and fluffy, not eggy, perfectly risen.  Rather incredible, really.  The fruit I didn't care for though, the rhubarb was too tart, the strawberry too sweet.  I also never really want the cake layer, and this time, there was shockingly little of it, just a tiny, tiny little bit in the very center, so, for that I was glad.

I still loved the vanilla sauce, and, given how full I was, it was the only thing I could really fit into my stomach at that point anyway.

This didn't come together for me as well as it had in the past, but it was still a very unique offering, and I liked the warm dessert, the textures, and, well, that vanilla sauce.

Update Review, December 2016 Visit

On my last visit to Sydney, I discovered Rockpool Bar & Grill on my final night in town, and really wished I had found it sooner.  I had an amazing meal, which, you can read all about in that review.  So on my more recent visit to Sydney, it was no question that I'd return to Rockpool Bar & Grill.

Drinks, Bar Food, Dessert!

I visited on a Saturday evening, and again was able to snag a table in the bar area by arriving before 6pm.  From the bar, you can order anything off the regular menu, or the bar menu, and mix and match as you please, which we did.

My dining companion and I split an appetizer from the main dining room menu, some small bar dishes, and of course, dessert.

The food was good but not as mind blowing as my previous visit.  The service was as awkward as last time, in a way where you could tell they were trying to be non-invasive and polite, but just came across as strange.  The cocktail menu was fascinating, and the wine and liquor lists scary, as there were items like a single cocktail for $475, and glasses of wine for $350.

I'm glad I got in another visit, and I'd still gladly return.  And one of these days, I'll have to visit the real dining room, and perhaps get a real entree ...

 TUXEDO #4. $22.

"Neil Perry’s Barrel Select Patron Tequila stirred down with Hendricks Quinine Cordial, dry Italian Vermouth and a touch of Apricot Brandy. Savoury and contemplative."

For a cocktail, I went with a selection from the Seasonal Favorites section.  It jumped out at me instantly, as it had both Tequila and Gin (or, so I thought.  It turns out, I just didn't parse it properly "Hendricks Quinine Cordial" is actually a cordial made by Hendricks, and I read this was "Hendricks gin and quinine cordial", doh!)  So, no gin.

I also didn't taste tequila at all, which makes even less sense to me now that I know it wasn't gin either.  The flavors were strong, very alcoholic, but not harsh exactly.  It certainly wasn't what I was hoping for though.

The glass it was served in was very precious looking.  Etched glass, small in size.  One side was coated with something on the outside, that I think was apricot peel?  I'd guess some kind of citrus, like orange actually, but that doesn't match any of the ingredients in the cocktail.  It was confusing, really.  Was I supposed to lick it off, a la a salted rim on a margarita?  It was chewy, and kinda like sawdust, not particularly appealing.  Really strange.

I wouldn't get this again.

Fried Calamari with Romesco (half-portion). $31.

We picked a starter from the regular menu, from the "Hot Starters" section.  Since we were sharing it, the kitchen split it onto two plates, so this is only a half portion.

Salt and pepper calamari is a staple on the Qantas first class lounge menus in Sydney and Los Angeles (catered by the same executive chef, Neil Perry), so I've had it many times.  While the version in LA didn't impress me, the one is Sydney is part of what made me declare the Qantas F lounge food some of the best food anywhere in Sydney, and remains the best salt and pepper calamari I've ever had.  I was very eager to see what the full service restaurant could do with fried calamari.

The answer, unfortunately, was lackluster.  The calamari was cooked ok, it wasn't rubbery or anything, but the light breading didn't seem to coat it very well, and was falling off in many places.  It was just pretty meh.

The calamari was served on top of a bitter radicchio slaw of sorts, too bitter for my liking.  The romesco was fine.

Overall, very meh, and I wouldn't get this again.  Pricey for a lackluster dish.

 Kinkawooka King Prawn Cutlet with Aioli. $8. 

For my "main", I went with an item from the Bar menu, small plates section, rather than a real main from either menu.

The reason was simple: I had been snacking in my hotel executive lounge right before, and I just wasn't very hungry.  Add in an appetizer and plans to get the awesome, large, dessert, and I wanted something small.

I really was eying the prawn po-boy, but, I knew that would be sizable, and wanted something smaller.  Thus, the prawn cutlet it was, sold as individual patties for $8 each.  I hoped it would be somewhat like the amazing crumbed fish burger from the Qantas lounge, just, without the bun and lettuce.

The plating of this was really funny.  Our first dish was from the main restauarant menu, and was plated accordingly.  I knew the bar food usually looked a bit more rustic, but still thought it would be pretty.  This was ... yup, a cutlet, a wedge of lemon, and a puddle of aioli, all just popped on a plate.  No extra garnish, no embellishment.  It really made me laugh.

The cutlet was fine.  Very crispy, not oily, good breading.  The prawn inside was firm but not chewy, not mushy.  Fine, but, a bit boring on its own.  It seemed like it belonged inside a fish burger, which, I think the po'boy would have been.

The aioli on the side was ok, good enough garlic flavor, but not super rich and creamy.

Overall, this was all fine, executed well, but, boring.  It made me wish I ordered the po-boy, with a brioche bun and flavorful mayo instead.

House Made Chorizo Dog with Jalapeño Hot Sauce. $18.

From the bar menu, sandwiches section, my dining companion went for the hot dog, at my strong endorsement from my previous visit.

It looked incredible, and she said it was the best hot dog she had ever had, which, well, is exactly how I felt when I had it before.

I took some of the jalapeño hot sauce for my cutlet, and mixed it with the aioli, and it was incredible.  Spicy and fresh, it combined perfectly with the creamy aioli, and gave my otherwise fairly bland dish some serious kick.  This jalapeño hot sauce is magic, and really should be bottled up and marketed!

Warm Rhubarb and Strawberry Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. $23. 

And finally, the real reason I was there.  Ok, that isn't quite true, I know Rockpool has great food and cocktails, but it was my memory of the warm pudding with vanilla sauce, made with blackberries last time, that I just couldn't get out of my head.

Some kind of pudding seems to always be on the Rockpool Bar & Grill menu, the fruit variety just switches out seasonally.  For our visit this time, it was strawberry and rhubarb.  Just like blackberries, rhubarb isn't a favorite of mine, but, I was willing to take the gamble.

I'm glad I did.

The dish arrived looking exactly like it did on my previous visit.  The server poured vanilla sauce over it table-side, and left us the rest, just like last time.

The dessert was warm, fresh from the oven.  The base was again a cake that I was ambivalent about, and above that was a layer of stewed strawberries and rhubarb.  I didn't care for the fruit choices though, as I expected, sweet, tart, and mushy, and I could have easily just done without it entirely.

But on top of that was the magic soufflé like layer.  Light and fluffy, yet creamy and custardy.  With a slightly crispy caramelized brûlée top.  And then lots of vanilla sauce.  That layer, with the extra sauce, is where the magic is.  Seriously, it is like the best soufflé ever, yes, better than my favorite Cafe Jacqueline, then also combined with creme brûlée, one of my favorite desserts, for that extra crispy top.  And, don't get me started about being left with a little pot of crème anglaise, which I obviously didn't let go to waste.

Even though I knew what to expect this time around, it still was a pretty stunning dessert, and still unlike anything I've had elsewhere.  Sure, I could care less about the cake and didn't like the fruit, but it didn't matter, this was a really excellent dessert, and I can't wait to try it sometime with a fruit layer that I actually like!

Original Review, February 2016 Visit

For our final Saturday night in Sydney, Ojan and I decided to finally re-visit Rockpool Bar & Grill. We went the first time during our first visit to Sydney, and I have a vague memory of sitting in the bar eating a burger, but I don't recall much else. It clearly didn't leave an impression.

So why return? Well, Rockpool Bar & Grill is one of Chef Neil Perry's places in Sydney, and I rather adore his food, even when it is served at the Qantas First Class lounge in the airport. Neil Perry's "flagship" establishment is Rockpool, where only a 4 course $150 or 8 course $185 menu are served. The place sounds fantastic, has been three hats by the Good Food Guide for years, but, we weren't up for such an extended (and pricey) meal.

So Rockpool Bar & Grill it was. Now, the name of this place, combined with the fact that it is an entirely separate establishment from the flagship Rockpool, might lead you to believe that this is, um, a casual bar and grill. It is not, unless items like "Warm Salad of Wood Fire Grilled Quail with Smoked Tomato and Black Olives" or $290 full blood wagyu steaks are your idea of casual bar food. The dining room is a formal affair, with a huge menu focused around seafood and steaks. Reservations, made in advance, are required. It has a coveted two hats from the Good Food Guide.

But the other side of the establishment is actually a bar area (albeit a fancy one), with a more casual menu. While still very upscale, the bar menu is a bit less expensive, and more importantly, no reservations are taken. If you arrive on the earlier side, getting seated is no problem.

So, let's review: "Rockpool" could mean any of 3 establishments: Rockpool, the degustation only flagship down the street, Rockpool Bar & Grill Restaurant, a la carte but formal and high end, and Rockpool Bar & Grill bar area, which is where we headed.

Now, I have to give a bit more context. I had been advocating for visiting Rockpool Bar and Grill pretty much the entire time we were there. Ojan never wanted to go. He also didn't remember it being great, and had no reason to want to go get bar food, or go somewhere fancier, when we could just keep eating casual delicious thai food. I wouldn't say I dragged him there exactly, but, he was certainly not excited, particularly when I told him we were going for hot dogs, onion rings, and dessert.

It was excellent, the best meal of our trip. The food was good, service attentive, and dessert incredible. While my first visit wasn't memorable, I won't forget a couple dishes from this visit for a long time. Ojan talked about it frequently afterwards, wondering why we waited until the end of our trip to go there, mourning that we hadn't gone sooner so we could go multiple times during our trip (he really did propose going there the next night, our final night in Sydney, but, alas, not open on Sundays). We'll obviously return.

There was so much appeal to Rockpool Bar and Grill for me. Bar dining really is ideal for me, particularly at a nicer place like Rockpool Bar and Grill. You get the amazing food (and opportunity to order dessert from the full menu!), but don't need to get quite as dressed up, and can go without a reservation. Service is more casual, the atmosphere is more relaxed, etc. Sure, you miss out on amuse bouches and other little extras, and it isn't the same as fine dining, but, for me, I'd generally rather be comfortable than have all that.

The Setting

Exterior.

While I may not have remembered the food from my first visit to Rockpool Bar and Grill, I did actually remember the building, only because I remember it feeling somewhat ominous. The restaurant is housed inside the City Mutual building, a historic art deco building with an elaborate facade. The interior is also a bit crazy, I don't have photos unfortunately, but I recommend a trip to the bathroom, which involves steep back staircases, long narrow hallways, and a journey into the bowels of the building, past all their stunning private dining areas.

Bar and Chandelier.

We walked past the hostess stand that overlooks the main, formal dining area with its open kitchen straight to the bar area on the side. The bar side has standard bar seating, but also a generous number of tables with chairs. Tables, chairs, even the rug, were all black. Some tables had little candles to add a bit of light, but, overall, it was not a bright room.

We arrived right when they opened, so getting a table was no problem. The room did quickly fill up. The bar itself was mostly a gathering point for pre-dinner drinks, whereas the tables were filled with folks who, like us, just wanted some tasty food. We were seated at a table on the edge of the room, likely hidden to the side since we weren't quite dressed up to Sydney standards. Which was fine with us, our little table was quite cozy.

The bar has a stunning chandelier above it, made from wine glasses (2682 Riedel Riesling glasses to be exact). You can read all about it in the bar menu, as I'm sure people ask constantly about it.

Drinks

Since Rockpool Bar & Grill is highly Emil-approved, I knew to expect an excellent drink menu. It did not disappoint. Plenty of wines by the glass (including a $150 Shiraz, yes, that is the price for a single glass), classic cocktails (5 that have been on the menu since they opened in 2009), seasonal favorites cocktails (where I focused my time), a "choose your own adventure" martini menu (aka, choose your gin, your vermouth, your style, your garnish), non-alcoholic cocktails, and then pages and pages for spirits, aperitifs, digestifs, and beer.

The bar menu is 40 pages long, only 2 pages of which are dedicated to food. This is a serious bar menu.

I went for cocktails, but, the "exclusive and rare whisky" section certainly jumped out too.

Hoshimotos Royal Punch. $22. 

"A Japanese influenced Champagne Punch. Yuzu infused Sake, Bitter Cherry, Tanqueray. Yuzu Marshmallow "

Our server was ... very eager to take our order. Perhaps because they had just opened and she didn't have any other tables yet, but, she came to take our drink order the moment we sat down. We asked for more time. She gave us a few minutes, but not nearly enough to take in the massive drink menu. In a panic, I rush ordered, and went for the Hoshimotos Royal Punch. I'm really not sure why, I think I saw gin and marshmallow, and somehow glossed over the multiple mentions of yuzu, aka, citrus, aka something I don't really like.

My drink arrived quickly, as the bar wasn't backed up yet. The marshmallow on top, toasted, was a stunner. Ojan immediately tried to grab it to try it. Hands off! The drink also had a straw and a swizzle stick to stir.

I took a few sips and ... doh. Why did I order yuzu? The drink was kinda sweet, and mostly all I could taste was yuzu. Oops.

The marshmallow was great though, toasted to perfection. As soon as I finished my marshmallow, an attentive server whisked the skewer that held it away.

But, I really didn't like the drink. I drank a little, and then tried to dilute the yuzu by adding water. I still didn't like it. Rather than keep "suffering", I decided to just accept my losses, and order another drink. When the server delivered that one, I asked her to take the remainder away, which she did without question.

But then, a few minutes later, she returned to ask if something was wrong with it. I said no, that I just didn't like it, and that it was my fault for ordering it. She didn't ask any follow up questions, and I assumed she accepted my answer and moved on. When our bill arrived, this cocktail was removed. A great gesture on their part, but really, this was all my fault, not theirs!

Smoked Peanut Old Fashioned. $21.

"Peanut Washed Woodford Bourbon stirred with Cherry, Spice, Bitters and served smoking."

For my second drink, I took more time to consider what I wanted, and went for the smoked peanut old fashioned. I wanted something a bit more grown up, not sweet, and, hey, why not have it be smoking too?

A glass was brought to me, a nice heavy glass that I'm sure Emil would approve of, with a orange twist and large cube of ice inside. The cocktail came in another vessel, poured, smoking as promised, into my glass at the table.

I liked this drink quite a bit, and had to be careful not to drink it too quickly, as, after all, it was basically just straight bourbon. I loved the bitterness, the smokiness, the complexity. And hard to ignore the gorgeous ice cube. I'd get it again.

Pablow. $9.

"Pineapple, Pink Grapefruit, Orange, Peychaud’s Bitters and Soda."

Ojan actually had an entire section of the bar menu he could pick from as well, titled "COCKTAILS IN THE NAME OF TEMPERANCE", or, "Non-alcoholic beverages for whenever the stoic urge to abstain takes a hold of you... "

The selection was interesting at least, including an ice tea with sherbet in it and a kombucha. Be Ojan opted for the Pablow, which came beautifully garnished with a large orange slice and chunk of pineapple.

At first he declared it "just juice", but, after a few minutes, he said it grew on him. I didn't try it, as "just juice" wasn't exactly a compelling description and the bar did have watermelon behind it, so, I stayed away from all fruit.

The Food

Moving on to food, the bar menu has two pages devoted to food, including one entire page of small plates (ranging from olives and beef jerky, to finger sandwiches, to buffalo hot wings), 6 sandwiches (including their famous burgers), 4 main plates (wagyu bolognese, the classic Rockpool minute steak, fish, and a beef salad), and a slew of sides. For desserts, it just says that the "complete dessert menu is available" (obviously, a selling point for me, as I am the dessert girl.)

We were pretty happy with the bar menu, as I had been craving good fries and onion rings (I know, don't ask what got into me, but it is what I wanted). I was also excited about the hot dog (yes, you are still reading the right blog, I have a thing for hot dogs ...), but we did also take a glance at the full restaurant menu, from which we could order as well. Our server also let us know it was fine to mix and match, selecting things from either menu as we wanted.

The full restaurant menu is nearly as overwhelming as the 40 page drink menu. Just to start, it had 8 different "cold bar" items (caviar, oysters, fish crudo, yellowfin tartare, etc), 8 "Salads and other things" (4 different salads, steak tartare, grilled baby octopus, etc), and 10 "Hot Starters" (including many grilled and roasted items, plus steamed clams or mussels, fried calamari, and a warm salad). I was interested in the wood fire grilled figs with stracciatella, pistachios, and mint from the hot starters menu, but Ojan nixed it. The wood fire grilled baby octopus with lemon, oregano, capers, and smoked eggplant also sounded pretty good, but again, he nixed. Moving on to main dishes were 5 pastas, 5 "Seafood from the charcoal oven", and 5 "Main Plates". The sautéed abalone, king brown mushroom, and bottarga with maltagliati pasta jumped out, but Ojan wasn't feeling the abalone. I also could have picked the Black Lip abalone with tarragon, konbu, and caper butter main plate, for $70, or, the jaw dropping rock lobster thermidor for $320! The vegetarian main plate option was pumpkin kibbeh with chickpeas, spinach, garlic yoghurt, and pickles, although there was also a veggie pasta, handkerchief pasta with hand pounded pesto, cherry tomato, and ricotta. And THEN all of the main dishes from the wood fired grill and rotisserie, including about 15 different beef choices (all aged in house), plus a few others. Oh, and then the side dishes, including potatoes 4 different ways: potato and cabbage gratin (a classic Neil Perry dish, we had it at the Qantas First class lounge in LAX, sebago potatoes sautéed with Wagyu fat, garlic, and rosemary, potato puree, or hand cut fat chips. Does the charcoal roasted Japanese pumpkin and sweet potato with garlic yogurt count as potato too? If so, five potato dishes. There were also other decadent cheesy creations and some requisite green vegetables.

So many choices. Overwhelming, really. We decided to just stick with the bar menu, plus desserts, to keep it simple, but I did see tables around us mixing and matching. Next time.

I knew I wanted dessert, and we weren't starving, so we thought we were keeping it pretty simple and small by opting to share a salad, two side dishes, and a single hot dog. Um, before we knew it, our table was piled in food. I'd say oops, but, it was delicious, so we didn't exactly mind ...

Onion Rings with House-Made Ketchup. $9.

First up was the onion rings. Like I said, I was craving good onion rings, and figured onion rings at a fancy place would be excellent.

They weren't quite what I wanted. Rather than standard white onion, they were made with red onion. I actually liked that aspect, but, it was a bit different, as they were harsher. The onion was tempura coated, rather than standard breading. Again, fine, except that they were just way too oily. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but they were just drenched in oil (yet somehow still crispy ...). They were also crazy salty.

I wanted to love these, but just didn't. Ojan did like them, although, I think inspired by the tempura batter, he wanted a soy dipping sauce to go with them, rather than the ketchup (more on that ketchup soon). The serving was far more than the two of us wanted, particular as we ordered fries too. They would have been better to share with at least one more person. The $9 price was fine.

I'd skip these next time, and they didn't quite satisfy my onion ring craving.

Hand Cut Chips. $12.

We also ordered the fries, er, chips, mostly because I wanted rings and Ojan wanted fries, so we decided to just get both, particularly since we were sharing a main dish, we figured this wasn't overkill. Shoestring fries were also an option, but we opted for the thicker chips, since in Australia, we tend to love the wedges.

The chips were a somewhat rustic style, skin on, all different sizes. I liked how big they were, almost like wedges rather than fries. They too were salty, with big salt crystals on the exterior, but I really liked the salt level.

What I didn't like however was the house made ketchup. It was soupy, thin, with a strange spicing. I sorta reminded me of pureed chutney? Neither of us liked the ketchup and it really ruined our experience of eating both the rings and the chips.

But I liked the chips, I just needed something better to dunk them in. I called our attentive waitress over, and asked if there was anything else we could use to dip things in. Sure enough, Rockpool Bar and Grill has a "condiment service" that goes along with the steaks, and one of the condiments is barbecue sauce, so she suggested that.

We got a pot of barbecue sauce, and it was pretty good, definitely better than the ketchup. Really though, I wanted aioli.

Anyway, these were pretty good chips, but, alas, needed better sauce.

Radicchio, Cos and Endive Salad with Palm Sugar Vinaigrette. $9.

I'm not quite sure why we ordered a salad, I think we felt a bit guilty ordering fries, rings, and a hot dog and wanted something to balance out our meal. There were three choices of salads, but one had avocado (I'm allergic), and one was just mixed greens (boring), so we opted for this slightly more interesting sounding one.

It was ... not very good. The radicchio and endive were both super bitter, as you'd expect. The bitterness should have been balanced nicely by the palm sugar vinaigrette, except that the salad was incredibly overdressed and was just too sweet. The dressing also just had nothing going on besides the sweet.

Ojan tolerated this a bit more than me, but still said it was a dud due to the "very boring" dressing. We wouldn't get this again.

House Made Chorizo Dog with Jalapeño Hot Sauce. $18. (Split)

And finally, the chorizo dog. OMG. The kitchen nicely split it for us onto two plates, cut evenly in half.

Ojan wasn't exactly thrilled to be ordering a hot dog, but I really wanted it, so he went along with my plan. Let's just say he was glad I insisted. Two bites into it, he proclaimed, "This hot dog alone was worth coming here for".

So, what made it so amazing?

Let's start with the bun, a fluffy brioche roll, toasted crisp. Excellent vehicle for the dog, no wimpy, soggy bun here.

Next, the garnishes. Under the dog was kraut and pickles, adding freshness, crunch, and tang. Excellent. On top was ketchup and mustard, but the real winning element was the jalapeño hot sauce, served on the side. It was spicy and just totally delicious. We both smothered our portions of dog in it.

This hot dog was very, very good. I realize it is just a hot dog. I realize I was at a fancy restaurant, and could have been eating a house aged wood grilled steak or high end sashimi. But this is what I wanted and I loved it. I'd return for another in a heartbeat. So would Ojan.

Warm Blackberry and Almond Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. $23.

After our pile of fries, rings, and hotdog, we were actually totally full. We considered not getting dessert. And really, we were kinda giddy over that hotdog (seriously, so good!). Ojan said he'd have "one or two bites at most" of a dessert. I looked at the dessert menu. The full size desserts were all a commitment. They cost >$20 each, more than our entree. I figured they'd be huge and epic, and way too much for one person at this point.

The dessert menu also had a section of smaller petit fours, but, not a single one of those jumped out ... cupcakes? Lamingtons? Truffles? Meh. I almost walked away. But I couldn't. One dessert had an incredible sounding ice cream served alongside, so I tried to order just a scoop of that. No dice.

I still almost walked away. But ... I'd seen Instagram photos of a few of the desserts, and I just had to try one. I couldn't decide between the waffles or the pudding, but Ojan helped make that decision, saying he had no interest in the waffle dish. We do both love pudding.

Best. Decision. Ever. Even better than the hot dog decision. When we ordered this, Ojan thought "pudding" in the American sense, but I knew this was a pudding in the British sense. Rockpool Bar and Grill always has some form of this dessert on the menu based on seasonal fruit, and during our visit, it was blackberry. Not what I'd ever pick for my fruit or berry of choice, but, that is what our choice was. (Side note: I'm pretty jealous because the current offering is rhubarb and strawberry, much more my style!)

Anyway, what did we have here? This is so hard to describe. It had so many things going on.

At the very bottom was a cake. I didn't really care for that layer, since meh, I'm just not a cake girl. But above that was a light and fluffy layer, airy like a soufflé. It was incredible. I couldn't get over just how fluffy it was. And then, magically, the top was caramelized, like a crème brûlée. The crispy top is one of the reasons I love crème brûlée, so I was thrilled to see that component here in a totally different style of dish.

And then ... the "vanilla sauce", served in a pitcher on the side. The server poured some on tableside, and then left the rest with us. We smothered the entire thing in it. It was incredible, warm, sweet, and actually vanilla flavored. Oh, and yes, there were big huge blackberries in the pudding, which I wasn't into, but even big blackberries and cake didn't ruin this dessert for me.

This was a thing of wonder. A dessert unlike any I'd had before. It was warm, fluffy, sweet, crispy, fruity, creamy ... it was everything, all rolled into one. I'd get it again in a heartbeat. As would Ojan, Mr. "I'm just having one bite". $23 might seem like a lot for a dessert, but, this was entirely worth it. Best dessert I had in a long, long time.

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