peek at the kitchen

Today is Malc's birthday!!!

And following tradition, I arranged a surprise dinner for him today. I told Malc we're meeting at 8pm after iaido training in Pyrmont for an 8:30pm dinner which made him think of the possible restaurants where I was going to take him to. And as we walked down Pyrmont Road, the surprise became more apparent . . . we were heading for Sean's Kitchen (Level2, Star City, 80 Pyrmont Road, Pyrmont NSW 2009 ph +61 2 9777 9000). Sean's Kitchen is the more casual, less French, dining venue of Astral chef Sean Connelly.

For entree, Malc ordered cerviche of kingfish with citrus dressing. The dish came on a funky plate with colorful capsicum and tomato bits. Malc enjoyed the presentation and described it as light and refreshing. I tasted a few pieces of fish and thought the dressing overpowered the taste of the fish.

I ordered a serve of Fermin Iberico de Bellota jamon, one of the finest Spanish pata negra hams. The ham were cut paper thin which enhanced the salty-sweet taste of the meat. I tried it just by itself and with bread, both creating pleasant taste and texture in my mouth. The serving size was quite generous too.

For mains, Malc ordered bangers and beans, albeit a bit more upmarket minced wagyu bangers. The sausages were uniformly cooked throughout and retained their juices. Malc ate his dish slowly, and as he would say it in French, it is a dish with "consistence" as the mince was packed quite densely inside the sausage casing.

I ordered crispy skin Petuna ocean trout, and the skin was indeed very very crispy refusing to tear or break even after I had finished half of the serving. The fish was delicately flavoured and the seafood sauce did not overpower it's natural taste. The serving was quite generous too and the presentation was interesting. I discovered that the green stripe on the place was actually pureed basil.

I was getting full after the mains and was having second thoughts about dessert. Malc read through the dessert menu and declared, they have churros . . . and that was it one churros for me please. I haven't had decent churros in Sydney and I was not about to pass on this chance. The bread was so fluffy and light, just perfect. The chocolate sauce however, was a bit sweet, not really the Spanish-style chocolate that goes perfectly with the sugar-powdered churros.

Malc had apple crumble and when the dish arrived it looked like a deconstructed apple crumble. On one side was a stack of sweetened apple and on the other an ice-cream crumble. Malc found it mild and luxurious.


After dinner, I asked Malc if he enjoyed his birthday dinner and he said "very much so".

Happy birthday Dr Malc!