After picking up the son from the airport on Friday things went quietly berserk from there. He was down for his City and Guilds test, which was on Monday, with the weekend time for a little shopping and catch up with family and friends. I don’t think the lad stopped for more than a few hours to sleep here and there.
Once again, I was re-introduced to a few of his favourite places, such as the Black Pearl in the Valley and Executive Chef over at South Bank. It’s fun watching him in those stores. He’s like a kid on Christmas morning in these places. But it was not just a little emotional reunion he had in mind. First item was the obtaining of some serious knife gear. I am not bothering to remember much, because the price of these little fancy things combined would easily be about a couple of weeks rent. Thank God he gets industry discount. But I have to say metal that has been folded 32 (?) times has the wickedest visual effect on the blade.
Also due to my sons love of the simple things (?) he also stocked up on basics such as salt and garlic for me. Murray River Pink Salt flakes and some smoked salt too. Yes, there is such a thing and yes it does taste different. The garlic just from looking at it has you thinking it was recently found in an ancient Egyptian tomb, until you smell it. Then your mind starts doing overtime thinking about how you are going to blitz some cooking venture with it. Then there was the ‘ham’ he got me. Jamon Serrano Sliced ham. Very nice. The chocolate, well, you get the idea with this place, so I won’t go into details, except to say the boy loves his sister, very much. He bought her some fairy floss. Fairy floss I hear no one say? Yes, fairy floss. I like the strawberry but I love the rose flavoured one.
One thing I am going to do is go back to the Pearl and get some good oil, so I can drop a few of the garlic cloves in there for him. Black garlic in some next level kiss my ass uber REAL virgin olive oil should work out quite well. Of course my picking up as much as my bank balance will allow is also well and truly on the cards.
We also had dinner at his old haunt, Il Centro on Sunday. After the moving man hug reunions, we settled down to some seriously righteous food. Being a lover of the traditional I settled over the Sand crab Lasagna entrée and was not disappointed. I would suggest ordering a small serving of bread because trust me, you will not be able to leave the left over sauce alone. Next up was the sixteen hour lamb shank and cutlet, now you feel good if you can cook shanks that don’t resemble rubber, this baby was so tender it melted in your mouth, with the accompanying sides balancing the dish to perfection.
My memory of the deserts is a little vague thanks to the one glass of wine I had, but I know for a fact they were perfect too.
The wine was a wonderful little thing.
A 2008 Tapanappa Pinot Noir. If you have the chance to acquire this little darling, do it. You will be thankful, not to mention have that rare moment where the second that first slip slides through your mouth, you know you are in for a very special treat.
While we are on the subject of next level food, here is a pic of one the dishes my boy’s place does. It’s their idea of a burger.
Yes that is gold leaf on the onion, that is on the duck egg that is on the Angus beef. The black stuff to the uninitiated on the other half of the burger is truffle. Underneath that is some 'ham'. The name of which is Jamon Iberico, the fact that per kilo it runs to a four figure amount says it all. Interesting side note, the chips are individually slightly hollowed out and injected with the house’s special tomatoe sauce.
Well, what did you expect for the Best European restaurant in Australia, 2010?????
Funnily enough, even with all the next level food things going on over the weekend, it is still a huge compliment that all of my family love my cooking, be it something special or just a simple from the meat and bones and water up, braised steak and onions.
While I don’t have time for shows about wanna be cooks wishing they were chefs, one of the personalities involved, Matt Preston, said it best when he stated “The best meals you can ever have are the ones you have with loved ones.”
