CRU - Bar à Huîtres Review

Bit of a late review! I've been so busy trying to balance my work, personal and social life, there has literally been no time to spare when it comes to my blog. Shame on me, I know.

So, to kick-start this blog again, I going back to basics and doing what I love best: Food/Restaurant reviews!

This place has an honorable mention, since I love it and it's a place that I've been to twice. The first was around May 2017 and the second time was for my birthday in September 2017. Sadly, I did not take any quality photos, so the photos from my initial visit will have to make do. 

Since it's only fair to provide a more fresh review, here's a copy-pasta of the review I did on Google:

It was a last minute decision to have dinner here and I'm glad we did. Upon entering the restaurant, there was this air of modern elegance and was greeted by one of the wait staff, where he offered to take our coats.

Since we arrived at 5:30PM, it was relatively empty (on a Sunday), so we were offered a table for 2 near the windows, which offered a nice view.

The two downsides I could think of, was that the waiter didn't really inform us that the main dishes were pretty big and we did not manage to finish our main course. Having said that, they were nice enough to pack the leftovers nicely (still awesome as a leftover lunch).

The staff was attentive and overall provided a good service. The time in-between courses was just long enough for us to have a decent chat and rest. Most of the dishes were full of flavour and was well-cooked.

The other (downside) was when I rang last minute (at 5PM) to make a reservation and whoever answered the phone seemed unfriendly and was quick to hang-up without asking for a name or saying goodbye (I understand that it's quiet, but still..). Not going to dock points for this, but something that could be improved on.

Overall, I definitely recommend this place for any special occasion or if you decide to spoil yourself.

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Without further ado, here are the photos!

For entrees: 1/2 dozen oysters

 Old Fashioned Beef Tartare served on Bone Marrow

 Tuna Sashimi with Soy & Orange Vinaigrette

Fried Squid with Homemade Kimchi, Mango & Basil

 Off-the-menu special: Seared Yellow-fin Tuna, Caramelized Pear, Sauteed Brussel Sprouts & Sweet Potato Mash

18oz 60-days Dry-aged Steak served with Pepper sauce & Onion Rings | Side: Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Yellow Curry with Crispy Pork Belly

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By far, if you're to ask me, the winner dish is the Beef Tartare!

Overall, here's my thoughts:

• Food/Presentation: 4/5 (Love the upscale presentation for sure!)
• Ambience: 4.5/5 (Enjoyed the rustic, chillax atmosphere)
• Service: 4/5 (Friendly wait-staff!)
• Monetary value: 2.5/5 (For cost of living in Montreal, definitely on the upper-end)

Do you want to send your taste-buds on a CRU-ise? Then check them out here!:

585 Victoria Avenue | St. Lambert

Quebec, J4P 3R2, Canada

(P): 450-671-8278

(W): http://www.restaurantcru.ca/

Via Italia Mooloolaba Review

It has definitely been a while since I posted my last review since I've been so caught up with my new job! Creating an ideal holiday whilst meeting the client's expectations can be hard and so goddamn stressful at times.

Admittedly, I visited this restaurant mid-December 2013 but the food there was absolutely amazing that I cannot stop raving to anyone who may potentially visit the Sunshine Coast! 

Located on Mooloolaba Esplanade, it boasts quite a rustic, quaint look, which warmly welcomes you as a waiter takes you to an available table. 

 Rustic, right?

After being handed over the menu (on a clipboard), James, Diane and I really struggled through the menu - everything sounded so goddamn scrumptious. As scrumptious as it sounded, initially I was quite skeptical due to past experiences with other Italian restaurants with fancy menus but it never lived up to my expectations. Moreover, the prices at Via Italia, is definitely on the upper-market level. 

What originally caught my eye, was the pot of seafood: 

38.9/ A pot full of Seafood Marinara Fregula, Sardinian Cous cous, octopus, cloudy bay clams, Mooloolaba prawns, our smoked salmon, spicy tomato, our "crazy water" kombu crisps.

Nearing close to $40AUD, I was a bit skeptical and James took that option anyways. After flipping the pages back and forth for almost 15 minutes, I finally decided to order:

36.9/ Italian spiced Porcetta, slow cooked pork belly, popcorn milk, apple balsamic pork jus, baby carrots, roasted plums, fennel and chilli pork crackers.

On the other hand, Diane decided on:

36.9/ Our Hay Smoked Salmon Fazzoletti, silky pasta sheets, capers, dill, smoked dried tomato, cream, sea vegetable, anchovy crumble.

We also ordered a bottle of red wine and merrily chugged sipped at it until our food arrived.

 Behold! The Marinara served in a rustic cast iron pot. 

 The pork belly dish looking quite artsy fartsy.

 The Salmon Fazzoletti. The "sea vegetable"served on this dish (that long thin green veggie looking strips) is samphire! First time seen it served here in Australia!!

I definitely did not hesitate to dig into my dish as soon as it was served as I was starving ....

What. The. Hell?! This is sorcery!

How did you guys at Via Italia, manage to make pork belly that literally melts-in-your-mouth?!!!! I must know your secrets and will pester someone about this the next trip back to the coast!

Everything complimented one another on my dish: From the some what sour roast plums, easing the fatty, melty goodness of the pork belly, and the sweetness of deeply marinated baby carrots and the sauce. 

I thought mine was the best dish ordered on the table until I took a bite of seafood marinara dish James had ordered. Now, let me get this straight - I generally do not like tomato-based sauce and it has to be absolutely flavourful and rich before I can actually say that I like it. I've been to one too many supposedly "amazing" Italian restaurants and always have been disappointed. 

I can gladly say that Seafood Marinara pot is THE BEST I've ever tasted. Man, I did not know I was able to love a tomato-based dish so much! Even a slight mention of this pot, renders me into a drooling mess. 

Diane's dish was great too: The pasta was silky, and cream sauce on seafood pasta is my favourite, it simply cannot go wrong! Not to mention, I love sun-dried tomatoes (okay, I get that it is funny that I hate tomato-sauce but love semi-sundried tomatoes from a jar).

Ashamedly, I have to admit that I finished my dish, finished Diane's dish (as she was a small eater), and I finally scooped the remainder of James' dish when he couldn't finish his either, to a point that Diane said that I had a "good appetite". *I lost my dignity over food*

I got a little side-tracked over food and must say that we had a very lovely Swedish waiter who explained everything and was of great service!

Anyways, time for my verdict!

• Food/Presentation: 5/5 (I cannot stop thinking about that seafood marina pot. Seriously!)
• Ambience: 4.5/5 (Love the rustic feel, but it was a bit too busy/cramped for my liking for it to be 5/5)
• Service: 5/5 (Had an awesome cute/eye-candy Swedish waiter who was professional and provided a great service!)
• Monetary value: 4/5 (Yes, it is somewhat overpriced but that's pretty much what you pay for "fine dining" restaurants. Personally, I am happy to pay that again for the food I had. Money doesn't compare when your taste buds are having an orgasm).

If we had a car, I'd be making very regular trips to Via Italia! 

Pay them a visit if you are heading to the Sunshine Coast anytime soon!

Via Italia

Shop 13 Peninsula Apartments | Mooloolaba Esplanade,

Queensland, Australia

(P): 07 5477 7343 

(W): http://www.viaitalia.com.au/

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Stuffed Squid with Beef Mince (Beta Version)

Being recently unemployed has certainly sparked some sort of motivation and creativity - which is good but also bad as I'm broke as hell.

Anyways, I was surfing the interwebz to kill time and was looking through food columns and the one thing that caught my attention was squid. I asked myself, 'How often do I cook and prepare squid?'

Answer was: 'Not at all'.

Initially, I really wanted to make squid ink sauce pasta (only if my local store sold it) and alternatively, if there weren't any squid ink, I wanted to make stuffed squid - it  brings back so many memories of grandma steaming stuffed squid with minced pork! Yummy!

So, I headed down to my local fishmongers and see whether there was any squid ink. The lady told me that they did and I was ecstatic, up 'til the point I realised that it was sold, in a jar, for $36AUD =__= FML. Guess the dinner menu was stuffed squid!

The squid hood was so cheap! I bought 3 humongous ones (minimum I had to pay by card was $10AUD booo) for $10.80AUD!!

Then headed to the nearest Woolworths and screw you Hamilton branch! All they had was "premium organic minced beef" selling at $9.90AUD!! Y U NO SELL CHEAP MINCED BEEF?! OR EVEN MINCED PORK?! *sigh* Seriously, just cause I live in an upper-class suburb doesn't mean I like jacked-up prices (3 times the average price?!).

I did do a little bit of research prior to the commencement of this dish and there were quite a few variations and it was quite hard finding one similar to what my grandma used to make for me. I opted to  play it by ear and see what I could do.

This is my rendition of a stuffed squid dish:

Ingredients:
Squid hoods (cleaned)
Minced meat (mostly recommend pork or chicken mince, but I had to do mine with beef)
Chopped spring onion stalks
4 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
White pepper
2 tbsp sesame oil
Toothpicks

I bought the squid hoods cleaned and prepped, so less work for me!

Method:

1. I love spring onions and thought this would be a wonderful addition to the minced meat stuffing, so I  chopped up 2 big stalks of it (add as much or as little to one's preference). Mix it with minced meat in a bowl.

2. Add soy sauce (I actually recommend more than what I typed above as it wasn't salty enough, but not too much!), Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil and white pepper (again, add as much or little; I put several shakings of it) with the minced meat and combine it all with a spoon until it looks like this:

3. Rinse the squid hoods and remove any impurities and then stuff the minced meat concoction into the hoods. Do not overfill as the squid will shrink during cooking. I left an inch space near the opening.

Should look something like this. Mind you, the squid hoods I bought were huge! I suggest finding a small to medium sized squid.

4. Use toothpicks to seal the opening of the squid. I, however, forgot to buy toothpicks, so I resorted to doing it a very shitty way (slitting little holes with a knife and using long strips of spring onion to tie it). This is to prevent the meat stuffing from falling out during the cooking process. Highly recommend using toothpicks. This is how mine looked like upclose:

6. If you have a bamboo steamer, great! Use it! Steam for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked and serve! Alternatively, you can cut them up to show the meat inside!

Me, on the other hand, do not possess such a wonderful kitchen utensil, so I have resorted to making my own steamer. Beware: mine did not work as well.

Unfortunately, all 3 squids could not fit into my make-shift steamer, so I tried pan frying one of the stuffed squids. I also didn't think that it would cook all the way through, especially and admittedly, did put a lot of the stuffing into the squids. The steamed ones looked alright but would have done better in a  proper steamer.

Ultimately, out of frustration, I popped all 3 (steamed and pan-fried) into the oven at 150 Celsius grill for about 15 minutes and constantly checking the state of it. I also did, at one point, turned the oven down to 100 Celsius, for 5 minutes and turned it back up to 150 before bringing them out of the oven. I seriously consider this a fail in my books.

THE END RESULT:

To be honest, I thought I flunked this recipe completely but the oven did save this dish. Taste-wise, it could have been saltier with more added soy sauce or salt. The meat turned out fine (though this picture makes the meat looks pink, I assure you that it was well-done).

I ate this with ABC Chilli sauce or for all Sriracha fans, that would be a perfect dipping sauce too!

Definitely a beta version and hopefully do an upgrade on it later on!