Porteño in Surry Hills

Going to Porteño was quite a feat. We had to gather five foodies that were willing to dine fancy without a reason other than the name and fame of the restaurant. And in my circle of friends nowadays, it was rather hard to find. The most foodie of my friends have all gone overseas to live. Anyhow, we ended up pooling our connections and got a booking so that we didn't have to wait till 9p.m. for and excitedly, we all turned up for the Argentinian fare one Friday evening.

I think the last time I was here, it was for a 21st for a pair of twins, and we were smashing plates, but no one in my party remembers if this used to be a Greek restaurant all those years ago. *Shrugs*. I didn't mind, it's just that the place still retained a very mediterannean feel for me with its marble tables and floor tiles and that made the whole experience feel like we were invited to a Argentinian home eating food from some fantastic home cooks. The crockery felt like what you would expect to find in any Argentinian's home. But I have never been to Argentina and only have been to one Chilean home in my lifetime so I am not an expert.

CHORIZO PORTENO  

Housemade Pork Sausage

 But I know Chorizos and this was the first dish we got, glad that it was a familiar one and that the flavour was good.

MORCILLA  

Blood Sausage with Red Peppers in Garlic

 Then the adventure really begin. We weren't squeamish about blood sausages as we have grown up eating blood products in our culture. But the black sausage took us with surprise with its moreish flavour. It was earthy, well seasoned and really creamy in texture (almost like a Pâté).

ENSALADA DE QUINOA Quinoa Salad, Harissa Eggplant, Preserved Lemon & Mint Yoghurt

MORRONE Y BRENJENAS ASADA BBQ Eggplant & Bullhorn Peppers with Garlic, Chilli and Sherry Dressing

 That wasn't the only creamy dish for the night. The eggplant was almost like it had been pureed. Some parts of it was a lot more charred than others and didn't have as pleasant a flavor and some others got more oil than I seemed to get on my spoonful. I loved my bite, they didn't. Ah well. The Quinoa salad was Yum! Everything I can't seem to get in my quinoa salads. But I could just eat a bowlful of this one on its own for lunch.

CHANCHITO & CORDERO A LA CRUZ  

8 hour Woodfired Pig

& Lamb

 Porteño is famous for its wood fired pit, so $46 for each of these dishes didn't seem overpriced. The meat falls of the bones and melts in your mouth. What more can one expect? Awesome pork crackling? Yep they got that one down pat too.

VERDURAS DE OTONO Marinated BBQ Wild Mushrooms, Young Potatoes, Braised
Cavolo Nero, Red Quinoa & Creamed Cauliflower

 The perfect dish to wash the oily meats dishes down. This simple combination of power foods was light and refreshing and creamed cauliflower so smooth it was as though nature made cauliflowers that way.

PULPO AL MALBEC  

Malbec Braised Octopus, Chicken Fregola Risotto & Witlof Chopped Salad

 A nice dish to finish the night's oily dishes with. Porteño is also known for its seafood dishes and this was a good one to try. The sweet seafood taste balanced with the bitterness of witlof salad, it was a yumm dish and  again very refreshing after the oily meat dishes.

Btw, I don't seem to have a picture of the fried brussel sprouts. I must say they do live up to its hype, never thought brussel sprouts could be made to taste yummy. But, to get it tasting that good, it takes a lot of oil and ermm, I don't think I could feed my children this no matter how desperate I am to get them to like brussel sprouts. But they'd definitely convert with this dish for sure.

 A traditional chocolate torte with apricot and cream. Rich and rustic but I wouldn't necessarily be ordering this to finish of the meal we just had. I might like something more tart, lemony and light I suppose, but this did feel like something an Argentinian grandmother is likely to dish up.

 A burnt leche custard that is delicious, well balanced with the fennel ice-cream, the rhubarb and the popcorn introduces the right level of surprise in texture to its otherwise creamy counterparts.

POSTRE CHAJÁ South American Style Pavlova with Peanuts

Something that was again rustic and hearty. We were really stuffed by this point though and unfortunately didn't have much more room for this dessert. If only we didn't have to leave our table for the next sitting, I would have loved to just sip at my Pedro Ximenez and soak in the happy noise and digest away some of that deliciousness. But sadly, we need to share and someone else was about to begin their own Argentinian adventure.

So there you have it. Something that was on my bucket list that I ticked off. That was easy.

Bespoke Summit

I work in the world of conferences and so it was logical for work to pay for my attendance to AFR's bespoke summit. Whilst we don't sell fashion or luxury, we did have a world-class brand and a keen mind for business, the place I work for. So I eagerly adorned myself this morning and made my way to the Sydney Opera House, not realising that I was in for quite such an entertaining program.
I expected to learn something, but I didn't expect to learn so much.

I learnt the power of a good story; building a good story that is uniquely yours and one that inspires those that listened. A full day of people of success and great stories that were original and honest, all flown in to this stage to collaborate in leading the business of luxury and defining what makes luxury. From the humble jean and surf to the elite runways and integrated resorts, the history of candle and perfume and the rise of the cultural and digital evolution of our present retail climate, nothing was left unaddressed. Everything that epitomises bespoke luxury was laid out raw and bare for us to scrutinise.

But it has always been that hasn't it? Luxury was pure industry, laborious craftsmanship creating well loved products/ services that brought with it great experiences. Touhami of Cire Trudon explains the purchase of luxury as the exchange of time. My time spent earning money in exchange for the time you spent on making the product. All that money and success and they never took away his ability to still call a spade a spade and to laugh at himself. Hats off to him (If I wore a hat).

Another European man today that inspired me today said these moving words in a beautiful Italian accent:

 “What I want to tell you in the end, after all this shouting, all these collaborations garner attention and make business sense ... It’s not charity, it’s just work. Thank you.” Simone Cipriani

Others who dazzled me today include the humble James Packer and his polished, quietly confident demeanour; Pallavi Sharda with her loyalty to her roots and the passion for her exuberant culture (making me vow to never cull my future children's eccentricity and affinity for a different culture when they are growing up, it might just become their identity); The Saturdays boys with their originality and boyish business acumen; Mr Net-a-Porter's clarity of comprehension of the male shopper preferences (made me wish he was married to my husband and so could explain him to me!). Also So sweet to see the husband and wife collaboration behind Coco Rocha and James Conran, to see so much love & protection from him of her brand.


All that in one jam packed day of information. A weaved collaboration of some of the best luxury players in the world to bring to Australia the ideas and insights of the industry. Now feast your eyes!

Premium catering by Matt Moran

Loved the eclectic introduction slides for Josh Goot

Fruit station for anytime you're in need of a snack

I go crazy for this trend of drinks in jars and strped paper straws

James Conran and wife Coco Rocha

Truly Sydney Panel

The brains and hearts of Sass & Bide

The man who encouraged us to not shy away from little digital experiments and to let your community build you

Selling their honest lifestyle, the Saturday boys lets their brand grow organically.

Movida Melbourne

Walking up towards Hosier lane, I knew this was one of those funky places that is located in an unassuming alleyway. I was expecting a massive queue, but for a five pm Sunday arvo bar snack, I guess there wasn't much contention and I got seated at the bar really quickly.

The bartender/ waiter was really helpful and knowledgeable, relating the foreign wines to a local palate to a tee.

2009 Esporao Reserva Antao vaz/arinto/roupeiro Alentejo Portugal
Described to be full and buttery, like a Chardonnay, and he was right. It was a golden liquid that was a perfect accompaniment for the rich bar snacks I ordered to go with it.

QUESO $4.00 each: Quince Paste Cigar with Whipped Goats Milk Cheese

Anything that is crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside surely has my vote, but this delicate tapa was light as a feather and the cheese this delicious flavour that just lingers that little bit on your tongue. A shame almost, to wash it with a sip of wine.

Lobster Sashimi Special
A special of the day that caught my attention. It didn't melt on my mouth as one would expect from looking at it. Despite the nice flavouring, it was rather chewy and not the best lobster sashimi I've had. Serves me right for not sticking to the traditional Spanish dishes.

 POLLO ESCABACHE AL MIGUEL $4.50 each: Spiced Chicken Escabache Tapa on Crisp Crouton

This one was a generous serving. I ended up deconstructing it and having two tapas. Delicate wafer thin croutons, topped with chicken that's just the right tinge of sour for escabeche. Really good for getting the juices flowing as a starter.

GAMBA; a full prawn baked in a bed of rock salt & rosemary served with a wedge of lemon. I thought whilst the presentation of this was lovely, the prawn was overcooked and lacked any flavour other than the salt it rested on. Really fiddly to eat too if you didn't want to use your hands. Not that bad a dish as the prawns were a good quality, but certainly not recommended for a bar snack.

2010 Castro Martin Albarino Rias Baixas Spain: I really didn't need a second drink but the bartender had described this one so well and since he was spot on with the other wine, I got curious. Am glad I did though, this wine seems to embody the rocky, chalky terrain (with puny little resilient purple flowers peeking from the cracks) it must have originated from. Well, if it didn't then, that's certainly what I envisioned when I started drinking it, transported to a foreign land where I was at peace with myself.

So in that happy daze, having had two amazing wines and tapa and two average ones, I stumbled back out towards Flinders St station. The sky had turned dark whilst I was indoors. I had forgotten I was in Melbourne's alleyways, or that I was away from home. Glad that the afternoon slipped away in such a trendy fashion, I braced myself for the balmy walk back to South bank, with lingering memories of the Spanish trip I had just taken.

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April Empties

1 Chanel Chance Perfume sample, very handy to keep in my purse for a refresher after work, before play. Who doesn't love the Chanel Chance scent?

2 Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Moisturising soap with Shea butter - Again the spoils of the Maldives Hotel Bathroom stash. I couldn't resist free C&E products, especially when it came in my favourite range of all the Crabtree products.

3 Skin Choice Placenta + Pearl Facial Treatment Mask - Special with Eyelid design for Elasticity & Brightening: Something I bought from Hong Kong Watson because I was trying to stock up on facial masks and the lady was aghast that I was using Oil of Olay. For my youthful skin she swore this product was a lot more suitable as it was light and nourishing and so hydrating that it would keep my skin supple. My verdict having now finished the box? I don't think it gives me any brightening results nor elasticity. Yes it is hydrating and refreshing after a hot stressful day, but it doesn't deliver the amazing results that I have been used to getting from the other masks I use. I have two more boxes of these unfortunately, but I am not revisiting this after that.

4 Skin Choice Luxury Skin Care - Caviar extract, pearl &; hyaluronic acid. Self Waterizing drop cream For all skin types: Of the same product line as the previous product, this was hailed as the all in one moisturiser that was luxe in its texture but yet easily absorbable due to its high water content, perfect to use even under the eyes. My verdict, I love that this product smells like Hazeline Snow in a way, the texture is a really light watery cream that doesn't leave a thick residue and I never need to wash off the next morning as it would be fully absorbed, I didn't think that the cream did very much other than moisturise however. I like to make my night creams work hard for me whilst I am rejuvenating and I can see this is clearly a day cream and not a night face and neck cream like I have been using it as.

5 Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Shea Butter Body Wash - Disgusting gloppy texture with a sickly honey smell. It doesn't lather up and doesn't leave you smelling fabulous after the shower as most the glop gets washed down the drain as soon as you try to lather it. This was a Christmas kringle gift a year ago and if I ever found out who my Secret Santa was, I'd have words with them.

6 Sunsilk Summer Care Leave in conditioner - This was the summer of 2004 and all the memories of us with our tropical coconut-scented hair lying on the beach vying for an even tan. Way before wrinkles and the threat of Skin Cancer frightened us cause we were uni students then and we were bold and invincible  Don't know if this product still exists on the shelves, but it was all the rage back then and always sat in my beach bag. That's probably why I never finished using it, I never frequented the beach often enough after starting work. Boo...

7 KissMe Mascara - A Japanese label available at Sasa and most reputable Japanese Makeup resellers. It is Maybelline for Asian eyelashes. Elongating, Curling and easy to apply. This tube is kept fresh well beyond the typical 3 months of usage you'd normally get from other mascaras as they dry up and gets clumpy. Not the KissMe though. Its curved wand distributes the mascara evenly right up till the end.

8 Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion -  Refer previous Burt's bees review, I didn't like the lotion any better. It was sloppy, watery honey smelling gunk that absorbs well and does the moisturising job, but oh there is nothing lux about applying this product and I'd rather enjoy moisturising rather than cringe and get drips of body lotion every where. Uggh!

9 Neutrogena pure mild facial cleanser for all skin types. A trustworthy product that just does the job and will never fail you. I have had this bottle since Uni days too and really gritted my teeth to finish the very last bit. I will miss the pump bottle dispenser as most my facial cleansers come in tube packaging.

This makes my Project 100Pan tally sit currently at 23.33 products thus far. That's almost GBP50 to spend on my trip! Glee!

Saké Sydney

A restaurant that we've waited years to get to. Not that it was hard to get into but the abundance of good Japanese restaurants in Sydney has made it unnecessary to frequent such a posh Japanese place unless it was a really special occassion.

Last week we went there to celebrate a 30th birthday and it was nice to see that the restaurant was still flourishing well with patrons to its brim. And for good reason because the service was excellent such as one would expect of Japanese service.

An extensive sake and beverage list was the first thing I picked up and overwhelmed by the choices of many unfamiliar sakes, I settled on a pre-dinner drink of Hendricks Gin with a slice of cucumber. It was nice to see a degustation menu that is paired with sake but it was a school night, it wouldn't be wise to drink all that much, especially when I am not trained to appreciate the flavours.

So what of the food? Scrumptious modern Japanese fare. You're encouraged to share and so we got a bite each of the dishes below:

Tuna Ceviche: lemon dressing, finished with coriander, jalapeño chilli, tomato & crunchy fried onion, perfectly seasoned twist to Japanese sashimi. and the Jalapeno adds a welcome kick of heat.Crunchy onion flakes, coriander and sesame oil keep the dish unmistakably Asian but the sour tang was a beautiful way to whet your appetite and begin the meal.

Tonkatsu cups: 4 pieces of panko-fried pork belly & spring-onion bites, served in lettuce cups with mustard miso & Japanese barbeque sauce. Yummy stuff, fried and crunchy with enough salad leaves to distract you from the fact that it isn't the most healthy dish to have loads of (you could very easily though).


Nasu dengaku: grilled eggplant with light and dark miso pastes, creamy eggplant flesh with sesame seed riddled miso sauce that reminds me of the traditional Yong Tau Fu sweet sauce we used to have back in Malaysia. Loved that flavour a lot when I was a kid so it was a trip down Memory lane.



Sashimi tacos: tuna & salmon sashimi filled baby tacos with chilled tomato salsa matched with Kozaemon Junmai ‘sake shots’. I have always liked Sashimi tacos, in Ocean Room but to chase the delicate flavours with sugar rimmed sake shots, that seemed counter-intuitive at first but I realised that the Kozaemon Junmai was as delicate as the fish it chased. In fact it was a beautiful palate cleanser to prepare us for the mains.


Buta no kakuni onsen tamago: 12 hour braised pork belly, daikon radish, 64°C hens egg, truffle oil scallions was gorgeous, melt in your mouth pork and the fragrance of the egg yolk runned through the daikon sweet sauce, everything came together beautifully before it melted away.


S express: scallops, spicy mayo, cucumber, seared salmon, witlof & sweet sauce, the bitterness and crunch of the witlof slices through the other components of the sushi in a perfect balance.

Dynamite spicy tuna, shredded onion & cucumber with spicy tobiko. These simple makis pack a punch.

Miso-cream scallops: pan-seared scallops, baby corn, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms & yuzu miso cream, is a recommended dish, and it is delicious, light but rich. Exactly right to share this dish, just enough to tempt the tastebuds.


Crispy chicken karaage: fried chicken pieces served with creamy spicy sauce, so much delicious sauce and only so many pieces of fried chicken. I liked the batter. It was light and golden. Not overfried like how some other places overdo it.

Yuzu Soufflé with dragonfruit, one of the most refreshing desserts I've ever had. I'd have it anytime, If you think you've had too much too eat and was bloated, this is the dessert to have to close the meal. There is so much dessert in its flavour, but it doesn't take up any room, Just tangy sweet fluffy air.

Green tea kitkat: Have you ever had these from Japan? I think they sell it here now at 7-11, but the construction of this one is far more sophisticated and delightful.

The infamous Bento box dessert with delish mango coconut balls that stare at you before you pop them into your mouth, edible paper rolls that are gooey and chewy, Black sesame balls nested upon the most delightful fairy floss and Yuzu sorbet to refresh your palate so that you can taste those flavours all over again.

I love the place and would highly recommend it to anyone in search of good fusion Japanese and five-star treatment.



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