Spice Temple
Sep. 15th, 2013 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranWhat lies behind this mysterious glowing door on Bligh St?
There is actually an animated screen running up almost the full-length of the door, on which the magical curtains billow to reveal the name. We've come to Spice Temple, Neil Perry's spectacular Chinese-themed restaurant. Shall we enter?
Past the door, we descend down the stairs to the basement, where we meet our friends at the bar. Our table is already waiting. The restaurant floor is dimly lit, but perfumed by incense. We quickly choose one of the set banquet menus, along with a bottle of Malbec (possibly a poor choice on my part). Here are the starters: cucumber with smashed garlic and ginger; a cold cabbage and radish dish; and a spicy steamed chicken salad with pickled vegetables and coriander.
Next came a very fine eggplant dish with "three flavours": garlic; coriander; and sweet pork. And then this fried squid dish with five spice and dark chilli paste. This was possibly the highlight of the night. The squid was both crispy and tender and the chilli paste was wonderful.
Next up, steamed flathead fillets with a black bean and salted olive dressing. This was very well-done, the fish sweet and firm and the sauce more-ish.
Next this stir-fried Wagyu brisket with baby eggplant and chilli. Another excellent dish. Since Hsiu Lin doesn't eat beef, they also gave her a substitute dish of crisp roasted pork belly.
This is "Hakka-style" braised lamb with fermented red bean curd and Chinese five spice. We picked the five spice, but not the fermented red bean curd, which was actually quite subtle. The lamb was exceptionally soft. It also came with a side dish of Chinese Broccoli (Kai Lan) with house-made oyster sauce.
Finally, this lychee granita for dessert. This was especially interesting, because it was topped with flakes of dried strawberry and a hazelnut praline. Not a combination I would have thought of for lychee, but it worked very well.
All up, an intriguing night, and certainly a special adventure in the city. I've always had a lot of respect for Neil Perry's recipes, and this seems like a very intelligent interpretation of modern Chinese cooking, presented in a very atmospheric location.
There is actually an animated screen running up almost the full-length of the door, on which the magical curtains billow to reveal the name. We've come to Spice Temple, Neil Perry's spectacular Chinese-themed restaurant. Shall we enter?
Past the door, we descend down the stairs to the basement, where we meet our friends at the bar. Our table is already waiting. The restaurant floor is dimly lit, but perfumed by incense. We quickly choose one of the set banquet menus, along with a bottle of Malbec (possibly a poor choice on my part). Here are the starters: cucumber with smashed garlic and ginger; a cold cabbage and radish dish; and a spicy steamed chicken salad with pickled vegetables and coriander.
Next came a very fine eggplant dish with "three flavours": garlic; coriander; and sweet pork. And then this fried squid dish with five spice and dark chilli paste. This was possibly the highlight of the night. The squid was both crispy and tender and the chilli paste was wonderful.
Next up, steamed flathead fillets with a black bean and salted olive dressing. This was very well-done, the fish sweet and firm and the sauce more-ish.
Next this stir-fried Wagyu brisket with baby eggplant and chilli. Another excellent dish. Since Hsiu Lin doesn't eat beef, they also gave her a substitute dish of crisp roasted pork belly.
This is "Hakka-style" braised lamb with fermented red bean curd and Chinese five spice. We picked the five spice, but not the fermented red bean curd, which was actually quite subtle. The lamb was exceptionally soft. It also came with a side dish of Chinese Broccoli (Kai Lan) with house-made oyster sauce.
Finally, this lychee granita for dessert. This was especially interesting, because it was topped with flakes of dried strawberry and a hazelnut praline. Not a combination I would have thought of for lychee, but it worked very well.
All up, an intriguing night, and certainly a special adventure in the city. I've always had a lot of respect for Neil Perry's recipes, and this seems like a very intelligent interpretation of modern Chinese cooking, presented in a very atmospheric location.
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