District Dining Sydney

District Dining was an unexpected detour from my friend's original plan for our Saturday catch-up. She realised a couple of days prior that she has a Groupon voucher to dine two set courses for the price of one. And since this place has been on my list ever since I noticed it at Taste of Sydney I thought why not.

The difference between regular dining and set-course menu is that some of the options from the regular menu are not offered within the list of dishes you can choose from; and also you get a glass of either riesling or cabernet (I honestly wasn't paying attention at the wines offered) for each person. But I didn't want any alcohol so I asked if I could change this to flat white, I think normally you can't but our waiter was kind enough to, so thanks for that! Anyway, moving on to the food, below were the options offered as part of the set-course menu:

-ENTREE-

Kingfish, Wasabi Snow, Soy Tapioca, Radish

Black Pepper Tofu, Chilli, Ginger, Broccoli

Chicken Liver Parfait, Port Jelly, Toast, Red Grapes

-MAINS-

Cous Cous Stew, Root Vegetables, Honey, Labne

Suzuki Mulloway, Vadouvan, Cauliflower, Coriander

Spiced 12-hour Lamb Shoulder, Pumpkin, Raisin, Brik Pastry, Feta

-DESSERT-

White Chocolate Cheesecake, Passionfruit Sorbet

Blueberry Eton Mess, Blueberry Sorbet

Bread and Butter Pudding, Prune, Cinnamon & Apple Crumble Ice Cream

For entree I ordered the Kingfish and my friend ordered the Chicken Liver Parfait. The Kingfish was a little too salty for my liking and also maybe a little too overcooked? (I'm still a newbie when it comes to commenting on food so forgive me for the uncertainty) The saltiness definitely wasn't helped by the huge amount of fish roes chunked on the bottom of the dish. Luckily the wasabi snow neutralises the saltiness of the fish and roes. The soy tapioca (orange balls) were pleasant and reminds me a lot of the hawker snacks such as deep fried fish balls but gourmet style. Either way, the entree wasn't to my liking but I think it's more of a personal preference than anything else.

As for the Chicken Liver Parfait, it was definitely an acquired taste. It tasted divine, if only it wasn't as sweet. It was undoubtedly surprising for me because my friend put huge dollops of the liver parfait on her toast and she seemed to enjoy it immensely so I thought it must've tasted really great but I beg to differ on that. I was overly glad I didn't put too much on mine. 

So then, to share between the both of us we ordered the Crispy Quail Eggs with Tarragon Mayonnaise. The quail eggs were interesting but at the same time the dish wasn't too exciting, it was good but has no distinctive flavour or texture to remember it by. Verdict: the entrees were not to my liking.

For mains we both ordered the Suzuki Mulloway, and this was divine. The skin was crispy and the fish meat melted beautifully. It was fresh and a delight to eat through.

Now we're onto the most important part of the set menu: Dessert! I ordered the Bread and Butter Pudding whilst my friend ordered the Blueberry Eton Mess. Short to say, the next time I visit District Dining I will have to order the Eton Mess all to myself. Don't get me wrong, the Bread and Butter Pudding was actually great as well except I forgot I can't handle too much of dense and heavy desserts. Although I only had a spoonful of the Eton Mess it's more than enough to entice me to try it again the next time I come back (whenever that would be!). 

The other thing that I would like to try (and sadly it wasn't offered as part of the set menu) was the Peanut Butter Parfait, Chocolate Cookie Crumble, Banana; just from the ingredients listed alone I am already salivating. 

Overall, we were stuffed to the brim, had a satisfying dining experience and despite some dislike that I have with some of the dishes I'm definitely coming back to try other dishes District Dining has to offer.

Kingfish, Wasabi Snow, Soy Tapioca, Radish

(Top) Crispy Quail Eggs, Tarragon Mayonnaise

(Below) Chicken Liver Parfait, Port Jelly, Toast, Red Grapes

Suzuki Mulloway, Vadouvan, Cauliflower, Coriander

Bread and Butter Pudding, Prune, Cinnamon & Apple Crumble Ice Cream

Blueberry Eton Mess, Blueberry Sorbet

Lunch at Flying Fish Restaurant

Flying Fish Restaurant in Pyrmont has a great location with a fantastic view towards the Harbour, that is only if you're lucky to be seated anywhere near a window with such a view. I think I should stop expecting great things just from seeing pictures of fantastic food and great sights blogged by prominent food bloggers. Obviously, that expectations do not meet the dreadful reality.

I can definitely understand the whole hype in terms of food, the Seared Yellow Fin Tuna with Ruby Grapefruit, Sweet Crackling Pork and Black Pepper Caramel was divine. I wished I had this as a main instead of an entree. And as a main I ordered their Cone Bay Barramundi, Chorizo, Black Garlic, Pearl Barley with Lemon Juice dish, which probably wasn't as special as the entree that I ordered. But the crispy skin and the really soft fish meat were such beautiful contrast that I was just marvelling at such differing texture. As a side dish a few of us shared a plate of hand cut chips with chilli salt that has been widely renowned, and I can definitely attest to this. The chips were lovely soft and fluffy though the outside was not crunchy it was absolutely wonderful to bite into. 


Excellent, excellent food. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone.

Alas, one thing lingered, the excellently exquisite food cannot match the smile-less service that we get from our waiters. I'm not entirely sure whether it was because of the day that we were there (a Sunday) or because the weather wasn't that great but their faces were sombre and almost feels like they'd rather be somewhere else than serving us lunch or our table. As horrible as that may sound we eventually got one of our waiters to smile just because we made a joke at the end of our lunch. Our effort obviously, not theirs. 


(UPDATE: After talking with other people attending the lunch we seem to come to an agreement that it might be because it was Sunday and the weather wasn't that great that have slightly contributed to the tired and moody expressions)


(UPDATE: It appears my experience is not an isolated incident, they obviously do the worst service on a Sunday: http://twitter.com/paulredfern/status/221853307919011840)


On the other hand, thank you to the Chef for providing all different options for transporting our leftover cake home. There was at one point a possibility of taking a plastic container that they needed back (which meant one of us had to come back to the venue to return it), a little extreme but I really appreciated the effort. (It was quite funny now that I think about it)

And not to mention, the prices of the food might be overpriced but I still don't mind spending that much but a surcharge for the credit cards is a little too much! Absolutely unnecessary in my opinion, given how much we have spent at the time. And also for a very prominent place they really need to train their waiters better at attending their clients, I know a smile may be tiring (trust me, after working 6 years at a newsagency smiling once or twice will not make your cheeks hurt) but it makes a hell of an impression on your customers.

One more thing that I wanted to mention was that for a party of 9 our table was unusually small. It might be great to be close and intimate to our friends but it becomes such a challenge to navigate your limbs when eating and sharing and constantly placing overlarge plates all over the table. I think better seating considerations are needed.

Otherwise, a fantastic culinary experience! I'm definitely coming back here to try more on what they have to offer (a little pricey but well worth the dough). 

Yellow Fin Tuna

Cone Bay Barramundi