march into merivale - launch party

The establishment. Home of free-champagne-for-ladies-thursdays, watering hole for those known only as "suits". And for one night only (so far at least), the one place in Sydney where (I'm assuming normally sane) people crushed, bumped and grabbed at little spoons, burgers and slices of piggy goodness courtesy of Justin Hemmes. I'm talking, of course, about the march into merivale launch party.

So I got my pretty on (heels, dress, shoes - check!) and dashed down to the Establishment, worried that I'd be late. And arrived half an hour early. *sigh*.

the queue outside the establishment

I rocked up at a little over half past 5 to find Billy standing outside, studiously avoiding the door bitches. Apparently I'd unintentionally freaked him out into purchasing a brand new outfit for the evening. (Sorry... again...) And whilst we stood and chatted, a strange thing happened. People arrived and started lining up behind us. A small group of people also lined up in front of us (which I thought a little strange), and by 6pm, the line was enormous. Turns out Sydney does like food after all. Especially when it's free.

the booze

We entered. To our right, Uccello. On our left, Mad Cow. And right in front of us, to the left of the marble bar, stood the booze. Well, stood the people who were holding the booze. I stopped for a moment, considered my options, and then sacrificed what I'm sure was a decent glass of wine so that I could bring you these photos. Lovely, aren't I?

But to the food - and apologies that this is largely a pictorial post, but I'm not accustomed to being out on a weeknight :)

the bistro cbd station

freshly shucked rock oysters with golden shallot dressing

grilled figs st agur

Bistro CBD turned out an offering of oysters and figs. Beautiful seasonabl produce and fresh as fresh can be.

the teppanyaki station

soft shell crab on betel leaves

ocean trout sashimi

At teppanyaki, a lady in a kimono ushered us to try the offerings. *Snap Snap Snap!* went our cameras and *chomp chomp chomp* went we. The crab on betel leaf offering was probably my favourite of the evening - it was a toss up between that and the piggy goodness offered later, but in the end, the crisp fresh leaf and the understated sweetness of crab won out.

sushi choo station

kingfish sashimi with jalapeno

suchi man at sushi choo

I have to say, I loved the set up at sushi choo. Fresh cherry blossoms, astro boy & an amiable sushi man making hand rolls for public consumption. Brilliant! Also, I never thought kingfish (the light and sweet fish that it is) would be so well paired with jalapeno peppers. But the sliver on top turned "mmm... fresh... yum" into "mmm.. fresh... oooh! yum!" - and really, that's what I eat out for. That extra bit of surprise and delight that I wouldn't come up with at home.

ravioli of prawn, shellfish and lemongrass vinaigrette

tartare of aoraki salmon, cucmber, wasabi and ponzu

Est. had two fishy offerings for the punters. And by this stage, there were plenty of them. I really felt bad for the chefs at the launch. There were people everywhere! Some, not content to wait at the front of the tables where the food was being served, squeezed in the sides and took morsels off the trays they arrived on before the chefs could even plate them. If it were me, I would have thrown my hands up in exasperation and gone for a wonder. But not Peter Doyle, who merely groaned and kept plating. He was later happily accosted by Billy & Karen for a photo, and kindly obliged. Such a nice man :)

kingfish ceviche with shaved fennel, dill and lime

Ash St Cellar produced this spoonful (and other assorted goodies). Kingfish is my favourite fish to eat raw or mildly cooked, I find it too much when fully cooked, so this was right up my alley.

carcuterie - game terrine, rabbit rilettes, chicken liver pate, toasted brioche

Mad Cow was situated out the front of the Establishment, complete with hot and smoky barbecue. While we were still waiting in the queue, they threw open the glass doors in front of the Mad Cow stand and let the smoky goodness out. If we weren't hungry before, we were hungry then - though I don't know where the barbecued offerings went... maybe a chef's dinner? Or maybe I just missed it.

san pel & lime sculpture

One thing I love about the Establishment is the aesthetic. Silk umbrellas hang from the ceiling in the outdoor courtyard, giant light fixtures adorn the walls inside. And for the launch party, this gorgeous green, translucent san pel & lime sculpture had been set up right next to the lifts. I was almost (almost) tempted to nick a couple of limes (it looked a bit sparse about half an hour into it so maybe someone else succumbed to the temptation) but didn't.

pig head (front) prosciutto being sliced (background)

Take a deep breath now all, cos I'm about to cover uccello.

prosciutto grissini

So I'm a big fan of Uccello, having been taken there some months ago by my uncle. Since eating there, I've raved about their prociutto with parmigiano reggiano. I've recreated their chocolate fondant (or at least tried to), and last night, I spent a good deal of time staring through the window in vague wide eyed wonder at Massimo Bianchi.

prosciutto (sans grissini)

The prosciutto was just lovely. Mildly salty and full of fat, and balanced out just so by the crisp grissini stick. Also, it made me feel like I was eating a pork lollipop. And that can only be a good thing. Later, Helen & I stood around the table as they brought out plate after plate of freshly shaved prosciutto (possibly having run out of grissini, possibly not bothered to wrap it around anymore) and chomped away at it, marvelling at just. how. good. it was. ( I hear a certain someone from a certain blog ate five or six serves of it. Note mentioning any names of course. Hehe.)

porchetta

The porchetta was lovely as well. Spicy and fragrant with just enough crackling to make me happy. Crunchy, soft and piggy. Perfect.

I missed the desserts (being tired and over the crowds) but hear that there was tiramisu. Dammit. Maybe I'll just have to rock up and pay for a full serve. Which isn't a bad idea at all.

March into Merivale is running through the month of March. There are $33 lunch & dinner menus at each of the Merival restaurants, with a different special appearing every week. Lunch / Dinner consists of a main meal + a glass of wine from Chandon or a Kirin / James Squire beer. The Merivale group is also holding various events to coincide with the month.