I managed to persuade Dave to see Julie & Julia the movie last night. I’d read the book which wasn’t all that well written (in my opinion) but still enjoyable for the food factor. The movie however, was highly entertaining, with several moments when I realised I was probably laughing a little too loud. The best bit was when I looked over and realised Dave was enjoying it almost as much as I was.

I was aware of Julia Child’s book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’, but hadn’t actually seen any of Julia Child’s shows before. So I didn’t fully appreciate Meryl Streep’s brilliant work until I watched a few YouTube clips of Julia’s cooking shows. Streep nails her voice and mannerisms perfectly. I highly recommend watching the movie, if not for the chick flick factor then definitely for the food porn.

Julia Child is a wonderful teacher and such an eccentric person, she’s a pleasure to watch.

On the corner of Avoca Street and Belmore Road is a special piece of Randwick’s (and my) history. Once a butcher, a post office, and numerous other establishments including a lovely little cafe called Al Dente where I used to work while at Uni.

A favourite place of mine to go for the food, the service, the ambience and the memories. They still do the Pre-Ritz special where you can have two courses plus tea/coffee for $55. I found it to be as good as ever, excellent value and a fantastic night out.

A leek and potato veloute to whet the appetite

Entree of white asparagus with poached egg, celeriac and manchego

Braised veal shin and spring vegetables

served with roast sweetbread, smoked bone marrow and pearl barley

Macleay Valley rabbit and trompette pie with a ballontine of saddle and baby carrots

A generous serve of Firstlight venison with spiced quince, red cabbage and parsnips

Pear tart fine with prune and almond ice cream

Marscarpone and rhubarb mille feuille with a short rendition of ‘happy birthday to you…’

Restaurant Balzac 141 Belmore Road Randwick NSW 2031     Ph: + 61 2 9399 9660

Tues to Sat –  from 6pm
Friday Lunch only – 12pm to 3pm
Last Sunday of every Month - from 6.30pm (Seasonal Degustation only)

Bistro heaven. Professional service, but not layed on too thick, the food arrives quickly but with enough time between courses for conversation and anticipation. Food so good we order the cheese platter after we have had dessert, because judging by the previous courses, we know it won’t disappoint. We’re right.

Simple, beautiful salmon

Three pairs of greedy eyes all with menu remorse

N.B. I have since gone back to Damien Pignolet’s French book and made his basic double baked souffle. The recipe is written with such helpful detail you are much more confident of success. It is utterly delicious, however be warned if you don’t normally eat cream and cheese in copious quantities you may find it rather rich. I choose to put this in the ‘once a year’ file.

Phoebe tries to convince us that Joel has made the best choice with his crab souffle, but we all know it a ploy to keep us from the French Onion Souffle and crispy melting gruyere around the edges

Pasta may seem like a strange choice to order at Bistro Moncur, but it was perfectly salty and addictive with anchovy, ripe tomato, fresh basil and a herb sauce.

This is going to sound sacriligious but the crackling on top was so light it was like the ones in a chip packet. I forget the name, anyone, anyone, Bueller? The Berkshire pork was tender and flavoursome and tasted like it had been cooked with many herbs.

N.B. I have since had to go to the butcher in search of pork and crackling and even made apple sauce to go with it. I stuffed it with a silly amount of fresh herbs and learnt that pork can handle it and my overgrown herb pots have had a nice pruning in the process. I also used a new method for the crackling where you go over the scores that the butcher makes for you so they are really separated and then pour boiling water over it in a colander in the sink which helps open up the scores and then rub the top with sea salt. Made all the difference, didn’t have to remove the crackling so the pork underneath stayed nice and moist.

The figs were juicy and ripe with a gorgeous raspberry coulis

White nectarine souffle with creme anglaise

Two types of cheese with more fresh figs and some wonderfully crisp lavosh

Satisfied Customers? I think so.

Think I’m in a food coma