Dar Yacout, Marrakech

For our last night in Marrakech, we take our wonderful Riad owners advice and have booked a table at Yacout. We were even lucky to get a reservation with only a few days notice .... This is where anyone-who-is-anyone must dine while in Marrakech, well so we hear. Having played host to a string of celebrities, royalty and presidents from all over the world. We head down to the Kasbah gate in search of some means of transport to take us well within the realm of the Medina. It just so happens that a horse cart pulls up beside us. We check that he knows where it is, which of course he does. We hop into the back seat, which is surprisingly comfortable. The sun is setting, and the lights over the city are so pretty.



It takes about 20 minutes, darting through busy evening traffic, but having plenty of time to take it all in.



We are taken through winding, pebbled walkways of the medina, barely wide enough for the cart. We all of a sudden stop, when it gets really narrow, and way to busy for us to continue. The driver calls over a couple of young boys, and mutters a few words. We work out that these kids are going to lead us the remainder of the way .... We dart in and out of lanes, being just dark enough to be a little unsettling as you can't really see to far ahead, but we turn one last corner and we are there. We give the kids a few dollars, and thank them for their trouble.

Dar Yacout is quite grand. We walk through some large doors before being greeted by a team of staff, and quickly ushered up to the roof for an aperitif. We look down over the pool, and outside dining area on one side, and then an expansive view of the old city contained within the medina, and the bustle of the new city in the distance.



This is one of very few places that serves alcohol in Morocco. This is also the first time in our 11 day trip that we have any, so decide on a simple aperitif of white wine. It comes served in a beautiful goblet, with a bowl of green sultanas and some lightly toasted almonds.



We are then taken down to our table, and offered local Spring water as well as a selection of wines. We choose a Moroccan Rose. It was light, crisp and a beautiful rose color with the crystal glasses glistening under the dim light.



The usual Moroccan salad component of the meal arrives promptly. Little plates of spiced olives, carrot & orange salad, roasted garlic eggplant, zalouk, artichokes & little crispy pastries. These are all devoured with the infinite supply of soft bread.



These beautifully adorned vessels then arrive and rest beside the table.



The first unveiling reveals the oh-to-familiar chicken, preserved lemon & olive tagine. Shockingly, it is a whole chicken! just for the two of us ... we know there is more food to come, so despite it being delicious have to refrain from eating too much.



There is then a tagine of lamb with fresh peas. A massive portion again, we don't even get half way through it ....



Cous-cous with 7 vegetables is a fine example of this preparation, and a very welcome accompaniment to the lamb tagine.



We see a sweet pastilla placed down on the table beside us while we are finishing our main. They are as shocked as we seem with the sheer size, barely managing to get through a 1/4 of it. We wonder what happens with all of the remaining food .... as grand as each of the dishes seem, receiving whole chickens, or giant pastilla, we could have easily had 2 very hungry guests with us and no extra food. As soon as we indicate defeat against the lamb & cous-cous, it is whisked away. Moments later our table is graced with one giant pastilla.



It is absolutely delicious, layers of crisp, flaky pastry with toasted almonds and sweet milk. We manage one slice each, before a pot of mint tea and a tower of fresh baked sweets and cookies completely wipe us out. Oh .. so .. full!

An absolutely amazing setting, the pre-dinner drinks in the upstairs bar with a view of the city a highlight. The food was nice, but next time we will be sure to enjoy it with a few more people ....

Casa Pascualillo, Zaragoza .... our last night in Aragon region

The regional food of Aragon was present all over Zaragoza. It was our last night before heading deep into the Basque country, so we were after some traditional fare. We head out in search of Casa Pascualillo. We stop by the bar firstly ... as we are way to early to sit down and eat - it's only 8pm.



We get 2 glasses of white wine and the house specialty of fried young garlic shoots.



We can see the one large kitchen that runs the back length of both the bar and restaurant are shared. The chef's definitely getting ready for the evening's meal service, but not appearing rushed or stressed. A condensed menu is offered at the bar, so Miga's are soon on the cards. Miga's are a dish of breadcrumbs, humble yet oh-so-satisfying. Traditionally eaten at breakfast using leftover bread, they have now turned into a gourmet addition to menu's no matter what time of day. The crumbs are fried in olive oil, seasoned generously with salt with sliced of fried chorizo and a soft cooked egg. We expected the crumbs to be crunchy, but they are disappointingly soft and kind of boring ..... A fantastic idea, although in these circumstance at least, executed badly.



There's a small door at the rear of the bar, and right on 9pm it's opened up and people start spilling over from the bar. We make our way over. Once we are seated, again getting a servers attention seemed to be quite difficult. As soon as we get someone's attention, a bottle of red was ordered along with the evenings food. First up, Habitas saltedas con jamon y virtuas de foie de canard. Baby broad beans with jamon & foie gras. A nice light starter ......



For the main event, we cannot resist an Aragon classic - Paletilla de Ternasco asado con patatas, roast suckling lamb with roast potatoes. The lamb is covered in a crackling crust, tender juicy meat caged inside. Simply served with home style roast potatoes and a light sauce of the cooking juices.



A plate of Parillada de huerta, or mix char grilled vegetables, is the perfect accompaniment. Thick slices of eggplant, zucchini, potato, aparagus, peppers & onions are grilled with a splash of herb oil.



Aragon is quite famous for the peaches it produces, coming from the fertile lower valleys of the region. When we spot a dessert simply peaches, ice-cream & red wine, we can't resist.



Farewell Aragon ... see you next time around !!

Casa Pascualillo
Calle Libertad 5 - 7
50003 Zaragoza
T: 976 397 203

Breakfast at Cyan, the Met., Bangkok

We try to always find a few nights to stay at the Metropolitan hotel in Bangkok. It's one of our favorites! And having the amazing brother team of Daniel and Shannon Moran working downstairs in the kitchen was always a bit of a drawing card ..... The brothers have both moved onto Parrot Cay now, also a COMO property Kim and I have worked at. Good luck guys! Anyway, the first of a few posts at the Met., our first meal was breakfast at Cyan.

The buffet is an amazing spread, but we start with coffee and fresh juice which is bought to our table before heading over. First up, fresh tropical fruits, including mango, pomello, watermelon & pineapple;



Then the little iced cups of yoghurt and fruit, fruit salad or little bircher muesli cups;



There's also the house made toasted muesli and choice of milk;



The cold cuts include ham, smoked salmon, avocado, sliced tomato and a few cheeses;



Fresh baked pastries, muffins, breads & croissants;



5 varieties of fresh baked bread along with 8 home made spreads, including strawberry, watermelon and pineapple jams, marmalade, peanut butter passionfruit curd and chocolate hazelnut spread.



The buffet spread is all amazing, between the two of us we manage to sample a little of just about everything.

But then we also get to choose one item off the al a carte menu. I select the big breakfast. The scrambled eggs are so creamy, and delicately folded, with pork sausage, roast tomato, mushroom, bacon and potato cake. All delicious, all be it very filling ....



Kim selects the poached egg on a giant home-made fluffy English muffin with roast tomato, sauteed spinach and hollandaise sauce. The hollandaise has been gratinated to a perfect bubbly golden.



We both appreciate a great breakfast, and this has to be one of the finest examples !!

Cyan Restaurant
the Metropolitan Hotel
27 South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek
Sathorn
Bangkok 10120
Thailand

11-Gallery Restaurant, Suk 11

Sometimes while staying over the Sukumvit side of town, we would miss our regulars haunts of the Banglumphu side of town. But Suk 11 and it's surrounds had some little gems. For instance, the 11-Gallery restaurant right at the entrance of the little sub-soi.

A beautiful wooden two-story structure, we're ushered away by a beautiful Thai girl in a Sabai (cloth wrap) and decide to perch upstairs. We sit at the tiny little ledge,



with a pleasant view down to the happenings on the street and get to watch the little pinto's being carried from the downstairs across-the way kitchen over to the restaurant.



Kim starts with a gin fizz, a delicious refreshing combination of gin, soda and lime.



I start with a young coconut juice,



as well as a pandan juice. The pandan juice is served with a little syrup on the side, but I find myself adding the pandan to the coconut as I slowly sip down ...



The menu gives a nice little run down about the balance of Thai food and the way it should be eaten (you can also check it out on the website). We're almost seasoned pro's so dive right in !! First up, our salad, fried bits and curry all arrive carried in a little yellow and green pinto, a tiered / stacked set of little boxes.

The yam ma keaur yow - eggplant, shrimp and pork mince salad with boiled egg was dressed with a tangy tamarind dressing and the perfect way to set of on our gastro journey.



The next stop on our gastro journey, gai ta kai - crispy fried chicken that's topped with a dried and shredded lemongrass floss. The floss is textural explosion of flavor and adds a bit of zing to the fried, salty chicken.



~*woot woot*~, chu chee goong.  A rich red curry thats rather mild and full of coconut cream. The prawns, sweet and delicious, and the kaffir lime adding another dimension.



We take a little detour, and find ourselves feasting on some pork toasts. Resembling that of the Chinese style prawn toasts, this version a nicely seasoned pork minced is slathered onto white bread and fried until golden. A cucumber and chilli dressing cutting a bit of the richness.



The tom yum goong ma phrao oon was one of the recommended dishes. I love Thai soups and I love coconut, so the idea of a soup served inside a coconut, awesome! The only disapointment was they had ran out of coconuts ;( They still served us the more expensive option (claiming there was still coconut flesh in there ... well then where was the coconut?!) I even thought to offer up my drinking coconut so they could make the soup in there ;) But it was divine, none-the-less. Rich with coconut, but still somehow light and fresh with all that lemongrass and tamarind leaf.



The last pinto to pull in for the evening contained a typical Thai dessert.



More a palate cleanser, nice and refreshing and not to sweet ... red beans and tapioca floating in a salty/sweet coconut cream.



Definitely discovered some art we liked at 11-Gallery, and were lucky enough to take it all home in our bellies !!

11-Gallery Restaurant

1/34 Soi 11, Sukhumwit Rd

Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

P: 02-651-2672

Peter Evan's Dinner at the Met., Bangkok

It was all by chance that we happened to be in Bangkok when Peter Evan's was doing a dinner at the Metropolitan hotel, Bangkok. Kim and I both spent a chunk of time working at Hugos while in Sydney, and it had been a while since we'd seen Pete. We always enjoy going to Met. as well, to catch up with the genius (and crazy!) brother pair of Daniel and Shannon, the Executive chef and Pastry chef of the acclaimed Cyan restaurant.

We arrived a little early and took a seat in the lobby. From across the room we noticed someone who looked awfully familiar ... he seemed to notice us, also. He makes the first move to come and chat to us and turns out it's John Sussman, Australian seafood pioneer, who happened to be in town as well, but ended up donating a lot of seafood for the dinner. We manage to say Hello to both Daniel and Pete, them both popping out into the lobby before we are all ushered into the dining room ...



We are seated and immediately receive a glass of Queen Adelaide Brut but the thing that has me bubbling in the too-cute little dish of balsamic / oil marinated olives, with a sprig of rosemary that is used for dipping the bread ... and the bread, a choice of about 4 freshly baked breads, I start with the foccacia and do manage to sample the other 3 throughout the meal.



First course is a quadruple of Australian seafood. Snapper tartare with bacon and black bean dressing, smoked ocean trout on betel leaves, Coffin Bay oysters with mirin, sake & wasabi dressing and a sweet corn soup with Kinkawooka blue mussels, basil & chili oil.



The second course is accompanied by a glass of Naked Range Sauvignon Blanc a very nice drop that compliments the pepper seared black kingfish salad with wakami and ponzu dressing. The little tobiko (flying fish roe) that are discovered throughout the dish a pleasant surprise.

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A glass of Black Opal Chardonay carries us through the next 2 dishes. Firstly, Spencer gulf prawns grilled with oregano, lemon and chili. The flavors were nice, but the prawns themselves were quite disappointing. Mushy and rubbery at the same time. Perhaps it was something about the dinner Pete was holding and the sponsorship / donation of Australian seafood, but there is so much local Thailand seafood that would have made much more sense, being in Thailand and all. (~*Same thought on just eating Australian ocean trout and highly acclaimed Hokkaido restaurant .... nani kore?!?! why?? we are surrounded by some of the most amazing seafood in the world right here, anyway ...)



The last of the savory dishes brings back a lot of nostalgia, and I'm not sure if it was all good ;) We cooked I don't know how many thousands of these while at Hugos, and neither of us really understood why ..... the fish was perfectly cooked, sweet and delicious but paired with sweet potato puree and a coconut lime sauce, there's just a severe lack of texture, and an awful resemblance to baby food. But it works for Pete!?



After we'd all finished our main, Pete has a bit of a chat. The crowd is amped, and his side kick Udo is whizzing around taking photo's throughout the night.

Pre-dessert is a Campari (Yum!) and grapefruit granita that is topped with hand-spun fairy floss .... one of Shannon's new toys.



Then dessert, another familiar contender, the Goats curd cheesecake with passion fruit sauce (this one's for you, Jarrod!) A glass of Wolf Blass Frontignac Traminer pairs nicely with the tart cheesecake.



We enjoy a cup of tea after our dinner, before being given a handful of cocktail vouchers for Met Bar.



We check on the boys, there a while off, so we tell them we'll head to Met Bar and they can meet us there. The first round are 2 signature Hugos cocktails (I totally forget what they were) and a bowl of the delightful Met nuts, cashews, macadamia's and peanuts fried with garlic, galangal, kaffir lime, chilli and baby shrimp. Delish!



2nd round is another pair of signature Hugos cocktails.



We still manage a few more rounds, including a delicious honey cocktail and a Hendricks martini before the boys arrive ....



and Udo busts out some sick dance moves before passing out on the couch !!



We pile into taxi's and make our way over to Bed Suppa. Here we meet Paul, the talented head chef behind Bed Suppa's success as a restaurant. He has kindly saved us a 'bed' that is loaded with alcohol ....



Fun times were had by all, including meeting the amazing Austin Bush and talking away with him for hours in the Bed Suppa kitchen ... It would have been after 4am when we emerged and piled into 1 tuk-tuk in search of food. A unanimous decision was made to head towards the Arab Qtr.



We enjoy a fair spread of food ...



and somehow Shannon manages to knock over and break a giant hookah pipe ... ah, it's all in a nights fun when hanging out with the Moran boys in Bangkok.

We wish both Daniel and Shannon all the best on their new venture to Parrot Cay !! Good luck, guys !!

the Metropolitan Hotel
part of the COMO group
27 South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek
Sathorn
Bangkok 10120
Thailand