Better Than Sex - House Restaurant

Someone once told glutton and nuts that if we thought food could be better than sex, then we weren't doing it right. Well, we reckon they're not eating the right food...

House Resaurant in Surry Hills is one of those places you show up to with 'the jury still out' expectaton-wise. It's got a slightly unusual licensing rule (drinks are to be ordered from the bar nextdoor only) and it's quite open to Elizabeth Street's speeding traffic. However, even with these things in mind, House will knock you for six - twofold.

Firstly, by completely blowing these undecided expectations away (this is more than just 'Thai food' - this is north-eastern street Thai, so good it'll make you want to go and live on the streets of Thailand!).Secondly, and quite literally, it will blow your tastebuds away. The food is hot. Seriously. Even the salads have a massive kick... and at one point we were definitely crying.

However, what glutton and nuts is more interested in, of course, is the most unusual and quite surprising thing on the menu - or the 'special dessert menu' to be precise. Now, we don't throw this around too often - but we had what was possibly the best dessert we're yet to taste in Sydney. Yes, from a small north-eastern street Thai on Elizabeth Street - it took us by surprise too - but without a doubt this dessert would hold its own (more than) against any of Sydney's best restaurants.

It was aptly named 'Better than Sex' and comes with a bit of a shy giggle from the waitress. The name hooked us in and the sheer size and look of it sold us. This dessert is big enough for two (but you definitely won't want to share!) It's lightly fried brioche, with green tea ice cream, caramel sauce completely saturating the dish and some runny chocolate thrown in to boot. The most gluttonous and delicious dessert we are yet to find in this city - and read early posts - this includes Quay Bar's guava egg!

The challenge is on... but we think this one will be hard to beat.

And if you're still undecided - it's called 'BETTER than SEX' - you HAVE to try it!

House

202 Elizebeth Street

Surry Hills

02 9280 0364

Molecular Mixology

As well known as beans on toast, yet more similar to beans ‘as’ toast – molecular gastronomy came, saw and conquered both our imagination and our taste buds. If you’ve not actually had bacon ice cream or snail porridge, then it’s likely you’ve at least heard of them, or come across something similar.

These days, the trend has relaxed somewhat, or as Heston so carefully put it, “it’s dead”. Yet, in its wake we’re left longing for more…

Step in molecular mixology, the intoxicating cousin of the gastronomic variety and the current focus of Smirnoff Black ambassador Tristan Stephenson, who has whipped-up the following cocktail, and is ready to share all...

VT Turbo

“The VT Turbo is a deconstruction of the classic vodka and tonic. The foam on the VT Turbo gives the drinker the familiar bitter kick of quinine, present in tonic water. Sipping through the foam reveals the classic sour balance of vodka, lime and sugar. By separating the two main constituents of the classic drink, the VT Turbo offers a different balance of flavour on every sip” TS.

Tonic Syrup

200ml water 200g sugar 10g dried cinchona bark Zest of half a grapefruit 4g citric acid

Add everything except the sugar to a pan and gently simmer for 15 minutes. Bring off the heat and stir in the sugar. Allow to cool and keep refrigerated.

Liquid part:

50ml Smirnoff Black 25ml Lime Juice 10ml gomme syrup 25ml Tonic Syrup 2 egg whites

Shake the Smirnoff black, lime juice and gomme with ice and fine strain into a chilled glass.

Shake/beat/whisk the egg white and tonic syrup to a soft peak.Float the foam on top of the drink and serve with a twist of lime.

Tristan’s cocktails are available at Smirnoff Black events. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming events on www.smirnoff.com

Uchi Lounge Uchi Blend

Walk down the side-streets of Surry Hills and you're sure to find something 'interesting'. For glutton and nuts last Thursday, this little something really struck our interest... it was of course, a secret drink (come on, as if you wouldn't be a little curious...)

What we discovered was a strong, sweet, sake-based secret drink, which no one to this date has been able to correctly guess the four key ingredients of (and that even includes some top Japanese master chefs).

It's called the Uchi Blend and is the creation of Uchi Lounge's bar manager on Brisbane Street - one of the most diligent bar tenders in Sydney and someone who treats his alcoholic creations like individual works of art. He has sworn that if someone is to guess all four ingredients at once he would reveal honestly if they are correct or not (maybe you'll get a free bottle too... but hey, that's not really our place to say.... and to be honest, you'll ever guess correctly anyway).

We had a stab at it - Watermelon...? Plum...? Grapefruit...? He just looked at us blankly and shook his head. No. ALL FOUR at once. You can't list ingredients. But it you tell me ALL of them I will tell you if you are correct. (we honestly believe he will...)

We were beaten. And even though we sat there sipping and tasting and trying until the bottle ran dry, we failed. However, we were still pretty satified with the drink... For fans of sake, this is heaven. The sake list includes a range of beautiful flavours from vanilla mix blends to cinnmon and even gogi... but this, this took the limelight. Secret drinks. Gotta love the taste of mystery!!!

If you do happen to go to Uchi Lounge and guess correctly please let use know on our facebook page!!! We;ll be back making a few more guesses... all in the name of research if course.

Uchi Lounge

15 Brisbane Street,

Surry Hills,

02 9261 3524

Sashimi-tini

Sashimi and martinis. Possibly God's two greatest creations. Put them together and you either have the most incredible gastronomic invention you can think of... or soggy fish in a glass.

Either way, the brains behind the drink menu at Tokonoma on Crown Street have certainly been trying their best to test their diners... and this is exactly what glutton and nuts is about.

It's hard to tell whether they thought raw fish in a (very) strong martini would be an increbible mix of flavours or if it had more to do with the fact that these two words kinda sounded similar - we're guessing the latter. We're also guessing it was the result of a pretty incredible staff party in which they were trying to out-shock each other with ingenious ideas - like the combination of the head chef and the bar manager putting together their favourite little ditties without thinking it would ever actually make it onto the menu...

Which it did. And is now in front of us waiting to be drank/ate.

It's an interesting, different and brilliant concept. And in all honesty tastes much like a classic (and very strong) martini. The fish isn't overpowering in the slightest (although we didn't really expect it to be) so in terms of flavours it's actually pretty easy to drink. This martini is certainly all about the flavour of the liquid rather than its garnish, it's sheer potency and the confusion that comes when you finish the drink and don't quite know what to do with the slightly swollen slice of salmon which is left over... we'll leave that part to you!

Order this drink if you have a curious nature as otherwise you'll always be left wondering. However, if you would normally drink things like lychee martinis then we'd avoid this one... it's for dirty martini drinkers who want things just a little bit dirtier...

Tokonoma
490 Crown Street
02 9357 6100

Small Food: A book made for glutton & nuts

Those who regularly read glutton & nuts will be well aware of our love for unusual and creative dishes... the more inventive something is, the more we're tempted by it.

Mostly, we tend to find these foods in only the most original of restaurants – those with chefs who take pride in shocking and surprising their diners.

Recently we’ve been searching for cookbooks that suit these creative needs at home; after all, we can’t always being dining out at unusual restaurants… as much as we try! So, as we hunt for the most inventive cookbooks on the market, we’ll post our findings on here… we may even try to recreate a few dishes ourselves and and put our money where our mouth is...

To begin with however, we’re starting small. Literally.

Small Food, by Brigid Kennedy is a celebration of canapés. If you’ve ever bumped into glutton & nuts at an event which serves fascinatingly creative canapés, then you’ll know exactly what this means to us: everything.

The opening line from Brigit’s Kennedy’s Small Food is: ‘One of the greatest pleasures in life is food; another is celebration’ which, at that, we’re sold.

Dishes such as gazpacho aspic with mustard ice cream take the jelly-and-ice-cream tradition and turn it completely on its head. Not only is this dish twisting sweet into savoury but it’s doing it in such a way, that (incredibly) it doesn’t lose its party-food touch. The result is something completely unforgettable.

Then there’s mango and passionfruit butter… great if you’re already a fan of things like banana on toast, while on the more filling side of things there's rabbit pie (definitely not to be missed!)

If you’re heading to an event and trying to come up with finger food that’s creative then Small Food is perfect. As Brigid Kennedy is also a very successful events organiser, it covers almost every possible circumstance you can think of: from the normal celebrations like Christmas and summer barbecues, to seasonal events, retro food and even ‘baby naming day’ food…

Chanel handbag cake…

When I was a child I remember going to a friend’s birthday party and spending virtually all of my time standing motionless with my eyes fixated on a Barbie cake which stood beautifully in the middle of the table.

She looked so real, so authentic, so much better than just a normal Barbie… I mean you could eat her for God’s sake!

Fast-forward 20 years (or so…) and I’m in the same situation. Except this time, I have no interest in Barbie (well, not that I would admit) and I’m in a rather lavish restaurant in Sydney, so must remain civilised…

Now, I swear that in the 20 years post Barbie-cake-infatuation, I have never seen a cake which has even come close to being as pristine or as perfectly executed as that Barbie was… and I sure have been looking.

That was of course, until recently, when the record was broken with the older girls’ dream item: The classic Chanel handbag.

Yes. 20 years later, I’m standing motionless with my eyes fixated on a classic Chanel handbag cake… which, is so authentically like the real thing, if I saw it on a shelf in a bakery I would most probably try and sling it over my shoulder.

What’s even more amazing that the lady who made it does not (yet) do this for a profession…

If passion makes you good at what you do, then this is the most passionate cake I’ve ever seen, let alone tasted…

Oh, and as for the taste... well, there’s only one word really: Rich (in all the best ways!)

For more info email gluttonandnuts@gmail.com

A Carpet Bag? What the?!

car·pet·bag [kahr-pit-bag] noun: A travelling bag made of carpet, commonly from an oriental rug...

i.e – not something you would uncontrollably drool over when spotted on the menu of one of Sydney’s top restaurants.

However, it’s CERTAINLY something glutton & nuts would order. Curiosity after all did kill the cat… and if we’re willing to chow-down on a nasty old oriental sac then we may actually be coming closer to death than we think…

While wondering if we’re soon to be reporting on weaving patterns and thread counts while simultaneously picking cotton from our teeth, we’re informed that a carpet bag is actually a uniquely Australian dish and has nothing to do with travelling holdalls whatsoever.

And much to our surprise what Australia loses in the ‘naming of top dishes’ field, they gain in the flavour and creativity of the actual dish itself.

This creation gained popularity in the 50s and is actually a fillet steak (served standing quite tall) stuffed with crab meat & tarragon butter. The idea is that the fish (doesn’t necessarily have to be crab) permeates the meat of the steak and the juices of both blend together to create a combo with much more of intense flavour than you would associate with Surf and Turf. In fact, simply speaking, a carpet bag is like taking the Surf and hiding it inside the Turf.

It’s certainly more interesting to eat than its Surf and Turf cousin as you have to cut right the way through the steak to discover what lies inside...

Now, we’re not going to give away where we tried this dish - we can’t reveal all of our secrets* but we’ll definitely be going back for more. The terrible naming of this dish is directionally proportional to how good it tastes, which should give you some indication of why we’ll be returning.

*Ok, ok, you can email us if you really want to know…

gluttonandnuts@gmail.com