It was with much excitement that my country friend and I entered L’Etoile, Manu Feildel’s restaurant in Sydney. I was very excited. I love French food and the chance to dine at Manu’s restaurant was too good to pass up.
We arrived and were seated promptly. There was a slight delay to our drink order being taken, I ordered a glass of the sparkling white and my country friend ordered a rum and coke. We decided that we would indulge in 3 courses, one of my goals of dining here was to try Manu’s boudin, so that was my choice for entree and my friend chose the chicken terrine. For main I was torn between the risotto (a personal favourite) and the snapper, I went with the snapper, my friend went with the risotto. Though we were ready to order dessert we did decide to wait until we had enjoyed our first 2 dishes.
The entrees were served promptly. The boudin and crab bisque was delightful, though the bisque was a touch too rich for me however I found the dish delicious. The terrine was tasty and the croutons crisp. The French-speaking staff were efficient on our meal service. I asked to see the wine list, I asked of the Maitre’D which of the French pinot gris’ were best, he suggested the Mornington Peninsula bottle was the best on the list. So I ordered one, whilst my friend continued with her rum and cokes.
The mains were served after an appropriate respite, my snapper was beautifully presented, with a smattering of butter beans, carrots and a heavy drizzle of carrot butter. The crispy skin complemented the soft flesh of the fish well. The carrot butter with the soft fish was quite tasty. As Manu says, if you are questioning if you have enough butter, add some more. The risotto was creamy, buttery and had a true mushroom flavour. Unfortunately, I was nearly finished my main by the time the wine was served. My friend requested another rum and coke. This was disappointing that she had to request another drink, as well as us having o request our water glasses be filled and my wine to be topped up. I encouraged my friend to order the creme brulee she said she had never had, I was very tempted to order the same, however, I settled on the raspberry sorbet with a white chocolate mousse.
The creme brulee was creamy and bursting with vanilla flavour, after cracking through the candied sugar crust. The tart of the raspberry sorbet blended nicely with the mousse.
Whilst Manu was not in the kitchen that night, he did turn up later in the evening and was very obliging with greetings and photographs.
http://www.letoilerestaurant.com.au/
L’etoile Restaurant & Bar Address
Five Ways 211 Glenmore Road Paddington NSW 2021
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