SIFF 2010 Just Desserts at Tomislav – Darlinghurst, Sydney East
After taking up the SIFF Sugar Hit marathon challenge two years in a row, I’ve decided to skip the whole mayhem this year for many reasons. But that doesn’t mean my sweet tooth is going to take any time off, in fact I am going to reward myself with something even more finesse and spectacular.
When Tomislav Martinovic, head chef and owner of Tomislav Restaurant revealed to us that he is going to add a dessert degustation menu during a cooking demonstration recently, the unexpected news definitely had us all excited and surprisingly we don’t have to wait for long. For two nights only, Tomislav will teamed up with pastry chef Chris The of Black Star Pastry, to give us a sneak preview of what to expect by helding a seven-course “just dessert” degustation dinner as part of Crave Sydney International Food Festival month. We make no hesitation and managed to secure a table of six, including the Pom, for 8.30pm sitting.
To start - Delamotte Champagne, violet granita
Tomislav’s impressive past experience including working alongside with Heston Blumenthal back in UK does become one of the draw cards of the event this evening. People want to expect the unexpected, taste the new dimension and definitely looking forward to a night of gastronomy wild ride.
And so, without further ado, everyone is presented with a pair of test tubes, one filled with Delamotte Champagne, and the other with violet granita. We are instructed to pour champagne into granita and give it a shake, the blueish violet granita immediately turns into a purple fizzy drink, flower petals are dancing inside the test tube like a kaleidoscope. The concoction is surprisingly sweet and a hint of tingly numbness when nibbling on the violet petals.
1st course - Grilled strawberries, mint, white chocolate
First course is a spectacular presentation of grilled strawberries which have a nice caramelised smoky sweetness, accompanied with mint and white chocolate powder that simply melts in thin air, leaving a sense of minty freshness in the mouth. The dessert is served on a massive black slate tile makes the vividness of the components are even more striking than ever.
2nd Course - Goats curd cheesecake, elderflower, pistachio
The goats curd cheesecake is a two-textured combo, a firmer quenelle of sweet vanilla mousse is hidden underneath a puffy white cloud of goat cheese foam which is light and fluffy in both texture and flavour. Elderflower coulis and slivers of grapes are sweet, counterbalancing the saltiness of the cheesecake. The tiny hint of zing from lemon balm merely cut through the richness, whereas the grainy pistachio crumbs is rather a hindrance for me to really enjoy the silky smoothness of the cheesecake.
3rd course - Caramel Ice Cream, toasted peanuts
We are only given a small plate for the third course and no cutlery needed. The waitress comes back with three caramel ice cream served in a metal stand and instructs us to just take one with our hands. We strive for photo opportunity and kindly ask her to leave the stand for a few quick snaps which she happily obliged.
The Pom beams me a smile after first bite, eyes widened in excitement, mouth immediately half wide opens to let me hear the popping sound coming out from his mouth. A nice surprise of tiny hidden pop rocks are blended in with the toasted peanuts on top that instantly brings the inner-child out of everyone. During our cooking demonstration, Tomislav already showed us how to make ice cream with the texture and consistency of a soft serve by using a Pacojet, this caramel ice cream is exceptionally soft and smooth, not overly sweeten and let the natural caramel flavour speaks for itself is also one of Tomislav’s philosophies of healthy dessert.
I was expecting another round of pop rocks at the end tip inside the tuile cone for a big finale, sadly no popping surprise but just toasted peanuts.
4th course - warm chocolate mousse. olive oil and sea salt
The last dessert course is a rich warm dark chocolate mousse that is extremely light, the bitterness of dark chocolate is lighten up with sweet mulberry sorbet in contrast with the sea salt. But the most overwhelming component is the little smidgen of white powder atop the sorbet looks rather harmless at first until we get the sudden heat up the nasal and realised it is actually horseradish. All components seems a little mismatch on the plate but works rather well when consume together. One needs an open mind to really appreciate this dessert as it is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.
5th course - Beef mince pie - grilled onions, tomato sauce
The backward dining still seems a little peculiar to me, my tastebud doesn’t seem to cope by having savoury after 5 courses of sweet desserts. The beef mince pie is an open pie of beef mince in rich gravy housed inside a crunchy pastry cylinder. Intentional or not, the beef mince pie is very salty. What I find most interesting in this dish is the contrast between texture, flavour and even temperature. The frozen cold tomato sauce powder is a nice surprise in contact with the hot pie, the sweet umami with a hint of harissa spice really gives the pie an exotic touch.
To finish - Rice crackers, sea salt & vinegar atomiser
Ironically, we conclude our meal with Tomislav’s signature starter of rice crackers with sea salt and vinegar served in an atomiser. Three or four sprays is all your need to give the wafer thin rice crackers a subtle hint of sour, salty flavour. These delicious crackers are light as feathers, we all trying to guess how they were actually made while happily nibbling on them. Some believes that it is Vietnamese rice paper dipped in egg white then deep fried, it is still a mystery only Tomislav would know the answer.
We are also given a box of not-so-petite fours from Black Star Pastry as parting gift. A big white chocolate macaron with rose buttercream filling is a tad too sweet for my palate and the maracon shell is a little mealy. The little dome of Canele probably has been baked since morning, as the vanilla custard center is now dense and solid, the toffee caramalised crust is also no more but turning into a blanket of chewiness.
My favourite is the little lemon curd tart, a dollop of lemon curd is tangy and smooth atop a crusty shortbread that is buttery rich and crumbly. I perhaps enjoy this delicious morsel a little too much and only then realised I am covered in crumbs when I finish the last mouthful. The beautiful fig and orange cake is also another favourite, a sponge cake is beautifully soaked in orange syrup, moist but not dense; a sweet slice of fig is surrounded by a garden of fragrant dried rose petals and pistachio crumbs are adhered to a bed of mascarpone vanilla cream.
If I was on Candid Camera, I will be the little 3yo kid who couldn’t resist and take a few sneaky peeks what’s inside the box and eventually succumb to temptation, take one out and sink my teeth into it then quickly put it back while no one is watching. It sure is a naughty sweet journey all the way home.
“Just Desserts” is a $125 seven-course degustation dinner at Tomislav Restaurant for 2 nights only, 19th & 20th October as part of the SIFF 2010. But keep an eye out for the dessert degustation menu.
Tomislav Restaurant 2/13 Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst, Sydney Tel: +61 (02) 9356 4535 Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 6pm-10pm
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
What are you talking about man! Your pictures turned out fab (as always).
Caramel icecream cone is the bomb, there needs to be more desserts featuring poprocks me thinks.
Phuoc’n Delicious´s last [type] ..Jaffa Cake
HAH! Oh trust me, I spent fair bit of time “fixing” the images, cropping carnage, hence the montages.
Yes, more poprocks!
lol is that me in your cheesecake shot? And yes, agreeing with Phuoc the shots look awesome as always!
Minh´s last [type] ..Vietnam- a street food journey continued
Backwards but forward-thinking in contrast. When I consume too much sweet stuff, I want to balance it out with something savoury so this definitely works for me!
mademoiselle délicieuse´s last [type] ..Sugar Hit- Shangri-La- 15 Oct 2010
Its looks amazing as do your pics. Could you even take a bad one??
The meal looks amazing but I know what you mean about it being back to front. Thats whats so interesting about it though. Def makes me wish I went!
nic@diningwithastud´s last [type] ..Crashed!
Such a great night and a treat to start with dessert first! We need more of it!
Helen (grabyourfork)´s last [type] ..Fidels Cafe- Wellington
Everything looks so awesome! Why none in Melbourne…. UGHHHH!
penny aka jeroxie´s last [type] ..Melbourne Food Bloggers’ Dinner – Are you coming
Mmmmm and yeah! your photos poo all over mine!
FFichiban´s last [type] ..SIFF 2010- Let’s Do Brunch @ Efendy Restaurant – Balmain- Sydney
mmm i wants more desserts! and more pop rocks! moreeeee!
chocolatesuze´s last [type] ..Super easy lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling and lemon cream cheese frosting
Ohmygosh! Not sure a dessert degustation should be legal… ;P
Maz´s last [type] ..The List Challenge- 1 -50 – 2 Mrs Jangs Home style eggs from Billy Kwong
Love the idea of dessert degustation. The items all look innovative and presented beautifully! Your pics are fab as always.
I know this type of event is special and a lot of work goes into something like this, but the price is a bit steep for me. I remember how Good Food Month used to be really affordable which encourages trying lots of different things. But now SIFF seems to be all about how expensive events can be… which completely turns me off I’m afraid.
I don’t know if I could eat dessert before something savoury, but I could definitely eat all those desserts AFTER the savoury. Yum!
Susan´s last [type] ..Eggplant Chicken Parmigiana
This is my kind of degustation!
All the dishes look amazing and Im sure they all tasted delicious! It sounds like a very unique experience, I hope they offer it outside of SIFF in the future.
I praise your self control on not absolutely ravaging the take home box! But im sure you would have already been in a sugar coma!
Gianna´s last [type] ..Bitton Gourmet Cafe- Alexandria Lets do Brunch – SIFF 2010
hmmm.. i don’t think the rice crackers would be coated in egg white.. egg white turns brown when you fry it. it might just be rice paper – steamed, dehydrated then deep fried.
cathy x.´s last [type] ..Gone Travelling Back in a Month!