Went to Macleay Street Bistro for dinner tonight. It was recommended to me by Z, and although the meal I had there was unusual, I'd be keen on going again.
Macleay Street Bistro is a tiny little restaurant nestled in Macleay Street. The restaurant was full this night, but it didn't seem crowded, which was good. R and I both ordered the Steak Tartare. That was our mistake.
You see, the Steak Tartare is (I believe) a permanent fixture on the specials board, and essentially consists of raw steak mince mixed with a variety of condiments, to be eaten like pate on crustini (thin slices of crispy bread). When I say raw, I do mean raw, and the waiter warned us about it before we ordered it. Our mistake was not in ordering it - but in ordering TWO of them.
The Steak Tartare is definitely an experience, with the steak mince blending in with mustard, olive oil, Spanish onion, pesto, and capers, amongst other things. It produces something that reminded me of a hamburger pattie before it is cooked. In fact, halfway through, R and I joked that perhaps we should take it away in a doggie bag and fry it up at home to eat in a hamburger bun.
The taste and the smell is somewhat masked by the strong mustard, but the raw meat smell and taste still came through strong. It smelt like how raw sausages or raw meat in a supermarket, still packaged in the plastic shrinkwrap smells like, and tastes like chopped up bits from the middle of a rare steak.
Although it is eaten like pate is, it definitely didn't taste like it, and in fact, neither of us could finish the plate. This was despite the fact that the ball of meat (as it was shaped when it first came out) couldn't have been more than 200gm worth. I think the whole sensation of eating raw meat got to us.
While I wouldn't exactly recommend the Steak Tartare, it would be something interesting to try shared amongst say 4 or 6 people. Just don't order it as a main course!
Looking around, everyone else's food looked fantastic, and we had easily the best service I've had for a while now. The staff were pleasant, attentive without being intrusive, and everything we needed was provided without us prompting them for it.
That's in stark contrast to the shocking service at East Ocean Chinese Restaurant, but that's another blog entry for tomorrow...
Posted by davechan at January 23, 2005 02:18 AMI remember eating a kind of sausage once, in Germany I think, that seemed pretty much like raw meat -- although it must have been matured or processed somehow, or obviously it wouldn't keep very long. It was spreadable too.
Yuk!! Raw mince sounds disgusting!
If your looking for a unique raw beef experince, try the Italian dish called Carpaccio.
It's thinly sliced beef (so thin that you can see through them) that is marinated in oil and balsamic vinegar, with greens (sometimes sage, oregano or baby spinach leaves) and shaved parmesan.
It's quite delicious, but quite rich also. Generally used as an entree.
A picture is shown here:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/09/1086749780562.html?from=storyrhs&oneclick=true
Some sushi chef's will prepare raw beef sashimi within the sushi platters, and there's also Korean raw beef dish that I forget it's name (I've not had it though).
Posted by: stewart at January 24, 2005 02:49 PMmmm...Korean...at the moment I'm quite fond of bibambap for lunch. It's a bowl of rice with chicken, pickled vegetables, kimchi, bean sprouts, some green veges, and a fried egg, with chilli and soy sauce. Very nice, very satisfying, and it doesn't make you feel as bloated as you might think.
Posted by: davechan at January 24, 2005 10:53 PMDo they serve it with all the toppings laid out separately on top of the rice, and you're supposed to mix them through before you eat it? Yeah, I had the idea that the dish reached its height of perfection in Korea. Unfortunately I haven't had an authentic Korean version, but I've had the chinese version (banfan) a few times.
Posted by: Todd at January 25, 2005 03:04 AMYep, that's the one. I generally don't bother mixing them through as I quite like picking them out bit by bit, but I might do that today. Yeah, I'm a real risk-taker.
Posted by: davechan at January 25, 2005 09:35 AMGo-man-go!
Posted by: stewart at January 25, 2005 01:48 PMTomorrow you can ask for EXTRA CHILLI!
Posted by: Todd at January 25, 2005 03:25 PM