Restaurant Review: Berowra Waters Inn

20 Jan

OK, so this isn’t a chilli related post. But whatever, it’s about food and I felt like writing about it.

For Pruey’s Christmas present I got her seaplane flights, and lunch at Berowra Waters Inn, on the Hawksbury River.

Berowra Waters is back in the hands of Tony Bilson, to some controversy, considering his unpaid creditors from previous ventures. Who cares, this is open, and it’s amazing.

I think the best way to review restaurants is by captioned photos (see below).

Visiting Berowra Waters by seaplane has to be one of the world’s greatest dining experiences. The whole package is faultless. The biggest issue with Berowra Waters Inn is that I am worried they will not have enough patronage to survive. We were there on a warm/overcast Saturday and there would have only been 10 other diners. Now it is true that there has been some disgustingly hot weather in Sydney lately, and there have been bushfire in the Hawksbury area, but this restaurant seriously needs more bums on seats.

I am calling out, all you Sydney arseholes, who pose around every weekend, have massive benders. Just forgo one bender and visit this place. I promise you will have the time of your life, and you will be helping to ensure others can continue to appreciate this amazing experience, into the future.

Pro’s: Seaplane view, food, wine, service, location, atmosphere

Con’s: No air con, expensive, lack of unusual wines matched to the food

Rating: 8.5/10

To book: http://www.berowrawatersinn.com or http://www.seaplanes.com.au

20130120-114815.jpg

Pruey and I about to board the plane.

The view of Sydney.

The view of Sydney.

The restaurant from the water.

The restaurant from the water.

Couple of glasses of Gosset Rose to kick off proceedings.

Couple of glasses of Gosset Rose, to kick off proceedings.

20130120-114514.jpg

Amuse-bouche (I fucking hate that word). Parsely macaroon with tuna tartare in middle was best. The eel thing at the bottom was amazing too and tasted like salmon dip.

20130120-114542.jpg

Foam and jelly cop a lot of flack from food writers, who love making huge statements, to drum up attention. Fuck those imbeciles. If something is good, it’s good. Foam and jelly in this dish is rad. This dish had a couple of plump oysters, hidden under a laying of jelly, beneath this foam. Probably best oysters I’ve ever had.

20130120-114550.jpg

Confit ocean trout, with smoked milk and wild rice, was incredible. I enjoyed the theatre of this dish, as the waiter poured consomme over it, the crisped skin on top sounded like rice bubbles crackling. The fish was just set and the textures of this dish were amazing!

20130120-114558.jpg

This was called ‘Vegetable Garden’. It was pretty much just that. Very nice, for vegetables. Bring on the meat!

20130120-114611.jpg

This was roasted duck with peach. It was matched with an awesome Pinot from Dexter in Vic. I love duck and this didn’t disappoint. It was nice watching the ducks swimming in the river, from the top of the food pyramid.

20130120-114618.jpg

This was the best dish. Slow cooked beef rib (40hrs @ 69C apparently) with potato terrine, truffle mash and cos. The beef was soft and unctuous; the terrine was crispy; and the truffle mash was unbelievable. It could have done without the cos.

20130120-114626.jpg

Cheese plate with cheddar and caramalised red onion sorbet. I like this but i much prefer your traditional cheese board with some fruit bread or something.

20130120-114534.jpg

Dessert was called ‘Tropicana’ and was a mixture of different techniques. It was nice and pretty. I forgot to take a photo of it, so here is a picture of the house churned butter (great current fad!) with volcanic salt, which I preferred to the dessert anyway. Fat bastard!

Product Review: Desert Pepper Habanero Salsa

18 Jan
20130118-120321.jpg

Shits on supermarket salsa.

Whilst on a chilli buying rampage – at Blackwattle Deli (Sydney Fishmarkets) – I picked up a jar of this salsa for $5 from a bargain bin!!!! What an absolute bargain. In hindsight I didn’t check the best before, but it didn’t make my guts any worse than they already are, so happy days.

The Desert Pepper website describes the salsa as:

“Sell your soul and steel your taste-buds for a red-hot descent into the fiery pit of flavor.  It’s an unholy alliance of tropical habaneros and molten jalapenos that’s hotter than Hades, and viciously delicious.  Feel the burn.  Because you know you’re a glutton for punishment, and this salsa will leave you begging for more.”

Their analysis of their own product is half right and half wrong. While the salsa did “steel my tastebuds” and is “viciously delicious”, it certainly does not deliver on its satanic promises of a “descent into the fiery pit”.

It is a very fruity and tomatoey salsa with lots of big fresh chunks of stuff. This is the perfect salsa to replace supermarket rubbish like Doritos or Old El Paso salsa.

There is enough heat there to be interesting but its nothing crazy.

Other than the lack of heat, I also thought the salsa wasn’t salty enough. This could play into its favour though when paired with mega salty foods like chips or tacos.

This one is well worth the buy, especially if you can get it for 5 bucks!!!

Heat Rating – 2/10

Taste Rating – 7.5/10

Ring Sting – 0/10

Pros – Fresh, fruity

Cons – Lack of heat, not salty enough

Price – $5

Purchased from – Blackwattle Deli at the Sydney Fishmarkets

Product Review: Mad Dog 357 – 357,000 Scoville Hot Sauce

15 Jan
20130115-152339.jpg

Yuck!

This sauce tastes like shit. But – fuck me – she strong!

I’d heard about this bad boy being hot, so I bought a little bottle to try. I only went for the small size as I knew this sauce contained extract, which can lead to unpleasant taste.

I took the thermonuclear vessel into work, to enjoy with my meat and veg. Turned out I was working with my buddy – Kilby (as featured in previous Tassie posts). He is a brave man and despite having a relatively limited exposure to extreme heat, he decided to join me in a world of burn!

We probably ingested about a teaspoon each with our food, and we were both in trouble. Firstly it tastes like arse crack. A very fake, bitter, chemical flavour that overwhelms whatever you put it with. The heat is immediate and intense. A very sharp and even heat. Somehow I got some in my throat and it made me gag.

This sauce is not recommended for anyone. It’s hot and doesn’t taste good. I can name some sauces equally as hot that taste nice, so don’t bother with this one.

Despite the sweat and tears, we had a ball. Below are some photos that document the fun we had.

Heat Rating – 8.5/10

Taste Rating – 1/10

Ring Sting – 7.5/10

Pros – Very hot

Cons – Use of extract, bad flavour

Price – $10

Purchased from – http://www.chilemojo.com.au

20130115-152357.jpg

Disclaimer on bottle. Neglects to inform the consumer about the taste of bum.

20130115-152407.jpg

Rest of disclaimer.

20130115-152422.jpg

Kilby drawing in the big ones!

A Progress Report

13 Jan
Nice hot cup of tea. Lovely

Nice hot cup of tea. Lovely

I thought I’d make a post today about my progress towards my goal of becoming a chilli-master.

When I first started writing about eating hot food, it was with the intention of increasing my heat tolerance. I have since discovered a whole world andof chilli!

My tolerance for chilli increased rapidly initially, and I have now got to the stage where pretty hot food, doesn’t worry my mouth. However, this week I have hit what I call the chilli wall. I was testing a super hot sauce and afterwards I experienced intense gut ache. This lasted for a couple of hours. I rested from chilli that night. I got back on it the next day, but experienced the same pain, with sauces I would normally laugh at. So yesterday I had a very easy chill day (only seriously hot meal was 2 habanero’s in my omelet). Now I feel ready to keep pushing the limits!

Initially I was concerned about ring sting. I have come to believe that tolerance to ring sting increases just as rapidly as the mouth tolerance. We could test this theory by forming a human caterpillar and rating the arse-to-mouth heat experience.

Once you start looking, there is a whole world of chilli products out there. For instance: today I consumed a chilli tea from T2. It was  a delicious fruity tea that had a lovely hint of heat on the lips and throat. I can highly recommend this.

What I have really noticed with chilli is that it brings people together. Everyone is familiar with it, and as such can relate with one another’s experiences. I love seeing how interested (and bewildered) people are to hear about my endeavors. Equally I love hearing about their chilli experiences. I have been given gifts of sauces, fresh chilli and dried chilli, from many people I know, and have given chilli to others around me. I love seeing peoples willingness to try something hot. I think it says a lot about a person if they are willing to try something new, even though they know it will cause them pain.

I have a huge stockpile of chilli’s and sauce to get stuck into. So stay tuned for more posts about this wonderful fruit!

P.S. This post is way too prim and proper, so here is a link to the definition of chiligasm:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chiligasm

Product Review: Boomslang Ghost Pepper Sauce

11 Jan
20130111-135808.jpg

The Boomslang! pictured here in it’s native habitat – my desk at work.

Santa you fucking prick! You slid this sauce into my limp stocking and have caused me days of excruciating toilet time ever since.

The Boomslang is a South African tree snake known for it’s large size and deadly venom. The name suits perfectly. Consuming this sauce is like suckling directly on the fang of one of those slimy bastards.

The heat comes from one of my favs – The Ghost Pepper – with some help from extract to take the heat to the next level.

Hot sauces tend to come in small bottles, which means I go through them quickly. Even though this is in the standard 147ml bottle, I am definitely not going through it quickly. A mere tablespoon is enough to leave me drooling and tripping out. I leave this sauce in my drawer at work and amuse my colleagues with fits of sweat and snot.

The flavour is good – smokey and deep. However, due to the use of extract and level of heat you don’t get much of a chance to taste this one.

I recommend this sauce for serious chiliheads who are more interested in being a hero (me!), than enjoying flavours.

Heat Rating – 8/10

Taste Rating – 5.5/10

Ring Sting – 7/10

Pros: South Africa theme, hot as the devil’s fart

Cons: Use of extract

Price – present

Purchased from – Christmas stocking, however I know you can get this on from http://www.chilemojo.com.au

Product Review: The Chilli Factory – Devil's Delirium

8 Jan
IMG_0530

Devil’s Delirium and Mad Dog – the two biggest creeps I know!

How fitting that whilst in Tasmania I was able to get my hands on a jar of The Chilli Factory’s – Devil’s Delirium Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Chilli) paste.

I wasn’t even on a hot sauce mission, when I went into Mundy’s to get a stick of biltong (to give me the strength to cope with Hobart Christmas shopping!). While I was waiting for an eternity for my dried meat fix, I noticed this sucker sitting on the shelf. I was straight onto it!

I took the sauce up to Mad Dog’s shack for the tasting. When we arrived we chucked a bread mix into the bread machine, so that by the time we returned from getting loose at The Great Lakes Hotel, we would have a fresh loaf.

With a large number of beers under our belts, and armed with a couple of bottles of Tassie reds, we returned for some drinking games, and to try the Devil’s Delirium.

Due to our high level of intoxication, we thought it would be a good idea to smear a massive quantity of the paste all over it some fat slabs of our fresh bread.

The Bhut Jolokia is known as the Ghost Pepper because the heat creeps up on you. For the first few bites all you taste is fruity, delicious chilli, but then the heat hits.  The only thing that creeps harder is Mad Dog, on the dancefloor, at The Metz! The flavour was amazing though, and I think this would go well with anything. However, the heat is so severe that I would reserve this one for serious chilli heads.

Undeterred we had seconds, and the next day we finished off the jar at a family bbq!

This is an amazing sauce. It is 56% Bhut Jolokia and no extract! It is quite a feat to get this much heat, and flavour into a sauce without using extract.

Hats off to you The Chilli Factory, once again you have shredded my arse whilst putting a smile on my face!

Heat Rating – 8/10

Taste Rating – 7.5/10

Ring Sting – 5/10

Pros: No extract, flavour, Aussie co.

Cons: none

Price – $18

Purchased from – Mundy and Sons Butcher in Hobart

Tassie Christmas: The Other Shit

7 Jan

Tassie really is the best place in the world. If you disagree I’ll spike your water with Bhut Jolokia.

I had such a ball down there at Christmas doing stuff and things. I thought the best way to sum up all the non-chilli related experiences would be to simply caption some photos. Enjoy!

IMG_2173

Good times were had at the Great Lakes Hotel. Got pretty loose, ate roo rissoles and wasted a million bucks on fucking Irish bingo.

The highlight of any Tassie trip are these bastards! I got this one for free at Bronte Park General Store because it was 2 days old - score!!!!

The highlight of any Tassie trip are these bastards! I got this one for free at Bronte Park General Store because it was 2 days old – score!!!!

IMG_2221

Family on Christmas day doing what they do best – drink and bullshit. Backgournd L to R: Cow (Dad), Sammy, Norton, Pepsi, Dave. Foreground L to R: Mum, Fiona.

Mad Dog snr and Mad Dog jnr, at the Great Lakes Hotel, discussing how to pick up the local birds.

Mad Dog Sr and Mad Dog Jr, at the Great Lakes Hotel, discussing how to pick up the local birds.

The dogs: Maxie, Pruey and Charlie. This was taken at the Hobart farmers market. This market is awesome!

The dogs: Maxie, Pruey and Charlie. This was taken at the Hobart farmers market. This market is awesome!

IMG_2212

Here I am visiting The Beer Gardens, where the mythical Beer Tree was in bloom! Thanks Johnny M for giving us the guided tour.

The trouts don't stand a chance with this sexy beast on their case. Even Jessie is frothin'

The trouts don’t stand a chance with this sexy beast on their case. Even Jessie is frothin’

Drank some awesome stuff with this old bastard! This pic was taken at the end of the trip once we were beered out!

Drank some awesome stuff with this old bastard! This pic was taken at the end of the trip once we were beered out!

This needs no caption. Even though this is a caption.

Quite nice conditions on Great Lake. That’s Mad Dog out on the point.

Tassie Christmas: The Taste

6 Jan

I hadn’t been to The Taste for a few years due to previous experiences of shit food and no seats. I had heard that these issues had been fixed so I linked up with Pilby, Daf and Mad Dog for a Taste power session.

We had an absolute ball trying different beer and getting maggot. I also ate the hottest thing I’ve had so far!

I went to The Taste for a second time with Pruey and the family, for a more civilised experience.

Both attendances were bloody fantastic! I will be there again next year for sure!

IMG_2310

The crew. Note the size of the cup tower in Pilby’s hand. I’m being pretty sensible at this stage. As a side note the Moo Brews were the highlight beer and reasonable at $7.5 a schooner.

IMG_2346

Here I am with my first hot dish. It was some sort of thai beef salad from the legends at Vanidols. I had heard their duck curry was a bum stinger so I went to them for that. Allas they weren’t serving it at The Taste so I requested their hottest dish, with specific instructions for it not to be the watered down rubbish for bogans, I wanted it hot like they have it! It was bloody tasty and bloody hot.

IMG_2345

After the beef salad I took my empty plate back to Vanidols as a trophy to my chilli powers. I told them it wasn’t hot enough and I wanted the hottest thing they had ever made (this seemed like a sick idea, probably as a result of the beers consumed in the foreground). They made me a small beef curry, the size of my hand, and loaded that bad boy with chilli flakes. It was hot. hottest thing I had ever eaten at that stage. It sent me sideways, as Prue can attest, after my behaviour when she picked me up 🙂 I blame it on the chilli and not the alcohol.

IMG_2340

Here’s me being being a good boy with Pruey on my second visit. I ate some chilli mussels but they weren’t very hot. I had some Ethiopian curry but that wasn’t hot either. Basically nothing hot this night except Prue 😉

Tassie Christmas: The Chilli

3 Jan

I’m from Tasmania (probably why I’m such an idiot). So for Christmas I thought it best to go and visit the family and get into the Christmas cheer. Oh, and also go hard on the chilli!!!

Tassie isn’t the greatest place to have a chilli related experience. Due to the cool climate, chilli’s aren’t a great crop in Tassie. Despite this I managed to acquire some intense sauces and meals.

I thought the best way to summarise my Tassie experience would be photos with captions. I’ll split the 10 day trip into 3 posts.

I’ll give these sauces a full review in the near future.

Enjoy…….dickheads

IMG_0530

The Chilli Factory – Devil’s Delirium: I got this sauce from Mundy & Sons butchers in Hobart. Fuck it’s hot. I thought this was a fitting purchase being in the land of the devil. Mad Dog looks pretty pleased with himself, note that this photo was taken before he ate the sauce!

IMG_2343

I had a kick-arse brekky at Pump House and requested some Tabasco, they brought me this – much better than Tabasco! Still not very hot but great on their baked eggs with chorizo.

IMG_2278

Johnny M cooked Mad Dog and I a beautiful feast up at the lakes. We tried our best to ruin it with the Boomslang sauce (pictured on the table). Despite the head exploding and arse bursting heat of the sauce, the meal was epic!

IMG_2249

I was stoked to find a chilli chocolate within a mix from Norman and Dan! Unfortunately this is a gimmick. It had a nice fruity flavour, but no discernable heat.

IMG_2218

My uncle Doozie had this bad boy on offer for Christmas day. She hot! A very delicious sauce from an Aussie manufacturer.

IMG_2205

Christmas eve dinner at Pruey’s. Note the nearly empty jar of Devil’s Delirium next to my thumbs up. We went super hard on that sauce.

IMG_0534

This is why the Devil’s Delirium was nearly empty in the previous photo. Fresh baked bread at Mad Dog’s shack, fucking coated in molten lava. This fucked us hard. Good times, good times.

Product Review: The Chilli Factory – Turbo Supercharge Extreme Hot Habanero Paste

30 Dec
20121230-170244.jpg

The Old Boy – Johnny P – with an appropriate look of intrigue and fear on his face.

Fuck yeah another cracking Aussie sauce!

This one came as a gift from my mate Drew and was previously mention in my review of Queenie’s restaurant.

Holy chili gods! What an anus puckeringly good sauce!

The heat in this is derived from habaneros who make up a staggering amount of the sauce volume – yiewwww! Lots of sauces get their heat from chili extracts, which means they can pretty much be as hot as you want to make them. The downside of extracts is that they have an artificial chemical taste. For this reason chiliheads much prefer naturally heated sauces.

This sauce has an amazing fruity flavour, almost banana-ery. It is a nice globby consistency and went so well with the pulled pork sanga, I first tried it with.

Watch out though, this one is pretty hot. The heat doesn’t linger too long though but it gets on you lips so please watch where you put you mouth after eating this one 😉

Can’t wait to try more sauces from The Chilli Factory, this is only their 4th hottest or something!

Heat Rating – 6/10

Taste Rating – 7.5/10

Ring Sting – 3/10

Pros: No extract, flavour, Aussie co.

Cons: Small container, no funny labeling 😦

Price – Dunno got as a gift

Purchased from – Gift from legend Drew but he got it from The Chilli Factory’s stall at The Rocks Market. Also they are online: http://www.thechillifactory.com.au