In sync with the growing popularity for gourmet food, the chefs at Olive Bar and Grill, attempted to create new dishes with the same methods and flared up a menu based on the same
We would like to be honest with you on the onset. If you are a food lover who does not prefer much else other than the tried and tested dishes, flip the page as this is not for you. But if you like experimenting with food, read on. Because as much as we say that we would like to believe that we have an evolved palate for all kinds of ‘exotic food’ from all over the world and pride ourselves in having developed a global taste, there is very little chance of you taking a liking to a dish of burnt seaweed with cheese.
No we are not talking about a fancy menu at a hot-shot restaurant, on a mission to make a difference in the culinary fabric of the city. We were, in fact, at the special MasterChef inspired gourmet gala at the Olive Kitchen & Bar. In a very typical MasterChef Australia style, chef Sujan had used five gourmet cooking techniques, namely aerate, molecular, sous vide, roulade, deconstruction and whipped up five delicacies. And the burnt seaweed with cheese, which did not taste that good except for the cheese, was one of them.
The evening started with us taking a bite of the miso cauliflower mousse, prepared using the aerated technique and consisting of charcoal tempura and seaweed. It is a process that allows air to combine into ingredients to make them lighter and/or create more volume. It was something completely new that we tried so had no reference to compare it with.
Next we tried the rather interesting octopus and prawns cooked with the Sous Vide technique. This is one of the few cooking process which allows meat to cook in its own juice. In this method of cooking the food (in this case, meat) is sealed in airtight plastic bags then placed in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times. This dish made us realise the extent of experimentation involved.
Sadly though, what the dishes lacked was a variety of flavours, leaving them bland and unpalatable for the most part. The saving grace of the entire menu was roulade — corn fed chicken leg stuffed with breast, hazelnut potato mousse and jus.
There is not much we can talk about because there were only five specially curated dishes. But we were told that the most popular, and frequently asked for, preparation would make its way into the main menu. And if you must know, the dishes in the main menu are rather quite delectable.
“It took us a week to do food trials and came up with this menu. We have paired the Masterchef techniques to our food and prepared the amuse bouche menu for approval to be included in the main menu of Olive,” said chef Sujan.
The attempt at gourmet is very heartening but the menu has a long way to go before it can make a mark for itself.