Dying4desserts: Union Dining!

Hi all!

It's been a while since I've blogged I know, however, I've been trying to find some inner peace and just have fun and relax while I have the chance. Anyway, getting back into it... I feel light and very excited thinking about food I've eaten recently.

Union Dining is one of the restaurants I visited in September and it was fabulous!!! I got to try several dishes which were stunning. The chef Nicky Riemer, shares a European provincial dining experience and with her business partner Adam Cash, the two clever people made this night a night to remember.

The menu opens up and we got to order, starting off with the oysters...

Oysters mignonette

As always, the oysters were fresh with a tangy shallot vinaigrette to compliment the creaminess. DELICIOUS!! It was a great first impression to get us excited for the rest of the dishes to come!!

Caramelised onion tart with olives, anchovies and roquette

This dish was so tasty!! It was absolutely delicious. The warm butter pastry, saltiness of the olives and anchovies just married beautifully with the sweet onion.

Terrine de maison with pickled Dutch carrots

I forgot what the meat component of this terrine was, however, it was colourful and layers of mixed meat and herbs, lined with thinly cut proscuitto. The pickled carrots gave just the right tang to go with the cold meat. YUM YUM!!

Piedmont steak tartare with pecorino & horseradish

This dish was quite different to any traditional steak tartare. There was no egg yolk, but a big shaving of pecorino cheese and loosly cut parsley and celery leaves. I don't mind it, it is very different, however, I wish there was an egg yolk in there to add more moisture. The traditional steak tartare definitely has a lot of taste and texture, but I'm glad I got to experience a different take on it.

Grilled quail with grapes and verjus

This was a special presented to us on the night and it sounded delicious. I made a ridiculous joke by moving the quail and said to my fellow diners, "Look! Snow Quail!" Immature of me I know, but if you move it around long enough, it does look like a different way of creating a 'snow angel' on a plate. Yes, I play with my food, but nonetheless I loved the flavours of this quail!! It just married so well with the creamy semolina and the juicy grapes...I wanted to lick the plate!!!

Coleslaw

I forgot what this salad was called, but as simple as it looks, we all agreed it was an amazing salad!! Fresh spanish onion, red cabbage, toasted pinenuts, currants and mint were tossed together with a slightly tangy vinaigrette... YUM YUM YUM!!

Pan seared baby snapper fillet with a lemon pearl barley risotto

The texture of the pearl barley just went really well with the soft tender fish. Although one of us had a few bites with bones piercing our mouths, it was truly delicious.

Half a roast poussin, charred bread stuffing, pea, leek & broadbean fricassee

This small bird was cooked very well and again complimented the fricassee and the roasted grapes still on the vine.

Spring baby lamb with oregano, green chilli, pecorino & baked semolina gnocchi

We all loved this lamb!!! Wish there was more on the plate hahaha we almost had to fight...but we were very civilised haha The taste of the whole dish was AMAZING!!

Aged scotch fillet with Roquefort, walnuts & Madeira

I love steak and the whole texture of the tender juicy meat with the bits of blue cheese and walnuts finsihed with the jus was OMG in my mouth!!! It's great to taste little bits of blue cheese without steak being drowned in blue cheese sauce. I've had it before at another place and definitely, that was a artery clog/heart stopper.

Banana ice cream, almonds, passionfruit & chocolate sauce

With the amount of savouries we ate, we were definitely full, but there is always room for dessert!! The whole combo was interesting and very flavoursome, however, the banana ice cream was slightly under ripe and icy. Overall, the dish was good.