Went to dine at a brand-spanking-new French restaurant at Darlinghurst - La Brasserie (www.LaBrasserie.com.au) and had a truly enjoyable meal, with the only slight problem of having ordered way more than my stomach could, well, stomach.
Anyway, the lunch menu was short but definitely got enough varieties to satisfy most customers. Knowing I haven't had escargot before he threw in 2 for me to taste - kinda liked it, garlicky and enjoyed the texture, but not rushing back for more. I ordered a cheese souffle for starters. YUM I say. Rich and cheesy and creamy and a little fluffy - and the grapes and walnuts added great contrasting texture and flavour to the soft souffle. Lionel (co-owner, what a great friend to have.... one who owns a restaurant and willing to treat me lunch! Hohoho) ordered the onion soup which tasted great, but he later confessed that he made a complaint to his friend/co-owner (Phillippe) that it doesn't have enough soup in it (they conversed in French - nice to listen to). I had a sip and thought it was quite delicious - and started to wonder maybe I should have had the soup instead of souffle.
For main I went for the seared steak tartare open sandwich (with a stack of shoestring chips on the side that I could only watch), which was juicy grilled, with 'forest mushrooms' that were slightly caramelised and very aromatic. Blue cheese scatterred on the side. I enjoyed it except... it was too salty for my tastebuds - Me not a salty person. The serving was big - none of those stereotypical "huge plate tiny mouthful" perception of the French restaurant. Problem was I should really have just ordered the main... or had the soup instead of the souffle... too much protein...
Don't know what red wine he ordered for us, but it was a light red that was fragrant and so easy to drink, I had it without going red in my face, but felt my system start to slow down soon after, so imagine me being quiet, trying very hard to finish my food as much as possible, listening intently and attempting to comprehend someone talking in a lovely French accent while the wine and excess food has totally taken over......
Interior was classy and non-pretentious. Beautiful mahogany coloured floor and tiled around the bar and entrance - classy French bistro-esque style. The floor would have been PERFECT for a dance party - put on some swing/jazzy music and I could just start dancing there! It was just really nice.... I really loved the ambiance. Kinda reminds me of that bistro Dianne Keaton went to in the movie "Somethings gotta give" ... if thats how French really live and eat, well they've won me over!! The only thing was, being on Crown Street (near William Street) it was noisy sitting on the sidewalk. I love people watching but it would have been perfect if it was located in a little alley way with cobble stone pavement and an occasional scooter or bicycle riding by...
Sorry, no photos this time - thought it would have been rude but if i went again with my closer friends I would definitely have taken pictures!
One of my favourite dishes is a kind of Chinese pastry that is somewhat likened to puff pastry, but less fluffy, the layers are thicker, and coated with white sesame. Different varieties are used in different dishes, for example, the pastry with mince uses just oil to separate the layers, made into a longer rectangle and cut into half, while the pastry with beef slices used sesame paste (kind of like tahini but fried) to separate the layers, and made into individual round pockets. Its best served hot off the pan, and reheated pastries are 100 times less flavoursome than the freshly made 
pastries. Not only that the texture is completely lost (turns hard). I prefer having less filling because I love the pastry, but I kept being told off for not stuffing the pockets!!!!
