Three course Friday lunch at Assiette

It's not very often you can have three courses at one of Sydney's hatted restaurants for only $35.00. Almost unheard of in fact. However at Assiette, chef Warren Turnball's two hatted restaurant in the 2011 SMH Good Food Guide, it is exactly what you can have, every Friday for lunch.

During the many different festivals which happen across town through the year, some of the top restaurants do offer some great deals, usually a main and a glass of wine at some pretty decent prices. However every time these festivals come round, i think to myself that this time, i will take advantage. I had yet to.

I had read about the Friday lunch at Assiette for a while now and being a restaurant i had wanted to try for some time, it seemed only appropriate to go on the list. Two birds with one stone right? What made it even more appropriate was that it would be the first on the list as this particular Friday was my 29th birthday and the start of my year long food challenge.

Assiette itself is definitely my kind of restaurant. In the heart of Surry Hills, the cute terrace house is small with a minimal interior. Alot of white except for the huge spoons designs that featured on the walls. We were greeted with the option of either the three course set menu or the regular a la carte menu but after a perousal from the table, the three course sounded too good to refuse, particularly for only $35.00!

Two options were available for each course so the benefit of it being my birthday, my partner was happy to have the opposite of what i chose, so we could try all dishes.

It wasn't much of a wait before our entrees came out and i was presented with the pumpkin risotto with prawn beignet and spring onion whilst the second option was a goat's cheese croquette with pickled beetroot, rocket and walnuts. Happy with our selections, the risotto was creamy, with the prawns giving the much needed crunch to the dish. The goats's cheese was more mild than expected, but worked perfectly with the pickled beetroot.

Next came the roast pork belly with plum chutney and peanuts, which actually came with a mash as well. The pork was beautiful but the mash left me wanting. The alternate, a pan fried dory with pea, mussel and fennel emulsion was strong with the flavours of mussel and fennel, which worked nicely with the fish but not being the biggest fan of mussel, my partner was also a little less lost for words than with the entrees.

What was most notable however, was that presentation of the dishes was one of the main highlights at Assiette.

Being a birthday, i felt completely justified to squeeze in another course and luckily the portions had been nicely sized for lunch and the sugar pangs were kicking in. My selection of a pineapple and mango salad with a selection of sorbets, which included a plum and mango sorbet, was so refreshing, it could not have been more suited as the end to my meal. The almond financier with white chocolate ice cream and orange caramel suited the chocolate lovers at the table. Following a visit to Turnball's second restaurant offering, District Dining, the night prior, it as evident that desserts are Turnball's strength at the moment.

It can't be said enough that for $35.00, the quality and value is more than high. For a birthday and the start to my blog adventure, it took even another step up.