After having breakfast at Penny University, I was eager to try out their dinner menu. A group of friends and I were seated at a table inside looking out the open windows onto the street. I was a tad late and missed out on our waitress’s speech on the benefits of organic cola. Curious, I had to try it. ‘Karma Cola’ is made with fair trade organic cane sugar and cola nut. The waitress likened it to those cola bottle lollies. It tastes like a more subtle diet coca cola.
Looking at the dinner menu, there are only 6 mains to choose from along with several starters.
After taking our orders, our waitress provided everyone with warm bread rolls and butter on very cute plates.
I thought my sous vide lamb back strap with date and pistachio cous cous and spiced yoghurt ($36) was a rather small portion. The lamb was medium well done and not as soft or juicy as I’d expect something that had been sous vide to be. I enjoyed the cous cous but couldn’t taste any spice in the yoghurt. I was a little disappointed with this dish, and for $36, I thought it was overpriced for what I got.
Three of my friends ordered the 6hr braised beef cheeks with roasted garlic mash and baby bok choy ($32). I got a taste of this, and it was melt in your mouth delicious. Wow! A knife was not needed as the beef was extremely soft and tender. It fell apart when my fork touched it. Cooked in a honey soy sauce, it was full of flavour and juiciness. Definitely the dish of the night. I will order that next time!
The prawn and baby octopus risotto with asparagus and lemon ($32) was beautiful too. Non-gluggy and full of flavour.
I was still hungry after my main. So for dessert, I ordered the dark chocolate mousse with blood orange sorbet, chocolate crumbs and biscotti ($16). The mousse was thick and slightly hard, it had the consistency of a semifreddo but softer. I thought it went well with the sorbet – a well balanced dessert.
My friends’ ordered the vanilla and pomegranate parfait ($15) which they seemed to like.
As mentioned in my previous post about this place, I do love the decor, artwork and feminine touch throughout. There were fresh lilies in a vase on our table. The toilets have gorgeous flowery wall paper inside and lovely smelling Mor hand soap and hand lotion is provided above the sinks.
The wait staff are very friendly and wait time for our food was about half an hour which isn’t too bad. It’s noisy inside, especially on a Friday night. I love the atmosphere – it’s buzzing and there are people inside and outside enjoying themselves. It’s a nice place to hang out during the day too.
Foodgasm 7/10
