Hello, I’m back at one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney South-West. Bellbird Dining and Bar is a elegant restaurant located inside Powerhouse Casula, showcasing in-house produce and magnificent culinary skills. I was very lucky to be invited to this limited truffle menu this season because they were completely booked out shortly after 😅. This was not a collab – my amazing friend is dating the talented chef of the house and invited me hehe!
The set menu was $80 pp and the pairing wine menu was an additional $40 pp.
The set menu was $80 pp and the pairing wine menu was an additional $40 pp.
Entrée
We started with complementary champagne as part of the entrées, served with Parmesan custard tart and Jerusalem artichokes soup. The highlight was definitely the soup 😍. Wow, this warm and rich viscous broth was so, so soothing and flavourful. It was creamy, buttery, caressing my tongue with its warm embrace that I almost forgot about the other bite.
The Parmesan custard tart was a dried biscuits with a good amount of thickness, balanced by the creamy, light custard and enhanced by the saltiness and earthiness of the Parmesan and truffle.
We were also served warm Sonoma bread and a salted butter as a staple of finer dining. I loved how fluffy the bread bed was and the contrast of crunch in the crust.
Main Course
Our first dish was the Northern NSW king prawn, served with a glass of 2021 Lark Hill Dark Horse Marsanne, Canberra, NSW.
The prawn was very juicy, with a floral and sweet scent. The truffle was subtle and could be tasted throughout the bite.
The only downside was the amount of prawn – It was one each. I ended up eating the shell for that extra value (also, no waste here 😆). The wine was a bit tart, overshadowing the prawn flavour by a moderate amount. It was not the best wine pairing for this dish.
The prawn was very juicy, with a floral and sweet scent. The truffle was subtle and could be tasted throughout the bite.
The only downside was the amount of prawn – It was one each. I ended up eating the shell for that extra value (also, no waste here 😆). The wine was a bit tart, overshadowing the prawn flavour by a moderate amount. It was not the best wine pairing for this dish.
Next was the pumpkin, ricotta & truffle Pecorino with 2021 Nick Spencer Gruner Veltliner, Tumbarumba, NSW.
This was my favourite dish of the night. The pasta was soft, chewy and had a nice bounce to it. The pumpkin filling and ricotta sauce were both velvety, sending my taste buds to a new realm of euphoria. And the shaved truffle enhanced the aromatics, seasoning the dish perfectly without the need for additional salt or pepper.
The paired white was light and floral, matching the flavours of the dish well.
This was my favourite dish of the night. The pasta was soft, chewy and had a nice bounce to it. The pumpkin filling and ricotta sauce were both velvety, sending my taste buds to a new realm of euphoria. And the shaved truffle enhanced the aromatics, seasoning the dish perfectly without the need for additional salt or pepper.
The paired white was light and floral, matching the flavours of the dish well.
The 63* egg, Shimeji Mushrooms and Fried Enoki was served with 2019 Port Phillip Estate, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, VIC.
This dish was my arch enemy – mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms but somehow Bellbird got me to eat everything and lick the plate clean 😂. It was deliciously savoury, playing on different textures from chewy shimeji to crunchy, fried enoki, mushy mushroom and luxurious shaved truffle. The egg was cooked to perfection, soft and gooey but still retaining its shape.
The paired red wine was bright, fresh, and gentle on the palate, with hints of cranberries.
This dish was my arch enemy – mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms but somehow Bellbird got me to eat everything and lick the plate clean 😂. It was deliciously savoury, playing on different textures from chewy shimeji to crunchy, fried enoki, mushy mushroom and luxurious shaved truffle. The egg was cooked to perfection, soft and gooey but still retaining its shape.
The paired red wine was bright, fresh, and gentle on the palate, with hints of cranberries.
The last main dish was the 400 days grain-fed wagyu cross black angus rangers valley sirloin served with 2019 Yaangarra Estate Shiraz, Mclaren Vale, SA.
The steak was cooked medium rare, tender and melt-in-your-mouth divine. The wagyu marbling and the lean fatty layers was a good ratio so it was very easy to devour (sometimes too much fat is not a good thing). The mash was creamy and the beef jus was an enjoyable gravy accompaniment. The truffle was subtle, but still detectable in every bite.
We got the Brussels sprouts in addition, and wow! 😍😍 😍 This is the first place that I’ve tried that does Brussels sprouts so damn well! It was crispy, salted and masked the bitter end of the vegetable.
The shiraz had notes of plum and rosemary, with a light start and an intense, rounded finish.
The steak was cooked medium rare, tender and melt-in-your-mouth divine. The wagyu marbling and the lean fatty layers was a good ratio so it was very easy to devour (sometimes too much fat is not a good thing). The mash was creamy and the beef jus was an enjoyable gravy accompaniment. The truffle was subtle, but still detectable in every bite.
We got the Brussels sprouts in addition, and wow! 😍😍 😍 This is the first place that I’ve tried that does Brussels sprouts so damn well! It was crispy, salted and masked the bitter end of the vegetable.
The shiraz had notes of plum and rosemary, with a light start and an intense, rounded finish.
This was a generous serving for a palate cleanser. It was vanilla ice cream with infused truffle and shaved truffle on top. It was very good, creamy and refreshing.
Dessert was a classic crème brûlée. The hardened sugar coat was a micro-milliliter too thick for my liking, but it was still very enjoyable to break apart. The custard inside was divine – light, creamy and not too sweet to balance out the sugary lid.
Service
The service was impeccable. It was at the same quality of higher end fine dining restaurants of Sydney. The servers checked on us often, replenishing bread and water at all times. Everyone was courteous and considerate of the patrons time and enjoyment. And even the chef came out regularly to check up on each table for feedback. Bravo! 👏
Review
This is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney’s South West. It is so underrated because it is located in Casula (a slum of a suburb), but hopefully in the future, the suburb turns around because this restaurant needs more shiny lights on them. They deserve it for all their creativity, quality and hard work.
Thanks for reading. Happy Eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy Eating!
