Can't Get Enough of Gordon Ramsay

During our visit to London we ate at 3 of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants.

The first one we tried was Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges. Located, obviously, in Claridges Hotel on the corner of Davies and Brook Streets, a short stroll from Oxford Street and New Bond Street. On Thursday we decided we would go for lunch and booked for Friday. We had the option of a la carte or a choice of 3 set menus for our lunch, we ended up choosing the 5 course lunch for £40 with matching wines for an additional £17 (around A$88 total).

The dining room is in a classic, glamourous Art Deco style with colours of light creams and peaches, silver gilding and mirrors galore. Staff are all in pristine black and white and their service standards were exceptional. As Vikki and I were trying not to have any Australian or New Zealand wine on our trip, upon noticing one Kiwi wine on the matching wine list, we asked if they would mind swapping it for something else, which they did with no problems.

First to come out was a canape, followed by the first course an amuse bouche of pea soup....

Second course was some Scottish salmon, blood orange and avocado....

Third course was a very luscious and rich terrine. This was the start of a trip that contained a LOT of foie gras.

Fourth course was a lovely slow cooked veal breast with celeriac and watercress. It is lovely to see an under utilised cut of meat being done in really well.

Then our very summery pre-dessert which would make a wonderful dessert in it’s own right.

And finally the dessert. We saw a couple of these come out to other tables while we were having our lunch. All we saw though was the chocolate dome as it went past. When we were served ours, the dome looked huge, about the size of an inverted, medium mixing bowl. The waiters place the bowl in front of you and then they pour warm chocolate sauce in the centre of the dome which subsequently melts to reveal the hidden surprise of chocolate mousse, ice cream and house made honeycomb.

After dessert we had a glass of champagne and then were asked if we would like to tour the kitchens and finish our champagne in the lounge, a subtle way of moving us from our table so they could reset it. Of course we ran in to an Aussie chef while being shown the kitchen. We asked where we could get a good burger and he pointed us in the direction of Gordon Ramsay’s latest  restaurant Bread Street Kitchen

Bread Street Kitchen was our second taste of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant empire. Located on Bread Street, near St Paul's Cathedral, it occupies 2 floors in a corner of the very modern 1 New Change shopping/office centre. Ground floor is a funky bar, upstairs is the restaurant. Both the bar and restaurant are fitted out in an industrial chic style with lots of bare metal and air conditioning ducts and electrical conduit. The whole area is divided into sections with banquette seating and tables interspersed here and there. Reconditioned lighting has been bought from second hand stores and gives a retro aspect to the room, be it hanging from the ceiling or placed on the top of the banquettes. The classic black and white bistro style floor is a great juxtaposition to the industrial look. The bar also does duty for coffees and breakfasts in the morning.

One of the dining sections

The menu at Bread Street Kitchen has a bit of everything. They have a Raw Bar(oysters etc), wood fired oven,  grills, etc. Vikki had a burger which after seeing it I wish that I had ordered it, I ordered seared yellowfin tuna with a salad of greens, quail egg and shaved fennel. We also had a French white wine which was a great choice.

Our meals

My JLC AMVOX III

Our third Gordon Ramsay restaurant was Maze. Located on Grosvenor Square, just down the road from Claridges, it is located in a lovely old sandstone building, with lots of embassies as neighbours. The interior is quite modern and refined, medium woods, neutral colours, enhanced with the odd splash of colour make for a relaxing room.

We opted for the four course set menu which, surprisingly, you were able to pick the four dishes you wanted. Vikki and I both had the same starter and main but had different second and fourth courses.

The menu board at Maze

Interior Maze

Table setting at Maze

Pressed chicken and foie gras, blood orange, hazelnuts

Pork dumplings, radish, aromatic mushroom broth

Hash brown, bacon and egg, wild garlic

Braised feather blade steak, pommes puree, 
shimeji mushroom and togarishi spice

Of course where I go so does my JLC AMVOX III

Banana and date parfait, butterscotch, walnuts

Apple terrine, rhubarb, custard ice cream

The three Gordon Ramsay restaurants we ate at were fantastic. We discovered that the best way to eat in London is to do the fancy restaurants at lunch time as you can take advantage of the set lunch menus, which are quite cheaper than dining a la carte for dinner. Often they also have matched wines for each course also at a good price.

A Sydney Paneristi’s Global GTG

How time flies, only when I actually think about it do I realise that I have been a Paneristi since late 2004. Through Paneristi I made many local friends and it was at Hamilton P-Day last year that I finally met the people who’s posts I have been reading for so many years.

This year Vikki and I finally managed to take the round the world trip that we have been talking about for the previous ten years. First stop was New York and as I landed early  I dropped off my bags at the Waldorf and found the first Starbucks I could, as I needed the caffeine to stay awake. The weather was fantastic 30 degree plus Celsius coupled with a bright blue sky. You can instantly tell that you are in the Big Apple when you sit down next to a couple of slick haired, suited gentlemen who are busily discussing hedge fund investment strategies lol.

After my wake up coffee I had another 4hrs to kill until I could check-in so I headed towards the Panerai New York boutique with the hope that my 390 was ready to be collected. At the boutique I finally met Alex and Tomoko. Naturally I tried pretty much every Panerai that was in the store. They were also kind enough to invite us to the private viewing of the 2012 novelties as we could not attend the NY Panerai dinner as we were flying out to London on that day.

Luke organised a small GTG at Roman trattoria Maialino (the name means “Little Pig”) in Gramercy Park Hotel which is the first collaboration between renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer and designer David Rockwell. We expected Luke, Eng and Geoff but also had the added surprise that the effervescent Gush was in town from London.

Maialino was buzzing when we arrived. Considering that it was a Monday night the restaurant was at 100% capacity, and a great convivial atmosphere was present in the room.  Checkered table cloths and lots of aged wood really contributed to the feel of being in a Roman Trattoria.

Roast suckling pig is at the heart of the menu. The skin, blasted to crispness in a hot oven, is dusted in rosemary, cracked fennel, salt and pepper: an apparently unambitious preparation that tastes just great — pork at its best. Oven roasted potatoes, the dish can serve three with ease. We also decided to share a few dishes as entrees and a couple of pastas as well. Of course the wine list contains a great selection of wines from Italy. Our choice for the night was a Rosso di Montalcino from Castello Romitorio (owned by artist Sandro Chia). All rounded out with some traditional Italian treats for dessert and some great coffee.

After a great night at Maialino it was time to head back to the hotel with a walk up Lexington Avenue, after being assured it was quite safe to do so. 

Before our depature for London , we met up with the guys again and headed for a private viewing of the 2012 Panerai novelties. Our venue was the exclusive members only, The Core Club, just around the corner from the Panerai boutique. As we sat on the balcony in the New York sunshine, we were like a bunch of kids in a toy shop as we handed the watches around and discussed the merits and desirability of each watch and which ones we would personally like to have in our collections. 

After saying our good-byes to the Luke, Geoff, Eng and Gush, we rushed back to the Waldorf finished our packing and headed to JFK for our flight to London. It was great to catch up with the guys in their home town and both Vikki and I look forward to catching up with them again in New York sometime in the future. 

Horological Machines at Zeta Bar

Maximilian Büsser’s visit to Australia was already creating a sensation even before he arrived. I was lucky enough to be the first one to see him after his flight from Perth. I met him at the Swissotel and we decided to go for a quiet drink to Zeta Bar.

I’m always amazed by the fact that time flies so quickly when you are in great company. Max talked about his passions and the current state of the watch industry which reinforced some of my concerns and my instinctive drive to move more to the independent watch makers. It is they who still uphold the traditional values of haute horology.

MB&F is an ingenious business model as it allows each team member to perform of their best. That said the careful planning and orchestration needed to make each project a reality can be easily underestimated. Having only met Max once I can see how people would be eager to collaborate with someone that exudes so much excitement and creative design.

Legacy Machine N°1 has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

This is a true three dimensional mechanical sculpture.

Kari Voutilainen’s influences are very apparent. Given that I’m a huge fan of Kari’s work there was no surprise that I love this watch.

The Moonmachine is my favourite of the HM3 series. Based on Stepan’s own face, the phase of the moon is displayed through a signature Korona-shaped aperture, while the mystery winding rotor takes the form of a 22k gold disc with laser-pierced stars forming constellations visible in the northern sky.

Max’s passion and vision cannot be denied and my sense is that we will see many more interesting surprises in the years ahead. I look forward to his next visit to Australia.

Cullen Wines: Tasting at Bench Newtown

We stumbled across Bench WInebar while out for a Sunday afternoon walk in January. Since then we have been several times.Located on the southern end of King Street, Bench is owned by Robyn Thomas who also happens to be the owner of Pizza Picasso. Bench is located in what used to be the dining area of Pizza Picasso, and has an industrial chic look.

Cool tunes play quietly over the sound system and an illuminated colour changing wine rack in the shape of a bunch of grapes is the feature on the back wall. Bench Winebar has a great little wine list with some different and interesting wines, and price points that won’t break the budget. So far one of our favourites on the list has to be the Tar and Roses Miro Tempranillo from Spain.

As we are on the Bench Winebar newsletter list, we recently recived an invitation to a tasting of Cullen wines, so we just had to go. Vanya Cullen is the wine making genius currently in charge at Cullen and was on hand to tell us more about the wines and the biodynamic practices that they use. The Cullen winery is located in the Margaret River district in Western Australia. We used to steer clear of Margaret River wines, but over the past few years we have noticed that the limestone minerality that used to be quite predominant has become more subtle and the wines seem a lot fresher.

Cullen has two vineyards that they source grapes from, The Cullen Estate Vineyard and The Cullen Mangan Vineyard, which is across the road from Cullen Estate, but has its own unique terroir. The wines from the Mangan Vineyard used to be blended with the Cullen estate wines but now have their own identity within the Cullen range. On the night we tried Mangan Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2010, Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011, Mangan Malbec Petit Verdot Merlot 2010 and Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2010. All were very nice and definitely on our list of wines to drink. On a recent Sunday we decided to try the Cullen Diana Madeline 2007. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon(60%), Merlot(30%) and Cabernet Franc(10%). This was a great drop, easy to drink and left us wishing we had another bottle. Still waiting to try the 2008 and the 2009 vintages, but there are so many great wines we are discovering lately that we just keep forgetting to buy either vintage.

We have also recently tried a bottle of their 2010 Cullen Cabernet Merlot. This is predominately cabernet with merlot and just a touch of petit verdot. This was a great drop and has room to develop with a few more years of aging. This is like a little Diana Madeline, much the same way that Penfolds 389 is considered the baby Grange.

The Joy of Going Independent

Two years ago when I first laid my eyes on my friends Kari Voutilainen Observatoire I vowed that it would be mine one day. This day has come and I simply cannot express the joy of finally owning this wonderful creative work. I’ve always felt that independent watches exude a magnetic presence that draw me to them. It is also a feeling that I get from vintage watches, but only from a very few modern watches (and it fades after a few months of ownership).

I’m equally not surprised why this watch won the 2007 the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in the Men's Watch category. Out of a pre-selection of 9 watches submitted by major and minor brands for the men’s watches category of the Grand Prix de Genève, the Kari Voutilainen OBSERVATOIRE wristwatch was chosen as the ultimate laureate. It represented an extraordinary recognition of Kari Voutilainen’s independent workshop as well as his distinctive yet classic visual designs combined with a superlative attention to mechanical details. This prestigious achievement, voted upon by top Swiss watch industry insiders, is a public acknowledgement of horological mastery and a commitment to the creation of exceptional timekeepers.

Part of the appeal of owning an Independent watch is that you get to share and understand the values of the watchmaker. Kari Voutilainen has always appealed to me as he is a perfectionist and one of the true custodians of Haute Horologerie. Production is always limited and now with around 13 staff he aims to produce a maximum of 40 pieces per year.

Owning a vintage observatory grade chronometer is an added bonus. Kari has done a remarkable job on the 260 Peseux base calibers. He threw out the entire escapement and inserted a balance wheel, hairspring, and escape mechanism of his own making. Each movement has been technically adjusted and tested before being finished with hand anglage and perlage to bring it to the highest levels of visual finish possible.

In this particular case, it features a frosted finish instead of Geneva stripes.

Befitting such a exceptional timepiece is a very rare and unique system of balance spring has been used. The exterior of the spring uses a typical Breguet overcoil, whilst the internal curve uses the little known Grosmann curve. Grosmann was a teacher at the watchmaking school at Le Locle in the late early 20th century, and he codified a technique that gives the same amount of attention to the internal curve of the balance spring as the external overcoil. Virtually unknown and fallen into disuse, the OBSERVATOIRE wristwatch marks the first use of this curve in the 21st century, underlining the fact that many of the older watchmaking techniques still have their place of honour in the present day.

Observatoire Technical Characteristics :

• Observatory calibre 260 Peseux, created solely for observatory trials and never commercialized for the production. Hand finished with Geneva stripes, anglage and perlage.
• 30mm x 5mm movement.
• Ruby cap jewels for the escapement wheel.
• 21 jewels.
• Free sprung balance wheel with Platinum timing screws beating at 18,000 v.p.h.
• Balance diameter 13.3mm with Breguet/Grossmann balance spiral.
• 38mm x 10.5mm thick platinum case and 18-carat gold crown.
• Engine turned gold dial, with Roman applied numerals and gold hands.
• Hand sewn, crocodile strap with 18-carat gold buckle.
• Kari Voutilainen’s dials are not made by him for the Observatoire, but were outsourced at the time to Parmigiani-owned companies.
• The blued hands, however, are made in-house.

I love the fact that each watch Kari makes is statement in its own right. From my understanding around 40-50 Voutilainen Observatoires have been produced. However, this watch is probably more unique than most, and definitely one of the most significant. It features a platinum case (one of perhaps six Observatoires in this case metal), a salmon dial (one of perhaps two), and a frosted gold movement (one of perhaps three or four). No other Observatoire looks like this one. Also featured are a tourbillon-style balance bridge and a rare circular "Voutlinainen - Môtiers" movement inscription.

I’ve only had this watch for a few days and its certainly is one of my favourite wearers. The platinum case gives this 38mm Observatoire a feeling of substance and elegance.

This watch has taken me back to the passion and excitement of my early collecting days.

Welcoming My First Omega

Recently I had the opportunity to purchase an Omega Planet Ocean through Fredman SVW. The price was too good to pass on, so I grabbbed it. I have toyed with the idea of buying an Omega for some time, with my preference being a vintage Speedmaster from 1969/1970. But something about the Planet Ocean lured me in to it's depths. To celebrate the new addition we decided to go to ARIA for dinner.

Vikki and I haven't been to ARIA together for around a year, so it was about time to get back there. Part of the attraction of dining at Matt Moran's Aria is the incredible views overlooking both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, especially as the sunsets.


We booked for the pre theatre menu,which meant we had to be out by 8pm, but it allowed us plenty of time to enjoy a three course meal.
Drinks first: A glass of champagne to start and a bottle of Chateau des Graviers Cru Artisan, Margaux 2005 to enjoy with our meal.

For entrees, Vikki chose Kurobuta pork belly with pork croquette and caramelised apple, while I chose Peking duck consommé with duck dumplings, shaved abalone and mushrooms. Both were delicious.


For mains Vikki chose roasted ballotine of chicken with crushed peas, wilted cos lettuce and sorrel sauce and I decided to have the Bass Grouper steamed fillet with jamon, samphire, currant grapes and rosemary. Of course we couldn't pass up the fabulous truffled potato mash.



Desserts can not be missed when dining at Aria. Vikki selected Milk chocolate and passionfruit dumplings with yuzu curd and passionfruit sorbet, and as I had a little wine left I decided to opt for the cheese selection that comprised Australian and international cheeses.


Not long after we watched the sun set, the rain came down, adding another dimension to the view out the window. Conveniently for us, the taxi stand is right outside the front door of Aria. After another wonderful meal at Aria we headed home to relax.