Bowral
(02) 4862 2005
info@biotadining.com
mon: lunch & dinner
tue: closed
wed: lunch & dinner
thur-sat: breakfast, lunch & dinner
sun: breakfast & lunch
Bowral has long been on the Buggles and Squeak "places to retire" hit list. It sits there comfortably next to Daylesford (current leader) & Blackheath.
So it is with much joy & (not curbed) enthusiasm that we head down to one of a favourite locales for a spot of lunch at Biota.
It is freezing when we arrive at Bowral. Driving into the carpark we are immediately taken by the look of the restaurant, it looks cool & modern, yet warm & inviting all at the same time.
We are led to a table close to the kitchen, and seated on rather low chairs (being somewhat vertically challenged, I need a cushion to prop me up!).
We peruse the menu, it looks fantastic.
We order our customary bottle of sparkling mineral water & set about deciding on what to devour.
The arrival of the house baked bread with house churned butter, is welcome indeed. The bread, a darkish rye, is not too dense & the butter is very creamy.
An amuse bouche of liver parfait with a fruit jelly (apple?) of some description topped with peanut sand follows. Strangely the parfait is a little too 'livery' for Buggles, but I found it spectacular!
After much deliberation Buggles decides on Duck pressed in juniper sugar, its egg, roasted cereals, cauliflower. The duck has a ham like quality to it and is rich, silky and flavourful. Along with the delicious egg yolk underneath, as well as the cauliflower foam/puree, it is a sure fire winner. The bit that really surprises Buggles though, are the 'roasted cereals'. This all sounds a little too 'granola' for her initially, but she is very impressed with the texture and flavour they add to the dish.
My entree of Potato cooked in smoked buttermilk, burnt beetroot, hens yolk, brassicas is equally spectacular. This dish has an incredibly smoky flavour, which is perfectly balanced by the creamy, rich hens egg. It is a wonderfully realised dish & I enjoy it very much.
Lamb rump in olive caramel, baked carrots, oat milk, hazelnut and garlic ash is the main choice for Buggles. This lookes beautiful when it arrives. The lamb has great flavour, although Buggles does not really feel that the flavour promise of 'olive caramel' is lived up to. The lamb is perhaps slightly over cooked for her liking, but it is still a beautiful piece of meat. The lamby bacon is delicious as are the vegetables. The much talked about 'oat milk' does little for her by way of flavour, although I really enjoy the sampler I have.
As I love my wagyu, I decide to order a main size portion of the Blackmore wagyu, raw and cooked radish, sanguinaccio. Thick strips of perfectly cooked wagyu accompanied by a rich, lush, but ever so light, liver mousse & the most sublimely flavoured sanguinaccio, which is full of blood puddingy goodness. The horseradish cream is divine, with a nice kick of heat. Wonderfully indulgent & truly wondrous.
It is at this point I try to convince Buggles that 3 desserts are always better than two....normally one to agree with me, oddly today she is having none of it.
So it is that Buggles decides on Caramel pear, raw cacao ice cream, warm buckwheat and malt. Buggles admits to me, as I write this, that she had been a little uninspired by the dessert menu when she first read it. After experiencing her dessert however she is transformed. The pear is beautifully cooked - and is softly firm (if that makes any sense). The clever little 'cinnamon sticks' are a tasty little wafery biscuit and the malt and raw cacao icecream prove to be true revelations. She absolutely loves this dessert and has thought back on it many times since!
My choice is Roast coconut milk, green tea cake, pineapple, fresh and dried fennel pollen. As delicious as it is beautiful, I am blown away by this dessert. The roast coconut flavour is the most predominant, but you get hints of the green tea and the aniseedy hit from the pollen. A work of art, no doubt.
So ends a truly enjoyable & memorable meal.
Service at Biota is both warm & friendly.
Biota has really added to the Bowral landscape & will certainly result in more trips to the Southern Highlands for us.
Bowral, you are heading closer to the top of the list!
Squeak
2 comments:
The roast coconut milk, green tea cake, pineapple, fresh and dried fennel pollen dessert sounds to die for.
Lol, a lot of people tell me that Bowral is up there as their place to retire, I think I should make a day trip up there one of these days.
We thought the flavours of the food could have been a little bolder although there was great creativity and clever combination of ingredients in every dish that we had.
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