Biota Restaurant
Can you get a world-class dining experience in a country town of 10,000 people? While I had my doubts I was hoping I would be proved wrong…
Today we are celebrating both my birthday and mother’s day so ‘cheap and nasty’ is not going to cut it. We need to go somewhere special. I decided that we all go to a new restaurant in Bowral called ‘Biota’. Bowral is a town just over an hour south of Sydney and as special significance as its where my wife and I got married. Biota is a welcome addition to this upmarket town and has gained quite a bit of attention including being nominated for SMH’s Best New Restaurant last year.
The restaurant is nicely designed and incorporates both a formal restaurant and an informal bar area. An amuse bouche arrives first and the combination of anchovies (I love anchovies!), hibiscus salt and a deep fried batter (I love fried stuff!) hits the spot. We are off to a great start.
White anchovies and hibiscus salt
Pulled beef, beetroots, horseradish and pickled onion pearls
The entrees quickly arrive and I am struck at how beautifully they are plated. I am obsessed by anything that is slow cooked and the ‘pulled beef’ with beetroot is oh so tender and matches well with the beetroot.
The next entree was a pleasant surprise and in the end one of my favourite dishes of the meal. The simple sounding ‘duck egg, puffed grains, duck ham, celeriac’ is a perfect illustration of combining simple ingredients that complement each other well. The gooiness of the egg and the crunch of the puffed grain was textural heaven.
Duck egg, puffed grains, duck ham, celeriac and brassicas
Oozing duck egg, puffed grains, duck ham, celeriac and brassicas
Cooked curds, blackened asparagus, cured yolk and malt gel
The first main is spatchcock with pear, speck, hazelnuts and chestnut porridge. The spatchcock was cooked well and my favourite part was the ample amount of sticky hazelnut spread which added sweetness, saltiness and crunch.
Spatchcock, pear, speck, hazelnuts and chesnut porridge
Glazed pig cheek, turnips, cauliflower, fig and mushroom
As I said I am obsessed about slow cooked meats so when the glazed pig cheek arrived I was drooling. The pig cheek was very tender, very porky and had the interesting twist of being ‘blackened’ by squid ink.
The snapper dish was accompanied by oyster, artichoke and ‘wild’ garlic. I am not a big fan of oysters so this wasnt really my dish. The lamb rump was cooked to perfection but was my least favourite dish of the day as it didnt have any wow factor.
Snapper, jerusalem artichoke, rock oyster, wild garlic and jamon
Lamb rump, almond milk farro, heirloom carrots and sweetbreads
By now we were incredibly full but we decided we could fit in one dessert. I asked the waiter what was the most unique and interesting dessert. He said it was the ‘sweetened grass milk’ with ‘hops ice cream’. It sounded very interesting! The dessert arrived and everyone gazed at the dish with amazement before 6 forks demolished it off. I am not a big dessert fan but this was definitely in my top 5 desserts I have ever tried (number one being
the snow egg and Quay!). The grass milk was a jelly like thing which had subtle grass smokiness and covered with black sesames. The hops icecream was absolutely fantastic and got eaten up very quickly. To our surprise the head chef also gave us a complimentary raspberry dessert which was very refreshing finish – especially the frozen mojito disc!
Sweetened grass milk, peanuts, coffee crumb and hops ice cream
Raspberries, mojito disc, berry sorbet and pomegranate
So can there be world-class dining in a small town? While it may not be quite there yet, the food is clever, unique and at times absolute genius. It is certainly better than many fine dining restaurants in Sydney!
Biota Restaurant
Biota Restaurant
Biota {Bowral, NSW}
Address: Kangaloon Road, Bowral
Phone: +61 (0)2 4862 2005
Website: http://www.biotadining.com/
