Just Desserts at Tomislav

Expect the unexpected for less disappointment and more nice surprises

As of late, my motto has been "set low expectation" so that when things don't turn out nicely you're not overly disappointed and when things turn out nicely, it's a lovely surprise. So when food enthusiast (read: food obsessed) love my food and sugar asked me if I was interested to go for Tomislav's 'Just Desserts', I said "sure, why not". I didn't really think too much of it till she happened to mention that Tomislav worked with Heston Blumenthal from Heston's Feast. OMG. I felt my expectation rising up... ugh not good! Luckily, my slow recovery of my broken foot and college assignments kept that expectation in check.

Table and the restaurant's surrounding

Less than 15 minutes after arriving at the restaurant, I was in an invariably good mood. I was pleasantly surprised (read: rather blown away) with the staff hospitality! First, the hostess was really lovely and asked me about my foot without being overly nosy. She asked me if the table they had allocated for us was convenient for me. Then she remembered that love my food and sugar is allergic to alcohol and informed the kitchen so that when the Delamotte champagne and violet granite were served, the kitchen staff had replaced her champagne with lemonade. How's that for awesome hospitality?

Delamotte champagne and violet granite & how to mix it - look how pretty the color is!

Totally loved the champagne and violet granite. Aside from the fact that purple is my favorite color, the taste was really refreshing with just a hint of sweetness. Oh and it doesn't hurt that it reminded me of my fantastic holidays in the lavender fields of Furano! Maybe it was the champagne, maybe it was the company, or the staff or everything, but I think I fell in love with Tomislav then, or in the process of.

Grilled strawberries with white chocolate and mint

The first course was grilled strawberries with white chocolate and mint. When it was brought out, I couldn't stop the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever to start playing in my head as I marveled at the powder converted white chocolate and mint. Hell's yeah molecular gastronomy! Love love loveeeeeeeeeee the white chocolate and mint powder! It totally reminded me of eating milk powder during my childhood. Another score for Tomislav. The mint?! Gosh, lovely lovely flavor and texture. Embarrassing as it is to admit, we were both scraping the plate... WE WANT MORE!

Goat curd cheese cake with elderflower and pistachio

The second course was this goat curd cheese cake with elderflower and pistachio. When I read that after I first sat down I was like... goat curd... hmm hope it's not stinky. Thankfully it came stinky free in a shape of a snail's house. I absolutely adored the whole plate. It was so pretty! It looked like a little garden with a snail surrounded with pretty flowers. Presentation? CHECK! The goat curd cheesecake was light and fluffy and below there was this other thing that I suspect was vanilla something. Absolutely delicious. All my pain, frustration over my foot, stress over my assignment were gone in this euphoric moment. I love the elderflower jelly, sweet and sour to counter the cheese. The pistachio added a crunchylicious factor too! The catch? None, but there were these little leaves that baffled us at first as it taste like lemongrass but for sure it wasn't. The staff informed us that it was lemon balm. Fancy that. If you can't tell, this is my favorite so far.

Caramel ice cream with toasted peanut

Soon after, came the caramel ice cream with toasted peanut. The unexpected factor? POP ROCK!! I kinda knew or hoped that pop rock will be incorporated somehow into the degustation menu and oh soooo delighted! This whole dish could be overly too sweet, caramel and all, but it wasn't and for that I was grateful and content.

Warm chocolate mousse with sea salt and olive oil, plus mulberry sorbet with horseradish topping

Then came the warm chocolate mousse with sea salt and olive oil that I had been anticipating. Ever since my trip to Barcelona's Alkimia late last year I look forward for any dessert that incorporates olive oil. The chocolate mousse was dark chocolatey, my favorite kind, salty with the sea salt and fresh from the olive oil. Did I die and gone to heaven? It came with mulberry sorbet and horseradish topping. Yup, you heard that right. Weird huh? Thought so too, but the whole combo worked perfectly.

Beef mince pie with grilled onion and de-re-constructed tomato sauce

Rice crackers and vinegar spray

Sad as we were that the desserts were done, we were looking forward for our beef mince pie. Once again, it did not disappoint. The pastry was yum. We asked the hostess to convince Tomislav to keep this as a regular menu. *Fingers crossed* Then for not so dessert 'dessert', we received rice crackers with vinegar spray. For some reason, I could not use the spray... love my food and sugar had to do it for me...

We were so sad that it was over... BUT!!! Tomislav and Black Star Pastry gave us a Black Star Pasty take away box! (see the photo at the very top) What a great way to finish! It was genius. We were ecstatic. And guess what?! Each box has NOT one but FOUR different pastries! I was in cloud nine. Tomislav and Black Star Pastry are now my favorites in Sydney.

Chef Tomislav and Black Star Pastry, will you be my BFFs?

Tomislav

2/23 Kirketon Rd

Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

+61 2 9356 4535

'Just Desserts' degustation was A$125 per person - but with amazing food quality and great hospitality, I am not complaining.