Asti, Pyrmont - Ouffer deal

Regular readers of my blog know that I am a fan of the daily deal sites, and love to snap up some great deals. It is hard though, to find deals from quality, reputable restaurants but it is possible. I've purchased deals for Etch, Bistro Lilly, Swissotel high tea and the like from these sites and mostly find them to be worthwhile experiences. I usually don't purchase a deal if I haven't heard of the restaurant before, but after this experience, that may change! Recently, deal site Ouffer were kind enough to offer me a complimentary dinner at Asti in Pyrmont. This deal was one that had featured on their site - $89 for 2 people to have a 3 course meal, including a glass of Prosecco each.

Having never heard of Asti before, I surfed their site and was really impressed with the menu and the pictures that they had of their food up online. The deal was also fantastic value - it was normally $60pp for the 3 courseses + Prosecco! Located at the end of Harris Street in Pyrmont, it is a cute little restaurant with a bar area at the front and an outdoor seating area at the back. Seated inside, the restaurant was empty to start with on this Saturday night, but filled up quickly. The menu is straightforward - 4 choices under each course, except for dessert where there was only 3 which baffled me as I think that's the most important course in my eyes! Being a lover of all things pork, I was immediately crushed when the waitress advised us that the pork belly entree was not available that evening, and instead replaced with chicken liver pate.

Despite this initial disappointment, the hub and I definitely enjoyed our meal at Asti - the food was incredibly tasty, servings generous, service efficient and attentive and we left as happy campers!

Entrees

With no pork belly, we ended up ordering the chicken liver pate and the kingfish carpaccio. The pate was delicious - creamy, not too salty or heavy in flavour, and very generous in serving size, it went perfectly with the cranberry jelly that was tart enough to cut through the richness of the pate. The only disappointment with this dish was the bread that it was served with - only two tiny pieces, it was disproportionate with the size of the pate, and it should have been toasted, as it was cut so thinly and so soft that the pate was too heavy for it! 

Chicken liver pate, with cranberry jelly

The kingfish carpaccio was a fantastic dish - light and refreshing, especially with the watermelon, fennel and tiny cubes of tomato that adorned the top. Hubby really enjoyed this!

Kingfish carpaccio, with watermelon, fennel and tomato

Mains

Despite there being wagyu on the menu, for some reason we decided to go for the lamb (done Wellington style) and the duck. My first thought when the plates were bought out were - the presentation could be better, this looks like something I'd dish up at home! My second thought was that it was disappointing that the vegetables on both the mains were the same - the only difference was that the lamb had a sweet potato puree whilst the duck had potato mash and some tiny potatoes. Despite the appearance of the dishes, both of us really enjoyed our main meals. The lamb was the standout in comparison to the duck - perfectly cooked, it was just delicious!

Lamb, Wellington style, with seasonal vegetables

 The roast duck was a little overcooked and tough, but other than that, it was very enjoyable. Serving sizes were very substantial, and we were stuffed and barely had any room left for dessert by the time we were done with our main meals.

Roast duck with mandarin segments, potatoes, carrots and pea

Desserts

The menu was limited in terms of dessert - you had your choice of chocolate fondant, poached pear or a cheese plate. That was it. As we're not big cheese fans, it had to be the chocolate and the pear.

The presentation of the pear dish was amazing - I loved the meringue bird that sat on top of the vanilla bean ice-cream! The pear, when cut open, was filled with pistachio cream which was a nice surprise, and the pear was poached perfectly - not too soft.

Poached pear, filled with pistachio cream, with vanilla bean ice-cream

My chocolate fondant came out with the indentations of a cupcake case which was something I had never seen before. I don't care if it was made in cupcake form or in the traditional ramekin, the most important thing is that it needs to ooze when I cut it open! This didn't exactly ooze, but it was gooey in the middle and incredibly rich and chocolately - so I was a happy girl! Served with a gorgeously refreshing raspberry sorbet, it was a very enjoyable dessert and a great way to finish off this huge meal.

Chocolate fondant and raspberry sorbet

The hubby and I practically had to roll ourselves down the street to the car, we were so full and satisfied afterwards! At $89 for 3 courses for two people, this was a fantastic deal offered by Ouffer Sydney. Substantial meals, tasty dishes, great location so close to the water, this is a great restaurant. There were some very minor things that they could have done better - i.e. the plating of the mains (especially when compared to what the dishes look like on their website), the right ratio of chicken liver pate to bread, etc - but none of them at all affected the quality of the food that was served.

Much thanks to Ouffer for this meal, and yes, it has definitely made me more open minded about trying new restaurants through daily deals! 

www.ouffer.com/sydney
www.astirestaurant.com.au
46 Harris Street, Pyrmont, NSW
Ph: + 61 2 9660 4075

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