Brian Kennett
Amateur Chef and Foodie Extraordinaire
Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash
Now I think I mentioned before I am not a massive fan of Sous Vide cooking. But I have to say this place, and the Owner & Executive Chef, Vincent Teng, may have changed my mind. The food here at Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash is actually quite exceptional. They state that the style is ‘casual French fare cooked with a contemporary twist and a fine blend of creativity peppered with Asian inspired flavours – the Sous Vide way’. Wow that is a style and a half!!!
Well this day we had lunched at Sushi Bistro – you’ve seen that review before HERE right? So we’d finished there, off we trotted for some prawn fishing for a few hours, the Rutherford’s rocked up too which was lovely. Jhea did really well too with the catching, and the Uncle was very generous topping up another bag with prawns too. So we were going home happy and contented – but where for dinner?
We walked past a few places and stopped at Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash. Looking at the menu on the plinth outside, I spotted two things, namely;
- On the menu was seared foie gras; and
- Out of the corner of my eye, a bouncy castle.
Yes guys this place even has kid’s entertainment. That’s it, Im hooked foie gras and kid’s entertained, oh yeah and icy cold beers. We are eating here kids, we are eating at Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash. And I reconfirm, I am so glad we did as this was indeed stellar. Staff were lovely, food amazing, reasonably priced for the quality, kids played, and parents got some down-time – what more could you want?
Well I suppose I could share with you what we ate today at Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash.
Oh OK all right then, here we go;
This dish is ABSOLUTELY SPANKING. But would that get on the menu? Hmmmm, it was so flipping good believe me, with the citrus cutting through the unctuous foie gras. Marriage made in heaven, what a couple, I love you!!!
Described in the menu as;
Seared goose liver on brioche bread, layered with mango, citrus jam and berry compote.
Nest up was this beauty…
Here go again, with our Chef Vincent calling this one by a name, NOT the flavour EXPLOSION.
Described in the menu as;
Grilled portobello mushroom with soft poached egg gratinated with hollandaise sauce topped with Iberico ham, spinach salad and confit of cherry tomatoes
Not having a dig here Chef’s but sometimes wouldn’t it be nice to not have compotes and all that and perhaps explain to the less gifted what the thing will taste like – imagine the menu? I think that would be cool. I would call the restaurant – IT IS, WHAT IT IS… I like it!!!
Again this was a knock out of the park dish. The Hollandaise was to die for and then with the salty Iberico ham, BOOM!!!
Next up is an OMG moment…
If you come to eat at Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash, I implore you to order the next two dishes. These are KILLER in my reckoning.
The man surpasses himself with this one, the BBQ Beef Short Ribs. No bone on the rib, so what you see above, the glistening little meat nugget is indeed all meat. You cut in to this and it is like butter, meat butter that is, and then you see the meat marbling – you just know this is going to be so good – and believe me this truly is so good. So tender you really cannot quite believe it, and the roasting for the char flavour and then the BBQ sauce hit – OMG I feel faint. I can’t describe it, just get down and try it.
Described in the menu as;
24 hours Sous Vide to tender and roast with homemade BBQ sauce served with seasonal vegetables
Next up was yet another OMG moment for Mary & I – this thing of beauty…
Described in the menu as;
Asian Five Spice Duck Leg Confit sous vide 8 hours crispy duck leg infused with five spice served with citrus salad & passionfruit sauce
Now I love that description, it’s slow cooked, it gonna be crispy, its duck leg confit, its gonna have some citrus in there to cut through the duck fattiness. Loving it and I hadn’t even ordered it yet. When this thing arrives you want to kiss it, or hug it, or just bathe in it. You get the aroma of the five spice too wafting all over you, drowning your senses, then crunch in to that duck skin, and slice of some confit and dip in a little passionfruit. That’s it it’s all over – Chef Vincent, an absolute KNOCKOUT. One of the very best confit I have ever ever had!!! Great work!!!
Chef Vincent highlights, “I wish to present casual French fare at a more affordable price in a comfortable and casual ambience. Therefore, the quality of food you will find in Sunrise is as good as what you will experience in fine dining, but at a much more affordable price in a less intimidating environment.”
I tell you what I’ll be coming back to Sunrise Bistro & Bar – BigSplash and hope one day to meet Chef Vincent, shake his hand and say bloody well done for excellent food and for entertaining my kids so my Mary and I could relax and soak up the ambience. Wonderful. So you must go too, we will be again – ENJOY!!!
