A bottomless lunch is a thing of beauty. For big drinkers (like myself) they represent good value and I'd like to say I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of the bottomless lunch in Sydney. I've been meaning to try the Leisurely Lunch at 12 Micron, so when my friend Ms Bond Villain suggests it, wild horses can't keep me away.
The Leisurely Lunch deal is this: a 3 course lunch, with bottomless cocktails (2hrs) for the very reasonable sum of $89 every Saturday and Sunday with bookings between 12-2pm. Usually for a long lunch including cocktails and wine, I will spend approximately $200pp so $89 is a bargain and I'm keen to see if the food lives up to my positive memory of the last time I was at 12 Micron for a wedding. "I'm actually coming back here next week for my sister's and mum's birthday lunch" I inform Ms Bond Villain as we are seated. We spend the next 15 minutes catching up and gossiping about our old workplace when the waiter asks if we're ready to order. Of course we haven't even looked at the menu so I ask what he recommends. There is a choice of 3 items for entree and 3 for mains with sides. Our waiter recommends we have the Flamed Mackerel, Green Tomato, Hazelnut Crumb and the Wagyu Bresaola, Macadamia, Roasted Cherries, Red Amaranth for entree to share. For mains he recommends the Cap Grim Sirloin, Grain Fed, BMS5+, Potato Galette and the Lemon Sole baked on Paperbark, Saltbush, Triple cooked Chips. We order the steak cooked medium rare.
Cocktails are the drink of choice today and we decide work our way down the 6 drink cocktail list. They are bottomless after all! The Rum Punch is first up and it goes down the hatch without even touching the sides. Entrees arrive quickly and greedy me starts hoeing in like I've never seen food before #alwayshungry. "But aren't you supposed to take pictures first?" Ms Bond Villain interrupts, and she's right, I'm new to this whole #foodblog thing and I've totally let my greedy hunger get in the way of getting a shot of the food! I manage to quickly shoot what's left of the mackerel dish before resuming my annihilation. Mackerel is quite an oily, full flavoured fish and the aroma hits the table before the fish does. This doesn't bother Ms Bond Villain or I as we both have ethnic backgrounds and are used to eating 'smelly' foods but if my husband were here, he would most likely turn his nose up at this dish #whiteguy. Just a word of warning for some Australian palates that are used more mild flavoured white fish, this may not be a dish for you. We love it though and the hazelnut crumb adds a toasty depth of flavour. The other entree of Bresaola is simple and tasty with the juicy cherries providing the acidity. We clean our plates with our warm bread (Ms Bond Villain's was a good gluten-free roll) and send them back completely bare while ordering our next cocktails! The Lemon Myrtle Caprioska is up next and it is bloody strong! I've done bottomless cocktail lunches elsewhere and felt like they were watered down which was disappointing. This is not the case at 12 Micron. I love a caprioska (this is my holiday drink) so I down that despite the strenth, and order next up on the list, which is a Rosella Bellini. Main's arrive shortly after and our eyes widen to the size of saucers when we see not only the triple cooked chips accompanying the lemon sole and a potato galette accompanying the steak but also a side dish of wagyu fat potatoes!
“OOOOHHHHHH we scream like adolescent school girls seeing Justin Bieber at the sight of these potatoes. Our waiter asks us why every woman has this reaction to the potatoes and we explain that we don't eat potatoes Monday through Friday so for us, this was like finding water in the desert.”
Again, I forget to take a photo as I start chomping into a chip and boy, is it a chip! Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and perfectly salted. Aside from watered down cocktails, another thing that can let a bottomless lunch down is lack of food. More than once I have walked out of a bottomless lunch and been searching for the nearest takeaway food outlet. Not today my friend, not today. The lemon sole is lovely, gently cooked on paperbark and while the steak is a true medium rare, I find it a bit chewy. This is probably because I usually choose the more tender cuts like eye fillet or scotch fillet and this is a sirloin but it is still full of flavour and enjoyable. We also get a tomato salad with a beautiful buffalo curd which reminds us of the creamy inside of a burrata. There is so much food we can't possibly eat it all but there is always space for our next cocktail which is a Hendricks G&T and of course, dessert! I forgot to mention the view! Of course it is lovely overlooking Darling Harbour, up the far end of Barangaroo and its a beautiful day but we are really there for the gossip and drinks #sorrynotsorry.
The negroni is the is the last item on the cocktail list and by dessert, we have made it all the way through that list. Ms Bond Villain has slowed down, not quite finishing each drink but I am a seasoned drinker and just hitting my strides. We both opt for the pear dessert and when it arrives, we are presently surprised. I guess this is what happens when you don't read the menu properly but for some reason we are both expecting a poached pear situation and out pops this chocolate sphere. We break it open and inside is the most luxurious, silky custard that flows out onto segments of soft pear and crunchy honeycomb and pear chips. The dessert is by far the favourite dish for both of us and we each demolish our plates like hungry little tipsy piggies. Ms Bond Villain is done with drinking while I order another cheeky caprioska just for sh-ts and giggles.
When the time comes to pay the bill we're definitely in a festive mood and hassling the poor waiter Richard because he is struggling calculate half the bill for us. I tell him in jest that his Asian card is revoked (I can say that because I'm Asian) for being bad at maths, and with that, I'm sure a picture of me went up in the kitchen under a blacklist. I am due to go back to 12 Micron next weekend for another round of the Leisurely Lunch, I probably should have left harassing the staff until then.
Tower 1, Level 2, 100 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo
*This meal was independently paid for.