I thought it was touted as probably one of the highlights of Sugar Hit 2014. I was quite thoroughly disappointed by it all. The famed Vertical Garden by the chefs at Signorelli Gastronomia did not seem to wow as much as I thought it would and some aspects of the dessert didn’t quite seem to fit together. Yes, it was visually aesthetic although the green wafer  was probably more kryptonite than leafy green. I didn’t feel that the chocolate soil added much depth and the overpowering flowery-perfume taste of the frozen nougat made it difficult to taste much else. I did like the pistachios encrusted on the garden wall and the pretty miniscule fresh flowers too. The berry coulis was tart and cut through the sweetness and I only wish there was more of it. Put it this way: the Yalumba dessert wine wasn’t very sweet when accompanied by this dessert. And that’s saying something.

It wasn’t actually the dessert itself that contributed to my feeling of disappointment. It was the (and this is my opinion only) way it was all handled. I guess when we booked, we thought we were really lucky to secure a table for 8 at 7 PM considering that they advertise for a start of 8 PM. I guess you make the assumption that they are so busy that they have decided to allow additional bookings an hour earlier. But we arrived at the restaurant right on time only to be told by the ever-talkative maître d that the kitchen was running an hour behind schedule with the desserts and that not all the servings were ready. At this point, a few questions popped up in my mind. Our party is here, why can’t you serve the ready portions to us first? And make up the time in the kitchen as your wait for other guests to arrive? Surely, you can’t be telling me that your 108+ servings of Sugar Hit and not one was ready? These items are supposed to be scaleable! So… suspicion set in.

Our [“starving”] party was more than happy to go with the offered table and enjoy some dinner whilst the kitchen frantically worked on the desserts (supposedly). And of course, this is probably the game that the restaurant was playing all along. Because I saw another party of 6 do the exact same thing (another group of 20-somethings catching up it seemed). Pyrmont isn’t the greatest location and if you wanted to dine elsewhere, it is the Casino or back in the city. So a gamble that pays off extravagantly for the restaurant. We all ordered mains, and a couple of us wines. My calzone with ricotta, ham and mushroom was bland at best. They don’t offer chilli flakes nor is there salt and pepper for diners on the table. I realise that some restaurants believe that their meals should be eaten as is but seasoning is completely up to one’s individual preference so these condiments should be readily available! The service was mostly crisp and yet again the talkative Italian waiter was funny and charming if not borderline brazen. If one was cynical, you could see it as an act to divert you from all their cunning tactics to have you dine with them? ;)

Anyways, we had a long stay [long to me at least!] at the restaurant and I think one dessert to share between two would have been more than enough. They could have free poured the complementary wine a little more as the glasses weren’t quite standard dessert wine servings and since the wine was sponsored, it seemed a little stingy. . . I won’t be back.

Saturday was a bit of a haze. It was a hazy day. It was hot. It was windy. I was tired. Unbelievably so. My day was broken into bits with the highlight being going to the fish market and spending an about not too much more to the amount I spent with Val the weekend before but buying so much more. Like a whole salmon for sashimi. And tuna, kingfish, oysters and prawns. So good. Had some family friends over for dinners. Yummo, especially with all that Margaret River wine! Never thought this would happen again but got invited to an 18^th birthday. Reorganised my supplies for Christmas. Even put the wreath out already. Not long to go now. . .

Sunday was spent with Jan. We haven’t caught up one on one in a few months so took the opportunity to go see this year’s Sculptures by the Sea. I was more interested in the Sea and the Housing. Lol. It was a lovely day though but a little on the breezy side. And parents with their irritable kids were out full force. Please keep a tow of your spawn, they should keep to the left, be quiet, not touch the artworks that say ‘please do not touch’ and walk obediently alongside mumsy or pops. Not 10 metres behind or 3 metres to their right! We ended up walking all the way to Bronte and back. Hmm, not sure I’d so it again though. I am not much of an artistic or creative person so did not understand very many of the pieces (or did not try to anyway). And definitely not a fan of crowds. On the bus back, helped a group of American tourists find their way back to their hotel in the CBD. My good deed for the day was done and with that my weekend was done too. So so tired.