My Own "Huxtabling" Experience

Huxtable
131 Smith Street
Collingwood



After reading many reviews on Huxtable a restaurant raved by many fellow bloggers, I have finally nagged Mr Syu enough to go there for lunch on a lovely sunny saturday.  When we arrived there we were greeted by friendly staff and was offered three options as to where we want to sit; sitting outside, a quiet table in a corner and at the bar table overlooking the kitchen.  Mr Syu chose the bar table and I am so glad he did, it had gave us the opportunity to see what goes on in the kitchen, and what an eye opening experience it is.  Mr Syu being a very curious 'little boy' he is deep inside, could not stop looking from one chef to another and consistently asking " Is this ours? Is this ours?"  and the fact we were able to see many of the different dishes that came out made us promise ourselves to come back and try them all because they all look so good. I definitely recommend this spot for seating option.

I won't go so much into the decor of the restaurant as it has been described many times in different reviews, Huxtable gives you a very laid back feeling with simple designs. It is an excellent place to go for a lunch gossip session with the girls, or a casual lunch or dinner with your companion. 

We started off our meal with the complimentary bread, the bread was delicious. I'm not so much of a bread eater myself but the softness of the bread with the butter was divine. It was a great start to our meal.

We then began with the Steam Crab and Corn Rice Noodle w XO Chilli. This dish was quite asian inspired with the flavours of the XO chilli and the thin flour wrap which kind of tasted like cheung fun ( the steamed rice paper roll in Dim Sum) but nonetheless we enjoyed the sensation of the softness and flavours of the dish.

Next was the highlight of the day - Rice Flour Crusted Oyster Po'boy, Iceberg, Sriracha mayo. This one was our favourite no doubt. The whole combination was just perfect, the crusty bread roll with the fresh lightly battered oyster and of course to top it off with the Sriracha mayo that gives that extra kick to the taste. It was so good that after our whole meal and was so full, I was still craving for more. 

After finishing with our bites, we moved on to main to share - John dory, Cloudy Bay Clams, Buttered Leeks, Saffron. The presentation of the dish was already very tempting and the buttery aroma from the leeks  and the clams made us salivating just from looking at it.  When we dived in, the taste confirmed our expectations, the leek and clams with the perfectly cooked John Dory was definitely a pleasant match.

Our last main to share was the Veal Tartare, Soft Boiled Egg, Soldiers, I have to say this was my least favourite and I was very suprised. Many other bloggers spoke so highly of this and this was one of the reason why I wanted to try Huxtable. I'm not sure if it is just us but we didn't feel it was anything exceptional.  No doubt it was OK but it just tasted like normal beef tartare the standed pickled taste and a soft boiled egg. 

Lastly, being a big dessert fan how could we leave this course out.  In all honesty I was already very full but one of the chef handed over the bar table to the people next to us a very attractive chocolatey looking dessert and obviouslly I was not going to miss out.  The dessert was called Dark Chocolate Delice, Jaffa, Pistachio, Raspberry Sorbet. For those who tried Huxtable before you have to go back because this dessert is new! They just introduced it to the menu yesterday.  For the chocolate loves and especially the ones that like jaffa I think you will love this. The chocolate delice was very soft and smooth, and not that sweet accompanied by the Jaffa sauce. The rasberry sorbet gave a good balance to the sweetness and the pistachio added the extra texture. All in all it was a very attractive dessert that satisifed all senses.

Huxtable is definitely place to visit if you want good food, nice atmosphere and great service. It is quite expensive though, Mr Syu and I had 2 types of bites (each bite is serving for one so you need to get two serving per bite for two people), 2 to shares & 1 dessert and a soft drink. this came down to just below $90.