Last weekend, Dr L and I found ourselves in the city running a few personal errands. Without too much planned for the evening, we opted to have dinner at Dark Shepherd, at the Star Casino, largely because it comes with complimentary parking upon dining and to satisfy a bit of my curiosity about their banquet dinners.
Anyway, we made a reservation for 6.30pm and arrived to a restaurant half full. Diners were fairly relaxed and the vibe was a bit more casual than I originally anticipated. The setup was dark and moody with interesting geometric patterns throughout.
The menu had a strong emphasis on lamb, but there were other mains like steak and lobster, but my focus was of course on their banquet offerings, as is the highlight in most Tassis restaurants.
We opted for the Baa Baa banquet at $88 per head, striking a good balance between cheap and expensive options. Starting with an aperol spritz and an espresso martini, these were tasty but didn't stand out from the norm.
Their banquets must have been very popular, with dishes being ready to go soon after we ordered. First to arrive was the Oyster Mignonette. These were fairly small and the vinegarette overcame the potential for us to taste the freshness of the oysters, but they were enjoyable nevertheless.
Also part of the first course, we had a Beetroot Taramasalata served with Pillow Bread. Although I was keenly aware that beetroot is purple, I couldn't help but feel that the pink was a bit bright. I couldn't get too much of the citrus-y beetroot taste from the dip, but it was creamy and yoghurt heavy. The pillow bread was served hot and deliciously fluffy.
Second course came soon after, comprising of Pastitsio Bite, Spanakopita and Woodfired Octopus.
I really enjoyed the Spanakopita a lot. It was a flaky Greek pie with spinach and feta, wrapped with light buttery filo pastry. It was quite decadent and the small square we were given was just right. The pastitsio was new to me. It came out like an arancini but was filled with pasta instead of rice. It tasted like a ball of deep fried lasagne, which was also fairly indulgent.
The stand out for me of the second course though was undoubtedly the woodfired octopus. This was slow cooked and then finished on a charcoal grill. It was tender but also flavoursome, doused generously with olive oil and lemon juice.
Our most anticipated mains came after. This course comprised of Lamb Shoulder, Woodfired Peppers and Oven Potatoes.
The oven potatoes were by far the weakest dish of this course. I was expecting something more dry with a bit more skin, but it was very wet and covered with capsicum sauce, not something you would expect in a dish of that name. The portion size was generous though, when you consider this was for two people to share.
The Woodfired Peppers were better than the potatoes but not a lot better. It was tender and flavoursome but lacked the delicious char you would have otherwise gotten from something woodfired.
The highlight for us was undoubtedly the half lamb shoulder. Which was huge considering it was shared only between the two of us. It was well seasoned and the meat easily fell off the bone. I just wish the sides were better to compliment the quality of this dish.
I was quite keen to find out what dessert would be that night, but was left disappointed. We were served a slice of biscoff cheesecake and walnut cake. The biscoff cheesecake was exceptionally sweet and I couldn't stomach more than one bite. It was creamy though. The walnut cake however was very dry, to the point where they had to douse the slice in sugar syrup that leaked all over the plate, but it was still not enough to improve the coarseness of the slice. Overall a letdown to round out what would have been an alright meal. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.
Price Range: $80 - $100pp
Taste: 6/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment