Black velvet shot + Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis Triple Zero Brut NV

Pizzini 'Brachetto' 2008

Soda siphoned shot of vodka + Champagne Ayla Blanc de Blanc 1999

Gunter Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Trocken Grosse Gewachse

Domaine Tempier Bandol 'Cuvee Classique' 2004

Sanchez Romate Cream Iberia Jerez Reserva Especiale

After two rounds in the jacuzzi it was time to graze. The amuse bouche plate toyed with three amuse bouche (since all had worked out to some degree - much to the surprise of the cooks responsible). The 'pubble' itself was the original idea, inspired by sausages that snap and pop on the barbecue. Why not combine beernuts and snag skin? Blowing up sausage skins and inserting a beer nut into each 'pubble' proved time consuming, however, crisping the salted bubbles in the oven turned out to be fairly easy though the end product was fairly delicate and the twisted ends proved a little chewy. The oysters with stout was an obvious pairing with the granita made from letting the Guinness explode in the freezer - as beer is want to do - and create its own soft granita of foam. Finally, the fizzy tomatoes were perfect, tiny grape-like tomatoes tipped into a soda siphon, charged with two soda bulbs and left in the fridge overnight. This is a concept being used by probably too many chefs, particularly in the US, as though it's a novelty we can't see it being a technique that's really contributing to cuisine in the long run. Note that whatever is charged loses its fizz really quickly once the soda siphon is opened before serving.

What else to match to such an odd little tray other than a shot of something comforting: black velvet (half stout, half champagne). Of course, those that think it's a waste of champagne probably don't like stout. Those that like both think it's a sporting drink for all occasions, though wouldn't use their best bubbly for it (that is, their best stout or their best champas...).

When is a soup not a soup? When it's a jelly. December in Sydney just aint the kind of place or time for a hot soup as cooling down is the real issue. Borscht of course is often served cold, and versions, particularly in the Ukraine, can be specialised to the season with the addition of plenty of cucumber (sometimes replacing all the beetroot with cucumber and lemon). This version was a rich chicken bones and beetroot stock, reduced to a firm jellly. Such a concentrate could only be served as a small amount, with one third its volume again in sour cream. A spray of flying fish roe spawned over the top to provide crunch and even more umami. Of course, as they do in Russia, we would do, and serve borscht with a shot of vodka. One, however, fed through the soda siphon to create a little frission.

The main was inspired by a dish Sydney chef Neil Perry of Rockpool has on the menu that incorporates tapioca into a savoury curry. An ingredient more commonly seen in sweets, especially puddings and Asian desserts, tapioca isn't an ingredient one would immediately think lends itself to the heat of a curry and the texture of meat and vegetables. This tapioca novice was wary of cooking with it given its gloopy, starchy qualities. Indeed, the first batch had to be thrown out after being reduced to a rather unsightly glue-like mess. Luckily, the thinking behind the dish was to cook the tapioca early in the day, refresh the translucent pearls and keep them in the fridge to be added to the curry at the end of cooking and briefly warmed through. The second batch of tapioca was cooked for shorter period of time, rinsed under cold water and promptly refrigerated. The other 'bubble' element of the dish was little baby eggplant, whose pea-like shell crunches and pops under the tongue not unlike a bubble.

To begin, a light and delicate fish stock was made using the bones from the giant snapper to be cooked in the dish. The green curry paste was an amalgamation of David Thompson's recipe form Thai Food and Charmaine Solomon's Asian Encyclopedia. It was hand-pounded in a mortar and pestle for a good hour and included a heady mix of fiery green chillies, garlic, galangal, shrimp paste, lemon grass and a host of other ingredients. The end result was rich and complex without being too blow-your-head-off. It was briefly stir-fried before having the fish stock and Kara coconut cream added. The fish and baby eggplant was poached in the curry for a few minutes, the tapioca added and then onto the plate, topped with a crown of holy basil and crispy fried shallots. The taipoca fit perfectly with the fish; both exhibiting a soft texture that complemented the crunch of the eggplant.