Iceworks

Iceworks
Address:Cnr Given Tce & Dowse St, Paddington, QLD 4064
http://www.iceworks.com.au/

I will start off noting that I went to Iceworks for a work function and my judgement of the food could be clouded by all the free alcohol I was able to consume before I even opened the menu.

On a normal occassion, Iceworks would be one of those restaurants that I would have hesitated to make the special effort to go. It is a little bit out of the way for those who don't drive (or drive well in my case) and it is very pricey (especially in the formal dining section - where wine and a three course meal can easily surpass $100 pp).

Iceworks is separated into two section - the bar and the restaurant. The bar is quite casual, with a very relaxing atomshpere, which I could imagine myself going to afterwork on a Friday afternoon with a few friends. The drinks are also decently priced and won't leave you out of pocket by the end of the night.

The restaurant section is more sultry, with the dimmed lighting and the dark interior, It shouts to the world 'I am expensive but damn I am worth it!'. For those of you wanting to celebrate something special, I think it'd be a terrific choice.

Food wise, I believe the word amazing will be repeated many times throughout my ramble. I will in turn do my best to introduce a few variations where possible.

For my entree, I choose the mud crab and tuatua clam linguini pasta with fresh herbs, chilli and white wine cream whilst my friend choose the sashimi of fresh fish with pickled radish, daikon, wasabi mayonnaise and sesame dressing. Both were delightful, although I do have to admit, I much prefered the linguini than the sashimi. Whilst the sashimi was fresh, wasabi mayonnaise really wasn't my thing (perfered good old wasabi and soy sauce you see).

On the otherhand, the linguini was flavoursome and rich and it made me want to EAT MORE! Although I did realise that if I wanted more, I could have just went for the main size of the dish... And there were much better choices for main to choose from. Again, the Asian thinking of value-for-money kicked in...

For main, I selected the market fresh fish, crab croquette, sweet pea puree’, sun blushed tomatoes, confit shallots and capers, samphire and beurre blanc. And it was - wait for it, wait for it - devine! (See, told you I would try my best)

The skin was crispy and the seasoning behind the fish and the vegetable was well balanced. Plus the decent serving in size, I was rubbbing my belly in satisfaction afterwards.

Now despite how full (and possibly drunk) we were, the ingenius choice of dessert was decided upon. And as soon as I saw the words 'peanut butter', 'chocolate' and 'caramel' in once sentence, I was sold.

Yes, I had the peanut butter parfait layered with chocolate brownie and butterscotch, espresso caramel, gold leaf and cocoa nib tuile.

At this point, I don't think any words would do the dessert its justice. All I have to say is that it was so rich and decadent and filled with peanut butter, chocolate and caramel goodness, it's something that definitely wont' be allowed in heaven.

Iceworks, I would love to come back to you! My only problem, my diet and my wallet won't like me so much if I visit you too often...

Recommended: They were all pretty amazing!!

Curious to Try: Kilcoy eye fillet, pommes mousseline, mushroom ragout, herb crusted onion rings, kalamata olive and bordelaise sauce