cordero moruno – whole shoulder of lamb marinated in Moorish spices cooked in a josper charcoal oven
All I can say is… I need to go back to Movida during the day, so that I can take prettier photos. I mean, just wait til you see the crappy state of these photos! I’m ashamed. But alas, I’ll take one for the team and post these anyway because blurry or not, you need to know how amazing Sydney’s newest “it” restaurant is and in all honesty, I’d go again during the day. Or at night. Or even during a black out.
I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to go to MoVida. Away from the hustle and bustle of Surry Hills’ main drag, Holt St is actually like a second home to me and I’ve been gazing longingly at MoVida since they papered up what was Cotton Duck, renovated and launched their award winning tapas to us long deprived Sydney-siders.
Well, we are deprived no more! Their funky Sydney get-up, which seats 90 in the restaurant and bar area, is open Mondays through Saturdays so Get Yo Butt There and experience the orgasm that is the bocata de buey. Which is this:
bocata de buey – air baguette, roast wagyu beef, tocino de cielo, pickled & black garlic
I had three favourite things from my first visit to MoVida. The bocata de buey was our first course and I died a little bit. It certainly set the bar high for the remaining meal. Firstly, air baguette. Like an aero chocolate bar, air = no calories. Or something. But it’s not about that, it’s the wagyu and pickled garlic… words can’t do this justice. You need to try it for yourself.
bocadillo de chorizo – grilled chorizo and padron sandwich
Chorizo slides and hot peppers on their home made bun, add a squirt of mayo. Fancy mayo. Not one of my top three but certainly something I would have again.
cecina – air cured wagyu beef with truffle foam & a poached egg
Another of my favourites! This was also a little mind blowing. Paper thin slices of air cured wagyu beef with truffle foam (!!!) and a poached egg. Mixed together like a bi bim bap (that was pretty much what I was picturing), this seemingly odd combination is nothing sort of spectacular.
carrilerra – beef cheek in Pedro Ximénez with cauliflower purée
And my third favourite for the night, super tender beef cheek, cooked in Pedro Ximénez (Spanish white wine) and served with the best cauliflower purée I’ve ever had. I’m sure it’s just loaded with butter but hey, whatever works. Anyway, these beef cheeks I would have again in a heart beat and currently tops my “last supper” request list. Yes, I have one.
escalivada – Catalan style charcoal grilled vegetable salad with sorrel
Veg sides were good, this escalivada is mushed up eggplant, peppers and other good things, served on a bed of sweet onion purée. I {heart} onion and I don’t care who I have to kiss afterwards.
esparragos – charcoal grilled asparagus with romesco sauce
Charcoal grilled asparagus. Well, we all know about asparagus.
As if all this food wasn’t enough, did you see what we had up on top of this post? A whole lamb shoulder. This in itself is enough as a meal for four people, but we ordered it like it was just some other dish to share. Holy shit, it was enormous and the waiter fully expected us to not finish it, but come on. Who’s he talking to?
Not only did we polish off the lamb shoulder, we totally had room for dessert.
churros on chocolate – Spanish donut with rich drinking chocolate
An oldie but goodie.
tarta santiago – almond fondant with fig leaf ice cream
Almond fondant with an ooooozy delicious centre. Amaze.
helados – home made ice cream (apple sorbet, orange sorbet, buttermilk ice cream with berries)
Home made awesomeness. Apple sorbet was pretty great but you know what? It’s better at Cumulus (lucky for MoVida, Cumulus is a little out of reach). Orange was a little too weak, but the buttermilk ice cream with berries? Spot on, as was the almond and fig thing that came perched on top
Well, that is that. I wanted to post this pretty much as soon as I’d eaten my last mouthful of buttermilk ice cream, but a food coma got in the way, and then… well, work. You know how it is. But here it is! And I’m totally going back as soon as I can. I hear the anchoa (artisan cantabrian anchovies with smoked tomato sorbet) is another slice of culinary genius.
MoVida
50 Holt Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
(02) 8964 7642
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