Every time I read a French inspired menu, I have the urge to say the words out loud so I can sound more posh to Liz. The conundrum is that Liz will usually agree to eat all the food I correctly pronounce without comprehending our actual appetite size. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t have an unlimited budget, so reality slapped our face with the sin of gluttony. 
We decided to order a few appetisers to get us going. To start, the Fromage blanc cigar arrived in a San Cristobal cigar box which made our $6 appetiser feel like a lavish $50 Cuban cigar. This crispy thin pastry filled with a smudge of cheese was a tasty teaser. 
The devilled crab in cos lettuce was a delicious version of a Chinese san choi bao and followed by the Peppers de Padron. Our thoughts on the Peppers: nicely roasted, toasted and salted. The waitress had mentioned that if we were lucky (or unlucky), there would be a few rare ones out of the batch that were chilli-hot. And there happened to be two in our plate of peppers. Liz and I had one of these tongue-burning peppers each and it certainly scorched my tongue for a good fifteen minutes but it wore off quickly – well, after sucking a glassful of ice - and just in time before the entrée arrived.  We had the Heirloom tomato salad and Pan roasted flounder. The tomato salad wasn’t my favourite dish because it was too watery from the tomatoes, which offset the smoked buffalo ricotta flavours. But I’m a carnivore so I enjoyed the flounder more. Andrew McConnell was spot on with the flavours of sourness from the pickled cucumbers, sweetness from the spanner crab broth and the sea lettuce gave it a great crunchy texture. The entrée was marvellous and I found myself wanting to eat this dish as a main meal. Seafood is definitely Cutler and Co’s specialty. I’m glad that I ordered the John Dory as my main meal. When my thick piece of fish fillet arrived, I was memorised by the seaweed smell. The Dory was delicate and flavoursome with the nori taste, the eggplant and shiitake provided a good side meal to enhance the fish. Liz ordered the roast chicken with ground polenta, and whilst it sounded simple, I possibly enjoyed it more than the fish. The miso broth was well-seasoned and I could really tell the difference between this exquisite broth over an ordinary packet broth you buy from the local sushi take-out. We didn’t order any share plates because we had seen the ample portions on another table. To complete our meal, we decided to share one dessert. A shaved ice and cream palate cleanser was served complimentary before dessert, which was a great touch of service that you'd expect from a fine dining establishment but I was close to exploding from over-eating. The dessert arrived in two perfectly portioned plates, even though we only ordered one serve. The Milk Crumbs with hay ice cream and strawberries was the perfect sweetness and creaminess to contrast our savoury mains. The final dish was delectable. Upon our exit, we were farewelled with friendly good-byes.
It’s nice to be treated like first-class citizens every now and then and enjoy a beautifully presented meal. A fine foodful night indeed.