I was kind of hungry, so I went to the market to buy myself some fresh root vegetables and I made myself this salad. Aren't I clever?OK OK, You probably figured it out that I didn't make it. I said I wouldn't return to Quay unless it was a special occasion, but something possessed me. I am unf****** controllable.
The lift was screwed and I couldn't even get up to the restaurant, but since I am an industrious kinda guy, I found the other entrance.I won't bore you with the discussion about the setting etc, because it is phenomenal.
Service was technically flawless (but a little you know..stiff at times), unlike my misadventure in Hobart the other night eating at Mures - where service (and food) was appalling. Mark my words my friends, it was just painful to watch. They tried so hard, but failed so miserably.Don't waste my 20 minutes because you can't be stuffed getting me the bill!! Can you tell how much I hate it when restaurants keep me waiting to pay?!
Anyway, onto the food. Starting with the salad of pink turnips and radishes, this is the ultimate root vegetable/vegetarian dish. A deceptively simple dish that holds its own in flavour, with saltiness from the goats curd and the buttery flavours from the root vegetables, it is indeed, a brilliant starter. The root vegetables themselves were served cold and were marginally crunchy, but don't mistaken crunchy for unyielding.
Next was the wagyu. Oh yes, Wagyu. The infamous wagyu that is now almost available in every damn restaurant. Well, a poached version was on offer as the day's special at Quay.
For an additional $40 (yes, that's on top of what you're already paying for the standard prix fixe...and even that is already premium) you get 3 medallions of wagyu beef served with some truffled mash and mushrooms. They indicated it was enoki and morels (I did not see any morels, but I did see chanterelles and I think mousserons - as they are in season in France at the moment). It also came with a few shavings of truffles, which of course, made the supplement so so worth it.
I have to say, I don't usually order beef. In fact I rarely order beef, but this...this was sublime. It is the type of food that you read a recipe and imagine how it should taste...or when you watch a celebrity chef cooking up some magic and think of what it would taste like....
Perhaps finishing off was a slight disappointment. It was the 7 texture chocolate cake (I take it there are 7 textures there, and I'm sure there is). It was an incredibly rich chocolate cake. When I say incredibly rich, I mean it. I could not finish it as I started to feel sickly after 3/4. The picture does not do justice to the drama that unfolds at the table. The dessert actually comes out quite geometrically clean, without the ganache layer on top (blob in the middle). The waiter(ess), then applies a spoonful of warm ganache which melts through the tempered (have we ALL been watching masterchef), which then sinks to the bottom - there is a hole in the cake so the effect is all that more dramatic.PS. Those of you that have dined with me know how much I love desserts...eg, MoVida's Creme Caramel (and that's rich, but that does not stop me). So what am I trying to get at I hear you ask. Well, let's just to say that too much of a good thing...is always too much.
From my previous posts, this place is most definitely an occasion restaurant. I just decided the occasion was a celebration of my sanity. The very fact that I still have my sanity is cause for celebration don't you think?
Actually, Betty, this was for you! Happy BIRTHDAY. I ate that chocolate cake on your behalf!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Where?
Quay Restaurant, Overseas Passengers Terminal, Sydney
