#50: Tetsuya’s

i’ve been lagging more and more with the posts recently. Never fear, this does not by any means indicate that I’ve stopped eating and I have plenty of posts to catch up on. Recently I also recruited PC over in Perth to keep up with things at home.

Tetsuya’s is often listed as the best restaurant in Australia, and has consistently made it into the top 10 of the world’s best restaurants (according to Restaurant magazine anyway…) for the past few years. In August last year I attempted to book a table for October and was informed that there would be no weekend tables available until February…Fortunately with the recent economic downturn, we were able to secure a table for late January, when a few of my like-minded gastronomic buddies came over for a visit.

Dining here is very much about the experience. As you walk past the rather imposing gate, you are intercepted and politely  greeted by waitstaff who guide you in an orderly fashion to your table. The dark wood tones, pressed white linens and view of the garden outside complete with water features lead to a state of zen and inner calm.

There is only one item available at Tetsuyas – the 13 course degustation menu priced at $195. For an additional $90 you can have wines matched to each course, which is decent value in my opinion, although we didn’t go for this option (having to work the next day). The menu comprises 9 savoury dishes and 4 desserts. There are some variations, but a number of Tetsuya-san’s signature dishes and a great deal of seafood will be featured, much to the chagrin of my dining companions who aren’t seafood fans but stoically resolved to eat everything presented to them.

The service was knowledgeable, unobtrusive and observant. Complimentary fresh baked bread with truffle butter was provided to tide us over until the first dish arrived. Each course was presented and announced (although that still didn’t necessarily mean we knew what we were eating )

corn soup with saffron icecream

We started off with the corn soup with vanilla and saffron icecream. This was served chilled in a cocktail glass and was a great way to kick things off, with sweetness of the corn melding well with the creamy saffron ice cream.

smoked ocean trout and caviar

The smoked ocean trout and avruga caviar was simply stunning to behold. It was topped by ball of scallop mousse containing a quail egg. When cut open, the bright yellow egg yolk spilled out. It was good, but incredibly rich.

leek and crab custard

The leek and crab custard was served with a cute wooden place mat and wooden spoon. It came with some intriguing green droplets on the surface which turned out to be leek extract. It reminded me a lot of chawan- mushi (Japanese egg custard).

trio of scampi

Next up was the trio of scampi which consisted of a skewer of raw scampi in a shot glass of seawater and lemon infused olive oil; scampi sashimi with white miso, and cooked scampi and pancetta. Deadly serious, our waiter advised us not to drink the seawater. I wasn’t a huge fan of the raw scampi in seawater, but at least it was so fresh there wasn’t any hint of fishiness. The scampi with white miso was good, the delicate flavour of the scampi matching well with the subtle savouriness of the miso. The pancetta wrapped scampi was probably our favourite.

confit of ocean trout with konbu, daikon and fennel

Tetsuya-san’s signature dish. A healthy portion of Tasmanian ocean trout encrusted with savoury konbu, nestled on a bed of daikon and fennel. It came with a green salad. The combination of trout and savoury crunchy konbu worked really well. By this stage I was starting to worry because I was getting full, despite starving myself for most of the day.

terrine of spanner crab and avocado mousse

This was probably my least favourite dish. The texture (read: mushiness) just didn’t work for me and the avocado mousse was too bland and similar in consistency for my liking. I think part of the problem was that by this stage I was full and desperately needing time to recover from the onslaught.

grilled fillet of barramundi with fennel

After a much needed break we moved on to the grilled barramundi. This was lovely – the delicate oily fish matched well with the sweet caramalised fennel.

I’m not a huge fan of poultry in general at restaurants, having had numerous experiences where the bird was overcooked beyond recognition, but this was great – succulent and perfectly cooked, the black truffle adding a subtle earthiness.

grilled wagyu beef with lime and wasabi

This was fantastic. The lime and wasabi with the rich tender wagyu was a revelation.

peach sorbet and summer pudding

A brief intermission before our waiter asked us if we were ready to move on to dessert, to which we replied emphatically Yes! Yes! The peach sorbet and champagne jelly was wonderfully refreshing and not too sweet. The summer pudding was packed with juicy berries which contrasted nicely with the rich cream and custard.

lemon meringue island

I love lemony things. This was sort of a reversed lemon meringue pie.  The meringue pudding was effortlessly airy and when cut open out spilled a deliciously tart lemony sauce. The whole thing arrived swimming in a rich pool of creme anglaise.

ufo?

This was my least favourite dessert. The most memorable thing about it was its curious shininess and close resemblance to a UFO. It turned out to be a concoction of chocolate, adzuki (red) bean and green tea. The whole thing was too sweet for my liking. But I have a separate stomach for desserts so I polished it off anyway.

Finally, a selection of cookies to finish us off (literally). I liked the chocolate macaroon and the green tea marshmellow.

By the time we waddled out about 5 hours after we initially started, with blissful smiles on our faces, most of the other diners had left.

Was it worth it? At $195 +per head, this would be a once-off or occasional experience for me. However I can say it was probably the best meal I’ve ever had (so far anyway – El Bulli here I come ).

529 kent st sydney ph (02) 9267 2900
tue-thu, sat 6pm-10pm; fri 12pm-3pm, 6pm-10pm