WITH the Harbour Bridge to my left and the Opera House to my right it was reasonable to wonder how much better the night could get. Seeing stars already, we opted for the four course menu which offers five meals in each course. You can drool over each meal here. The menu features a range of seafood and non-seafood dishes but one thing they all have in common is the genius flavour combinations.
The mudcrab congee with egg yolk emulsion was unlike any other congee and the roasted pink snapper with ginger scented milk curd and an oyster and seaweed consommé was such a textural eye-opener. They both scored ticks in the favourite box. Oh, who am I kidding, everything did! There is such knowledge and passion embodied in each dish.
Quay puts things like squab, partridge breast and pig jowl on a pedestal so picky eaters should come to dine with an 'I'll give it a go' attitude; it is definitely worth it. The roasted partridge breast comes with a cloud-like steamed truffle brioche and is an amazingly gamey, rich dish. I have never come across white walnuts before but they were the final puzzle piece to this course. It was such a delicate yet rich little dish. The Berkshire pig jowl, also slightly out of the comfort zone, is almost like pork belly but with much less fat. The meat is tender and juicy and the maltose crackling resembles bubbling glass. This subtly sweet dish is served with a smooth cauliflower cream and the plumpest prunes I have ever seen. It is wonderful how certain aspects of Quay's meals are showcased in a whole new light.
In speaking of a showcase, it is time for dessert. (The course I am always most excited for.) The snow egg is presented first and we are informed of chef's recommendation to gently tap the top of the 'egg' and listen for the crack of the paper-thin toffee shell.
A chic, sculptured chocolate cake appears in front of me and its centre magically melts away as the waiter trickles an almost black chocolate sauce on top. I pick up my fork feeling like a child who has just been given the biggest bag of lollies. Ever.
A chic, sculptured chocolate cake appears in front of me and its centre magically melts away as the waiter trickles an almost black chocolate sauce on top. I pick up my fork feeling like a child who has just been given the biggest bag of lollies. Ever.
I break my fork through the chocolate cake and hear the chocolate casing crack before my fork slides into the creamy layers and hits a crunch at the bottom. The cake actually melts away in your mouth as you taste each layer and chew on the crumby base. Luckily we were going halves in desserts because this eight layer chocolate cake was far too rich to polish off by myself. The warm sauce was beautiful with the cake but I made the mistake of scooping some up by itself and received a hit of total bitterness, similar to Vegemite. I finish the 'big half' and excitedly slide the refreshing snow egg close enough to see every sparkling icicle.
The spine-tingling tap on top of the snow egg echoes from our table and has us sniggering excitedly. The soft, marshmallowy meringue 'egg white' encases a beautifully smooth strawberry ice-cream 'yolk' which adds a sweet element to the lively guava. Sliding a spoon around the glass to pick up some icy, refreshing granita evokes memories of adventurous treks through fresh snow. There are some swirls of luxurious double cream in the bottom of the glass which brings a velvety smooth texture to the icy dish. The fruity guava granita was somewhat surprising in that it wasn't at all as bitter or sour as the fruit can often be. Smart desserts with such simple flavours is exactly what is needed following a meal so full in flavour. We finish every last millilitre of the guava granita and luxurious cream.
Every meal was so beautifully rich and satisfying and the service truly completed our experience at Quay. It's nice not to have to request anything because you've simply been offered and served everything at the right time - without being smothered or interrupted by wait staff. If this is the food standard now, I cannot wait to see what industry leaders like Peter Gilmore are doing in five years time.
Definitely a 5/5.
