Rockpool, The Rocks

It's been very quiet this year on the blog, for many reasons. I've been crazy busy because of the return of family from overseas, the insanity of work deadlines and...a proposal. A very romantic, perfect weekend which involved the re-creation of a first date, before being whisked away to a hotel with a stunning view of the harbour bridge.

And the cherry on top of the weekend; a surprise dinner at Rockpool, a restaurant I have wanted to go to since I was in high school. I kid you not, I remember hearing about the food at Rockpool from my brother and watching Neil Perry talking about food on the Lifestyle channel, and decided back then that I would have to go there whenever I graduated from university. Things didn't quite work out that way and I ended up at Bécasse, and A knows me better than anyone else in the world and knows that I've still always wanted to try Rockpool. And to prove just how well he knows me, he even remembered to bring along my DSLR in case I wanted to take food photos. I think fellow food bloggers will appreciate this part the most :)

Sterling caviar on prawn toast

We start off with something quintessentially decadent; caviar and champagne. I was obviously still in total shock from the entire evening (I had been tricked into thinking I was just having chicken rice at Ginger and Spice with my brother and his wife, and an hour later I was sitting at Rockpool in a fancy dress), so it was only when I was sinking my teeth into the thin layer of crunchy toast covered with silky, salty caviar that I started to really comprehend what was going on and how incredibly lucky I was right in that moment. So much happiness! The toast was served on these adorable measuring spoons which I really wanted for myself. I thought it was rather ironic that Ginger and Spice was where I was told we were going, since they serve traditional prawn toast, and the Rockpool version took it to a whole other level.

Queensland spanner crab with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, celery and lemon verbena

Unfortunately my photographs don't do the food justice at all, but I was too busy enjoying the meal to spend too long getting a good shot of each dish and only took a quick shot of everything. The spanner crab dish was fresh and light, the cool and subtle flavours of the other components of the dish really let the intense flavour of the crab shine through.

Chirashi zushi of kingfish, bonito, prawn and squid

Ugh, I love sashimi so much. Just looking at the dish above had me smiling like a lunatic. There were tiny little cubes of cucumber jelly and a small dollop of kimchi that you can see at the front. You didn't need more than that tiny amount of kimchi because it was packed with spice and flavour. The slivers of fresh seafood were delicate and I wish I could have had more.

Green lip abalone, red braised thirlmere goose, chicken crisp and fine noodles with xo dressing

I totally fell in love with this dish from the first taste. The chicken crisp on top was a perfect, super thin disk on top of everything else, and made a mouth-watering cracking noise as soon as my knife hit it. The noodles were the perfect texture, and the best way to soak up the delicious dressing.

Pan-fried whiting with crisp melanda pork belly, swiss brown and nameko mushrooms, saffron potato fondant

I'm a little devastated that I didn't get a clear shot of this dish, because the consensus on the whole meal from both of us was that this was the highlight. This dish was AMAZING. Every component of the dish was gorgeous on it's own, but they all worked so well together with the perfect contrast of textures and flavours. There were multiple food orgasms. I will never forget how perfectly cooked the whiting was, with a melty piece of pork bellow. Any dish with mushrooms immediately makes it a favourite, and when you cut into the potato fondant the centre was oozing with a creamy saffron sauce. Amazing.

Macleay valley rabbit and sweetbread pie with “laphroaig” whisky sauce

The previous dish was tough act to follow, so I don't think I appreciated this dish as much as I should have. The flavours really packed a punch, though I found the sauce was really rich and quite salty, so I had to get A to help me finish my portion because I could feel myself getting full and I had to make sure I had plenty of room for dessert.

O’Conners angus beef fillet with old skin stir fry, snake beans, soy milk skin and hakka nam yee sauce

The final savoury dish of the night was really interesting. The staff explained that this dish was cooked with old skin (chun pei) which is citrus peel that has been preserved for a really long time. The peel is so strong in flavour that it is sliced super thing and only used sparingly. Trying a bit of the peel on its own was a little too intense, but when you had it with a mouthful of the beef it was great. There was a lovely chunk of angus beef fillet, but I was loving the strips of beef around it that were battered and stir fried until crisp. The nam yee (fermented red bean) sauce was fantastic. I thought this dish was a great marriage between Chinese and Australian cuisine.

Coconut sorbet with coconut jelly and raspberries

Dessert time! I was a little bummed that the famous date tart wasn't on the degustation menu, but I've tried the date tart at Yellow and I could live without it. The first dessert was so pretty, and I could tell straight away I was going to like it. The coconut sorbet was delicate and topped with crystallised kaffir lime (which I LOVED), and the smooth coconut jelly tasted just like young coconut flesh. The raspberries were a great match for all the coconut flavours, giving it a bit of tang. The biscuit crumbs added texture and a lovely toasty flavour.

Baked alaska; pear sorbet and spiced mousse

The final dish, a pear baked alaska, with a layer of spiced mousse and a layer of pear sorbet. There were small chunks of nashi pear and the dish arrived at our table with a small pot of flaming brandy, which the waiter spooned around the rim of our dishes, so the whole thing was surrounded with blue flames for a few seconds. I'm not usually a big fan of baked alaska, since I find the cake on the base is usually way too hard since it has to be frozen. But this one was really enjoyable, the base wasn't too hard and the both the sorbet and spiced mouse were so delicious, we couldn't decide which of the two we preferred. The meal ended with some petit fours and a great cup of coffee as the restaurant emptied out (A got us the latest booking possible for the night). It was the perfect end to a perfect night. The only unpleasant point were the two snooty men who ate next to us for the first half of the meal, who were acting like they were too important to be there and criticising everything. I don't really understand why people go to these amazing restaurants and act like that, because I go there and sit in total awe.

So this was the most expensive meal A and I have ever had together, especially since A got the matching wines. But it was totally worth it, and we were both so satisfied without being ridiculously full (unlike the degustation at Bistro Ortolan where my stomach nearly exploded from the enormous portion sizes). Best weekend ever.

P.S. I will be back with a recipe post in a few days, I PROMISE!

Rockpool
(02) 9252 1888
107 George Street
The Rocks NSW 2000

Dinner Tuesday to Saturday
8 Course Grand Tasting Menu ($195)

Quay, Circular Quay

There is a reason Quay has won Restaurant of the Year two years in a row in both The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and the Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. It is impeccable. The moment you step into the restaurant you are greeted by THAT view, and you think there's not much that can top it. But it only gets better from there.

As one of A's many birthday meals, he agreed to be spoilt rotten and taken for an extravagant lunch at Quay. I was surprised and so excited I could pee my pants, since Quay has been at the top of my wishlist for a while. And we don't get to splurge like this very often. Lunch was always going to be the better option for us, a slightly smaller dent on the wallet at $95 for three courses (or $75 for two). Also, when you have the Opera House on one side of you and the Harbour Bridge on the other, it seems like a waste to miss the daytime view. And of course, it makes all the photos look better!

Let me start by saying that the service was flawless, from start to finish. I booked online through their website, had an email confirmation by the end of the day and a follow up confirmation phone call the day before my booking. They were very thoughtful and helpful with working around my nut allergies, letting me know if there was even a trace of anything in any of the dishes. (Though I was willing to push it a little bit, I didn't want to miss out on a thing! A little almond meal doesn't bother me. Not that I recommend this to other allergy sufferers.) We started off with some lovely sunflower seed and polenta bread, and though I've gotten over taking photos of the bread, I had to put it up so I could reminisce about the absolutely lovely Riesling we had.

Amuse Bouche - Tuna tartare with smoked eel tapioca & horseradish cream

The amuse bouche was the perfect teaser for the meal to come. Firm cubes of beautifully fresh tuna, matched wonderfully with the smokiness of the tapioca pearls and a very light & fluffy horseradish cream. It had my mouth watering.

Crisp confit of pig belly, gentle braise of abalone and cuttlefish, handmade silken tofu, Japanese mushrooms, chive flowers ($10 supplement)

A's entree was a delightful mixture of textures and flavours and I had to resist leaping over the table to steal his dish for myself. The pork belly was just right, with that extremely satisfying crunch as you bit through the crackling. The tofu was the best tofu I think I've ever had in my entire life. The flavour of soy beans was much more intense and pure, and it melted smoothly over your tongue. That was sexy tofu.

Sea Pearls - Sea scallop, abalone, smoked eel & octopus, sashimi tuna

There was little doubt about which entree I would choose. The signature sea pearls sat in front of me, just as gorgeous as expected, so pretty that I kept taking photos even after I had enough, just because it was nearly too pretty to eat. Though you miss out on an extra pearl when you have this dish at lunch, there is nothing to complain about. I thoroughly expected the sweet, fresh sea scallop to be my favourite of the pearls, (and it definitely lived up to expectations) but I found that all of them were outstanding. The tuna pearl was very similar to the amuse bouche and the octopus pearl had a fabulous texture. If I had to choose, I think I was most enamoured with the abalone pearl, which was actually a pearl of dashi jelly that was so rich in flavour. But the scallop was a very close second. Let's just admire them again...

Confit of Riverina lamb loin, young vegetables, comté-infused fresh milk curd, roasted quinoa, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts

A's lamb came sans hazelnuts, so that I could share :) Though he was a little surprised that his main was quite small in size, he quickly got over it once he tasted it. The lamb was amazing, pink and so tender it almost melted in your mouth and made your eyes roll into the back of your head. The quinoa added a great bite to the dish, and I resisted stealing too much of his main since he was already wishing his portion was bigger.

Crisp pressed duck confit, kabu turnips, winter melon, hasuimo, garlic chive buds, sea scallops, duck juices

It probably would have worked out better if A had ordered my main instead, because he loved it so much that ended up eating half of it. I gave it away reluctantly, because it was SO GOOD. The duck confit was golden and crisp on the outside, but yielded easily under my knife and fork to reveal the juiciest, most flavoursome duck meat underneath. Paired with the lusciously rich duck juices at the bottom of the plate, it was so incredibly satisfying. The wintermelon was a curious vegetable that I haven't seen used very much outside of the usual Asian dishes, but was a bit of a revelation. I particularly enjoyed the sweet garlic chive buds but found that the delicate flavour of the sea scallops was a little lost amongst all the other intense flavours of this dish.

Strawberry guava and custard apple snow egg

On to dessert, the part I was most excited about, no surprises there. Unfortunately for me, the praline in the infamous eight texture chocolate cake had hazelnuts in it, but even though it wasn't an option for me, there was no way we were missing out on it. A got the chocolate cake while I chose the snow egg. This dessert completely stole my heart, it was so pretty and delicate. A light meringue sphere holding custard in the middle was encased by a paper-thin crisp toffee biscuit, dusted with icing sugar and sitting in a bed of granita and guava fool.

I'm not completely certain which parts were the strawberry guava or custard apple bits, but I'm guessing the smooth, silky custard in the centre of the meringue egg was custard apple flavoured and the granita was guava flavoured? Either way, it was so so so lovely. I was incredibly full from my rich main but there was no way I was missing out on a single morsel of it. The crisp shell was my favourite part, it cracked very easily which I hadn't expected, and was so nice with the meringue and custard. It just made me sigh and wish I could make desserts this beautiful.

Eight texture chocolate cake (Featuring Amedei ‘Chuao’ Chocolate)

And finally, the eight texture chocolate cake. Everyone has probably seen it before, on countless blogs, so I will save you the long description and let you enjoy the show.

Stunning isn't it? I had the small taste of some of the non-nutty textures and it the chocolate incredibly smooth and intense, I only really tasted the lighter mousse, the thin tempered chocolate top and the warm melted chocolate on top. The staff noted that A licked the plate clean, which I think was the highest compliment he could give. In fact, I think every single one of our dishes was licked clean, even the tiny amuse bouche glasses. There were definitely no complaints from A about the portion sizes after his rich dessert. We spent a good long time sitting back in our seats and drinking in the view, which was spectacular even on a grey, slightly drizzly day that only offered us a small peek of sunshine. And then we wondered home, and all I could say the entire way back was, "It was SO GOOD!". Possibly my favourite lunch ever. I wish I could go back!

Quay
Upper Level Overseas Passengers Terminal,
Circular Quay West,
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9251 5600