confit of Petuna ocean trout with shaved fennel and unpasteurised ocean trout caviar
I started writing this post and realised that I sound like a complete and utter snob and asshole. I was going to stop and you know, like “change my tone”, but then, when have I ever been known to censor my posts? Like um, never? So I’m going to sound like a snob and more or less, an asshole.
So. As much as I love being back in Australia, I have to admit that London gave me access to some of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my little life. Take museums for one. We had the British Museum and the V&A (amongst many others), two of the most amazing museums in the world… in my humble opinion. And they were free! When Panu and I travel, we’re constantly disappointed at the museums and galleries we go to (ok, Paris not included) not because they’re sub-standard, but because we compare them to what we now know, and well, they just plain and simply aren’t as good.
And though Sydney’s food scene is pretty spectacular, I have a feeling we’ve also been spoilt for high end restaurants. I mean, just take The Ledbury. Visit one, visit two and visit three. And still one of my most favourite, most flawless, dining experiences ever. And then there’s The Fat Duck, which needs no words. And even the likes of Momofuku Ko in NYC.
Spoilt. I’ve been spoilt, I tell ya.
Anyway, there’s a point to all this story-telling. Last weekend, my buddy was up from Melbourne and on Saturday night, we had dinner at Tetsuya’s. I was actually desperately excited about dinner. I mean Tetsuya’s was way up there on the top restaurants list for an eternity and though they’ve dropped to an unremarkable 58, I still wanted to try them purely based on reputation.
I was excited. I mean, I wore a dress (and honestly, that doesn’t happen often at all).
Tetsuya’s serves a 10 course tasting menu ($210pp) and to save this post from becoming a novel, I’ll limit myself to five words per course. Let’s do it!
amuse bouche: corn soup with soy cream
Sweet corn. Butter. WANT MORE.
savoury custard with avruga
Delicious! Love the wooden spoon 
sashimi of kingfish with blackbean & orange
Fresh. Very savoury, totally addictive.
steamed Queensland spanner crab with bean curd, foie gras & junsai
Would have preferred loose crabmeat. (See how I cheated there? Is crab meat meant to be two words?)
braised veal shank with broad beans & smoked bone marrow
Super tender, broad beans meh.
breast of quail with paleta Ibérico & garlic purée
Not sure about puffed rice. (The quail was great though!)
de-boned rack of lamb with eggplant, white miso & blue cheese
White miso blue cheese sauce WIN! (Sorry, one over).
hay infused ice cream with sorrel granita and
Tetsuya’s interpretation of bread & butter pudding
Taste like grass. But refreshing!
Oh lord, SO MUCH DELICIOUSNESS.
chocolate pavé with cream cheese ice cream & cinnamon twigs
Want cream cheese ice cream.
petit fours: coffee & raspberry macarons
Expected better petit fours, sorry!
Oh, and for his signature ocean trout dish up top? So many amazing flavours. YUM.
Hey, I did pretty good just with a couple of little cheats in there! So basically it was a pretty nice dinner. I expected some wow-wery to happen, like Fat Duck showmanship style, but there was none of that. The food looked like what it was, and I guess in a good way, tasted like it was supposed to. I just wasn’t wowed like I wanted to be.
And for what we paid including a couple of glasses of vino, I think I should have been wowed.
BUT, this could have completely nothing to do with Tetsuya’s and everything to do with my snobbery and royal asshole-ness. Although, I do have to comment… the toilets were totally ordinary. At one of Sydney’s best restaurants, you’d honestly expect a little better in the bathroom stakes, but whatever.
I probably wouldn’t go back… I’d spend my mulah somewhere else, like ahhh, we’re going to Rockpool Bar & Grill soon, where I totally intend to blow $115 on one piece of 200g wagyu sirloin!
Tetsuya’s
529 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000
(02) 9267 2900
website
