My second meal in Sydney was lunch at Sepia, the 2012 Sydney restaurant of the year, which probably means the Australian best. One hat two years ago, two last year, and, now three hats and the ultimate award. The chef, Martin Benn, spent seven years with Tetsuya (which only has 2 hats), and became head chef. He then took on a couple of adventures before settling on Sepia. While Tetsuya is Japanese, Benn's cuisine is French-Asian fusion.
I ordered their 7 course degustation menu with wine and got the gustatorial ride of my life. I think I was served 14 dishes and 12 wines over a three and a half hour period. I was the last to leave after 4PM. Let me just provide the list of wines:
Laurent Perrier Champagne.
Saiya "Yukinobosha" Junmai Ginjo Sake from Akita.
Grace Koshu white wine from the slopes of Mount Fujii.
Domain Road Reisling from Central Otago, New Zealand.
Cesconi Prabi Manzoni Bianco IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti from Italy.
2010 Bonny Doon Albarino from California.
Yeringbert Viognier from Australia.
Artadi Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain.
Chateau Musar Cabernet Sauvignon from Lebanon.
Lillet, a French bordeaux aperitif with orange.
Di Majo Norante Moscato Reale from Italy.
NV Mas Amiel Grenache aged 15 years from Maury, France.
The grand sommelier was Benjamin Brown. First, the champagne:
Just the salt dish was artistic:
#1 A pre-appetizer of oysters:
#2 Snapper sashimi with pomelo and butter dash:
Yes, doesn't look like much. #3 Hiramasa kingfish, yukari sheep milk yoghurt, tonsure, celery, pickled heirloom carrot, violets...AND SPICED DUCK SKIN, which made the whole dish:
This was an epiphanic moment for me, as all my life I've doused the raw fish with wasabi and shoyu, mainly, I guess, to mask the fishiness. The whole point of a delicate sauce is to appreciate the texture and savor the taste.
#4 Smoked ocean trout, dill juice, licorice, rye and wasabi floweres:
This is where it gets fuzzy, for they had to replace crab, tiger prawn and lobster with an assortment of dishes (#5-#9) with no details (although the first one is squid with a lot of black truffles, which came from Tasmania):
#10 Seared grass fed Wagyu, nameko mushroom, garlic flowering chives, red onion juice and wasabi, shallot, potato and kombu crumb with citrus soy:
#11 Blood orange granita (Italian ice):
#12 A home-made strawberry with fondue of brie, farro (grain?) and Tasmanian winter truffle, I think:
#13 Miso caramel ice cream, black sesame, spiced ginger bread sponge, pepper chocolate ganache and crystallized seaweed:
#14 Soft chocolate, praline and chestnut, lavender cream, blackberry sorbet, pomegranate jellies, green tea, licorice and chocolate twigs:
Finally, Russian tea and iced expresso with some petit fours:
The meal was more expensive than Marque, but, all in all, better. If Michelin ever gets here, this restaurant will be awarded 3 Stars.
I then made my way at sunset to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House You can scale the heights of Harbour Bridge (above), if you are willing to part with $200. Located just across the harbor is the opera house:
Finally, something for Dan Bent:
-
No comments:
Post a Comment