Memorable Meals - Part 3 - Australia

My best friend/ favorite travelling companion and I plan our travels to include enjoying memorable meals at some of the top restaurants in the world. We are actually ambitioning to eat in some of the top twenty restaurants chosen worthy by experts in the culinary field. Since we have a few more good years of travelling, we are rushing through the list.

TETSUYA'S

I expected that we would encounter some difficulty in securing a reservation for lunch at Tetsuya's in Sydney but to our surprise, we easily got a table for three.

Tetsuya's is a serene Oriental enclave sandwiched by large commercial buildings in a busy side street in downtown Sydney. The Japanese inspired degustation menu offers Wagyu beef , scampi, barramundi, spatchcock, spanner crab and two versions of Petuna Ocean Trout which is Tetsuya's signature dish. They charge a little extra for a starter dish of Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar and Ginger but it was so delicious that we did not mind paying a bit more.








Chilled Corn Soup with Saffron and Vanilla Ice Cream - this is a starter. Refreshing and unusual.










Beetroot and Blood Orange Sorbet with Chai Tea Bavarois. This was good although I am not a fan of Chai Tea.















Lemon Curd Brulee with Chocolate Chiboust. Since I am partial to lemon and also to chocolate, I wiped the plate clean.

















Tetsuya"s version of Strawberry Shortcake! Another winning dessert! The taste was there even if the texture was unlike any Strawberry Shortcake I ever had.













QUAY, CIRCULAR QUAY, SYDNEY HARBOR

My friend's husband invited us to eat at Quay - a really classy place with well- trained white gloved staff . At that time, it had not made it to any list but as I write this, it has garnered the number 27 position in the S. Pellegrino World's Best 50 Restaurants list.

My friend had: Sea Pearls - Sashimi, Tuna, Sea Scallop, Smoked Eel, Octopus, Abalone - in four balls or pearls. This is such an attractive starter with different colors and textures to tempt the palate.



















I am a newcomer to Congee and just love it. I had the Mud Crab Congee.


The picture does not do justice to this delicious
rice porridge.

















And our host had his favorite which was a Crisp Confit of Pig Belly, Gentle Braise of Abalone and Cuttlefish, Handmade Silken Tofu, Japanese Mushrooms, Chive Flowers:


Isn't it so beautifully presented? I almost want to eat Pork Fat which I really never do!















For dessert, we each placed our order and then placed the desserts in the center of the table.

This is Raspberries, Violets, Almonds. Vanilla Cream - very pretty but nothing I would write home about!












Now this is worth the calories!!! - Eight Texture Chocolate featuring Amadei Chuao Chocolate. This is the second time I have encountered Amadei and I wonder where it comes from.




















And another surprising dish is Snow Egg of Jackfruit and Custard Apple -






Very refreshing and clean tasting providing a wonderful finish to a good meal.













Quay deserves to move up a few notches in the coveted restaurant list. And I forgot to mention, it is so beautifully perched alongside the Sydney Harbor - a really great location.