Wed 13 July 2011
Nathan had organised a table for four at Tetsuya's, but up until the date, Janet and I weren't sure whether we were going or whether Sylvia's parent would be joining them to celebrate Sylvia's 24th birthday. Anyway as it turned out, Janet and I were the lucky ones to partake in the 11 course degustation menu on the night.
Dinner was at 7pm, so Janet and I took the train out to Town Hall. This was on the same night that Lady Gaga was in town to perform at the Town Hall "Monster Hall". We got to the restaurant just on 7pm, with Nathan giving us a call as we were at the door. Thinking he was already there with Sylvia we rushed on in, only to find that they weren't there yet. They took our coats at the door, and ushered us to a dining area upstairs and seated us at a table close to the windows overlooking the exquisite Japanese garden, but in the centre so we had unobscured views. Nathan and Sylvia were right behind us and Sylvia was surprised. She was expecting to have dinner at a steakhouse or some other all you can eat place.
No wine for us, we had water, although they charge for still water ($20), but not for tap water (free), as I only heard the option for sparkling or still, Janet and I ordered the still, but when Nathan and Sylvia ordered they also got the tap water option.
Breadrolls to start with a very light and fluffy truffle butter...very yummy. I had the Italian bread roll to start, and later tried their sour dough bread roll, although the sour dough was nice, I prefer the fluffy and crunchy Italian bread roll which looks like a snail. The sour dough looked just like any old bread roll. Nathan could have just kept on eating bread all night.
Then the waiter introduced himself and asked us if this was our first time to Tetsuya's and whether it was for a special occasion, to which we said it was our first time and I piped up that it was for Sylvia's birthday. Then he asked if we would like to know what was on the eleven-course degustation menu ($210) or whether we wanted a surprise. Sylvia wanted it to be a surprise, so each time they brought out a dish, they would describe the dish to us.
The degustation started with a Warm Chestnut Soup with Smoked Cream. Served in a very small cup, I scooped out every last drop and would have licked the cup :P
This was followed by Oysters with Grapeseed Oil, Rice Vinegar and Ginger. This was an extra which they ask you at the beginning whether you would like as an additional dish. They don't tell you how much it is though, but it is $9.00 for a plate of 2. I knew that it would be $9.00, but for how many??? So we just ordered to have 1 oyster each. Nathan loved this dish, but I found it was too oysterish, needed more seasoning for my taste.
Then Sea Urchin Custard which reminded me of the way I have an egg with my cream of chicken cup of soup. It was very salty.
Then Sashimi of Kingfish with Blackbean and Orange. We think it was decorated with 2 saffron strands and shallots..they looked like prawn feelers to me. The 2 pieces of kingfish was nice when you had it with the shallots and sauce.I found it hard to use the knife to cut up the sashimi, so I just rolled up the kingfish and had it in one mouthful.
Then Tetsuya's signature dish, a confit of Petuna Ocean Trout served with Konbu and shaved Fennel (I think this was the stand out dish for me and can see why it is on the menu). But I forgot to get a pic of me eating it. The trout was very fresh, no fishiness about it at all. Janet and I couldn't make out what was in the rub that coated the trout.
A bowl of salad greens accompanied the Ocean Trout.
Next we had a John Dory with Ajo Blanco and Pil Pil
Not too sure if the John Dory was suppose to be cooked through, but Sylvia and I had pieces which were still raw in the middle, whereas Janet's fish flaked nicely.
The Queensland Spanner Crab with Tofu and Foie Gras was next. I was so looking forward to having Scampi, having read most food blogger reviews that when this dish came out I was a little disappointed. This was a so so dish for me.
Then they asked whether we would like a break...seeing as we had to wait a bit between each course, time was ticking and Sylvia was tired, so we said no, we'd continue onto the meat courses.
So the next course came out and it was Breast of Spatchcock with Manjimup Truffles, Nettles and Hazelnut. It looked like they had minced up some of the meat, and kept the rest whole, but then had wrapped it up in cling film and poached it like a sausage, like we've seen on MasterChef. Served with Nettles - Janet was like, for an expensive restaurant, why are they serving up weeds we can get in the garden. So tasted like the wild vegies we get from Mar Mar's garden.
Then a very thin sliver of Shabu-Shabu style Wagyu beef with Braised Daikon, Ponzu and Wasabi - no one touched the freshly grated wasabi.I'm not a fan of Daikon, so I had a bit of beef, daikon and a teensy bit of ponzu for each bite. The Ponzu was like grated pomelo or pomegranite.
Did we want a break before dessert? No again, otherwise we'd still be there by midnight. By this stage we had caught up to some diners who had started before us, but another group who had come in after us had forged ahead.
The desserts started with a Sorrel Granita and Hay-infused Milk Ice Cream to "cleanse the palate". Nathan asked what that meant. He loved the Granita. Janet loved the Ice cream. I couldn't even make out the Hay-infused flavour - must be my uncultured palate - need to go out more and try new things *grin*. But it did cleanse the palate.
This was followed by a Apple Tarte Tatin and Bread and Butter Pudding combo. The Bread and Butter pudding was supposed to be like a creme brulee, but the toffee on top wasn't hard (not sure if it was meant to be). The custard at the bottom was nice. The Apple Tarte Tatin was ok, crunchy pieces of pastry, the apple was still a bit crunchy, not soft, and the ice cream must have been the same as the Hay-infused ice cream. Nathan thought it was very ordinary.
Last but not least we got served the Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Ice Cream and Salted Peanuts. The carrot cake had a nice crunchy outer layer. Nathan doesn't like carrot cake, but he didn't mind this one, said it didn't taste like carrot, the spices must have masked the carrot flavour.
Sylvia got her special "birthday cake" a Chocolate Fondant with Hazelnut and Praline, which she gave us all a piece each to try - very rich chocolate which was yummy with the ice cream.
We had a choice of tea or coffee to finish up with. Sylvia ordered Earl Grey, while Janet and I had English Breakfast. A plate of macarons - with two flavours coffee and chocolate was served to go with the tea.
Nathan paid the bill and I made sure I asked for a souvenier menu, to which we got 3, one each for the girls. On the way out they helped us with our coats, held the door open for us, and we traipsed out and down the driveway...no waiting taxi's or chauffeur driven limosines for us. Nathan had parked his car down Kent St behind Town Hall. We got home at around 11.30pm.
The verdict: It was nice to go and finally have a meal at Tetsuya's. I think because we do have an Asian palate, some of the dishes were so so for us, none of them really wowed us. The service was impeccable, although slow at times, but may be due to most of the tables being occupied. The waiters were very helpful and didn't mind taking photos for us, although the lighting didn't help. I need to still play with my camera and it's settings to get a perfect photo. Would I go back? Maybe, it was a wonderful experience.
