I was in Sydney for a couple of days and could not resist the lunch menu, at Quay. The lunch menu represents a collection of Quay's signature dishes.
We arrived after a walk in the unapologetic Sydney sun, located stone's throw away from the the Sydney Opera House and Harbour bridge, the restaurant has great views of the waters.
We opted for the 3 course which is $95 (pricey, but well worth
it)
We were offered bread and butter to start with, I chose the organic sourdough and smellymosquito opted for the polenta/sun flower seed.
A complimentary appetizer/hors D'oeuvre was then served. A beautiful, tuna tartare, tapioca pearls and horseradish creme fraiche.
Appetizer
We then proceeded to entrees, where we each ordered two separate dishes, I had the mud crab "congee" , a take on traditional rice congee, a rich deceivingly simple dish.
Mud Crab Congee
SM ordered the aptly named sea pearls, beautiful looking gems of the seas are presented as such. From top, bluefin tuna sashimi, octupus tentacles, dashi jelly, scallops. Not only was it aesthetically beautiful it also went down on the palate. This was the highlight of the lunch.
Sea Pearls
Entrees were followed by mains, which I had duck confit and SM, the sublime truffle poached chicken breast.
The confit of duck was well presented, nice and crisp , delicious. The addition, of the baby vegetables ( garlic shoots, baby onions, etc), in my opinion did not really add a whole lot. But overall, the dish was still a winner, and I would order it again.
Duck Confit, scallops with baby vegetables
The most succulent chicken breast, when the wait staff, told us about the special, I was awfully worried, poached chicken breast, sounds really unappetizing. However, kudos to Quay, it was outstanding, a testament of the Peter Gilmore's technique. The chicken breast was flavorful, juicy and delicious.
Truffle-poached Chicken Breast
To top it off, we each went for the Quay's signature desserts the snow peach egg and eight texture chocolate cake.
The white peach snow egg, was very original, a ball, of egg white with white peach as the "yolk", in a bed of shaved ice. The sudden explosion of the white peach was pleasing to the eye and palate.
White Peach Snow egg part 1
White Peach Snow egg part 2
The waiter came with a pot of ganache and said "this is the last, eighth texture of the cake" After which, we cheekily counted the textures in the cake! The dessert was rich and decadent, amazing stuff!
Eight Texture chocolate cake.
The view from the our table
Other notable flavours that I have tried and enjoyed include: baked apple, kiwi sorbet, raspberry panna cotta, gingerbread and pistachio.
