Tetsuya's

Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar and Ginger

S and I dined at Tetsuya's almost three months ago. My procrastination may by attributed to a number of things: I have been busy at work, the photos did not turn out well because of the low-lighting in the restaurant, but most of all, when I thought about writing a review of a thirteen course degustation meal, I just didn't know where to begin. 

Of course, it was fantastic. Even though we had very high expectations (that were met), there were still certain elements of the experience that were delightfully surprising. The problem with a thirteen course meal, however, is that no matter how amazing it is, you just can't remember and/or gush about every single element on all the various dishes. It's just too much. You remember you had a wonderfully decadent meal and enjoyed it immensely. But like being at a good rock concert, you are exhilarated throughout the event, and you recall particular favourite moments, but at the end of it, you can't really begin to describe every little detail about the experience. It's a sensory overload that leaves you happy and on a high, but foggy on the details (no, we were not drinking).

Special mention must go to the staff, who were all extremely professional, exceedingly charming, friendly (which is something that is sometimes traded-off in fancy restaurants), and very, very easy on the eyes. Absolutely unparalleled, superb service. I can't wait to return and would love to have the opportunity to host a dinner with a larger group of friends in of the private rooms one day. But there are so many other famous restaurants to visit too........and that's just Sydney!

S and I couldn't stop talking about moving to Sydney after the fantastic time that we had there - especially at Tetsuya's, Zilver and Jersey Boys. Of course that's barely scratching the surface and there's so much more of Sydney to experience, but I think we're already sold.

Now the food: I freely admit that I didn't know what quite a few of the ingredients were, and that was half the fun. Unless otherwise stated, everything was really good and almost everything was novel and interesting. Like I said, I remember how I felt about some dishes and the meal in its entirety, but not the specific details of each dish. I apologise for the poor quality of the photos. You'll notice that I have only uploaded photos of eleven of the thirteen dishes, because the photos of the first and last dishes were just not fit for publishing. My favourite dishes were the Chilled Cucumber Soup with Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream, which I failed to photograph properly unfortunately (the excitement of the first course might have had something to do with that), Tetsuya's signature ocean trout, the lamb and the sorbet of peone grapes. I didn't have the oysters, but S said that she had never had oysters like that - naturally sweet, meaty and very tasty. Her expression when she had the first bite was priceless.

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream: Deliciously cool and refreshing. I especially loved the faint sourish zest that the ice cream contributed to the sweetish soup.

Sashimi of Yellow Fin Tuna with Shishito and Garlic Chips

Marinated NZ Scampi with Curd and Jusai

The startling saltiness and the flavour of the scampi really excited my palate and paired nicely with the soft, bland curd. Very nice.

Tetsuya's Signature Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple and Celery

There's a reason why he's famous for this dish. Luscious trout topped with a lovely salty layer of seaweed, complemented with the arresting acidity and slight sweetness of green apples. Beautiful.

Steamed Mulloway with Black Bean and Ginger

I was least impressed with this dish. It was tasty and perfectly executed but was just very similar to the steamed fish that is served in normal Chinese restaurants back home. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I was just expecting something a little more unusual.

Braised Ox Tail with Sea Cucumber and Lotus Root

Pancetta Wrapped Quail Breast with Pine Mushrooms and Chestnut

De-Boned Rack of Lamb with Eggplant and White Miso

Gorgeous. Wonderfully tender, juicy, delicious lamb, paired with the most scrumptious eggplant/white miso thingy that I have ever tasted. Incredible.

Sorbet of Pione Grapes and Tarte Tartin

Loved the sorbet and the soaked grapes. Don't know what they were soaked in (I suspect there was alcohol involved) but the explosion of juice and flavours was deliciously intoxicating. The flavour of the sorbet was also quite unusual and incredibly refreshing.

Genoa Figs with Leatherwood Honey and Fig Leaf Ice Cream

Chocolate Pave with Cream Cheese Ice Cream and Cinnamon Twigs

I thought that this would be a favourite. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like the cream cheese ice cream and expected the pave to be chilled (not knowing what a pave is or how it is supposed to be served) - probably because it reminded of mousse. Having said that, it was nice and chocolatey. For me, this would have been the dish to end with. The Chai Mochi that followed was also chocolatey and that tipped me over my chocolate limit for the night - I went from 'decadently-full' to 'oh no.... too... much.....'

The menu - Thursday 14 April 2011

Tetsuya's Restaurant
529 Kent Street
Sydney 
NSW 2000
Australia