We’re degusted out. Our eleventh and twelfth days (Monday and Tuesday) in Australia focused on eating at two of the best restaurants in the country. Here tasting menus are called “degustation menus”, hence the first line. We still have a couple of degustation dinners left, but these were the highlights.

First, though, our daytime activities. On Monday, we visited the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, which is on a level of the San Diego Zoo in the States. One gets to the Taronga Zoo by taking a ferry from Circular Quay, which offers spectacular views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. You then take a gondola ride up to the top of the zoo (which is built on a hill), which offers gorgeous views of the Sydney skyline. And then you walk down the hill, looking at the animals, and wondering why they have the best views of Sydney going. Unfortunately, we are visiting Sydney in the middle of a heatwave, so most of the animals were taking shelter. No matter what, it should definitely be on the list for any visitor to Sydney. Just remember to pack sunscreen and bug repellent to keep the nasty Sydney flies at bay.

On Tuesday, we visited the Powerhouse Museum, which is kind of a rollup of the Smithsonian’s American (er, Australian) History, Air and Space, and Arts and Industries Museums all rolled into one. Frankly, I found it slightly underwhelming – they did have a cool Strasburg clock there, and some good exhibits on innovative Australian engineering, but many of the exhibits seemed very dated. It was good if you needed to fill a couple of hours, but wouldn’t make the top of my list.

    Food
    Dinner on Monday night was at Quay (the #1 restaurant in the country, according to Australian Gourmet), and it is probably the most memorable dinner I’ve ever had. The view was unbelievable. We were seated at a private table in the observation deck of the Overseas Passenger Terminal. To my left was the Harbour Bridge, and in front of me, across the water was the Opera House. As an added bonus, a powerful thunderstorm was rolling across the harbour as we sat down, and we could see Nature’s impressive display outside. An incredibly intimate and romantic location. The service was discrete, and the food unbelievable. The menu:

  • Sea Pearls – sashimi tuna, aquaculture caviar, sea scallop, smoked eel, octopus, mud crab, abalone. Paired with a 2004 Segura Viudas from Cataluna, Spain
  • Mud Crab Congree – Hand shelled mud crab with a Chinese inspired split rice porridge. Paired with a 2008 Villa Matilde Falanghina from Campania, Italy
  • Crisp confit of pig belly – served with a braise of abalone, silken tofu, Japanese mushrooms, chive flowers. Paired with a 2007 Pricipia Chardonnay from Mornington Peninsula
  • Gently poached partridge breast – served with bitter chocolate black pudding and walnut crumbs, truffle custard, fresh palm hearts, white borage buds. Paired with a 2006 Summerfield ‘Tradition’ from the Pyrenees Ranges
  • Sous vide pure bred Suffolk lamb loin – served with spring vegetables, comte-infused fresh milk curd, roasted quinoa, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts. Paired with a 2001 Chateau Tour du Haut-Moulin from Bordeaux France
  • White peach snow egg. Paired with a 2008 Cascinetta Vietti, Moscato D’Asti, DOCG from Piemonte, Italy
  • Raspberries, violet, almond vanilla cream. Paired with a 2008 Mount Horrocks ‘Cordon Cut’ Riesling, from Clare Valley

    • Lunch on Tuesday deserves a mention. It was at Din Tai Fung, a dumpling chain with locations around the Pacific Rim. Very tasty dishes indeed. Jae and I had:

  • Steamed Pork Dumplings – the house specialty
  • Pork and Vegetable Buns – my favorite
  • Vegetable and Egg Fried Rice
  • Dan Dan Noodles – very good, but again, no Mary Chung’s

    • Dinner on Tuesday was at Tetsuya’s (the #2 restaurant in the country, and, on some lists in the top ten in the world. We had to use some muscle to get a booking here, almost two months in advance of our trip). Tetsuya’s is located behind a non-descript gate on a busy road in Sydney, but as soon as that gate opens, you enter a peaceful bubble. The food was technically the most impressive I had in the country to date, and the service was the best, bar none. The menu:

  • An amuse-bouche of Corn Soup with Saffron Ice Cream
  • Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar and Ginger
  • Smoked Ocean Trout and Avruga. Paired with a Tamanohikari Sake, Junmai-Ginjo from Kyoto, Japan
  • Marinated Crystal Bay Prawns with Soy Caramel. Paired with a 2008 Vouvray Sec Coteau de la Biche, Domaine Pichot from the Loire Valley in France
  • Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple, Daikon. Served with a Seasonal Green Salad. Tetsuya’s signature dish. Paired with a 2008 Delatite Dead Man’s Hill Gewurtztraminer, from Upper Gouldburn in Victoria, Australia
  • Terrine of Queensland Spanner Crab with Avocado. Paired with a 2007 Pierro Chardonay made for Tetsuya’s from Margaret River, Western Australia
  • Grilled Fillet of Barramundi with Braised Baby Fennel. Paired with a 2008 Mountadam Pinot Gris from Eden Valley, South Australia
  • Twice-Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Foie Gras, Sweetbreads and Morels. Paired with a 2007 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir made for Tetsuya’s from Gippsland, Victoria
  • Wagyu Beef with Lime and Wasabi. Paired with a 2002 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon made for Tetsuya’s from Margaret River, Western Australia
  • Cannellini Beans with Mascarpone
  • Pineapple and Amaretto Sorbet with Chai Bavarois. Paired with a 2007 Heggies Botrytis Riesling from Eden Valley, Southern Australia
  • Summer Pudding
  • Chocolate Chiboust with Lemon Curd and Coffee Marshmallow. Paired with a 2007 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise Bernardins from the Rhone Valley, France

    • So, a gastronomic tour-de-force. Also a 4.5 hour meal, with 13 courses (well, 10 if you look at actual platings), with 9 wines (3 of which were exclusively made for Tetsuya’s). In comparison to Quay, the food and wine at Tetsuya’s were just as unbelieveable (better, if you are a fan of seafood), and the service at Tetsuya’s was slightly better. Quay, however, has the stunning location, which leads me to say that if you could eat at one restaurant in Sydney, it should be Quay.