Quay Restaurant

As mentioned in my recent blog about Sydney, I first visited Quay last year with my boss and had a chance to sample the standard four course dinner.  I’ve been dying every since to come back again with Jen so she could try it out.  With a bit of time and perspective on the restaurant, I think I’d rank Quay as one of my top three dining experiences in Australia, right up there with Buffalo Club and Tetsuyas.

This time around we went for lunch (our first lunchtime degustation) and tried out chef Peter Gilmore’s incredible tasting menu with matching wines.  It was everything I hoped for.  The meals were well presented, tasted incredible and very creative.  The only blemish on the day was that we seemed to catch the wait staff on an off day.  One course was delivered incorrectly to the table next to us and the final course took half an hour to arrive after another logistical mistake.  But the staff were deeply apologetic, offered coffee and petit fours on the house and were so nice otherwise that it didn’t really spoil our day.  I must make special mention of the matching wines which were sensational.  I’ll definitely make a special effort to track down that Krinklewood 2010 vintage which was particularly tasty.

Anyway, here it is – the 2012 Quay degustation in all its glory.  It took us about four hours to get through it all.

Amuse Bouche

Sashimi of Corner Inlet rock flathead,
Tasmanian trumpeter, salt cured wild oyster cream,
black lipped abalone, raw sea cabbage,
green radish, warrigals, periwinkles

Congee of Northern Australian mudcrab,
fresh palm heart, egg yolk emulsion

Gently poached southern rock lobster,
hand caught Tasmanian squid,
golden tapioca, lobster velvet

Roasted partridge breast,
steamed truffle brioche, confit egg yolk,
new season white walnuts, fumet of Vin Jaune

Smoked and confit pig cheek, shiitake,
shaved scallop, Jerusalem artichoke, juniper, bay

Pasture raised milk fed veal,
poached in smoked bone marrow fat,
wild grey ghost mushrooms, raw buckwheat,
young orach, land samphire, parsnip

Nitrogen frozen vanilla mousse, fresh mangosteen,
custard apple, feijoa ice cream, coconut cream

Jersey cream, salted caramel,
prunes, walnuts, ethereal sheets

Coffee, Tea, Petit Fours