Rise Restaurant – Darlinghurst

Friday, 20 Feb 09

It was a disappointing start to Valentines Day.

Tim presented me with a ring while I was tutoring, but it turned out to be made of onion and deep-fried. A welcome fast food distraction, but not quite what I’d hoped for. And then we did nothing special in the evening, but go to a cousin’s birthday party. Not exactly romantic.

Sunday was more promising. We drove out towards Darlinghurst for dinner. He threatened to blindfold me. I threatened his ‘future’ (*cough*) when he did a U-turn and headed back towards the city. We continued driving, vision and ‘future’ intact.

When Rise, a  restaurant he had been dropping hints about for months, came into view, it clicked. I started grinning excitedly, stomach getting ready to savour the famous sashimi course. Then…he drove past it. My hopes plummeted.

But don’t start sending abuse his way, the story has a happy ending….^^

The irony of the situation was that Tim then found it immensely difficult to find parking. But once we did arrive, we were quickly seated, by a table by a window. Lots of light makes for pretty photos, and pretty photos makes for a happy food blogger….

Rise is a very small space. Half the room was taken up by a bar/food preparation area, and several identical dishes were spread out across it, getting the final touches to their presentation. The room was buzzing with noise, and service was prompt and friendly.

Cocktail: Chambord (strawberry liquor) and sparkling wine

A more fruity bubbly would have improved this cocktail, and the lemon-lime bitters was bottled (but by no means mediocre), but we were here for the food, not the drinks. Rise offers a discounted omakase, or degustation menu on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays for $45 (25% off), while on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, both a la carte and omakase are offered.  The first course came swiftly after the drinks.

Appetizer: Ocean trout marinated with gochujang miso and poached quail egg

The ocean trout was firm and flavoursome, and given additional richness from the poached quail egg and miso. The salad greens it was presented on included rocket, which added some spiciness to the dish, while the white shreds (possibly fried rice noodles?) on top were crunchy and contrasted well with the smoothness of the fish. We were strongly impressed by the presentation, especially the Japanese ceramic plates, and hoped it foretold of good things to come.

Soup: Potato cream soup with prawn tempura and tofu

Again, the presentation was simple, yet effective, drawing the eye to the crispy tempura prawn in the centre. On their own, each of the items in the dish were not attention-drawing, but as a whole, the flavours and textures complimented each other, with the creaminess of the soup enlivened by the saltiness of the tempura coating. The dash of sauce encircling the tofu and prawn also brightened the dish.

Sashimi: Assorted fresh sashimi – Oyster with nam jim sauce, Ocean trout with soy sauce and wasabi, Kingfish with mustard sauce

Words cannot describe how good this was. The ocean trout was decadently striped with fat and melted in the mouth, and we couldn’t bear for the kingfish to end, helplessly dipping the last few centimetres in the remaining dregs of mustard in the vain hope that it would not be over. The oyster was fresh, though the sauce didn’t stand out as remarkable. But, put the vodka away, just line up a few dozen or so of those sashimi shots, and we’ll both die happy. We were somewhat amused that on a neighbouring table of two couples, the women reacted with gasps and sighs at the beauty of the presentation, while the men looked somewhat bemused. As in ‘This is not real food…give us meat’.

Seasonal Plate:

Presented on a long banana leaf, with cup, shotglass and spoon, as a serve for two, we couldn’t fault the presentation, and indeed, overall, presentation was a delight of the evening. However, we both agreed that this course was disappointing, following the standout nature of the first three courses.

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Duck confit salad with Hoisin sauce in wonton cup

Unfortunately, neither of us being a fan of bamboo shoots, this dish failed to please. We were informed it was chicken salad, though Tim did think it had a duck flavour, but I found bone in the scarce few pieces of chicken in my serve. The wonton cup wasn’t crisp, instead being oily and stale as though it had been pre-prepared hours earlier. Disappointing, though perhaps understandable as the nature of the meal.

Pork, cauliflower, corn and bean salad with orange mayo

While there wasn’t anything particular about this dish that we disliked, it didn’t stand out as anything special, and the promised orange mayo didn’t quite shine out flavourwise.

Tomato gazpacho mousse and jelly

I was intrigued by this upon reading it on the menu, but I’m not quite sure the concept benefited from execution. It was refreshing, and the cucumber balls offered textural contrast, but I didn’t quite ‘get’ the mousse part. It was partially frozen, but the texture was a still little strange to me.

Pasta: Steamed scallop, mung bean noodle & ginger shallot sauce

At Chinese restaurants, a similar dish is often offered, perhaps without the noodles, and often with a tougher scallop. So while in the tenderness department, Rise rose above (haha), flavourwise, the soy-based sauce, ginger and shallots didn’t impress.

Main: Braised chicken, tomato, beans with sesame miso sauce

By this time, I was full, though unsatisfied, and looking forward to something piping hot to round off the meal. The stuffed zucchini flower was a good start, but the cold vegetables underneath (and I don’t mean the cucumber, I refer to the tomato and beans) disappointed. The chicken was tender and with some rice, it filled the corners, but these last few dishes didn’t reach the expectations set by the sparkling first half of the meal. Tim disagrees  and was happy to finish off half of my chicken, so perhaps it was just my excruciating state of fullness.

Dessert:  Melon pannacotta with watermelon granita

I’ve never been a fan of rockmelon, so it was some trepidation that I approached this dish. But somehow, it worked. The cubes of rockmelon were sweet and combined with the milky pannacotta and watermelon granita didn’t seem overbearing. Candied melon on top added a chewy crunch, while the pannacotta was just barely set, perhaps too soft, but a delightful end to the meal.

Overall, Rise is a cheap degustation, and for $45, its probably worth trying on a Tues/Wed/Sun. It would be nice to visit in a few months when they’ve changed to a winter menu to see what is offered, and I’d like to go back and try the a la carte menu at some point, as there were certainly a few shining courses that we wouldn’t mind repeated.

4 Comments

1. Real attention to detail in the presentation, it looks very artistic. Disappointing that some of it was cold though. I’m feeling hungry looking at the soup!

   Comment by Arwen from Hoglet K — February 20, 2009 @ 6:31 pm

2. Looks delicious, creative and interesting, pity it missed the mark a few times, though.
   I have heard such good things about Rise, but I never realised that the degustation was so affordable! Will have to give it a go!

   Comment by lili - pikeletandpie — February 20, 2009 @ 10:11 pm

3. Great photos and glad to see that the meal was good. I was excited when I first read that you got a ring!

   I like the food at Rise but as it’s so dark, it’s so hard to photograph in ;)

   Comment by Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella — February 21, 2009 @ 1:33 am

4. OOhh was Tim doing it Homer style? Ahh Rise, I agree great photos with their lighting! I like their omakase but I guess sometimes it is hit and miss.

   Comment by FFichiban — February 22, 2009 @ 11:46 pm

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