Archive for the 'Eating Out' Category

Aria Restaurant – Tim’s 25th

Saturday, 3 Oct 09

I am such a bad foodblogger. Not only have I left thewayitcrumbles unattended and unupdated for a goodly while…I actually forgot my camera on a day where I had booked lunch at a two-hatted restaurant. Can you say ‘fail’? It was certainly an experience I could not resist documenting though, which will explain the poor quality mobile phone pictures for the rest of the post. I can’t say it was a bad thing though, as the flexibility it offered made our enjoyment of the lunch that much greater.

We were seated not in the main dining area facing the Opera house, but on the left side facing out into the Quay and the Harbour Bridge. Lovely view, especially with the picturesque blue sky. We were glad to be inside, as it was hot outside, and we were promptly offered glasses of iced water. A slight mix up had occurred, as they assumed we would be doing the Sydney International Food Festival ‘Let’s do Lunch’, but once that was cleared, everything went smoothly.

Amuse bouche

Chilled potato and leek soup

A small cup of chilled potato and leek soup made for a refreshing starter to whet the appetite. It was smooth and rich, with the flavour of the leeks reinforced by the addition of chives.

Throughout the meal, it was clear there was a huge difference between Tim’s food preferences and mine. I love trying new things, especially if light and flavourful sounding, while Tim is more traditional, and will tend to go with things that he is familiar with. Both styles were catered for more than adequately

Entree

Kingfish sashimi and ceviche with octopus carpaccio, cucumber and citrus

This was my beautifully presented entree, and I’ve tried to bring out the the amazing colour contrasts from the picture. The kingfish was deliciously fresh, with the breath of the sea enhanced by the acidity of the citrus, particularly in the ceviche, which Wikipedia tells me is a citrus-marinated seafood dish popular in Latin-America. The citrus denatures the protein, essentially cooking the fish without heat. The standout component for me was the octopus though, perfectly cooked so that it was not chewy, but rather had a tender meatiness to it. All in all, the dish felt very summery to me, the bright citrus flavours and cucumber balls being particularly refreshing.

Oysters – six freshly shucked Sydney rock with chorizo, tomato and crispy potato

Tim was very satisfied with his oysters. The chorizo added a slight spiciness, and the softness of the oysters was contrasted with savory crispiness of the potato shreds on top. Not usually being a fan of oysters, Tim said he would be quite happy to down another dozen of these.

Main

Trevalla roasted with glazed witlof, chestnut mushrooms, white bean and a chicken jus

Again, my dish had a distinct seasonal theme – this time, I felt like autumn was being presented on the plate. The trevalla was firm, but not overly so, with the addition of the different mushrooms and white beans adding a lovely earthy groundedness to the dish. The glazed witlof was sweet from the caramelisation, but added a slight bitterness that rounded off the other savoury flavours on the plate. This wasn’t to Tim’s taste though and he much preferred his main. All the more for me then ;)

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Beef – chargrilled sirloin with field mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and chimmichurri sauce

Tim’s main was relatively unadventurous, but executed with skill. The steak was perfectly cooked – Tim was a little worried when he cut into it and saw his medium-rare steak was only slightly pink in the centre, but it melted in his mouth in the way that such a steak should. The chimmichurri sauce, I have learnt is a herb based sauce similar to a pesto, and added bursts of flavour to the meat and vegetables.

Truffled potato mash

However, the real star of the mains was this side dish of truffled potato mash. Dad had visited the week prior and raved about this umble side, and so we could not resist it. Decadently smooth and silky, this was a mash that I imagine would grace the table of royalty. The truffle oil added earthiness to balance out the rich creaminess of the mash, which complemented the steak and trevalla perfectly.

Dessert

Valhrona chocolate – rich chocolate delice with chocolate sorbet

Recognise this? This, my dear Australian friends, is the challenge dish of the Masterchef finale, which apparently was a dumbed down version of the plate that was presented to Tim. In a word – decadent. The chocolate presented many facets, from the milkiness of the chocolate glaucage (almost truffle-like in mouthfeel) to the intense richness of the tart and chocolate sorbet. This was all rounded off and lightened with mouthfuls of the vanilla sorbet, and the chewiness of the macaron. Our only complaint…? The chocolate tube didn’t snap as perfectly as we had hoped. But that may have been as a result of the warm day and the time taken to snap a fitting photograph.

Strawberry – poached strawberry with panna cotta, double cream  and  shortbread

And again, my lighter dessert plate, no less beautiful on the eyes. The pannacotta was layered with a strawberry jelly, and the italian meringue hinted at toasted marshmallows. I’m not sure I’m convinced by the herbs on the plate, pretty as it may look, but the sorbet – if you can imagine the super strawberry smell of lip balms, but actually have it edible, that is exactly how the sorbet tasted. Bliss.

Petit fours

Cinnamon and honey cake, peanut truffles and raspberry jelly

After all this deliciousness, Tim and I were happy to go crawl up somewhere and digest it off, but the waiter wasn’t done yet: “I was about to bring out your petit fours”. We glanced at each other with a big smile, and found just a little more room in our dessert stomachs. My favourite was probably the cinnamon and honey cake with its fragrant sweetness, while Tim preferred the peanut truffle which was indeed filled with peanuts.

Who says a mobile phone camera is that bad?

The reason we visited Aria was for Tim’s 25th birthday. So Happy Birthday once again, love. You’re getting old (like I can really talk), but I do still love you, and it was my pleasure, quite literally, to take you out to lunch.

Aria is located at No. 1 Macquarie St, Circular Quay.

www.ariarestaurant.com

Posted at 6:02 pm in Eating Out | Respond?

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