A Taste of Tetsuya's

Tetsuya's Restaurant

529 Kent Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Australia

Ph: (02) 9267 2900

Web: Tetsuya's

Open HOurs

Lunch

Saturday from Noon

Dinner

Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm

This is the third year we've wanted to make an reservation with Tetsuya's and for the past two years no tables were available even we tried to make it three months in advance. However, we were really lucky this time. There was a table waiting for us. Although it was just for a Saturday lunch, I felt extremely blessed and very eager to find out the taste of the highly honored "best restaurant" in Australia. When dear hubby told me the good news, I was so excited and almost jump up and down like a little girl. Finally we had a chance to get a taste of Tetsuya's. Some dreams come true, some don't, but always keep dreaming.

Hiding among the concrete constructed buildings and behind the heavy wrought iron gates. There is the famous Japanese fusion restaurant: Tetsuya's. An oriental building used lots of timber and surrounded by a beautiful Japanese garden located in the middle of the modern city. This is nothing like what we had in mind and a great surprise to find it in the CBD area in Sydney.

From the very first moment we stepped into the restaurant, we we treated like the king and queen. Warm welcome from the lady met us in the reception. Then we were shown to our table on ground floor in a room with floor to ceiling windows and overlooking the peaceful Japanese inspired garden with bamboo plants, small stone decors and Koi swimming in the water pond. The view was spectacular. There was nothing better than sitting inside the retro style room with art works hanging on walls and having an incredible wonderful food adventure in a sunny afternoon during a lazy weekend. It was an absolute amazing journey.

Tetsuya's eleven-course degustation menu $210/PP

SATURDAY, 12 MARCH 2011

CHILLED CUCUMBER SOUP WITH SHEEP YOGHURT ICE CREAM

PACIFIC OYSTERS WITH RICE VINEGAR & GINGER (EXTRA COST)

SASHIMI OF KINGFISH WITH BLACKBEAN & ORANGE

MARINATED NZ SCAPI WITH AVOCADO SOUP & AVRUGA

CONFIT PETUNA OCEAN TROUT WITH KONBU, CELERY & APPLE

FILLET OF MULLOWAY WITH ONION PETALS & PIL PIL

BRAISED OX TAIL WITH SEA CUCUMBER & YUZU

PANCETTA WRAPPED QUAIL BREAST WITH FRESH SPROUTS & ONION

BEEF SHORT RIB WITH BEETROOT JUS & WASABI MUSTARD

SORBET OF PIONE GRAPES WITH SUMMER PUDDING

MARINATED PEACH WITH PEACH GRANITA

CHOCOLATE PAVE WITH CREAM CHEESE ICE CREAM & CINNAMON TWIGS

CHAI MOCHI

TEA/COFFEE

The accompnaying wine course is $95/PP (OPTIONAL)

TENGUMAI BUNSEIROKUNEN JUNMAI SAKE FOR TETSUYA'S, ISHIKAWA, JAPAN

2010 CRAWFORD RIVER RIESLING, HENTY VIC

2010 SKILLOGALEE GEWURZTRAMINER, CLARE VALLEY SA

2008 PIERRO CHARDONNAY FOR TETSUYA'S, MARGARET RIVER, WA

2008 MENCIA PETALOS, DESCENDIENTES DE J. PALACIOS, BIERZO, SPAIN

2010 FOSTER E ROCCO NUOVO SANGIOVESE, HEATHCOTE, VIC

2008 COLLECROR MARKED TREE RED SHIRAZ, CANBERRA DISTRICT, NSW

2010 HEGGIES BOTRYTIS RIESLING, EDEN VALLEY, SA

SEPPELTSFIELD CELLAR NO.6 TOKAY, RUTHERGLEN, VIC

Tetsuya's eleven-course degustation menu was faultless and every single dish was cooked to perfection. All meals were presented like art on plates and the flavours and textures were matched so well together. Fresh, clean, elegant and delicious! It was a once in a life time experience and well worth the wait!

The freshly baked house bread came first was warm and fluffy served with a fabulous rich and smooth black truffle Parmesan salsa butter. Sophisticated! I could consumed the whole basket of their sourdough rolls with the special made truffle butter in a morning. I wish I bought the butter home.

Then there was the cucumber soup with sheep yogurt ice-cream served in a cocktail glass. The beautiful lime green colour matched the grass and bamboo plants in the outdoor garden and it tasted divine and refreshing.

Next was the pacific oysters with rice vinegar and ginger sauce on a bed of seaweed. It was the special of the day and cost a little extra. The freshness of those oysters were sweet and again I could have a half dozen of them myself. The oysters were so smooth which I almost swallowed them without chewing.

Followed it was the thinly slices of kingfish sashimi with blackbean and orange zest served on a thick Japanese handmade ceramic plate which decorated with a pickle of spring onions and herbs. The fish was absolutely incredible and melted in my mouth instantly. The sauce was really flavoursome but a little bit too oily for me. The blackbean mixed with soy sauce and mirin were perfectly married the fish. The taste remind me of Chinese steam whole fish. I wish there were more fish on the plate. Couldn't have enough of them. It was all gone without my notice.

The marinated scapi with avocado soup and avruga was inspiring. It was a fantastic picture perfect dish and also DH's favourite. The scapi was a bit raw for me but it's sweetness tasted great with all the combination in the dish.

Tetsuya's signature dish: confit of Petuna Tasmanian ocean trout with crusty Knobu, roe and apple with a bowl of green salad side dish was no doubt the outstanding dish of the night. A slice of smoked flavour trout with crispy skin and topped with finely chopped seaweed, chives and a sprinkle of sea salt added great flavour to the tenderness and silkiness texture of the fish . It balanced well with the sweetness and sourness crispy apply celery. Also the coral roe popped up in every mouthwatering was full of surprises. The trout tasted like raw but it was actually slow cooking. A brilliant dish which was also memorable.

It was followed by the pretty fillet of Mulloway with onion petals and pil pil. This fish was very soft and melt in my mouth. The onion was juicy and beautiful in colour. It was presented as a water colour Japanese painting using white, gray and pink in the palette. After we had the strong flavoursome ocean trout, this dish was light and clean. 

The braised OX tail with sea cucumber and yuzu was an interesting dish. The sea cucumber was smooth and chewy like jelly and the OX tail was soft and full of flavour. The dish not just tasted delicious but also smell fragrance. It was very similar to Chinese braised beef and truly inspired me to cook it with sea cucumber. Recipe, someone? 

Pancetta wrapped quail breast with fresh sprouts and onion was nice and tender. Not my favourite and a little too raw for me but I loved the crunchy rice popcorn! The beef short rib with beetroot and wasabi mustard got me with it's presentation. The mustard on wasabi was like little mushrooms grow on the grass. Very interesting.  

For the desserts, I quiet like the chocolate pave with cream cheese ice cream and cinnamon twigs. The rich dark chocolate was incredibly smooth and there was a combination of sweetness and bitterness. And our lunch towards the end with the chocolate mochi and a cup of green tea. A sensational finish of a world class meal!

It was the longest lunch I've ever had but also one of the most impressive one as well. An excellent designed menu combined seafood, poultry, meat and desserts. The ingredients were fresh and quality and everything perfectly complemented with each other and the following dishes. Their service was absolutely impeccable and professional. They treat us like a VVIP in their own little private castle. During the four hours of my enjoyable experience, the high price tag seemed worth every penny of it. It was just like an Hermes bag. When you divided up the hours of the well trained craftsmanship spent on making the bag and every details and stitches were perfectly designed and handled. I would say it's all worth it and satisfied.

Cuisine: Japanese

Food: Good

Service: Excellent

Atmopshere: Excellent

Value: $$$$$

Recommend: Excellent

*Rating: Excellent, Good, Average, Poor, Very Poor