more mystery meatballs: forever changed after tetsuya

had the privilege of dinner at tetsuya's - probably the single most compelling reason i went to sydney. tetsuya's is the stuff of dreams, and after waku ghin in singapore, all the more i wanted to visit the sydney restaurant for comparison. yes, i realise they're a different cuisine but it's the same man behind the magic and i like to think that the restaurants combined give one a more holistic sense of the man himself.

it also helped that just before dinner i was at a friend's and she lives literally 5minutes from the japanese house smack in the middle of the city that tetsuya's operates from. talk about prime real estate!

the private room had a even more private zen garden which did calm me down some. you should've seen the frenzy i'd worked myself into pre-dinner. aiyoh so uncool but it's true ;)

the amazing truffle butter with black truffle infused and embedded in the mix. it was so light and creamy, with a hint of cheese and after i single-handedly polished off the communal serving (mind you, i don't even eat much butter back home), the ever-attentive waiter magically produced another helping and with a wink, told me to 'knock yourself out'. now that is classy service!

the oysters weren't part of the degustation but we couldn't resist ordering plates of these babies. they came swimming in the most delectable ponzu sauce - light enough not to marinade them precious mollusks but substantial enough to perfectly complement their springy texture and tangible freshness.

the first course was similar to sashimi but because it came swimming in the perfect accompaniment, it was closer to a dressed carpaccio. looks like snapper to me, but i can't quite remember. was too busy savouring every nibble.

scampi with dollops of cream on a bed of tofu and goats cheese. call me biased but while this was objectively delicious, it was a far cry from the botan ebi served with uni and iranian caviar that is my absolute favourite dish at waku ghin. feel somewhat sorry that tetsuya's is limited by the produce that can be imported into australia. despite serving fresh local produce in sydney, almost to the point of protectivism, give me the gastronomical smorgasboard that is available in singapore any day. so this course felt like the poor cousin of what i'd eaten at waku ghin.

this confit of ocean trout is tetsuya's signature dish. there's some complicated rocket science behind its preparation and presentation. it's supposedly cooked at a low temperature for a long time with the oven door open so as to create the illusion of an uncooked fillet despite being semi-cooked. the konbu coating was a nice touch, gave it that salty kick and contrast in texture with the silky meat.

can't remember exactly what this was but it tasted good, just like everything else. that's the problem with retrospective posting. not in the habit of intellectually engaging with what i consume and the menu as it is rattled off is usually in one ear and out the other :(

this was a particularly creative use of sea cucumber, sliced finely in a cross-section and served atop some lamb ragout (i think that's what it was. again, i plead a short-term memory) the jelly-like texture of the sea cucumber was a great complement to the stringy-er lamb fibre.

slow-cooked duck breast wrapped in pancetta (pork belly) with an oriental hodge podge next to it. there was some instantly recognisable quinoa in the little mound which brought back memories of the roadside quinoa our host pilfered.* plus, at this course there was a hilarious interjection by one of the other guests hellbent on convincing us that pork belly was all nerves and no fat ;)

the sorbet intermezzo served with cappucino creme brulee

strawberries and cream, but more atas

chocolate brick with home-made vanilla-bean ice cream

an espresso to finish with

and some daifuku petit fours

now that i've been to tetsuya's, i can die happy. don't think i'm ever going to go back because no subsequent meal is going to match up to my highly anticipated and much enjoyed first. there's something special about first times, and i don't intend to detract from the mystery and overwhelming sense of awe i felt throughout the course of the evening. am eternally grateful to my immensely gracious host, who has elevated my appreciation of food from mere gasak (malay slang for indiscriminate gluttony) to gastronomy.

so this post concludes the sydney series. on hiatus till the next holiday. will be in kuching month-end for a wedding then tokyo over the deepavali long weekend, and for most of study break hehe.

*the quinoa story, as promised.

last summer (well it was peruvian winter so let's call it that), we passed through fields of quinoa en route back to el refugio from our condor-sighting at colca canyon. nathanael the guide robustly hopped out of the 4x4 and swiped some quinoa for our lunch. not like we're accustomed to helping ourselves from other people's fields but in response to our semi-horrified and quizzical looks, nathanael conveyed through sign language and some spanglish that even if the farmer caught him red (yellow?) handed, he would be more than happy to share his harvest with tourists who'd never tried quinoa before. such pride they have in their grain heritage!