Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Quay - The Rocks, Sydney


Last Saturday, Cheesecake Boy and I found ourselves at Quay.  As a very special friend of mine, KFC Girl vowed to spend eternity with her now, other half.  KFC Girl and, now KFC Boy held their reception at Quay.  The picturesque outlook of Quay as some of you may know, is truly spectacular with the Harbour Bridge on one side, and the Opera House on the other.


Canapes started off the reception, and Cheesecake Boy was quite a fan of the king crab ravioli, they had a lovely texture and a subtle taste of the king crab coming through.  However, my friend K, who was also there to celebrate the special occasion found the ravioli to be tasteless, so definitely a mixed reaction.  If you are one for strong flavours, then this canape was not going to appeal to you, but if you like subtlety and pure flavours then the ravioli ticks both those boxes.

King crab ravioli

Everyone enjoyed the spinach and Gruyere cheese and risotto balls.  It's hard not to love crunchy and cheesy risotto balls that hit all the right notes.

Spinach and Gruyere cheese and risotto balls

When we were served our entrees, I was thinking that it was perfect that Cheesecake Boy got the prosciutto entree as he is crazy about all cured meats and I got the scallops, as they are my favourite shellfish.  However, I actually preferred the Italian prosciutto, green figs, roasted almonds, baby rocket and spring onions entree.  The combination of the sweet proscuitto, green figs and almonds was a match made in heaven.  Surprisingly, Cheesecake Boy was not quite as taken with this entree as I was.

Italian prosciutto, green figs, roasted almonds, baby rocket and spring onions

The entree of roasted sea scallops, lime creme fraiche, asparagus, fennel, spring onions, leek and lemon jam dressing was a thing of beauty.  This dish was really delicate in taste and presentation.  Each separate element on the plate was lovely in its own right.  To my surprise, I actually enjoyed the vegetables in this dish more than I did the scallops.

Roasted sea scallops, lime creme fraiche, asparagus, fennel, spring onions, leek and lemon jam dressing

Sushi Girl and I chuckled when the pork belly was served, as KFC Girl is really a pork belly crazy girl at heart.  Naturally, the bride was going to need her pork belly fix to survive the rest of the day.  The pork belly was beautifully cooked and each layer was distinct in texture and taste. Loved the combination of the prunes and pork belly.  While the inclusion of hazelnuts provided an additional textural change as did the cauliflower cream.  However, I found that the cauliflower cream was quite bland and did not enhance the taste of this dish.

Roasted pig belly, cauliflower cream, hazelnuts and prunes

I had to take a photo of K's beef main.  Unfortunately, Cheesecake Boy's beef had slide off to one side and the potato puree had smeared across the plate with the beef, and the dish became a sight for sore eyes.  Cheesecake Boy gave me a piece of the beef, and the beef was cooked perfectly.  However, I did not get a chance to try the other elements, so I am not able to further comment. However, when I pestered Cheesecake Boy for a description he said he'd forgotten what it tasted like, as he didn't find it memorable.

Roasted fillet of pure Angus beef, potato puree, baby spinach, bitter chocolate black pudding crumbs and morsels

The sides of roasted potatoes and salad, were both simply done. The potatoes were lovely and fluffy on the inside, and the salad really did refresh the palate as the mains were quite rich.

Side of roasted potatoes
Side salad

Wedding cake was going to be the dessert of choice, so there were no snow eggs or eight texture chocolate cake to be served.  We did cheekily enquire if sneaking some dessert on the side would be possible for a group of us, but we were curtly told that we would have to order four courses to be allowed to order dessert.  We knew that we didn't really have a shot, but I guess you never know if you don't ask.  However, petit fours were served with cake and they came in the form of dark and white chocolate truffles.

Petit fours

I am usually a dark chocolate girl deep down, but the hazelnut praline won me over.  The orange fondant was also lovely and truly complemented the richness of the bittersweet dark chocolate.

White chocolate truffle with hazelnut praline
Dark chocolate truffle with orange fondant

When it comes to a restaurant like Quay, it's not just all about the food, but the entire dining experience as well.  There is no doubt that the food was technically brilliant and the quality of the produce and ingredients were superb.  The food excels in technical perfection and subtlety.  Unfortunately, for a restaurant of its calibre based on this experience,  Cheesecake Boy and I found that the service left a lot to be desired.  However, the views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House were stunning, and could easily be considered one of the best views in Sydney.


Dining away, Dumpling Girl.


Quay
Overseas Passenger Terminal
Level 3
The Rocks NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9251 5600
http://www.quay.com.au/

Quay on Urbanspoon

19 comments:

Kath (My Funny Little Life) said...

Such beautiful food! :D :D :D And I adored the pictures of Sydney, thank you so much for sharing! I love to see new spots of the world (via blogging, but also in person)!

Anonymous said...

No snow egg?? :(

Helen (Grab Your Fork) said...

The food looks amazing but a shame you didn't feel the service was up to par.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Kath, you're welcome, but thank you for enjoying my post so much.

Hi minibites, we did ask, but our request was declined. I guess it's understandable as if we got some it would of encouraged perhaps too many orders and delayed the proceedings.

Hello Helen, the food was definitely beautiful, it was just a couple of unfortunate incidents, but we were disappointed as we were so looking forward to our time here.

chopinandmysaucepan said...

The ravioli looks like baby jelly fish that I used to collect on the beach! I don't have a sweet tooth and will never order a steak with chocolate on it as well as it sitting on potato puree! It's such a pity so many fine diners try to be so fancy with fresh ingredients and fluff up pure flavours. Steak lovers usually just want a well cooked piece of meat without the fuss. What I would have enjoyed is the potato salad with that huge knob of herb butter and the beautiful view of the Opera House and passing ferries. Snow egg or otherwise, I doubt I would be there in a hurry.

Buggles and Squeak said...

We have dined at Quay quite a few times & have always found the food & service to be top notch. It is a shame the service on your visit was not up to par. Food looked amazing though.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello chopinandmysaucepan, I never knew that baby jellyfish were so adorable looking, good to know :) I would say that your last statement reflects my sentiments after our experience.

Hi Buggles and Squeak, I wish we had a great experience as you did on your visits. Most people seem to, but trust me when I say we were really unlucky this time.

Mel said...

Boo to the curt stuff - of course you were going to ask about the Snow Egg. Who wouldn't! The rest of the food looks nice - lovely venue for a wedding.

susan said...

A friend of mine is having her wedding reception here next year and I can't wait to try the food there.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello MissPiggy, thanks MissPiggy, but that was just the beginning for us. The location is definitely stunning and the food was lovely.

Hi Susan, hope you have a great time :)

thang @ noodlies said...

The ravioli looks divine!

But some of the presentation looks well, uninteresting to me.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hi Thang, the ravioli was lovely to look at and to eat :)

Dolly said...

Spinach and Gruyere cheese and risotto balls


OH GOD THAT LOOKS GOOD...

ARHHHHHH...

mhmhh.. nothing like cheese melting in your mouth in winter!

sugarpuffi said...

*squeeeee* that king crab ravioli looks so purdy :D what am i on about..everything looks nice here. i could do with some prosciutto right now..

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Dolly, I can't agree more about melting cheese and winter, it's a good combination.

Hi sugarpuffi, the prosciutto and green figs were my favourite that day.

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

What a delicate ravioli, and the risotto ball looks scrummy. Shame about the service. The times I've dined there the service has been excellent.

gastronomous anonymous said...

Oh i love quay! can't wait to go back! the risotto balls looks soooo good! shame about the service, I have always had excellent service there!

Cheesecake Boy said...

Cheesecake boy here. About the service let me just say that I located some "extra" ingredients in a bread roll that shouldnt of been there. I brought it to the attention of the manager however he acted as if it was an inconvenience to him to take the bread roll away. I wont go in to depth about the special ingredient but let me just say that it REALLY shouldnt of been there. We will not be returning in the future.

Dumpling Girl said...

Hello Joey, nice to hear from you. The risotto ball was stunning. Yes the service was a real pity.

Hey gastronomous anonymous, your last visit looked so good, glad you enjoyed your time.

Hello my love, glad you are being so discreet, xo