Quay

This post wins at being my most delayed post-lunch form over 6 months ago! They are currently on the Summer/Autumn menu and things do change according to season, but concepts stay the same. Here is the Winter 2015 menu.

Harbour views

I've been wanting to come here for over 5 years now eve since the Snow Egg featured on MasterChef in 2010, and what better opportunity than go for my 21st birthday! Booking was at 12pm, and the doors promptly opened. The waiters took our coats and then seated us at the upper level! Yay for views.

 

menus are pretty cool-they flip out like a book. can choose between a la carte and tasting/degustation menu. we opted for the tasting menu, and they give you the menu on a separate sheet/board.

drinks

teas

window view!

upper dining tower

Ginger Breeze-$17

Yes, expensive for a mocktail, but it was a really refreshing drink. Not too sweet with a good hit yet not too overpowering.

wharf

bag holder

Amuse-bouche: miso and mushroom broth, potato mash, truffle

I was delighted to hear there would be truffle on the menu, as well as some mash! I love truffle, and potato mash in a fine dining restaurant is always top notch stuff. Had some at Aria a few years ago and it was divine (but also massive side dish, so we unfortunately couldn't finish it). The truffle smelt amazing and definitely helped enhance the potato. The broth was so amazingly fragrant and full of flavour, I wish there was more than just a small bowl.

Marion, dory caviar, cultured cream, nasturtiums, white flowers

Loved the super fresh marron in this dish, knife slide right through the soft flesh. I think it's one of my first times having marron and dory caviar, and it's so good! Definitely a lot lighter in compared to salmon caviar and less 'fishy'. Beautifully presented with edible flowers.

Congee of mud crab, palm heart, egg yolk emulsion

Definitely not your average Asian congee. This one had an emulsion on top, yet the rice was still soft like congee. The actual congee broth was very flavourful, with real bits of crab (well of course, you wouldn't expect less). Best congee ever. 

XO sea

I'm not really a fan of XO, but this dish turned out to be our favourite savoury dish on the menu. The broth they poured from the pot was so fragrant I could smell it from across the table. The XO is there, but it's a good amount of spiciness which definitely lifted the whole dish. Loved the stack of fresh seafood like scallops, octopus, mussels and other. Nothing was chewy or overcooked even with the broth, and there was also a different dimension in flavour with the pancetta. Completely had every last drop of that broth.

Look at that quenelle of butter!

Bread was really soft as well, even the crust wasn't too hard. Served with butter they made and some salt.

Smoked and confit pig jowl, roasted koi, shiitake, kombu, sesame, sea scallop, milk curd, smoked broth

It was relatively small in terms of the actual plate (compared to the other dishes), but that smokiness they achieved in the broth smelt so good. There was an aftertaste in the smokiness when you tasted it, letting the mushrooms and that kombu (seaweed) and sesame garnish shine through. The pig jowl did have fat on there, but it wasn't overly fatty that you had to leave on the side of the plate. This had my favourite garnish, if only they sold that stuff in packet-I would sprinkle it on everything.

afternoon

Slow cooked duck, black miso rice, celery heart cream, black garlic, ice plant buds

My reaction when it first arrived at the table was how cute the ice plant bud was! It didn't have much flavour, but garnish was on point. Duck is one of my favourite proteins, and although it was seasoned well here, would have preferred it a bit more pink and softer when cutting into it. The black garlic was super fragrant and not 'spicy' like normal garlic. miso rice gave it a lovely texture-chewy and tad bit crunchy. The celery heart cream was that tiny bit of cream under the bottom piece of duck-would have liked more since that cream was so smooth.

Blackmore wagyu rump cap, oak grown shiitake mushrooms, golden orach, seaweed

Perfectly pink and soft wagyu meat which was juicy and seasoned well. Felt a bit weird eating a piece of fat at the end, but it's wagyu so it's supposed to be fatty. Loved how the seaweed just added a different layer visually and also became a slightly crunchy element. There was so much seaweed flavour in that piece, not salt like those ones you buy in packets. First time having orach, which is like  spinach but tastes better. These mushrooms were sooo juicy as well!

late afternoon

We took our time to eat, and most of the other tables had already left, which meant more views for us to enjoy. 

THE SNOW EGG

 

inside

Jackfruit Snow Egg

The flavours depending on the season, and I was lucky to not have a generic flavour (like raspberry) in winter. Jackfruit is kind of tropical like pineapple but not as sweet. Appeared on the table and kept taking photos until the granita (ice) started melting. A small tap with the spoon and it made the loveliest crack. The tuile was super thin-still remember the episode on MasterChef when they blow torched the tuile and it just melted into a sphere. Things like this you can't assemble beforehand, hence you're paying for the skill and the flavour. The meringue inside was so soft and not overly sweet with the tropical 'yolk' on the inside. The granita wasn't icy at all and full of flavour. Favourite dessert to date.

Chocolate Ethereal

This took the longest to plate up, waited around 15-20min, but when it came to the table, you could see why. The tempered chocolate, milk skin, and other toffee like shards were so thin and fragile. One of them was falling down when it go to our table. I'm not a massive chocolate person, but this was sooo good. Not too rich or sweet with a lovely soft nougat on top. My favourite was the milk skin which had a very interesting texture.

Cappuccino

No coffee art unfortunately, but it tasted good.

Blooming flower tea

Petit fours

Sugar cubes so cute

sunset

birthday gift-chocolate truffles

bar downstairs

dining room

hope to be back

Desserts here were my favourite! Savouries were super nice as well, but hope to be back to have another snow egg!