Est.

Celebrating special occasions is always a good excuse to go fine dining. Celebrated 2 years with my fiancé here at Est. Originally I wanted to do a degustation, or 4 course dinner, but with train delays after work, only had time for 3 courses. Looking at the menu, the second entree choices weren't that exciting either. I've been wanting to come here for a while now, and although I don't blog about food often anymore, I guess fine dining takes a priority when blogging (in between organising a wedding etc).

 

One of the last to leave

Located a level above the Establishment bar where it is super loud, you arrive at this restaurant which is a stark contrast. The sound proofing they used is on point, because you wouldn't even know it's a very loud bar right under you. They have a champagne, wine and whisky/rum cart around the restaurant, but didn't opt for any drinks (not a student anymore, but as a new grad with minimal savings, I can't afford to drink when going out). Three courses were $135pp.

homemade sourdough

The crust was crunchy and a little bit sweet, which actually paired well with the butter. A simple non flavoured butter, which melted straight away as the bread still had steam coming out. Halfway through the dinner I asked them to clean the bread crumbs from the crust, but they misheard and thought I asked for another bread, so we got another bread. This bread was pretty big to start with, and so I was already starting to get full.

entrees

The drink in the top right was a cocktail of lychee and other fruity flavours, but tbh, for around $20, it just tasted like pineapple juice with some edible flowers. The lychee flavour was very subtle. It was nice to have a sweet drink to balance the savoury dishes.

coal grilled marron, salt and vinegar cabbage, laver, lardo dumpling

dumpling as a side dish

First time having a side dish accompaniment to an entree. The marron was cooked to perfection and very fresh. Loved the texture of the cabbage since it gave it a crunch and not too vinergry. The laver helped season the dish a bit more. Not sure what the purpose of the dumpling was though, but it had some peas and a tiny bit of prawn was a clear consommé for more seafood flavour.

handpicked crab, cavolo nero, hazelnut, horseradish, trout roe, lemon jam

There was a decent amount of crab which wasn't overpowered by the different elements on the plate. The lemon jam helped give it a bit of creaminess and lightness, hazelnut and cavolo nero (Italian kale) for some crunch, and trout roe for some more flavour. The horseradish wasn't too strong either. 

Lamb loin and belly, smoked broccoli, young garlic, curd, black olive

Lamb was cooked medium rare wasn't chewy. Loved the garlic sauce, probs the best I've had, and balanced well with the black olives. You could definitely smell smokiness from the broccoli but didn't taste like you were eating charcoal.

Rose veal, eggplant, green shallot, bone marrow, toasted milk, yeast

Veal was also cooked to medium rare. The sauce was a bit more heavy and saltier in this one, probably from the bone marrow. The toasted milk on top was a cute addition and a fun bit of crunch.

dessert

raspberry vacherin, buffalo curd, hibiscus, kaffir lime, raspberry sorbet

inside

Such a fun dessert to eat, you smash the vacherin meringue and inside it has raspberry bits, sauce, and the buffalo curd. Would have been nice to have more sorbet and curd to cut through the sweetness of the meringue and sauce. Meringue was light and crunchy.

baked apple, puff pastry, artichoke, miso caramel ice cream

For the second dessert, wasn't sure which one to pick, since I didn't want a chocolate dessert. This was the most popular one after the chocolate dessert. The puff pastry was super light and loved the bits of apple inside. The artichoke added a bit of a different dimension to it helping to cut back the sweetness. The ice cream only had a subtle hint of miso flavour. I would've liked more, but I guess miso is a strong flavour, and anymore would be too overpowering.

Complimentary special occasion chocolate cake

Cute dark chocolate mousse cake with a candle. This was quite dense so definitely shareable even though it was small.

petit fours: beignet and dark chocolate + white chocolate truffles

The beignet were served warm and very light and fluffy. The dark chocolate had a good bitterness to it, so went well with the sweet white choc. Wasn't expecting petit fours for a 3 course meal, so it was a nice little treat afterwards. We were so full by the end of the night. Lucky didn't end up getting 4 courses or the degustation. I guess we could've eaten more courses, just probably cut back on the complimentary bread (but bread was so nice, and it wouldn't make sense to not eat it). Overall, it was a nice dinner, but nothing mind blowing. I think these days I'm easily pleased with all food, since I've travelled to both Europe and America only in the past year, Asia the year before, and have conquered a lot of Sydney top restaurants. It just takes something extra for a dish to be mind blowing or create flavours never heard of before.

Wild Sage

I normally figure out where I want to eat beforehand, but on this night spontaneously decide to come here to also try to avoid the rain. This new building in Barangaroo was built within months, since my bus goes past it every morning, and you can see the progress everyday. It's a nice half indoor/outdoor sort of restaurant, although not all their outdoor seating is fully covered so some of it gets wet outside. I love the floor to ceiling windows though since it allows natural light into the restaurant. Inside there aren't many seats, but they were kind enough to give us a bigger corner table.

food spread

One for the lady: Irresistable & Addictive. Rose petal infused vodka, pear brandy & pomegranate fused with fresh lime & vanilla. Served straight up in a classy martini glass-$18

I hardly ever order drinks when I eat out, apart from coffees, but alcohol is expensive so I normally don't order it. The cocktails in photos looked too pretty to pass this time round, so decided to share this drink. It was actually really delicious, it had a bit of sweetness from the fruits and the floral flavour wasn't too overpowering, yet you could still taste the vodka in it. Sometimes cocktails just taste like cocktails or juices, and you think if they even put any alcohol in it.

Pork belly lollipops with cabbage, daikon, pickled carrots, sesame seeds, shallots, chilli aioli-$16 

I love the sound of this on paper and thought it was very cute. You get 2 pieces per stick, so it is pricey, but so delicious. I don't normally eat the fat of pork belly at home, but I do if I eat out. The skin was crunchy and had decent chunks of meet. The sauce was a nice sticky yet not too sweet, and the chilli aioli helped give a mild kick to it. 

Slow cooked ox cheek with guinness beer, pickled carrot, dikon, pomegranate, crispy shallots, horseradish-$28

inside

The ox cheek was cooked perfectly, and split really easily with a knife. It looks small but once you start digging in, it's pretty filling. Couldn't really taste the guinness beer since all the alcohol was probably cooked off already. The pickled carrots and other veggies helped to keep this dish light.

Black chicken: pepper, lemon grass, tamari & coriander chicken with green mango cabbage salad-$28

This sounded cool on paper but was more on the average side. I was thinking of it being really black like charcoal, but I guess the black is from the paper. Flavour wise, the chicken wasn't overly seasoned and cooked well. This dish was really fresh, but the salad does have quite a lot of acidity to it, so more of an acquired tasted.

open kitchen

Sepia

Birthdays are the perfect excuse to treat yourself and go for something fancy. After dreaming of going to Quay for years and accomplished that last year, I decided to pick Sepia for a fine dining birthday lunch, since Sepia plans to close before the end of next year. A mix of Modern Australian with Japanese, tucked away in a not so busy part of the CBD. All my savings literally go to food, but it was worth it. Lunch bookings are easy to get, dinner bookings need to be made at least a month in advance. or more if Friday/Saturday booking. 

Saw this on MasterChef 2 years ago, and knew I had to try it before they closed. Let's take a momonet to appreciate the beauty in this.

Lunch on Saturdays only offer the 9 course degustation at $210pp, which you may think it's cheaper than Quay, but the portions are even smaller, and they didn't offer petit fours and coffee/tea or a birthday gift/treat so price wise it's about the same. There's also no views here (only construction outside), so personally I think Quay is more 'value for money.' 

It was a blind tasting, meaning they don't give you a menu of what you're eating until after the whole meal has finished. The waiter would only introduce the dish once it arrives. Even though there's the fun element of surprise since some dishes and flavours vary each day, I still prefer having a menu so I know what I'm eating rather than remembering what the waiter said...

They have a very extensive drinks menu. From different wine pairings, to wine and other alcohol by the glasses, a separate tea pairing and tea menu, then a cocktail and mocktail menu. Each plate comes with matched cutlery to use for the specific food. Service was attentive throughout the meal. When you got up, they would fold the napkin neatly, or open the door once you go to the bathroom (which was a bit further along a hallway behind the restaurant).

Ninth Day: jasmine tea, ginger, honey, lemon-$24

It is very expensive for a mocktail, most pricey one I've bought, even when compared to overseas. The tea was subtle and I was expecting more ginger in it. It wasn't bursting with flavour which was a tad disappointing. The glass itself was black, initially I thought what did they add to it, and why the black wasn't mixing into the drink.

Amuse bouche: Kingfish, dashi cream, water chestnut, nori, dashi jelly (front)

Tempura oba, smoked scarlet prawn, shell powder 

They were sooo cute in their little dishes. Although the seaweed one was small and not much kingfish, the flavours were clean and refreshing. The tempura oba had a really good crunch even after taking heaps of photos. Slight smokiness of some crustacens with good dollops of the sauce helped elevate the flavours of the oba.

1-Tuna, egg yolk, fromage blanc, unpasteurised soy sauce, wasabi

My cousin said Sepia's dishes were on the saltier side of things. In hindsight, I only thought this was the saltiest. As you bit into the nice wrapped parcel of fresh tuna, the small egg bursted with the yolk and soy sauce. I feel that the unpasteurised soy sauce really concentrated to saltiness in it. The wasbi had the right amount of heat (I normally hate wasabi), and the light cheese just tied everything together. Couldn't take a photo of the inside since this was more of a one bite dish.

a bit of theatre with some sprinkle of pea and horseradish in liquid nitrogen

smoke

2-Spanner crab, sake vinegar jelly, brown butter emulsion, pea and horseradish

Who doesn't like a bit of theatre? Pleasantly surprised when I saw of liquid nitrogen, and from that they sprinkled some pea and horse radish. There was a super slight acitcity from the really clear jelly where you can see the crab inside. Decent chunks of fresh crab, which balanced really well with the creamy brown butter emulsion which was light and and not overly salty, and the dusting of peas and horseradish, and just overall a really refreshing dish.

Butter and Japanese milk bread

perfect sphere

Complimentary Japanese milk bread was available (ended up requesting a second roll since it was that good). It was warm and fresh from the oven, and sprung back to shape when you pressed it. It had a lovely milkiness in it and super soft. The butter was surprisingly smooth as well, was worried it would roll out whilst I cut through it. The bits on salt on top was needed since the butter itself was unsalted. Didn't end up using much butter since the bread itself was amazing. Haven't found anything like that in Asian bakeries (normally you press them and they just completely squish).

3-Charcoal grilled black lip abalone, daikon, lard, mushroom soy butter, cabbage wakeme oil

inside

I think if I had to choose, this would be my favourite savoury course. Decent sized serving of thinly sliced abalone which were easy to bite through and not chewy. The mushroom flavoured butter really added a good depth of flavour to it. There was a cute piece of daikon at the bottom to help mop up the sauce. Again, the cabbage on top dressed in the wakame oil helped keep this dish from being overly rich.

loving that marble plate detail

4-Seared uni, smoked bone marrow, cauliflower, yuzu cosh, toasted milk bread, citrus soy sobacha

Yes it's tiny, but it's packed with loads of stuff inside. Again, another one bite dish accompanied by surprisingly light weight chopsticks use. Loved the sea urchin which gave a good amount of creaminess in your mouth, with more creamy cauli inside, all stacked on a nicely toasted ilk bread for some crunch. Couldn't really taste the tea in this since the sea urchin itself was bursting with flavour.

5-Jerusalem artichoke, miso, Tasmanian truffle

inside

The prettiest truffle ever! Looks like a truffle flower (: The main difference I noticed was that Tas truffle is a lighter and more subtle flavour and holds together a bit more compared to WA truffles. I like my truffle flavour, so eating this truffle by itself I thought it wasn't fragrant enough. Once you eat the truffle with the deep fried artichoke filled with miso, the truffle really boosted the whole flavour of the dish. I think if you had the other truffle it would be way too dominating, so this type and amount of truffle was perfect. Loved the crunchiness of the artichoke containing the miso.

knife=red meat next!

Plate 1

Plate 2

6-Roasted Aylesbury duck breast, lemon aspen, sheep yoghurt, mulberry vinegar, sorrel (Plate 3)

Duck is one of my favourite proteins, so I was super excited when this was on the menu. Everything was perfect up until this point. When the waiter came to our table he started to put the dishes down and started going through what it was, then in the middle he stopped, picked it up and returned back to the kitchen. Then he came again, and we realised the kitchen had forgotten the dollops of sheep yoghurt. and from going back and forth, some of the vinegar merged with the yoghurt and didn't look as pretty. I started cutting through my duck, and found it quite hard to cut through even though it still looked nice and pink. Had a bite of it then blood started to seep out, which is a big NO for a place of this standard. I called the waitress over and she said they normally cook it medium-rare to medium and didn't apologise. At home we just re-fry or re-bake it and couldn't care less, just not in this situation. Plate 2 was perfectly fine. I wasn't planning to return the dish but ended up giving it back. They ended up giving me a new dish, with the duck a bit pinker than plate 2, but luckily not over cooked. I told them it wasn't rested enough. I know my theory behind cooking, I just can't cook. They also asked if I wanted my beef well done-well ofc not, that would ruin the dish. I love my red meat pink, but not when some blood juices start coming out...

Ok, moving on to eating the duck. There was a slight crispy in the skin, and fat was rendered down well (even though you can see a slight layer of fat). Duck was really lean and moist. I especially loved the mulberry vinegar which gave it some acidic sweetness, the yogurt dollops created a creamy yet refreshing element on this dish.

7-Charcoal grilled David Blackmore wagyu, roasted onion and mustard shiitake mushroom shiso

Really high quality wagyu, although my piece had a sinewy/tendony bit, so I was initiialy struggling to cut through my beef. it was a tiny piece of beef, and I've had more 'melt in your mouth' beef before, so this dish didn't quite make it to my best beef/savoury dishes of all time. It was cooked to a medium-rare,  and did retain the softness that comes with beef of this high quality.b The mushrooms were so juicy, and loved the flavour of the sauce. The branch elevated the presentation. It was made from scooping out the top of the sauce once they reduced it, then piped into the shape was kind of like eating a hard yet chewy bit of concentrated sauce. I think most people didn't eat it, but I did since it was an interesting concept.

8-Blueberry, coconut, beetroot, black olive, violet

A well thought out palate cleanser/pre-dessert. If I was to pick a favourite yoghurt, this would be it. Generously topped with sweet, fresh blueberries dressed in a bit of beetroot juice, and good amount of crunch from the crumb of coconut gave it a nice crunchy element. Couldn't really taste the black olive, since I think they mixed it with the crumb, but that's ok since I'm not a massive fan of olives. Love the vibrant purple in the violet, adding a small bitter element. Purple is my favourite colour, and there was so much purple in this dish!

There was a choice of desserts on the menu, so we opted for one of each. I've been waiting 2 years to try this chocolate forest. Although the original which featured on MC was black forest flabvoured, I would have top say this is quite close to those flavours, as the other seasonal flavours which this dish can be made into are even more different. This one also looks similar to the original colourwise, and I prefer black berry over cherry sorbet, so it all works out. You really do appreciate the dish even more after watching it being made on TV.

'Happy Birthday' 

9-Winter chocolate forest: soft chocolate, hazelnut and almond, osmanthus and yellow box honey cream, blackberry sorbet, lemonade fruit jellies, green tea, licorice, chocolate twigs, bronze fennel, native violets

AMAZING. So many elements and textures, but everything worked together and took you on an adventure along a forest floor, where the inspiration of this dish came from. A perfectly quenelled sorbet full of blackberry flavour, and didn't melt that quickly which was a plus. Tempered chocolate twigs which snapped, hazelnut and almond gave it some crunch. The cream inside added more depth to it without being rich. Green tea sprinkled like moss and liquorice pieces covered in the crumb acted as rocks. I don't like normal liquorice, but wouldn't mind having endless buts of this one. Not sure what the lemonade fruit jellies is supposed to be, and flavour was a bit subtle on that one. Loved the bronze fennel, reminded me of powdered snow on trees, and of course, the ever-loveable edible flowers.

9-Chocolate, caramelised apple cream, artichoke, blackcurrant, cocoa nib, pecan brittle

inside

Option 2 was a chocolate dessert generously dusted with gold powdered pecan brittle. The dome was a super thin piece of tempered chocolate, holding some apple cream inside. There was also a nice blackberry gel inside. Loved the crunchy cocao nib for some bitterness. The artichoke was more hidden amongst the brittle. This was nice, but not amazing.

Japanese stones (on the secret menu): smooth cocoa butter shell with soft centres (passionfruit, chocolate, berry, salted caramel w/ white choc), rimed in green tea moss, yuzu jelly and crystallised sesame seed sand-$40

Part of the secret menu, where Chef Martin Benn normally reserved for VIPs/family and friends. I heard someone else order it, and thought why not, since I probably won't come back here again. $40 for 9 bite sized stones is pricey (hence why I didn't end up getting a birthday cake this year, even though I've been consistent from like the age of 1), but once you see the process of making it, you know where you're money is going. The flavoured fruit gel-like centres are freezes in liquid nitrogen, before dipping into the cocoa butter, luckily they weren't really sweet, was worried it'll be like eating a ton of overly sweet white choc. Each shell had a nice crack to it.

Each bite was a nice surprise. The green tea as moss could have had more flavour. Loved the slight acidity from the yuzu jelly acting as a pond, and that sesame sand gave things a nice crunch. It really did look like Japanese stones-presentation once again on point.

pond of jelly inside

berry

Tasted like the blackberry flavours from the other dessert, my favourite flavour out of them. 3 of the stones was this flavour.

salted caramel w/ white choc

Didn't manage to try this one unfortunately, since it's a guessing game of what surprise flavour you have, and seeing 9 stones, thought at least we would get 2 of each flavour. Apparently this wasn't too sweet but could have been more salted.

passionfruit

You get the initial acidity then sweet after taste. Also had 3 stones of this flavour.

chocolate

These were the smaller sized stones. Really smooth dark choc inside.

yay candle! 

dessert! <3

wine room

We were seated next to the wine room/fridge storage, and a quick glance inside, and wow, so many different wines from the floor to the ceiling.

bar

lounge

entrance

At the end of our meal, our coats were waiting for us at the doorway.

until next time :)

A really enjoyable meal, and highly recommend to try before they shut their doors.

Thanks for reading my essay food review!

(P.S still an amateur photographer, so any food photo taking tips are appreciated haha. Most of the time I get too excited about the food, and then realised the photo wasn't that great)