529 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.tetsuyas.com
My first degustation
Degustation ($180) + Wine ($75) + Oysters ($9) = $264
In 2006 Tetsuya's was listed as the 5th best restaurant in the world by The S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants and during that time I had the chance to dine there as a special 30th birthday for my brother with five other friends. It was my first ever degustation and I still compare my dining and food experience to all other degustations I have. I think it was also the first time I photographed my food except for those times I travelled overseas and photographed weird and wonderful dishes because they were so different. I didn't have a food blog at the time but its been one of the most memorable meals I've had to date because of its simplicity in presentation, interesting flavours that challenged my palate and was one of the most expensive meals I'd ever had at $264 (excluding tip). Gee does anyone else squirm when they still feel they need to tip on top of an already expensive meal?
I fondly remember the expensive oysters ($9 each) which to this date have been one of the best oysters I've tried. The dressing was so delicious and enhanced the oyster so well — and it's great you can now buy it in a bottle too, but freshly made is even better. The oysters at Muoi's Feast in Byron Bay come a very close second for me but a lot cheaper. The signature dish at the time of Ocean trout kelp radish was sublimely soft and melt in your mouth. The delicate Crab ravioli was presented so beautifully — I wanted a whole plate of them. For dessert the Beetroot sorbet played with my mind and at first I thought how could beetroot work as a dessert but it was lovely. Tetsuya's was a turning point for me to realise there was more to life than 'meat and three veg' and my taste buds were up for the challenge.
In 2010 it's now ranked 38th and I hope to return one day after perhaps trying a few other restaurants that have been in the food media and blogging community limelight like Quay, Marque and Sepia.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting and innovative dishes, Oysters with Tetsuya's dressing, Nice dish presentation, Simple yet effective flavours
CONS: Very expensive, I remember sheets of paper on the table
MUST TRY: Oysters and revisiting one day
—
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
Tea, hot chocolate and chocolates
15 comments:
Do you think it was worth the money?
I've always wanted to try a degustation - But I'm a fussy eater so I don't think it'd work too well for me.
And boo you, boo!
I still haven't done a degustation. VERY jealous, especially at Tetsuya's!
Looks AMAZING!
WOW this meal is older than my blog! Bravo! Food looks good though.
Ooooo!!! I haven't been there for years now, that degustation looks great!
I went last year for my friend's 30th :) It was expensive but SO worth it! especially when you compare it to other places that offer degustation meals for $150+ for another $50 you can pretty much dine at Tetsuya and get way more food and value :) yum yum. I would love to go again!
This is such an old review, how in the world?
I'll be trying a degustation one of these days.
I agree with Iron Chef Shellie and Sharon looks amazing and you don't mind paying top dollar when the quality food and service is being delivered...
I am afraid it was way out of my price range and I will never have an oppurtunity to dine there :( Perhaps if I stick to mee goreng and stop blogging for a month, I'll justify the price tag. But until then...
finally flipping out your old unblogged posts eh XD. I have things dated back from 4 months ago but 4 years...LOL nice one simon :P
hi richard, i thought it was very expensive but i enjoyed to very much so i guess it was worth it. it was one of those once in a lifetime things to do as a special occasion to justify the money. can't see myself doing it very often though or i'd be broke :-)
hi boo, it was one of those places in the back of my mind that was a SIMON FAVOURITE to recommend so i had to add it to my blog at some time. i wanted to revisit more recently but just haven't had the chance :-(
hi kristy, degustation aren't particularly good for fussy eaters but i'm sure they'd be many things that you might like.
hi iron chef shellie, degustations seems to be more popular these days with all the fine dining restaurants. although they are generally very expensive as well.
hi billy, hehe. actually the photos i took way back then weren't too good so it's taken me this long to work out how to retouch them so they look half decent and have respect for the food.
hi sarah, i really want to revisit one day but there's so many other places i haven't tried as yet.
hi sharon, as long as you don't think about the price it's worth it. i did remember they were quite generous with the wine which was great. got pretty tipsy pretty quickly :-)
hi laura, i think this review falls under places i've always wanted to record and recommend but never had a blog at the time to do it. better late than never as they say :-)
hi albury accommodation, it's great when top dollar meals deliver on their high expectations.
hi amy, never say never. one day it'll happen. if you pick a date and then set aside $10 a week for the degustation you'll be OK.
hi sugarpuffi, hehe i guess it's an oldie but a goodie. most of my photos and reviews now are about 7 months back logged and I have about 180 places and events i'd like to blog and share. it ain't going to happen overnight though :-(
If reading this post and looking at the those photos doesn't make you want to eat food than I don't know what will... YUM YUM
hi melbourne restaurant, thanks for stopping by. hope you get to try Tetsuya one day :-)
Hey Simon, firstly, I've been tossing up whether to go to Tetsuya's or the recently more hyped Quay if I visit Sydney later in the year?
Secondly, your photos from 4 years ago are ten times better than mine. I used to use my mobile phone. Looking back, I get a laugh out of it.
hi thanh7580, i think you should go to both if you have the time and more importantly the money. if you don't think about the money too much i think they're both worth it. hehe you're too kind about the photos. i owe it to photoshop retouching :-) mobile phones are pretty bad for photos so i try to avoid at all costs. the only time i've used my mobile is when i couldn't take it into the law courts building due to their security http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/10/buena-vista-cafe-hidden-lunch-spot-with.html but check it out if you have time for some nice views. the foods nothing special though.
Post a Comment