The Dining Room at Park Hyatt: Modern Australian, The Rocks (16 Nov 2012)

7 Hickson Road, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.diningroom.com.au

Dining with a harbour view

“Contemporary Australian-inspired cuisine featuring local produce and authentic flavours, paired with Australian and international wines carefully selected by our resident sommelier.”

Thanks to Maryam Awang from Park Hyatt Sydney for inviting me as a guest to sample The Dining Room menu. I opted for the 3 courses ($69) including a glass of wine which seemed reasonable considering the nice decor and harbour view stretching towards the Sydney Opera House. House wines of the day were the Eden Road Chardonnay 2011 and Shiraz 2010 which were both enjoyable to drink. The Local burrata, heirloom tomato, apple balsamic was a nice starter with fresh flavours but I really liked the Alaskan king crab cakes with golden crumbing and a decent amount of crab meat inside. More of a canape when served on its own so thought a nice dressed fennel salad on the side would have complimented well and made it more of a dish. The Freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters where from Nambucca Heads. Presented well and cleanly shucked with minimal shellage makes them a winner.

For mains the Goats curd gnocchi had a nice soft texture although I found the dish became a tad dry without any sauce to add moisture to the palate. I enjoyed the flavours of my Pan roasted ocean trout with crisp skin and nicely cooked fish and the plump Spring Bay mussels were lovely in the saffron and parsley broth. A side of Goose fat fried potatoes wasn't quite what I was expecting being cut as fries. From the description I thought they might have been small rustic cooked potatoes instead. The Mixed leaves, radish, vinaigrette was fresh with a nice dressing as hoped. The nicely presented Hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache is supposed to be one of their signature desserts although I had a soft spot for the Valrhona chocolate fondant, orange sorbet with gooey centre and flavours that worked together well as I'm a fan of orange dark chocolate.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and seating, Harbour view, Nicely presented dishes, Quality ingredients, Tempting menu, Friendly and professional service

CONS: No free street parking in the area, It'll cost you a lot more to stay at this nice hotel

MUST TRY: Alaskan King Crab cakes, Pan roasted ocean trout

VERDICT: Seems like a reasonably priced 3 course menu when you consider decor, atmosphere, harbour view and a glass of wine is included. Overall a very pleasant setting for a nice lunch.

—

Complimentary bread

Local burrata, heirloom tomato, apple balsamic — flavours work well together

Alaskan king crab cakes, watercress, lemon — decent amount of crab meat inside

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with shallot vinegar from Nambucca Heads — presented well, minimal shellage, clean shuck 

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Goats curd gnocchi, walnuts, broad bean salsa, Pecorino — nice texture and flavours although found it a tad dry without a sauce to bring it all together and keep it moist on the palate

Pan roasted ocean trout, Spring Bay mussels, saffron, parsley — crisp skin, nicely cooked fish, enjoyable flavours with mussels

WORTH TRYING :-)

Goose fat fried potatoes, garlic, parsley

Mixed leaves, radish, vinaigrette

Hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache — nice presentation and flavours

Valrhona chocolate fondant, orange sorbet — gooey centre, flavour combo works well as I liked orange chocolate

Cappuccino

Reflection shot of the day in sugar pot

Eden Road The Seedling Chardonnay 2011, Eden Road The Seedling Shiraz 2010

Lunch menu: 1 course $39, 2 course $59, 3 course $69 includes a glass of sommelier selected wine

Table setting

Seating with a view

Private seating area suitable for large groups

Table supports flat which gets a tick from me

Toilet clean and spacious

Urinals could benefit from privacy screens between though

Toilet cubicles door well sealed to the floor gets a tick for privacy

View Larger Map