Issue:
November
2011

by Mara Bivone – edited by Manos Angelakis

Sydney, Australia

Giorgio was going to Australia on business and I decided to tag along. Though I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, this is my first trip to another continent and, to be honest, I was a little nervous.

First were the extremely long flights. Since Alitalia does not fly regularly to Australia, we decided on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, a stopover there for 2 days – it’s an almost 12 hour flight after all – then Quantas to Sydney, for another 9 hour flight. Manos, my editor at LuxuryWeb Magazine, suggested staying at the Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and since he has stayed there numerous times, we decided to follow his suggestion. I was not disappointed. The Peninsula is a Grand Dame hotel with all the modern amenities one would wish, plus outstanding service. We stayed in the Marco Polo suite, which was very appropriate since we are Venetian. (see updated Peninsula Hotel information).

Sydney is a modern city with a decidedly international flavor. And the food was definitely exquisite. We had excellent French dishes, Greek dishes, Japanese dishes, and even Italian dishes, which, in my humble opinion, were very good considering how far away from Italy we were.

Our hotel, the Orient Express Hotel’s Observatory, at Millers Point, is home to Galileo (tel: 9256 2215), a French/Japanese restaurant where Haru Inukai is top toque in a five-star kitchen. In a lovely Victorian room of antiques, fine tapestries,  mahogany sideboards, crystal chandeliers, and brocade curtains, service is personable, discreet, and omnipresent without being overbearing. The food is exceptional; from the buttermilk pannacotta with honeydew melon soup, to the duck terrine studded with foie gras, to the wonderfully smoky twice-cooked rack of lamb with vegetables provençale. The wine list is quite comprehensive, though I was surprised not to see more of the better Tuscan or Piemontese red wines. It is a bit on the pricey side, but I think the food is worth every penny.

The Sydney Opera House is also the location for one of the best restaurants we experienced in our trip. Guillaume at Bennelong (tel: 9241 1999) is a contemporary French restaurant that is fortunate to have French Master Chef Guillaume Brahimi at the kitchen’s helm. He delivers an almost decadent experience, especially such dishes as roasted chestnuts wrapped in proscutto with a creamy risotto; duck confit with pommes pont neuf, duck foie gras, truffle and baby herb salad; and chicken breast underneath a crispy skin with duck foie gras. Sommelier Stuart Halliday has created an excellent wine list that pairs well with Chef Brahimi’s creations. The piece de resistance was the dreamy pistachio soufflé with griotte cherry sorbet and chocolate sauce.

You know a restaurant is very special when you revisit it the same evening, after an exquisite lunch. Bécasse (tel: 9283 3440) has a modern kitchen presided over by Justin North. His food is sophisticated, elegant, and dazzling, with technique which is apparent from the first forkful. I live in Venice and some of the best risottos are made in that city, but Mr. North’s creation of a crab risotto with curly prawn tails, was a classic. The most notable dish must be the blue eye cod, although the barramundi on a bed of duck confit was just as memorable, not to mention the poached quail egg and osetra caviar. 

Giorgio’s associates took us to a Northern Italian, Lucio’s, in Paddington, (tel: 9380 5996) that has been an institution for more than 22 years. Lucio Galletto, the host, was excited to find compatriots visiting his establishment for the first time. He offered us an excellent prosecco, as good as any served in Venice, then proceeded to recite the daily specials. Chef Logan Campbell creates some very Italian dishes; standing out were the balanced flavors of spinach tossed in a smoked garlic sauce with walnuts and fresh fig rounds, and the de-boned quail, wrapped in proscutto on a bed of pomegranate kernels, sweet corn and pasta. Remarkable is the extraordinary art collection hanging on the walls of this friendly dinning room.

Hats off to Chef Tetsuya Wakuda for creating one of the best restaurants I had the pleasure to experience in this trip, Tetsuya’s (9267 2900). He and Chef Martin Benn share the world-class French/Japanese kitchen and their creations are second to none. One interesting point is that you can bring your own wine to best pair with the dishes you order. We decided to try the 12-course dégustation menu. The gazpacho with yogurt and basil sorbet was a rather unusual offering and I will try to replicate it in my kitchen. Tartare of tuna on sushi rice with avocado was a sublime variation on a familiar theme and the confit of ocean trout left us wanting for more. The beetroot and blood-orange sorbet was another visual as well as taste stunner. It was very unfortunate that we were taken to that restaurant on the last night of our stay; I would have liked to explore that menu more in depth.

© October 2007 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.