Tetsuya’s Restaurant Sydney still as good as it gets in the Harbour City
HAVE you heard about Tetsuya’s? An impressive operation in the city? Smack bang in the middle of Kent Street with a Japanese garden and a few international gongs to its name?
Yes, sarcasm, but here in the Harbour City — governed as it is by a judicial panel of award-obsessed aficionados — the little restaurant that took on the world and won has been somewhat consigned to the footnotes.
It barely caused a ripple when, two years ago, the restaurant’s namesake and Australian fine dining’s OG Tetsuya Wakuda turned his attentions to his Singapore spin-off Waku Ghin and subsequently handed the Sydney reins to a 28-year-old from Walsh Bay dumpling joint Lotus named Kevin Mok.
Wakuda now divides his time between the two venues, and Mok is described by one staffer as the acclaimed chef’s “left and right hand”.
Perhaps indicative of this new era, we were able to snare a midweek table at Tetsuya’s with two days notice — a far cry from the days when the wait list was a fabled two or three months. This, apparently, still applies to Friday night bookings.
We bunker down for the 10-course degustation for $220 per person. The wine option costs a hefty $110 each but is worth every cent.
Fresh bread and the famous truffle, parmesan and ricotta butter — as good as they say — arrives first before a new dish of squid ink and cauliflower mousse.
Served inside an eggshell and topped with egg dust and Yarra Valley salmon roe, it’s the perfect start, a silky mix of flavours.
Next is a Wakuda classic; soy poached tuna served atop hibachi-roasted eggplant, which comes sprinkled in coastal succulents and swimming in a dressing of olive oil, soy, ginger, sake and mirin.
Gentle but bold — the fish sings, as does the accompanying wine; a premium Junmai Ginjo sake which we’re told is the highest grade available.
Even better is the New Zealand scampi tail served in a thick puddle of frozen egg yolk and topped with slivers of seaweed and a hefty dollop of dashi and Avruga caviar.
Talk about the best the ocean has to offer. And it gets better; a portion of grilled Glacier 51 Toothfish, perched on a bed of spanner crab nipper flesh and corn and miso puree is served up in a glorious yellow puddle of creamy crustacean emulsion.
Mok later talks me through how the emulsion is made and it’s enough to make a home cook turf every pan in the house.
Duck breast, cooked rare to medium, is a modern take on classic duck à l’Orange and served in a simple liquor of lemon and orange juice and olive oil, topped with braised witlof and Tasmanian pepper berries — the latter which adds some lovely, subtle heat.
The Wagyu beef tenderloin, tender enough to eat with an oyster fork, is pan-seared and served with a silky wasabi mustard and heaps of peppery land and radish cress.
And of course the famous Tetsuya’s confit of trout which is possibly a little too big in size given the volume of food over the course of the night.
Then desserts, of which there are two; the best is the Spanish melon with salted milk ice cream served with a granita of rhubarb and pineapple — a sensational mix of bitter, sweet, salty and citrus that, after the palate gymnastics of the night, is like valium for the mouth.
‘Tets’ may not be as trendy as it once was. It might not have a chef that swaggers through the place or tattooed waiters. People say; “I haven’t been there in years’.
But aside from the price I can’t see why. It’s still as good as it gets.
All visits are paid for and visits unannounced
TETSUYA’S
Score 9.5/10
Address 529 Kent Street, Sydney
Phone 02 9267 2900
Style Japanese/French
Open Tuesday to Friday: Dinner from 5.30pm
Saturday: Lunch (from midday) and dinner (from 6.30pm)
Highlight The scampi. And the flawless service.
Lowlight It’s a four-hour meal. Choose your companion wisely.
Like this, then try these
●Sepia, CBD.
●Sokyo, The Star.
●Flying Fish, Pyrmont.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph, Amy Harris, 30th August 2015
Originally published as: Tetsuya’s Restaurant Sydney still as good as it gets in the Harbour City
