Tetsuya's

My sister and I had the delight of spending a rainy afternoon at Tetsuya’s last Saturday.   We chose to have the degustation menu, which consisted of ten different courses.  Little did we know what an unexpected treat we were in for. 

The heritage-listed restaurant premises are stylish but very low key.  The north side of the dining room is made up of glass windows that overlook a peaceful Japanese style garden including a little waterfall.  The atmosphere is very tranquil.

We were served throughout the meal by different waiters that explained each of the dishes before serving it.  They were knowledgeable, polite and most importantly, unobtrusive. 

This is a listing of the courses -

Chestnut Soup

Steamed Tofu Custard with Shiitake Mushroom

Terrine of Summer Vegetables

Smoked Ox-Heart Tomato with Aged Chardonnay Vinaigrette

Warm Autumn Vegetables with Konnyaku

Beetroot Risotto with Blood Orange Marmalade

Salt-Roasted Sweet Potato with Macadamia Cream and Spinach

Pickled King Oyster Mushroom with Polenta

Pear Sorbet (palate cleanser)

Apple Granita with Basil Jelly

Soy Chocolate Ice Cream with Compressed Strawberries

Petit Fours

Apart from the warm autumn vegetables and the petit fours, I have tasted nothing like the other dishes.  While the ingredients were familiar, they were combined in unique ways or in new textures that gave them a whole new life.  Take the humble tomato.  The Smoked Ox-Heart Tomato dish had layers and layers of compressed smoked tomato – it was so tender and flavourful that it hands-down my favourite.   The basil jelly also worked surprisingly well with the apple. 

 

If there is any gripe, and it is a small one, it is that I would have liked one of the desserts to be different from the ice-cream/sorbet type.  That, or I would have exchanged on of the savoury dishes for an additional dessert. 

But overall, I hope to visit again and see what other delicious and interesting ways this restuarant can prepare plant-based foods.