It can smile~~~~
Sweet smell of success :D
****
Dinner, on the other hand, was a different affair. Meet Quarter Twenty One, another one of Justin North's great achievements with its one chef hat status. It combines modern European food in its smart casual dining atmosphere. 'Feed the Soul', 'Cook for the Soul' and 'Eat for the Soul' are the motto that embrace the restaurant with its own merchandise store next door.
Complimentary bread
The bread out irresistibly warm and fluffy on the inside, yet hard and crunchy on the outside; served with whipped butter. Why are you so incredibly good?! The temptation arose so high when the waiter asked if I wanted more - "I can't say no to bread, ever," he says, and a part of me dies as he walks away with the perfectly well rounded bread. I could have asked for 10 more and have been content - but unfortunately, space had to be saved for the rest of the meal.
Smoked blue mackerel, heirloom tomato, earl grey and elderflower
Hm, this fusion was a strange entree...to me anyway. The clashes of flavours were not to my fancy. The jelly was overpowering with the sorbet being the only refreshing part. However, the smoked mackerel was really fresh - and so were the tomatoes.
Citrus glazed pork belly, West Australian marron, fig and prosciutto
This dish proved to be more promising than the previous. The citrus glazed pork belly was amazing in all its fatty goodness with just the right amount of flavour. Thin shavings of ham presented itself neatly on the plate, having a sweet more than savoury taste. The wrapped dumpling tasted much like chinese dumplings from yumcha, and the marron was cooked to perfection.
Clay baked Thirlmere poussin, confit leg croustillant, sweetcorn, tarragon and marsala
Presented in its simplistic nature, is the crispy confit leg, sweetcorn and tarragon and marsala sauce together with sliced mushrooms and baked potatoes. This dish presented itself hand in hand with the clay baked poussin below on a separate dish. A poussin is what butchers call their young chickens (I did research~). It was probably my favourite dish of the night alongside with the dessert. The textures and tastes of the main meshed well together with the corn adding a sweetened taste to the whole. The chicken was not the slightest bit dry, instead adopting a very moist texture and intermixed well with the tarragon and marsala sauce. Each flavour complimented each other well~
Clay baked young chicken vs Clay baked Thirlmere poussin
Whipped Bellingham blue, walnuts, balsamic jelly and grape sorbet
Surprise was the first thing that appeared in my mind when I scooped up the innocently disguised whipped Bellingham blue. An overwhelming taste of moldy cheese attacked my tastebuds mercilessly filling my olfactory senses with a horror I could only digest. Nah - it wasn't that bad, but seriously, if you're not a fan of blue cheese, venture far, far away. On the contrary, the nutty sponge cake and grape sorbet proved to be excellent as a pre-dessert - if only there were no blue cheese....it was so hard to scoop the sorbet and walnuts clean with blue cheese smeared on the bottom of the dish - aaaak.
Pretty lights - oh-so romantic
White chocolate, passionfruit and meringue
How beautiful is this arrangement? The freshness of passionfruit; crunchy in form mixed with the soft creme. Delicate jelly pieces are also sprinkled over the arrangement with miniature pieces of meringue. The crushed biscuit pieces were amazing, and the sorbet cleansed well.
The overall service at Quarter twenty-one was amazing. Staff were super attentive, friendly and efficient. Always coming around offering those beautiful bread rolls, and I also remember stifling a yawn once...or twice, and one of the waiters noticed and asked if I would like a tea or coffee - aww. And he even offered to take a photo for us to end the night - usually it's the other way around~ Thank you kind sir!
Hope everyone had a lovely Valentines day!
Quarter Twenty One
Level 5, Westfield Sydney,
Cnr Pitt St Mall & Market St Sydney
(Valentines day degustation at $100 pp)
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