A Friday Afternoon of Overindulgence at Quay

 

I have a 'binge' eating buddy (Mr. Pad), okay maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but the two of us will occasionally catch up over a long and sumptuous lunch. It started 3 years ago when we left the company where we met and went our separate ways. We always try to catch up once a month over Friday lunch where we ended up walking back to work feeling very full and sleepy, but with a big grin on our faces.

Crazily enough, Mr. Pad has recently joined my company and to celebrate our reunion he suggested that we should treat ourselves to Quay restaurant. We arrived at 12 noon and it was still very quiet, only us and another table at the far end corner.

The restaurant offers a contemporary and sophisticated, yet relaxed setting. Accompanied by a handful of very professional staff and knowledgeable sommelier; we knew instantly that it was going to be a very wonderful 'catch-up' lunch.

Once we have ordered our entrées and mains, we were immediately served with a selection of warm bread to choose from (wholemeal, white sourdough & unfortunately I forgot what the last one was).

Wholemeal bread with Butter

A complimentary Amuse Bouche of tuna with cucumber, apple and crème fraiche. The tuna was very soft and fresh, paired perfectly with the cucumber and apple to create a very refreshing starter.

Amuse Bouche

Sea Pearls 

Sashimi tuna, sea scallop, crab, smoked eel, octopus

Mr. Pad and I ordered the same Quay's signature entrée, the Sea Pearls. Each were delicately presented and have their own distinct taste and texture. We started with the sweet mud crab (my favourite of the four) wrapped in tapioca pearls and topped with edible silver leaf. Moving on to the second sea pearl was the smoked eel wrapped in octopus. The last two sea pearls, Sea Scallop and Sashimi Tuna were so delicate and soft, they were the perfect two to end our Sea Pearls journey.

Mains
1. Medium rare Angus Fillet on a bed of potato puree (own description)
2. Free range chicken breast cooked slowly with truffle butter, spring vegetables, young garlic cream, jamon & oloroso juices

When it comes to mains I usually go for steak or seafood but rarely chicken. However the word truffle butter caught my eyes and I made my decision there & then. Mr. Pad was kind enough to order the medium rare Angus fillet so he could share it with me. I thought I've made a huge mistake of ordering the chicken when I tried the steak. It was cooked to perfection; medium rare and delectably tender. But when I had my first bite of the chicken covered in truffle sauce, I was converted. The butter complimented the tender chicken, creating a pleasant melting sensation.

White Nectarine Snow Egg

Here comes the moment that I have been waiting for, dessert time! We ordered the two most talked about Peter Gilmore's desserts; the legendary Snow Egg and famous Eight Texture Chocolate Cake. This month's ingredient for the snow egg is white nectarine which I could taste all over the granita.We cracked open the sweet meringue and discovered the freshly made nectarine ice cream. At the base was vanilla custard made of vanilla beans, which was so fragrant. My advise is to try and scoop all the different ingredients together and have them in one mouthful.

Eight texture chocolate cake 

Featuring Amedei Chocolate

Once we made sure that there was nothing left for us to scoop from the snow egg, we moved on to the chocolate cake. To be honest by the time the waiter concluded her explanation of the eight different chocolates, Mr. Pad & I totally forgot what they were. All I could remember was that we were giggling all the way until the last spoonful. It was so rich yet surprisingly not overtly sweet. Did I taste the eight different texture? Perhaps, if I have taken more care and attention while eating it. The cake base was crunchy and I remember tasting hazelnut and caramel in the middle.

Petit Fours

To end our meal, Mr. Pad ordered a cup of coffee so we could get the complimentary petit fours. By this time we were too 'intoxicated' by the chocolate cake we paid no attention at all to the petit fours' description. The lighter colour was milk chocolate with a hint of hazelnut which tasted more profound than the dark chocolate (with crunchy-Ferrero chocolate texture).

I think it is your turn now to take on the Quay journey!