The Society’s November lunch was held in a popular Japanese restaurant on the lower North Shore of Sydney. We were treated to a banquet menu that featured a lot of delicious, artfully prepared fresh food.
There was a great turn out of members for this lunch (34) with one guest attending. It was good to see some of the long term members able to come along and enjoy the lunch.
The aperitif was a Kir Royale – the Creme de Chassis was mixed with a Giusti ‘Asolo’ Prosecco. Some members found this aperitif too sweet whilst others enjoyed it.
To get us into the Japanese theme we started with steamed Edamame.
Edamame
The next two courses, whilst both being Salmon, were very different.
Salmon Carpaccio with truffle oil and Sashimi Tacos
Salmon Carpaccio
Sashimi Tacos
The Carpaccio Salmon was very fresh produce with a hint of truffle and presented beautifully. The Sashimi Tacos once again had very fresh produce cut to the required size and served on crisp taco shells. Both dishes were topped with Salmon Pearls and overall were rated excellent.
The next two courses were Grilled Scallops and Tempura Prawns.
Grilled Scallops
Tempura Prawns
The grilled scallops were cooked to the correct timing to remain tender and were served with shallots and ginger. Whilst the tempura prawn had been over-battered ie too much batter, the prawn was fresh and tender with a crisp batter. The sauce was a good tasty accompaniment.
To finish the entree section we had Duck dumplings and a Lobster Spicy volcano roll of sushi
The Duck Dumpling was a Gyoza filled with robust duck meat and served with a sauce with a hint of chilli that matched well.
The Lobster Spicy Roll showed top marks for presentation with a small lobster shell at the end of the long serving platter. The platter contained Sushi with lobster meat and a chilli hot spicy filling along with a crunchy texture. This dish was rated Excellent and scored the most marks.
The mains were Grilled fish of the day which was Orange Roughy and grilled Wagyu Steak with two different dipping sauces and a bowl of salt.
Grilled Orange Roughy
Grilled Wagyu
The Orange Roughy is a good eating fish but it was considered the sauce was too sweet.
The Wagyu steak was tender and tasty with sauces that complemented but the bowl of salt was not required.
The white wine was a 2017 Kilikanoon Golden Hillside Riesling. The comments on this wine ranged from too sweet to the ability to detect a slight kerosene flavour which was too strong for the delicate Japanese sauces.
The red wine was a 2015 Tapanappa Flerieu Pinot Noir which was superb and matched with most of the food courses.
General comments received were that the restaurant was extremely noisy due to the fact we were cramped onto two tables and the restaurant staff should have spread us out more to accommodate all the restaurant that was left empty. This would have made for a more comfortable lunch.
A well balanced meal with good delicate flavours.
Outstanding food, loved it and every dish looked so appetising and did not disappoint.
Some members enjoyed the meal enough to return sometime in the future.
Sydney Ladies Wine & Food Society 