Degustation numero un

One thing Sydney restaurants appear obsessed with are "degustation" tasting menus. Every posh place does one, and is weird to me not only due to its weird name (don't think it's used in the UK or the States, not sure about France?), but also their prevalence. Jimmy Liks and Billy Kwongs both do one apparently, somehow feels a bit wrong for Asian restaurants to have tasting menus.

But anyway, my first one was hosted by the lovely Damian, who is determined to show me how good Sydney food is. So off we (along with Jess) trekked to Balzac, situated in a pretty limestone building in Randwick, which has had 2 hats consistently for the last few years.

Here is the full 7 course menu (I forgot to take pics of the canape and pre-dessert - gah!)


1. Amuse bouche of pumpkin soup with something on top which I can't remember

2. Salmon Gravlax with Dill Sauce and Baby Herbs
With 2006 Nigl 'Gartling' Gruner Veltliner - Kremstal, Austria

3. Sea Mullet with Buckwheat Crepe, Smoked Eel, Snails and Kale
With 2006 Artazuri Garnacha Rosado - Navarra, Spain

4. Terrine of Quail and Girolles, Roast Breast, Pickled Carrots and Bois Bourdan
With 2005 Tokar Pinot Noir - Yarra Valley, VIC

5. Veal Scotch with a Saute of Sweetbreads, Mushrooms and Lentils, White Onion Puree and Red Wine Jus
Wtih 2005 Minervois 'La Bastide' Chateau Coupe Roses - Languedoc, France

6. Vanilla Pannacotta with Elderflower Jelly

7. Chocolate Terrine with Popcorn Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce
With 2005 Les Clos de Paulilles Banyuls - Roussillon, France

Et le verdict? Well, first of all, extremely good value - the 7 courses with 5 matching wines at $130 is pretty good, each course very well crafted so not sure how they are making any margins on it. A similar meal in London would be £130 at least.

I was extremely impressed by the first two courses. The salmon had great texture from the potato sticks on top, richness of the fish balanced by some pickled onions and radishes. The sea mullet's highlight was the crepe - extremely small, extremely intense with smoked eel and snails both coming out.

From there though, everything else was a bit meh, in that it felt like every other course I'd eaten before somewhere. The veal in particular was quite disappointing.

All in all though, would probably come back! The service was very graceful, particularly as our table conversation quickly went downhill after the first few glasses of vino.