Beetroot Desserts

Beetroot lollipop with fizzy sherbert powder, beetroot chocolate brownie with beetroot ice cream, beetroot & chocolate macaron

Sorry guys, no Daring Baker's challenge from me this month. One reason is because I've been super busy experimenting in the kitchen in preparation for The Food Blogger's Battle Royale Cook off! Which was as much fun as it sounds, believe me. My challenge was to come up with some sort of crazy dessert that incorporated some form of vegetable in the dish. So I was basically shitting myself, knowing what amazing cooks and bakers the other bloggers are, I knew they would come up with something mind-blowing. My main aim was to make something that wasn't inedible. And it had to be fun!

So what did I come up with? After a week of experimenting, burning, hair-pulling, screaming, breaking and spilling I ended up with this: a trio of beetroot. Basically a beetroot tasting plate, which included: a beetroot & chocolate macaron; beetroot chocolate brownie with beetroot ice cream; and a beetroot lollipop with fizzy sherbert powder. I immediately prayed that no one at the party had an intense hatred of beetroot.

I decided nearly straight away that I wanted to do a hard candy lollipop, no matter what vegetable I was using. I've been obsessed with making hard candy recently, and was excited to try it after getting my hands on a bottle of light corn syrup. Yeah yeah, I know corn syrup is terribly unhealthy, but I've never used it before and it's not the same without it in a lollipop. And I had to do the fizzy sherbert powder with it, because I've always loved how fun it is to dip a lollipop into that tingly, fizzy powder that will lead to a HUGE sugar high.

The main reason I ended up choosing beetroot was because of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I've always been intrigued by the idea of using beetroot in a dessert ever since I saw an episode of River Cottage where he used it in about 5 different desserts. And though I wasn't convinced the flavour of beetroot necessarily belonged in a sweet dish, I was in love with the gorgeous colour it would make everything. In particular, the colour of my beetroot ice cream made me clap my hands with glee.

Yes the ice cream was unmistakably beetroot. There was the intense colour and an equally intense flavour from the pureed beetroot. I roasted my beetroot until it was super tender in the hopes that it would lessen the strong, earthy flavour and help sweeten it, but even then I found the flavour in the ice cream a little bit much for me. But in small amounts, I think it worked well with the fudgy, crisp-topped brownie. The brownie only had a very subtle flavour from the beetroot but it did give it a nice red tinge, almost like a red velvet cake, and it stayed nice, moist and crumbly. I did have some disasters with the ice cream, since I don't have a machine, so it was frozen in a container and taken out to be churned though my food processor many times. Somehow it turned out surprisingly smooth (I think mostly thanks to the cream and glucose) and freakishly held its shape after being spooned on top of the brownie, which was unsettling...but great for photos!

But I think my favourite part, and the most fun element of the dish was definitely the lollipop with the sherbert powder. The lollipop itself didn't taste much of beetroot (which may have been a good thing), so I added a little sploge of beetroot puree underneath. It took about three attempts to get the lollipops right, since I had a lot of issues with the candy caramelising and tasting of burnt toffee. But miraculously, my final batch worked well, and my favourite $2 IKEA heart shaped silicon ice cube trays worked perfectly as candy moulds! The fizzy sherbert powder was surprisingly easy to make and brought back many childhood memories :)

I had my usual dramas with the macarons. It was my first time trying out chocolate shells, which inevitably led to a batch of failed macarons with no feet (which I then forgot about and set fire to, which set off the smoke alarm late at night, oops). The ones I ended up with were a little undercooked but had okay feet. I had trouble figuring out how to make the ganache beetrooty, but ended up going with a white chocolate ganache and added some beetroot puree. Unfortunately the white chocolate was a little overpowering so you couldn't tell it was beetroot except for the colour, and I think the mixture may have split in the fridge, but hopefully it wasn't too obvious in the finished macarons. So does beetroot work well in a dessert? Wellll, I guess in the context of our cook-off challenge it was okay but I don't think I would eat the ice cream on its own. Perhaps the ice cream might work well in some sort of savoury dish? But the brownie was pretty tasty, if I didn't see the beetroot go into the mixture I might not have guessed it and I can't stop eating the lollipops! UGHH anyway, I'm sorry this post is SOO long, I don't blame you if you have a tl;dr moment. But for anyone who is curious about the recipes, here you go:

Cooking the beetroot: In all the recipes below, I prepared by beetroot by chopping the stalks about 1 cm from the base and then washing, drying and wrapping them in foil. I then placed them in a 180 degrees C oven for two hours, roasting them until they were tender and sweet. The easiest way to peel them is to take them straight out of the oven, carefully unwrap and then peel the skin off under cold running water. This is usually my favourite, easy way to cook beetroot for any salads or to serve with other roasted veges :) For anything that required puree I pulsed it for AGES in my food processor, stirring it with a spatula every now and then so it was super smooth. I figured a chunky beetroot puree might freak people just a little too much in a dessert.

Part 1: Beetroot Lollipops with Fizzy Sherbert Powder
(makes approximately 24 lollipops)
1 medium beetroot, roasted, peeled and grated
2 cups caster sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups bottled apple juice
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Hard candy moulds or silicone ice cube trays + lollipop sticks

Icing sugar
Citric acid
Bicarb soda

(Note: if you are keen to try other flavoured lollipops, simply replace beetroot and apple juice with 1 cup water and whatever flavour you want, oil based flavours work better I've heard)

Place grated beetroot in a small saucepan and boil on medium heat with apple juice until it reduces and is heavily coloured with beetroot juice, about half an hour. Strain liquid, you need enough to make 1 cup of liquid. If not, top up with cold water to make 1 cup. Place beetroot juice, caster sugar, corn syrup and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer. Stir with a silicon spatula, on high heat until the sugar dissolves. After this, try not to stir it anymore as this can cause sugar crystals to form. Allow it to bubble, until it reaches the hard crack stage at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

I found mine started to burn before it reached 300 degrees F so as it got close to that temp I was stirring up the sugar at the bottom of the saucepan with my spatula. You will know it is at the right stage as a small amount of syrup dropped into a cold glass of water will harden immediately. As soon as it reaches the right temperature, remove from the heat and pour straight into your candy molds. Allow to cool for a minute and then place the lollipop sticks into the middle (if you are using ice cube trays).

To make the fizzy sherbert powder, ensure all your surfaces and hands are dry, as any moisture will ruin the powder. Sift icing sugar and stir in citric acid and bicarb soda. It is hard for me to give exact measurements as I did it to taste, but I would say it was about 1 cup icing sugar, 1 tsp citrus acid and 1.5 tsp bicarb soda.

Part 2: Beetroot Chocolate Brownies with Beetroot Ice Cream
(adapted from River Cottage recipes, serves approx 24 people)
For the brownies:
250g beetroot, roasted until tender, peeled and pureed
250g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter
250g good quality dark chocolate
150g self raising flour
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a 17cm x 27cm brownie tin. Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl (the bowl of sin!), either in a warming oven or over a double boiler, or the lazy way in a microwave at 1 minute at a time. Stir until combined and set aside to cool. Whisk eggs and sugar together until smooth, then gradually whisk in chocolate mixture, until smooth. Gently fold in flour, followed by the beetroot puree. Take care not to overmix or brownie will be tough. Pour into tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out with some moist crumbs attached. Remove from oven and cool inside the tin on a wire rack and then cut into squares. It is better to undercook them as they will cook slightly more while cooling in the tin.

For the ice cream:
6 large egg yolks
250ml milk
250ml double cream
2-3 medium beetroots, roasted until tender, peeled and pureed
75g caster sugar
1 tbsp glucose syrup

Beat egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Heat milk in a pan until nearly boiling then remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly and then gradually whisk in the egg yolk mixture.

Pour mixture into a pan and heat gently, constantly stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let it get too hot or it will split. Remove from the heat, dissolve the glucose syrup into the warm custard and strain through a sieve, then allow to cool. Chill in the fridge, covered with a piece of greaseproof paper to prevent a skin from forming.

When cold, stir in beetroot puree and cream. Pass through a fine sieve. Churn in an ice cream maker, or if you dont have one, freeze in a freezer safe container and take out every few hours and churn in your food processor. I did this about three times on the day and then once the day before serving.

Part 3: Chocolate Macarons with Beetroot & White Chocolate Ganache
(adapted from Tartelette's macaron recipe, makes about 22 regular sized macarons)
110g almond meal, dried in a cool oven for 10 minutes and sifted
1 tsp egg white powder (optional)
100g aged egg whites (you can use fresh eggs too, just make sure they are room temperature. I always use fresh these days, and zap it in the microwave on defrost for 10 seconds)
50g sugar
200g icing sugar (minus 5 tsp icing sugar)
5 tsp cocoa powder, sifted + extra for dusting

110g white chocolate
1 tbsp beetroot puree
50 ml pouring cream

Place icing sugar in your food processor and process to remove any lumps. Add almond meal and pulse a few times, stirring every now and then with a spatula until the mixture is combined. Take care to not over process. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Beat eggwhites and egg white powder in a medium mixing bowl to soft peaks, then beat on high speed while gradually adding sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Do not overmix or macarons will be dry. Add meringue to the dry mixture, and mix in, quickly at first to beat out the air bubbles from the meringue. Take care not to over mix, the mixture should flow like lava and a small streak of mixture on the surface should disappear after a minute. Place in a piping bag with a plain tip and pipe 3cm rounds on two lined baking trays. Bang trays lightly on benchtop to remove any bubbles from mixture. Dust tops of shells with cocoa powder.

Preheat your oven to 140 degrees C and leave trays to dry out for about an hour, so the surface of the macarons does not break when you lightly touch it with a fingertip. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, placing tray on an overturned roasting tray if they are not professional grade. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on tray for 5 minutes. Carefully peel shells from baking paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the ganache, heat cream in a small saucepan until it just boils and remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Add chopped white chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes to melt. Mix mixture until smooth using a whisk and cool completely. Fold in beetroot puree, you can adjust the amount of puree to your taste.

If it is not thick enough to be spooned onto shells, chill for 10 minutes in the fridge. Spoon or pipe about 1 tsp of mixture onto a shell and sandwich with another shell. Refrigerate macarons overnight and then serve at room temperature.

So my kitchen ended up covered in splattered beetroot stains, my hands were a very beety pink colour for the last couple of days, and I don't think me & A can look at another beetroot for a long time. But it was so much fun, and I ended up learning some new techniques (first time making ice cream and hard candy, yeah!), and hopefully I didn't gross anyone out too much. Thanks to Billy, Ellie and Linda for organising such a fun, exciting night and to Ellie for being such a lovely, gracious host. It was pretty inspiring seeing what everyone came up with, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dear Linda, your onion pannacotta is still blowing my mind! It definitely proved to me I would SUCK on Masterchef, I was stressing out even though all my things were pretty much ready to be plated when I showed up that night! If you are interested in reading more about the cook-off you can check it out here, here, here, here, here and here.

Rhubarb and Vanilla Creme Brulee

It's been a bad week. I don't think I tend to use this blog as my place to whinge, but I need to whinge. It all started pretty great, I made some lovely homemade ice cream (without an ice cream maker), which I was reasonably proud of, and I have a good weekend. But I was happily pottering around the house, planning to do some simple, straight-forward baking. I started to make a lemon and pomegranate pound cake, after receiving some lovely Royal Pom pomegranates from Catherine at WordStorm PR (ZOMG Steph accepted free samples, what a sell out $$$$). It was all going fine and dandy, and then I walked away from my temperamental oven for what seemed like 2 seconds, only to come back and find the top of my cake black and smoking. NOOO!

The cake failure was compounded when I tried to take it out of the tin and it split in half. And then after desperately trying to press the two halves together, I was trying to scrape some of the burnt bits off, only to have the whole thing fall apart. At this point I refrained from throwing the cake across the room, took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen. (By the way the cake still tasted pretty good) That fail cake seemed to set the tone for the rest of this week. Since then I've managed to slice my thumb open, kill my laptop and my treasured home made ice cream was accidently left out to melt into a sad little puddle :( And that was just on Monday night. OH and did I mention the hiccups that refused to go away?

Now, about these brûlées. This Friday is Tomred's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!), and so at first I thought about making him a rhubarb and custard birthday cake. Then I changed my mind and decided to try the Bourke St Bakery brûlées tarts. Then I realised the recipe was going to take me two days and I wouldn't be able to make it for his actual birthday due to other commitments, so I ended up making him just the crème brûlées without the pastry. Unfortunately Tomred was a victim of my fickle mind.

But I think these brûlées will be the turning point for my week. In complete contrast to the fail cake, these turned out lovely. I was worried that the rhubarb I stewed would be too sour, but it was offset by the lovely sweetness of the vanilla bean custard and the toffee on top. I was worried that I would over or undercook the custard and the texture would be weird, but even with the rhubarb it was still quite smooth. And of course, my favourite part was that I got to use my blowtorch.

Isn't it pretty? I love love love the crunchy layer on top of a crème brûlée. And it made that super satisfying *CRACK* as everyone broke the surface with their dessert spoon.

In the end, I'm kind of glad I avoided the hassle of making the whole tart. As much as I love the tarts and as much as I love making pastry, I have a feeling with the run of luck I've been having it would have somehow been a disaster. These were stress free and quite satisfying. One day I will definitely have to try making the whole tart from start to finish (especially the ginger one, gosh I love that one). But just the filling from the vanilla one, with rhubarb instead of strawberry, was really really tasty.

Here's hoping for a better week.

Rhubarb and Vanilla Crème brûlée
(adapted from Bourke St Bakery creme brulee custard recipe, makes approx 6)
200g fresh rhubarb
100g sugar
zest of one lemon
430ml whipping cream (35% fat)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
6 egg yolks
70g caster sugar + extra for burning

Stew the rhubarb first; chop rhubarb into 1cm pieces and place in a medium saucepan with lemon zest and sugar. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until tender and just starting to fall apart. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 140 degrees C

Place cream in a small saucepan, scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the cream and add the bean. Bring to the boil over high heat. As soon as it boils, remove from the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Place egg yolks in stainless steel bowl and use a whisk to combine. Add sugar and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the slightly cooled cream through a fine sieve, discarding the vanilla bean, then pour the cream into the egg yolk mixture, stirring well to combine. Fold in the stewed rhubarb.

Spoon the warm custard mixture into 6 1/2 cup ramekins, until full. Place ramekins in a deep baking tray and pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, or until just set.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack, then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle 2 tsp of caster sugar over the top of each ramekin and caramelise with blowtorch. Happy days!

P.S. Thanks to Lisa for sending me the Bourke St Bakery recipe and to Karen for the vanilla bean donation :)

Strawberry Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecakes

Who else is in love with Japanese cheesecake? They have the most beautiful texture; soft, light and fluffy, nothing like the super rich, heavy cheesecakes that you normally get. I've been dying to try this fabulous Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake recipe from Diana's Desserts for the longest time, and if you haven't tried it before, you must!

I got totally hung up on the idea of making toadstool cupcakes in the last few weeks. And though it seemed like a cute idea, a plain cupcake decorated to look like a toadstool seemed a little blah. So I was really excited when I got the idea to combine it with my attempt at these cotton soft cheesecakes. The result was better than I had hoped, the cheesecake recipe is lovely and completely matches its name. I was surprised that the cheesecake itself wasn't that sweet, so it ended up matching very well with the strawberry jam and white chocolate buttons that topped it off. I would have made my own strawberry topping with fresh strawberries, sugar and gelatine, but unfortunately I didn't have the time or the ingredients. So if you feel like trying that, be my guest because I'm sure it will make it taste even better!!

I know it's been a little quiet on this blog recently, but I'm taking it pretty easy and only baking it when the mood strikes, because I don't want my entries to feel forced and rushed. There are so many amazing food blogs around at the moment and I think it's important to do what you love and are passionate about, without comparing yourself against others.

Anyway, if you are in a cheesecake mood, or even a sponge cake mood, this is the recipe for you. The cake is somewhere between a baked cheesecake and a very light sponge, and I think I could eat about 3 of them in one sitting if I had no self control. Of course, I love splitting them up into individual portions, and decorating them to look like toadstools makes it all the more fun. They would be great for a kid's tea party I think! Though now I'm totally regretting not putting a pair of eyes on one of them, but that might make me want to create more Mario characters as baked goods.

Strawberry Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecakes
(adapted from this recipe, makes about 14 cupcake sized cheesecakes)
140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch)
250g strawberry jam
Optional: White chocolate buttons

Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. I used a whisk to break up any lumps. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.

Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and gently fold until just combined. Spoon into cupcake tray lined with paper liners, filling to about 5/6ths full.

Bake cheesecake in a water bath (I placed my cupcake tray in a roasting tray that was 3/4 filled with water) for approximately 30 mins or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). A skewer inserted into the centre should come out with some moist crumbs attached. To avoid the cheesecakes cracking or collapsing, turn the oven off right before they are ready and then leave the oven door slightly open so they cool gradually. After 5 minutes, remove them from the oven and let them sit in the tray for another 10 minutes. Remove from the tray and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cheesecakes are baking, place strawberry jam in a small saucepan and gently heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool and set slightly. When your cheesecakes have cooled, spoon a layer of strawberry jam over the top.

Optional: Decorate with white chocolate buttons to make them look like toadstools, which is kind of awesome. Leave to set for about half an hour and then remove paper cases before serving. Can be stored in fridge overnight.

Quay, Circular Quay

There is a reason Quay has won Restaurant of the Year two years in a row in both The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and the Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. It is impeccable. The moment you step into the restaurant you are greeted by THAT view, and you think there's not much that can top it. But it only gets better from there.

As one of A's many birthday meals, he agreed to be spoilt rotten and taken for an extravagant lunch at Quay. I was surprised and so excited I could pee my pants, since Quay has been at the top of my wishlist for a while. And we don't get to splurge like this very often. Lunch was always going to be the better option for us, a slightly smaller dent on the wallet at $95 for three courses (or $75 for two). Also, when you have the Opera House on one side of you and the Harbour Bridge on the other, it seems like a waste to miss the daytime view. And of course, it makes all the photos look better!

Let me start by saying that the service was flawless, from start to finish. I booked online through their website, had an email confirmation by the end of the day and a follow up confirmation phone call the day before my booking. They were very thoughtful and helpful with working around my nut allergies, letting me know if there was even a trace of anything in any of the dishes. (Though I was willing to push it a little bit, I didn't want to miss out on a thing! A little almond meal doesn't bother me. Not that I recommend this to other allergy sufferers.) We started off with some lovely sunflower seed and polenta bread, and though I've gotten over taking photos of the bread, I had to put it up so I could reminisce about the absolutely lovely Riesling we had.

Amuse Bouche - Tuna tartare with smoked eel tapioca & horseradish cream

The amuse bouche was the perfect teaser for the meal to come. Firm cubes of beautifully fresh tuna, matched wonderfully with the smokiness of the tapioca pearls and a very light & fluffy horseradish cream. It had my mouth watering.

Crisp confit of pig belly, gentle braise of abalone and cuttlefish, handmade silken tofu, Japanese mushrooms, chive flowers ($10 supplement)

A's entree was a delightful mixture of textures and flavours and I had to resist leaping over the table to steal his dish for myself. The pork belly was just right, with that extremely satisfying crunch as you bit through the crackling. The tofu was the best tofu I think I've ever had in my entire life. The flavour of soy beans was much more intense and pure, and it melted smoothly over your tongue. That was sexy tofu.

Sea Pearls - Sea scallop, abalone, smoked eel & octopus, sashimi tuna

There was little doubt about which entree I would choose. The signature sea pearls sat in front of me, just as gorgeous as expected, so pretty that I kept taking photos even after I had enough, just because it was nearly too pretty to eat. Though you miss out on an extra pearl when you have this dish at lunch, there is nothing to complain about. I thoroughly expected the sweet, fresh sea scallop to be my favourite of the pearls, (and it definitely lived up to expectations) but I found that all of them were outstanding. The tuna pearl was very similar to the amuse bouche and the octopus pearl had a fabulous texture. If I had to choose, I think I was most enamoured with the abalone pearl, which was actually a pearl of dashi jelly that was so rich in flavour. But the scallop was a very close second. Let's just admire them again...

Confit of Riverina lamb loin, young vegetables, comté-infused fresh milk curd, roasted quinoa, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts

A's lamb came sans hazelnuts, so that I could share :) Though he was a little surprised that his main was quite small in size, he quickly got over it once he tasted it. The lamb was amazing, pink and so tender it almost melted in your mouth and made your eyes roll into the back of your head. The quinoa added a great bite to the dish, and I resisted stealing too much of his main since he was already wishing his portion was bigger.

Crisp pressed duck confit, kabu turnips, winter melon, hasuimo, garlic chive buds, sea scallops, duck juices

It probably would have worked out better if A had ordered my main instead, because he loved it so much that ended up eating half of it. I gave it away reluctantly, because it was SO GOOD. The duck confit was golden and crisp on the outside, but yielded easily under my knife and fork to reveal the juiciest, most flavoursome duck meat underneath. Paired with the lusciously rich duck juices at the bottom of the plate, it was so incredibly satisfying. The wintermelon was a curious vegetable that I haven't seen used very much outside of the usual Asian dishes, but was a bit of a revelation. I particularly enjoyed the sweet garlic chive buds but found that the delicate flavour of the sea scallops was a little lost amongst all the other intense flavours of this dish.

Strawberry guava and custard apple snow egg

On to dessert, the part I was most excited about, no surprises there. Unfortunately for me, the praline in the infamous eight texture chocolate cake had hazelnuts in it, but even though it wasn't an option for me, there was no way we were missing out on it. A got the chocolate cake while I chose the snow egg. This dessert completely stole my heart, it was so pretty and delicate. A light meringue sphere holding custard in the middle was encased by a paper-thin crisp toffee biscuit, dusted with icing sugar and sitting in a bed of granita and guava fool.

I'm not completely certain which parts were the strawberry guava or custard apple bits, but I'm guessing the smooth, silky custard in the centre of the meringue egg was custard apple flavoured and the granita was guava flavoured? Either way, it was so so so lovely. I was incredibly full from my rich main but there was no way I was missing out on a single morsel of it. The crisp shell was my favourite part, it cracked very easily which I hadn't expected, and was so nice with the meringue and custard. It just made me sigh and wish I could make desserts this beautiful.

Eight texture chocolate cake (Featuring Amedei ‘Chuao’ Chocolate)

And finally, the eight texture chocolate cake. Everyone has probably seen it before, on countless blogs, so I will save you the long description and let you enjoy the show.

Stunning isn't it? I had the small taste of some of the non-nutty textures and it the chocolate incredibly smooth and intense, I only really tasted the lighter mousse, the thin tempered chocolate top and the warm melted chocolate on top. The staff noted that A licked the plate clean, which I think was the highest compliment he could give. In fact, I think every single one of our dishes was licked clean, even the tiny amuse bouche glasses. There were definitely no complaints from A about the portion sizes after his rich dessert. We spent a good long time sitting back in our seats and drinking in the view, which was spectacular even on a grey, slightly drizzly day that only offered us a small peek of sunshine. And then we wondered home, and all I could say the entire way back was, "It was SO GOOD!". Possibly my favourite lunch ever. I wish I could go back!

Quay
Upper Level Overseas Passengers Terminal,
Circular Quay West,
Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9251 5600