tetsuya's @ kent st., sydney

A booking was made way back in March/April for 8 of us to have dinner at Tetsuya's and need I say the least, this was hardly a booking that we were going to forget about. I admit, it's a long time to wait for a booking (we probably waited a bit longer than others given we opted for a Saturday night sitting) but after the meal, I can truly say that it was well worth the wait and that there is more than reason why this restaurant is amongst the top ten in the world.

First Course: Chilled Pea Soup with Mint Cream & Salted Chocolate Flakes.

All smiles - we're at Tetsuya's!!Big Smile from J.
Second course: Smoked Ocean Trout & Avruga Caviar. You see the egg yolk that's buried under the caviar? Our waiter explained to us at the end of the meal that this is actually a frozen raw egg yolk. Apparently when you freeze egg yolk, the protein inside the yolk changes to give you what tastes like a cooked egg yolk. I'd say I'd leave this one to the experts and forget about trying at home.
Third Course: Leek & Crab Custard
Fourth Course: Scampi cooked 3 ways - wrapped in pancetta, dipped in olive oil and scampi sashimi. Italian bread roll - which was tasty but annoyingly crumbly (or maybe I'm just a messy eater). There was also a sourdough roll I had at the beginning of the meal. I advise against eating both bread rolls because I did and got very full and was struggling with the last couple of courses. The sourdough definitely tastes nicer!Tetsuya's Black Truffle Salsa Butter - heaven in a pot! We went through so many pots of these and the waiters/waitresses were so kind as to top up the table with more pots as we finished with them. J thought of going through the pots just to pick out the truffle pieces :PFifth Course (Tetsuya's Signature Dish): Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel
Seasonal Green Salad. It's no wonder they call it the Signature Dish - this was definitely the highlight of the meal. Not sure if you can see but the serving size was quite large compared to all the dishes beforehand and to be honest, after eating this, I was already quite full but it was SO good!Sixth Course: Blue Swimmer Crab with avocado. If you don't like avocado, you might find this one a little overpowering (or so I'm told. I actually really like avocado so didn't have any problems with this one but some others at my table will surely tell you otherwise).Seventh Course: Grilled Fillet of Barramundi with Braised Baby Fennel. This was the tiniest piece of Barramundi - I think I'm used to getting served the entire fish when we order Barramundi at Chinese restaurants.I had my meal with the wine matching. 9 wines with 12 courses of food (which our waiter explains is close to 1 bottle of wine). As standard, I turn a bit pink.Eigth Course: Twice-Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Caper & Olive Jus.I think this was the first time I had Spatchcock; found it surprisingly fatty.

Ninth Course: Grilled Wagyu Beef with Lime & Wasabi. Only managed to eat half of this one and offloaded the rest to J. It was really good but by this point, my stomach really needed a bit of a break.Being a little bit silly (tipsy). Comte with Lentils. This mouthful was meant to 'cleanse the palate'. It certainly tasted better than it smelled!Tenth Course: Beetroot & Blood Orange Sorbet with a Rhubarb & Marscapone Trifle. Really not sure about the Beetroot & Blood Orange Sorbet. I quote my friend P: 'The Beetroot could taste better in a burger' (I share his sentiments).Eleventh Course: Chocolate Ganache with Green Tea. I didn't get this one like the all the others...I got...My Birthday Cake - a Chocolate Fondant with Meringue! Prior to this arriving, the waiter kindly let our table know that we were the biggest group sitting in the main part of the restaurant and that it was only suiting that 'Happy Birthday' was sung. Thanks for the 'Happy Birthday' guys! Twelth Course (Last Course): Floating island with lemon and vanilla bean anglaise. On the advice of others (and seeing people's faces), I didn't eat the lemon pieces. Petit Fours - Coconut balls, Shortbread, Chocolate Macaroons & Cherry Jellies (which tasted like Medicine).I left the Chocolate Macaroon till last and was already told by the others that this wasn't quite a chocolate macaroon. Our lovely waiter explains to us that it is in fact a chocolate macaroon but sandwiched by a Lemon and Pink Peppercorn Ganache. The waiter goes to explain that that is a specialty of Mr. Wakuda - him wanting to surprise the people that eat his food with that special ingredient. What on earth are pink peppercorns?! Anyway, I then went to ask whether the chef was in that night and was kindly told that Tetsuya had been in the restaurant earlier in the evening but had to leave some time ago (so no visits to all the tables tonight....boo!)The girls. The boys kindly tell us that we look like the 4 teletubbies - and I'm apparently the purple one that carries the handbag...bah!Last but not least, a photo of the toilet door (guess which toilet this belongs to?). More than one of us did a double take before we chose the correct toilet door to go through.

Dinner started just a bit past seven and finished close to midnight. We hardly noticed the time go by (which I think is the bonus when you eat out with a group of friends) and well, so many conversations were had with even more time gushing and ah-ing over the food (which is ever so enjoyable!) I didn't actually want to leave!

It goes without saying that this was definitely the best meal I've ever had - the food is cooked to perfection, the raw ingredients are fresh as they ever could be, service is flawless (or rather, you don't even notice the fact that mistakes are made because the staff are so meticulous in how they carry themselves). A whole dozen waiters must've served our table that night and they were all SUPER! I admit that I might not agree with some of the flavours used in Tetsuya's dishes but overall, the meal challenged me to really think about what is good food and I definitely found good food that night. Would've loved to meet Tetsuya in person but maybe next time!

Thanks all for making the evening so perfect!