Quay Restaurant, Sydney

This place does not need any introduction. Quay has made it to the World’s Top 50 Best Restaurants at No. 26 in 2011. For 9 years running, they have been within the top 100. Various reviews and tv shows have continuously vouched for this prestige institution.

Quay is situated at the Overseas Passenger terminal area between Circular Quay area and The Rocks. One cannot deny that this iconic culinary instution stands out amongst its peers in Sydney. They are not just another fine dining restaurant. Chef Peter Gilmore and his team tries and succeeds at harnessing local produce and fusing styles and techniques from different parts of the globe. The breathtaking backdrop of the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Sydney Opera house on another adds to the elegant charm of this place.

My homie Brian of Ramen Adventures and I visited Quay back in December. Here are the dishes from our 8 course tasting menu degustation:

The raw smoked Blackmore Wagyu, fermented chilli miso, shaved fungi, Kombu, cultured cream, dory roe was all about showing the different facets of umami. The cultured cream gave balance to the dish.

Congee of hand dived scallops, heart of palm, black vinegar laver.

Slow cooked quail, fermented mushroom custard, walnuts, brioche porridge, seed crackling.

I have never had a pork dish quite like the fan shell razor clam, shaved shiitake, smoked pig jowl, sea cucumber crackling. The pig jowl meat was buttery and it almost melts in your mouth. Replacing the pork crackling with a sea cucumber crackling was a genius way to add extra umami and texture to the dish.

The steamed coral trout, Southern squid, green almonds, sake is one of the best fish dishes I’ve had. The trout was perfectly cooked and I really appreciated the extra layers of flavours and textures from the squid, almonds and sake broth.

Arkady lamb, barletta onions, ice plant, oca, lemon puree, roasted hemp seed.

Oloroso caram, muscovado, dulce muscatel, walnut.

The last and star dish of the night is Sydney’s most famous dessert, the Snow Egg. It is legendary and amazing as everyone says it is. Everything from the granita to the delicate meringue shell to the custardy core is pure bliss. It is indeed my favourite dessert in the world and I’m quite sad that it’s leaving Quay after the 1st of April this year.

The dining experience at Quay was nothing short of spectacular. Everything from the service, to the iconic views and the food. I now see what the hype surrounding this place is all about. My dear readers, if you haven’t had the Snow Egg, I suggest you get there ASAP!

Quay Restaurant

Overseas Passenger Terminal,

Hickson Rd,

The Rocks NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9251 5600

Opening hours:

Lunch

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Bookings from 12pm – 1.30pm

Dinner

Daily: Bookings from 6pm – 9.30pm

The reservations office is open from 9am – 7pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday.

Belly Bao, Newtown - Sydney

 It took a while but I finally got to try the awesomeness known as Belly Bao. The bao masters have relocated to their own new spot in Newtown. Another good news is that they are open now from Wednesday to Sunday lunch and dinner.

The new space has a very chill and tropical small bar vibe. Owners Sylvia Tran and Kiren Chua have brought back all the Belly Bao favourites from the gua baos to fried chicken and their renowned baogers. Their original creation of Bao noodles, which are bao dough rolled and hand cut into noodles is a recent addition to the menu.

The slow braised pork belly bao ($7) is an amazing classic. A soft gua bao filled with super tender and tasty pork belly that was braised in masterstock. It also has coriander, crushed peanuts, mustard greens and mayo. The sweet, sour and umami flavours were well balanced.

 Their Belly Bao fried chicken ($16 for half bird) with added salted egg yolk (extra $3) was insanely delicious! The meat was brined for 24 hours. Aside from the amazing flavours from their Asian spice mix, the crispy batter coating had this extra umami and butteriness from the salted egg yolk.

 My favourite item on the menu is the baoger ($13), which is a bao/burger hybrid. It’s not your traditional burg but the Baoger is one of Sydney's best burgers that I’ve had to date. Easily within my top 3 right now. It consists of Angus beef patty, cheese, cos lettuce, onions, pickled radish and BB’s special tangy smoky baoger sauce. Their nicely seasoned smash beef patty has the most perfect meat to fat ratio in my opinion! The lightly toasted steamed soft housemade bao bun was amazing! The sweet and sour flavours from the pickles and onion were just right. Tip: Add extra patty ($3) and bacon ($3) to level up your baoger experience.

You will also find one of the best desserts in Sydney here in the form of their Gaytime bao ($9). It consists of Golden Gaytime ice cream, salted caramel, sliced bananas and shredded coconut in a golden fried bao! Need I say more?

I’ve been back twice already. The quality of food and service were excellent and consistent. I will need to try their bao noodles on my next visit.

Belly Bao
184 King Street
Newtown NSW

Opening hours:
Wed to Fri 11.30am-3pm, 5.30pm-10pm
Sat to Sun 11.30am-10pm