Written by Chris (of course)
Upon arriving for dinner we were seated immediately and offered champagne, given two choices from which to pick- a French champagne or the Rosemount Sparkling Chardonnay. We chose to start with the French, and it was excellent. After our entire party arrived we were told that we were to select an appetizer, entree, and dessert and Chef Perry was going to give us an extra appetizer and dessert that was Chef's Choice.
The Chef's Choice appetizer was actually two appetizers on a large plate. On one side was slow cooked abalone, yellow fungi and noodle salad with truffle oil dressing. The other side held a lobster tail with greens, black fungi, and truffle oil.
The Chef's Choice dessert was a date tart.
Heidi's Choices
....Seared Yamba King Prawns with Goat Cheese Tortellini and Burnt Butter
....Slow Roasted White Rocks Veal with Spinach Puree and Star Anise Jus
....Lorraine's Chocolate Jaffa Mousse Cake.
Heidi had never had abalone, lobster, truffle oil, or fungi of any color before New Year's Eve and she liked them all. She was also very enthusiastic about the prawns and tortellini. However, the big test was soon to come! Heidi had never before even considered eating veal, being personally opposed to it. However, given the other choices on the menu, she thought it was her best bet, plus I kind of persuaded her into ordering it.
Her plate came last to the table, making the anxiety that much greater! She liked the veal and the demi glace that came with it. The veal was easily an inch thick and cooked to perfection and was truly ultra tender. The spinach puree was good and went well with the veal.
We finished our main courses just as it came time for us to leave the table and make our way outside to celebrate the New Year. We returned after 25 minutes of fireworks to eat the Chef's Choice date tarts, which were great.
Finally our last course was on our way and Heidi and I were wondering where we were going to find room in our tummies for all the food! The Chocolate Jaffe Mousse Cake came smothered in raspberries. It was divine.
Chris' Choices
....Seared Scallop with Crispy Pork and King Prawn Salad, Green Mango, Lychee and Chili Caramel Sauce
....Grilled Swordfish with Semolina Gnocchi Borlottie Bean and Tomato Salsa
....Passion Fruit Souffle with Passionfruit Ice Cream
My dinner was very similiar to Heidi's- we enjoyed the same wines with each course of dinner and the same offerings from Chef Perry.
My lobster tail and abalone appetizer was excellent and at that point I was positive that I was going to be very happy with everything sans some bizarre Y2K disaster. The scallop pork and prawn dish was very different from anything I have ever had and I loved it. What really made it so great was the lychee and chili caramel sauce, which went especially well with the scallops. (I love scallops!)
The swordfish was great and the salsa was perfect with the fish. I have had and made more kinds of salsa than I can remember and this was the best by leaps and bounds.
The date tart was excellent with the champagne and the souffle I could hardly find room for, a common problem at our table that night. I had never had passionfruit of any kind and I loved every bite of it. The souffle came in its own copper pan and was perfect.
With all of the different courses we had a different Rosemount wine and every one of them was excellent. Unfortunately, I don't specifically remember what each one was. We did start and finish with their "champagne" the sparkling Chardonnay and had two different whites, a red, and a Semillon for a dessert wine.
No single thing made the night, in my opinion. This was easily the best restaurant I have ever been to. The decor was perfect. It wasn't noisy, but it wasn't too quiet either. I felt right at home in the wood and steel interior. Chef Perry watching me enjoy my meal through the kitchen window didn't even unnerve me! The service was excellent and very attentive even as the midnight hour approached. The wine was really great (I would honestly say that even if they didn't pay for our trip.) The food was, without a single reservation, the very best I have ever had.