Silvester’s, Sydney CBD

We were promised “Silvester’s award-winning restaurant will be showcasing unexpected, experimental global flavors” at the recent Chaffey Bros 5 Course Wine Dinner, and that was exactly what we got. Every month, Silvester’s in the Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay showcases a winery by pairing a five course meal with six wines. This month, it was Chaffey Bros winery from the Barossa and Eden Valley with their sparkling wine, two rieslings, a grenache, a shiraz and a dessert wine. I won’t comment on the wines and pretend to be a wine connoisseur because I’m not – I will say though that I loved the Eden Valley Shiraz (paired with the 4th course) and the Eden Valley Riesling + Gewurtztraminer + Kerner (paired with the 2nd course). But now, onto the food…

1st Course: Butternut Squash / Passion Fruit

I really had no idea what to expect with this course based on its mysterious description on the menu. The passion fruit puree came out first at the bottom of the bowl, before waiters came around pouring the hot butternut squash soup over the top. I’ve never had this flavour combination before but surprisingly squash and passion fruit go together really well. I really loved the soup itself as well – a really deep flavour with a lovely smooth texture.

2nd Course: Chicken Liver Terrine / Ginger Marmalade

I could eat this chicken liver terrine with bread every day. It was so creamy, so smooth and went down so easily that it was hard to slow myself down to savour the dish. The ginger marmalade could have been stronger in its ginger flavour but overall was a nice addition. Those mini brussel sprouts were divine though – a little charred on the outside with a drizzle of oil and salt. Yum.

3rd Course: Lamb Tajine / Eggplant Caviar

Firstly, for clarification, there was no real caviar in the eggplant caviar, though it was very nice. The lamb tagine was definitely fairly innovative as this was not the picture of a tagine that I had in my mind. I can’t say I was wowed by the lamb itself though the sauce was quite nice. That piece of crispy eggplant on the top was also great for texture and left me wondering how to make my own crispy eggplant chips at home.

4th Course: Tajima Wagyu Striploin / Jus

This course was my favourite of the evening. Three components – all beautifully executed and paired with a glass of shiraz, my favourite wine, what was not to enjoy?! The wagyu striploin was so so so tender and well seasoned with quite a moderately flavoured jus that didn’t detract from the taste of the beef. The bone marrow was salty, creamy and melt in your mouth. The grilled mushroom was delicious in its own right and was a nice accompaniment to the meat.

5th Course: Sea Buckthorn / Tofu 

If  you found yourself googling ‘sea buckthorn’ just now, you aren’t alone. It is basically a species of shrubs with orange berries so on the photo above, it is the orange sorbet on the top. And to be honest, everything below the sorbet was a mystery to me after tasting it. I assumed that fluffy white thing was made from tofu but couldn’t quite work out what it was as it wasn’t really a meringue, it wasn’t icecream, it wasn’t cream. Then there was a cakey-type component at the bottom which didn’t really have any flavour. Overall, it was my least favourite dish and that was also the case for my two dining companions. This was disappointing as apparently Silvester’s desserts are usually pretty good.

Overall, the five course dinner definitely met my expectations of “unexpected, experimental global flavors” with some innovative and adventurous dishes but there were definitely also some items which didn’t quite hit the right note.

Details: Silvester’s, Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay, 1 Bulletin Pl, Sydney NSW 2000