Foveaux Restaurant, Surry Hills

Foveaux is one of the restaurant in my wish list that been sitting there for awhile, until recently we had a chance to dine in there.  I have been reading lots of reviews about this place and most of them were very positive, greatly satisfied with the food and had a good experience there.  Also, I checked that the price is pretty reasonable for a fine dining.

I was totally impressed by their minimalist decorating style and love the ambiance there too, pretty simple yet so elegant.  The place wasn't as big as I have expected but the dining room was so cozy with the lighting that was pleasantly calming and be a nice contrast against the rustic bricks wall behind it.  At first I thought, tonight gonna be a noisy one as the tables setting were quite squeezy next to each other.  But surprisingly, it didn't bother us at all, we still enjoyed the night without have to shout at each other while talking and can not really hear the other diners conversation.

We arrived there at 6pm where they just open for dinner.  We were the first customer in and got the all attention to us from waitress so the services were lightning rapid and we got the food in a flash...  But later on when the place starting to fill up, the service begin to slow down the pace, however that's what we prefer anyway as we need abit more time for our digestive system before we can take on some more...

We chose the tasting plate for tonight and it consists of 6 courses which you can choose from 2 different options in each course except for the pre-dessert.  Not a surprise!!  As you all might know we always wanna try everything on the offer, so each of us ordered differently.



Amaro Fiore $18 - cocktail with a touch of grapefruits

 

Oysters with chardonnay vinegar pearls and salmon roe (Supplementary $4 each)

I always like the idea of oysters at the beginning of the meal, it somehow tantalise my appetite for the entire dinner..  And this oyster were delectably yummy.  Vinegar dressing!!  Of course the best element to marriage with fresh raw oyster.  On top of that, the hint of chardonnay and a touch of salmon roe made it more luxu-licous.

Complimentary White Bread

We were given the 2 choices of bread: white and wholemeal bread.  The size is generally quite small and we thought we wanna go for second if they offer so.  But very very unusual from other fine dining restaurant that we've ever been, here they quickly took our bread's plate and butter away once we finished with our Amuse Bouche.  Literally, should be just around the finishing of main meal, isn't??  Or maybe after we done with the Entree, should sounds much better!!!!



Amuse Bouche

We begin our meal with some light soup (I think, it is a cucumber soup), very nice green colour soup with few drops of black olive vinaigrette and sprinkle of paprika powder to enhance the flavours.  I didn't like the soup as it got a funny taste which until now I still can't reminisce what was that taste from ???

I had only attempted half way of my soup and the lady asked whether I have finished it !!!  C'mon... though she may can tell rite away from my face that I personally don't really like this but I'm still enjoying it and in the middle of trying to liking it.  So better give me some time lady!!!!  After couple more minutes, she came back and asked the same urging question, this time I gave up and hand over the dish !!!  I mean, I know that the restaurant was still empty and she gotta find something to do but please isn't anything else that she can bother with!!!!!  By the way only that one waitress who quite rude and never smile but the rest were friendly and bubbly.

Course #1: Soused Sardines, vongole, white gazpacho, yellow capsicum butter, parsley and toast

For the first course, me and my husband failed to made it up with our mission to try everything there because the second option (Buffalo Ricotta cannoli, cucumber, tomato, olive and provencal herbs) was totally far beyond our eating radar so we don't mind at all to give that a miss.  Hehehehe!!!!   Here we are having the same dish so I can have the whole dish for myself and no need to share it with him which is absolutely good.  The Sardine was enjoyable, not too salty and not too overpowering.  The yellow capsicum butter and other items on the plate were perfectly together...  And those toast!!  OMG-SO-thin and crunchy.  Definitely a nice starter of the night we both agree.



Course #2: Smoked duck, confit duck spring roll, tamarind puree, charcoal oil, orange and watercress salad

This duck dish look simply mouth watering and tasted incredibly delicious , but sadly it wasn't my dish though.  Hiks :(  The duck was succulent and tender with the citrusy from the orange freshen the the whole dish.  But the winner from this dish is actually the Confit Duck Spring Roll, very crisp in the outside without any greasiness and juicy chunk of duck meat inside.  Wish that spring roll comes in bigger size, we certainly need more of them.



Course #2: Caramelised venison tongue, nham pla prawns, crispy pork skin, cauliflower cream, cashew, shiso and mint

Just because my hubby doesn't eat tongue so leave me with no other choice but to have this dish, otherwise would definitely love to have that duck dish.  The food beautifully presented on the black serving dish to give a good contrast in colour and touch of sumptuous appearance.  It appears to be very much like a fusion dish, but I found that each elements have a strong flavour on each own but those cauliflower cream helped blending them together.  However, I still prefer to have it on its own in each spoonful so I can thoroughly enjoy their genuine taste.  The tongue itself was chewy but not tough and the prawns was burst out with sharp Nham Pla flavour.  But where is my crispy pork skin?????


Course #3: Roast king salmon, zucchini puree,cuttle fish, green olive jelly, coriander and popped skin

Roasted Salmon served on the lake of Zucchini puree and topped with green olive jelly, sliced coriander and crispy fish skin.  The only thing I could remember about this dish was the freshness from the soft salmon flesh and that crispy fish skin just shattered apart in a bite.


Course #3: Herb baked leather jacket, celeriac puree, braised veal tail, shitake mushrooms and spring onion

When I read the second option for the third course on the menu is said 'Leather Jacket'!!!  What the heck is that!!  Sounds very creepy to us!!  I like leather jacket ..  only for keeping my body warm and look cool for the bikie but eating it???  Ehmmmmm ...  Should think twice..  I then asked the waiters and she said it's a type of fish called Leatherjacket fish.  Ohhhh I seeee .. Now, I got it!!!  We thought way too far.

From the appearance, this dish looks irrelevantly messy, they got the sauce and puree everywhere.  But once I tasted it, I gotta take back my word.  All the parties on the dish helps each other to shine.  Great teamwork !!  Nothing so special about the fish, besides well seasoned, the flesh itself is just like the texture of the snapper...  but those veal tails were absolutely wonderful and make me want more.  It has a tendon like texture, very tender and love the spices that they braised with.


Course #4: Braised brisket, sirloin, pea puree, paysanne jus and wasabi cream

The braised Brisked and Sirloin were served on the river of Pea Puree and Paysanne Jus then finishing off with the wasabi cream on top.  The meat were perfectly grilled and wasabi cream matched very well with the sweet juicy meat.  I found that their dish always come with way too abundant sauces, which was good to keep the meat wet and tastier, although it looks very unappealing and confusing.

Course #4: Wakame roasted lamb rump, squid ink, salt and pepper tofu, miso puree and fennel



I've never been a big fan of lamb but still wanna give it a try with this lamb dish once again.  Unfortunately, this dish failed to change my hatred mind about lamb as they smelled and tasted very gamey.  Probably it really a nice dish for a lamb lover since the meat cooked perfectly and still bloody pink as you can see from the photo and seems like all items on the dish lifted up the dish to the next level.  And those miso puree and salt pepper tofu brought us to enjoy the Asian flavour.  I was wonder about the squid ink!!! Meaningless, only to give a nice contrast colour into it!!!

Course #5: Spiced roasted pears, milk sorbe and brown bread crumbs

This is definitely the highlight of the night...  I love the balanced of texture here and awesome flavours.  It sounds like a simple dessert but mind you !!!!  Those brown bread crumbs was incredibly tasty and sweet.  Just can't get enough of this tiny pre-dessert that we got.  Really looking forward what's we will get for the next dessert.



Course #6: Thyme parfait, lemon curd, roasted blueberries, macadamia nut and dried lemon sponge

Another brilliant dish for tonight!!  Nice texture and flavours combination between the tanginess from soft lemon sponge and curd with the crunchiness from toffee coated macadamia and blueberries.  It's a very merry dish in my mouth.
 

Course #6: Chocolate mousse, orange sponge, orange curd ice cream, chocolate soil and brazil nut

Those elements on the plate are totally different in flavour, the mousse was very bitter to nearly zero sugar, taste like 90% dark chocolate, Orange Ice Cream was sweet, refreshing and so fruity ...  For the orange sponge was actually tasted more like plain white egg sponge, it was tasteless and too eggy.  However, when I put all the elements on the plate together in one mouthful, its more like Christmas in the mouth, very heavenly blended together.

We felt pretty full by the end of our meal but this Ginger Sponge in their Ala Carte dessert menu catched my eyes since I read the menu earlier.  So we just went extra miles and go for one more dessert. ...

Additional Dessert: Ginger sponge, carrot marmalade, cream cheese ice cream and walnut powder



The ginger sponge itself was so moist and goes extremely well with those sweet carrot marmalade and cream cheese ice cream, but that walnut powder was pretty bland and almost no taste at all.

The funny thing is at the end of our meal when the waitress clearing our table.  She poke us  "You guys done it very well ."

Petit Fours

 

Earl Gray Tea



Tonight's dining is nothing short of magic.  It was absolutely eye-opener and blew our mind away.  Just a little bit let down by one of the waitress but it s just one of those day maybe.  We were quite surprise by the fact that the price here was very competitive and not religiously expensive like the others big names out there.  Pleassse don't let me mention the names.  The 6 courses tasting menu costs $85.  Pretty good isn't !!!!

If you are looking for the great dine out which not going to damage your wallet.  Please give this Foveaux a go.  You'll love it I assure you :)  Octie Appetie...

Foveaux

1/65-67 Foveaux Street  

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Ph: (02) 9211 0664