the UK Restaurant and Hotel Zine
the UK Restaurant and Hotel Zine
It's a Sunday morning in sunny Sydney. The day before you will have had stunning food, probably in Doyle's in Watson's Bay for Lunch and then perhaps the memorable Forty One Restaurant in Chiffley Tower for dinner, although there are so many superb places in this major food capital of the world from which to choose.
Whereto for lunch? Fear not, I can allay the agony of indecision amongst all the very splendid places that Sydney, this serious Headquarters of Food, has on offer. Watermark Restaurant in Balmoral is the answer.
The best route to Balmoral is the water taxi. What a pleasurable route it is too. You head out past the billowing spinnakers of the Opera House, through the sparkling swell of the very blue sea'd harbour, past the pretty houses in Mosman, to the welcoming jetty of Balmoral.
A short walk brings you to Journey's End and to an excellent Bloody Mary. How hard it is to find a decent one normally, but this one had the works, celery salt, horseradish, L&P's Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco, and, I think, the Absolut Pepper Vodka.
Then what? An easy choice for me as Bouillabaisse or anything approaching it is impossible to find in Hong Kong where I live. So I went for the Watermark Rockfish Soup, which had the traditional accompaniment of Rouille Paste, (which is really why I picked it in the first place= ), Grilled Scallops, Salmon - a mistake in my view - King Prawn and that most delicious of all Australian creatures, the Moreton Bay Bug. It was excellent, but the sauce wasn't thick enough and the salmon should have been on another table, in another dish.
Clare tried the Oven Roasted Lamb Brains, wrapped with field mushrooms in Rice Paper, topped with grilled Halloumi Cheese and a Fresh Fig Chutney. Before I go any further with this, I should just say that the best example of Halloumi I have ever found, even if they did recently seriously let down one of their oldest customers and friends' 40th Birthday Party, is Vrisaki, near Bounds Green Tube Station in Muswell Hill North London, the adoptive home of many Cypriots.
Anyway, these brains were excellent and funnily enough I have to say that the best brains I have ever had have always been in Sydney. Why would the be, I wonder? Freshness probably.
When I return to Watermark I will be trying the Pacific Oysters from Bruny Island in Tasmania, Smoked in Paper Bark & Juniper Berry, served with Garlic and Oregano.
The other starters looked interesting and had an Asian twist.
Main courses were easy. The obvious choice were the Moreton Bay Bugs, served with braised layers of eggplant and BUG MOUSSE, (stunning), topped with egg pastry, salmon roe, (the big kind), and a coconut & crayfish broth. This was a serious dish.
Clare went with some Jewfish Fillet from Western Australia, oven grilled with a lemon grass infusion, sweet curry paste and served with honeyed tamarillos and Queensland Sea scallops. She liked it a lot. I thought it a little fussy with lack of follow through. I think she should have had the Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna, marinated in black pepper and served with sauteed Japanese Spinach, Caperberries and Poached Yabbie Canneloni.
Next time I am there, perhaps after sundown, I will try the Roasted Lamb Fillet, glazed with honey and seeded mustard, on a steamed wheat flour pancake, with an apple confit.
Dessert again is easy. The Baked Banana Tart Tatin, served with Paw Pa and Pineapple Jam, Roasted Macadamia Nuts and Yoghurt Ice Cream was so good that we both had to have it.
We really enjoyed this place. It is an an airy restaurant, perhaps a little noisy due to the omnipresent wooden floor, but with wonderful view and very bright and imaginative food, combining interesting influences from deliciously fresh Australian ingredients and elder cuisines from the East. If the water taxi is on strike, you can always go by road!
Charles Pelham, Sydney, June 1999
Watermark Restaurant, 2A The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach, Sydney, New
South Wales 2088, Australia
Telephone: 9968 3433 Fax 9960 4293.
Prices are around GB£40 - £50 a head, but that is good value - as for that quality
of food, cuisine and huge variety of wine, you would probably have to pay 50% more in London.
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