For the past 30-something months, I have been thinking about what my first overseas fine-dining experience would be like when travel resumes. Where will I have this meal, with who and when? Finally, we got all the answers tonight.
When Jelloman and I bought our tickets to Sydney months ago, she already pinged her foodie friend Shining Knight who diligently organized tonight's dinner at Kuro Bar and Dining.
Kuro Bar and Dining is a Japanese fine-dining restaurant on Kent Street, just a stone's throw from Queen Victoria Building. The famed restaurant is helmed by Chef Taka Teramoto, formerly of Michelin-starred restaurants Restaurant Pages in Paris and Florilège in Tokyo. Only prix fixe menus are served at dinner time with a choice of main course (tonight between fish, duck and beef).
Dishes at Kuro are served in small, bite-sized tapas style (except the main course). I've heard great things about this place from Shining Knight since we walked through those doors. Apart from the great plating techniques, he also told me how their cuisine focuses on ingredient-driven cooking and the masterful way that Chef Teramoto combines premium Japanese ingredients with French gastronomy techniques in his dishes. Now, that really got my attention.
Appellation Rock Oyster, Champagne shrub / Hokkaido scallop tartare, fingerlime, lemon myrtle – The raw oyster was a refreshing way to start the meal with, followed by the scallop tartare that came with some sharp acidity.
Caviar, turnip, ginger oil – Interesting marriage between caviar and turnip purée. Pretty bold move I would say.
Spanner crab, Japanese brioche – Spanner crab salad was served on top of a pillowy Japanese brioche. Tasty.
Kuro fried chicken, Ume, micro shiso – "Kuro" means black in Japanese so not surprisingly, one of the restaurant's signature dish was deep-fried boneless chicken with a charcoal-black batter. The chicken was very tender and juicy, but what I love most about this dish were the small dots of tart umeboshi purée on top providing the chicken fillet with a mix of sour, astringent and bitter flavor.
Kingfish ceviche, avocado, Takuan pickles – And why not a charcoal-black lavash?
There was a fair amount of acidity in the ceviche making this very appetizing. The lavash could have been a bit more crispy though.
Snapper sashimi, tomato, herb oil – The lovely acidity from the pickled tomatoes and herb oil seemed to bring out the best of the snapper sashimi.
Green asparagus, straciatella espuma, black pepper malt – The beauty of having a 13-course tasting menu was that even after seven dishes, there were still six more to go!
Green asparagus sliced into tiny strips, could be found under the straciatella espuma.
King prawn tempura crepe – A dish that I have been looking forward to, after Shining Knight prep me about it during Dish#1. Very lovely presentation.
This came with all sorts of garnish on top including condiments of green curry and coconut. And we were supposed to wrap the king prawn tempura up with the crepe. By far the best dish of the evening and I certainly won't mind having another one of this again.
Kagoshima Wagyu beef, tomato water, mochi rice risotto – It's that melt in your mouth kind of deliciousness from the wagyu beef carpaccio. The mochi rice risotto which came in this funny texture (in a good way), added a little cheesiness to the dish.
Full blood Wagyu, Earl Grey pickled pumpkin – For main course, Jelloman had the charcoal grilled wagyu beef with a perfectly charred crust. She loves it~
Aged duck breast, spiced beetroot – I have been wanting to try some local duck since I touched down. The dry aged duck breast was chargrilled to absolute perfection. Perfect smokiness to go with the tender and juicy flesh. It was finished off brilliantly with spiced beetroot, endive and own jus. Second best dish of the night behind the king prawn tempura.
White chocolate, mango, passionfruit, mochi, saffron – Desserts were at least a notch down from the starters and mains. Meet my first dessert with white choc, fresh mango, mango ice-cream, passionfruit, sponge, mochi, crumbs and so on.
Amazon cacao chocolate mousse, coffee sauce – Silky chocolate mousse, coffee sauce and cacao nibs. That's thirteen right there. And I was so full!
It was almost 9:30pm when we gobbled up our final dessert. An amazing 2.5-hour journey of the senses through our palates. Special thanks to Shining Knight for organizing this delicious dinner and settling the bill. If someone had told me that my first fine-dining experience after the resumption of quarantine-free travel would be Japanese, I would tell him he's crazy.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: G/F, 368 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Closest Metro Station: Town Hall
Tel: +61 2-9262-1580
Website: www.kurosydney.com
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 5:30pm - 12:00am (Fri - Sat), 6:00pm - 11:30pm (Tue - Thu)
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