Anniversary dinner @ARIA

As I mentioned in my last post, we went for dinner yesterday to Aria Restaurant at Circular Quay.  As it is winter here it was cold and the rain didn’t help either but it wasn’t able to dampen our spirit.

Aria is owned by celebrity chef Matt Moran who has been a guest chef on Masterchefs TV series and other TV shows; and restaurateur, Peter Sullivan.  Aria is one of Sydney’s most established fine dining restaurants and was awarded 2 Chef’s Hats in 2012, cementing its position at the higher end of the dining scene. Apart from its reputation for superb food, it also boasts a postcard perfect view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge through its glass windows, providing a very scenic backdrop for our meal.

We were working yesterday so we went to the restaurant after work. We walked in and a waiter took us to our table. We were the first ones in the restaurant so we got the table with the best view.

As I looked around, I found that the decor inside isn’t particularly eye-catching but I suppose that’s to avoid detracting from the gorgeous view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge . We had the view of both Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

We were swiftly handed menus but both AS and I kind of already knew what we wanted. We decided to go for the three-course meal and we order our meals and drinks.

As soon as the waiter who took our orders left, another waiter came with a shot of soup. It was cabbage and potatoes soup with goat’s cheese and walnut. I am not a big fan of soup but this was just delicious and both of us enjoyed it. The taste was just right with a creamy texture.

While we were having the soup, another waiter came with sour bought bread and butter. He explained that that the sour dough bread was locally made in Bondi and the butter was Australian made too.  After the soup, we both had the bread and butter while waiting for entrée to arrive. I have to say I have never tasted such a good butter and with sour dough bread it was just perfect.

By that time, both of us were really impressed with the waiters as they were very professional. They knew exactly what they were doing and they made us feel very comfortable, explaining what each dish was. I guess you need to be the best to work at 2 Chef’s Hats restaurant.

Anyway then came our entrée. I had ordered Pork belly, which was Kurobkta pork belly with chestnut puree and poached persimmons and AS ordered Peking duck consommé with duck dumplings, shaved abalone and mushrooms.

The consommé was pure brilliance with its broth bursting with the rich flavours of shitake and abalone and a hint of duck. The duck filling for the dumpling was also quite flavoursome and had a nice soft texture. And my pork belly was just awesome with the meat perfectly cooked and the crackling top just yummy.

At that point, both of us were happy that we picked Aria to celebrate our anniversary. I was almost full with our entrée. Then the main came. I had ordered roasted lamb rump with crushed borlotti beans, eggplant and nettle pesto while AS had Blue eye roasted fillet with Jerusalem artichoke, Jamon and witlof.

My lamb was just perfectly cooked and every bite was heaven and borlotti beans and eggplant equally delicious. AS’s blue eye was yummy as well but he didn’t like Jamon (ham) on the plate. When I was finishing my main, I told AS I may not have room for dessert in my tummy so he helped me finish the main.

By that time I was so full that I wished I haven’t ordered dessert. But as we had already ordered them so it came. I ordered roasted almond pannacotta with honey infused mandarins, blackcurrant and almond crumble and AS had Valrhona Jivara chocolate tart with caramelised hazelnuts and vanilla choc ice.

Both the plates looked so delicious that I forgot I was full. I dug into my dessert and I was very happy with what I had on my plate. The pannacotta was perfectly sweetened and every item on the plate went so well together. I was telling AS that I felt like I was trying food on master chef’s TV show :). AS’s plate was equally delicious. I was really happy to taste some of the chocolate from his plate. It took a while for us to finish the dessert and finally we were done.

After dessert, we enjoyed the view for a while and spent some time talking before asking for the bill. Before the bill, they served us with some chocolate plate consisting of Chocolate ball, passionfruit sweet and burnt sugar thins.

They looked so delicious but both of us were so full that we tasted one of each item and left the rest on the plate. I wished I had more room on my tummy but I knew I had to stop. Overall, all the dishes were flawless and all beautifully plated. It was the perfect evening.

We had a great celebration and when I looked at my husband next to me, I was thanking god for sending him to my life . I love my husband more each passing day.

 Thank you everyone for your anniversary wishes and blessings. It means a lot to us.

Take care everyone,

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

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