if, by some culinary miracle, mark best is reading this, then mark: i’m sorry.
you see, i recently paid a visit to marque restaurant in sydney’s surry hills, and with the naive enthusiasm of a new food blogger, planned to document the meal in all its finery. unfortunately, upon taking my seat, my camera decided not to work.
now, if you’ve been reading this blog, or if you’re a tourist and have had your photo taken by me, you’ll know that i’m already not the best photographer. add to that one busted camera and you get the following disappointing collection of images.
not willing to let such an insane food experience go undocumented, i persevered with the dreadful photographic capabilities of my iphone. the results are much like the film transformers 2: blurry, confusing and nowhere near as good as it could have been.
“so why are you posting them then?” i hear you ask. well, firstly, calm down, ok? no need to be so hasty. secondly, our dining experience at marque was nothing short of magnificent, and i simply had to share it.
as it was a special occasion, our party was greeted with a beautiful glass of champagne on arrival. we were informed that the chef had added a complimentary additional course to the degustation for our enjoyment- a simply stunning curried marron dish that turned out to be my favourite stop on the marque culinary journey.
chef best is not afraid of bold flavours, and it was a refreshing treat to sample a menu that was positively bursting with new and unusual tastes. the ultra-tender roast muscovy duck, in particular, is accompanied by a highly smoky steamed eggplant which is not for the faint of heart.
similarly, the exciting combination of chocolate mousse, eucalyptus and coconut in the major dessert component of the degustation was a surprising yet familiar taste. oh, and the ‘mousse’, by the way, was freeze-dried. something which can only be described as a textural masterpiece. from the almond jelly, to the morel mushrooms, the smoked goats curd, and the beetroot puree, every flavour was clean, distinct and powerful.
to the entire team at marque who made this night so special for us: thank you. to anyone who happens to be reading this: i hope my amateurish auteurism doesn’t put you off trying this incredible establishment.
check out my much-maligned pics below:
amuse bouche of beetroot macarons with foie gras
marque’s signature delectable chaud-froid free range egg
an atrocious image of almond jelly with blue swimmer crab, almond gazpacho, sweet corn & avruga
ike jime squid with smoked goat’s curd, young coconut & black radish
roast st helen’s oyster with mustard & ham vinaigrette
our incredible additional course: curried maron with yoghurt, herb oil & braised lettuce
veal sweetbread with morel, rosemary, celeriac and onion
roast muscovy duck with steamed eggplant, yoghurt and dried scallop
the meal i dubbed “the fanciest deconstructed burger ever”- hanger steak with beetroot, radicchio, cocoa, hazelnut and vanilla
sauternes custard
chocolate mousse ‘écrasé’, eucalyptus & coconut ‘provençal musketeer’
salted caramel chocolates & bitter bon bons
