Healthy Food: The Boathouse: Freshly Shucked Oysters, Glebe (4 Sept 2010)

Monday, September 6, 2010

The Boathouse: Freshly Shucked Oysters, Glebe (4 Sept 2010)

End of Ferry Road, Glebe NSW 2037
http://www.boathouse.net.au

Oysters are best freshly shucked

One of my longest standing friends decided to have his 40th birthday at the The Boathouse which is apparently home to the much famed signature dish of the Snapper Pie ($48) as mentioned many times on Eatability (7.6 score after 213 reviews) — but this is something I'll have to try next time. He generously treated his guests to a 3 course set dinner menu (3 choices of entree, main and dessert) including sides, wines and oysters shucked to order. To be honest, it's an expensive restaurant and oysters cost more than $4 each but there's nothing quite like a freshly shucked oyster to appreciate its pure taste. To start, 3 types of oysters were provided including Claire De Lune ($4.20 each), Wonboyn Rock ($4.20 each) and Port Stephens Rock ($4.20 each) — all very good with Claire De Lune being my favourite of the night and matching so well with the Kawarau Estate 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Central Otago NZ ($54/bottle). The accompanying migonette sauce was quite strong and perhaps a little too overpowering so I preferred having the oysters natural so you could really appreciate the oysters fresh briny taste. My light entree of Cured New Zealand King Salmon ($27) was nicely presented and the flavours of baby fennel and grapefruit worked well together — the salmon was soft and buttery as hoped. The Carpaccio of Hot Smoked Wagyu Beef ($27) came with a perfectly cooked soft boiled quail egg and it's flavours were a bit more robust. The delightful looking School Whiting & Scallop Roulade ($27) was complimented with slivers of tasty chorizo.

My main of Pan Fried South Australian Kingfish($41) had a nice crispy skin as hoped and came with silky smooth eggplant puree. The mixture of red peppers & almonds was quite nice and wasn't as spicy as I was expecting. The Roast Cone Bay Barramundi Fillet ($41) came with braised brisket, turnips and turnip puree with a decent crisp skin as well. Even though the menu is predominately fish I thought the Roast Loin & Breast of Lamb, Spiced Carrot Puree, Baby Carrots & Lentils ($44) was the stand out dish of the night with beautifully tender meat complimented with delicious lentils — I certainly had dish envy. A nice match with the smooth tasting Kilikanoon Killerman's Run 2008 Shiraz. I was impressed with the Mixed leaf salad ($10) which was very fresh as if it had just been picked from the garden and came with a simple vinaigrette. Long pieces of semi-crispy Hand cut chips ($14) came at a premium price but were enjoyable nevertheless.

Feeling quite full at this stage there was still a bit of room for dessert of a Cheese plate with a nice selection of quality cheeses which came with ample crackers and bread. The Chocolate & Prune Tart ($18) with Coffee Ice Cream looked quite decadent although the delightful looking Macerated Strawberries, Passionfruit Curd, Meringues & Basil ($18) was perhaps the choice of the night with a nice balance of flavours which wasn't too sweet. Coffees were fairly smooth and not too bitter and I liked how they provided a choice of brown sugar cubes instead of just packaged white sugar. As a final sugar hit the birthday cake was an Adriano Zumbo croquembouche which was very nice which wasn't too sweet although the toffee base was super hard making it unfortunately inedible. The only thing missing was some lovely spun sugar and flowers. Guest received fun gift box filled with lollies and toys.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and ambience, Water views, Quality wines, Freshly shucked oysters, Quality ingredients, Good presentation, Professional service, Nice ambient lighting and background music

CONS: Very expensive, Limited street parking

MUST TRY: Oysters, Roast Loin & Breast of Lamb

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