A celebratory dinner at Flying Fish

Choosing a restaurant which will satisfy my parents' palate is a tough job which I am often left in charge of. It's an easy choice if we want Chinese or Vietnamese cuisine but when it comes to celebratory restaurants, there is a lot I need to take into consideration.

I wanted to take the family out to celebrate my spectacular year as an entrepreneur. I needed a glamorous but non-pretentious fine-dining restaurant that was Asian-inspired, such that the flavours were still slightly familiar. I preferred restaurants which I had previously been to so that I could guarantee the serving sizes would be decent. The options were narrowed down to Quay and Flying Fish, and as you can tell by the title of this post, we ended up at Flying Fish.

I've always wanted to eat in the private dining room, but hadn't because it was too costly for a birthday cocktail party... So it turns out that all it takes to eat in there, is a booking of eight people or more! Being led into the private dining room with our own waiter was pretty cool! Peter Kuruvita even came in for a quick chat and photo. Mum, who had seen him on Masterchef was stoked :)

Since we were here to celebrate 'me', I thought we might as well do it in style with the tasting menu ($110 per person) - my kid brother included!

We start with an amuse bouche of kingfish tartare with avruga and cucumber salad. The taste is clean and refreshing, it was a mouthful of delight.

First course is the seared yellow fin tuna which I have become well-acquainted with now, having had it at Taste Of Sydney two years in a row and at the restaurant itself multiple times. The contrasting textures of the perfectly seared tuna with ruby red grapefruit gems and crunchy pork crackling is exactly as I had remembered it... Divine. The black pepper caramel lets us finish on a sweet and lingering note.

Next is the smoked rainbow trout which is served with fennel cream and celery heart salad, on a slab of Himalayan salt. As you can see, the presentation of this is gorgeous! The pairing of fennel and celery is stunning in this as it adds just a mild cleansing note to the dish which highlights the distinctive flavours of the fish.

Following the rainbow trout are scallops - white scallops with boudin noir, carrot puree, grape and pine nut dressing. I love the use of the boudin noir (black pudding) here which enhances the plate with a rich and luscious flavour.

Main course is a choice between the blue-eye and lamb. Since I don't enjoy the taste of lamb, I opt for the fish.

The blue eye is pan roasted with scallop mousse, white beans, pumpkin puree and braised chicken, producing a really delicate and scrumptiously delicious result.

Others have the mushroom-infused White Pyrness Lamb loin with fondant potato, braised shoulder and black garlic.

Side dishes are Flying Fish's signature chips with chilli salt and salad greens. The chips are chunky and crunchy with an amazing fluffy interior. The chilli salt is gorgeous! Luckily, I still have some at home... Guess who's going to be making roast potatoes with chilli salt tonight? ;)

The dessert tasting plate consists of a chestnut souffle to which we are advised to dunk in the spoonful of gingerbread ice cream and honeycomb. There's also an Italian Amedei chocolate delice with pecans, an almond and elderflower souffle, a lemon curd square, and a champagne and raspberry sorbet. Then after tea and coffee, we end this gastronomic adventure with a delectable plate of petit fours.

Flying Fish remains one of my favourite restaurants to celebrate special occasions and tonight, I am all celebrated out.

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Flying Fish
19-21 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW
Phone: (02) 9518 6677‎
Web: www.flyingfish.com.au