Elegant simplicity at Chiswick
I’ve been wanting to go to the uber-trendy Chiswick since it opened in Sydney before I left for Manila. It’s the newest concept from star Sydney chef Matt Moran, but meant to be more casual than his most famous restaurant, Aria. The focus is on fresh produce from their garden and farms and share plates. It’s a bit out of the way of my usual dining spots of Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, and Potts Point, but I knew it was going to be worth it, and with my mother in town to take me out (thank youuuu), it was the perfect time to go. It only exceeded my expectations – I was extremely impressed by the simplicity of the food but the high quality of the service and extreme attention to detail on each plate.
Kingfish sashimi with avocado encrusted with salt and pepper, radishes, and dashi pear. The avocado especially was unbelievably good – amazing what the addition of the salt and pepper did. Taking one bite with the avocado and sashimi together was heaven in my mouth.
Grilled scallops with edible flowers and the most incredible chili jam. The scallops were obviously perfectly done and the addition of the chili jam of course brought it to the next level. Cooking scallops is just one thing I have not perfected in my own kitchen so I always appreciate them when dining out!
Incredible heirloom tomato salad with beautifully coloured tomatoes and crunchy croutons drizzled with balsamic. Really perfect in its simplicity!
When eating with my mom, we like to get lots of little dishes, hence the sides of green beans and wedges. The green beans came with shallots and capers – I don’t normally like capers but of course I loved these. And the chips were fantastic – far better than any other pub wedges I’ve ever had (and wedges are one of my many weaknesses here…). I even loved the lemon thyme aioli, and I normally don’t like that type of sauce.
I definitely hope to go back to Chiswick again to try some of their bigger plates since I was so impressed with the smaller sharing ones. So my friends in Sydney should expect to get coerced into this type of outing soon…
merrifood 