11th January

Assiette

We were looking for somewhere really special to eat and a friend of a friend recommended Assiette in Surry Hills. It was surprisingly small and the blinds were drawn to hide an unattractive view of the buildings across the street. The menu was badly designed and I felt like a fool when I realised I the starters were not main courses. To begin with I had sashimi tuna with crustacea cream, pickled octopus, hibiscus and almonds. It was like angels singing in each of my taste buds. The wine was very disappointing, and tasted as if it had been opened last week. However, the waiter kindly brought me another one without charge. For a main I had hapuka fillet with crab and watercress risotto, razor clam and mussel remoulade. Now my mouth was really having a party. The flavours were delicate and the textures light. It was beautiful. The restaurant itself is not very nice: hard, uncomfortable chairs; stiff white table cloths which don’t really fit; harsh lighting and poor layout. It felt cheap, eventhough there were expensive soaps and candles in the bathrooms. I did not feel at all comfortable eating here, but the food was certainly scrumptious.