Monday, March 11, 2013

Cara&Co Restaurant, Westfield Sydney

If you don't know about it by now, let me inform you. Cara&Co is one of Joseph and I's favourite stores in Sydney. It's a unique concept store, filled with beautiful items of luxury garments missing their brand labels, eccentric artwork and antique furniture. In the belly of the store is the Cara&Co RestaurantLast time we visited, we were astounded by the equally beautiful standard of food and lucky us, owner Rosa Alpert was lovely enough to invite us back to try their new menu.

Amuse bouche

We started our evening with a cocktail each and two types of amuse bouche. The one on the right was an absolute standout, a black olive cake topped with a capsicum jelly, cream of bonito and lemon and a crumble of fresh olives. Sounds like a strange combination but it was beautiful of flavours and textures, even Joseph, who lists capsicum and olive at the top of his most-hated foods list, loved it.




Behind the Iron Curtain Almond Soup $14

With pleasant memories of the green apple soup we had as an amuse bouche last time we were here, we decided to try the new selection of cold soups before entree. I go for the Behind the Iron Curtain Almond Soup, it's impossibly smooth, with creamy flavours of potato and cucumber, decorated with with rings of onion, miniature mounds of salty Avruga caviar and little tips of dill.


Ten Peas in a Soup $12

Joseph's choice is completely different in nature, the Ten Peas in a Soup is light and refreshing in a lovely bright green colour. The asparagus and peas taste fresh and crisp, there's also the saltiness of capers and crumbled Wagyu bacon, rounded out by the milk foam.


Scampi Grapefruit Rhapsody No. 1 $40

The Scampi Grapefruit Rhapsody No.1 as his starter is absolutely stunning, like a melody of fresh flavours and bright colours and excuse me for my poetic license. The scampi is gorgeous, plump and fresh, seared on the outside. The cherry tomato and pink grapefruit lend a tangy sweetness, with the warm aroma of cardamom. There are also small blobs of savoury parmesan parfait, the creme fraiche adding a lovely creaminess to the dish.


Rump Kissed by the Sea $28

The Rump Kissed by the Sea was my favourite dish of the night. The melty Wagyu beef was perfectly cooked with a lovely pink centre, and it was topped with rich drupelets of blanched egg yolk. I love a good runny egg yolk and rare meat so this was heaven for me. It was topped with caramelised fennel, on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes with sea urchin folded in. The sea urchin was also simmered into a butter drizzled over the top of the dish, making entirety of this plate to die for.


A Lamb's Neck of the Woods $40

Onto mains now, and Joseph goes for A Lamb's Neck of the Woods. There's two lovely cuts of lamb cooked pink and soft, topped with a crumble of crunchy pistachio. There's fresh green broccoletti draped over what I believe is anchovy puree and shaved kohlrabi.


When Bull meets Goose $60

I am absolutely in love with my main, When Bull meets Goose. The beef tenderloin is once again perfectly link, the meat juicy and succulent. The foie gras lends a rich creaminess while the earthy mushrooms are a perfect complement. There's also artichoke puree (I think?) and onion rings and everything is tied off with a pour of a lovely jus.


Petit fours

With no room left for dessert, we finished our meals with a pot of soothing peppermint tea and a selection of petit fours. It's a delightful finish to what was a hedonistically decadent dinner.

Level 4, Westfield Sydney, 188 Pitt St
(02) 9226 9988

Cara&Co Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Figs & Brie dined as a guest of Cara&Co.

7 comments:

  1. Cara & Co never cease to put out less than astonishing food - too bad you didn't get to try dessert but the food you did manage to squeeze in look and sound divine ~

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been wanting to come here for ages because every photo I've seen of theirs looks more abstract painting than food and you've definitely captured that really, really nicely. Oh lord, GIMMIE.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely loved Cara & Co when I went last time! Looks like the food will continue to impress :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a gorgeous meal! I love the black plates too - they really make the colours pop. Fab shots :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. What is Wagyu bacon exactly?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Belly cut of wagyu beef, smoked and then cured.

      Delete
  6. These photos are absolutely stunning! Cara&Co is definitely on my wishlist now!

    ReplyDelete