Ocean Room Circular Quay Review

First World Problems. I sat at my desk and deliberate over and over again. Yet the problem appeared unsolvable. Ocean Room, Blancharu or Gastro Park? I couldn't go wrong either way right? So at the flip of (three) coins, fate had determined that I shall be dining at Ocean Room.

Ocean Room is definitely a good choice for a romantic date based on its location alone (using that logic, so is Quay). We were situated right next to the wharf where we had a perfect view of the Opera House. Not that I haven't seen it a thousand times before, or that I hadn't been inside whilst dining at Guillame, but having paid for that view made it seem all that more special. But I digress.

Oyster Duos

We decided to go with the degustation (as always) and chose to upgrade it to include the Tuna five ways. Apparently it's a signature dish, and for that reason it must be had! First on the menu were oyster duos. The left oysters have a granny smith apple vinaigrette, which had a sour punch to them. The right oysters had a Yamazaki Whisky dressing with white balsamic air. If I had a kryptonite, it'd be oysters. I rarely enjoy it (except at Assiette!) and it usually doesn't agree with me anyways. Right now all the oysters around the world are probably rejoicing.

Sea Salt Cured Tuna Tartare, Sesame scented toasted Nori

The fruits of my hard labour (constructing it...)

I believe that tartare, ceviche and anything raw in nature can rarely go wrong. Good ingredients make a good final product. Ocean room sticks true to this principle whilst adding their own flare to a rather straightforward dish. Our waiter advises us to wrap all the ingredients together and consume the dish like a DIY sushi roll! The Nashi pear is a genius idea, having only fallen flat by the thinness of the slice. The Nori is fragrant of sesame oil, and is quite salty in taste. This is very deliberate, as the tuna is rather underseasoned (despite being salt cured?) and together, our hard work is rewarded with a delicious amalgamation of flavours.

Anchovy & Tomato Sorbet, White Gazpacho

The white gazpacho is made of almond milk & tomato water and is topped with a scallop ceviche and smoked watermelon taster. It leaves me confused as I thought ceviches were raw, and these had been quickly torched. The gazpacho is cold, creamy and rather salty. If one were to draw on comparisons, it would taste most similar to a white cauliflower soup. The tomato sorbet is meant to be a palate cleanser, and it packs quite a powerful punch (imagine intense tomato).

Uni Tamago & Calamari Pops

The Uni Tamago is a semi-poached egg with a sea-urchin foam and oigatsuo reduction with a bread soldier. To me, it seemed like an attempt at reinventing a breakfast classic. Even though it was nice, I didn't feel like any of the individual components stood out on their own. The Calamari pops were tempura calamari sprinkled with green curry salt and served with a side sauce (I identified lime, fish sauce and sugar as three components of it). I wasn't terribly impressed with this dish as it is as described...deep fried calamari.

Spanner Crab Bonito Consomme

The Bonito Consomme contains in it spanner crab, a square of winter melon, agedashi tofu and shiso mochi (!!). The soup is sweet and delicate and would be perfect on a winters night. In one of my spoonfuls, I taste the mochi which completely felt out of place. It did not retain any flavours and the consistency did not meld with the smooth comforting nature of the soup.

Tuna Creations

The signature dish. Going from left to right, The tuna varied from Oil blanched, poached, seared, raw and soy marinated. They each had their own condiments and five different types of salts that were meant to compliment each style of cooking. The truffle salt was the most delicious whilst the soy salt (light) and soy salt (aged) added just the smell of soy, without any flavour. Regular soy sauce in liquid form would have been much preferred. I would describe this dish as different and somewhat entertaining, but doesn't actually improve the dish anymore than what an experience sashimi master would present to you.

Deconstructed Ceviche

This was my absolute favourite dish of the night and if there is one dish you had to get, this would be it. We are presented with three separate components and are allowed to construct the dish ourselves. In the middle is a medley of seafood and vegetables, lying above a fish bowl of ice. To the left are our ocean trout and crystal bay prawns, and to the right is a yuzu vinagrette in a test tube (!!). I was very cautious to use the whole tube in case I had overseasoned it, but its actually been perfectly measured out! The ocean trout has been pre-seasoned with salt flakes and the prawns have been slightly torched. The salt perfectly seasons the ocean trout which would have otherwise been bland. The prawns were so perfect and was my foodgasm moment. It was still raw but so incredibly sweet and flavourful. I only wish they gave us more than two pieces!

Saikyo Miso Cod with ginger risotto

A classic Japanese dish that ranks as one of my favourite dishes. Flavourwise, it had the perfect blend of sweet and saltiness. However the execution of its preparation was a very big let down. The middle of the fish was light and flakey, as one would hope. However the borders of fish piece were rather hard and dry. The ginger risotto, whilst having an AMAZING flavour profile, was undercooked and still rather hard to the bite. Not enough to shatter a tooth, but hard enough that even someone having risotto for the first time would notice. It was very disappointing to find such a good dish let down by poor execution.

Smoking is unhealthy kids...deliciously unhealthy.

Table Smoke Char-grilled Wagyu Beef, Miniature potato croquette, Chimichurri sauce

The dish arrives and I'm sure it's always one that gets wows and woahhs. The dome has been partially smoked and we're told to leave the beef covered for at least another 30 seconds. The beef is of beautiful quality, and nothing could be faulted with how it was presented. The smokiness left was very faint and didn't seem to add anything more than showmanship. The potato croquette could be simply described as a takoyaki ball (even the sauce was the same) without the octopus. The chimmichurri sauce was too sour and I didn't use it as I felt it had ruined the delicate flavours of the wagyu beef.

Nigiri - Chef's Choice

Beautifully presented and seasoned selection of nigiri. It only comes with some pickled ginger. No soy sauce. And why would you need it? There isn't much to say about this. One of the best sushi I've had in Sydney as of yet.

Gorgonzola Scented Panna Cotta with Caramalised Bananas, Shoyu Caramel and Jumai jelly

Whilst this seemed like a very mundane dish to finish off with, Ocean Room had put their own spin on it which produced a completely different flavour profile. The Shoyu caramel, which was sweet and salty, worked so well with the panna cotta to create something completely different from the everyday vanilla panna cotta.

Overall I wouldn't say there were too many dishes that were amazing or show-cased the chef's skills or creativity. My favourite would definitely have been the deconstructed ceviche. I believe that Ocean room is probably best experienced if ordered a la carte with safe favourites. The view is amazing though and the staff were quite knowledgeable.