Marque, Surry Hills

6:34 PM | Labels: , , , ,



Perennial 3 hatter and Australian Gourmet Traveller restaurant of 2012, Marque restaurant can be seen to represent the penultimate experience in Australian dining. Having been there already and thoroughly enjoying the experience, the 45 dollar Friday lunch prix fix was too good of a deal to pass up and keen to see what the restaurant has to offer, a return visit was in the works.




Walking in, its bold attempt at a contemporary dining atmosphere is immediately apparent. The simple and clean decor is welcome but its loud music can be sadly quite intrusive.


Sourdough and Rye and Caraway Seed
The typical sourdough started us off but the rye and caraway did have an interesting aniseediness that went quite well.


Beetroot and Goat's Curd
Creamy tart goat's curd studded with chewy beetroot twigs hides a beetroot jelly with a good clarity in flavour, an interesting twist on a perfect match.


Ocean Trout with Macadamia and Purple Kale
The ocean trout was cooked marvellously, just to the point of flaking and matches well with the nutty and creamy macadamia puree but the kale had odd burnt crispy bits that I just didn't quite get.


48 Hour Wagyu Brisket with Soubise, Hops and Black Rice
What stole the show for me today was wagyu brisket that was honestly more fat than meat. Not that I'm complaining. It was just gorgeously melting cut down with the sour gherkins and pickled onions to make it bearable, melded together with a bold black rice puree and it was just simply mind numbingly delicious.


Potato Puree from New Seasons Potatoes and Grand Cru Butter
I couldn't resist adding a buttery mash on the side cause I really want that cardiac arrest to happen. Not. But it was totally worth it.


Pear with Beer, Malt, Chocolate and Milk Jam
The dessert didn't quite work. The poached pear retained its freshness but the rest failed to meld together well. I think it was the malt ice cream that just over powered.


Sauternes Custard
What seems to be a combination of the chaud froid egg and Sauternes custard of the past results in today's offering. The serving size is appropriately smaller because as incredibly delectable as it is, too much of a good thing can be bad. A wickedly blond soft custard is paired simply with a darker bitter caramel that offsets the sweetness and just makes it pure goodness. 



Manning the front and back, Mark Best is a stern force steering his restaurant against the turbulent winds of the economic climate and with lunch specials like these, I don't see how Marque will suffer closure ever. His style of cooking can be seen as quite... intellectual and challenging in the fact that his creativity knows no bounds and what you're tasting requires you to really think. 

Although not explicitly advertising themselves as one of the gradually fading 'molecular gastronomy' restaurants, it wows and is evidently labour intensive. And yet what actually appears on the plate can be seen as minimalist and deceptively simple and I think that's what typifies Marque food. Today's approach to food was more on the conservative than what I've experienced last time and the consistency was all over the place with some dishes but I hear from an interview that he's never content doing the same thing and therefore his food is constantly evolving. That's more than a compelling reason to revisit for a degustation.  



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