Dinner started with drinks, I like my cocktails so I went with "The Picker" as recommended by our waiter. Julian ordered a pre-dinner wine called "Le Pere Jules" because it had the word Jules in it..
My cocktail was simply delicious, balanced with the tastes of sweet and sour with a rock melon aftertaste, Jules' drink was too sweet for me, it tasted like overly sweet brandy.
First came the appetiser: Sea Biscuit (Smoked Salmon on Rye Cracker with Burnt Dill)
Tian: The burnt dill was very nice to look at, but that's about all they do for the dish. The smoked salmon is soft and creamy, as smoked salmon should be. The rye cracker is crunchy, again, as rye crackers should be. Put the three together and you have this appetiser. It tastes like how it should, smoked salmon on crackers, a little bland and unimaginative to be honest.
Julian: What can be said about a strip of smoked salmon on a rye cracker, except it tasted like a strip of smoked salmon on a rye cracker, and I am quite the fan of both, but on the whole didn't seem like anything I couldn't just whip up myself. The little burnt branch of dill on the top was a nice accent though, and added a bit of kick. On the whole, a bit average, but enjoyable, though not really something you should serve as a first impression for what is meant to be a rather fancy, high-end meal.
Tian: I love crab and corn, those two really gel together as well so I was quite excited about this dish. At first glance, I was kind of confused because I couldn't see any crab nor corn. After digging in, I found the crab, hidden in the gazpacho. The texture was foamy and silky, not really what my brain was expecting. The taste of almond was very overwhelming, giving the whole dish a almost medicinal flavour. The crab was very sweet and tender, the corn was perhaps MIA. Avruga's saltiness was lost to the taste of almond gazpacho and jelly. I might have enjoyed this dish more if there wasn't as many elements of almond which I felt was the main star of the dish rather than the crab. Inventive in texture but the balance of flavour was way off in my view.
Julian: I went into this dish rather confused, as it resembled cheesecake with blueberry. Even after hearing what it actually was, being a cheesecake-love
Tian: Where is the pumpkin? Was the first thing that came up in my head as I gazed upon this dish. The presentation was that of a minimalistic piece of art. The smoked eel was extremely thin, almost translucent on the plate. The taste was very mild, however the parmesan gnocchi was not. The flavour and aroma of parmesan really hits your tastebuds. I was expecting soft, creamy gnocchi but what I got was cheese jelly. The 'pumpkin' (or at least what I thought was the pumpkin) was a blob of creamy something that did not have any distinct flavours to it. The taste of the parmesan gnocchi masked everything which was a shame because I actually quite enjoy the texture and taste of eel, just not in this dish.
Julian: I am a huge lover of Japanese style Unagi Eel, having eating it at least 2-3 times a week while at university, but, I had never tried any other style that was not soaked in teriyaki sauce, so it was interesting to say the least, to try this dish. The eel served tonight consisted of two very thin strips of eel, swimming in oil with 4 or so pieces of parmesan gnocci, and a small, cream coloured "mystery-blob". I would probably liken the eel to prosciutto, in terms of appearance, though flavour wise, I feel it was overpowered by the gnocci and the oil. As for the mystery-blob (so named because i could not actually remember what it was), I could not really taste what it was. In the end, it was an interesting interpretation of eel, but disappointing. I think I might just stick with unagi.
Tian: Well, my first impression with my plate wasn't great, it looked like a piece of intestines with a gherkin next to it. The wagyu was a thin slice of beef, it covered a small mound of cabbage. The beef was lightly seared to preserve the tenderness and it released the natural juices of the beef which was very enjoyable. The femented cabbage (more like sauerkraut) was less enjoyable. As with the previous dishes, it really overpowered the main player of the dish which was the beef. I think instead of the strong flavours of the gherkin and cabbage, perhaps a more milder vegetable and a sprinkling of sea salt would really give the wagyu more credit.
Julian: When this first came out, I saw the serving on Tian's plate first, which looked a little bit like a dead lizard, so I became a little nervous. Luckily for me, my serve actually did resemble a steak, but in the end it didn't really matter to me how it looked, but was just a curious observation. The steak itself was served rare, and was actually quite good in terms of texture and flavour, very juicy and tender, but was very mild when coupled with the cabbage, which was pretty much just sauerkraut. A rather ugly dish, that could have used less sauerkraut to bring out more of the wagyu.
Tian: Not really the shape of prawns I had in mind when I heard prawns but that should be no surprise to me by now. Not quite sure what the mystery black dust is but I'm gonna take a stab here and say it's powdered squid ink. The prawns were actually very pleasant, the texture is a bit different, less fleshy and more silky. The cucumber added a nice refreshing touch to the prawns.
Julian: Here's another dish which tricked me visually. On first glance, I thought it to be the toppings of a cheese pizza scraped off and served on a bed of green. Of course, it was not, but was actually a rather nice prawn dish. After a couple of seconds of my brain adjusting, I really got into it. The combination with the cucumber added good texture to the dish, and it was a good portion size. Points for creativity and presentation, but even so, not really a dish I would rave about.
Tian: The fish was firm and tasty, cooked perfectly and juicy. The green tomato was a real treat too, I was not too sure what the other green thing was though, I think it was some type of seaweed, it had a slightly crunchy texture and tasted a bit sour. Fish milk was creamy and mild, all the elements on the plate worked well together without overpowering the fish which I was quite happy to see. We both agreed (Jules more so than me) that the potato paper was a stand out, it was crunchy and flavoursome, like some kind of condensed potato chip, yum!
Julian: Oh, potato paper! How I loved thee so! If I could, I would have a hundred of you. Crispy, flavorful, and delicate, if they served them in bags like regular potato chips, I'd gleefully murder a few bags a week...with my mouth. Mmm yeah. You like that, don't you, potato paper? You wanna be my boo? C'mon, girl! Imma break you off, run my tongue over you all slow like, and make you feel like a real potato. God dayumm! (P.S. The bass was average and a little forgettable)
Redgate Farm Quail with Carrots Heart & MisoTian: The quail was very visually appealing, I really liked the way it was plated. The meat was done slightly under, moist and still a little pink on the inside, it had a very tasty and fragrant glaze over the top. The miso sauce and carrot to me played more of a aesthetics role in the dish as the quail could've been served as is and still worked. It was the only dish that I actually enjoyed and would have again. The only complaint I had with this was the leg was a bit tricky to eat as you would not expect to be eating it with your hands obviously, so there was still a lot of meat left on mine.
Julian: By this point in the meal, I was getting quite belligerent, mostly due to general disappointment at most of these dishes. While I didn't outright hate anything that had been served, I expected to be feeling way more satisfaction and anticipation than I was feeling. Fortunately, the quail was a nice surprise. Very flavorful and moist, and smelt quite appetizing as well (something that was lacking in most of the other dishes). My only complaint would be there was not enough of it, and that the miso didn't add anything to the flavor profile, and I would have liked something with a bit more kick.
Tian: Ah persimmon, something that I have not eaten since I was a child, not quite sure why though. To me, dessert is perhaps the most important part of any meal as it is the last thing you'll remember of the whole experience. Let's start with the persimmon, very sweet and fragrant, exactly as I remembered from childhood without the mess that is. I am not a liquorice fan, not one bit, but for the sake of trying new things I still willingly took a bite out of the black tar looking crisp that was in front of me and boy was that a mistake. It tasted like burnt liquorice and sugar and that is putting it nicely too. Maybe lose the tar and put a scoop of ice cream on top because everybody likes ice cream.
Julian: Dessert is generally my favorite part of most meals, and before we began this wacky culinary adventure of mediocrity, I was quite excited to experience what Marque had to offer in terms of sweet. However, after the string of rather ordinary dishes, my expectations had been lowered significantly, and were met here with an apathetic, flaccid sploop in my mouth. The persimmon was decent, but nothing to get excited about, comparable to peaches in juice you get in a can, but the hint of spice added on top I feel was a misstep. The supposed liquorice, again, took me to Confusion County, as aside from the color, shared few qualities with the confection. The slab itself resembled what you might scrape off a non-stick wok: essentially a coarse black sheet of undeterminable ingredients, with a flavor to match. I wouldn't be surprised if it actually was something they scraped off a non-stick wok. Fail...
Tian: Marque's chocolate mousse, like everything else here is no ordinary chocolate mousse. Firstly, rather than a mousse, it has the texture and appearance of a chocolate truffle. The taste was extremely rich, the mint leaf and eucalyptus did not help. I had to drink a lot of water after just one spoonful of the chocolate which was more bitter than sweet. The filling inside which I assume is the actual mousse tasted like butter, I mean seriously? It took 2 spoonfuls to confirm this but yes it tasted like butter. Salty and buttery, butter..I did not finish this in the end.
Julian: This was the last of the dishes, and I was seething by this point. When it came out, I foolishly had a glimmer of hope, because how could you get chocolate wrong? My god! How can you get chocolate wrong?!!! Oh, Chef Mark Best (more like Mark WORST) found a way. The moment the mousse's "chocolate" shell casing hits your tongue, it is absolutely, overpoweringly rich in the worst way. The bitterness was strong, but not naturally so like dark chocolate, but as if the ingredients were used in excess. I could not handle more than one small spoon of it. Then came the actual mousse itself. Again, I could say I was fooled again by appearace, as while it had the texture and appearance of chocolate mousse, it was so salty and cocoa free, were I blind I would have mistaken it for pure salted butter, and if I were to have finished it, I would most assuredly be blind. Needless to say, after a second confirmation bite, I abandoned this "dessert". Honestly HOW CAN YOU GET CHOCOLATE WRONG?
Tian: The waiter presented these little cute things at the end of our meal, I was actually quite delighted as I had heard good things about this custard. Served cold and in the eggshell was this final dish of our somewhat unconventionaly meal. Sauternes is a french sweet wine, typically served with Foie Gras. Upon first sample I was really shocked, the wine was so strong it left a horrible aftertaste in my mouth, I wanted to taste the custard but that was impossible. It was like custard mixed with cough syrup and I could not stomach another bite. Hugely dissappointed with this.
Julian: Just when I thought it was actually over, as the undeserved bill came, we were presented with one last travesty: Custard in an egg shell. Now, Creme Brulee and Creme Caramel rank among my top favorite desserts, and had I not been disillusioned by the preceding meal I would have been quite charmed and excited by this. The presentation, actually when I think about it, was quite creative and adorable. However, you probably must have already noticed the pattern of disappointment peppered throughout these assessments, and this is no different. The sauce was almost pure vanilla essence, and the custard itself had a very floury aftertaste. It made me very sad to eat it. At least it was the last.
Final thoughts:
Chef Mark Worst really has something here: a full ten odd courses of culinary disappointment. Aside from a very tenuous "maybe" for the quail and prawn, I probably could not say for each that the positives outweigh the negatives. I'm quite sure others must share these sentiments, as glancing over to the couple sitting next to us, I couldn't help but notice the woman looking disappointed while picking at her crab faux-cheesecake
Well, at least the company was BYO, and I was fortunate enough to have the best in the restaurant
So in conclusion I have very mixed feelings about Marque, while I must give them points on creativity and courage with mixing different flavours and textures, a lot of the dishes just did not meet my expectations. Also, for the price you're paying ($165 per person, $85 on top for matching wines) I feel like it did not justify the hefty pricetag either. Having been to equally appraised restaurants in it's range like Tetsuya's and Aria I just cannot see myself going back or recommend Marque.
http://www.marquerestaurant.com.au/
4/5 355 Crown Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010 Australia
Surry Hills, NSW 2010 Australia
