BEST DISHES OF 09

It's a bit late, but it's that time of year where my bank account has recovered enough for me to be able to start going to nice restaurants. This led me to realise i hadn't been anywhere great yet this year, which in turn got me thinking about the places i went last year, which of course in turn led me to consider the best dishes i had last year.

They were as follows:

Entree

The scallops with sweetbreads at Pier were an absolute knockout. The combination of tofu, scallops and sweetbreads sounds odd, but came together perfectly.

Main

This dish, served at Berowra Waters, simply blew me away. Soft veal shank wrapped in bone marrow amazed me as much with its flawless technique and originality as it did with its taste.

An honourable mention goes to Jimmy Seervai's mud crab curry, which, while not served in a restaurant, was among the best things i tasted all year.

Dessert

The second dish from Pier on this list, and the best dessert of '09 by a considerable margin. Caramel rum braised banana with peanut brittle and coconut sorbet brought together an array of amazing complementary flavours and delivered them onto the plate via some astonishing techniques. Katrina Kanetani has since moved on from Pier and unfortunately, whomever is now in charge of pastry has some big shoes to fill.