SIFF Let’s Do Lunch, est. Sydney
Our second Let’s Do Lunch was at est. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it – including retaining its 3 chef’s hat this year while others have sadly lost theirs.
We were surprised that there were three options available for their Let’s Do Lunch (on SIFF’s website, there’s only one): jewfish, duck leg confit and roast lamb. I slightly lamented that we didn’t have a third person with us, but what can you do. I stuck with my original choice (the only one I thought was available) of jewfish, while F opted for the duck.
One of the waiters informed us that the shaved calamari had run out and whether it would be okay if the chef replaced it with some seared scallops. Heck yeah. I said “yes” in a heart beat.
Pan Roasted Jewfish with Seared Scallop, Spring Asparagus, Beans and Peas and Romesco Salsa
I should have realised that when they say “some scallops” they really mean one, but it was a really juicy and quite perfect. While I adore scallops, I was glad that the jewfish wasn’t upstaged by it.
The skin of the jewfish was nice and wonderfully crispy, while the flesh was deliciously well-seasoned, moist and flaky. The romesco salsa added a nice touch of acidity to the fish and the vegetables tasted really fresh and were crunchy. I was surprised to see cucumber on the dish, but I thought the even thin slices added a delicateness to the dish.
I couldn’t help but wonder what the dish would have been like if it was with the original shaved calamari.
Duck Leg Confit, Roast Kipfler Potatoes, Green Peas, Jamon and Savoy Cabbage
The duck leg confit was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The skin was scrumptiously crisp and the meat so tender it needed almost no effort to fork off the bone. The roast potatoes were also perfectly seasoned with a slight char to skin giving the dish a slight yet wonderful smokiness to it. The cabbage proved the perfect vessel for even more flavour by happily soaking up the cooking juices of the duck whilst the slightly al dente peas added that extra bit of crunchy texture the dish needed.
The jamon got lost in the dish due to being diced in the smallest of cubes (though that was impressive in itself). F didn’t seem to mind at all as the saltiness from the crispy duck skin had already balanced the dish perfectly.
Petit Fours
We had eyed the petit fours that the other tables had and wondered if it was ordered separately or complimentary when they ordered their tea or coffee. I opted for the paid/ordering it scenario, but F thought otherwise. He was rather pleased with himself when one of our waiters placed a plate between us.
We thought the more interesting of the 6 tiny delicious morsels were the salty caramel tart adorned with the tiniest of gold leaf, the dark chocolate block and the uber soft and wobbly pineapple jube.
est. has a surprising number of wait staff and our table was serviced by no less than 4 waiters. When we arrived, I quickly noticed that we were severely under-dressed in our t-shirts, jeans and flip-flops – everyone else was smartly attired. Oops. In my lame defense, it was fairly hot day that day.
I was glad that most of the wait staff did not bat an eye and served us with aplomb. One particular wait staff wasn’t as stiff as the others, being quite friendly. He even called our elevator, pressed the ground floor button and bid us good-bye. Super nice and a great way to end a really wonderful lunch.
est.
Level 1, 252 George St
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Ph: (02) 9240-3000
Web: http://merivale.com/
Author
By squishies
Follow squishiesInformation
This article was written on 05 Oct 2009, and is filed under Let's Do Lunch, Lunch, Modern Australian, SIFF, Sydney, CBD.
Recent articles
- Different Drummer, Glebe09 Feb 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 303 Feb 2012
- Wasabi Bistro, Surry Hills31 Jan 2012
- Albee’s Kitchen, Cabramatta27 Jan 2012
- The Montpellier Public House, Randwick24 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 220 Jan 2012
- Bar H, Surry Hills17 Jan 2012
- America! The Road Trip Part 113 Jan 2012
- The Everest Kitchen, Marrickville10 Jan 2012
- Mexican Pool Party05 Jan 2012
Recent comments
Who Are We?
Search eatshowandtell
Share
Sponsors
Categories
Creative Commons
Eat Show & Tell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License.
Spectacular photos Squishies! They’re absolutely sparkling. Jealous of the jewfish with scallops and asparagus! In the Northern Hemisphere we’re in Autumn… although truffles and mushrooms are the seasonal saviours
In a word, yum! Great photos too. I’ve heard both good and bad opinions about est. I guess this is a positive review.
Looks like a great opportunity to try est – the duck confit looks sensational. And do the petits fours come with the tea/coffee?
I’d go for scallops over calamari anyday! I had no idea that you got to choose your dish out of 3… the duck confit looks amazing!
wow..great write ups and pictures..love it..no wonder you are in the running of the list in nuffnang..good luck~
meals look great. i would have been very happy with the scallop as well. looks like a great choice for SIFF Let’s Do Lunch
Hee hee est. on es&t -____-
anyway the food looks great I really must try est. or any of the lets do lunches! It’s great that you get a choice as well
Ha, I see the duck leg confit has migrated from winter feasts menu to the let’s do lunch menu. It is tasty but I think is little salty for my palate. Isn’t those petite fours so cute and so good?
Wow, the dishes look and sound fantastic. That jewfish looks to die for though and I’m so glad to see that looks are backed up by flavor!
Christie @ Fig&Cherry: Aww, thanks =) Mmmmm mushrooms and truffles *hear* – definite saviours indeed! Hehe
campgrenada: Thanks =) Be sure to look out for our post on est.’s degustation! (Howie or Linda will get around to it after SIFF I think)
Belle@OohLook: It was pretty darn good. They came quite unexpectedly after our meal from one waiter, just after we had asked for the bill from another – so I guess they’re complimentary?
Jacq: Hahah I think so too… so long as it’s good of course =P Yeah! Neither did we! It was a nice surprise, I must say =)
taufulou: Aww thanks! =) I think we might all faint from shock if we win XD
Simon Food Favourites: Hehe yeah =) Glad it worked out well
FFichiban: BAHAHAH I know huh!? I didn’t realise there was a restaurant called est. til much later after establishing our blog. Have you tried any Let’s Do Lunches yet?
billy@ATFT: Oooh they did too! Interesting – I guess it was pretty popular haha. The petite fours were pretty cool! =D
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge: Same here, nothing more disappointing than the taste not living up to its presentation
Est. is quite seriously the most amazing sydney restaurant – it beats Tetsuya’s because at least one can afford to eat at Est. every now and then.
re. Petite fours – they do a (wait for it) olive oil jelly which is truly the bomb, it really does work. I’ve not had the pleasure of the pineapple jelly yet…
re. waitstaff – seriously the best waitstaff in sydney at making you feel comfortable and not making you feel like you shouldn’t be there. Plus their sommelier (frahnk the french dude) truly knows his wine.
Nickel: Oooh! Olive oil jelly – that’s really interesting and unusual… Wish I could have tried it!
We had a wonderful experience there and glad to see it’s not just a one off! =)