Cloudy Bay Wine Dinner, Glass Brasserie, Sydney CBD
It’s 6pm on a weekday and the sun has just set, I’m currently stepping into an elevator right off the middle of George St to be taken directly up into the glassy cavern that is Glass Brasserie, the flagship restaurant of Sydney’s Hilton hotel. I’m here tonight for the Cloudy Bay Wine Dinner – a 5 course dinner designed by Luke Mangan to showcase the upcoming wines from Cloudy Bay, one of New Zealand’s top wineries.
There’s a feeling of decadence that comes over me as the doors of the elevator opens, it’s rather easy to be impressed by the lavish furnishings of Glass Brasserie. The interior design of the restaurant is all concentrated around showcasing the impressive wine collection, while providing small intimate areas for the diners. Not an easy task in a space where the ceiling is easily 30 meters high, but the combination of dim and concentrated lighting as well as the contrast of timber and glass creates an almost comfortable atmosphere.
Glass Brassiere Interior
The first thing that catches my eye is the multi-storied racks of wine behind the bar, fit-out in a sedate timber finish they tower up behind the bar for a good 20-30m with wine bottles gently lit from behind all the way up to the ceiling (top left image). Somewhat doubtfully I ask if the bottles are for show and am reassured that it is indeed a real wine rack, staff members are hooked up to safety harnesses and winched up the stacks to retrieve bottles.
I’m not surprised that I’m so enamoured of the interior decorating, Glass Brasserie shares the same designer (Tony Chi) as Zeta Bar, one of the most gorgeous bars I’ve had the fun of photographing.
The diners awaiting their meal
It’s a relaxed atmosphere tonight, the guests are mingling around the tables sipping on glasses of Cloudy Bay Blanc de Blancs, it’s a light bubbly concoction which is easily going to my head. Cloudy Bay Winemaker Sarah Burton is the guest of honour tonight, a small snafu with the microphone system has our table tapping all of our wine glasses in unison to get the attention of all the diners tonight. Sarah is a nervous but passionate speaker, her pride in her wines is clear as she speaks introducing each of the wines we’ll be tasting tonight.
Salmon Gravlax, Dill crème fraiche, beetroot, egg dressing & melba toast
Our entrée is a beautiful array of orange, yellow and red scattered about the plate. The salmon is sliced almost thin enough to become translucent and paired with the sweet squares of beetroot and savory creme fraiche is a refreshing start to the start. The melba toast is a strange condiment on the plate, the toasted slices are a little too crunchy making them awkward to eat with the salmon and I end up abandoning them on the side of my plate.
Paired Wine: 2008 Cloudy Bay Pinot Gris – The style is best described as a true expression of the variety with aromas of pear and mandarin, abundant flavour and texture, and a touch of residual sweetness.
Tempura Spencer Gulf Prawns, Thai style salad, tamarind dressing
I adore anything with a Tamarind flavour and have seeing the Prawns on the menu it’s easily my most easily anticipated dish for the night. The prawns arrive in a beautifully arranged haystack of greens and prawn, all encompassed by a ring of sauce, the batter is done to perfection and is lightly crunchy while taking away none of the delicate flavour of the prawns.
Paired wine: 2006 Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer – A distinctive style, first made in 1997 from a trial block planted at Cloudy Bay to assess the suitability of various clones of gewurztraminer in Marlborough. Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer is aluscious, textural wine made from very ripe, hand harvested grapesgrown at the Mustang Vineyard in the Brancott Valley.
Roasted Duck Breast With Honey & Lavender, Peas
Our meal progresses by moving onto the red meats, it’s been a relatively light meal so far but the Roasted Duck breast is enough to put a sigh of satisfaction into anyone. The generously portioned slices of duck are cooked to a perfect texture, easily coming apart at the touch of a butter knife and is presented simply enough with Peas in a honey sweetened sauce. It’s proof that a dish can be placed out with only a few condiments and still be memorable.
Paired wine: 2008 Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir - Cropped at very low levels from prime Marlborough vineyard sites, Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir is rich in regional fruit character. Typically it has an intensely varietal palate that reveals layers of dark red fruits, savoury dried herbs, charry oak and silky tannins.
Petit tarte tatin
Surprisingly, by the end of the Duck dish my stomach is ready to call it quits for the night but the arrival of the Tarte Tatin lays those plans to rest. Our plates with the naked Tatin are placed on our table only to be smothered in a rich creamy sauce which smothers the entire dish, ice-cream and all. It is at its heart, a decadent apple pie and on this chilly winter night is exactly what I’ve been craving.
Paired wine: Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Riesling - A limited release wine first made in 1989 and since only in the vintages when optimum conditions prevail. Sapped almost dry bythe botrytis fungus, individual bunches are selected and hand-picked from bare canes in late autumn. The style is lusciously sweet and fruity with a crisp natural acidity that balances the sweetness and gives the palate length and freshness on the finish.
The view from within the glass
We’re left to finish off the night with tea or coffee as well as petit fours. It’s been an interesting night of food and conversation, with topics whirling from Masterchef to the travesty that is the Twilight series. The diners despite being strangers at the beginning of the night have warmed to one another after a few glasses of wine and even as I’m leaving there are still tables of diners chatting away.
Eat Show & Tell dined as a guest of Hilton Hotel.
Glass Brasserie
Level 2, 488 George St
Ph: (02) 9265 6068
Web: http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/
Author
By Minh
Minh is a food, photography, tv loving girl who on occasion likes to think that she can cook. I can't hold my drink for what its worth and have an unhealthy obsession with green tea products.
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This article was written on 15 Aug 2010, and is filed under Dinner, Events, Modern Australian, Sydney, CBD.
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Wow, that salmon gravlax looks mouth watering. It’s a beautiful restaurant.
Juliette Samuel
Juliette Samuel´s last [type] ..Simmons Living Room Furniture – Guaranteed The Best For Your Living Rooms
I had a gorgeous gerwertraminer in Central Otago at a boutique winery there… Wish I could remember the name!
I really like the dining space in Glass, and the food is pretty good too!
Isn’t it wonderful how food can be a common topic amongst almost everyone? And I love a sauvignon blanc from Marlborough; one of the few whites I like to drink.
mademoiselle délicieuse´s last [type] ..Big Brekky the third- 12 April 2009
The Glass Brassiere to go with your glass slippers? No offence, but you bloggers must start to take more responsibility with your proofreading. “Brassiere” is an undergarment, whereas I am sure you ‘meant’ to type in Brasserie. And before you bleeding hearts jump on my throat; I am only doing Ms Minh here a service, as I doubt Glass (or any other brasseries around town) would be too happy to sponsor another meal to someone who couldn’t make the effort to report accurately. And Emily? That’s all!
Hi gobsmack’d,
Thanks for the typo catch. It’s an embarrassing mistake to own up to but it’s one I’ll fully admit to, I’d have been embarrassed about this mistake regardless of which post it was on.