Sydney and I have a bit of a love hate relationship. When I left its buzz and superficial glamour some eight years ago (!!!) I couldn’t wait to get out. Deep inside I always knew I’m more of a Melbourne girl. But now when I do go back, the sunshine, the beaches and the glorious food are all massive draw cards, especially when one is a temporary visitor and do not have to deal with traffic on motorways and exorbitant housing prices.

This time round Mr. A and I finally made it to a place I’ve been keen to try for some time. I reckon you would be hard-pressed to find a Sydney foodie who doesn’t know of Quay’s formidable reputation. This quote from its website says it all: “Quay has held the coveted 3 Hat & 3 Star rating in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide & Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide for 13 consecutive years.” Wowsers. Of course, my desire to sample Quay has not been quenched since seeing executive chef Peter Gilmore presenting his celebrated “Snow Egg” to those poor Masterchef wannabes to replicate.

And finally, here we are! There is always the danger that the anticipation and long wait would make us vulnerable to disappointment so we purposely went in with low expectations. Just as well because the night did not get off to a reassuring start. We were seated upstairs, where every table bar one were arranged along the perimeter windows to make the most of the stunning harbour views. A nice young man – not the sommeliere though – came and asked if we wanted some aperitifs, to which we responded that we had some questions about the drinks on offer. He couldn’t answer them and fetched the sommeliere but the sommeliere’s answers were also somewhat less than satisfactory. We settled on two sakes and I was also a bit put off as the sommeliere asked us how we wanted the sakes served. Ummm…As they are meant to be served? Anyway. When he did reappear with our drinks he gave us a much more comprehensive briefing of what we had ordered. If I were to be really unkind, I might say he probably decided to read the tasting notes on the bottles before he came out with them. Oh Anna, don’t be cruel.

We were pretty keen to partake in the tasting menu, featuring eight courses filled with exotic sounding elements: oca, uni, ice plant! Most importantly, it includes the coveted Snow Egg.

There were many hits but also some misses. The vegetarian “salad of slow cooked carrots, sheep milk feta, smoked almonds, sherry caramel, pepitas and agretti”, was a surprising standout. The pig jowl was rich and luscious, if you’re into that kind of thing (I am). And the biggest relief of all was that the Snow Egg actually lived up to the hype. It was delicate and refreshing, but humble. Despite its complexity and reputation, it did not look or feel obnoxious, like fancy desserts so easily might.

Was it a faultless evening? No, and I’m not sure I would go back. It’s a lot to pay when not every course was enjoyable. But it’s definitely worth trying once. Just keep your expectations low.