BLACK by Ezard, Pyrmont

Ever since The Star has re-opened after a renovation period that seems to take forever, I've been a regular visitor there - not to gamble , but for the food of course ! Living only within minutes walk to Gelato Messina, Adriano Zumbo and Din Tai Fung definitely cannot be good for the diet - as has been proven by the readings on the bathroom scale T___T

Beside the fancy food court, there are a handful of more fine dining restaurants opening up which , hopefully, I will get to try them all...eventually.

So, first one up is BLACK by Ezard, Teage Ezard that is, of the award winning ezard in Melbourne. Whilst ezard has an Asian flavours, BLACK at The Star is a more what I'd call a steak and seafood restaurant :)

Mini Brioche Loaf, Butter and Black Salt
(complimentary)

Within minutes of us being seated, a wooden slab of freshly baked mini loaf of brioche was brought to our table. 

I love brioche and I've been wanting to get my hand on these since I saw them in GastronomousAnonymous' post on this place.

The verdict - it tasted damn good !! 

(Ignore how your fingers are well moisturised as you tear the bread apart)

Yummmmm....

The brioche was warm, soft and fluffy, though it is already packed with buttery flavour, another lathering of butter and a sprinkle of black salt doesn't hurt, right ?

Drinks Menu on iPad

For drinks menu, we were handed a sleek BLACK black iPad - pretty cool menu :)

Peruse the menu, add your choice to the "shopping list", pass the iPad back to the waiter/waitress and wait for your drinks to come - simple.

Jack Rose   $18.00
applejack, lemon, house grenadine

Apani Sparkling Water  $10.00 for 750ml

Oysters   $12.00
yuzu and wakame jelly

We got the oysters to share, they are Mooney Mooney pacific fresh water oysters served with yuzu juice and wakame jelly.

The wakame jelly reminds me of moss on the rocks, or was it meant to resemble real wakame ?

I thought it could be presented in a more appealing appearance, although there is nothing wrong with the flavours. The combination of the jelly and yuzu compliments the fresh oysters. 

Spanner Crab  $29.00
avocado, butter lettuce, apple remoulade, parsley ginger meringue

The spanner crab salad is a plate of greens....the salad was creamy and sweet, the crunch of the green apple added a nice texture to the dish.

Also liked the parsley ginger meringue, the ginger flavour was quite distinct. 

Beef Tartare   $25.00
heirloom beets, mustard ice cream, puffed wild rice

Love the colours of my chosen entree, underneath the sheath of beet root jelly was the beef tartare.

It is quite creamy compared to beef tartare dishes that I've had before, my guess was maybe something creamy like creme fraiche was mixed with it ?

Steak Tartare

The tartare was well seasoned, the flavours were nicely balanced. 

The mustard ice cream was odd but surprisingly delicious ! It is creamy and cold like an ice cream should but with the flavour of hot mustard - worked very well with everything else on the plate. 

Loved the idea :)

Grass Fed Angus Fillet 200g  $45.00

My friend ordered the grass fed Angus fillet from the grill menu, I must say I am quite surprised it doesn't come with anything else on the plate, considering the price tag. 

The sauces were extra and we got the marrow and shallot sauce to accompany the steak. 

Marrow and Shallot Sauce   $4.00

The steak though cooked as ordered, was quite bland in flavour. The marrow and shallot sauce was a very rich sauce and I'm afraid the marrow had a very strong flavour, stronger than usual I thought. 

Veal   $45.00
tenderloin, sweetbreads, asparagus, mushrooms, natural jus

Luckily I had more luck with my choice of main. The veal tenderloin was indeed tender and had more flavour than the steak. The sweetbreads was lightly crumbed and fried, it is crispy on the outside although I felt that it was overcooked as it was borderline tough, not as creamy as sweetbreads should be. 

Jasmine Pearl Tea  $5.00

Lemon Curd  $18.00
citrus shortbread, candied endive, liquorice, pink grapefruit

We decided to order just one dessert to share , after much deliberating, we chose something that sounded different - candied endive ? Hmmmm....

Yet once again, a combination that sounded odd turns out to be great ! 

Served with apple calvados sorbet were the tangy lemon curd, along with broken shortbread pieces, bitter tart grapefruit wedges and the surprisingly delicious candied endive.

It was interesting, the bitter taste of endives then sweet , the liquorice crumbs was delicious as well, the taste is distinct yet delicate. 

The entrees and desserts are worth a try, however we both agree that the mains were passable. 

Service was a hit and miss, whilst they were polite and courteous, throughout the night our glass of water was only filled once, and we had to ask them twice before they got filled.

To my surprise they charged us for another bottle which I am pretty sure we didn't even finish the whole 750ml of the first one as they only fill 1/3 of our glass at each pouring. 

Pointed it out to the waiter and he took off the extra bottle without further questions, so that was cool.

So there you go, first of the fine dining restaurant at The Star that I've tried - what's the next destination ?