Snuggled under observatory tower, Bistro Lilly is well hidden on Kent street. As we dined on a weeknight there were only two other tables occupied. Our waiter was very friendly and made us feel at ease.
Opting for a bottle of chadonnay, we also ordered the pan seared scallops with corella pear and pork belly for an additional $12 and sides of kipfler potatoes.
If only I was a wine connoisseur....one day i would take up the offer of tasting the wine and giving my nod of approval before the wine is served. But as it stands, chadonnay tastes like chadonnay to me =)
We were served our amuse bouche of curry lentil yogurt. The curry is nicely thickened by the yogurt and lentil and quite mild to avoid shocking the tastebuds in our first dish.
Curry lentil yogurt
On came the bread. Both sourdough portions were small but what i liked was it being served with roasted garlic. They were sweet and not too rich to give you bad garlic breath.
Sourdough bread with whole roasted garlic and truffle butter
Our optional dish of scallops arrived and i must say, this was probably the highlight of the night. Scallops were beautifully seared and sat neatly on top of corella pear puree to highten the scallop's sweetness. A small slice of pork belly was the hero - evenly fatty meat, crisp on the outside.
Pan seared canadian scallops with corella pear, pork belly $12
Cannelloni of king crab and tomato relish arrived, swimming in lobster cream. The lobster cream was to die for, with nice chunks of crab and tomato relish filling the cannelloni.
king crab and brandade cannelloni, tomato relish and lobster cream
When the dish of liver pate made an appearance, i started to worry if I'd get a heart attack if i cleaned off this plate. An extremely generous (and disproportional) serving of duck liver pate served with brioche screams a blocked artery for all those who consume.
Truffled duck liver pate, spiced beetroot, port jelly and brioche
Our main of beef fillet was definitely a melt in your mouth experience. Texturely similar to stewed beef rather than a steak, it was served with rich wine jus and a chunky ravioli. Shamefully i didn't finish my dish as my belly was already quite content at this stage.
120 day aged grain fed beef fillet with foie gras ravioli, fondant carrot, sauteed spinach, bordelaise
side of crisp kipfler potato with shredded parmesan and truffle oil
Dessert of chocolate pudding was served warm with vanilla bean ice cream decorated with a latice of toffee and caramel syrup. A lovely end to a satisfying meal.
Bistro Lilly
168 Kent Street
Sydney 2000
Tel - 02 9252 1116
