Astral Restaurant

First and foremost, apologies for the picture quality =P

Astral, situated on level 17 of Star City hotel overlooks the magnificent Sydney harbour. The perfect spot for dining - unfortunately due to the Star City renovations and restructuring Astral is in its final 2 weeks of operation.

We came with high expectations and truly was not disappointed. The views can do no wrong and when it is coupled with attentive service, big soft comfy chairs and quality food, it really is a shame Astral will give way to a high rollers lounge. Too bad we had a rowdy (and drunk) group nearby plus a busy night making it quite loud.

Ordering the degustation was a smart decision as we wanted to taste all the dishes on offer for the last time. Using the entertainment card ended up costing $100 a head - great value for a 4 hour dinner!



Amuse bouche was an apple jelly base with spanner crab and lychee foam. Magnificent when you can have a mouthful of everything together but terrible when eaten separately. The lychee foam was delicate but savoury and balanced the sweetness of the apple jelly. The crab was fresh and gave it some substance.



Next was the Heirloom Tomato which was basically a feast of tomatoes. My least favourite of the night as it was just that - different tomatoes cut different ways. Cant really comment much as i dislike tomatoes overall and the way it was made just did not entrall me.



For some theatrics, our next dish came hidden under a dome of chamomile smoke. When the lid was lifted, the smoke drifted away revealing marinated king smoked salmon, isigny creme fraiche with chamomile pearls. It is an interesting touch to have smoke but personally it reminded me of temple incense. haha. The salmon was beautifully smoked, cut through with the creme fraiche to balance it back down. Small serving but satisfying.





Scallop! yay! Scallop served with celeriac puree, asparagus, apples and saffron. Even though it was anothe foam dish, the flavours were quite intense but did not take centre stage over the scallop. The textural balance was evident with the tender scallop and crunchy asparagus with apples.



Following was the quail, one of my favourite of the night. Served with spinach puree and accompanied by foie gras resting on top of silken tofu, the dish was dressed with shiso vinegarette. The quail was amazingly succulent and juicy. I want more!



By now i was quite full already as the pace in which the dishes came out was a little too slow for my liking (it was approx 10pm at this time and we were still eating!).

The angus beef was totally worth the wait!! Sweet bread, white polenta, mushrooms and confit potatoes complimented the angus. The meat was surprisingly not bloody despite it appearing so red. It was chewy but not to the point of disgust. Flawlessly executed.



Our pre-dessert were mini peach (and raspberry?) sorbet. Loved the waffle cone and the white peach cream at the bottom of the cone. Yummyyyy



Dessert was an ordinary affair. Ganache, white chocolate ice cream, layered marzipan cake with crumble and rasberry weren't the most creative despite the beautiful plating. The layered marzipan cake tasted exactly like the 7eleven cake i got in Japan. The ganache logs was bitter and rich but overall it was not that exciting.



What was more exciting was the sugar sticks that accompanied the coffee and tea!! Such creativity and i dont know how they made this. The sugar crystals on the stick slowly melts in your tea/coffee.



The macaron petit fours arrived with the coffee/tea.



Astral Restaurant
Level 17
Star City
80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont
Tel - 1800 700 700
(website shut down)

Sean's Kitchen

Situated inside Star City casino, this place was quite hard to find! Especially with the renovations currently taking place. My friend recommended this place as it has the same head chef as Astral but I was a bit sceptical re the quality of the food and service after reading other reviews of this restaurant. Nonetheless, we ventured out to star city for a friend's birthday celebration.



We were promptly served and our waiter was friendly but maybe a bit too eager to take our orders.


Complimentary bread for the table

The entrees were better than expected - the steak tartare wasn't overspiced and the chicken liver parfait with brioche was rich but can easily get too oily after a few mouthfuls.


Steak Tartare


Chicken Liver Parfait with Brioche

The mains however, were a mixed bag quality wise.


Suzuki Jewfish

If I was matt preston in masterchef and a contestant gave me this dish, i can bet you they would be eliminated!! First bite into the suzuki jewfish revealed bones and towards the end of the dish, realised the remaining fish was raw. The waiter apologised and gave us complimentary coffee/tea, which was a nice touch.


Rabbit pie

The rabbit pie pastry was brick solid rather than light and fluffy. My companion ended up just eating the filling. A tad disappointing.

The specials for the night was chicken with braised leek and carrots for two:



The whole chicken was wheeled out on a trolley and the waiter sliced up the chicken at our table. At least it proves they're serving the whole chickena and isn't ripping me off! haha.



We were pleasantly surprised by the juicy and tenderness of the chicken with leek and carrots. However, as i attempted to eat a meal for two by myself, i had chicken overload after my third piece of chicken =)





The sides were quite commendable actually. The roasted mushroom had a very rich garlic butter flavour but did not overpower the freshness of mushroom. The duck fat chips were very crunchy and came in a generous serving.



and finally, dessert time!



As a dessert lover, I was eagerly anticipating the duck egg catalan that i heard was to die for. However, it was definitely not the best dessert I have tasted. It lacked dimension and tasted like normal egg custard made with a lot of cream. I agree that it was smooth and creamy, however, the overly sweet syrup on top of the custard overpowered all other possible flavours.


Duck egg creme catalan

The churros were light and crunchy, dipped in chocolate sauce. A classic.


Churros with warm chocolate sauce


English breakfast tea

It was overal a lovely experience as the service was prompt and friendly. The ambience was lovely and not too loud, despite being quite crowded that night . As we used the entertainment book, it ended up being quite reasonably priced, however if we did not have the entertainment card, it would have killed my weekly budget.

There is room for improvement re the quality of the food. As this restaurant shares the same head chef as the one hatted restaurant Astral, i would love to try that one out next time. Hopefully it would be better than this one.




Sean's Kitchen
Level 2 Star City
80 Pyrmont Street,
Sydney City NSW 2000
Tel - 02 9777 9000
http://www.seanskitchen.com.au/