Ormeggio at the Spit
Tucked away at Spit Junction, with picturesque views of the alcove harbour near Mosman and Seaforth, Ormeggio at the Spit is a gorgeous modern Italian restaurant that's perfect for a romantic date or a quiet family dinner. It's one of those dark, ambient mood-lighting restaurants with heavy, chain-mail drapes that somehow look light and gauzy; and the food showcases a range of culinary techniques and surprising combinations of ingredients.
Even the bread course is different from most places I've been to - instead of serving bread with butter, Ormeggio serves it with cream cheese and chives. The bread is my favourite type - chewy on the outside, pillowy soft and airy inside, with lots of air bubbles but without being a sourdough. One of the mysteries I'm determined to solve is where to get restaurant-type bread without having to dine in a restaurant.
The first course is a smoked ocean trout with tomato mayonnaise, onion, green tea powder, purple potato chips and red veined sorrel as garnish. The very first course sums up the culinary style of Ormeggio - mainly Italian, but with little touches of fusion here and there. Most of my family members said this was their favourite course of the night, and I can understand why: the combination of flavours is inspired, and the mix of soft and crunchy, thoroughly cooked and raw, brings interest to the dish. I, however, disliked that distinctive fishiness of the ocean trout.
This strange puddle, which looks like a melted tiramisu, is cod marinated in milk and anchovies, topped with cacao powder. The smooth, creamy sweetness of the milk-based sauce is set off by the sharp saltiness of anchovies, and the cod is gently cooked in this mixture to perfection. This is a warm, comforting, slightly heavy dish perfect for nippy evenings by the sea.
The pasta dish of the evening is a little heavy-handed, though technically perfect. The pasta is cooked al dente (though I wouldn't expect anything less from a restaurant like Ormeggio), and the king prawn cerviche pieces are delicious - but the wakame-like umami flavour was a bit heavy, and really quite enough after a couple of mouthfuls; so perhaps it should have been utilised in an appetiser, rather than a full-blown pasta dish.
Now we come to my favourite dish of the evening, and hands down my favourite pork belly dish ever. The melt-in-the-mouth, no-chewing-required pork belly is lightly drench in a yuzu sauce and served with tapioca and toasted quinoa. I have never experienced tapioca served savoury before, and after tasting it I really think it is a huge waste - tapioca's light, silky texture is so perfect for adding interest to an intricate sauce like the slightly tangy yuzu sauce here. Another great thing about the yuzu sauce is that it perfectly balanced the fattiness of pork belly.
The dessert of the evening is a sorrel sorbet served with carrot cake, spelt crumble and a caramel sauce with apple cider vinegar. Everything about this dessert sounds a little twisted, starting from the sauce. Salted caramel is a thing - in fact, a very popular thing, as it takes away the sickly sweetness of caramel. Ormeggio, however, won't succumb to anything so mainstream. They balance out their caramel sauce with apple cider vinegar, and it is truly inspired. Pairing this gooey, heavy sauce with sorrel sorbet is also amazing - it has a crisp, clean, yet still creamy taste that somehow makes perfect sense. The carrot cake has a very dense, moist texture, and is nothing like our normal conception of a carrot sponge cake. A wonderful way to finish the meal.
Score: 4.5 / 5
Cost: $$$, but on Sunday evenings they have a chef's menu for $79pp.
Address: D’Albora Marinas, Spit Rd, Mosman NSW 2088
Website: http://www.ormeggio.com.au/
The first course is a smoked ocean trout with tomato mayonnaise, onion, green tea powder, purple potato chips and red veined sorrel as garnish. The very first course sums up the culinary style of Ormeggio - mainly Italian, but with little touches of fusion here and there. Most of my family members said this was their favourite course of the night, and I can understand why: the combination of flavours is inspired, and the mix of soft and crunchy, thoroughly cooked and raw, brings interest to the dish. I, however, disliked that distinctive fishiness of the ocean trout.
This strange puddle, which looks like a melted tiramisu, is cod marinated in milk and anchovies, topped with cacao powder. The smooth, creamy sweetness of the milk-based sauce is set off by the sharp saltiness of anchovies, and the cod is gently cooked in this mixture to perfection. This is a warm, comforting, slightly heavy dish perfect for nippy evenings by the sea.
The pasta dish of the evening is a little heavy-handed, though technically perfect. The pasta is cooked al dente (though I wouldn't expect anything less from a restaurant like Ormeggio), and the king prawn cerviche pieces are delicious - but the wakame-like umami flavour was a bit heavy, and really quite enough after a couple of mouthfuls; so perhaps it should have been utilised in an appetiser, rather than a full-blown pasta dish.
Now we come to my favourite dish of the evening, and hands down my favourite pork belly dish ever. The melt-in-the-mouth, no-chewing-required pork belly is lightly drench in a yuzu sauce and served with tapioca and toasted quinoa. I have never experienced tapioca served savoury before, and after tasting it I really think it is a huge waste - tapioca's light, silky texture is so perfect for adding interest to an intricate sauce like the slightly tangy yuzu sauce here. Another great thing about the yuzu sauce is that it perfectly balanced the fattiness of pork belly.
The dessert of the evening is a sorrel sorbet served with carrot cake, spelt crumble and a caramel sauce with apple cider vinegar. Everything about this dessert sounds a little twisted, starting from the sauce. Salted caramel is a thing - in fact, a very popular thing, as it takes away the sickly sweetness of caramel. Ormeggio, however, won't succumb to anything so mainstream. They balance out their caramel sauce with apple cider vinegar, and it is truly inspired. Pairing this gooey, heavy sauce with sorrel sorbet is also amazing - it has a crisp, clean, yet still creamy taste that somehow makes perfect sense. The carrot cake has a very dense, moist texture, and is nothing like our normal conception of a carrot sponge cake. A wonderful way to finish the meal.
Score: 4.5 / 5
Cost: $$$, but on Sunday evenings they have a chef's menu for $79pp.
Address: D’Albora Marinas, Spit Rd, Mosman NSW 2088
Website: http://www.ormeggio.com.au/
Comments
Post a Comment