Since the last time I visited
Automata in 2018, the restaurant is now two-hatted. It continues to serve innovative dishes using unusual ingredients on an ever-changing degustation menu, and I think it has leaned in even further towards its East-meets-West fusion concept in both technique and flavours.
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| white sturgeon caviar, oyster emulsion, celery |
If there is one dish that defines the taste of the ocean, this would be it. The oyster emulsion is extremely creamy and light in flavour, balancing the little bursts of sturgeon caviar and the fine, pickled celery. With so many interesting textures, this is the perfect amuse bouche to awaken the taste buds in preparation for the amazing dishes to come.
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| A series of further amuses bouche |
Starting at the bottom, we have darling little crumbed anchovy olives - the olive maintains its burst-in-mouth juiciness which, along with its saltiness, cuts right through the grease of the deep fried crumbs. The pistachio, preserved lemon and creme fraiche tart uses fresh pistachio, which is a lot sweeter and lighter (as well as brighter in colour) than the roasted kind found in supermarkets. It almost has an edemame-like texture and flavour, and the slightly soured creme fraiche pears beautifully with it. My favourite of the quartet is the tiger prawn, xo sauce, kohlrabi on seaweed and rice cracker. It is a mouthful of beautiful Japanese-inspired flavoured and rich umami. Finally, a little skewer of grilled duck heart brushed with brown rice miso and topped with fragrant osmanthus brings a little piece of the yakitori to the tasting menu. I am a huge fan of duck (or chicken) heart, it is a flavourful and slightly chewy piece of meat that is outrageously underrated in Western cooking. The dash of osthanthus is surprising, as it is usually used in sweet dishes in Chinese cooking - but somehow, it worked perfectly here.
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| kiwiberry, lemon myrtle, chilled tomato broth |
Here we see my favourite berry, the kiwiberry, make a dramatic entrance. The kiwi berry looks like a cherry tomato but is an extra-sweet kiwi fruit in the middle. It is dusted with pepper-like lemon myrtle and drench in an amazingly clear broth of green tomatoes that is so wonderfully flavourful, it is truly inspired. The mixture of sweet, sour and salty made this an amazing palate cleanser before we moved on to the mains of the evening.
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| steamed Murray cod, bug roe, braised fennel and geraldton wax |
I think this may be the most beautifully cooked piece of fish I have had in a long, long time. It is so precisely cooked: flakey, soft yet perfectly juicy; it barely required chewing. The bug roe has a deep, umami flavour that paired perfectly with the slightly tart, fermented flavours of the briased fennel.
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| Bread and whipped yoghurt |
To help mop up the sauces of the cod course and the calamari course to come, Automata brought out their famous little bread rools. This time, it is accompanied by a yoghurt spread, which is delightful; but I am still dreaming of the whipped butter they used to serve...
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| southern calamari, jalapeno and herb sauce, lardo, ink vinaigrette |
This striking-looking dish is such a whirlwind of flavours and beautiful textures: the calamari is sliced so beautifully thin, with not an ounce of tough chewiness to be experienced; the gossamer-thin slice of lardo (which is a kind of salumi made by curing pork fat) tempted the flavours with its melty oiliness; the sauce is vibrant and fresh; and the ink vinaigrette maintains a hint of bitterness that teases the taste bud just that little bit.
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| blackmore wagyu tri-tip, carrot and kelp, pickled gherkin and bamboo |
The tri-tip appears to be Automata's cut of choice: I remember the last time I visited, the meat dish was also a tri-tip. Not being a famously fatty, soft cut of meat, the incredible skills of the Automata chefs somehow manages to make this cut rival any filet mignon. It is so wonderfully melt-in-the-mouth, bursting with flavour, and when complimented with a creamy carrot and kelp mash as well as pickles, it is genuinely to die for. This was my favourite course of the evening, winning top spot amongst tough competition.
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| ossau-iraty, rye cracker, pear and bergamot, $16 |
The optional cheese course features a sweet, nutty semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from France's Basque country. This cheese is an AOP, meaning it has a protected manufacturing process and can only be made with two breeds of sheep, the Manech and the Basco-Bearnaise. It is served with beautifully crisp and oily rye cracker, served with a pear and bergamot chutney.
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| caramelised pineapple and liquorice cheesecake, bee pollen |
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This is the thinnest cheesecake I have ever seen, and it absolutely works. The liquorice flavour is not very strong: for example, it is not as prominent as the liquorice cake at Yellow, but it is sufficiently present. The filling is a lovely caramelised pineapple that immediately reminded me of the Taiwanese pineapple cake, which involves just such a sweet and tart pineapple filling in crumbly pastry. |
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| sunflower seed sorbet, pickled prune, blacke sesame and milk crisp |
The evening ends on a bang with this amazing final pudding. The sunflower seed sorbet is so creamy and smooth I had not realised it is a sorbet until I just re-read the menu. I could have sworn it was an ice-cream. It is not overly sweet, leaning into its earthiness. The black sesame drizzle is extremely rich, and not overly-sugared. The pickled prune is the most prominent flavour in this dish; while the milk crisp has a lovely, gentle malty flavour and a very interesting texture. This is an extremely balanced and impressively skillful end to the meal.
Score: 5/5
Cost: $165 / $195pp degustation menu with optional extras, not including beverages.
Address: 5 Kensington St, Chippendale
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