A Taste of... The Dairy at InterContinental Sydney

Hotel restaurants aren't necessarily top of mind when dining out as a local, but after sampling the A Taste of... menu at Cafe Opera in the InterContinental Sydney recently, it seems I've overlooked the fact that five-star hotels have five-star restaurants too.

InterContinental Sydney's executive chef Tamas Pamer likes to think the restaurant merely sits within a hotel rather than being a hotel restaurant, and initiatives like the A Taste of... themed dinners promoting local Australian produce push this line.

Canapes for A Taste of... launch at Cafe Opera, InterContinental Hotel, Macquarie Street, Sydney

Until 30 April 2014, it's A Taste of... The Dairy, featuring cheeses and milk products from a range of local producers. Certainly not for the lactose-intolerant, this is a bit a heaven for cheese lovers, especially when matched with local wines.

As a launch event, we were treated to canapes that aren't normally a part of the three- or five-course degustation: creative dairy-focused morsels like seaweed crackers with ricotta and Yarra Valley salmon caviar whipped up by Pamer and his buddy and executive sous chef Julien Poteau.

Executive Chef Tamas Pamer (right) and Executive Sous Chef Julien Poteau (left)

Both of European backgrounds (Pamer is German while Poteau is French), both chefs were very complimentary of Australian dairy produce and produce generally, noting that Australian producers don't have the customer support and associated financial backing of European producers.

This is part of the reason that the InterContinental Sydney strongly supports local producers in events like the A Taste of... dinners and throughout the hotel's food offerings. It makes sense that a tourist staying in the hotel might like to be enlightened as to our fantastic local produce, as well as us locals too.

Table settings for the A Taste of... The Dairy degustation

We were treated with dining in Cafe Opera's ambient private room, differentiating the degustation experience from the restaurant's usual buffet offering.

G.H. Mumm Champagne

We started on Mumm Champagne with the canapes, which is as lovely a way to start a meal as there is.

Pepe Saya butter and bread

At the table, we were delighted to find large, drilled out, smooth river stones at each setting, filled with Pepe Saya butter and re-labelled with the brand's signature sticker.

Some of our country's best cultured butter doesn't taste much better served in a rock - it's so good anyway, slathered thickly onto a crusty seeded bread roll, that I managed to get through most of my stone's serve.

Logan Vintage 'M" Cuvee

Following champagne, our first course was matched with the Logan Vintage 'M' Cuvee; a sparkling blend of equal parts chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier from Orange.

Gorgeously coppery in colour with a nice, dry palate, it was described as an adventurous wine pairing with our first course of cured trout.

Beetroot cured trout, fromage frais, chive, pickled cucumber

It was a stunning dish to look at featuring a beet red-tinted block of firm ocean trout resting in a verdant pool of creamy chive puree.

On top was a cute pink meringue wafer, flavoured with a native peach, sandwiching fresh, herbed fromage frais from Pokolbin's Binnorie Dairy.

Together, the sweet meringue, creamy fromage frais and salty cuts of ocean trout were delightfully light, making for a sophisticated layering of unexpectedly complementary flavours.

Jannei goat milk pudding, young pine needle, caramelised turnip, buckwheat

Our next course was of the nature-mimicking food trend that's popular in many restaurants now. Served in a jar was a forest floor-like crunchy mixture of puffed buckwheat and blitzed, crisped porcini mushrooms, hiding juicy cubes of soft, caramelised turnip.

It all came topped with a foamy pudding of Jannei goat's milk from a farm near Oberon and then crisp young pine needles; the distinct flavour of the goat's milk lifting the rest of the dish's mostly crunchy, brown components.

The savoury pudding was served with Polin & Polin John Rook's Rose; an amazingly dry, even savoury, rose from the Hunter Valley.

Butter milk roasted Barossa chicken, chestnut mushroom, potato maxim, cheddar emulsion

To the main meal we were presented with a spectacular composition of chicken that definitely took it out of boring poultry territory.

The golden-skinned breast portion featured an artistically layered stuffing between juicy chicken flesh which was roasted in Pepe Saya butter milk, joined by a myriad of accompaniments on the plate.

Butter milk roasted Barossa chicken, chestnut mushroom, potato maxim, cheddar emulsion

There was a Pyengana cheddar foam atop deep fried enoki mushrooms, braised chestnut mushrooms, little roasted potato silos and the crisp potato maxim ring that pretty much tasted like chips.

There wasn't a dull moment to be had with this Barossa chook, served with Montrose Stony Creek Chardonnay from the Mudgee region.

Ross Hill Pinnacle Series Cabernet Sauvignon

The spicy Ross Hill Pinnacle Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Orange came out with the cheese course in a stunning Plumm decanter.

In fact, the InterContinental Sydney now uses the full range of Plumm glassware throughout the hotel in another significant vote of support for Australian brands and producers.

Baked Reblochon (The Mountain Man), confit fig, walnut bread

The cheese course was easily my favourite featuring an organic French-style cheese by Victoria's L'Artisan Cheese Timboon called The Mountain Man, made in a French Alps Reblochon fashion.

A whole wheel of the cow's milk washed rind cheese was baked and served at the table, in its full oozing, stringing cheese glory.

Serving the baked Reblochon

This glory also made it into a goodie bag to take home - pretty much the best goodie bag ever, with a whole wheel of The Mountain Man cheese, plus Pepe Saya butter and crème fraîche, the lush Country Valley natural yoghurt and a mini loaf of brioche.

Baked Reblochon (The Mountain Man), confit fig, walnut bread

Baking the cheese seemed to reduce much of the washed rind's stinkiness, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The gooey melted cheese was simply divine with the sweet, yielding half fig while the toasted twig of walnut-studded bread was the perfect finishing touch.

Brie custard, apple, thyme honey, brioche, macadami

While the cheese could have been the end for me, the proper dessert course was one I'm unlikely to ever encounter again: a pot of thick, warm custard made of L'Artisan brie cheese, with lumps of the cheese's skin even.

The creaminess and slight saltiness of the cheese were apparent, highlighted against soft cooked apple, caramelised macadamia nuts and honey. The ice cream on the side consisted of Country Valley milk from Picton, cooked down to a dulce de leche state to form the sweet, milky ice cream.

Dessert was matched with the Small Acres Cyder Pommeau which is a fortified cider from the state's central west, though its potent taste makes it more like an apple brandy.

House made Easter eggs

We ended the amazing meal with house made dark chocolate Easter eggs, not part of the usual offering but so deliciously timely.

As a Sydney-sider I've got limited experience of our high end hotels from a guest point of view, but given a taste of what the InterContinental Sydney and Cafe Opera have to offer - a fine dining atmosphere and interesting, relevant produce on the plates - the A Taste of... concept has a unique drawcard for locals and tourists alike.

The Taste of... The Dairy dinners are on until 30 April 2014 at Cafe Opera. It will be followed by A Taste of... Head to Tail and Forest Foraging, respectively, in later months this year. Bookings are essential - see here for more details.

Food, booze and shoes dined at Cafe Opera at the InterContinental Hotel as a guest, with thanks to Pulse Communications.

A Flavour of Moscow comes to InterContinental Sydney

My experience with Russia and all things Russian is pretty much limited to a Moscow Mule. Which is an appropriate introduction to 'A Flavour of Moscow'; a Russian experience at the InterContinental Sydney which is on now until 31 January 2012.

Cortile Lounge, InterContinental Sydney, Macquarie Street, Sydney

Celebrating the opening of InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya, the five-star InterContinental Sydney hotel is adding a taste of Russia to the lobby bar cocktail menu and the Cafe Opera buffet.

At the airy, light-filled Cortile Lounge on the ground floor, Russian-inspired vodka based cocktails feature alongside mojitos; with a two-for-one offer ($25) on cocktails from 5.00-7.00pm every day.

Moscow Mule at the Cortile Lounge

The refreshing Moscow Mule is packed with ice, a 'black' vodka, lime and ginger beer and is the ultimate summer cocktail, which makes the Russian connection a little contradictory.

Russian Mule

A close relative, the Russian Mule, comes from the same line of vodka, lime and ginger beer with the addition of mint leaves, and has a lot more flavour for it.

From Russia With Love cocktail

The third Russian inspired cocktail is more aptly a dessert cocktail, featuring vodka, Chambord, cranberry juice and cream. Not exactly pretty unstirred, this rich and saccharine-sweet drink was an unexpected winning flavour combination.

We headed up to Cafe Opera on Level 1 via the antiquated elevator that was as much fun to operate as the cocktails. The regular buffet option at Cafe Opera has been given 'A Flavour of Moscow' in addition to the seafood and hot roasts, with lunch starting from $55 per person and dinner from $65 per person.

Fresh seafood at the Cafe Opera buffet

Considering the buffet features daily-changing fresh seafood such as Sydney rock oysters, tiger prawns, New Zealand mussels and spanner crab, the price isn't too much to ask.

The Russian inspired buffet additions are inspired by the InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya’s executive chef Olev Chesnokov, and change daily with the buffet.

Cold food options

There's also an exciting, seafood-heavy array of cold salads with more dressings than I probably knew existed, as well as sushi and cured seafoods and meat.

For the 'A Flavour of Moscow' feature, separate to the rest of the buffet and aside the bread served with Pepe Saya cultured butter, there were interesting and uncommon foods spread across a deli set-up

Smoked sprats

The prettily arranged headless smoked sprats were much like sardines with a divine smokiness that added a sweetness to the oily fish.

Russian stuffed egg

The stuffed eggs were irresistably beautiful, with a creamy egg yolk mixture piped in to refill emptied boiled egg white sections. There wasn't really anything interesting taste-wise, but the gorgeous piping made up for that.

Moscow salami

While I've yet to meet a salami that I don't like, I struggle to really tell the difference between, for example, Hungarian or various Italian salami. So, I can say I liked this salami just as much as I like other salamis - which is plenty, and particularly with cornichons.

Russian cheese

We couldn't get an identifying name for this Russian cow's milk cheese, but it was unlike any other I've tried. As salty as a salty feta cheese, but with a texture almost like margarine, this holey cheese was lovely spread on fresh, crusty white bread.

My buffet plate with 'A Flavour of Moscow'

And with the addition of Russian pickles - tomato, gherkin, celery and squash, all wonderfully fragrant with dill - this was 'A Flavour of Moscow'.

There was nothing scarily alien to me about the Russian food experience here, although I was hanging out for some blinis (about the only Russian food item I previously knew).

Seafood salads and cured meats

Of the rest of the Cafe Opera menu, we happily went to and fro to collect the likes of smoked salmon and a scallop salad from the cold salad buffet; the latter consisting of scallops, minimal vegetable and dressing.

Fresh seafood

I may have been seen at the fresh seafood buffet several times in the night, but I can't be blamed. Blame the oysters or me wanting to try fresh spanner crab, which was as much work as normal crab but unfortunately didn't have the sea-sweet flavour of mud crab or even blue swimmer crabs.

Sydney rock oysters

But the oysters, oh the oysters. Pretty much the best I've had all year, these Sydney rocks had it all going on. Impeccably fresh, plump and so very creamy, even the occasional bit of shell didn't deter me from heading back for more.

While I usually like a red wine vinegar dressing on my natural oysters, these needed nothing at all but a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. These oysters and a glass of Kilikanoon Vouvray, and all was right in the world.

Scallop salad (left) and crab salad (right)

The sheer quality of the buffet was impressive as it's obviously quality over quantity. The crab salad, for example, was predominantly picked crab and not much else. The seafood was super fresh and the Pepa Saya butter probably topped it all off.

Roast turkey (back), lamb skewers (back right), baked sweet potato (front)
and baked ham (front left)

In time for the festive season, the carvery featured both roast turkey and baked ham - both of which were done very well, full of flavour and moisture and irresistable a few days before Christmas.

Dessert buffet

By the time dessert was on my mind, I think I'd eaten more than my fair share of oysters and turkey, and couldn't really fathom anything more than a mouthful or four of ice cream from a self-serve section.

The refrigerated dessert section looked like a sweet tooth's fantasy land, but for me it would have to be another visit's sweet ending. I was completely done, in my typical buffet style, and having had 'A Flavour of Moscow', would definitely be up for a visit to Russia to sample more of those pickles, smoked fish and vodka, of course.

Food, booze and shoes dined at the Cortile Lounge and Cafe Opera courtesy of InterContinental Sydney, with thanks to Starr Public Relations. 

Available exclusively to InterContinental Sydney’s exclusive Club lounge guests, a complimentary menu of Russian vodkas and vodka-based cocktails will be served at twilight, accompanied by Russian canapés, such as Ukranian potato pancake, salmon kulebiaka and Crimean mussel pilaf. Guests can also enjoy a selection of Russian a la carte dishes while overlooking the harbour and Botanic Gardens.