This may have been one of the most exciting dinners ever. Master Chef Bryan Zhu’s project called Levitate Instant Restaurant has partnered with The Rice Panty for a reunion dinner at Precinct 75, which is next to Willie The Boatman in St. Peters.
Embracing Chef Byran’s Chinese background, the menu consisted of fusion elements and vegetarian options are well catered.
Kicking start at 6pm, the table is set, the music is on, and the light is dimmed. Two sharing snacks were served while we were waiting for everyone to arrive. The toasted bread came with a small dish of smooth creamy butter, and some seasoned popcorn.
The chef table is right at one end of the big room, every small little action is like a display to diners. What’s more exciting then seeing how your food get constructed in front of your eyes? Not only Byran was a talented friendly chef, but the team at the dinner service was professional, attention to details, and very efficient to make sure we get fed at the right pace.
DOWN AND DIRTY
Vietnamese fried chicken is nothing like the crispy ones in Korean or Western style, but it has a rather thin layer of batter. The bite size tender chicken nuggets were spiced with sriracha mayo, cucumber, and sour pickles. This dish shows how chef strike the perfect balance to excite our palate.
The OCEAN BED
Hands down my favourite dish of the night. It’s not just because of its expensive taste but it did actually taste amazing. I normally dislike any kind of congee but this one used mixed grain crab congee with abalone, king mushroom, ocean crumb, and fingerline. The congee base is not rice but mostly barley with a little of quinoa, and the floss on top elevated the whole dish with that a little bit of sweetness.
CROUCHING BEEF, HIDDEN MANDARIN
Another amazing dish that took us by surprise. It’s not just any kind of beef dish, but the crispy beef was almost jerky-like with some sweetness from the mandarin ginger glaze. Though it’s like jerky, it’s still very tender and the more you chew it, the more flavour would come out. The beef is sitting on top of a bed of miso potato puree and some thinly sliced gai lan threads, topped with crispy deep fried enoki mushroom. It’s so good I wish it never finishes.
PALATE CLEANSER
Some chrysanthemum sorbet and osmanthus jelly to basically make our tongues ready for dessert.
Byran Zhu doesn’t take dessert easily. A magic dry ice show was pulled off at each table before two different desserts were served for us in no time.
p.s the dry ice is poured over on some lemon tea, giving us another sensation of enjoyment
THE END OF YUMCHA
First dessert was a lighter sweet dish. A spoonful of silky soy milk and ginger ice cream that melted in my mouth instant. The diary taste was so similar to what I had in childhood, what’s more? It was complimented beautifully with kinako crumble (soy bean ), lemongrass sago, and mango mochi. It’s it just everything I wanted when I think of dessert? I particularly liked the kinako crumble rather than the overly used soy bean powder in lots of other desserts out there.
AUTUMN FLOOR
The next dessert is a bit heavier because it’s whipped chestnut mascarpone with toasted chestnut soil and brown butter tuille. First off, the toasted chestnut taste was powerful and I am all for it! It’s smooth and sweet but not the artificial sweet taste from chestnut products. All those crumbs and crisps around it gave the dish a bit of bites that make you can’t stop eating.
PETIT FOURS
Sometimes people may skip petit fours because they are either too full but mostly because petit fours can be quite boring. At our dinner, you definitely don’t want to miss it because they are just as exciting as the courses (coconut bliss, rocky road, lemon tea mashmellow, osmanthus jelly) .
Conclusion
For a decent price, it’s a true unique experience to try the masterpieces from Master Chef. Each dish is nostalgic especially the ocean congee that was full of ocean flavour. The open space at the venue in Precinct 75 was perfect for the event because it was absolutely peaceful and quiet at night, while the dining area was buzzing with banters and music from the live band. The 2.5 hours dining experience left us joy and a very satisfying stomach. I hope to come back again for another bespoke menu, or the regular menu at The Rice Pantry!
Address:
75 Mary St, St Peters NSW 2044
Website:
http://www.thericepantry.com.au/
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