The joys of gourmet food are celebrated all October long in Sydney - woohoo it's Good Food Month! There are a huge number of activities from markets and master classes to degustations and dessert events. G and I have been to several events in the past couple of weeks, this week we took a long lunch break and went to Forty One for their Let's do lunch offering.
I've never eaten at Forty One before and this was a great introduction - to be honest I wasn't sure what to expect. When I looked at the list of restaurants available for Let's do lunch I picked Forty One because of the views - being as it is on the forty first floor of the Chifley Tower.
When we arrived we were unfortunately sat at a table back from the windows so we missed the full effect of the location. We were served bread and Western Australian olive oil - the bread was lovely - light but with a chewy crust. We ordered an entree to share and then the $35 GFM lunch. Our entree was a squat tower of slow-cooked veal chilled and topped with sweet crab meat and drizzled with a tangy dressing. It had a pleasant subtle flavour - the mild veal balanced well with the juicy crab and offset nicely by the citrus tang of the dressing.
The main course was slow-cooked ocean trout, Israeli cous cous cooked like a rissotto with baby zucchini, chilli and grated bottarga. I admit I had to google bottarga when I got back to the office - it is apparently Sardinian dried tuna roe and after looking at pictures of it on the web I don't think our meal contained any but I could be mistaken. Israeli cous cous has the texture of pasta but looked like glossy little pearls. The ocean trout was nice but in my opinion a little under cooked. It had a lovely buttery texture but the edges that were slightly more cooked were more to my taste. G liked it just as it was. The meal was served with a glass of Brown Brothers Pinot Grigio.
All in all it was a lovely way to spend a Thursday lunch hour - the service was a little remote but consistent - it would have been fantastic if we'd gotten a window seat, if I go back I'll ask for one when I book. The view from the men's bathroom G assures me has to be seen to be believed. This would be a great place to lunch with overseas visitors.
Forty One -The Chifley Tower, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney 9221 2500
Make sure to visit Cucina Rebecca's round-up of all the other Good Food Month events other Sydney bloggers are involved in.
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