Koi Dessert Bar – Chippendale

Alex: If you haven’t yet heard of Koi Dessert Bar in Chippendale then you are either living under a rock or…well mumma said if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Koi spans 2 levels, with the bottom being a cafe style where you can get takeaway desserts/coffee and upstairs where you can experience the more refined dining options brought to you by the Poernomo brothers.

The only options available upstairs are a set degustation. A dessert option at $65 for 4 courses or the dinner option which is $77 for 6 courses.

Bianca and I opted for the dinner option because… food. To start we were brought two mini brioche rolls. Warm and soft with an easily, spreadable butter.

Not realising there would be dry ice theatrics when drinks were ordered I only just managed to get a picture of the Liquid tiramisu with espresso mascarpone. $8.50. The liquid nitrogen created a hard top layer that you crack through with a spoon. I loved the whole idea of this drink but a warning, it’s quite heavy and could be too much for some especially considering we were about to start a 6 course meal.

The first of the 6 courses is a Sydney rock oyster with crispy speck, ginger ponzu, lump fish caviar and verde. But due to our unanimous aversion to oysters, they thankfully created a Tofu dish for us with the same sauce as they have on the oyster. Lovely flavours. The tofu was cooked superbly with a crunchy exterior that melted almost too easily in the mouth.

The 2nd course was “King” A Hiramasa kings fish with smoked dash, kelp oil, togarashi, burnt onion mushroom pure and salmon roe. Firstly, presentation on the whole was superb but I especially loved the serving of this dish. The marble plate was stunning and contrasted so well with the colours on the plate. The flavour of the kingfish had quite an enjoyable smoky taste but the salmon roe for me, made it a little fishy so I pushed those to the side.
Moving away from seafood we were brought “Hearts”. The Charcoal duck breast with orange maple cider, duck hearts, swiss chard, red wine, butternut pumpkin and onion. Minus the duck hearts this was one of my favourites of the night surprisingly. The dish as a whole had a lot of sweet elements but I loved that. The duck was tender with a nice crispy skin and I loved the addition of the butternut pumpkin, one of my favourite things ever.

The first of the sweet dishes arrived, the “Peach Please” Rosemary yogurt with heilala vanilla mousse, peach jam and raspberry powder. A lighter option to start the desserts. The raspberry powder gives a slight tartness to the dish which was quite a welcome touch.
 
Always a sucker for chocolate, we were beyond excited and blown away at the presentation of the “Forbidden Fruit” Chocolate mousse, raspberry sorbet, raspberry gel, chocolate soil, lime zest and raspberry sorbet. The chocolate soil was easily one of my favourite elements on the plate. The chocolate mousse sphere had great flavours but myself and Bianca just found that it was too rich, making it very difficult to finish. And we hate waste!

The last two desserts of the evening were definitely the winners. “Moss” with Pistachio mousse, caramel gel, dulce cremeux, pistachio sponge, matcha moss, apple blossom jelly, nitro lime and yogurt and green apples was a textural masterpiece. Alternating flavours kept on enveloping the palate but somehow it worked so perfectly. And the muted matcha flavours were appreciated, we’re not the biggest fans 🙂

And finally, “T. Time” Black tea ice cream, dulce cremeux, five spice hazelnut sponge, chocolate pebbles and mandarin. Perhaps I enjoyed this one so much because all I was getting was flavours of Nutella. The honeycomb popped on the plate with its vibrant colour. And the little brown chocolate ball exploded in the mouth.

The whole experience at Koi, even the view outside our table was an enjoyable one. Service was great, food was theatrical and experimental. It’s no wonder the place has a constant buzz. Perhaps a 6 course degustation with 3 full and 1 shared desserts is a bit much, which kills me to say because Bianc and myself are huge dessert fiends.

Until next time!

Alex

*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of Koi Dessert Bar but all opinions are our own and independent. 

KOI Dessert Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Author: forfoodssake

A Sydney food blog.

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