Marque Restaurant

[Julian Teoh]

After enduring one of the worst Sydney winters in memory (torrents of dumping rain, chill winds, no sun, you get the drift), I made the decision to pull up stumps and move to warmer climes. In anticipation of these joyful times, I had to re-visit Marque and set right what I thought was perhaps one of the worst memories of a dinner that I've had.

I've only ever dined once before at Marque, and that was at the 2004 Good Food Month "Hats Off" dinner. I remember it because it bordered on the sublimely ridiculous. If I stand accused of unsophistication and a lack of understanding, then perhaps I may plead guilty and save everyone their time. But could sins like "guacamole" with cornflakes ever be redeemed? Or perhaps the farce that was the meringue with endive and matcha green tea? When Mark Best came out and stood at the doorway to thank everyone for their custom, I felt the sudden urge to inflict some serious bodily harm (upon persons unnamed, of course). The final nail in the coffin was when the "chocolate delice" dessert re-surfaced later that week at Marque's stall at the Good Food Fair. It is perhaps telling that for want of a better name for a chocolate terrine, Best (perhaps unintentionally) adopted the awful weasel word used by the Lindt Cafe for its equally ordinary macarons.

It is worth noting that my dining companion on that night, whom I shall name S to spare her blushes, seemed to keep her distance after that dinner.

So when S agreed to return to the scene of that last massacre, I was a little surprised, but pleasantly so. And not to detract from anything, Marque is indeed a very comfortable place to dine, much more so than the angular wood and steel-wrought edifice that is Rockpool. I apologise in advance to the pro photographers amongst us.

Diners have the option of a la carte or an 8-course degustation. We choose the latter due to extreme indecisiveness.

Amuse-bouche: Chaud-froid free range egg, Alain Passard 1998

If you didn't know that Mark Best trained under Alain Passard, now you do (it's printed as above on the menu). And we have eGullet and the plagiarism debate-thing to thank for that. To Best's credit, this is probably the best version I've had sent forth by a Passard disciple. Sherry vinegar, maple syrup, a slush of cold cream, warm coddled egg and house-made grissini. Perfect.

First entree: Almond jelly, almond gazpacho, corn custard, blue swimmer crab, avruga caviar

2005 Domaine Pichot Vouvray Sec "Coteau de la Biche"

Nice, texturally challenging. The crab meat is much sweeter than I expect from a blue swimmer. The gazpacho is foamed and is a wonderful medium for delivering the mild sweetness of almonds. Powdered popcorn added further textural interest.

Second Entree: Cured Ocean Trout, Trout Roe, Citrus and Bush Samphire

2005 Crawford River Riesling

This dish stirs recollections of fine Thai food, a perfect balance of salt, sweet and sour. A slash of orange emulsion, bits of pomelo, bush samphire, the acquiescent crunch of amazingly fresh trout roe.

Third Entree: "Risotto" of South Australian calamari, Yamba prawn and lobster broth

2005 Salomon Undhof Kogl Riesling

This was the most outrightly delicious dish of the night, by far and away the best thing I've eaten at a restaurant all year. Instead of rice grains, calamari is diced into little rice-like chunks, yet big enough to deliver a 1-2 combination of killer calamari goodness. Curry leaves create a nice base note against the higher sweet notes of the seafood. The only element which left me scratching my head was a flattened Yamba prawn - I'm sure it was a very nice prawn in its past life, but I couldn't tell now.

Fourth Entree: Joselito Iberian Jamon with Belgian endive and parmesan custard

2004 Domaine Patrick Javillier Chardonnay

Caramelised endive, raw endive. A little smidge of jamon on the side and a stingy dribble of delicious parmesan custard. That's it really, and the flavours really worked. However, the textural components failed to find any cohesion. The caramelised confit endive slid down the throat like a perfect little Sydney rock, but the raw counterpart had too persistently bitter an after taste, far outlasting the savoury notes. And I know jamon costs a bomb, but please, sir, I want some more. You never know, it could have saved the dish.

First Main Course: Roast Jurassic Quail with Pumpkin Tofu, Pickled Onions, Sesame Salt and Lemon Confit

2005 Olssen "Bass Hill" Primitivo

Pumpkin tofu is a light, sweet cube of manna that may have caused me to re-consider religion. Quail was well-cooked, and I loved the way the meyer lemon confit cut through the surprisingly big quail chunks. "Hence the Jurassic," said our helpful waiter, explaining that it was a breed of larger quail. Pork crackling powder lined the plate (a little more on that later).

Second Main Course: Venison Loin with Potato Puree, Crispy brussel sprouts and mushroom salad

2004 Curlewis Syrah

My wife asked me what the crispy little green things reminded me of. I replied "Wasabi green peas." S called me an idiot. I ignored her. My wife was similarly of no assistance to me. The venison, thankfully, relieved what could have been a rather testy situation. The totally unctuous potato puree reminded me why we go to restaurants - there are some things, no matter how hard you try, that cannot pretend to perfection. This came pretty damn close. Those who cannot stand false advertising should steer clear of the mushroom salad, which was a thatch of out-of-place enoki mushrooms, a grilled quarter of pine mushroom and the thinnest sliver of confit king oyster mushroom.

Pre-dessert: Sauternes Custard with Caramel

At this point, my camera carked it. Which was a good thing too. This dessert had the kick of an iron-shod mule.

Dessert: Caramelised pineapple with Native Pepper Berry and Manjimup Truffle Icecream

2002 Chateau La Rame

No great shakes, say my wife and S. Good thing too, that I asked to have the:

Alternative Dessert: Caramelised Tomato stuffed with Twelve Flavours, Star Anise Icecream

2004 Muscat Beaumes de Venise

This is probably the second most plagiarised dish in the world after the Arpege egg. I liked it, S told me it was revolting. Then again, I think she's just jealous.

Petits Fours: Salted Caramel Chocolates, Apple Fruit Jellies with Kaffir Lime Sherbet

Awaiting us at the finish line were these lovelies.

Conclusion

Wow. I'm impressed. Marque is really pushing the envelope in Sydney dining insofar as inventiveness of food goes. I don't think it's a coincidence that two of the other most innovative restaurants in Sydney, Oscillate Wildly and Bentley Bar and Restaurant, are steered by Marque alumni. My only gripe would be the recurrence of various powders - liquorice with the salmon (which was an inspired addition, I will concede), pork crackling, popcorn, and something nondescript with my tomato dessert. Maybe Best is riffing off the Joan Roca earth thing, I really don't know, but it got a little monotonous.

As before, wine matching and general service were top-notch, the only saving grace of that last experience. Best's cooking has evolved well beyond the lessons of his mentors. When I compare this meal with Gunther Hubrechsen's (a former sous chef at L'Arpege) food at Singapore's Les Amis, Best relies on the best of local produce but unlike Hubrechsen's more cautious, conservative style, elevates them with challenging technique and innovative flavour combinations. Truly, it was rewarding to see a chef who unabashedly eschewed the "produce speaking for itself" thing and put his own distinctive signature on his cuisine. And really, who wants to see a talking Kangaroo island chicken?

I wholeheartedly forgive Best for the sins of the past. Given the depravity of his past transgressions, that is high praise indeed.