Sydney Fish Market

Sydney Fish Market reminds us again and again why we love seafood and how deprived we are of a huge variety of seafood lacking in Chicago. While we are fortunate to live a stone's throw away from fresh seafood Chicago wholesalers who are open to the public, nothing compares to the selection one will get when living close to the sea. As the second largest fish market outside of Japan, this place is a must-visit for anyone who loves seafood. If you are just visiting Sydney, like us, and could not possibly make a seafood purchase in hopes to prepare and cook them for dinner (unless if you have a kitchen in your hotel room!), you will not be left out in enjoying the fresh seafood. Join the throngs of seafood lovers at the Fish Market and feast on freshly shucked oysters, sashimi, and a variety of cooked seafood dishes right there at the market. Order the food from the various vendors, bring them over to one of the tables, and go into a seafood mania.

We arrive early in the morning just shortly after 9am and see an impressive number of people seated at the tables who are already halfway through eating their oysters, lobsters, prawns, and whole fish. No it isn't a crazy idea after all that T and I are planning for breakfast that involves oysters. We start with two dozen freshly shucked rock oysters. Sashimi is sold according to weight and the employee behind the counter slices the fish according to how much we want for the tuna and salmon. The sea urchin sashimi is sold by the box and we decide on that as well. The grilled whole snapper is well seasoned and served with a side of fries. Oh my. We are in seafood heaven.

We walk our food off by strolling along the many seafood retailers in the other sections. The variety of fish, prawns, oysters, crabs, and shellfish are more than we know by heart or have seen. We come across bugs, a type of Australian crustacean (we later ate these delicious crustaceans-- grilled-- in Melbourne). We discover something new, then further discover how much we love it, and then of course remember that we can only get bugs in Australia. Oh, we'll return for more.

 

The Sydney Fish Market is conveniently accessible by the Metro Light Rail from the CBD. Get off at the Fish Market station, rightly named so.

Photographing Sydney

Here are some of places we thought captured the essence of Sydney in photography.



Darling Harbor

We came here in the evening not so much for dining and entertainment purposes as this place more or less screams tourist central, and instead had the main goal of photographing the Sydney CBD skyline when the harbor and buildings were lit. Standing at Harbourside, the views across the water were of Cockle Bay and the CBD. The Sydney Tower also stands tall in the background. The evening lights from Cockle Bay were reflected on the water and helped to make great shots.

 

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

And, of course, the quintessential icons of Sydney: Opera House and Harbour Bridge.  

For an elevated view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the best would be to stand on the Cahill Expressway Viewing Platform. To get to this viewing platform: walk north on Macquarie Street until you come underneath a bridge. There will be a sign that says "Cahill Walkway to Harbour Bridge". Walk up the stairs to the platform. Conveniently, there is a glass elevator that will take you down to the Circular Quay promenade where you can continue on your way north along the harbourfront walk to get a non-elevated view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as further bringing you north to the Sydney Opera House.

Royal Botanical Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens is also where you can get the most photographed view of Sydney with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge together. As you make your way here from the Sydney Opera House, walk towards Farm Cove and enter the gardens through Queen Elizabeth II gate. Walk along the beautiful pathway located along the water. Continue through Yurong Gate towards Mrs Macquarie's Chair to get a view of both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge together. Signs are in abundance at the Royal Botanic Gardens.





Walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens, it offered us a wonderful reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is located right in the city but once inside the garden, it was easy for us to feel like we were miles away. The rich variety of trees, plants, and florals in the park were impressive. Clearly they reflect how well maintained this huge park is.

King Street, Newtown

Victorian architecture is so pervasive and striking in Australia (at least from what we know about Sydney and Melbourne) in general that it adds so much character and history to the street culture. Newtown is said to be the most well preserved area dating from the late Victorian period in Sydney. On King Street is a very long stretch of cafes, local boutiques, bookstores, pubs, and ethnic restaurants.

Surry Hills

We found ourselves returning to Surry Hills again and again not so much for photography reasons but because this area is where many of Sydney's great restaurants are which makes it the center of the city's dining scene today. Surry Hills was where we had excellent food at Marque and The Bentley, as well as amazing croissants at Bourke Street Bakery. Serious coffee or espresso lovers would be equally serious about Single Origins Roasters here. Bill's who pioneered the breakfast culture in Sydney also has a location in Surry Hills though we went to the original location in Darlinghurst. The Victorian architecture along the commercial and residential streets, fashion stores, and concentration of restaurants and pubs make Surry Hills a very, very attractive area.

Marque

It literally started storming halfway on our way to Marque from our hotel on foot. While we took cover at periodic intervals on the way to Marque, we got a little wet from the rain (me in my dress, T in his suit) by the time we arrived. We stepped into the dimly lit and elegant restaurant, and things only started to get better that led to a fantastic night of unforgettable food and service. We were greeted by the host who saw that we were obviously wet from the rain and calmly offered directions to the restrooms if we wanted to dry ourselves with towels before getting seated.

Headed by Chef Mark Best, Marque offers only a degustation menu. Why would anyone not want a degustation meal anyway at a restaurant where the chef was awarded Best Chef of the Year by the Sydney Morning Herald? We enjoyed every moment at Marque and are still reminiscing the food, both in taste and presentation. I just want to say that we really, really liked Marque.

*****

Amuse bouche

Potato mille feuille with foie gras butter and bonito

Meant as a play on the delicate nature of mille feuille pastry, the very thin slices of potato creatively reflected a delicate crisp that one would expect when biting into mille feuille. Sandwiched in between the potato slices were foie gras butter and bonito.

1st course

Blue swimmer crab, almond gazpacho, buttermilk, almond jelly, and popcorn

After the server placed this at the table for T, I lamented, "Now I'm a little jealous". Our server could only playfully reply, "But you can't have it!" No thanks to the shrimp and crab allergies that I recently developed (yes, in adulthood).

Tomato gazpacho, cucumber, strawberry

I didn't stay envious for long. The kitchen prepared a beautiful gazpacho dish for me. I don't remember the last time when gazpacho impressed me as much as Marque did.



2nd course

Marron crayfish, tomato jelly, and tomato leaf

The Australian crustacean was delicately presented with just enough accompaniments without distracting the true taste of the crayfish.



3rd course


Dutch cream potato, sea urchin, bone marrow, and coffee

To have our favorite items combined together to make a dish was more than a delight. Sea urchin + bone marrow + coffee. Who knew that each of the items that we love would make a perfect marriage of tastes. Clearly, Chef Mark Best knows best (no pun intended).



4th course



Bar cod, Vadouvan Indian spice, kaffir leaves, lemon puree, and fish floss

The petite piece of fish was seared while maintaining a great moist texture inside. We also really liked the play of slight Indian influence from the spice and kaffir leaves.



5th course



North American muscovy duck, dill puree, beer infused cream, pickled strawberry, and onion

Another solid course, I remember enjoying this duck so much I didn't want it to end.



6th course

Wagyu beef, tendon, brocollini, and jus

Clearly the wagyu beef was the star of the night, hands down. Served rare, the wagyu beef was served in a generous slice and almost filling up the entire plate. We have had a lot of rare beef served as tartare or carpaccio, but this piece of wagyu beef at Marque was really something that blew us away. The piece of meat was tender, fresh, and pure at best, with the melt-in-your-mouth texture.



7th course

Egg custard with Bourdeaux dessert wine and dark caramel

We dug deep into the egg shell with our spoon and each spoonful of egg custard was perfectly coated with dessert wine and caramel. Even this pre-dessert item was indulgent.



8th course

Frozen chocolate mousse, banana pearls, coffee ice-cream, and parsley

Chocolate, banana, and coffee may not be a unique combination of flavors and in fact perhaps a little overplayed but Marque knows how to do it differently. The chocolate mousse was coated with malt powder and the banana pearls which basically melted right away in the mouth made me happy like a kid.

--

Marque

4/5 355 Crown Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Accolades

2012 Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year

2011 TimeOut Sydney Best Restaurants

2011 Sydney Morning Herald Restaurant of the Year

2010 Sydney Morning Herald Chef of the Year, Mark Best

2010 Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year Finalist

2010 Restaurant & Catering Association of Australia Restaurant of the Year
2010 San Pellegrino & Restaurant Magazine UK Top 50 Break through award