Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Wharf @ Pier 2 - Walsh Bay

We attended a wedding reception of a lovely couple recently at The Wharf in Walsh Bay and I have to say - I have not been that part of town for yonks! The restaurant boasted a lovely, unobstructed view of the harbour bridge and Sydney-siders all round were taking photos of this iconic monument.

One of the benefits of hosting a wedding at this venue has got to be the flexibility they offer in table arrangements. You can have tables as long or as short as you want - which is awesome to accommodate for the differing numbers of friends and family you have from each aspect of your life. The wait staff at this venue were quite courteous and polite and the food (whilst slow in coming out) was surprisingly yum.

The bread was just that - bread. Nothing exciting or awesome. Not warmed or toasty. Just bread. Luckily, the entrees were more spectacular. Alternate drop of pork belly and seared scallops were on offer. The pork belly, though small ish, was succulent with a crisp crackling. The egg plant in between the meat and crackling layer was reportedly quite odd, as was the accompaniment of the sticky rice with burnt(?) black rice crisps. The scallops were seared well and just very oh so slightly overcooked (but forgiveably so). It came with tasty shaved fennel and some baby raddish.
bread
pork belly with sticky rice
seared scallops with fennel
We got to chose our mains. Either the steak or the fish (or the vegetarian option). We also got asked by the waiter "is medium rare OK?" which made me think - WOW they cook to order? After a friend asked for his steak to be cooked for an option other than medium rare or well done we realised - they weren't so flexible after all. Just the two options were available - medium rare or cooked through? Hubby's steak was actually really tasty and actually medium rare. Succulent ish and nice. I was completely blown away by my salmon. It was also actually medium rare as promised!!! Wow - it was fall off the fork, melt in your mouth goodness. Crusted lightly with pistachios, I think the only thing it lacked was the crispy skin. But perfectly cooked salmon at a wedding - the lack of crispy skin is forgivable. The fish came with some silver beets which were meh. On the side, green beans and potatoes were also offered.

steak - medium rare
salmon with silver beets
It took absolutely forever for dessert to come out (or so it seemed) and by the time it did, some of our friends had already left (photos are bad coz the lights were out for dancing~). More dessert for the table! And fortunately so coz dessert was spectacular! There was the chocolately mousse cake thingy with strawberries which was rich, creamy, smooth and amazing! The other option was the panna cotta with yummy fairyfloss bits on top. Hubby loved the panna cotta and I loved the chocolate mouse cake. Perfect. We also had cheese cake and chocolate cake bought to the table (yes - cake overload!).
chocolate mousse cake with strawberries
panna cotta with fairy floss
It was an enjoyable wedding reception. One with probably the best western wedding food I've had yet. I wouldn't mind returning for just a normal breakfast/lunch time meal.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - ?
Overall - 24+?/40

The Wharf @ Pier 2
Pier 2, 13 Hickson Road
Walsh Bay, NSW
Tel: (02) 8084 5770

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