Etch

January in Sydney means many things. Aside from music festivals, another public holiday (Australia Day), cricket and more importantly, Australian Open tennis, it also means the Sydney Festival. The Sydney Festival has finally lived up to its potential. It is now a serious drawcard for locals and visitors alike and has brought some of the best artists and shows to Sydney in recent years from the legendary first appearance of Antony as part of a Leonard Cohen tribute 'Came So Far for Beauty' in 2005 (which I wish I went to!) to the first The National gigs in 2009 at the Sydney Recital Hall (I die!).

This year, I've resisted going crazy with ticket purchases given a planned trip to Melbourne for the tennis. Instead, I'm only going to see Holy Fuck at the Becks Bar, which I cannot wait for. I did treat myself and a friend, Simon Food Favourites for his 40th birthday to a Fast Festival Feast. In case you don't know, this is where some great Sydney restaurants offer a special main course with a glass of wine or beer for only $30 if you dine between 12-1pm or 6-7pm throughout January. The place of choice was Etch, from the Becasse stable.

On their website, Etch described themselves as 'casual European dining'. I would say that this is an accurate description. They've transformed the old place that I remember as Sketchers pasta attached to the Inter-Continental into a quirky and classy restaurant. Leather banquettes line one side of the long and thin room, which at the back leads to a smaller, sectioned off area that I could see as being great for a private function. Fun adornments on the walls (interesting paintings and ornaments) and on the tables (metal hen sculptures that act as a salt bowl) make the restaurant unique and nearly cosy rather than formal and soulless.

We decided to start with an entree to share. The seared scallops from the standard menu sounded amazing and we had settled on that until our friendly waiter informed us of the specials. How could we say no to kingfish prepared three ways? The name 'kingfish' says it all about this regal-tasting fish with its sublime texture, pleasing flavour and mild oiliness. The dish came out with a kingfish brandade (minced fish mixed with potato, formed into croquettes that had been battered and deep-fried, a kingfish tartare served with a creme fraiche sorbet and kingfish sashimi served with avocado slivers and wasabi cream. A large shot glass filled with the fluffiest avocado mousse I've ever had accompanied everything, although it seemed to only sensibly accompany the brandade. My favourite was the sashimi which was excellent in taste and texture.

Their chosen dish for the Fast Festival Feast was 'ballotine of chicken sauteed baby gem lettuce and asparagus with lemon thyme veloute'. This came out looking like a frothy and tangled mess with no chicken in sight but like a volcano, the juicy and succulent chicken emerged, deboned and wrapped in its own skin, served cut side up. The lemon thyme veloute or froth as I called it, was so light, a little buttery and addictively tasty made the whole dish 'pop'. The baby gem was nice (how often does one have cooked lettuce?) but there was no sign of any asparagus which seemed to have been replaced by uncut and long spring onions. There was a bed of buttery and fine potato mash underneath it all too which added a creamy wholeness to it all. It was utterly delicious and an absolute bargain for $30 with a glass of wine.

The wine was Stoneleigh Pinot Grigio which had a mild yet rich flavour which worked well with the dish. Whilst the mains were a good size, came with some well considered vegetables and filling enough, we also ordered the standout side dish of 'Provencal potatoes, aged prosciutto and smoky garlic mayonnaise' so that we could try as much as the stomach could fit in. Oh, how right we were. Our decision was justified after one bite of these tasty morsels. Cut baby new potatoes were wonderfully hot and moist on the inside but with a crunchy and salty crust. The aged prosciutto was generally draped over it all and the mayonnaise added some moisture and unity to it all.

I sum up this place as serving and creating very gourmet, haute cuisine food with wonderful produce that you actually want to eat everyday in generous servings. This is so refreshing given the onslaught of tapas style restaurants that are meant to serve food 'designed for sharing' when in fact the portion sizes have shrunk but the prices have disproportionately been inflated. The excellent service struck that balance of friendliness, professionalism and promptness that we should expect to see more often. This place is another winner for the Becasse team and I definitely plan to return here (hopefully sooner rather than later) to try more things from the delightful menu. Loving Sydney Festival for more reasons than one!

Rating: 4 out of 5.