Serving Sydney rock oysters, freshly plucked and shucked from the lapping waters of Merimbula Lake lower than a stone’s throw from its floor-to-ceiling home windows, Valentina Restaurant embodies the Sapphire Coast Oyster Trail with a degustation to showcase the area’s 5 estuaries.
You’d count on a restaurant with views over one of many figureheads of the Australian oyster heartland to have fairly good seafood, wouldn’t you.
But Valentina in Merimbula takes it an entire lot additional than simply ‘pretty good’.
On a standard day, you’ll discover right here the type of dishes you’d count on from a fine-dining restaurant in a capital metropolis—not just a little city that’s a six-hour drive alongside the coast from each Sydney and Melbourne.
But when Valentina needs to, it could actually actually flip it on.
We had been fortunate to be right here for the inaugural Eau de Terroir particular oyster and wine degustation dinner, the place the sensible minds within the kitchen and the wine cellar be a part of to create a meal revelation.
Check out our video from the Eau de Terroir night right here:
The goal of this five-course meal is to point out not solely how oysters can go along with every kind of various wine or be served in quite a few other ways, however extra to point out how completely different they’ll style simply due to the place they reside.
Oysters from every of the 5 estuaries of the Sapphire Coast—Wonboyn, Pambula, Merimbula, Nelson, Wapengo—present how every lake imparts on its oysters particular qualities.
This is rather like the idea of terroir, when the identical wine selection will style utterly completely different relying on the soil the grapes develop in. Those within the know name the oyster model of this ‘merroir’.
Eau de Terroir oyster and wine degustation—Valentina Merimbula
First, let me set the scene.
The solar’s simply setting, leaving shards of golden mild to fleck from the floor of Merimbula Lake, one of the prestigious Sydney rock oyster habitats on the planet.
From the primary ground, looking of this stunning physique of water by means of its wall-of-glass home windows is Valentina. As you stroll in, you’re instantly conscious of the relaxed but refined atmosphere of the venue, and the employees welcome you with real smiles.
The tables, though completely spaced for intimacy and romance, are tonight prepared for the occasion of the 12 months.
Replete with menus and explanatory notes on the decadent feast you’re about to take pleasure in, every desk is about for the Eau de Terroir degustation.
It’s a easy but delicate idea: the pairing of wine and oysters.
The run of play is a large number of dishes; programs with names like Natural, Cold, Warm, Pasta and Sweet offer you an concept of what’s coming, however you realise there’s a lot extra happening as every dish arrives.
To begin with although, we’re provided a gin martini or G&T. This won’t appear related till we study the gin is North of Eden Distillery’s unbelievable Oysters Shell Gin. This is a neighborhood distillery that makes superb gins anyway, however the Oyster Shell, which makes use of precise shell in its distillation, is excellent.
Buy your bottle of North of Eden Oyster Shell Gin right here.
Natural course
First out is the Natural dish. We’re served a plate of two completely different Sydney rock oysters with lemon and lime wedges. One half of the dozen is from proper right here at Merimbula Lake. They have a robust assertive flavour and are fairly salty and minerally.
The different half are from Pamubula Lake. You can study extra about Pambula oysters in addition to our oyster shucking masterclass right here. But these oysters are creamier and sweeter.
On a separate plate, a 3rd kind of oyster arrives although. These are the Merimbula Angasi mud oysters and are monumental, although not missing flavour or texture.
This course is paired with a Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France, the last word wine for pure oysters. Its complicated buttery, citrusy notes go so effectively with all of the flavours from these three oysters that current mineral, saline, iodine and creamy notes unexpectedly.
Cold course
Next come a pair of chilly and chilled dishes beginning with six Merimbula oysters ready-topped with a mixture of substances—a gin and tonic granita that’s sharp and palate-cleansing, an outstanding purple wine vinegar and shallot mignonette and better of all wasabi mousse and ponzu.
The savoury notes from the ponzu steadiness so effectively with the zingy warmth of the wasabi.
Our second chilly dish is an oyster tartare. Served in a bowl-shaped crunchy wanton, the entire oyster sits beneath a blanket of finely shopped chives with glowing globes of salmon roe on high.
To go along with this course, Valentina serve a clear dry German troken Riesling, whose crisp freshness matches the lightness of the meals.
Warm course
This subsequent spherical of dishes—4 in all—is probably essentially the most inventive.
First are 4 house-made vol au vents full of a blue cheese béchamel and an entire Merimbula oyster.
These cylinders of puff pastry take me proper again to my childhood when vol au vents had been a ubiquitous celebration snack. I say deliver ‘em again! Absolutely scrumptious.
Next, served of their shells, are Sydney rock oysters in a wealthy velvety Champagne beurre blanc topped with caviar—a extremely opulent dish that speaks to the luxurious of consuming oysters.
Also of their (monumental) shells are engasi mud oysters cooked in a fragile tempura batter and served on a velvety squid ink sauce. These huge engasi oysters are so creamy and wealthy, they don’t get almost sufficient credit score or fame.
Finally for this course is an oyster po’boy. I’ve had considered one of these earlier than at Ironside in San Diego so my benchmark is about fairly excessive.
Served in a buttery brioche with a pointy caper-forward tartare sauce, the juicy deep-fried oysters create such a variety of textures in opposition to the pillowy bread. Very spectacular.
This course comes with a Pinot Blanc from Alsace in France. It’s a creamy, full-bodied, daring wine—particularly for a white and has a beautiful warming sensation identical to these dishes. Yet it additionally has sufficient acidity to chop by means of the richness.
Pasta course
After all this meals, you’d suppose that the very last thing you’d need to eat is a giant plate of pasta. But then this comes out.
A superbly al dente linguini with the smoothest velvety alfredo egg-based sauce and bottaga roe punctuated with tender smoked oysters. It’s a beautiful dish that, though fairly wealthy, is so moreish and balanced, you possibly can’t cease consuming it.
Paired with this dish is a giant fats Chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsula. It’s a rounded, fruit-forward wine that squares as much as the strong flavours and textures of the pasta with out taking away from the fragile flavours of the smoked oysters or the sauce. At the identical time, it has sufficient acidity on the finish to chop by means of the richness.
Sweet course
Finally, the dessert comes, although we’re undecided how far more we are able to eat.
Served on a mattress of toasted granola, the quenelle of oyster stout ice cream (I do not know how they make it) is chocolaty and lightweight but filled with umami. Next to the ice cream is a creamy easy zabaglione made with champagne, which provides a light-weight elegant mouth-feel to component.
It’s a shocking dish that captures how versatile oysters may be—when you’ve got abilities like this kitchen.
With the dessert is a hazy Pet Nat glowing wine that cuts proper by means of the sugar and cream. Champagne works effectively with ice cream desserts anyway, however the Pet Nat, which has extra physique than the common glowing.
On the again of this unbelievable expertise, we actually need to come again to Valentina on a daily night time. We ask the employees what’s good right here.
They advocate the burrata and flatbreads, the anchovy toast, scallops with beurre bland and black pepper, spaghetti vongole, wagyu steak, snapper and tuna tartare, and the whipped cod roe antipasto.
Looks like we’ll have to come back again just a few instances. What a disgrace!