Theatrical but relatable dishes are being served up on a regularly-changing Sage menu.
Forget about what you thought of stuffy fine-dining establishments. You don’t need a special occasion to visit at Sage Dining Rooms. While the white tablecloths and fancy tableware give an air of sophistication, the dining experience is fun and dynamic. The menu is constantly being modified, with some dishes changing on a daily basis.
Sage is doing dining differently: each dish is fun and relatable. The first plate for the evening looked like a small dish of bacon bits, but with a smell hot chips in the air. As it turned out, the dish is actually Sage’s take on Salt & Vinegar Chips: on a bed of creamy hollandaise sauce – aerated by carbon dioxide – are crunchy potato crumbs. It’s a familiar flavour that is elevated by incredible textures.
Chef Damian Brabender (who is allergic to tuna!) lives on the wild side every day to prepare an incredibly fresh Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi Taco topped with wasabi and a finger-licking good ABC aioli sauce (main ingredients being ABC kecap manis and mayonnaise). The light-as-air oyster mousse made a creamy topping for the crunchy tapioca-based cracker.
Looking as pretty as a flower was the Rockmelon and Trout dish. The ocean trout was incredibly tender after it had been cured in sugar and then cooked in a water bath at low temperature. The rich and salty trout paired really well with the sweet, fresh rockmelon. Tying the dish together was the creamy avocado, wasabi and pine nut sauce.
A most impressive looked like a sashimi dish. There was a light-coloured seafood on the left, and on the right was raw tuna, or that’s what it seemed! Turns out it was lobster and watermelon! The watermelon, which had been hickory smoked and somehow compressed, magically took on a ‘meaty’ quality. Chef Damian said the watermelon cooked in this way could also be done to look like nigiri-style sushi where a piece of the watermelon sits atop a small rectangular mound of sushi rice.
Sage caters for all dietary requirements. Most dishes are gluten free as potato starch is generally used instead of flour.
The easiest way to sample the best dishes is to take advantage of the Chef’s Menu which gives you 5 courses for $95.00. Wine pairings are $45.00 and soft pairings are $25.00. The soft matches are unique and beautifully balanced drinks that won’t feel like you’re having less fun than those having wine matches. Both the Lime & Hazelnut Soda and the Vanilla & Strawberry Soda had a simple delicate sweetness that complemented the matching dish.
Sage Dining Rooms are open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. The restaurant is now also doing a 5-course brunch on Saturdays.
Event: Taste & Test on Wednesday, 7 April 2015.
