Reviewed by Georgia Cassimatis
If you want to literally dine and go to food heaven, a luxury buffet is your answer, and the one to indulge in is at Sydney’s globally sophisticated The Langham’s restaurant ‘Kitchens On Kent’; a gourmet interactive lush buffet experience, home to a plethora of exotic flavours.
Tonight we were invited to feast on the Winter Party menu in canape and buffet form full of Asian, Mediterranean and Indian cuisine, but before launching into the exquisite freshness of the local produce, the night really began on the street where the charm of Sydney’s magical Rocks area, under sparkling lights, nestled in a nook along the waterside set the stage for a night of glorious food theatre.
…and food theatre it was. Dessert was not the afterthought here. It was the hero piece, centre stage, enticing one as soon as we stepped foot into the impending sensorial heaven of tastebuds mingled with jazz sounds. Who goes to a restaurant greeted by a 10 foot long dessert garden where everything, and I mean everything, was edible? The mini potplants? That was avocado chocolate mousse. The cherries? Again chocolate mousse cherries, the garden itself sprinkled with macaroons, friands and skewers of watermelon and strawberry, dripping in honey and raw coconut….and finally, the soil. The soil was, yep you guessed it, all chocolate. Willy Wonka eat your heart out.
But we had to hold that dessert thought, because we could not possibly indulge until we were well and truly satiated by the seemingly endless seafood buffets, which we spied in the distance and which the exquisite, sensuous sounds of the jazz music played by Paul Chenard quartet lead us ever so dreamily to.
Then it was on; BBQ Peking duck pancakes, followed by Sydney rock oysters with Gin shiraz caviar, the most beautifully presented endless stream of sashimi, sushi and tuna; Hiramasa kingfish sashimi, torched NZ king salmon nigiri, QLD spanner crab salad with compressed persimmon, roasted celeriac and garlic soup with chive oil, Vannella Mozzarella, caramelised green fig, blood plum and vinaigrette basil, washed down with my favourite drink of choice that night, a couple of Honey Whiskeys.
But that was not all. Interspersed with the tastebud explosion was the other sensory delight of the night, Fashion Illustrator Kerrie Hess, who, while we feasted, was gently at work creating a beautiful, soft vintage Dior inspired acrylic painting to celebrate Autumn.
In the words of the MD Langham Asia, Jeffrey van Vorsselen and Executive Chef Stephen Lech, responsible for reinvigorating and transforming the dining experience, this is a reminder that food is pleasure, and a place to socialise, bond, and celebrate the everyday with friends and family. In other words to create community.
One for both locals and visitors, whether it be drinking at the bar, enjoying a Sunday roast, a high tea or a lush buffet, numerous events are happening.
Vivid. Did someone say Vivid? I hear there’s a High Tea Vivid series soon……
For more information and events check out:
@kitchensonkent @langhamsydney