Cara and Co has been opened for some time and has caught my
attention yet I had not dined there until yesterday. My wife and I bought a
voucher for a 3 course meal at the quirky half fashion/half restaurant on
Westfield Level 4 so we decided to chill out and have a lovely pre-Easter meal.
Whilst I do not care at all for the bits and pieces in the
fashion store, I was very much looking forward to eating at the restaurant. The
focus here is Flemish cuisine with the menu designed by Belgian Michelin star
chef, Dave de Belder.
Amuse bouche
 |
| Olive cake with capsicum jelly and bonito cream |
This was a delicious savoury cake and full of Mediterranean
flavours from the capsicum and olive. Great way to start off the meal.
Bread and butter
The butter was beautifully creamy and the black salt was no
ordinary salt, it was just awesome. And of course the sourdough bread roll was
nice and crusty.
Entrees
 |
| Four Lives of a Chicken - Hazelnut, Sherry, Apple |
The four lives on the dish are chicken wing, thigh, oyster
and crackling. The presentation is just beautiful, as are all the other
courses. Definitely reminds me of what you see at Michelin star restaurants in
Europe. There is a lot happening in this course, perhaps a bit busy. There were
lots of good flavours and textures. The cracker was nice and crispy. Loved the
layer of hazelnut on the morsels of chicken. Loved the drops of foie gras to go
with the chicken but would have liked a bit more. My only complaint is that the
chicken was a bit dry.
 |
| Ten Peas in Soup - Asparagus, Capers |
My wife’s entrée was the pea soup is such a pretty dish. Like
a work of art. It was a chilled soup so it was a wonderfully refreshing dish on
a hot day. This was a very enjoyable course according to the Mrs.
Mains
 |
| Flemish Vitello Tonnato - Veal Fillet, Tuna, Tomato, Asparagus, Capers |
This
was by far my favourite course of the night. Absolutely wonderful flavours and
textures! The veal was beautifully cooked and tender. I loved biting into the
bits of quinoa for that crunchy texture. The vegetables (potatoes, asparagus, peas,
tomatoes) were also great. What really brought this dish together was the cream
sauce, which was infused with tuna flavour. It was so delicious, an explosion
of tuna flavour! Who would have thought that tuna would go so well with veal.
On the plate it looks like a massive dollop of cream. I actually ran out! I was
trying to scrape every last ounce of cream onto each morsel of veal that I ate.
The plate was practically clean after I demolished the dish.
 |
| No Animals were Harmed - Risotto, Mushrooms, Truffle, Green Herbs |
My wife’s main was a mushroom risotto. It was creamy risotto
with lots of cheese flavour. My wife’s assessment: a very well cooked risotto.
Dessert
 |
| Bon Bon Bomb - Macadamia, Lemon, Apple, Chilli |
Dessert was so gorgeous to look at. But I can’t say that I
am a huge fan of this dessert. I couldn’t see how all the varying flavours come
together here. You have macadamia bon bon. Granny smith apples. Raspberry.
Lemon. Nuts. Spice…. However, some of the individual elements were good. Like
the chilli sorbet which was quite interesting. It was quite chilli indeed!
Petit Fours
The petit fours were a satisfying way to end the meal with a
cup of coffee. Out of the amuse bouche, the tonka bean madeleines were
definitely the most enjoyable: delicious buttery cakes straight from the oven
so they were still warm. The passionfruit coated with white chocolate and
hazelnut were also very pleasant. The pomegranate marshmallow was very average
though. It had a hard chalky texture. Nothing like the marshmallows from
Sweetness the Patisserie.
Verdict
Highlight: The veal main course with the wonderful tuna
cream
Lowlight: The busy dessert
Overall: A bit of Europe in Sydney. Beautiful plates of food
that resemble works of art. Lots of wonderful flavours and textures in the
courses. Cara and Co is a nice place to have a satisfying meal in a relaxing
environment. Would be happy to come back and try the other dishes on the menu
(at full price). 7/10
