Scarlett Restaurant, Harbour Rocks Hotel, The Rocks

Scarlett Restaurant has launched a new Spring menu with new head chef Joey Dela Victoria. Scarlett Restaurant is a bit of a hidden gem as it hides within the Harbour Rocks Hotel. 

I was invited to a special preview of the new Spring Menu at Scarlett Restaurant. Head Chef Joey Dela Victoria loves bringing European and Modern Australian flavours with Asian fusion.

He has worked with Gordan Ramsey and has a few tales to tell from his experiences. Make sure you ask him if you meet him. Lunch starts with a cocktail and I'm eager to check out the menu.

I love crunchy bread with a good smear of butter.

Ahh the fun of dining with media and influencers. I love taking photos of people taking photos.

It starts with the cured trout with coriander pesto, vanilla croutons and caviar ($22). The Ocean Trout is refreshing to eat. The coriander pesto is smooth with a nice flavour contrast to the ocean trout.

The cured trout is paired with Audrey Wilkinson Series Chardonnay HV 2015. I normally dislike chardonnay but this one is not as sharp.  The citrus and acidity is well balanced.

There is a bit of food theatre when it comes to the $24 Prawn and Lobster raviolo with kombu broth (seaweed). It continues to sizzle away with smoke for some time. 

The raviolo at Scarlett Restaurant is like a deconstructed ravioli. The broth is salty and is full of chunks of seaweed. There's a lot going on and I wonder if this dish would be better with a plain clear broth. 

For the mains - $34 the Trois Morceux De Porx is confit Pork Belly with chimcharron and siopao. I am loving this dish as there's lots of different flavours and textures. The Pork Belly is quite rich and I enjoy the crunchiness of the crackling and skin.

The siopao in this dish is a chinese bun that is slightly sweet. I love the addition of this Asian dish to a traditional pork belly dish.



I also try some of the blow torched charcoal beef ($34) with kimchi risotto with maple jus. You heard right. Kimchi Risotto. I love this Asian Fusion twist. The Kim Chi Rissotto is not too spicy. The charcoal beef is cooked medium-well which still tastes delicious. 

I am loving the pairing as well with the Edwards Cabernet Merlot Malbec WA 2014. 

For dessert, there is the chocolate assiette aka "smash chocolate surprise" ($16) and the Fruit "Macedoine" which is the fancy fruit salad ($15). This is paired with the cockfighter's ghost reserve liqueur shiraz HV NV.

The chocolate assiette needs a firm wrist to smash the cake with the little hammer. The dark chocolate shell breaks and within is a chocolate gooey cake with a chocolate liquid.

I love chocolate so the many textures of chocolate dance on my tongue. I definitely recommend this dessert.

The fancy fruit salad was beautiful. However after tasting the chocolate assiette, this dish felt very rich in comparison and I wasn't able to completely appreciate the art in the carefully prepared fruit watermelon jelly base or the hydrated pineapple.

Summary: I love Joey's Asian fusion and the balance of flavours and food art. My favourites were the cured ocean trout, the pork belly and the chocolate dessert. It's such a beautiful venue, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. I think the prices are quite reasonable for the fine dining experience you get as well.

Price: $34ish for mains

Location: 34 Harrington St, The Rocks

Opening Hours: 
Breakfast: 6:30am – 10:00am (Mon – Fri) 7:00am – 10:30am (Sat – Sun)
Lunch: Closed  (7 Days)
Dinner: 5:30pm – 9:00pm (7 Days)

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of Accor Hotels. All words, opinions and photos are my own.