Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Review: Jackson's Restaurant





Jackson's has elicited so many reviews from so many outlets, does it really warrant another one? I'll leave that for you to decide.

According to Perth's foodie contingent, Jackson's is notorious as the pearl in the city's gastronomic crown, and for good reason. Chef Neal Jackson seamlessly marries traditional produce with artistry, the old with the new, and gets away with it completely. His front-of-house reflects the relationship. White linen napery seems not at all out of place against a canvas of chilled clubhouse beats and neon stalactites, the white gloves of the waitstaff providing a theatrical teaser of more madness to come.

And yes, there is more, much more. The blue cheese souffle that is there and yet not there, so intense in taste and physical prowess and yet so lacking in texture that it almost seems molecular. The edible gold foil strewn about a swirling funnel of chocolate mousse and hazelnut meringue. The rich venison countered with mocha. The test-tube water bottles. Neal's glasses. It's crazy. It's sublime. It's Jackson's.


What we ate:
Starters: pumpkin soup with cheese & chilli biscuits
Entree: Stilton souffle with pear salad; seared scallops with pork belly & pigs' ears
Sorbets: mandarin & Campari; pineapple, coconut & Jamaican rum
Mains: beef fillet with foie gras, truffle and chanterelle mushrooms; roast duck
Dessert: chocolate & hazelnut pyramid with raspberries


What we drank:
Veuve Clicquot; Kir Royale; Terlato & Chapoutier 'lieu dit Malakoff' (2006)




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