Please click here for my full blog post on Jock Zonfrillo’s magnum opus as it operates in Adelaide.
This post is based on two independently-paid visits to Orana In Residence – Sydney
Date Last Visited: 22/Sep/2019 & 6/Sep/2019 (2 visits)
Address: 85 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Price Guide (approx): $350pp set menu, plus drinks
As someone who prefers to keep the focus on food no matter the pomp or pageantry of the underlying restaurant, ‘exciting’ is an adjective that’s rarely trotted out. And yet, for Orana’s 5-week residency at the old Longrain site in Sydney – the biggest pop-up of the near, no doubt – exciting is the only word that appropriately captured the experience. Or should I say, experiences?
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you know pretty much everything there is to know about eating at the Best Restaurant in Australia (by various publications, no less). In fact, I will assume knowledge. Jock Zonfrillo’s utter devotion to native Australian ingredients is spearheading – possibly redefining – a new wave of true ‘Modern Australian’. Of course, we also cannot his unwavering quest to push forward the culinary ways of Australia’s first people through the Orana Foundation. It comes with the territory, starting all that time ago the conversation between Zonfrillo and that busker at Circular Quay.
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Having visited the Adelaide institution twice – both excellent experiences – Orana had set itself a high bar for its Sydney iteration. In the end, there was clearly nothing to fear: while the Adelaide experience wasn’t short of a compliment, they outdid themselves with Sydney. The dining room is the kind of understated luxury one would expect to find at an outback eco-lodge, and is perhaps the most beautiful dining room I’ve seen in a long time. It didn’t even need to rely on panoramic views of some beach, harbour, or *cough* coathanger.
In terms of the food, Zonfrillo & team have introduced more courses, more deliciousness, and some twists to Adelaide favourites. As is the norm with this kind of food – 22 courses, no less – not every course is bound to impress to the nines. This is the challenge when serving inherently challenging cuisine, but the mission is important, and the results speak for themselves even if my palate didn’t always agree.
Potato damper, lamb dripping butter. A favourite I will love eternally. 
Scarlet prawns, crocodile lardo, boab powder. Sweet, luscious meat. 
Long yam crisps, ocean trout roe, bunya nut cheese; Port Douglas oysters, Tasmanian wakame vinegar. Good. 
Chawanmushi w/Tasmania sea urchin, 2.5yr old bunya nut miso, bottarga & saltbush. Nothing short of excellent. 
Streaky Bay razor fish & gubinge. A little bland in flavour and generically chewy texture. 
Coral trout, celtuce, warrigal greens & eucalyptus. A bit salty but very delicious. 
‘Surf n turf’ – tuna belly w/Davidson plum curry, 12hr wagyu beef cheek. The beef cheeks are where it’s at. Nailed the BBQ feel 
‘Tongue in cheek’ – lamb tongue leatherjacket cheek, jerk sauce. The roti was a bit hard, but the flavours are crowdpleasing – a fun dish to eat. 
Orana’s famous crocodile soup soup needs no introduction. I could drink a bucket of the stuff. 
Organic barley & wattleseed sourdough, macadamia nut butter w/thyme oil. I once had an entire loaf to myself. I regret nothing. 
Kohlrabi cured in dorrigo pepper, whipped tofu & quandongs. A bit different to the Adelaide version. 
Kangaroo, smoked potato, pandanus & wattleseed miso. Still the best kangaroo I’ve ever had. 
Moreton Bay Bug, Geraldton Wax sauce & green ants. I have no issues with ants but this was a mediocre dish. There was very little flavour and the ants didn’t add much interest. 
Pork-stuffed quail… 
…served w/kangaroo grass shoyu (aged 20months!!) & minya, and Boon Luck Farm greens. Super, super delicious. 
Coopers sparkling ice-cream pop, Orana vovo, paperback ice-cream sandwich; set buffalo milk, strawberry & eucalyptus. Comes with a Jillungin (dreamtime) tea. A fun set of sweets, but I still think desserts are Orana’s weak spot. They’re nice, but that’s just about it. 
MacRobertson chocs: Lavazza coffee ganache, aniseed myrtle ganache & honey malt milk
Sure, for all this, you certainly pay more than you would in Adelaide. At $350 for just the 22-course set menu, it’s nearly 50% more. But you know it’s money well spent when you go a second time in nearly as many weeks. With only five weeks in Sydney, I couldn’t settle for just one visit.
I did say exciting, did I not? But I’m still kinda glad for my wallet that they didn’t stick around. Hah. Guess I’ll see you again soon enough in Adelaide.
This post is based on two independently-paid visits to Orana In Residence – Sydney
Ups:
- Orana was in Sydney for five weeks!
Downs:
- Orana is no longer in Sydney
Pro-Tip:
- Find an excuse to visit Adelaide. I hear the wine there is pretty good.
Would I return: this is my fourth time so…
F8.5 | S4 | A3
8.5/10 Caesars
See how I score here
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