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Thursday 5 January 2012

Cara & Co

The new Westfield at Pitt St Mall is really the gift that keeps on giving. Each month a new cafe, restaurant or concept store appears to pop up, either in the food court at the top, or buried in the myriad of shiny floors and escalators. Cara & Co is one such restaurant that recently crossed my radar. It's hidden in a large, glass-filled shop on the 4th floor of Westfield, filled with so many gorgeous items and exotic paraphernalia that you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd entered another world entirely. Every single item in the shop is for sale, including a very cool curved couch complete with ball-shaped pillows which dangle temptingly from the couch like oversized earrings.

Moving past all these temptations, including designer clothes from literally every corner of the globe, we spot the entrance to the restaurant and take our seats.


Not only is the restaurant contained within a clothing boutique, but footage of models strutting down the runway is projected onto the walls, changing constantly, so that you're effectively surrounded by fashion on all sides.






Complimentary amuse bouche. Can't quite remember what this was, but I vaguely remember tasting peas and being told that the topping was milk froth. Anyway, fun to eat!



The second amuse bouche. Heirloom tomato stuffed with goats cheese, topped with [something crunchy] and accompanied by micro herbs and pearls.




Main course - Flower Child Risotto resembling a miniature garden with micro summer vegetables, parmesan, herbs and flowers. This was beautiful, so warm and cheesy, perfect for the cold Sydney nights we've been having this summer! Would definitely order it again.




Main course - Beef Story. Aejen and Sherrie waited very graciously while Steph and I took a good five minutes getting the perfect shot of their meal. The cube of meat in the foreground was fillet tartare (I can almost see Sherrie's squeamish look right now) and the meat in the background was slow-cooked sirloin, draped in Bearnaise sauce. Along the side was a sprinkling of perfectly cut glazed potato cubes, herbs and little drops of sauce resembling peas. Yum!




And now for the most important course - dessert.




Smurf's and violets. This actually came in three parts - a little round chocolate cake, drenched in liquid Belgian chocolate and practically held prisoner by its enormous ceramic dish; accompanied by a flute of alcoholic raspberry sorbet, and a dish of strawberries and violet ice-cream. The sourness of the raspberries carried the chocolate cake, lifting it out of potential stodginess. I was a liiiiittle disappointed that my dish wasn't bright blue, with a little white hat somewhere (given the Smurf name) but otherwise I can't complain :)







The beauty of rose. Another beautiful dessert. For some reason it makes me think of a Saudi Arabian desert at night, just vast black emptiness, with a pink crescent moon hanging overhead, and a crazy oasis floating somewhere inbetween. The raspberry sorbet and white chocolate rose ice-cream were both delicious, and the lychee crowned it all.



No better way to end a meal.




Complimentary plate of madeleines for the road home. Haha who were we kidding. As soon as we saw (and smelt) them, fresh out of the oven, piping hot, we ate them so fast we basically inhaled them. Seeing them arranged this like on the plate, I had a mental flashback to that poem, The Night Before Christmas, and Clement C. Moore's image of children nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. If I saw these babies dancing in my head, I'm pretty sure I'd have sweet dreams too :)

Good night!

2 comments:

ChocolateSuze said...

i heart cara and co! the food is just so beautifully presented!

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to go here for the longest time and now you've definitely made me want to go there :)