Toei's dishes invite us to explore how the combinations of flavours use modern techniques to unlock hidden depths of flavour, taking my friend and me on a transformative journey with delicious surprises along the way. I had an early table booked, via FirstTable, for my friend and me so we pretty much had the whole restaurant to ourselves with a two-hour seating limit.
Upon entry, we were warmly greeted by the friendly staff, ready to show us to our seating and kindly shared the details in relation to our booking. The ambience and setting of the restaurant were simple, modern and warm with the golden hour sun coming in through the ceiling-to-floor glass windows, which was perfect for capturing photos of each dish!
First up, we were served the 'Sydney rock oyster', with Jeju mandarin granita ($6/each). The Jeju mandarin had a beautiful citrus flavour that brought out the freshness and umami of the creamy oysters. It was the perfect way to cool down after a hot summer day.
Next up, our most anticipated dish, the 'Scallop tart'. The tart is completed with blood orange kosho, buttermilk, pickled radish and macadamia ($10/each). It was fresh and sweet, and the pepper punch was beautiful! The small piped orange kosho on each tart took us by surprise as it was packed full of flavour and really brought the whole dish together in harmony. I really liked the thin tart shells, which had a nice crunch and added to the texture when enjoying the dish. This was so good, we actually ordered another round!
The 'Wagyu rump cap skewer' with galbi sauce and sambal matah ($15/each) was another one that took us by surprise! The beef was tender, and very well-marinated. Wished we had ordered more of these, but I was really out there trying to eat everything (or as much) from the menu.
The next two dishes that were plated together were their 'Chicken parfait crumpet' and 'Beef tartare', (both $10/each). The beef tartare was not your usual raw beef with egg yolk, instead, this one came in a tart shell, where it was topped with nori (dried seaweed), pine nut cream and cavolo nero (commonly known as Tuscan kale). Whereas, the chicken parfait crumpet accompanied with a mountain berry gel and Sichuan pepper had a nice buttery texture and was not bad, but wouldn't order it again next time as I felt there was nothing too special about it either. Both dishes were at $10/each.
Moving onto the mains, firstly their '15 day dried aged duck' with boysenberry jus and mixed berries ($50) was tender and smoky, however, I wished the jus was a little thicker to compliment the duck flavours better.
Additionally, the 'Kingish collar' with miso marinade, garlic butter, avruga caviar, and black lime pepper ($20) was deliciously buttery and went very well with the caviar without being overly fishy!
My friend and I quickly realised at this point, we were still hungry, so we ordered a couple more items, including their 'Corn tart' with sweet corn puree, pickled corn and parmesan ($10/2pc). This dish was served chilled, and my friend did not fancy it at all, mostly cause of the puree texture. I, on the other hand, loved the jammy puree and nice sweet crunch of the corn. It was a lovely savoury and refreshing dish, and would be better if there was MORE CHEESE!
The dish my friend anticipated the least was the 'Anchovy churros' with Cantabrian anchovy and nori cream (?/each), however was another surprising one! The churros were fried to perfection, and actually nulled the fishy-saltiness you usually get when eating anchovy and was a really delightful dish to enjoy!
The one dish that I would not be ordering again, unfortunately, was their 'Fried mantao' with king prawn, shellfish oil marie rose sauce and finger lime ($14/each). I was just not a fan of the flavour combinations, however, the filling was generous, rich and creamy, without being drenched in oil. The fried bun was probably the only part I enjoyed the most. Crisp to perfection!
To wrap up our meal, I ordered the 'Black sesame tart' with cinnamon ice cream, black sesame crumble and mascarpone ($14). This was the best black sesame tart I have ever had! The tart was your standard shortbread shell, with a beautifully smooth and rich sesame paste with sesame powder-like crumble, topped with the FIRE cinnamon ice cream, and balanced with the mascarpone. I cannot tell you how delightful and enjoyable this dessert was to devour, I think it was the cinnamon ice cream that helped cut through the heaviness and richness of the black sesame flavours that continued to appease my palette without boring it!
Overall, we had a hearty meal with mostly ups and a low count of lows. My top three dishes would have to be the Scallop tart, Wagyu rump cap skewer and the Black sesame tart. However, to really top it off, each dish was 50% off when you book a table via First Table! What would have easily cost $350+ in total, was reduced to half, leaving my friend and me paying less than $80/each per person!【OFFER BELOW!】
I highly recommend going to Toei for a cute date night or fun girls' night out, as the atmosphere was cosy, moody and somewhat romantic too, plus the staff was all very friendly and attentive. Otherwise, if you're looking to go for lunch, they currently offer a Bottomless Lunch Set at $89/per person that you might want to try out instead. You'll get to enjoy two hours of flowing bubbles, house wine, beer and soft drinks.
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