Saint Peter [Sydney]

I went to Saint Peter last December during a trip to Sydney. Saint Peter is a seafood restaurant, and its chef Josh Niland has gained notice for using fish offal in his dishes and also aging fish to bring out their flavor.

I started out with one of each of the oysters on the oyster menu. Oysters were well shucked, and the descriptions of each oyster’s flavor were spot on.

I stuck to the starters and didn’t get any of the mains. The first starter I had was the Tart of Aged Mooloolaba Albacore Nduja and Kingfish Liver Pate (AU$12). The tart on the left was filled with kingfish liver pate and was covered with chives. Unfortunately I didn’t write more notes about this one. The tart on the right was filled with the albacore “nduja” and topped with an attractive garnish of flower petals. Traditional 'nduja is a spreadable Italian pork sausage originating from Calabria that is slightly spicy. This albacore "’nduja” actually tasted quite a bit like the Italian ’nduja but with a slight fish flavor. Both tarts had thin flaky shells.

The second starter I had was the Albany Hapuka Tripe Crumpet (AU$12), which was a crumpet (similar to an English muffin) topped with fish guts. The tripe had the texture of egg white from a boiled egg and were only slightly funky. It was dressed with a garlicky chimichurri-like sauce that probably helped cut through the funkiness. The crumpet itself was warm and delicious.

Next, I had the Hand Filleted Yamba Sardines in Finger Lime Oil (AU$18). These were fresh sardine filets with all the bones removed, placed under the broiler briefly to take the raw edge off. This was simple and delicious. Very good texture and sweet flavor. Well deboned - I didn’t notice any errant bones at all. The olive oil had a bit of finger lime in it for acidity. They were served with a piece of very good toasted bread.

I also had a side of Ox Heart Tomato, Nasturtium Capers & Flowering Thyme (AU$14).

For dessert I had the Lemon Tart (AU$16) which was really good. Not too sweet with lots of lemon flavor, with a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

Great meal, friendly service.

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Nice.

You and I were lucky with our travels. Very lucky. I was in Sicily over Christmas (returned on Jan 2). Then 3 weeks later I flew to Baja Sur. Came back in the third week of Feb and shortly after that the world descended into chaos.

No travel plans on the horizon any time soon whilst many people are going on holidays at any cost. Can’t wrap my head around it.

Laying low and waiting. Looking at old holiday photos again.

And wait some more.

I play on Tripadvisor’s Tenerife forum. And, you’re right, there are folk posting there saying they intent to go within the next few days. In spite of Spain becoming a hotspot again; in spite of UK government advice not to travel; in spite of the fact that they’d invalidate their travel insurance by going against government advice and in spite of the fact that they would have to quarantine for 2 weeks on her return. I really don’t understand it.

Me? I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the current restrictions where I am won’t be tightened and we’ll still get a week on the Sussex coast next month.