The Alibi Darlinghurst

[ 15 ] August 18, 2012 | Ms Darlinghurst

Secret Foodies popped up for Tonight in Tokyo at the freshly opened The Alibi Darlinghurst last week to enjoy a feast of epic proportions. Modern Japanese cuisine by ex-Tetsuya’s Adam Lane and ex-Sake Shimpei Hatanaka, using fresh flavours and fresher produce – what more could a foodie wish for? Of course, there are fantastic drinks by ex-Merivale mixologist Andrew Thomas and surprise, Miranda Kerr dining with her family next to us.

The Alibi signature cocktail

Edamame with salt flakes

All fuss aside, the food was the real star of the night. We began with The Alibi signature cocktail on arrival and nibbles – fresh, moreish edamame with sea salt flakes. Next came crab leaves, a bundle of blue swimmer crab on a betel leaf with young ginger, chilli and dressed with amazu ponzu. Wrap up and eat in one bite, savouring the fresh Asian-inspired flavours.

Crab Leaves

Seared Scallop & Ocean Trout Tartare

Next came the seared scallop and ocean trout tartare, my personal favourite dish of the night. Raw ocean trout sashimi and seared scallop sandwich a layer of avocado, dressed in amazu ponzu and topped with salmon roe, chives and a beautifully fragrant white truffle oil. Simply divine, the delicate flavours perfectly balanced and harmoniously delicious.

Scampi Spring Roll

The scampi spring roll followed after, fresh meat with shiitake mushroom and served with a tomato vinaigrette. The tempura prawn however, nobody could refrain from reaching for one more piece. Incredibly crunchy, flavoursome pieces of bite-sized deep-fried prawn were doused in spicy mayo and topped with chive and pink peppercorn. I’m salivating just thinking about it.

Tempura Prawn

Roasted Red Miso Lamb Rack

Our final savoury course for the night was the roasted red miso lamb rack, a close contender for my favourite dish. Incredibly tender frenched lamb chops were cooked to perfection and served with confit garlic, pickled young ginger and sicilian olive. The red miso paste that accompanied the cuts lent an incredible flavour, bringing that Japanese influence into play.

Peanut Butter Parfait

And ahh, we were all so full but of course, there will always be room for dessert. The peanut butter parfait was served with green tea lavosh crisps, the unique combination of flavours and textures was odd initially but grew on me immensely. The nutty parfait was topped with chocolate soil and unusual soybean powdered hazelnuts. The second dessert on offer was the banana harumkai, a delicious sweet spring roll filled with fried banana, shiso, melted chocolate and sweet red bean. Served with passionfruit for dipping, I couldn’t get enough of this. Check out the comments to see what our foodies had to say!