Qui Ristorante, Five Dock

"The discovery of a new dish is more precious to human beings than the discovery of a new star." (Brillat- Savarin)

 

Last weekend, I was browsing through my entertainment book for a place to dine, out of the many restaurants in the book, I decided on Qui Ristorante at Five Dock. Just because I never been to Five Dock and I read good reviews about this restaurant.

The restaurant was pretty secluded, located just right beside the library. After we reached there I pulled out my camera, I felt like I was being struck by lighting the moment I realised I didn't have my memory card in the camera (how can I ???)... *sigh* so my camera was pretty much useless for the night. Didn't want to miss this post, I tried my best to capture my dining experience using my mobile phone which probably has the worst camera ever.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was really cosy with a soft lighting that creates an intimate ambiance for diners, The service was exceptional, the staffs were warm and very welcoming.

We were really impressed by the entrees, they were really tasty and the size of the food in Qui was massive.

Entree 1: Garlic Prawns  $16.00
The king prawns are cooked in  napolitana sauce with garlic and chilli. The sauce was pretty rich and it was perfect with bread.

Entree 2: Salt and Pepper Squid  $18.00

The staff served the salt and pepper squid equally among six of us, so the portion you see on the picture below is actually one sixth of the entree size. The lightly floured salt and pepper squid was really soft and the fragrant of the spices was really delightful.

Entree 3: Veal Carpaccio  $16.90

The veal was cut thinly. It was smooth and lightly salted with a clean taste.

Entree 4: Salmon and Spinach Risotto  $17.50

Being the special of the day, this Salmon and Spinach Risotto was the dish for the night for me. It was not overly creamy, I found the flavour of the cream and salmon were in the right balance, served with generous amount of spinach and the perfect texture of risotto. It was just delicious!

Main 1: Linguine Marinara  $18.50(E)       $24.50 (M)

The Marinara was the most ordered main for the night, It was really ambitious of me to actually ordered the main size instead of entree size. Even with the help of my husband we couldn't finish it, even my friend that ordered the entree size couldn't finish it too. It was just massive with lots of ingredients, however the taste didn't quite hit the mark for me, it was pretty average.

Main 2: Grain Fed Premium Scotch Fillet  $28.00M

I didn't try the beef but according to my friend it was pretty good. He picked the pepper sauce to go with the steak.

Main 3: Pork with mushroom sauce  $27.00

My husband had the pork, the meat was a bit dry but the mushroom sauce blown us away, it was so rich and creamy. It was the perfect mushroom sauce.

Main 4: Risotto Pollo e Fungi  $15.00(E)   $20.00(M)

The risotto was cooked with grilled corn fed chicken, mushroom and onion in creamy white wine sauce. Like the salmon risotto, it was delicious. Picture below is entree size.

Dessert 1: Vanilla Creme Brulee  $9.00

The Creme Brulee was not the best as it's not firm enough and it could be better if the custard was more eggy.  

Dessert 2: Chocolate Mousse $9.00

Even though the creme brulee was a disappointment,  the chocolate mousse won us over. It was smooth, perfectly rich and lightly sweeten with a hint of bitterness in it, this is the best chocolate mousse I've ever had so far. This is the right chocolate mousse  for you if you prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate.

There were obviously hit and miss in terms of the food, but overall it was great value for money and a great restaurant for an intimate dinner with friends/families. If you ever need to visit a restaurant around Five Dock this is definitely a great option to consider.