We had one evening in Sydney before heading off on our way to our next destination. We’d be spending three night in Sydney on our way back, but I still wanted a memorable meal for this evening. I had come across this article in Atlas Obscura, one of their Gastro Oscura posts on a restaurant named Midden by Mark Olive. The restaurant is know for serving dishes made with Indigenous Australian ingredients. The head chef, Mark Olive is of the Bundjalung people one of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. And is a well known celebrity chef in Australia. As a plus, the restaurant is located at the iconic Sydney Opera House. So, I made reservations……
We headed out to dinner early, taking our time, the long route, and really enjoying the view.
Passing places we’d seen earlier during our tour of the area.
Just taking it all in…..
Before arriving at the Opera House…..
The Opera Bar was doing some great business already as we passed.
We arrived and requested a table outside….of course!
I started with a cold one….
While we looked over the menus………
I knew one of the dishes we needed to get; the Indigenous Australian Grazing Plate, which has selection of Australian proteins and various items with Australian based dishes. We also got the Smoked Kangaroo Salad and I really wanted to try some Barramundi, which is not found “back home” in Hawaii, which I’ve seen on menus as Asian Sea Bass. So, I ordered the Smoked Blue Gum Barramundi.
As anticipated, the Indigenous Australian Grazing Plate was a mixed bag. The lemon tandoori crocodile had that “old reptile” sourness that I don’t care for. The Smoked Kangaroo was very lean and chewy, but had a nice smokiness and I enjoyed the gameyness. The Emu had an almost metallic tinge to it.
Could not really tell the difference between the Wild Thyme Hummus and the basic stuff. I enjoyed the finish of the Tasmanian mountain pepper leaf flatbread, but it was a little too hard for our tastes.
The cheeses were fine, but nothing outstanding.
It was an interesting introduction to the amazing variety of plants and meats in Australia.
The Smoked Kangaroo salad was fine, though nothing out of the ordinary.
The one dish that we had which changed how we ate for the rest of the trip was the Smoked Blue Gum Barramundi. Though it wasn’t because of the use of Blue Gum…which is a type of Eucalyptus….I’ve always thought that the leaves and such are poisonous, but I came to learn that the wood of blue gum really imparts a wonderful flavor when used for smoking.
Beyond the mash and the somewhat acidic broth which had a touch of spice….it was the fish that caught our attention. Wonderfully crisp skin, a moist-tender, mild- buttery sweetness to the flesh. Man, this was so good. We’d end up ordering Barramundi where ever we saw it on the menu.
It was a fun meal…with a nice variety…..the restaurant had a steady stream of customers…..
I’m glad we ate here as it gave us a fun base for our future meals.
Midden by Mark Olive
Western Broadwalk Sydney Opera House
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
And as we headed back to our hotel, we totally enjoyed the view.
And there was one last…special stop I had in mind before calling it a night!
Thanks for stopping by!