I haven’t had any exercise for a long time. With the birthday of the bridge this provides me the perfect excuse to at least do a 3.5km walk. Of course it is a rare chance that you can take the time to appreciate the structure of this 75 years old.

It is great that for this chance only I don’t have to pay $3 for using the lanes, and I can cut lanes freely from 1 to 6 and back and forth. Skipping down from north to south you can only see a see of lime green rather than speedy automotives.

Thank you for this day, to let me have a day of rest, enjoy this special day and rejuvenate myself after such stressful career lately.

Marque is quite a special restaurant with recent new renovation and introduce new menu. It is one of the restaurants that awarded 3 chef heads and marked best ‘chef of the year 2006’. The new degustation menu is definitely having more characteristic than other 3 chef heads restaurants:

Chaud-froid Free Range Egg

Almond Jelly with Blue Swimmer Crab, Almond Gazpacho, Corn Custard & Herring Roe

Cured Ocean Trout with manning River Rock Oyster, Melon Gherkin and Avocado

‘Risotto’ of local Calamari, Yamba Prawn and Broth

Joselito Iberian Jamon with Belgian Endive and Parmesan Custard

Roast Wood Pigeon with Jerusalem Artichoke, Boletus and Pine Mushrooms

Mandagery Creek Venison with Baby Beetroot and Chocolate Freilletage

Sauternes Custard with Caramel

‘Amedei’ Chocolate Terrine with Nougatine and Tomato Raspberries

Petits Fours; Salted Caramel Chocolates & Apple Fruit Jellies with Vanilla Sherbet

Such a satisfying course and I don’t have any room left for the optional course of cheese selection. I must say the course is definitely different from what you normally expect. The ingredients are more selected and you don’t have the normal poultry and stock. Rather you enjoy the careful selection of new combination, replace chicken with pigeon and beef with venison.

I would describe the experience not just a visual pleasure and enjoy the deep thoughts of head chef. The taste experience is more towards fusion style. I was most impressed by the crab and the calamari risotto. The almond jelly is extremely like the Chinese almond sweet soup, while the calamari risotto is extremely new experience to me. The risotto is not risotto rice but calamari diced in the size of risotto and cooked in lobster broth.

Such a special restaurant deserved another visit, just waiting for the next excuse to be there.