Melbourne’s 2013 “Best New Restaurant” (The Age) has just opened in Sydney. Under the helm of gastronomy extraordinaire, Mark Best, Pei Modern offers a relaxed, bistro setting replacing Hamish Ingam’s The Woods in the Four Seasons Hotel.
Pei Modern is a classic space and certainly feels more inviting than a lot of other hotel restaurants. Enter via Grain bar, stop for a negroni or two and you could almost forget you’re about to walk through the hotel lobby to reach your dining destination.
The kitchen is wide open for all to see with chickens hanging and a blazing wood fire oven slow cooking the majority of dishes on the menu.
A good place to start ordering is the mixed plate of salumi followed by salt cod croquettes. The beef tartare with sea urchin and horseradish on toast is also a must-try.
Other highlights from the produce driven menu include wood fired tiger prawns with slow cooked pineapple and La Luna goat cheese custard with asparagus. A lot of people talk about the Holmbrae chicken but for me it’s all about the Milly Hill lamb shoulder cooked with chamomile.
For dessert you have the order the meringue with white chocolate ganache and blueberries. It’s light, fresh and full of complimentary flavours- one of the best desserts I’ve had in a while.
