THE TASTE OF MELBOURNE WITH CHEF ADAM D’SYLVA AT GRAND HYATT

Melbourne’s feast for the senses, the Longest Lunch comes to Malaysia! And this time, I had a chance to meet the award-winning hands of Chef Adam D’Sylva in Grand Hyatt KL.

Chef Adam D’Sylva has become one of the most talked about chefs in town. As part owner and head chef of CODA, in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane, Adam has built himself an enviable culinary reputation.

Adam began cooking as a child growing up in a mixed Indian/Italian family where his mother was a major influence on his decision to follow his passion for cooking. “I fell in love with food from an early age. My nonna and aunty looked after us when we were young and always let us cook and eat with them,” explains Adam.

Adam’s apprenticeship began at Hilton on the Park in Melbourne before working as a chef at the popular celebrity restaurant, Cosi, in South Yarra. He then explored his love for quality food travelling through Europe and Asia working in restaurants in the Marche region of Italy and Hong Kong. Returning to Australia, Adam worked as head chef under the much awarded and respected Geoff Lindsay at Pearl Restaurant, one of Melbourne’s top restaurants. He also became the first head chef at Longrain, Melbourne for Martin Boetz.

Adam won The Age 2008 Good Food Guide’s Young Chef of the Year and as part of his award travelled to New York to work with Thomas Keller at Per Se, arguably one of America’s best restaurants. Adam has also twice been the Victorian winner in the Lexus Young Chef of the Year award.

In June 2009, Adam opened his highly anticipated restaurant, CODA, in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane (the name was borrowed from the title of Led Zeppelin’s 1982 album). Within a year the restaurant was awarded One Chefs’ Hat in The Age Good Food Guide and has maintained that hat each year since. Adam draws inspiration from across the globe, blending Asian and European tastes and techniques. The menu is largely based on the food of Hanoi, in North Vietnam.

“I wanted to achieve an atmosphere that is relaxed but also serves good food and wine in an unstructured way… CODA is a reflection of my heritage and what I have cooked in the past from all my different influences.”
CODA recently announced a second restaurant Tonka will open in early 2013 and will also be based in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane.

And this time, we had a chance to taste the chef’s speciality at the whole event. Chef started with his “Today Special: where the Entrée is the Buffalo Mozzarella salad, zucchini frutters, peas and mint. Deliciously made where each bites is sinfully delicious and I am completely falling in love with it from the first bite. The creamy fragrant buffalo mozzarella all the way from Australia had made the whole dish a big difference which it had tempted me for more.

The mains which is being served is the Fillet of seared fish with the harrisa and spice cauliflower. The Norwegian Salmon is well pan-seared leaving the juiciness of the fish itself is simply superb. The juicy salmon meat well made where the flash of the delicious salmon is sinfully good and I wanted to grab more. The juiciness of the salmon itself and the freshness does make it perfect. I am completely falling in love with the delicious food served.

Besides fish, Chef had made a twist where it is served with the juicy beef. Tender and juicy meat and each cuts of the meat is sinfully delicious. It is just heavenly when we took a bite of the juicy beef itself.

The chef ends us with something sweet which is the dessert: Banana and Coconut Trifle. Added with the bread crumbs together with the coconut trifle, the delights is amazingly sweet and delicious. Glazed banana with a slight sugar and an almond stick to top up the desserts is just perfect and I am falling in love with this so much.