Seven Lanterns, Sylvania

After hearing rave reviews about 7 Lanterns on Not Quite Nigella’s blog and reading amazing reviews on Eatability (as well as being listed as number 2 of the best restaurant listing in Sydney), I couldn’t wait to go and give 7 Lanterns a try. How incredibly honored I felt when the lovely owner, David emailed me and asked me to come along and visit his restaurant.

7 Lanterns have two degustation options – the Royale ($55 per person) and Lanterns ($70 per person). You can also order A La Carte if you’re only hungry for a few course, although to be honest, I would highly recommend the degustation menu as it gives you a good sampler of all the deliciousness at 7 Lanterns, and I found that the serving sizes of all the dishes were absolutely perfect. Plus, priced at $55 and $70 per person, you can’t get more of a bargain for a degustation in this town!

Many the time I come away from degustation feeling overly stuffed and almost slightly ill which kind of wrecks the experience a tad; but it even says on the 7 Lanterns menu “All courses are portion controlled for comfortable eating for one” – and I found this to be very true! I came away feeling perfectly full but not too far over the edge – and it was a good feeling!


Beef Tataki
Seared and thinly sliced succulent Angus beef carpaccio with fresh vegetable strips, served with crushed nashi pear and soy ginger reduced garnish. (served as part of the Lanterns degustation, or ordered a la carte is 4 pcs for $18).
This was a great start to the meal. The crunchy thin strips of vegies were encased by perfectly cooked beef and dressed in a lovely soy/ginger sauce that just melted in your mouth – a great blend of textures and flavours which piqued our appetite!



Atlantic Salmon Roll
Grilled premium Atlantic salmon fillet layered on top of California roll made with cooked tuna in Japanese ‘Cheese Mayo’ with avocado and cucumber. (part of the Royale degustation or you can order 4 pcs for $18.00 off the a la carte menu).
This dish deserves two photos – it was definitely the star of the night! It was a hard act to follow that Beef Tataki, but this was absolutely fantastic. The salmon was lightly torched and had a magnificent flavour that went well with the tuna, avocado and sushi rice – but the best partof the dish was the “cheese mayo” which was so addictive and it had me scraping my plate for moremoremore! I kept wishing I had gotten more than two pieces! It was such a good combination of smoky/sweet/creamy. Total winner. It was without a doubt, the best sushi I have ever had! I could go back and eat a massive roll of this… and really, really want to. I know I’m gushing, but seriously – you need to try this sushi!


Peasant Chicken, or Dak Dori
Chicken breast and seasoned rissole medallions with Korean peasant style garlic, chilli, soy and onion reduction, served with a honey soy coated cocktail potato. (Served as part of the Royale degustation, or can be ordered a la carte for $28).
The owner, David told us a little about the history of this dish – it’s called “peasant” chicken because back in the days in Korea, the chicken breast (ironically now haha) was the cheapest part of the chicken – as it would dry out quickly in the cooking process. However, this was solved by home cooks rolling the chicken breast in juicier and more flavorsome chicken rissoles. Funny to think of chicken breast as being the cheaper cut of the meat as its now the most expensive part!

This dish was delicately spiced and was a nice contrast to the honey soy sauce and the inner part of the roulade infused the chicken breast with plenty of flavour.


Grilled Salmon served with Tom Yong Goon sauce
This was a special chef item off the menu. It was cooked so perfectly, it tasted almost buttery in that special way that only salmon can. The silky texture of the fish was further highlighted the creamy notes in the coconutty Thai inspired sauce in this very unique dish.

Teriyaki Chicken, or Dak Teriyaki
Chicken thigh fillet brine tenderised overnight, teppan grilled in 7 Lanterns Teriyaki sauce served with fresh & crispy green leaves with soy and ginger oriental dressing. ($22 ordered off the a la carte menu).
This was so melt in your mouth good. Probably some of the best chicken teriyaki I’ve ever had! You could definitely tell the chicken had been brined overnight – the meat was so unbelievably juicy! The chef grilled this to absolute perfection and I loved the smoky sweet flavours of the sauce with the meat. The salad leaves also provided a good balance to cut the richness of the meat – a perfectly lovely dish!

Imperial Beef Rib
Cross-cut beef rib marinated overnight in chunky garlic sesame and shallot, then slow cooked for hours in soy reduction & caramelised onion sweetened sauce served with steamed rice and ‘kim chi’. (Served as part of the Lanterns degustation or can be ordered a la carte for $32).
Picking between my faves of the night would definitely be a tough choice between the salmon sushi and this beef rib. Beef rib is one of my favorite dishes and the chef at 7 Lanterns definitely did this one justice. I love the smoky flavour that the Teppan grill imparted to all the dishes and this was no different – the meat fell away from the bone and was so juicy, tender and well paired with the soft rice and sweet caramelised sauce. I enjoyed every bite of this dish!



Chocolate Mousse Fondue drenched in warm white chocolate sauce served with chocolate curls.
(Served with Royale degustation or can be ordered a la carte).
Finally, moving onto the sweet part of the night and of course one of my personal faves – dessert!
This mousse was very much enjoyed by me and Mike which was a surprise – only because Mike is normally not a fan of mousse at all! (unlike me of course, heehee.) The pillowy soft chocolate mousse was encased in layers of chocolate and had some hidden raspberries snuggled away inside. The chocolatey factor was kicked up another notch with the white chocolate sauce and yummy chocolate curls – perfect for chocoholics like myself!


Sticky date pudding drenched in melting caramel sauce served with classic vanilla ice cream.
(Served with Lanterns degustation or can be ordered a la carte).
This was a lovely finish to the night and a great take on the classic sticky date pud. The pudding itself was lovely and soft to bite into and topped with a moreish sticky caramel sauce. The vanilla ice cream was a welcome addition to help cut through the sweetness of the caramel and there was a tiny disc of praline which added a lovely nuttiness to the dish.


Cute little sitting area near the bathroom


Clean and pretty bathrooms


Pretty flowers in the bathroom which adds a nice fresh touch


7 lanterns from the outside

Just loved this super cute little walkway into the restaurant

7 Lanterns is the perfect place for a romantic date night out but also suits family groups, birthdays and small to medium sized groups. We went on Father’s Day and there were plenty of kids enjoying the chefs awe-inspiring skills on the Teppan grill. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant and David and his staff have done a fantastic job of creating a very relaxed and elegant style of fine dining.

I would also like to make a special mention of the service. David and all of the wait staff and even the chefs were so warm and friendly to each and every customer that walked through the door. You could tell each and every customer was well looked after and attended to and there was a very welcome vibe that just added a final touch of class to the restaurant.

The food as aforementioned through this post, was excellent quality and it was obvious that David and his team go to great care to select fresh produce of a very high standard to make their wonderful dishes. Our fave dishes of the night were the salmon sushi roll and the imperial beef rib – two must trys!

Parking is best on nearby streets – but the street right outside the restaurant and nearby fills up pretty quickly, so its best to park a few streets away (but you shouldn’t have to go too far.)

A big thank you to David and his staff for a wonderful night – I would love to visit again!

7 Lanterns
14 Princes Highway, Sylvania
9522 2422

Seven Lanterns on Urbanspoon

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Christine (cookingcrusade.com) dined as a guest of David, the owner of 7 Lanterns.
If you’re interested in inviting Cooking Crusade along to review your restaurant, please shoot us an email on christine@cookingcrusade.com

Thanks for reading and hope you’re all having a wonderful start to the week!

xoxo
Christine

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