Orana is located in Adelaide, South Australia. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, and the country’s fifth largest city with about 1.3 million residents. It is located close to various wine regions, and in fact, Penfolds has a winery very close to the Central Business District. I will post about that visit later.
Adelaide continued to impress us in terms of its culinary scene, and general lifestyle.
Here was the menu:
The meal started with a potato type bread cooking over some hot coals served with lamb butter. These were just OK. Very dense. I knew there were 18+ courses to follow so I did not finish this course.
Next was a smoked pumpkin snack. I did not like the taste of this. Very strong pungent flavor.
The first thing I did enjoy was this macadamia broth. The flavors were very mild and delicious.
This was followed by squid and cod. Both dishes were good, and again, very mild fresh flavors. In general, the restaurant did not present bold flavors, but very mild flavors.
The first wow dish was this extremely savory Garish fish roti. The texture and flavor of the roti were perfect, and the jerk seasoning on the fish was nice. It was also cooked very well.
This was followed by pipis. They were like a cross between a clam and mussel. I believe they are cockles. I did not like the flavor. The ocean taste was very strong. I love brine flavor of the ocean like Uni or Oysters, but there was something off about these for me.
The next dish were prawns sprinkled with ants. I was informed that the ants had a lemon taste. The first time we tried this was a few weeks ago in Colombia. The ants there had a stronger lemon flavor. This dish was very good. The prawns were perfectly cooked and very sweet.
For pasta, we were served Cacio e pepe. We were told it was the chef’s favorite dish. I love cacio e pepe too, and was excited when this was presented, but I did not think this was a good execution of it. There was too much pepper and not enough cheese and pasta water.
Next, crocodile broth. This was delicious packed with flavor. It reminded me of a very tasty Pho broth. Orana could probably sell a $30 crocodile pho ;).
Next, an eggplant dish. It was beautifully presented. I was neutral about this dish.
After that, we were served “surf and turf”. Toro and mushrooms over fire. When the table next to us were being explained about this dish I was excited to get it myself. Who doesnt love a good tuna belly. However, this one was underwhelming. The tuna needed to have more fatty taste and more flavor from the “fire”. Almost like a good aburi.
The last savory dish was kangaroo. It was my first time trying it. The server could not tell us the age of the kangaroo or much detail. However, it was good. Very tender with no gamey taste. I enjoyed this dish.
To finish, we were given a large assortment of sweets.
Overall, even though not all dishes were a hit, I thoroughly enjoyed this dinner. The restaurant’s passion for local ingredients and preparations is evident from the entire staff. We also did the drinks pairing with local beverages. The sommelier was very knowledgeable. The thought and effort that went into the menu is commendable and the presentations were nice. I would not return but I think everyone should go once for the experience. 8/10