http://www.sianavalley.com.au/
I've been to the city Siana once before for a curry Buffet and dessert platter. The meal was lovely and I left with a good impression so I was keen to see if the Valley Siana was in the same vein.
After the trouble finding parking (I think they have on-site parking but we missed the turn and parked a few streets away), we got to the restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of the HQ complex. On first sight, it looks like an office building, tall with lots of glass.
Siana on the ground level is very open with basically no walls... the street is invited in to the restaurant (noise and all).
We were lead by a very friendly waiter to this long, wide bar table. Though there are a few small tables scattered around, the main floor is taken up by 2 of these long tables. Guests essentially sit on this table next to strangers (kind of like when you go to sushi train). It wasn't very busy when we went so we were lucky enough to have a gap next to us.
The table is a bit too wide though so you really have to lean in to talk to the person sitting opposite you. I was impressed by the glow of the table top. It looked slightly alien and pretty cool. Overall, the decor is contemporary and refined.
Rosemount Botanicals crisp chardonnay
We got the Platinum Platter and a glass of Rosemount Botanicals. The waiter read out 3 choices of this sparkling wine, which as a non-wine appreciator, just sounded like gibberish to me so I asked him to recommend one and he told us to get the chardonnay.
Glass of bubbly each
The wine came first and it was a wonderful recommendation. The wine was lightly sparkling, refreshing, sweet but not cloying and had a very subtle apple flavor. It was supposed to have cucumber notes too though I'd be lying if I said I detected that. I liked the wine so much I finished 3/4 a bottle and am planning on purchasing it the next time I need to buy wine for any occasion.
Platinum platter
When our platter arrived, my jaw dropped.
Steamer pile
As well as a giant platter of assorted Asian-inspired food, there was a stack of small bamboo steamers too. Each one contained more food!
Prawn dumpling
We worked through the food gradually. It's against my nature to eat slowly because I'm a gorger but the wine helped (you tend to be more conversational and less concentrated on the food).
Salmon naan
Out of the food we ate, I particularly enjoyed the naan and the sushi, which was very fresh. The peking duck roll was nice but had too much sauce for my liking.
BBQ pork bun
I liked the crispy chicken skewer (chicken togarashi) but Hien said it was dry. The BBQ pork bun was good, one of my regular yum cha favorites.
Once again, I had a great time at Siana. The food was plentiful, with lots of variety. Though the food is not too different to a lower-end sushi store or yum cha restaurant, you're paying for the atmosphere. All this was supplemented by friendly service, a nice dining environment and a bottle of wine. I would just prefer the table to be a bit narrower so that it's easier to talk!
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