Good Food and Graduations.

Today has been absolutely wonderful. My sister graduated with her law degree after what feels like an eternity at university (for her) and many days and nights filled with stress and tears, as well as great achievements. I am so proud of her. Seeing her glide across that stage and accept her degree has filled me with much inspiration and determination to get through the next year so that I too can experience the tremendous relief and excitement of being a graduate.

The day has been filled with many lovely things. There have been flowers...

Giving my sister flowers on her graduation (although common practice at graduation ceremonies) was actually the product of a personal joke that my sister and I have shared for a couple of years now. My dad was the one who ended up organising the flowers, and I must give credit where credit is due and say that he made an awesome selection. Unknowingly, by picking the arrangement that struck him as the nicest, he managed to select my sister's favourite flowers - pink roses and gerberas.

This second bunch of flowers was a surprise from a relative who happened to be at the ceremony attending as a guest of another graduate.

Then there was the celebratory dinner and OH-MY-GOSH it was absolutely fabulous!! The highlight of the day (well, second highlight, after the actual graduation ceremony of course). My sister requested that we dine at Sepia, and I'll be forever grateful for her decision.

Sepia recently received 2 Hats in the SMH Good Food Guide Awards 2011, and Head Chef Martin Benn was named 'Chef of the Year 2011'. So, as you can imagine we were incredibly excited to see what Sepia had in store for us - and let me just say the experience did not disappoint!

As we approached the restuarant the doors swung open and one of the lovely owners greeted us (by name, might I add). This set the tone for what seemed to be a promising evening and dining experience ahead. The menu is full of wonderful and delicious sounding options, so we opted to go for the set Spring Menu, which consists of 4 courses. It seemed like a good way to sample the various offerings without having to go with the degustation - which required a leisurely several hours that we simply did not have.

We began with an amuse bouche (which I can't recall entirely but was a seafood emulsion of sorts). This was followed by the first course, which featured poached Ocean Trout and was soooo good. Probably my favourite course (aside from dessert). Next was a Spanner Crab and Buckwheat Risotto with a Mustard Butter and Shellfish Essence - which my dad and sister argue was the best course (again, aside from dessert). The third course consisted of Poached Coral Trout, Marron, Onion Cream, White Asparagus and Beetroot-infused Trout Roe - and I'll admit I couldn't bring myself to eat the roe. Just the idea of caviar makes me feel a bit queasy.

Undoubtedly, the best part of the dinner was dessert (well, for me dessert is ALWAYS the best part of any dinner). First we had THE MOST delicious pre-dessert, which was a creme brulee of sorts with corn and other tasty elements (at this point I had stopped paying attention to the waiter who explained exactly but I was too distracted, excitedly waiting to dig into it). Then there was dessert...

I had this 'Chocolate Forest' which consisted of soft chocolate, lavender cream, a sour cherry sorbet and licorice...and it was DIVINE!

This was the other dessert on offer, which was something to do with a Mandarin or something. Once again, I wasn't paying attention because as soon as I saw my 'Chocolate Forest' everything else seemed unimportant.

What made the experience so great was the fact that everyone at Sepia is so incredibly nice, knowledgeable and accommodating. My sister with her 101 allergies was so at home here, they made her special meals including this absolutely delicious dessert (it was sooo good! Possibly the best out of the three desserts at our table.)

It was a wonderful Strawberry concoction of some sort. Can't remember the specifics (again, distracted by the chocolate) but it sure looked and tasted great.

These were the delectable Petit Fours that accompanied our tea and coffee. The Pistachio Macaroons were to die for!!

All in all, Sepia lives up to the hype and more than deserves all the accolades and awards it has received. Definitely one of the best fine-dining experiences I've had - making it the perfect way to end a pretty perfect day :)