Guillaume at Bennelong - Bennelong Point, Sydney

Barramundi with crispy skin on, sauce basquaise & pimentos

-> Excellent. If I'm japanese, I'd exclaim, "Sasuga Guillaume"! Over the time, this has become one of Guillaume's most popular signature dish. The crispy skin of Barramundi is just irresistible. It's soft, juicy, cooked at the prefect temperature. Truly a memorable dish.

Wagyu beef striploin, grainge Angus Black Label, sauteed garlic, confit of vegetables, merlot sauce

-> This is crazy delicious. I'm speechless. Period.

Further comments:

Mommy's in town. Two nights only. Good chance for extortion.

Yeah, mommy's in town with her Womens' Club ladies for their annual trip (or biannual. Or triannual. basically whenever they feel like going - sometimes even four times a year) - this time to a ski chalet in Otago, New Zealand. The trip includes a 2-day stopover in Sydney. This is a trip especially tailored to suit tai-tais' need, hence the 2-day stopover in Sydney to give them a chance to roam about Castlereagh St, etc for some Hermes, Chanel, Bvlgari and the ilk.

For some tai-tais, this is also a good chance to check up on their poor, sweet precious overgrown babies currently studying in Sydney that miss their mommies so much even though they basically jet back-and-forth to Indonesia as often as they like. These babies are really precious, they need their mommies to kiss them good night, tuck them, buy them new Vuitton multicolour carrying bag for their precious little Pomeranians, and read them good bedtime stories and nursery rhymes about three little piggies that goes to Prada in Via Condotti to buy some Striped Nappa tote bags.

I love it when my mom comes to Sydney for a short visit (a long visit is a whole 'nother story - it's a dreadful story, to be precise - my mom's not the easiest person and is very, very high maintenance. Well, not really high maintenance, but let's just say that she NEEDS a LOT of things. Crazy things. Like a Fortnum & Mason rosy periwinkle tea with cardamom infusion served with brown swizzle sticks).
The upside is, I get to hear lots of juicy gossips men are shameful to admit that they actually LIKE to hear. Like which tai - tai got a tummy tuck, who got a new 8-carat princess cut VVS-grade solitaire diamond ring, whose husband cheated on who, and who spent 3 days locking herself in the bathroom crying like hell with 10 bottles of Moet & Chandon.

Anyway, as with all good not-yet-on-payroll son, I consider my mom's visit to Sydney as an opportunity to extort and abuse her credit card. This includes eating out in places I wouldn't normally just casually decide to dine at. Like Guillaume at Bennelong.

The place is very nice, the food is of course, legendary, but the main concern here is its location. It's situated at the very tip of Bennelong Point, i.e, at the one and only, the iconic Sydney Opera House. Restaurant-wise, I could not imagine a more prestigious location for an eatery in Sydney. The view is indeed spectacular, and it's one of those special places you want to reserve for special occasions only, no matter how much money you've got, because location-wise, in Sydney, it doesn't get any better than this.

Being in Guillaume's carries the same air as being in the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center in New York, or the Russian Tea Room. Although Guillaume doesn't have the same historical value as the two restaurants in NYC, it is still located in one of the most iconic buildings in the world. And coupled with the excellent award-winning menu, it's definitely worth what you're paying for.