Azuma - Chifley Plaza, Sydney

Lunch with Cla. I haven't been to this restaurant for ages - in fact, this is one of the first Japanese restaurants I've been in Sydney. This place is (or used to be) quite a big deal - gaining awards and such, however, not much has changed since they relocated to their current location nearly a decade ago. The food is great, but the decor is somewhat bland and deteriorating. A nice place for power lunches (considering its location at the heart of CBD) but not for dinners, really.

Considering their great food, they should do something to pimp up the place a bit, really - the place is really uninteresting.

Azuma Bento

Wagyu, nigiri sushi, sashimi, hourensou, assorted amuse bouche, assorted tempura

-> I actually wanted to order this one, but since I came late, Cla beat me to it! The sushi is apparently good.

Rating: 7.5/10

Steak Bento

-> The wafu steak. It's really good, and grilled to my desired level of done-ness. The sauce is sweet and delightful, and I can see that it's daikon (white raddish)-based, my favorite kind. The meat is tender, as expected, however, it's rather cold. Well, I'm not expecting this dish to be sizzling hot with amazing fumes coming out of it à la Chinese food court dishes (such spectacle is against every concept of traditional, refined Japanese dining), but considering that they put the steak in a hotplate, they could at least serve it a bit warmer.

-> The assorted tempura. Ingredients aren't exactly spectacular - just your ordinary tempura. However, it tastes amazing and couldn't be more perfect.

-> The Maguro (tuna) Carpaccio with rockets. Quite nice, with Japanese-style dressing.


Rating (overall, for the Steak Bento): 8.5/10

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.

Daidaiya - Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Char-grilled Norway Lobster with spinach in sweet ponzu sauce

-> Nice. If I were at home, I would've sucked the lobster head dry, but it's kind of hard to do that gracefully with fork and knife, so I didn't. And oh, I think "Norway Lobster" is basically Scampi.

(Above) Gindara Meuniere with olive puree and pinot noir bernaise
(Below) Pan-seared Wagyu Sirloin with horseradish and Jerusalem Artichoke puree

A niceee fusion restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui (this time, we made a reservation)
Okayyy...I said I didn't really care for fusion food, but this one is good. Fine, I take back what I said. But let me just say this: MOST fusion food sucks. Some of them are good. Okay?

Anyhoot, it's nice to be in a restaurant in Hong Kong where the service are not somewhat hurried. The food is good, too, butI think I ate too much wagyu lately (most wagyu in Hong Kong restaurants are in fact, from Australia, not Japan. Japanese wagyu are just too expensive for frequent consumption). We had a great time, the restaurant was quite relaxed and the crowd are hip and fashionable (Red Louboutins galore. Clickety-clack). Apparently, the place is quite exclusive. Reservation is hard to get, unless you've got excellent connections like my friend Chelsie, who made the reservation. Mmh goi sai, Chelsie!

Le Petit Paris - IFC, Central, Hong Kong

Arugula salad with Sauce Japonnaise, crab confit, prawn, and caviar

Wagyu Fillet Mignon au jus with sauce noir, champignon and seared asparagus.

-> The beef is grilled to perfection, medium rare (the way I like it), and the aroma is just fantastic. Good cuts of meat is just like gold - the quality depends on how much you pay for it.

Such a pretentious place. Incredibly high-brow. Kind of felt awkward to dine alone, since the three tables surrounding me were occupied with lovey-dovey couples that made me feel like such a loser. Thank god nobody proposed, or I'll just leave the place.
Prices are astronomical. That dinner set is almost as expensive as the degustation at Tetsuya's (Cla!! take me to Tetsuya's!!!)

Heritage Park - Bowral

Really far from the city but worth the trip.




Grilled chicken breast, spinach, wild mushroom risotto with mango sauce



Seared wagyu beef with Thai noodles in basil sauce



Almond vanilla mousse with strawberry coulis



Traditional sticky date pudding in passionfruit sauce served with king island cream