So, as you’ve probably already noticed, my posting has become largely non-existent of late. The reason being, I’ve recently gotten engaged and with a wedding coming along at the end of this year I’ve pretty much been pre-occupied with wedding planning, honeymoon planning, house hunting and to top it off…going after a new job (which I got!). Boy do I know how to torture myself!

So with everything happening and the fact that I cannot dedicate the time I want to towards writing/processing the best posts/photos I can (perfectionist, yes I am), I’ve decided to take it easy this year and come back with full gusto next year when everything’s done, dusted and sorted.

In the meantime…happy eating! :)

Phew, it’s been a majorly busy few weeks for me with work, weddings, Easter, family, friends, birthdays…well life in general really (aagh!). Basically this meant I was left with the good old dilemma of ‘too much to do, too little time  to do it all in’. If only I could have a couple extra hours every day to cram in everything! Regardless, somehow, I managed to squeeze in a catch-up with our good friends Justin and Christina at Toko in Surry Hills.

The vibe of Toko pure trendy. It’s definitely a place where you get the feeling that this is where the beautiful people go to be seen. It’s probably one of the biggest draw card apart from the food that keeps new customers coming. Unfortunately, despite the restaurant’s popularity, as is the case with a lot of popular Surry Hills/Paddington eateries nowadays, they do not accept bookings for dinner. Drive past this place on any night of the week and you’re almost guaranteed to see a crowd mingling outside waiting for a table – sometimes waiting in excess of an hour or more.

So knowing this, and after one failed attempt previously arriving at what I thought was an early 6:30pm dinner, this time we arrived well before opening time. The restaurant isn’t open officially until 6pm for dinner, but luckily the cocktail bar opens at 5:30pm so we were able to have a quick round of drinks before settling in for a early dinner.

The interior of Toko is largely wooden predominated with a long bench table down the middle and several more intimate seating along the window. For those wanting a show with their dinner, there are also front row seats in front of the sushi preparation area and the robata grill. The rest of the kitchen is also primarily open so from where ever you’re sitting there’s always an opportunity to glance inside to see the inner workings.

Edamame

Served warm with a light sprinkling of Maldon sea salt.

Watari-gani Kara-age (Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Wasabi Mayonaisse)

A classic nowadays at Japanese restaurants. The crab was seasoned lightly and was perfect by itself and also dipped in the wasabi mayonnaise.

Gyu Niku No Tataki (Seared Beef, Pickled Onions, Mizuna & Garlic Chips)

The lightly seared beef was very thinly sliced. Delicious eaten in a single bite rolled around the sour pickled onions, the mildly peppery mizuna leaves and the crunchy garlic chips.

Maguro No Miso Taru Taru (Tuna Tartar & Baby Shiso Leaves with Barley Miso Dressing)

The sweet potato chips had a delicate crispiness which contrasted with the smooth texture of the tuna tartar. The barley miso dressing was very understated and served to complement the rich flavour of the tuna.

Omakaze Zushi (Assorted Selection of Toko Rolls & Nigiri)

Fresh sashimi nigiri and crispy soft shell crab rolls – what more could you ask for?

Piri Kara Dofu To Abogado (Spicy Fried Tofu with Avocado Salsa & Barley Miso)

One of the more unique dishes. The tofu had a nice contrast of the slightly spicy fried texture of the outside with the smooth texture and simple flavour of the plain tofu inside. The avocado salsa was a surprise addition though.

Hotate No Jalapeno Amazu Zoe (Robata Grilled Scallop with Sweet Pickled Apple & Jalapeno Garlic)

I didn’t taste much of the jalapeno flavour in the garlic as advertised in the description. However, that said, the grilled scallop had a nice smokey flavour from the robata grill with the sweetness of the fresh meat enhanced by the sour pickled apple on top.

Ami Yaki Ro-Su Niku To Wafe Sauce (Scotch Fillet Steak with Wafu Sauce & Garlic Chips)

There’s nothing like a perfectly cooked piece of steak. While the steak was largely unseasoned by itself, the flavours were provided by the soy based wafu sauce and the garlic chips. Simple but delicious.

Zucchini No Wafu Yaki (Zucchini with Wafu Sauce & Sesame Seeds)

Another dish off the grill. The zucchini was grilled perfectly so that while it was cooked through, it wasn’t mushy in anyway like zucchini tends to.

Dessert Platter

Without a doubt, the highlight of the meal was the delicious fig and ginger pudding that was served as part of the dessert platter. So good in fact that it pretty much overshadowed everything else on the platter. :) The ice cream and sorbets were quite a contrast to each other though. While the vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream and rockmelon sorbets were quite subtle in flavours, the tropical sorbet on the other hand definitely packed a punch that had you widening your eyes with shock at the intense flavours.

Toko

The bustling kitchen of Toko. I couldn’t help but laugh when the chef stopped what he was doing halfway to pose for me! :)

Toko Restaurant & Bar

490 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia

P: 612 9357 6100 F: 612 9357 6155

www.toko.com.au/index_surryhills.cfm

Ask me what my favourite seafood restaurant with fine dining in Sydney is and my answer would definitely be Pier Restaurant at Rose Bay. I first visited here as a poverty stricken university student when a single meal here could have easily paid for over a week’s worth of university cafeteria sandwiches. Many years on, I still remember the meal I had there. So when a high school friend announced a quick visit to Sydney and Pier pipped as the place for our catch up, I didn’t have a moment’s hesitation in saying yes at the chance to re-visit.

Over the years since my original visit, the restaurant has consistently won a bundle of awards including the several lucrative Three Chef’s Hats year on year. Definitely proof of the restaurant’s impeccable consistency and ongoing dedication towards serving the best seafood around. The seafood was the freshest I’d ever tasted when I originally went, and it’s certainly the same case the second time round.

Food aside, Pier is aptly named for the pier it sits on located sticking out into the waters of Rose Bay. No matter where you sit in the restaurant, you’re guaranteed a view of Rose Bay – that is, unless you have a late booking like we did, then you’ll just end up with a front and centre view of the pitch black night. :) The interior is primarily monotone with bursts of blue here and there as a homage to the bright blue boathouse the restaurant resides and to draw in the colour of water surrounding. Service as expected is white gloved silver service all the way.

Pier Restaurant

I really liked the Robert Welch cutlery here, very modern yet elegant at the same time.

Cone of King Salmon Tartare

A little amuse-bouche to start off our meal. The raw salmon cubes were served in a mixture with roe, shallots, onion and capers for just that little bit of zing while the cone it was served in was super crisp and broke off with each bite with a distinct crunch.

Carpaccio of John Dory

Served with a tangy and refreshing tomato and lime water vinaigrette and a dash of olive oil, the thinly sliced pieces of john dory were barely visible on the dish. Only when you took a closer look were you able to see the pieces of fish sneakily camouflaged with the white of the plate it was served on. Having only eaten john dory cooked, I was nicely surprised by how delicate the meat was.

Tian of Spanner Crab

Served with a scallop ceviche, pea salad and pea jus, the sweet meat of the spanner crab was lightly seasoned with black pepper and contrasted with the sharp lemon marinated scallop ceviche. The pea jus was a vibrant bright green and the flavour nicely brought out the taste of the pea salad.

Cauliflower Tofu & Lobster ‘Agedashi’

Pier’s play on the traditional Japanese agedashi tofu dish was something completely different. The lobster broth was rich and brought out the flavour of the seared scallop. The cauliflower tofu was a little softer compared to a traditional piece of tofu, but a nice substitute nonetheless. The richness of the poached foie gras topped it all of nicely.

Crispy Skinned Murray Cod

Cooked to perfection as can be expected. The skin of the fish was thin and crisp while the juiciness of the meat was retained. The bitter orange sauce contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the caramelised witlof while the addition of the Serrano ham (very similar to prosciutto) gave it a nice salty and meaty edge.

Carrot Sponge

With the winner of 2007’s Chef of the Year awarded by the SMH Good Food Guide in the form of Katrina Kanetani at the helm of the dessert portion of our meal, we were sure to be amazed when the dessert courses came around. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. The carrot sponge that came first was unlike anything I’d had before. Shaped into a sphere, the sponge was extremely bouncy, light and fluffy and had a very subtle carrot flavour to it. The highlight of this was definitely the ginger sherbet – the chef’s favourite according to our waitress.

Buttermilk Chiboust

Something new that I’d never come across before, the chiboust, as I later found out, is a custard made of pastry cream lightened with a meringue mixture and then stabilised with gelatin. The taste of the buttermilk was subtle when compared to the rich sweetness of the raspberry sorbet and the peach-pepper sherbet.

Raspberry Souffle

The original dish in the 8 course degustation menu was a Texture of Goats Cheese served with apple and celery, however since none of us were big fans of goats cheese, we requested a different dessert to substitute and were nicely surprised that we were offered a raspberry souffle instead. It was like swapping a fake crystal with a diamond in our eyes! :)

Served with a side of chantilly cream, the souffle was brought out and the raspberry sauce poured into the souffle table-side. The sauce was extremely sweet and the souffle was soft and fluffy, however in my opinion, having it right at the end of a long meal meant it was a touch eggy and rich for my liking.

Pier Restaurant

594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia

P: 612 9327 6561 F: 612 9363 0927

www.pierrestaurant.com.au

Day two of our trip to Melbourne and we couldn’t help ourselves but to go back to Centre Place for our breakfast. This time, we chose another cafe across the laneway to Cafe No 5. Since we already went with a traditional breakfast the day before, this time we decided to veer off centre and opted to have food of a more Middle Eastern flavour. With Middle Eastern food being characteristically heavier on the stomach it guaranteed that all the boys were happy after the meal.

Specials

A novel way to display your specials! Definitely better than having to crane your neck into near-impossible angles trying to read a special off the wall or trying your hardest to commit to memory a list of specials as your waiter rattles them off at top speed. :)

Chorizo Bean Hotpot served with Baked Eggs & Toasted Ciabata

Value for money doesn’t even start to describe this dish with an abundance of chorizo, beans and eggs baked and served in a hot pot. All this for a measly price of $14.50! The tomato based sauce was rich and complemented nicely the soft beans and the spicy chorizo. Delicious! Being a chronic-non-breakfast-eater though, it was a bit too heavy for my stomach first thing in the morning and I barely finished half of it.

Middle Eastern Eggs – Meatballs Cooked in a Rich Sauce Served with Eggs, Beans & Traditional Pita Bread

A much saucier version of the previous dish. The meatballs (lamb, I think) were moist and packed full of the flavours from various herbs and spices while the crisp pita bread was perfect for dipping into the rich tomato based sauce.

Cafe Issus

8-10 Centre Place, Melbourne, Australia

P: 613 9663 8844

Okay, so I’ve been a little slack over the last few weeks owing to being overseas and getting distracted by the over abundance of good food available in Malaysia. But, now that I’m back, it’s back to everyday life, and of course that means more food blogging! Anyway, what better way to ease myself back into everyday life by reminiscing on a little break we took in Melbourne a couple months ago.

Day one of our trip consisted of a drive on the Great Ocean Road and needing a good meal to start us off, we went on a wander through the streets of Melbourne and stumbled across Centre Place – a little alleyway located between Flinders Lane and Collins Street. It’s quintessential Melbourne with an abundance of quaint little cafes located along both sides.

We chose Cafe No 5 based primarily on the fact that it was the only one that could accommodate our group of six with its communal table in the middle. The menu here is typical cafe style with a good assortment of breakfast favourites. The interior is quaint to say the least with a mishmash of posters and objects decorating every inch of the cafe possible.

Centre Place

Cafe No. 5

Latte

Hot Chocolate

Super hot – just the way I like my hot chocolate :)

Eggs Benedict

Not your typical eggs benedict that you might find at another cafe – the rough cuts of bread combined with the thick slices of ham and a generous serving of a thick and rich hollandaise sauce made this a man’s eggs benedict. Definitely a stark contrast to the dainty eggs benedicts I’ve seen elsewhere.

French Toast

To be honest, this was the first time I’ve ever tried pairing bacon and sausages with maple syrup and while I can see the appeal of the sweet and salty flavours, I can’t say it’s going to be a favourite of mine. The eggy bread on the other hand was delicious paired with the smooth taste of the maple syrup.

Vegetarian Big Breakfast

I got a case of food envy when this plate was placed infront of my friend. The eggs looked poached to perfection and upon piercing the egg white there was the satisfying ooze of yellow yolk coming out, coating the bread underneath.

And finally, a shout out to the lovely staff who looked after us while we were there!

Cafe No 5

5 Centre Place, Melbourne, Australia

P: 613 9650 0055

www.cafeno5.com.au