Beijing Duck Restaurant (Eastwood)

Our cravings for roast duck coincide with the opening of the Beijing Duck Restaurant in Eastwood. The signature dish Peking (Beijing) Duck required pre-ordering. The carving began after the duck was proudly shown in whole on the table. The crispy skin from the breast was served first (dipped in sugar) and then the rest of the skin with meat in the familiar pancakes and shallots. The meat was really tender and plentiful for 4 people.

I also enjoyed other northern Chinese dishes such as cabbage, mushroom and fungus served in a clay pot, as well as the authentic shallot cakes.

Details:
Beijing Duck Restaurant
125 Rowe Street
Eastwood
NSW 2122
http://www.ozbeijingduck.com

Westfield Food Hall, Charlie & Co Burgers, Ragu Pasta... and more (Sydney)

We decided to visit the Westfield Food Hall on a Thursday night after all we have heard about it (but never managed to find time to go during lunch). Occupying level 5 of the shopping mall, this premium food court was fairly crowded at dinner time.

We had a good variety of food: juicy wagyu beef burger with onion rings at Charlie & Co, pasta from Ragu Pasta & Wine Bar, drinks from Chatime, and gelato and lemon/hazelnut dessert from Via Del Corso Pasticceria. The meal overall was not cheap – just a touch under $70.

Details:
Westfield Sydney Food Hall
Level 5
450 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.westfield.com.au/sydney/store-profiles/sydney-room/

Toriichi (Sydney)

When a casual, quiet Japanese meal was needed on a Friday night after a tough work week, we stumbled upon Toriichi in the CBD. The restaurant is designed like a wine bar where it serves small Japanese dishes to go with the large range of Sake available.

We enjoyed their large range of authentic dishes despite not ordering any Sake. The egg roll was simple but the subtle seafood flavour made it much more enjoyable than the normal egg sushi. The oden bowl, consisting of fish balls and radish in soup, also went down very well.

Details:
Toriichi
Ground Level
12 O'Connell Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Masuya (Sydney)

As we walked into Masuya Restaurant on Friday night, the underground restaurant was only half full. We were luckily seated at the sushi bar as all the tables were reserved.

We ordered the deluxe sashimi boat and the uni (sea urchin) sushi special. For a good hour we were enjoying a large variety of raw fish of difference textures, fat content level, and flavours. And the uni was super fresh and deserved the price tag. The tonkatsu pork was also delicious – the meat inside was tender and juicy.

Details:
Masuya Japanese Restaurant
Basement, 12-14 O'Connell Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.masuya.com.au/en/restaurants/index.html

Sugarcane (Sydney)

We visited Sugarcane Restaurant on the edge of Surry Hills on a Friday night for a casual dinner. The dining room was modern and the service (one person!) was attentive.

The menu captured a variety of south-east Asian dishes. While our entrée of prawn dumplings was average, we enjoyed the baby snapper curry with the sauce working well with the whole fish deep fried. The duck leg stir fry was also good with the meat maintained moist and tender.

Details:
Sugarcane Restaurant
40A Reservoir Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.sugarcanerestaurant.com.au

Commodore Hotel (North Sydney)

Friday lunch on a sunny day at an outdoor terrace is always a good way to wind down the week. The team went to The Commodore Hotel and it was packed when we arrived before 1pm. Both queues for food and drinks were very long.

The bistro menu had a great variety. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food. My pot pie of the day was beef and red wine. Portion size was generous and the quality of beef was good. My colleague's wagyu beef cheeseburger also looked enticing.

Details:
Commodore Hotel
206 Blues Point Road
North Sydney NSW 2060
http://www.iconhospitalitygroup.com.au/commodore/home/