Tokyo Loco Bowl (Crows Nest)

Craving for a quick Japanese meal, I ate at Tokyo Loco Bowl at Crows Nest. The menu concepts centres around having everything on one bowl – rice/noodle, salad, and your choice of meat. My chicken karaage was freshly fried and went wonderfully with the salad and sweet dressing. The extra $1 for more rice is the way to go, especially if you are hungry.

Details:
Tokyo Loco Bowl
82 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tokyo-Loco-Bowl/493001850783551

La Bohème Restaurant (Glebe Sydney)

The family visited La Bohème Restaurant for a Bavarian feast to welcome the new year. The menu consists of a variety of dishes across Eastern Europe.

Portion size of the meat was much bigger than expected. The wife and I had a Bavarian feast platter for 2 and we only managed to finish half. The schnitzel was really enjoyable with the meat not dried out.

While the ambiance of the stonemason building was great, the echoing of sounds made it harder for conversations than usual – so do request a table at the corner.

Details:
La Bohème Restaurant
Stonemason’s Cottage
199 Glebe Point Road
Glebe
http://laboheme.com.au/

Mr Wong (Sydney)

Before going back to full-on mode at work, we had at lunch at Mr Wong with a couple of friends.

There was a large range of dim sum on offer so the meal was an up-scale yum cha at a fascinating venue (do have a tour around the underground level). Quality of food was good but not overwhelming given the price. I had much expectation on the foie gras prawn toast but the foie component seems a bit light. Prawns in the Har Gow was super fresh but maybe over seasoned – probably a way for diners to order more drinks.

Details:
Mr Wong
3 Bridge Lane
Sydney
http://merivale.com.au/mrwong

Bay Tandoori (Waverton Sydney)

For New Year’s Eve, we went to Bay Tandoori at Waverton for an Indian banquet dinner. We worked up an appetite after a long stroll along the vantage points for the Sydney Harbour fireworks.

While we expects a New Year’s Eve banquet to be overpriced (at any places), we certainly feel we have got our money’s worth. There was prompt pappadams on arrival, followed by a freshly fried platter of vegetarian starters. The curries was flavourful with enough naan bread and rice for the 2 of us.

Details:
Bay Tandoori
69-71 Bay Road
Waverton
NSW 2060
http://www.baytandoori.com.au

The Bridge Room (Sydney)

For our pre-Christmas celebrations, the wife and I chose The Bridge Room for some modern Australian cuisine.

We came with very high expectations due to the restaurant’s recent awards and were not disappointed. Our sake cured John Dory and reputed raw wagyu shoulder with robata mushroom had a nice touch of Japanese flavours which we liked. My wagyu sirloin was fantastic (do order the potato puree to match).

The white chocolate with mango dessert had this uncanny similarity to a Thai sticky rice with mango – but much more sophisticated.

Details:
The Bridge Room
44 Bridge Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
http://www.thebridgeroom.com.au/

Aqua Dining (Sydney)

Start of the holiday season brought the family to Aqua Dining, which featured a fantastic view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The menu consists of a range of pasta dishes, which we ordered as starters, and an attractive list of fish and meat main courses. My fig and pancetta casarecce pasta has a good balance of sweet and savory. The prawn risotto was also excellent. The perfectly cooked snapper dish with crispy skin was nicely highlighted by the very light sauce.

Details:
Aqua Dining
Corner Paul & Northcliff  Streets 
Milsons Point
NSW 2061
http://www.aquadining.com.au