est (Sydney)

For our wedding anniversary, we chose to dine at Est. to celebrate the occasion.

We had a couple of mocktails to settle down before the 4-course chefs menu. All the dishes were as pretty as a picture. Spanner crab salad, grilled scallops, venison and passionfruit sorbet were all excellent.

Big thank you for the staff to be very attentive and cater for my wife’s low sodium dietary needs.

Details:

Level 1, Establishment

252 George Street

Sydney

http://merivale.com.au/est

The Foodstore (Auckland New Zealand)

After spending 12 days in Auckland on business I still haven not had a chance to taste the famous New Zealand lamb. I headed to The Foodstore with lamb in mind.

The restaurant was great for the lone business traveller with TVs showing food programs. Both my lamb cutlet and venison dishes were excellent. New Zealand lamb is really different than others with added tenderness and flavour.

The trifle wrapped up a wonderful day with the many layers of texture.

Details:
The Foodstore
Market Square, Viaduct Harbour
Auckland, New Zealand
http://thefoodstore.tv/

Yoshii (Sydney)

We went to Yoshii on Valentine’s Day for their special menu. While expecting the usual drop in standards for this ‘special’ occasion, we still had high expectations due to its reputation.

The food is best described as a clash of east and west, rather than a perfect balance between the two. Dishes such as trio of snapper, venison carpaccio with chocolate sauce, and poached lamb with soy sauce had beautiful presentation. However the flavour fell short.

The sushi plate rescued the meal – simple, authentic and very fresh. So we would recommend you to dine at the sushi bar.

Details:
Yoshii
115 Harrington St 
The Rocks NSW 2000
http://www.yoshii.com.au/