Gowings Bar and Grill (Sydney)

We took a visitor for dinner at the Gowings Bar & Grill. The modern décor and view of the kitchen delighted our guest. The food was satisfactory as well. I was expecting the steak section to dominate the menu, but was delighted to order the wood roasted pork belly. Do order a side of onion rings, and leave some room for the peanut butter chocolate cake for dessert.

Details:
Gowings Bar & Grill
QT Hotel Sydney
1/49 Market Street
Sydney
https://www.qtsydney.com.au/food-drink/gowings-bar-grill/

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/

Café Madang at Maison Hermès Dosan Park (Seoul Korea)

As a fan of Hermes silk, I always like to pay a visit to the boutiques when travelling. Hermes opened its first Asian flagship store with a café in Seoul. So we paid a visit during our stay.

Café Madang is situated at the lower ground of the Hermes boutique, adjacent to a museum with some historic Hermes product (highly recommended for a half hour browse if you are into luxury goods). We ordered a couple of desserts for morning tea. The dishes were beautifully presented, and dining in Hermes cutleries was rather a unique experience.

Details:
Café Madang
Maison Hermès Dosan Park
Dosan Park 630-26
Shinsa-dong Gangnam-gu
135-895 Seoul
http://stores.hermes.com/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/Hermes-Dosan-Park

Guillaume at Bennelong (Sydney)

For my birthday, the wife took me to Guillaume at Bennelong inside the Sydney Opera House. Given its pending closure end of year, we would make it our ‘farewell’ visit.

The service was immaculate from the start and the food certainly matched its 3-hat status. The squid ‘pasta’ entrée with sea urchin sauce was intense with seafood flavor. The signature mulloway rouille dish was superb, but the very tender lamb was even better. And you wouldn’t go wrong with the chocolate soufflé or nougat glace for desserts.

Looking forward to its re-opening at another venue!

Details:
Guillaume at Bennelong
Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
http://guillaumeatbennelong.com.au/

Uncorked (North Sydney)

For our pre-wedding photoshoot, we invited our photographer to dine with us at Uncorked in The Union Hotel in North Sydney.

The dining room was rather quiet on the night of dinner which was great for us to talk over the details of our wedding plans. All the dishes were consistently good – from my smoked pig cheek starter to the tender wagyu steak. My fiancé’s foie gras salad starter was also interesting. I also enjoyed chocolate terrine dessert which had the right mix of textures.

Details:
Uncorked Restaurant at The Union Hotel
Corner Pacific Hwy & West Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
http://www.unionhotel.com.au/uncorked

Ormeggio At The Spit (Mosman Sydney)

We took advantage of the ‘Stress Less Sunday’ menu offered by Ormeggio At The Spit for a, well, relaxed dinner on a warm Sunday night. We picked the 4 course menu at the time of the booking.

All 4 dishes were beautifully presented and delicious. Kangaroo tartare had the right level of texture and not too tough. The eggplant tortellini had a subtle smokiness which complement well with the cheese sauce. Wagyu steak was extremely tender and worked well with the sesame puree. And the cardamom ice-cream dessert was a revelation with coffee powder.

If only the portion was bigger…

Details:
Ormeggio At The Spit
D'Albora Marinas
The Spit
Mosman 2088
http://www.ormeggio.com.au/

Big Stone (North Sydney)

We went to Big Stone which is a fusion Japanese tapas restaurant. The restaurant was really convenient for me as it is a short stroll from North Sydney CBD.

The menu offers a good range of both Japanese and Spanish dishes. There were some innovative fusion ideas as well. The takoyaki ‘sandwich’ was delicious with the squid ball squashed between crunchy prawn crackers. Wagyu beef skewer was nice and tender. For desserts, the chocolate fondant was perfectly melting on the inside, and the matcha brulee nicely balanced with the lentil ice-cream.

Details:
Big Stone
194 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
http://www.bigstone.net.au

Crave Sydney Itali-Anna Dessert Degustation at Bather's Pavilion

We rushed to Bather’s Pavilion after work for the one-off Crave Sydney dessert degustation dinner. Bather’s is one of my favourite places to eat and this meal was a special treat. I enjoyed all the starters especially the vanilla panna cotta with little mango caviar giving the sudden burst of sweetness. The ‘main course’ with goat cheese with cannoli and beetroot gave us a break from the sweetness. My favourite was the very smooth chocolate crema cake with a hint of peach from the sorbet.

I will save the citrus crackling bar for later.

Details:
Bathers' Pavilion Restaurant
4 The Esplanade
Balmoral Beach
NSW 2088
http://www.batherspavilion.com.au/
Crave Sydney 2012
http://cravesydney.com/event.php?intid=3299

Crave Sydney Luke Mangan Pop Up Restaurant at Thomas Dux

We made it to Luke Mangan’s pop-up restaurant at Thomas Dux Crows Nest as part of the Crave Sydney festival. The deli section of the grocery was bracketed for 40 diners with Chef Mangan and his team working behind the counter.

The meal was served tapas style and all the dishes were accentuated by different spices “from Morocco to Mexico”. My favourites were the curry spiced tempura prawns in steamed buns (served like a taco), and the succulent BBQ rubbed baby chicken.

Confession: we took an extra chocolate doughnut dessert home for later (sorry!)

Details:
Luke Mangan Pop Up Restaurant
Crave Sydney 2012
Thomas Dux Grocer Crows Nest
http://cravesydney.com/event.php?intid=3581

Bon Bon Fine Chocolate Cafe (Sydney)

Needing a hot chocolate fix on a cold night, we ventured to the Bon Bon Chocolate Café on Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall. The café is actually downstairs from the beautiful chocolate shop at the Strand Arcade, and a very comfortable place to take a break.

The hot chocolate was nice, thick and really satisfying. We also had the double waffle which came with a generous serving of ice-cream and shaved chocolate.

Details:
Bon Bon Chocolate Café
Shop 33, Strand Arcade,
Pitt Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.bonbon.com.au/cafe.html

Glass Brasserie (Sydney)

We decided to head to the Glass Brasserie at Hilton Sydney for dinner to celebrate a big occasion in the family. We went for the degustation menu and the service was great from start to finish.

My favourite of the night was the blue swimmer crab omelette where the soft omelette complimented with the crunch from the herbs; and sweetness of the crab went well with the miso stock. Overall the meal was nice but should definitely be completed by little things such as a sorbet before desserts as well as some petit fours at the end.

Details:
Glass Brasserie
Hilton Sydney
Level 2, 488 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/