En Toriciya (Crows Nest, Sydney)

We took our visiting guests (including my in-laws) out for a meal over the weekend and need to settle on a place to impress. So we went to the newly opened En Toriciya at Crows Nest after our excellent experience at its original Cameray restaurant.

The menu at Crows Nest was similar to that of Cameray’s. All the signature dishes were there. The seafood tower, presented in a high tea like setting, certainly impressed our guests with the highest quality of seafood. The “Kinki” fish was a disappointment versus the silky flesh from the real Kinki we had in Japan.

Details:
EN TORICIYA (煙とりしや)
100 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest

The Sushi Counter (Crows Nest Sydney)

We visited Sushi Counter at Crows Nest with a friend who also lives in the area for a Friday dinner catch up. The restaurant has an extensive sushi menu, along with the usual favourites. The gyoza was rather different as it was served in soup with a chilli paste (rather than the usual pan fried). Sushi platter was fresh and generous. For something special, I recommend the scampi sushi with the shell cooked in miso soup – the dish is pricey but worth a try.

Details:
The Sushi Counter
64 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest

Scoma's (San Francisco)

We stayed at the Fisherman’s Wharf during our visit in San Francisco and on our first night we were taken to Scoma’s for our first dose of fresh seafood. The restaurant sits right by the Wharf with a glimpse of the bay.

Portion size was huge. The starter platter was enough for a family rather than 2, with crabcakes full of the sweetness from the crab meat. Do go for the classic dishes – my sauté scallop main had TWELVE full sized scallops, and the pasta Garibaldi had a generous mix of seafood with as well balanced tomato sauce.

Details:
Scoma's Restaurant
Pier 47 on Al Scoma Way
San Francisco CA 94133
http://www.scomas.com/

Neta (New York)

After a full day of sightseeing we headed to Neta for dinner, we decided to order the ‘omakase’ (chef’s choice) to sample the best that the restaurant can offer.

The meal was a progression of fantastic flavours starting from the fresh Dungeness crab salad, to tataki, uni and scallops, tempura, salmon tartare on rice… then to a series of sushi. Our highlight of the meal was definitely the melt-in-your-mouth toro sushi and the overflowing uni suishi.

What a way to end a fantastic day!

Details:
Neta
61 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
http://www.netanyc.com

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay (Sydney)

To celebrate the holidays, we visited The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay on Christmas Eve. We were seated at the corner overlooking the Anzac Bridge which was a fantastic setting for our dinner.

The menu contains a large array of fish dishes. We really enjoyed the entrees. The king salmon worked very well with the smoothness of avocado, as did the seared kingfish with chorizo.

I had the signature snapper pie which was generous and the perfect comfort food. The fish was not overcooked even with my second helping.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!

Details:
The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay
Ferry Road
Glebe NSW 2037
http://www.boathouse.net.au

Garfish (Kirribilli)

The boss took the team to celebrate a successful project at nearby Garfish at Kirribilli. It was a nice sunny day to have an outdoor lunch – soaking up the activities in the Kirribilli village.

True to its name, the restaurant offers a large variety of fish dish. Make sure you refer to the blackboard special. My roasted ocean trout fillet was cooked to perfection and was sitting perfectly on top of the corn puree with mushroom and chorizo. Too bad I ate them all. My colleague’s prawn pasta and king fish tartare were also excellent.

Details:
Garfish Kirribilli
2/21 Broughton Street
Kirribilli NSW 2061
http://garfish.com.au/garfish-kirribilli/

Golden Century (Sydney)

The family often resorts to Golden Century at Chinatown for any celebrations or festivities. We arrived on a Saturday night again and it was already packed with a queue waiting outside. Booking is essential at this place.

You can choose from all sorts of seafood still alive at the fish tanks in front of you. We had steamed scallops for entrée, followed by mud crab braised in shallot and ginger. Make sure you order extra noodles to soak up all the goodness from the crab.

Details:
Golden Century
393-399 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.goldencentury.com.au/

Clareville Kiosk (Sydney)

We arrived at Clareville Kiosk for Sunday lunch. It was a nice drive along to northern beaches but the restaurant was not easy to find.

Aiming for a long enjoyable lunch, we went for the 6 course degustation. The meal was consistently good throughout. The seafood chowder at the start was my favourite. The eye fillet main course was extremely tender. And the pre-dessert apple crumble goat cheese ice-cream was a fantastic cleanser prior the carrot cake dessert. Portion of dessert should be bigger for a satisfying meal.

The newly awarded Chef Hat is well deserved.

Details:
Clareville Kiosk
27 Delecta Avenue
Clareville Beach
Avalon NSW 2107
http://clarevillekiosk.com.au/