Sailors Thai (Sydney)

With (very important) overseas visitors in the office, it is time for a team dinner in the tourist-filled The Rocks. Sailors Thai was chosen for the occasion.

The team ordered a mix of entrees to share: Sydney’s reputed oysters were accompanied by a stimulating chilli and galangal dressing, sweet spanner crab served on crispy rice, and smoked trout on betal leaves. My favourite main course was the deep fried snapper where the fins turned into wonderful crisps full of seafood flavour and the meat was cooked well and nicely balanced by a sweet sauce.

Details:
Sailors Thai
Downstairs, 106 George Street
The Rocks, Sydney
http://www.sailorsthai.com.au/

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

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

wd~50 (New York City)

Battling jetlag, I visited the Michelin-starred wd~50 for dinner on a rainy New York evening. Specialised in molecular gastronomy, I was delighted by the food served. The crab roll entrée (in a soft hot dog like roll) was amazing when eaten with the little crispy salt ‘n vinegar chips. My main course was a deconstructed Manhattan clam chowder. Served as a piece of snapper on what appeared as stock, the flavours combined beautifully when mixed into a chowder and enhanced by the subtle oyster crackers.

Special thanks to the helpful staff who offered me an umbrella after the meal.

Details:
Wd~50
50 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
http://www.wd-50.com