Hartsyard

Hartsyard wasn't a place that had popped up on my radar, however my brother wanted to go. I had no idea of its popularity, fame, or even the type of cuisine it served - in fact on my initial viewing of the menu, I wasn't sure I'd like it at all.However, I booked it anyway, and when I checked the menu again on the day, it looked quite interesting - which was a good thing - we needed very large appetites and stomachs for this meal!The food menu is split into three parts - Seed (entrees), Feed (mains), Out to Pasture (dessert). For a party of two it was recommended that we order only three items from Seed and Feed as the servings were quite large. We opted for four, since I wanted to try pretty much everything.First up was the chicken skin, which came in larger pieces than I expected, and that's when I realised that the servings are quite large. These were served with togarashi, which had a great spiciness to it.When I chose the crispy pig tails, I was expecting... little fried curly things. Instead, we received two fried balls with pickle garnish and a buttermilk sauce. Wow. It was an amazing ball of gelatinous goo stuff that was so good! It worked so well with the pickles and the sauce. It was so crisp on the outside, too! This was my favourite dish of the night.Fried chicken was on my mind since I've been meaning to go sample some Mary's fried chicken, but probably wouldn't have the chance to. Instead, it was fried chicken here - and this was the one dish we shouldn't have ordered. Not because it wasn't super tasty, but because there's fried chicken everywhere, and for the most part, are all equally delicious. This was just an issue of quantity. That cauliflower sauce made the biscuit (scone) taste so good, and that chicken had a great coating and was juicy on the inside!We were struggling by the time the poutine came out. My brother really really wanted this dish, and I had no idea what it was. However, after a few bites, I loved this too! Who thought wet chips could taste this good! It was hilarious that we both liked the chips better than the beef shin, so we ended up consuming all the potato, but because we had to leave room for dessert, we had to abandon the tasty beef.I think we were only meant to order one dessert, but we ended up ordering two. Definitely too much food! However, I can safely say this is the best tiramisu I've had. I'm not sure exactly why it tasted so good to me, but it probably had to do with the fact that it wasn't overloaded with heavy mascarpone and didn't have an overpowering coffee-alcohol soaked sponge. All the proportions were just right, and I liked that the coffee-alcohol flavour was instead concentrated in little blocks of jellies, and this was very delicious indeed. The shards of pulled caramel on top also added just enough sweetness to complement the dish!I mainly wanted to try the fried apple pie dish because it contained apple and sorrel granita, and I love sorrel. When it came out, my brother and I were instantly reminded of a McDonald's apple pie, both because of the smell and the look. It was tasty, but not mind blowing. We both liked the tiramisu better. The granita did indeed have a nice sharpness to it, but at the end of the day only one dessert is needed between two people, and the tiramisu wins.So we had ordered 6 dishes instead of a recommended 4, and we left crumbs in the last 3 dishes. Funnily enough, with every 2 hour limit booking I've had this time, we've just made the time limit (at Sake we hit it before dessert) - possibly because the company I had knew exactly what to order, which helps a lot. Time wouldn't have helped us anyway, since I doubt I could increase my metabolism on demand.Either way, I was very happy for having dined here, since I would never have picked out an American themed restaurant if left to my own devices. There are definitely at least a couple of fantastic dishes here that I would come back for.Now to somehow get rid of all that energy all that food gave me...

Sokyo

Oh Sokyo, whoever thought that you would be so amazing! Having previously had a mediocre experience at Sake, I wasn't sure what to expect here, especially since I've had sushi from Japan which is pretty impossible to match. That being said, Sydney is probably one of the best places to have Japanese, given the large Japanese population here.I totally didn't realise I could ask for the omakase when I made the booking, and it turns out a week's notice is required so that the chefs can age the fish. If I can't get into Raita Noda, I may as well put this on my revisit list!There was a lot to choose from on the menu, and most of our indecision came from the fact that we wanted to try everything. To start off, we opted for oysters and the sashimi set. Those scallops! I love super sweet scallops, and I couldn't get enough of them. It was also cool that the platter came with dry ice, making for great presentation, but alas, I couldn't get a good picture of it. But that's okay because it's better to eat this than to take pictures of it. The selection of fish included marinated snapper, tuna, kingfish, salmon, bonito, Hokkaido scallop.The oysters had a plum wine and lime granita with a spicy ponzu sauce. I liked these oysters a lot!The toro was a no brainer, though we agonised over how many we should get, considering they were $15 a piece. Four came in at $59, so we decided to order that way. No regrets! This was so good, so melt in the mouth and so well flavoured, and the biggest bonus for me was that I could actually taste the vinegar in the warm rice, and it was delicious! Never before have I had such delicious rice with my toro (except in Japan)!Jurrasic quail robata with jamon iberico, endive salad, creamy ponzu and kalamansi teriyaki. The quail had a strong charcoal flavour to it, and the salad was great with a hit of bitterness. It wasn't particularly a standout though, I'd spend more money on the other items on the menu.Not photographed was a moreton bay bug tail tempura, mainly because it looked like popcorn seafood, served with two sauces - a pepper vinegar and a spicy mayo. Also not a standout, but I did like the acidity of both sauces.The "DengakuMan" miso cod, on the other hand, was amazing! There was a line of spicy Japanese salad that was prepared with precise knifework, and cucumber salad. That miso cod! The flesh fell right apart and had the perfect flavour! I thought Patagonian Toothfish was unbeatable, but this gives it a run for its money!More scallops, in a wasabi shitake pepper sauce. Not as awesome as the sashimi version, but tasty all the same! The broth was also rich and tasty.Sokyo spicy bouillabaise. I originally wasn't sure about ordering this since I can't handle spicy, but after being advised it wasn't too spicy, went ahead with it. I wasn't disappointed! Both my brother and my friend smelled yuzu straight away, but since I don't really have a great sense of smell, I just had a slightly burning tongue through the whole thing. I actually would have preferred less white fish in this simply because I was getting full, but the soup was amazing! Now I need to create a seafood broth again at home.Sure, I was getting full, but I needed more toro. And some uni. It was a great way to finish off all our savouries!When there's a souffle, and it's yuzu flavoured, it has to be ordered. I've never seen one served in glassware before, so it was a first for me. It was very fluffy and tasty, and one of the better fruit flavoured souffles I've tasted, as a few have been too eggy. However, I don't think anything will beat the Vue de Monde chocolate souffle I had!Mochi ice cream! I don't really like ice cream, but I do like mochi! I would love to try mochi ice cream, as this was simply ice cream and mochi. It was delicious and the mochi was so soft and flexible. The strawberry milkshake ice cream worked really well with this and I enjoyed it!If there's a place that tops Sydney sushi, I'd say it's currently Sokyo. One thing I also need to mention is that I really wanted to try a cocktail, mainly for the name - "Chasing Kojima". Maybe one day! In the meantime, I'll just make a punny character name in my story.I definitely want to go back for the toro, the hokkaido scallop, and the omakase! I actually liked the uni dish at Sepia better than here, mainly because over there it was marinated and had other flavour elements which enhanced the dish.I need to learn more Japanese!

Fix St James

Fix St James gets its own post! I was originally told about this restaurant years ago, and wanted to go because it had an awesome wine list, but never actually made it there. Over the next few years the restaurant continued to pop up on my radar, mainly on social media and I started thinking that it was a pretty awesome place - especially as it always serves some sort of tartare.So, finally, I decided to go, and I wasn't disappointed!My obligatory wine at a wine bar - a pinot noir as they didn't have nebbiolo by the glass.Oysters!!! Au naturale, with only lemon juice. I think I've been spoiled by Adelaide oysters, but I'll still take every oyster opportunity I can get!I decided to opt for a shared dinner rather than entree/main/dessert, since there were so many things I wanted on the menu! This was a selection of three meats - culatello prosciutto, bresaola and saucisson. They were all so tasty! I like cured meats when they have an earthiness to them and aren't too salty, so these were perfect.Ah, delicious fried school prawns! I was agonising over choosing between fried chicken or school prawns, and the waiter said there were only a few pieces of chicken, so we opted for the prawns. It was a great choice and it came with some super tasty aioli!Look at the massive fluffy rice cracker! This was the kangaroo tartare, and it was very impressive. It didn't look like tartare from the original presentation, but the waiter explained that the tartare was hidden at the bottom, with a yolk in the middle, and then parsnip foam was on top. All of it was so well seasoned, and the kangaroo was so finely chopped! I've never actually scrutinised tartare before, but the pieces were so small that I really appreciated the knifework that went into this dish! The rice cracker was super fun to eat, though it wasn't super crispy. I didn't mind though, because it was still very yummy!Veal sweetbreads! And now I can say I've eaten sweetbreads - which was not brains, like I originally thought, but pancreas. It was a very interesting texture that I'm not sure I liked, but I thought the accompaniments were quite nice - fennel and celery. It was quite a fatty and heavy dish, but had good flavour.The first dessert - pressed fig, salted caramel ice cream, caramel popcorn and apple granita. I didn't quite expect pressed fig to be just... flattened fig, but I did like the apple sorbet! It was an interesting combination for me.Rice pudding with rhubarb ice cream. Wow, this was like a really rich smooth custard of a rice pudding! There were no rice bits at all, but rather, it had all been blended together somehow. For me, neither dessert was super standout, but both were quite nice.And now I can say I've finally been to Fix St James, so another hatted restaurant crossed off the list. What a hectic two weeks in Sydney!

Sepia

Sepia, the best restaurant in Australia in 2015. And it's consistently awarded 3 hats. My brother has been before, but I wasn't there to tag along, so I was trying to find any excuse to visit - and an incredibly convenient and worthy reason presented itself, so along I went with a friend.I had spotted on their website that they had a bar area for walk ins, and I assumed that this would just be for their bar menu, but once we got there, we were seated facing the bar and had the option of choosing their full menu, so 9 course degustation it was!First off was my nebbiolo blend, which was quite nice and aromatic. I love the little lamps to help light up the food!There was an optional oyster which I of course, said yes to. Sydney rock oysters with a vinaigrette that I don't remember, but it tasted good!

Amuse bouche -  tuna tartare with buckwheat and tofu

I never imagined raw tuna and tofu to go together - and it would have been a squishy dish, but the puffed buckwheat added a fitting crunch to the tiny little dish.

Sashimi of yellow fun tuna, jamon iberico cream, avocado, baby radish, pork crackling, wasabi snow

This was a dainty and pretty dish, with finely sliced tuna wrapped around some jamon cream, and then arranged into a circle, decorated with radish, herbs, avocado cream, and then dusted over with wasabi snow. It was quite a theatrical experience, and because the snow was placed at the table, it was a little bit uneven, making for some interesting eating.

Pine mushroom, fried potato, poached quail egg, caviar, roasted chicken powder

When this dish came out, it smelled like chicken pie - a hearty kind of dish. It was a very interesting combination as this appears to be the caviar/egg/potato combo, but with added chicken and mushroom. It was quite nice, though something made the caviar and mushroom combination unevenly salted. From far away it kind of looks like a dish adorned with gold!

The bread served here is a Japanese milk bread, that felt a little more dense than what you find at Asian supermarkets/Asian bread shops. It was accompanied by a perfect sphere of butter which was really cool! I think I prefer sourdough slices from other places I've been to.

King crab, dashimaki tamago, egg rice, kabosu, blood plum, hijiki, wild wood sorrel

This felt like a take on omurice to me, with the egg roll on the outside and sushi rice on the inside. A lovely piece of crab was draped over it, and I liked the tartness that the blood plum sauce.

Charcoal grilled black lip abalone, citrus dashi, Barletta onions, heart of palm, green tea, nasturtium

This pond dish was my favourite dish of the night. I guess I have a soft spot for soup based dishes - there was the mud crab congee from Quay and the crab, chickpea and amaranth from Momofuku Seiobo. I don't eat abalone much, so I couldn't tell if the abalone was cooked properly - it was a little on the chewy side, but still definitely edible. The soup itself was very tasty, I liked the heart of palm, and the burst of vinegar from what I assume were the Barletta onions was amazing and what brought the dish together for me.

Seared sea urchin, smoked bone marrow, cauliflower, toasted milk bread, citrus soy, sobacha

What a funny little ship in the middle of a massive plate! Seems like it's uni season; the sea urchin is everywhere! I didn't actually like sea urchin until I went to Japan, when i discovered just how creamy and sweet it is! And now I love it. This tasty morsel was so good, I really wish there was more!

It around about this time that we realised something. Martin Benn was in the house! Not only that, but he was actually taking the time out of the kitchen to greet some of the guests. Then there was this guy! My friend so wanted to be this person, who was so important that he and Martin frequently spoke to each other! I have currently concluded that he may be a sommelier, as he drank a variety of alcohols ranging from wine, to martini, to beer, and only had a single plate of food. We were so lucky to be seated where we were, for we had front row seats to Martin! So here is the creepy shot to show just how awesome our view from the table was :)

David Blackmore wagyu karubi, hot miso mustard, Japanese pickles, ice plant

This dish kind of confused me, and was my least favourite of the night. The smell of miso was rather overpowering and I couldn't taste much else when eating the beef. The beef was also not quite melt in the mouth, but I'm not sure what cut this was and if this was meant to be that exact texture. Yes, it was medium rare.The seaweed I loved, since I love seaweed. I usually also love ice plant, but this one didn't seem to come with the usual saltiness of a fresh beachside harvest.

Seared Mandagery Creek venison, sansho pepper, roasted Japanese pumpkin,miso, artichoke

I love the golden leaves on this one! Another dish that reminded me of autumn/winter. This was venison, which I assume was cooked rare because it was really really red - which was fine for me since I've cooked venison before. The puree was pumpkinny, and for me the standout were the leaves that were a blend of jerusalem artichoke and Japanese pumpkin. They were so thin and beautiful that I asked how they were made, and the waiter was quite obliging and explained that it was pureed and then dehydrated. So nice!

And this lemon and creme fraiche palate cleanser marked the end of the savoury courses. Usually I would opt for the cheese course, but I was still recovering from my overcaffeination session and so I think my body was still in an emergency detox mode, so I decided eating "light" would be a better decision.

Autumn chocolate forest - soft chocolate, hazelnut and almond, lavender and honey cream, blackberry sorbet, blueberry and rosewater jellies, green tea, licorice, chocolate twigs, bronze fennel

And the famous chocolate forest. It was so pretty, but when I googled other variations on this, there appeared to be a lot more greenery and colour on some versions. It was still very nice though, and I loved the rose jelly! Having recently experimented with agar agar, I instantly recognised that it had been used (and because Masterchef also featured this). The soil was really interesting and what I enjoyed the most out of this dish, as I tasted salt and licorice as part of the crumbs. I also loved the little candied curl!

And to finish the night, houjicha. Ah what a good choice! It was all sorts of warm, toasty and satisfying. I didn't actually know that houjicha is actually classed as a green tea. I loved the golden hue that the brew ended up being and now I feel like I need some of this for myself! Also while I was drinking it, I noticed that there was a very nice feel to the way the cup was being held. In fact, the contoured shape reminded me of something... so I looked through the cup and I was correct - it was a Hario cup! That was so cool.

And lastly, because Martin was in the kitchen today, I had sneakily asked one of the waitstaff if it was possible to get a photo taken with him - primarily because I decided it would be a nice surprise for my friend, but also for my own selfish goal of getting pictures with famous chefs (and I still have not seen the elusive Neil Perry even though he visits Burger Project often!). My surprise was blown when our waiter then asked to confirmed if we had made a photo request, then said that Martin was super busy.

Lucikly though, our politeness paid off, for Martin approached our table and had a quick chat. Usually I chicken out of these opportunities because all of a sudden I feel awkward and self conscious, but this time, I didn't have any of those reservations and straight out asked for the picture, and good thing we did! I finally got my photo with Mr. Martin Benn! Woohoo! What an amazing night.

Sure, this place was voted best restaurant and holds three hats, but my favourite is still Vue de Monde. I have no idea why that place was as impressive as it was, but I still believe it was due to the fact I had no expectations of it at all. Nevertheless, this was definitely a worthwhile experience - the service was flawless! Especially so because I felt that I had made more requests than I've made in past high end dining experiences. Not only did I ask to switch from "still" to tap water after I had an internal panic attack upon seeing a bottle of Aqua Panna being poured for us, but I also asked a waiter from a different section to seek out Martin, and I switched dessert options from textures of milk to chocolate forest towards the end of the meal. It was also an amazingly accessible restaurant, and I jokingly said that it was so accessible that you could just walk in, eat fried chicken and walk out! (For elaboration, this is relating to the yakitori on the bar menu).

APPLY FILTER

Why is the squid blue?!?

But first, my "not anmitsu." It's a dessert that I've been thinking about making for a while now, but I could never bother obtaining every ingredient for every element. I knew I wanted to make my own interpretation of it, in fact, I wanted to hipsterise it. But keeping the mochi, red bean and green tea elements there was so difficult. Plus I wanted shiso leaves, but I didn't want them to go to waste if I had no other plans for them.What ended up happening was this: Which was a pretty good effort!My original idea was to include strawberries plus other fruit, shiso leaf garnish, cubes of almond milk jelly, cubes of green tea jelly, azuki beans, mochi (or chia seed and coconut milk fake mochi, or a panna cotta), and dark agave syrup.What actually ended up happening was strawberries, plums, feijoa, mint leaf garnish, cubes of very soft almond milk jelly, cubes of green tea jelly, azuki beans. The agar agar was tough to work with, as I've never used it before and didn't bother researching. I didn't realised it needed consistently higher temperatures than gelatine to dissolve completely, so I did have to redo both the green tea and almond jellies through re-heating and adding a bit more agar agar powder. The consistency of the green tea jelly cubes were pretty much spot on in terms of how well they held together, but I could have used a bit more to make them just a tad harder.It feels so good to cook again, and I managed to make a massive soup with beef bones, chicken bones, dashi broth, and a whole lot of vegetables. I also wanted to try my hand at making squid ribbons, but I was put off by the high cost of squid. Luckily, a fishery opened up a stall at the local farmer's markets and sold some squid at a good price, so I bought some!I prepped my squid from memory, and now feel I can do it quite easily. It still takes me a long time, but I know exactly what to do.And lo and behold, BLUE SQUID INNARDS!! I didn't even know they could look like that since I've only taken apart squid twice before, and they've always been white on the inside. It was so pretty!And from the tubes, I managed to slice them fairly thinly to become ribbons, that would then go into my soup.The soup itself is rather ugly and murky so there's no picture of that.Cooking is so fun!