My 10 favourite foods from 2015

I'm trying to squeeze in one last post before the new year! I'll admit it's been tough keeping up with blogging, and having Instagram has definitely made me lazy about lugging around my DSLR everywhere. But that hasn't stopped me from doing the actual eating part heh. So here are ten of my favourite foods that I ate in 2015:

Favourite breakfast/brunch dish: Miso Yummy at KIN by us.

My Kitchen Rules couple, Uel and Shannelle, opened a cafe in Macquarie Park and it turned out to be a huge hit since the queues were out the door! The Miso Yummy dish of miso salmon, two onsen eggs, sesame spinach and a piece of sourdough bread was a winning combination for me, with the rare salmon and the gooey eggs being cooked to perfection every time.



Special mention also goes to these Nutella and mascarpone pancakes I had at The Moody Chef which were super fluffy, sandwiched with Nutella and drizzled with Canadian maple syrup!

Favourite fried chicken: Smoked hot wings with comeback sauce at Papi Chulo

So much love for these wings. Partly because they're wings and therefore the best part of the chicken, but also because they have this amazing crisp skin and smokey flavour. And that sauce! It's just not the same without the comeback sauce.

Favourite pasta: Spelt ravioli at LuMi Bar & Dining

This was like no other pasta dish I ate this year. I do have a soft spot for filled pasta like ravioli and agnolotti, but this pasta was so delicate, reminiscent of xiao long bao where the dumpling skin threatens to tear at any second. The filling was also a burst of flavour, with sweet pumpkin puree pairing well with the burnt butter sauce. I would have eaten a huge bowl of this with no hesitation.

Favourite ramen: Shio tonkotsu ramen at Manpuku

Manpuku was a new one for me this year because they opened up in Chatswood, making it heaps easier for me to get to. I'm so glad that they have because there's even more choices for ramen on the north side now. The photo above is of their signature 'number 7' ramen, but my favourite is actually the creamy and umami-loaded shio tonkotsu ramen. I realised I don't actually have a photo of it, probably because I've been too eager to dig in (oops) but trust me it looks just as good as the number 7!

Favourite burger: The Truffe at Mister Gee Burger Truck

I ate a lot of burgers this year and my waistline is not going to thank me for it, but I still can't go past the burgers from Mister Gee. The meat patties are always perfectly seasoned for me, which kind of makes up for the fact that you're eating in a pitch black carpark. My favourite is still the Truffe burger, with the melty cheese and that oozy truffle aioli.

Favourite ice cream: Soft serve at Aqua S



I was late to hop on the Aqua S bandwagon, but when I tried it, I finally understood what all the hype was about. Sure, their flavours can be a bit hit and miss (their tea-based flavours tend to be pretty on point though) but it's all about the silky smooth texture of the soft serve!



I also have to give a special mention the gelato at Ciccone & Sons because it is freaking amazing. I first tried it a month or so ago and have been raving about it ever since. It's all about creamy jersey milk - the buttermilk & passionfruit, and the mascarpone & strawberry flavours are my favourites.

Favourite dessert: Blueberry, basil, buffalo yoghurt and milk dessert at nel. restaurant

This was a tough one because there were so many good desserts this year. But I think this blueberry dessert from nel. takes the cake not only because of the taste but because of the presentation. It was a stunningly beautiful dessert and the fact that it tasted as good as it looked with the sweet blueberry ice cream and creamy, tangy yoghurt only made it better!

Favourite overall meal: Sushi omakase at Sokyo



This was an amazing meal that I wish I could eat over and over again. I think it blew me away so much that I didn't really know how to write about it because I still haven't written up a blog post! Let me just say though, if you are a sushi lover, you NEED to book yourself in for the sushi omakase at Sokyo - you'll thank me for it. While the price is pretty steep (starting from $130pp), the sushi is impeccable and of the highest quality, even rivalling the sushi that I ate in Japan. If you have room at the end, say yes to dessert too!

Favourite overseas meal: Yakitori at Torimatsu, Kutchan (Japan)



If you're ever in Niseko and want to eat yakitori, hop on a bus to Kutchan and visit Torimatsu. It's a tiny little yakitori place with grill master, Matsuo-san, carefully placing each skewer on the coals and grilling each one to perfection. The place does get incredibly smoky after a while, but it's worth it for the grilled meats. especially the tsukune chicken meatballs with egg yolk, which are the best I've ever eaten.

Favourite random, uncategorised item (because I really liked this but couldn't fit it into a category): Connecticut style lobster roll at Waterman's Lobster Co.





Aaand finally I had to do a shout out to the lobster rolls at Waterman's Lobster Co. Because melted butter + lobster + toasted roll + crispy fries = awesomeness.

Thanks for sticking it out and reading my posts this year. Here's to even more delicious eats in 2016!

nel. restaurant, Sydney

I'm far from what people would call a decisive person, and these days we are so spoiled for choice that even deciding what to eat for lunch can turn into a lengthy process of elimination to figure out exactly what I want.

It was a pleasant surprise then, to walk into nel. to find that there was no choice to make. Nel serves an 8 course tasting menu for $88, and we were more than happy to leave our meal in the capable hands of chef Nelly Robinson.

Menu

We were ushered to our table in the small, underground space where the restaurant was situated. The 8 course menu for the night was already placed on the table when we sat down, and aside from asking whether there were any food allergies or intolerances, there were no more questions and we were ready to get started on the food!

Vinegar, parmesan

Our first course was a series of snacks which came out in quick succession. The first snack was a cloud-like vinegar marshmallow rolled in airy pieces of grated parmesan. It dissolved in the mouth so quickly it just left an impression of sour vinegar and cheesy parmesan on the tongue.

Goma hollandaise, ham

The next snack was a black, gnarly-looking cigar, which actually turned out to be a beef cheek and ox tongue croquette with charcoal. Each cigar was dipped in the goma (sesame) hollandaise topped with bits of ham, which had a nice salty and nutty flavour.

Truffle, rabbit

The last snack consisted of two parts - a truffle and rabbit pastry and a rabbit consomme. These were surprisingly light in flavour, but a good warm up for the dishes to come.

Bread and butter

I usually don't bother taking photos of the bread and butter, but here at nel it was pretty exceptional. First of all, the bread was a dark black colour, and the waitstaff explained that this was black pudding and onion bread. To be honest I couldn't taste a definitive black pudding flavour, but it was delicious nonetheless and I could have eaten a whole basket of it!

Crab, "taste of pimms", cucumber, strawberry, mint