Ocean Room, Sydney

One thing that always strikes me when I enter Ocean Room is the stunning view of the Opera House from the glass windows of the restaurant. But it's not all about the view - Ocean Room also serves up some fantastic Japanese food, and we're here tonight to try out their new 12-course tasting menu.

Cocktails: Spicy Fifty - $18 and Rouge Royale - $20

We start off with some of Ocean Room's new and tasty cocktails, since there's 2 for 1 cocktails between 6-7pm every night. The Spicy Fifty is a drink with a brown sugar shochu base, elderflower, vanilla and a slight heat from the chilli. The Rouge Royale is a sweet combination of peach, strawberry, cognac, bitters and sparkling wine, with a spring of rosemary stuck in the drink for good measure.

Kaki

We kick start our dinner with two freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters, with Guinness (yes, the beer), Japanese myoga ginger and a Yamazaki 'silk' made from whiskey. The alcoholic additions are surprisingly subtle which lets the natural flavour of the oysters shine through.

Ochazuke

Peter Gilmore's Festive Season Menu @ Quay

Christmas madness has officially begun! My Christmas tree is up, I've started my Christmas baking (more about that in another post) and I wish I could say that I've finished my Christmas shopping but I've only just begun that...

At least I've pretty much got the Christmas meal sorted since I got some great ideas from a recent masterclass I attended, where Peter Gilmore (of Quay Restaurant fame) shared his Christmas menu. We sat on the upper level of Quay, which is reserved for functions with a spectacular backdrop of Sydney Harbour and its landmarks, and also has an Electrolux kitchen installed at one end.

We sat around the kitchen and watched as Peter Gilmore cooked and plated up his three-course Christmas menu. The dishes were simple to prepare and most of the work can be done ahead of time to minimise the chances of you running around like a headless chicken after the guests have arrived!

Steamed freshwater marron with herb butter, young leaf and flower salad

MCA Cafe, The Rocks

Sydney has been showing off it's beautiful summer weather lately with blue skies and the sun shining down. It makes me want to come out of hibernation and head outside to enjoy the sun. Charm and I did exactly that when we headed out one weekend to check out the Little Black Jacket exhibition, and we grabbed a bite to eat beforehand at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Cafe.

Cafe interior

We arrived quite late in the day and many of the menu items had already sold out. There were still some tempting dishes though, like the carb-on-carb Oven-baked mac & cheese with bread and the Pea & fontina arancini (which we immediately regretted not ordering when we saw it come out in an egg carton!). In the end, we decided to get two dishes to share which was the perfect amount for a light lunch.

Crispy salt and pepper cuttlefish with garlic aioli - $16

Sushi & Sashimi Masterclass @ Ocean Room, Sydney

It's a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Sydney and I'm headed to Ocean Room, which is perfectly positioned to enjoy the view of sunny blue skies, the sparkling harbour and some of Sydney's most famous landmarks.

Inside, the view is equally as stunning with Ocean Room's dining area housing a ceiling of thousands upon thousands of bamboo cylinders, forming a chandelier of sorts above diners.

Fresh fish display, including some prized bluefin tuna (left); Executive Chef Raita Noda (right)

I've dined here before, but today, Ocean Room's Executive Chef Raita Noda treats us to a sushi and sashimi masterclass to learn about their philosophy, the preparation of sushi and sashimi and where they source their seafood from.

Cooling and mixing vinegar into the rice

Yoshii, The Rocks

It was my birthday earlier this week, and knowing my love of Japanese food all too well, Sir D treated me to dinner at Yoshii in The Rocks. Clearly Monday nights are not their busiest, as we were the only two people in the restaurant the whole time! But this just made it a little bit more special, with excellent service and little gifts from the sushi chef such as the carrot butterfly sitting on top of a lump of wasabi - "For the photos", he said.

Sake (180ml) - $15

We started by ordering some sake which came in a cool little pouring box. The sake is poured out of a small hole in the corner of the box without having to lift the lid because inside the box are indentations for the liquid to flow through. Sir D was quite fascinated by this contraption the whole night.

At Yoshii there is the option of selecting from two tasting menus (Yoshii course for $140 or Saqura course for $130) or choosing from the a la carte menu from Monday to Thursday. We went all out and went with one of each of the tasting menus so we could sample as much of the food as possible.

White truffle flavoured egg custard with mushroom foam

Both tasting menus begin with a chawanmushi, or egg custard, which is served in a small tea cup with mushroom foam on the surface. The cup is heady with the aroma of truffle oil, and cutting through the light as air mushroom foam reveals a smooth and silky egg custard. Despite the delicate texture of the dish, it is packed with umami from the mushrooms and the dashi stock in the egg custard and a sign of more deliciousness to come.

Appetisers

Ocean Room, The Rocks

Outdoor seating with a view of the harbour (left); Grand wooden chandelier designed by Yasumichi Morita (right)

Ocean Room is a restaurant that I had wanted to visit for a long time. I'd heard about the massive chandelier in the dining room made out of wooden cylinders, the gorgeous views of the harbour from the glass walls of the restaurant, the range of sakes on offer and of course, the deliciously fresh seafood they serve. Sir D must have known that it was on my hit list because he took me here for our anniversary for Raita's tasting menu ($95pp) so we got to sample a little bit of everything.

Sake

We start off with a chilled sake while we decide what to have. I can't remember what the sake was but I loved the little teapot-shaped carafe that it came in and how it was placed in a bowl of ice to chill. We didn't get to choose our sake cups as you do in other restaurants but we were given delicate little glass cups to drink from which matched the carafe.

Oyster Duo

To kick off our degustation we start with the oyster duo which comes in a glass bowl filled with ice. On top of the ice are two Pacific oysters and two Sydney Rock oysters, each with a different dressing. We decide to start with the Pacific oyster which is plump and juicy and dressed with a light chilli and lemon vinaigrette. I was worried that the chilli would be too overpowering for the delicate flavour of the Pacific oyster but there was only a small dab of the dressing on the oyster, which gave it a pleasant chilli tingle without dominating the oyster itself. The Sydney Rock oysters are topped with shiso basil sorbet and konbu which enhances the oyster's briny flavour and the sorbet adds a smooth, cool texture to the slippery oyster.

Tuna Cornet

Tara Tea Room, The Rocks (now The Tea Cosy)

After seeing Suze's post on the scones at Tara Tea Room I knew where I was going for my next scone fix! One afternoon Sir D and I were wandering around The Rocks and we came upon this outside the Irish Design Shop:

Scones!

We knew we'd found the location of the Tara Tea Room so in we went.

Lots of tea cosies

We walk through the shop filled with Irish paraphernalia, past a staircase with tea cosies lining the side to the back area where you can order freshly baked scones, jam and cream.

Menu

There are lots of ways you can have your scones and lots of jams and creams to go with them. There are also speciality scones which are constantly changing and today they are maple syrup, date and cheese. We're not quite hungry enough to have a tasting basket for two so we go for the Devonshire Tea with an extra scone and extra jam.

Devonshire Tea - $9.50, with extra scone ($1.50) and extra jam ($1)

Greenhouse by Joost, Sydney

Greenhouse by Joost

If you venture down towards the end of The Rocks in the next few weeks, you might see a bright orange and green building, with one side made out of large shipping containers and the other side covered in strawberry plants. Yes, you've reached Greenhouse by Joost, an eco-friendly pop-up restaurant that has been constructed using recycled materials and aims to be completely waste-free.

Pots of strawberries on the outside wall

The restaurant cuts down on waste by returning the packaging from milk, wheat and fresh produce to the supplier to be re-used and composting organic kitchen waste to be used in the rooftop garden. The building itself is made from recyclable steel framing and magnesium oxide board which actually absorbs carbon, while the restaurant furnishings are made from old aluminium pipes and leather off-cuts.

View from the wall cut-out 'window'

Greenhouse by Joost is located on Campbells Cove which has stunning views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. You can admire these views from the restaurant or from the rooftop bar, which has a herb garden running alongside. The bar serves beer on tap and other drinks out of plastic kegs which can be returned to the supplier, and it is probably no surprise that drinks are served in old jars or glasses made from recycled glass.

Fried spiced cauliflower - $9

After some drinks on the rooftop bar, the five of us head down and join the queue for the restaurant which has a no-bookings policy. Tables are mostly for 2 or 4, so on a Friday night it takes quite a while to be seated. By the time we've ordered from the short but seasonal menu, the natural light is diminishing quickly and though there are tea lights on each table, it's hard to even see what we're eating let alone photograph it. Luckily Suze uses her trusty Iphone 4 to shine some light on each dish. We start with the fried spiced cauliflower which is wrapped in a newspaper cone. It's salty and spicy and reminds me of eating popcorn in a cinema, where you just can't help but reach into the box for more.

Pizza - $15

Quay, The Rocks

With unparalleled views of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, along with some of Sydney's best food by head chef Peter Gilmore, Quay is definitely a place best reserved for a special occasion.

View from the restaurant

This is exactly what Sir D and I did one weekday lunchtime, when we headed to Quay to celebrate our anniversary. We were greeted by friendly waitstaff who took us through the spacious dining area, where the afternoon sunlight beamed through the glass walls of the restaurant, revealing a clear blue sky and stunning views of Sydney Harbour. Whilst settling in at our table, who should I spot but the lovely Ellie from Almost Bourdain! If you haven't already, check out her spectacular tiramisu inspired by one of Quay's signature desserts :)

Although it is definitely not cheap, Quay offers what is said to be one of the best value lunches in Sydney, with 2 courses for $75 or 3 courses for $95. We opted for the 3 course lunch and as we made our choices from the menu, my stomach was already quivering in excitement for the gustatory pleasures to come.

Amuse bouche - Tuna tartare with smoked eel tapioca and horseradish cream

Baroque Bistro Patisserie, The Rocks

 

Recently, I raved about the beautiful cakes at La Renaissance Patisserie, so it comes as no surprise that I got just a little bit excited upon finding out that a new French bistro had opened down the road, which was run by the same people as La Renaissance. I promptly booked myself and Sir D in for dinner and headed out one balmy evening to the shiny new glass building in The Rocks that is Baroque Bistro.

Of course, I had done my research before arriving and had perused the online menu at length to decide what we wanted to order. But all of that went out the window when I saw the blackboard specials for the day. There was bouillabaisse, and confit pork, and the desserts! This was going to be a difficult choice indeed.

La Renaissance Patisserie, The Rocks

Ever since tasting my last year's birthday cake from La Renaissance with melt-in-the-mouth delicate chocolate sheets and light-as-air mousse, I knew that I had to return for more cakes and pastries! Charm had to go to The Rocks Markets to pick up some things and with the promise of cake I tagged along.

Courtyard in La Renaissance Patisserie

We had lunch at La Renaissance first, choosing things from a range of pies, baguettes and quiches from their savouries menu and ordering at the counter before taking a seat in the quaint little courtyard out the back.

Poulet Chasseur pie - $8.00

I ordered the poulet chasseur pie which had a delicious chicken and vegetable. As soon as I cut into the pie the sauce oozed outand I could smell the tomato, garlic and white wine aromas from the sauce. The chicken was still succulent and the pastry was beautifully flaky.

Boeuf Hâche pie - $7.00

Löwenbräu Keller, The Rocks

Be sure to wear your elastic-waisted pants, because we're about to embark on a meat extravaganza!

Brezel: Home baked pretzel - $3.00 each

A group of us are here tonight to celebrate MB's graduation, and we are greeted at the front by a very friendly man who continues to make funny sounds and faces at Queen Chu throughout the night, and then laughs at himself! Weird and a bit creepy....

Mango Weizen: Franziskaner wheat bier with mango juice - $10.60 for 500mL

Hofbrau Diesel: Dark lager with Coca Cola - $10.50 for 500mL