YAYOI Restaurant. Sydney.

Earlier this year I was honoured to be asked to MC the launch of Yayoi Restaurant in Sydney - the first of the famous Yayoi family to open oustide of Asia. 

It was a pretty exciting time for both the family owned company and for the Sydney market who were introduced to Teishoku style dining which loosely translates as a 'set' of dishes. That is - you order a meal which generally contains a main protein dish, and a couple of sides - usually a selection of vegetable dishes or perhaps tofu for example - plus rice, soup and pickles.  It's Japanese home cooking - nothing too tricky - just tasty, filling and feel good!  Teishoku meals are well-considered and nutritionally balanced with a range of flavours and textures  - plus, at Yayoi they are attractively presented on trays and it's bloody delicious.  While Teishoku meals are the focus at Yayoi - you can order individual dishes for yourself, or sharing, too - like we did on this occasion.

Yayoi also happen to have quite a few sakes (and boy did we taste some!) and Japanese Beers which adds to the experience of course! And the rice, which they have grown just for them, is a hybrid with the appearance of white rice but the nutrition of brown - and it is very good.  Win Win. Plus it gets cooked at your table in a mini version of a traditional rice cooker. As it takes about 20 minutes they suggest ordering it straight away so it can cook away at your table while you peruse the menu and order everything else - which comes out very quickly.

 The restaurant has been packed for lunches and dinner since it opened and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another one popping up in Australia in the not too distant future... so keep an eye out for a Yayoi near you! 

Last week I was finally able to return to Yayoi and relax with a Japanese friend and her husband and enjoy a few old favourites. Fortunately we were all on the same wavelength with the favourites...  ie the stuff we can't usually get here, the comforting grub from our other 'home'  - the expertly fried stuff we don't normally cook for ourselves - the likes of Tonkatsu and Chicken Nanban for example, done really well.  Oh...I could do with a bite of this deliciousness right about now.

It was really nice, several months after the glamorous opening, to see first hand how well the place is running - I've never been served so quickly and seamlessly in  my life (you order by i-pad and your drinks are with you within a minute or so and your meal very shortly afterwards!) and the food we ate was so authentic that it really was like being back in Japan - rarely do I experience that here in Australia.  

Well done Yayoi! I'll be back again soon with the boy who missed out and is VERY cranky about it!

Oh and if you want to hear a little bit more here's me gasbagging about Japanese food on 2GB 

Nomad

I didn't have my bigboy camera on my when I dined at Nomad for the first time some months back  - November  I think it was.... who knows. Life has been a blur lately. However, I've just discovered a handful of i-phone snaps so thought I'd take the opportunity to give the joint a quick, belated shout out.  

Every man and his dog seem to have been here - indicating they are doing something right. Right? Right! It ain't all hype, (yippee!) as can sometimes be with new Sydney joints. It's a lofty space that feels somehow cosy, you can go with a crew or on your own and not feel out of place, the food is real and not overly fussy and the staff were friendly but not too familiar. Decent cocktails and wines by the glass were much appreciated.

The highlights were most definitely the house made charcuterie and cheeses. The mortadella is so good I could go all Lady Gaga on it.  If it wasn't for the flies. Hey summer is almost over... ?

Freshly made haloumi ? hello.  And of course there are decent pickles  - if you aren't on the pickle train right now you are soooo 2012...  

I've been back just for the meat platter and would do so again.  And again.  I suggest you do the same.

I dined here with some fellow "hard to please and a bit over it" food media folk and, for the most part, we all gave it the thumbs up. The "feed me" option (above) is a great idea for food writers on a social outing ( who are having a night off from ordering for everyone at the table) but in hind sight, upon doing the sums, it seems that ordering our own selection may have been a better financial choice. 

Also, we found that giving a table of 4 people just 3 slices of each kind of meat ( when they each paid for the feed me option) was just a bit odd. When we queried it they told us it was 'by weight'???  OK, but there were 4 of us so maybe cut the slices a little thinner??? 

These issues may have been rectified since our visit so if you  have had a more positive experience of the "feed me option" here (or anywhere else for that matter) please feel free to leave a message below. 

 

Quay June 2013

I was invited to lunch at Quay last week. 

Was I free to join my friend? 

If I'd had open heart surgery scheduled I would have moved it. 

Of course I was bloody free. 

It had been a year since my last meal at Quay - during a quick excursion back to Oz from Japan to visit family - so I was more than ready to experience Peter Gilmore's wonderful food again.

Here's a quick peek of a meal that was so delightful in every way.  I love that while the food remains consistently excellent there are subtle changes in the art of it all which means a meal at Quay always holds little surprises. 

Rosehip and radish to start proceedings

Red claw yabbies, Garlic scented custard, Yabby velvet 

Raw smoked Blackmore wagyu, Fresh Dory Roe, Horseradish juice soured cream, Milk skin

Roasted goose, Forbidden rice, Black miso, Hatsuka radish

Hapuka, Aniseed scented herbs, Creme fraiche, Japanese white turnips, Shaved Tasmanian squid, Stems, Leaves, Petals

Pasture raised veal, Bitter chocolate black pudding, Green walnuts, Slow cooked wallaby tail, Salsify, Smoked bone marrow, Chestnut mushrooms

Andalucia. Citrus and Almonds 

Truffles in a pumpkin with coffee. I can still taste the caramel and hazelnut. 

Bodega Fast Food Favourites - June 2012

Last week the crew at Bodega held a one off event showcasing their takes on some favourite fast foods. Everything was made from scratch of course but the boys had gone to a lot of trouble with flavour and visuals to make sure we knew exactly which Fast Food Joint the inspiration came from. Items were individually wrapped or packaged and the entire team donned 50's inspired paper diner caps which added to such a small but impactful touch to the evening. 

The food and drinks were completely addictive. As you would expect.

It was so much fun but man I must be getting old as I was full by the 3rd item and completely hammered by the 7th!! When I walked out I showed the boys my overly rounded tummy and pointed to my food baby. They both nodded, knowingly and Ben leaned back slightly and gave me the Fonzie thumbs up, still nodding and smiling.. Not a word was spoken.  Their job was done. 

Bodega and Porteno are hosting a number of one off events  - so check out their website for more details.  Just a warning that they sell out faster than you can say "would you like fries with that" so get on it!

*please excuse the poor quality of the pics - taken with my iphone in very low light!

Naturally we started the night off with a Vanilla Pepsi float with Cherry Pie ice cream and popcorn infused rum.... as you do. Bloody great.

Our first nibble of the night was the Spam and Pineapple doughnut - a stupendously textured doughnut with tasty, salty, meaty chunks and the most subtle of pineapple glazes. Surprisingly good - plus it made me laugh. Food that makes me laugh and still tastes great is a winner on so many levels.

Second course was this fabulous cheeseburger with a hash brown inside and plenty of sweet mustard. What a cracker of a mini burger. 

Third - a baby "Fish o Fillet" burger with steamed bun and to-die-for onion rings. 

Fourth -  Chiko roll with morcilla and sweetbreads (totally lush) and a stupendous BBQ sauce. 

Fifth - Grilled "Dog" with onions, relish and very fine fries

Sixth - Chicago style deep dish pizza. The crust was stuffed with cheese. And we always need a bit more cheese on a pizza ... oh my god this was a very freakin' tasty -  but at this point in proceedings I was really struggling... 

Seventh. Apple pie and ice cream.  My dessert stomach allowed me to  have a few bites of this excellent apple pie. God it was good... I just. couldn't. finish.  Waddled home.

Sigh... Lunch at Quay. Well someone's gotta do it...

A brief trip to Sydney at the end of May couldn't have ended on a higher high. My lovely friends at Quay restaurant invited myself and partner for lunch before we jumped back on the plane to Kyoto. It was such a pleasure to experience a meal here again after so long and to introduce my ex wine maker boy to the joys of both the food and wine menus, the vista and the wonderful Mr John Fink and Kylie Ball. Thank you guys xx

 Chef Gilmore was on leave at the time but the gorgeous and talented Analiese Gregory did him proud as usual. We love starchef Analiese. Pocket rocket and style queen to boot.

If you have seen my prior posts on Quay you will know that I am more than a fan. So instead of repeating myself with the same culinary superlatives I will simply provide a few shots and descriptions of particular dishes. All of which... needless to say really.. ROCKED!!

Fragrant Jasmine tea poached chicken, shaved hand dived sea scallops, Chinese artichokes, smoked white eggplant cream, pea blossoms, perfumed with Korean virgin black sesame oil

Gentle braise prawns, octopus, diamond shell clams, heirloom radish, pink turnips, baby squid and sea urchin

Smoked and confit pig cheek, shiitake, shaved scallop, Jerusalem artichoke leaves, juniper, bay

Shiitake, chestnut and nameko mushrooms, root vegetables, aged gouda custard, hazelnuts, white lentil leaves, cumin

Berkshire pig jowl, maltose crackling, prunes, cauliflower cream, perfumed with prune kernel oil

John Fink and Kylie ball - always great to see the crew enjoying a meal in their own restaurant!

Jersey cream, salted caramel, prunes, walnuts, ethereal sheets (oh mama!)

Nitrogen frozen vanilla mousse, fresh mangosteen, custard apple, feijoa ice cream, coconut cream

If you are Australian I probably don't need to tell you that above is the Guava Snowegg - one of Quay's now famous signature desserts (partially thanks to its debut on Masterchef) and below is the 8 textured chocolate cake that Mr Fink will have you believe I wet my pants over when I first tasted it...  that story has slightly evolved from the original description of my blushing, tears and laughter - which were actual responses.  Just to set the record straight!  But the pants wetting makes a good story so I am happy for him to sustain the myth - and just pray it doesn't escalate!

Money shot!

These truffles were so good I bagged some and took them home to friends we were staying with - who really did wet their pants....

Thanks again lovely Quay peeps  - especially to the staff who were on duty that day who always make me feel like I am walking into a relaxed but special party at a friend's place. xx