Sydney: sushi e (Aug. 2013)
Exec Chef: Nobuyuki Ura
My Sushi Chef: Jin
Website: http://merivale.com.au/sushie
Date: August 15, 2013
After eating as Yoshii the previous night, I spontaneously decided to get lunch at sushi e the next afternoon. I made reservations, but the restaurant wasn’t too crowded. I’m not sure how crowded it gets for dinners, but you could definitely make last-minute reservations for the lunch scene (at least on weekdays).
The restaurant’s located on the 4th level of the Establishment Hotel, located in Sydney’s CBD. There are a bunch of sushi bar seats as well as some small, more intimate tables that are located near the windows. There’s a lot of sunlight (almost too much for photography!).
I was seated near a sushi chef named Jin, and he turned out to be a great guy—as well as a great sushi chef to pair with me. I generally like being able to talk with my chefs a lot when at sushi bars, and he was really friendly! We talked about where he worked in the past, why he’s in Sydney, what he wants to do in the future, and so on. I really should have gotten his card or something… Oh well!
Notes on the sushi:
1. The fish selection is MUCH better than Yoshii’s. I think the fish might be fresher, too.
2. There was a lot of fish in proportion to the amount of rice per piece. I personally would have preferred a more balanced proportion, but I can see that some people would like the proportions here. (Most of my friends generally complain about too much rice and rarely complain about too much fish—however, that might be because the former is much more common.)
3. The rice was a little grainy. The temperature was fine for the most part, though at times it was slightly cold.
Overall, I thought the sushi was better here than at Yoshii.
Sydney: Yoshii (Aug. 2013)
Chef: Yoshii Ryuichi
Website: http://www.yoshii.com.au/main.html
Date: August 14, 2013
I haven’t posted at all on this blog for months, and I apologize for that. I’ve been traveling a lot, and I just got lazy. I’m going to try to update a liiiiiiiiiiittle more often now!
For most of August, I traveled around New Zealand and Australia. I went to Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, and Melbourne, and it was pretty awesome to be able to check out those cities. I already did a post on Sidart (Auckland), and I’ll be doing Yoshii, a pretty high-end Japanese restaurant in Sydney, here.
I found out about the restaurant by googling around to see what the top Japanese restaurants in Sydney were. Both Tetsuya’s and Yoshii’s came up the most frequently, but Tetsuya’s was booked for quite a while. I called and made a short-notice reservation, and next thing I knew I was at the restaurant! The restaurant was actually fairly empty. Maybe this was because it was a Wednesday evening. Still… I’m not sure how they’re making money; I only saw about four or five other customers while I was there.
I ordered a set menu that consisted of appetizers, sashimi, a few mains, sushi, and dessert! I asked for no dessert, though; I was way over my caloric budget for the day. I had to cut my losses somewhere…
OC: Playground (July 2013)
Author: Monte
Date: July 26, 2013
Website: http://playgrounddtsa.com/
I had heard great things about Playground 2.0, the pop-up haute cuisine concept from Chef Jason Quinn in Santa Ana, California, and while I wasn’t able to try the pricey new OC hit, I was able to try the original and pretty affordable gastropub, Playground. I love this restaurant for what it stands for. It’s a no-holds barred, Chef’s way goes (but it’s not yet a dictatorship where the customer’s preference is entirely disregarded), rebel standout. The menu is eclectic, the craft beer choice is extensive, and the overall vibe is hip without the “ster.” I came with my family and we tried a bunch of different dishes, all of which were delicious. The
Here’s the Menu! Really creative stuff, and all on small plates meant to be shared like tapas.
Course 1: Pan Roasted Corn, Tare, Crispy Chicken Skin, Scallion
The tare sauce was really interesting…it had a really complex tangy tamarind-y rich sour umami-ness to it. The sweet corn and sauce paired well together, with the sweet corn undercutting the intensity of the sauce.
Course 2: Pork & Duck Pate, Sweet Potato Puree, Sour Cherries, Pistachio Crumble, Pangratta
The richness of the pate was really well balanced by the cherries and sweet potato. The flavors were complex, although I had wished the pate was a bit more smooth. The texture was much more like a headcheese.
Course 3: Dragon Roasted Summer Squash, Feta, Chimichurri, Mint, Pine Nuts
A really light and refreshing course. The crunchy pine nuts were a welcome contrast to the soft and meaty squash. I wish there was a bit more feta to contrast with the light mint and chimichurri sauce, but it was still a great dish.
Course 4: Pan Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Slow Egg, Garlic Confit, Marcona Crumble, Macrona Puree
Such wonderful garlicky taste throughout the mushrooms. The sous vide egg was tasty too, and made the entire dish a bit richer.
Course 5: Duck Breast, Cherries, Kale, Poultry Jus, Black Pepper Waffle Crispies
I liked the cherries and the sauce but the skin could’ve been a lot more crispy. Not the best, not the worst.
Course 6: Maple Glazed Pork Chop
Hollllly pig, this pork chop is amazing. It’s massive, about the size of a small bowling ball. I would guess it’s about 2.5 solid pounds. The meat was extremely tender and juicy, with such a sweet maple glaze. The meat itself had the texture similar to a great ham, just being soft while melting in the mouth. The char on the outside is great too. I guess it’s sous-vide, no other way for such a massive chunk of meat to be so tender throughout.
Course 7: Wagyu Tri Tip, Country Mustard Vin, Shaved Red Onion, Baby Kale, Confit Fingerling Potato
I thought this dish was quiiiite disappointing and forgettable. Very bland, and meat didn’t taste fatty and tender like wagyu normally does. I kind of just ignored this dish and turned back to the massive pork hunk on the table that seemed to never end.
Course 8: Coconut Sorbet, Ashley’s Shortbread, Burnt Lime Meringue
The coconut sorbet was pretty refreshing, and was also made via pacojet. I like the meringue but wished there was more besides the tiny smudge across the plate.
Course 9: PacoJet Flavor of the Day: Chocolate Milk Ice
A great ice cream, it’s a little bitter, and overall had a great dark chocolaty taste.
Course 10: Black MIssion Fig Sticky Toffee Pudding
This dessert was amazing. It was so sweet, but with raisin and cinnamon spices undercutting the total sweetness of the caramel. It was warm, sticky, and just oozed all over the taste buds. Incredible.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 