Rise Restaurant

Unfortunately Rise is closing its doors on 28 November after more than 10 years of operation. As such, they have made it an occasion and offered a 6 course "Sayonara" degustation for $48 until the 28 November to thank their loyal customers.

As expected, Rise has drawn massive crowds on the night we visited, everyone having heard of the news and wanting to have the last bite.





I ordered the lychee caipiroska - a bit too strong in vodka but the lychee chunks was refreshing and prominent in the cocktail.


Lychee Caipiroska $12

The degustation menu comprised of:

1)Steamed pork belly, cauliflower, sugar snap, rocket salad with "chuka" vinaigrette

Not a big fan of the cauliflower but i was still able to finsih off the dish surprisingly! Thinly sliced cold pork belly sat on a bed of fresh salad served with sweet chuka dressing.



2)Potato soup with tofu & scallop tempura

The soup was incredibly creamy and thick - somehow tasted like it had a dashi base? Very rich in potatoes and flavours, which i consumed with delight. My tempura unfortunately wasnt as crunchy as expected. But nonetheless, accompanied by the tempura tofu it provided some texture to the dish making it overal quite pleasant.



3)Assorted today's market sashimi

Today's sashimi consisted of thai style oysters, mustard vinegarette king fish with a pinch of roe to garnish and ocean trout with ginger soy.

I loved the mustard vinegarette as it went really well with the kingfish to accentuate the flavours but did not overpower the kingfish.



4) Soy milk flan with "shiitake" sauce, Rice paper rolls of cured salmon, omelette & gochujang mayo, Fish cake and green papaya

The milk flan was flawlessly executed. No scrambled eggs, just smooth yumminess topped with savoury shiitake pieces.



5)Soba salad with chunyang chilli prawn

This dish was a bit spicier than i expected as never really associated chilli with soba in my mind. The prawn was so lightly battered i barely noticed. It would have been a more inviting dish if the prawn was crunchier to contrast it in texture to the silken soba base.



6) Chicken confit, bamboo shoot, button mushroom and "zahsai " sauce

Honestly by now i was full! Must be all the gradual digesting in between courses~ haha.

The chicken was succulent and a very generous serving. We were told that this chicken had been cooking for days! There were so many steps involved, it was mind boggling (and a hint of cooking OCD maybe?). The skin is crispy from being pan fried in its final stage whilst the meat remained tender and juicy.





Finale~ Dessert of the day - Almond Panna Cotta with milk granita and pomegranate.

Beautiful end to the meal. Luscious panna cotta made to perfection.





Hats off to Chef Hideki Okazaki! Hopefully we will get to see and taste some his creations again in the near future.


Rise Restaurant
23 Craigend Street
Darlinghurst 2010
Tel - 02 9357 1755
www.riserestaurant.com.au

Home Thai

For a girlie night out we decided to eat at home…"Home" as in the thai restaurant on sussex street! The first time I walked past my eyes were drawn towards their basket of mangos at the front. haha.

Similar to Chat Thai, their shop front is fully glass so you can peer right through to the front kitchen and the stack of desserts/snacks on display that makes your mouth water.



We were seated on the top level where the speakers were unfortunately going Doof Doof Doof right behind us. The place looks pretty cool with wooden furniture, dark lighting and blasting music.

Waiters were running up and down with their ordering iPads carried in an LV bag! Talk about classy =)



We loved the menu with photos and had to order some of the ones in the pics. Prices were very reasonable. 4 people ended up being only $17 each (including drinks and dessert)! what a bargain for a pig out.



The entree of homemade thai grilled sausages looked amazing – shiny grilled red skinned sausages and cut into little chunks. It was a little bit dry and overgrilled however its always good to try something new =)


Sai Groog Isan $10.90

The Pat Siew's thick chunky cut rice noodles tossed in soy sauce made a wonderful dish. Bright green veges were fresh and crisp amongst the noodles. I might even start enjoying Pat Siew more than Pad Thai!


Pat C Ew $10.50

We ordered the green curry with coconut milk, cherry eggplant, basil, lime leaf and chilli. We wanted a milder curry but the curry hit us with a bang. It definitely had heat and gave out a fantastic aroma.


Gang Kew $12.90


Seafood Pad Thai $14.50

Yay! dessert time!

This dessert reminded me of the canto deep fried dough, but dipped in sweet pandan custard dip. Could i please finish off the pandan? (and leave the too oily deep fried dough...)



Time to lick your forks on this one. Super yummy mango and sticky rice. Mango was oh-so-fresh served with coconut saauce and sticky rice.


Home Thai
299 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel- (02)9261 5058
www.homethai.com.au/

Cafe Ish

We headed to café ish for their final all-you-can-eat-ribs for $35 for the season (but we were told they may make this permanent and offer it once a month due to its popularity - call to check!). Having read about their meat-fall-off-the-bone ribs, I was very excited.

We were expecting to wait for a table as we were early for our reservation but were ushered straight in. This place is the spot for regulars, as we soon found out none of our surrounding tables were first timers.

I was forewarned how the owner doesnt like phototaking and hence i was cautious and asked for permission. But owner Josh was actually very friendly, extremely passionate but cheeky as he pretended not to be the owner =) Josh was great and came over several times to chat.

Owner Josh is Aussie but his wife Ai is Japanese hence all his food has japanese/asian influences in terms of ingredients and flavours.

We ordered the Edamame with murray river salt, lightly tossed in soy and ginger. Edamame can't possibly be this tasty and addictive!


Edamame $6 Fries $6

Shoestring fries with wasabi mayo were also ordered. The fries were crisp and crunchy but not overly oily, served with the best wasabi mayo.

Servings of blue gum smoked pork or beef ribs comes in a bowl. The ribs were marinated in ginger, soy, mirin (japanese wine), vinegar and sake with sprinkles of shallot, chilli and sesame. It was absolute heaven!


Beef Ribs Pork Ribs

Meat did fall off the bone, except for the ribs at the bottom of the bowl which were a bit tough. The flavours were devine! The flavours were blended togehter in perfect harmony. Ribs were succulent and tender, especially with my favourite (slightly fatty) pork ribs.

For dessert we each ordered the lemon delicious. And man, was it delicious! Zingy and zesty, freshly baked served with ice cream. Mmmhmm.

Lemon delicious $8

Cafe ish's signature coffee - wattleseed maccacino, did not live up to its standard as Josh's wife was not there that night to make it. Oh wells. Next time =)

Cafe Ish
82 Campbell St

Surry Hills

New South Wales 2010

Tel - 02 9281 1688

(no website available)

Menya Mappen Noodle Bar

A new japanese eatery has popped up! Hiding in the arcade next to 85 degrees cake on George Street, this humble little joint is Sydney's first self serve udon/ramen/soba bar. The decor and dark wooden seating is inviting and the smell of soy simply mouthwatering. There is a great buzz to the place as people line up at the bar waiting to chose their noodles.

Be warned there will be a queue!




You can either order udon, soba or ramen, chose either hot or cold and then select your own accompaniments at the self serve counter, or order dishes e.g. curry chicken rice upfront. I reckon the fun part is mix n matching your own tempura and other battered veges at the self serve counter - the sense of accomplishment at the end!

As you get ur noodles, scoop a spoonful of finely sliced shallots and tempura crumbs before shifting to the right and be greeted by an array of tempura!





i ordered the udon with onsen egg. the udon was authentically chewy served in a dashi base soup however the udon is the frozen prepackaged type. I quite enjoyed it as it was freshly boiled, hence the long queues.

My tempura vegetable was massive and tasted like the ones in japan - super crunchy and battery. The onsen egg was just devine! poached eggs at its max

This is a great place for a quick 5 minute eat-and-run meal and also great for your wallet. A udon (small) with onsen egg sets you back at $4.90, the tempura tofu only $0.90 and tempura veges $2.80.

Dont forget to pick up your tempura sauce!




Menya Mappen Noodle Bar
Shop 11, 537-551 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel - 02 9283 5525
www.menya.com.au/mappen/index.html

Sugar Hits 2010

Sugar Hits 2010

With the end of October marks the end of SIFF2010…. as with every other year, I ventured around Sydney to savour the creations of this year’s sugar hit restaurants and hotels.


Grace Hotel

The rave this year was all around Grace Hotel. Word spread that Grace has triumphed over and hence this was a must try. Even though the staff had no idea what was being served and were unattentive, they were forgiven as soon as the fondant was served.

The self saucing chocolate fandant was perfectly self saucing as you cut it open ~ success!! It was rich and runny on the inside like it should but would have enjoyed it more if it was served warm rather than room temperature.

My macaron was slightly too chewy but the chocolate fairy floss was fun and added an exciting touch. Fairy floss always gets my vote. Kahlua ice cream got me cheering also! Could not get enough of the creaminess and its perfect Kahlua companion.




Chocolate fondant with self-saucing chocolate centre, Kahlua ice cream, chocolate macaroon and chocolate fairy floss. Orange Muscat Brown Brothers


Grace Cafe
Corner King and York Streets
Sydney
NSW 2000
0292726636
http://www.gracehotel.com.au/


Shangri-La

Although the dessert description did not entice me, the appearance made me pay a visit to Shangri-la. It wasn’t as busy as prior years and was promptly seated for our 9.30pm booking. The dessert itself looked amazing! Served in a martini glass, tempered chocolate strips sprung out off the top of a laced tempered chocolate casing.

This dessert had way too much tempered chocolate for my liking as I found most of my time eating only chocolate. The alcohol soaked raspberry snuggled up inside the casing were too overpowering and had to balance it off with copious amounts of chocolate mousse. Although I really enjoyed the panna cotta hidden at the bottom of the glass. It was impossible to have all the flavours in one mouthful as the tempered chocolate was too unforgiving. I have to admit it was quite a disappointment this year compared to prior ones. Hopefully future sugar hits will improve!




Black Forest Cocktail: vanilla panacotta, cherries in kirsch, chocolate bonbon, cocoa sponge, chocolate cream. Cienna Brown Brothers


Shangri-la
Lobby Lounge, Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney
176 Cumberland Street
The Rocks, Sydney
NSW 2000
0292506123
http://www.36levelsabove.com.au/


Monkey Magic

Monkey Magic’s black sesame crème caramel caught my eye in the list of sugar hit offerings…..and it did not disappoint! Situated in surry hills, we walked from Central and did our fare share of exercise before arriving at its doors.

We all chose to have the Umeshu wine, which is a Japanese plum wine. It was wonderfully sweet with accents of plum and highly praised by my companions who are Japanese fanatics. Our desserts took a while to arrive but when it did, it was worth the wait. A crusty flaky puff pastry twist balanced on the black sesame crème caramel served with red wine poached pears and coconut ice cream. What a wonderful combination of flavours.

The crème caramel was rich in black sesame flavour, tasting similar to the chinese black sesame soup dessert…it was extra smooth but became overly sweet as each bite progressed. The puff pastry was light and had toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on them for extra taste. I loved the coconut ice cream as it was creamy and full of flavour.

Black sesame creme caramel with red wine-poached pear : a creamy, nutty, sesame flavour with a sweet toffee syrup and tart fruit. Umeshu wine

Monkey Magic
3&4 - 410 Crown Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
0293584444
http://www.monkeymagic.com.au/


Radisson Hotel

This was my first sugar hit experience at Radisson. It was a quiet night and only one other table was there. The waitstaff were fabulous and served our desserts once everyone arrived.

The chocolate mousse was rich and scrumptious but the toffee must have been made for quite some time as it was super chewy. The white chocolate panna cotta doesnt wobble as it should and once the spoon cuts into it, it was obvious how firm the texture was. It could definitely be smoother and lighter but the white chocolate flavour was a winner.

Chocolate truffle delight accompanied with white chocolate panna cotta, laced with mixed berries.


Radisson Hotel & Suites Sydney
0282688888
72 Liverpool St
Sydney
NSW 2000
www.radisson.com/sydneyau