Iiza, Newtown

Now. Newtown isnt the usual place i hover for food until recently. Came across a very trendy jap restuarant -Iiza. Iiza is a bustling trendy little restaurant that has newly emerged onto the Newtown scene, branded as an "izakaya" - a drinking establishment which serves food to accompany the drinks.

Personally, i reckon Iiza's food deserves more of the spotlight than that!! and maybe the waitresses running around in their kimono deserves a part of that spotlight - super cute.

Word of warning, this place is quite small and cosy and hence is usually fully booked out. Must book in advance.

Nothing beats fresh genmaicha green tea, and u can really taste the difference! There are so many Jap eateries nowadays that substitute real stuff with tea bag varieties, its just not authentic enough. Iiza's green tea hits the bullseye.



We ordered a myriad of dishes to share. The pictures in the menu and the variety of dishes on offer makes you want to order everything! Not only do they have the usuals, they also have some unique dishes that must be tried.


Wagyu Beef Tataki $9.80

Yummo! The beef were sliced generously and in copious amounts. It was tender, juicy and complemented wonderfully with the citrus ponzu sauce and fragrant sesame seed garnish.


Agedashi Tofu $7.50

The tofu was freshly deep fried with the batter light and crispy served in dashi sauce. The tofu is full of soy bean flavour with super smooth texture that melts into your mouth.

Bread crumbed asparagus $7.80

We absolutely loved it - crumbed asparagus wrapped in savoury pork belly deep fried. Even our companion who is not an asparagus fan found this a nice dish. The textures were wonderful, crunchy skin with a slight salty layer pork belly hugging asparagus spears. the tartare sauce fits well, however the sea salt gave it too much punch than needed, so dip sparingly.

Chef Selection Sushi Platter 12 pcs $29

This was a massive plate of fresh sushi with a wide selection to chose from. When it arrived, we were in awe as it was so beautifully presented. A must for sushi lovers.

Renkon Hasami Age $14

Lotus root chips sandwiched chicken mince served with green tea soba noodles. Interesting combination! All the elements complimented each other and very flavoursome. The crunchy lotus roots coupled with seasoned chicken mince works well with smooth slippery soba.

Assorted Yakitori skewers

Size does matter!

Iiza

184 King Street

Newtown

(02) 8095 9260

http://www.iiza.com.au/

Bilson's Restaurant

Tony Bilson is nicknamed the godfather of modern Australian cuisine. Having such a title really does say a lot about the calibre of this restaurant. Bilsons is a three hatted restaurant serving up french cuisine, nicely tucked inside Radisson hotel on O'Connell Street.

We came here a few months ago and it seems the menu has now changed. Quite refreshing to know that the chef is constantly on his feet, conjuring up ideas to entice his audience.

The decor is simple which is apt, as it does not distract you from the food which is the star of the show. We ordered the 6 course degustation with coffee/tea to prevent us staying up all night, however we did leave at 11.30pm. The service was friendly and not pretentious.



I think Bilson's has definitely tried its hand at molecular gastronomy in its utilisation of foam in many of its dishes.


Amuse bouche

The crab and prawns were delicate and fresh with a burst of sweet vinegar from the black grape. Very well balanced in flavours using top notch ingredients.


Dressed Crab, Verjus Gelee, Pink Radish and Black Grape

After devouring the amuse bouche and crab first dish with much satisfaction, the upcoming risotto was a definite low point of the night. Im not a fan of barley - the risotto base was extremely salty and heavy, coupled with hard grains of rice. It was a miracle i finished my plate, but with much dislike. When we were asked about our dish, i was quite honest with our waiter, but the waiter's response, "personally i love this dish and the entire degustation". Fine. So much for asking opinion.


A Risotto of Organic Pearl Barley with Roquefort and Southern Highland Mushrooms

More foam with the ocean trout! however thetrout was fresh and cooked beautifully with a lovely tomato salad on the side.


Aromatic Confit of Ocean Trout, Haricot Blanc Cream, Iberico Ham and White Tomato Emulsion

Its interesting how many fine dining restaurants serve up sucking pig or pork belly nowadays!
Our suckling pig had a nice crispy skin with juicy well cooked meat. the beans gave the dish some crunch. the jus did not overpower the succulent flavours of the animal, and overal a lovely dish.




Suckling Pig with Black Pudding, Pig's Trotter and Bean Ragout

Time for dessert. this was quite a treat

The basil ice cream was an absolute delight. Not your typcial idea of an ice cream flavour but worked wonderfully. the ice cream sat on a bed of crumbles which gave it the crunch needed to compliment the silky ice cream in your mouth. i think i fell in love with basil ice cream =)


Pettit Sucre - Basil ice cream


Autour Du Chocolat


Pots of tea


Petits Fours

Bilson's Restaurant
27 O'Connell Street
Sydney
Tel - 02 8214 0496
http://www.bilsons.com.au/