Tomislav - Darlinghurst

For hubby's birthday this year, I booked for us to try Tomislav. It was a small, intimate restaurant - dim litted and with an open kitchen. For that Wednesday night, Tomislav was also there to teach a masterclass. We were seated just as the class finished. There were 2 waitresses for the whole restaurant and these waitresses were responsible for EVERYTHING - from answering the phone, to taking you to your seat, to getting your order, to bringing out your order, to clearing you table...absolutely everything! So whilst they were friendly and nice when their attention was on you, it was really really really hard to get their attention (as there were so many table and things they had to attend to). As such, we were up for a very very slow paced meal...

We started with their famous rice crackers. There are two flavours - sour cream and chives, and salt & vinegar. We chose the salt & vinegar version ($10) and it was yummy and playful. You get to spray the vinegar on yourself - as much or as little as you liked. The vinegar concoction isn't very strong and also brings along a subtle sweetness to it all. The crackers themselves were really thin and crispy. I think they're made of those viet rice paper sheets deep fried? I'm not sure why I think that... must have read it somewhere.

Rice Crackers (salt & vinegar) - $10

We were a bit torn between the 4 course meal or the 8 course degustation. At the end, hubby settled for the 4 course (which in retrospect, was a very good decision given the crazily slow pace of dinner). Even though we were ready to order and we flagged the waitress over wanting to order, it probably took a good 20 minutes before they allowed us to order our food. Looking around at some table which arrived after us, that seemed to be the norm.

The bread and butter came - butter on a fake stone cube and the sourdough bread looking ordinary. However, when you buttered your bread, a hint of coffee flavour crosses your palate which I found quite interesting. I couldn't tell whether the espresso flavour lay in the butter or in the bread. After tasting each separately (and copping a querying eye from the hubby when I scooped the super super crazily smooth butter into my mouth), I still couldn't really decide. Thing is, I felt as though the coffee flavour came from the crust of the bread... but it didn't make sense because Tomislav churns their own butter but just buys bread from the bakery... so if anything, they will be in a better position to flavour the butter. A question for me to ask them next time, when the waiters are less occupied.

butter on a stone

"coffee" tasting bread

I have to apologise for the crappy quality of my photos. Yes, I am a noob when it comes to taking photos of food on black plates in a dim atmophere and I don't realise it until I put it on my computer (cos it looks decent on the display of my camera).

Anyway - first courses. I picked the fried crystal bay prawns. The small prawns reminded me of popcorn chicken. They were lightly seasoned with seaweed flakes and swam in a pea and ham soup. The prawns were beautifully cooked and tasted delish. The soup with thick and crazily pea-tasting. If you don't like peas - do not order this dish! Luckily, I do like my peas and I did enjoy this course.

Fried Crystal Bay Prawns with seaweed and pea & ham soup

Hubby went for a venison tartare. This was a thin round disk of venison, beautifully seasoned, dotted with a small quail yolk and a small hint of mint crumbs. Crispy flatbread cracker thing added that textural crunch to the dish.

Venison Tartare, quail yolk, mint crumbs

My second course was a poached hen's yolk served with powdered (frozen?) foie gras and green peas. The foie gras, whilst powdery looking, went all smooth and creamy the moment it entered my mouth. Mixed with the gooey tasty yolk and the texturally firmer peas, it was really quite a good experience. The plate it came on also made it look cool and warpy :)

poached hen's yolk, foie gras, green peas

Hubby's 2nd course was the roast quail. The quail came with a sour cherry and XO sauce. The meat was succulent and cooked well... pink ish but not too pink.

roast Red Gate farm quail with sour cherries and XO sauce

Next up, in terms of mains, hubby decided on the roast lamb belly. I could have easily mistaken the looks of this for a pork belly (but probably more finness looking). It came with a wasabi powder, which was really subtle in taste, and a grilled pineapple. There was a creamy white sauce that I'm not sure what it was but I think it all came together nicely.

Roast lamb belly, wasabi and grilled pineapple

 The standout dish for the night was definately the braised beef short rib. This was OMG awesome. The short rib was soooooo succulent and sooooo tender and soooooo tasty. A bit of the beef with a dab of the crazily buttery soft smooth polenta (which really just seemed like butter), and I was floating in beef bliss! So delicious. There were also thin slices of buttered and herbed king brown mushrooms.

Braised beef short rib with soft polenta and king brown mushrooms

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to try the Heston-inspired tripple cooked crinkle cut fries ($11). Sadly, we weren't that impressed with it. Sure, it was crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside... but wasn't really all that much better than fresh chips from other places (e.g. El Jannah).

famous hand cut chips

Dessert-wise, hubby went for the cheese - the tarago river blue cheese which came with a pickled tamarillo pie and clotted cream. The cheese was really strong but very creamy and nice... when eaten in small portions. The pie was interesting - kind of like an apple pie but not.

Tarago River Blue with pickled tamarillo pie and clotted cream

My dessert was yummier. It was a vanilla cheesecake with apple ice shavings and roast apple icecream. The cheesecake was flavoured just right. Smooth round ball of smoothness with a crumbly buttered base. The icy-ness of the apple ice shavings and the flavoursome icecream added the temperature difference in your mouth. Although I'm not a fan of the apple taste, I was still a fan of this dessert.

Vanilla cheesecake with apple ice and roast apple ice cream

Coffees were ordered. Averate tasting long-black and cappuccino. No petit fours came with it which for a restaurant of this calibre, was a little dissappointing.

coffee

By the end of our meal (which started at 7.15pm), it was around 11pm. That was for a four course meal. Imagine the length of time required for the 8 course degustation! So only come here when you're feeling leisurely... wasn't really the fault of the waitresses... they were nice and friendly... but probably just worn thin having to look after everything (including making our coffee)!

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 30/40

Tomislav
2/13 Kirketon Road
Darlinghurst
NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9356 4535

Shoya (2) - Melbourne

My hubby felt like eating barbequed meats - hence, we decided to dine at Shoya - a jap restaurant we'd been to before for an omakase. Shoya has 6 levels of dining - a smokeless Japanese style BBQ level, traditional HORIGOTATSU (jap) style seating, fine dining tables, an executive section with sushi bar, Karaoke rooms and an executive lounge. Since we're barbequing meats, we opted for the "smokeless" jap style BBQ level which didn't have a table available til 9pm.

It was really interesting because the smokelessness of the barbeque was amazing! The only barbeque I've ever been to where I could leave without smelling like a barbeque :) Food-wise, we decided to order a sushi and sashimi set ($65) and 2 barbeque sets ('Gouka Tokusen') ($59) to share between the 3 of us.

The sushi and sashimi moriawase had a good fresh selection of sashimi (king fish, tuna, salmon, white fish) and sushi (tuna rolls, california rolls, squid, clams, scallop, scampi, kingfish, salmon, tuna). All was yummy but.. for $65, it wasn't entirely value for money.

Sushi Sashimi Moriawase - $65

Assortment of sushi and sashimi carefully selected by the chef. A perfect starter to share or for the seafood lover's main.

The barbeque sets came with a seaweed salad, wagyu sashimi, and a mix of meat and seafood barbeque meats. A sweet finish of icecream was also included. The seaweed salad was yummy and fresh with a good amount of vinaigrette. The wagyu been sashimi was also deliciousness! Tasty, beefy, fresh.

seaweed salad and wagyu beef sashimi

On the meat platter, there was rib of Wagyu beef, Wagyu beef sirloin, pork belly, and free range chicken. There was also Ox tongue with spring onions and Wagyu sausage. All the meats were really good. The wagyu was really tender and tasty and the pork belly was yum. The OX tongue was chewy yet delicate and I love all sausages to Wagyu sausages were right up my alley :)
However, portion-wise, I don't think 2 males would be full on the amount of meat served.

selection of meats

On the seafood platter there was prawn, scallop, squid, abalone, and salmon. Again, portions were not plentiful but the scallop and squid were amazingly sweet and deliciousness!

selection of seafood

The seaweed soup was tastiness. Clear looking but full of flavour :) The set also came with a bowl of rice. Guess they have to fill you up somehow as the portions are plentifuless.

seaweed soup

Dessert-wise, my friend went for a chocolate cake. This was chocolate sponge topped with chocolate mousse and a tiny gold flake. It was no where near as yummy as the cake from Ganache... but... it was alright.

chocolate cake

Icecream-wise, my hubby went for green tea, I went for sesame. The green tea was like any other. But the sesame seemed to be a mix of black and white sesame seeds. It was really really packed full of sesame-flavour.

green tea and black sesame icecream

All up, food here is fresh and tasty. Portions are not the most, but... it's quality and not quantity, right? :)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Value for money - 6.5
Overall - 29.5/40

Shoya
25 Market Lane,
Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9650 0848

Cumulus Inc - Melbourne

Prior to going to Melbourne, I had done my research and read loads of good reviews about the breakfast at Cumulus Inc. Hence, I was dying to go.

Unfortunately, we had a bit of a sleep in and by the time we decided to go, it was pretty close to 11am. And that was pretty close to the time they stopped serving breakfast... hence, we rushed to Cumulus Inc by taxi and just made it.

Cumulus Inc.

First things first - coffee. Melbourne coffee. We figured out that it isn't about the destination, but about the milk. It's the Riverina milk that most Melbournian cafes use which make Melbourne coffee awesome~ And yes, the coffee here is awesome - both my mocha and my partner's capp. And the barista lady went crazy alllll morning making coffee after coffee after coffee.

Cappucino

mocha

My hubby ordered the 'Shakshouka'. This was baked eggs with roasted peppers and Persian feta which came in a heavy, super hot cast iron pan. It was packed full of flavour - crazy mix of spices which my partner loved. The heavy flavour hit was a little too much for me at that time of the day though.

shakshouka - baked eggs with roasted peppers and Persian feta - $17.50

I ordered the 'Grilled Lyonnaise sausage'. This was a huge plate of braised beans with chunks of sausage and bits and pieces of smoked pork hock. On top of this pile of beans was a 65/65 egg. From my research, the reason why it's a 65/65 egg is because it's an egg cooked at 65C for 65 minutes. This leads to an egg which has a firm ish egg white and a runny yolk. Break the egg and it spills all over the beans, leading to a hearty yummy concoction.

Grilled Lyonnaise sausage, smoked hock, braised beans and 65/65 egg - $19.80

Patrons come in and out of this cafe. But there's a promise of yummy food and delicious smells and aromas throughout, making the wait worth it :)

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 31/40

Cumulus Inc
45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Tel: (03) 9650 1445

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant (2)- Sydney

My hubby and I were lucky enough to be invited by family friends to dine at Golden Century the other night. Whilst there, we saw Adam Liaw (masterchef 2 winner) dining with his japanese companions :)

On this night, our hosts did all the ordering. First up on the table was lobster sashimi. This came atop of steaming plate of liquid nitrogen - giving it a "smoking" aura. The lobster sashimi came in big fresh cold chunks of lobster. Lots and lots of it. The lobster chunks were subtly sweet and tasty. Accompanying the giant lobster were small fresh oysters which were super creamy, as well as salmon sashimi which were really quite yummy :P

lobster sashimi

Next up was abalone - large thinly sliced abalone quickly cooked hot pot style. Cooking the abalone this way makes it soft and tender and again, brings about a subtle sweetness which lingers in your mouth. What I like even more than the abalone is the super super awesomely sweet soup and lettuce which results after the abalone is cooked this way.

abalone

There was also XO pipies on the night tossed on top of fried thin rice noodles. The XO sauce was relatively strong and tasty. Yum but slightly more chili than I can take after consuming quite a few of these. Right up my hubby's alley though I think :) It was definitely a plate of fresh yummy pipies.

XO Pipies

After sashimifying the lobster, there's still lobster left in the legs and head and stuff and hence, this was cooked - tossed with supreme soup and scattered on top of really yummy egg noodles. My partner was really really happy cos he LOVES lobster and I guess just giving it to him raw isn't as awesome to him as having it sizzling hot and drenched in tasty sauce. Again, I'm a fan of the accompaniments - the saucy egg noodles.

lobster in supreme sauce

Another dish ordered for my hubby was the suckling pig. Whilst the skin was still kind of crispy, and the suckling pig was tasty I think it tasted kinda average ish. The jellyfish accompanying it was also so so.

suckling pig

Dessert-wise, we got traditional asian cakes and deep-fried flour puffs and red bean soup. T'was OK.

dessert

Golden Century is a place for seafood. Seafood is their forte so if that's what you're ordering, you're up for a good meal. The other dishes, however, is probably just so so.

Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29.5/40

Golden Century
393-399 Sussex St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 3901

Koi - Woolwich

The moment we stepped in, I felt as though I had entered a different realm.

Tranquil. Calm. Serenity. Soft music playing in a slightly darkened, cooled room. Zen.

Now this is life. I felt as though all my tension, all my stress, everything that worried me was no longer an issue whilst I was here. So for all those stressed out, tensed out, busy Sydney-siders who complain of being anxious and depressed - get your weekly dose of Koi and you'd probably be fine (for atleast the period of time that you're here).

Small Jap garden in the restaurant

We were quickly and quietly escorted to our table in the corner. Undisturbed tranquility. He efficiently handed us the menus, was open to questions, and allowed us ample of time to figure out what we wanted. Whilst the menu was not super duper huge, it was adequate and ample enough to make us feel stumped for a few minutes.

I remember seeing seared scallop carpaccio ($19) when I google imaged "Koi" and hence, that's one option that I picked. A nice plateful of thinly sliced scallops, lightly torched and almost swimming in a pool of soy butter, it looked and smelt quite fantastic. The only problem is, the buttery emulsion slightly overpowered the subtle sweetness of the scallops and yeh... kind of all we tasted was the butter... but it was on pretty awesome scallop texture :P

seared scallop carpaccio - $19

One of my partner's awesome picks was the sashimi (medium sized - $39). 15 pieces in all, there was beautifully cut and arranged salmon (raw and lightly seared varieties), tuna, kingfish (lightly seared on top), dory, and cod. This looked soooo pretty. It came with a slight smudge of lightly wasabied mayo. The sashimi was super super fresh. All the fish was perfectly sized and led to taste sensation. It was OMGosh. *drools*

mixed sashimi medium (15 pieces) - $39

We had also decided to order 2 types of sushi rolls. The soft shell crab roll ($16) and the california roll ($16). To be honest, I didn't expect the two sushis to come combined on one plate, much less arranged like a work of art. The soft shell crab roll comprised of crunchy tasty soft shell crab, fresh cucumber, avocado, tobiko, and just the right amount of mayo. One word - YUM. The california roll was different to what I expected. I had my mind set on that imitation crab stuff (seafood extenders) but what I got was sweet creamy crab meat with mushy tasty avocado, crunchy cucumber and tobiko. Pretty much - melt in your mouth sweetness (if that's even possible for a savoury piece of sushi).

soft shell crab roll - $16 and california roll - $16

Upon getting the bill, we were served with some Koi chocolates. Served on a chilled wooden plate, the Koi chocolates were gold coated, bitter-sweet dark chocolate, cold yet still melts in your mouth and a good amount of cocoa solids. Smooth and appetising, I could definately eat multiple fishes.

Koi Chocolate

Service here was pretty impeccable. The waiter didn't write ANYTHING down, remembered it all and could recite it back to us. So I guess next time, maybe we should trick him a bit and order really random stuff with random requirements and see what happens. Whilst we were at the restaurant, a patron on another table revealed that they were an employee from Sake (at the Rocks). Why would an employee from another well known popular Jap restaurnat come dine at a Jap restaurant in their break? (possibly says something awesome about this restaurant). In all honesty - this restaurnat is definately worthy of the 1-hat.

The door of this restaurant looks pretty amazing. Slightly hidden and zen-like already. Make sure you don't miss it! :)

Koi

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 10/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 35.5/40

Koi
102 Woolwich Road
Woolwich
NSW2110
Tel: (02) 9817 6030