Sushi Bar Rashai, Annandale

I love this place. I even had my 30th birthday family dinner here, partly because it’s such great food, and also because kids are made very welcome. Kids under 10 can even choose a free gift! Lucky ducks. Adults get a free meal on their birthday too if they’ve preregistered.

Komachi, Surry Hills

I took my lovely sister here as a birthday gift, using a Living Social voucher – $37 for a two-course banquet for us both. The banquet usually costs $38 each so it was a big saving.

Masterclass with Tetsuya Wakuda @ Radisson Plaza, Sydney

For the second year running, Tony Bilson’s ‘Cuisine Now’ initiative has hosted masterclasses with some of Australia’s top chefs. This year, I went to one with my food hero, Tetsuya Wakuda, aka Tets.

Fujiyama, Leichhardt

My mum and I come here all the time now, having fallen in love with their ‘Black Horenso’…

Hikaru Japanese Restaurant, Newtown

I like this place because it’s great value, the courtyard is cute and I’ve never had anything that wasn’t yummy.

Best dishes are the misoyaki (steak or salmon, with sweet miso sauce), nasi miso (eggplant with miso sauce), the agedashi tofu and the sushi and sashimi. Here is a photo of the large sushi/sashimi combination boat, $28.