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.

Mizuya Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke, CBD

We wander down the dimly lit stairs towards eerily glowing underground caves. Strange and haunting melodies (I used the term ‘melody’ loosely) echo from every deep dark corner, the seductive fragrance of sesame and smokiness teasing our nostrils.

Welcome to Mizuya! 

Tetsuya Degustation Dinner

Recently, my good friend Chef Al and I had the opportunity to meet my favourite chef, Tetsuya Wakuda. We were so inspired by the simplicity of his dishes that we decided to hold a degustation dinner of our own for some special lady-friends. Each lady-friend brought along a wine to match one of the courses plus a stinky cheese to help round off the night.

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.

Iiza Japanese Restaurant, Newtown

I love Japanese food and I love Newtown, and while decent Japanese places in Newtown do exist (Hikaru, Asakusa) there was definitely a gap in the market for an upmarket Japanese restaurant with accompanying sake and imported beer. Enter Iiza! 

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.

Tetsuya’s, Sydney

For my 30th birthday, my lovely lovely man Mr Black took me to Tetsuya’s. After 5 years of waiting and wishing and imagining, I am happy to say it lived up to all my expectations! (The foodie hipsters who ‘don’t like it’ on Urbanspoon are just picking tall poppies and should get over themselves.) In my opinion, there are no words which can do justice to the experience, the gastronomic adventure that is Tetsuya’s. So instead I’ve posted below photos which I took of most of the dishes – the large photos are of the absolute star dishes, though every dish was sublime! Sorry about the poor quality 😦

Wagaya, Haymarket

For a Christmas dinner with some special ladies, I decided we should try Wagaya – I’d heard good things about the food, the location was central, and the idea of ordering on touch screens really appealed to my inner nerd. (You can also check your bill summary as you go, a great way to keep an eye on the cost.)

Fujiyama, Leichhardt

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

Nakashima, Circular Quay

This is a cute little restaurant tucked away on Cambridge St, off the main drag of shops and restaurants. It is decent value especially considering it’s in Circular Quay, costing about $8 per entree or $15 per main. We usually fill up for about $25 each. It has an outdoor seating area with a pleasant atmosphere and the staff are always courteous and attentive. Below are some of our favourite dishes, but we’ve found that pretty much everything is good!