Some of my favourite restaurants

SOKYO RESTAURANT, THE STAR

Sokyo is one of my favourite restaurants of all time. The food is a Japanese fusion done amazingly well and there are so many varieties from sushi, sashimi, sushi rolls, robata, tempura, main dishes to great vegetarian options and the most delicious desserts. My favourites from Sokyo are their Tuna crispy rice sushi, Kingfish miso ceviche with crispy potato, Cuttlefish tempura (the texture is amazing!), Scampi sushi, Tamago, Caramelised miso cod, Tofu cheesecake and Goma street (caramelised white chocolate and sesame ice cream dessert). I live close to this place and everytime I walked past by, this place was always busy and buzzing. Sokyo, where the buzz of Tokyo meets a Sydney beat!

Wagyu 9+ short rib tataki with pickled grapes. 

Kingfish belly sashimi and Abalone sashimi. 

The best scampi sushi I've ever had and this tamago (Japanese omelette) is unlike the tamagos I've ever had before. So light and fluffy and almost tastes like cake :) Tamago is one of my favourite things to eat and I always order them whenever I'm at a sushi restaurant, especially at the end of my meal (as they're a little sweet). One of the reason why I like them so much is aside of the fact that they taste good, is that they're so hard to make. It takes so much skill and practice to master this dish so for that reason (I know I'm silly ^^), I always order them at a restaurant (as I can never be able to make one) ^^

Peanut butter fondant and vanilla ice cream. 

The fabulous dessert sampler at Sokyo. I LOVE the dessert at Sokyo as there are so many delicious options and I've had most of them and they are all amazing. It's very rare for a Japanese or Asian restaurant to have these many delicious dessert options and I think this what set Sokyo apart from the other top notch Japanese/ Asian restaurants in Sydney. 

Yuzu Soufflé with passion fruit jelly, crème fraîche ice cream and Tofu cheesecake with thyme sugar, strawberry consommé.

Both desserts are beautiful but the tofu cheesecake has to be one of the best cheesecake I've ever had! So light and no, you don't taste the tofu :)

BENTLEY RESTAURANT & BAR, RADISSON BLU CBD

Bentley restaurant, which now has moved to a bigger, grander space at the Radisson Blu hotel serves modern Australian food. The menu is very innovative and certainly one of the most amazing dining experience I've ever had. I love the interesting, slightly weird food and here I had things that I've never had/seen/heard before and I find that very exciting. Dining here is such an experience! 

Cured bonito, almond pil-pil, purple Brussel sprouts. I really love the texture of the fatty oily fish <3

Pork cheek, garlic and yoghurt purée, radicchio, jamon. Everything about this dish is amazing, the texture of the pork cheek, the jamon crust, the purée, the other condiments. However I tried my dining companion's entree (not in the picture) which is kingfish, celtuce, squid ink, wakame and I have to say that his dish is so good and I even like his slightly more than mine. 

Wagyu skirt steak, broad bean shoots, native plum.  I've had skirt steak before but not as good as this. The texture of this skirt steak is amazing (Yes, I often use the word 'amazing' haha). It's almost like brisket, perfectly medium rare and I love the crust. My dining companion's main (Lamb, cauliflower, caper leaves, buttermilk) is amazing too. I love both of them equally but my dining companion likes his lamb more. I think the flavour of the skirt steak is more vibrant and light while the lamb's flavour is more rich. You can't really compare these dishes actually as they are all unique in its own way. If you're dining with someone in this place, it's actually very easy to share the foods, as the steak and the lamb both come with 2 pieces (as do the kingfish and pork cheek entrées), so you both can eat one piece in each plate and swap each other plate. Yay! :D

Malt cake, Apple, Jerusalem artichoke. This is such an interesting dessert! I love the artichoke chips covered in chocolate, the malt crisp on top is crispy and delicious, the malt cake is moist and the ice cream is smooth and has interesting malty flavour. I also love the fact that this dessert is creamy and satisfying without it being too sweet and sugary. 

I love this restaurant so much. Everyone would enjoy dining here but this place is especially suited for people who's really open-minded about food and open to trying new ingredients and unusual flavour combinations. Service is very friendly and we are also given this amazing miso salted caramel chocolates to close our meal which is probably the best chocolate I've ever had. The caramel filling just burst out in your mouth when you bite into its thin chocolate shell. It's magic! 

BISTRO MONCUR, WOOLLAHRA

Bistro Moncur is one of those places that is filled with regulars. There is a sense of familiarity dining here and even though it is a fine dining restaurant but everyone dining here is such at ease and dressed in a smart casual way. Bistro Moncur is famous for its French classic dishes, such as French onion soufflé gratin, Sirloin steak cafe de Paris, (Barossa) chicken liver pate and pure pork sausages. 

Sirloin steak with cafe de Paris butter. I always order this when I came here. I can't help it. It's one of those things ^^. I always planned to order something else (to try new things!) but seeing almost everyone around me have either this or the Fillet steak with bernaise sauce and enjoying their steaks made me feel like steak and I always get this again as I LOVE the buttery sauce and there are many other places that make good bernaise sauce. 

Bombe Alaska. So pretty!

OTTO RISTORANTE, WOOLOOMOOLOO WHARF

Otto is a beautiful restaurant located at the beautiful Wooloomooloo wharf. I've been here maybe only twice and seated outside overlooking the water and both times I spotted celebrities walking past. The food is of course delicious and the service is very attentive. 

Angus beef carpaccio, truffle dressing, aioli, capers, parmesan, baby rocket. And the chilli salamis at the end of the table. Delicious!

Ravioli of finely sliced pickled beetroot with goat's curd, pistachio and horseradish. What a beautiful looking dish. Tastes even better :)

Hazelnut and white chocolate mousse, gianduja ganache, white chocolate sorbet, peanut butter wafer. White chocolate sorbet sounds so sugary but it tastes really lovely. The whole dessert is rather amazing. 

FRATELLI FRESH/CAFE SOPRA

This restaurant is described as a casual Italian eatery and it has a few branches across Sydney, very popular and serves really good Italian food.  Some of the dishes are quite traditional such as spaghetti alla carbonara and pappardelle with meatballs (which both I love) but their menu is constantly changing. Some of my favourite dishes from this place are the zucchini flowers with 5 Italian cheeses (I think everybody orders this as it is so yummy and you can just get one for $5!), the arancini with taleggio, the cured meat board, caprese salad (so simple but you can really taste the quality of the ingredients), the linguine with lemon, chilli and pangrattato (bread crumbs, *sigh* the simple thing in life is sometimes the best thing!) and the banoffee tart (one of my favourite dessert ever!). Most of the pasta dishes that I ordered in the past are on specials so they are not in the current menu anymore. I've had different types of pastas with ingredients such as lamb neck/duck ragu/oxtails and they are all just so amazing. Great produce, pasta cooked al dente, beautiful olive oil, seasoned well, amazing tasting cheese. 

Fusilli bucati with eggplant, cherry tomatoes and salted ricotta. Sounds and looks so simple yet so delicious. 

Crispy polenta with mushroom and Gorgonzola sauce. Another vegetarian dish. Another great dish :)

Citrus and mascarpone cheesecake with orange granita. I love cheesecake but sometimes I find them too heavy to be had after a meal so I normally only eat cheesecake in the afternoon on its own. However, this is light enough yet very creamy and delicious and the granita is super refreshing. It's not too tart, a bit bitter which I love and nice orange flavour. Overall this is such a light & refreshing yet indulgent dessert to have for a hot sunny summer afternoon. 

Until next time and happy eating! ^^