So you think I’d be sick of Japanese food after a 3 weeks holidaying in Japan, but I was far from being turned off bowls of ramen, sushi or skewers. In fact, I came back and craved each of these foods nearly every day.

So when you’re stuck on dinner ideas, feeling a little Japan-esy, don’t feel like cooking and TREMENDOUSLY hungry… what better idea than to order a sushi platter from your local japanese/sushi store! Makoto, in Chatswood, is known for its fresh, tasty and authentic Japanese food (mainly sushi and sashimi).

Darling Street, Balmain – the hussle and bussle street and main thoroughfare of Balmain, is filled with boutique shops, quality restaurants and cafes and bakeries (as well as a great pastry/dessert joint *wink wink*). So as you take a stroll down this street, “which place should I try?” you ask.
Ciao Thyme is a small corner cafe a little further down Darling St, towards the water and away from the central area of Balmain.

For $75, the tasting menu was well worth it. The flavour of each dish was well matched, the variety was wide, servings plenty (not too full, not too little). The service was attentive, professional, informative, flexible and friendly – perfect 10! My second experience to Foveaux felt much better than the first, and I can tell you… this won’t be the last!

I remember in my younger years, Istana was a regular restaurant joint for my family… delicious chicken rice is all I can recall of this place. Even now, Istana is STILL known for it’s hainan chicken + rice. Strangely, just before my trip to Hong Kong and Singapore, I had a craving for CRAB (I think it was from all the food research I was doing…) My last visit to Istana was a few months back and I had an absolute FEAST!!

Finding a place to dine for a group of 12 people (without set menu) is particularly difficult during the Christmas festive season. After days of searching, Subsolo was available and suited all our needs. Subsolo is a relatively new restaurant, located at the former Omega site.

Getting the cake is more than often my responsibility for friends’ birthdays. Lindt cakes have been very popular in the past but with most of the cakes already indulged, demolished and tasted, it was time to find a cake from a different patisserie. But “where?” was the question.
With the current “hype” of Adriano Zumbo’s desserts amongst the foodbloggers, what other choice did I have other than to get a cake from him!

Living in Canberra really makes me CRAVE for yummy seafood. I have heard that Sydney fish markets is one of the best fish markets because of the freshness and variety of seafood they get. So with a huge craving for seafood, empty stomach, and a relatively nice day, we venture with our friends to enjoy a lunch feast!

With my weekend spent in Canbera, where else would I choose to go for brunch in Canberra than my FAVOURITE bakery/cafe , Silo Bakery. Located in the poshy suburb of Kingston, Silo’s is probably a favourite of many others as their pastries, tarts and breads are practically sold out by the time we arrive for lunch.

Another celebratory dinner, another fabulous meal! In recent times, there has been a surge of top notch pub restaurants; Four in Hand, Bistro Moncur, The Light Brigade… just to name a few. Grand National has been around for a while and has been known to locals for good pub grub and steaks.

Birthday dinner #[something] was celebrated at the newly crowned Sydney’s 2009 Best New Restaurant of the year, Berowra Waters Inn. Situated 45 minutes or so north of the city, Berowra is a nice leafy suburb on the fringe of Sydney. As there is no car access to the restaurant, they provide a private ferry service from a public wharf. I thought this was one of the “cool” and unique things about this place.

First of all apologies for the lack of posts. As with most things in life, you go through the motions and alot of things go through the life cycle of a bell curve. In saying that, we have a few posts to churn out in the next few days.