Tetsuya’s is a place that restaurant fans often read, hear or enthuse about, but never go. We all vow that we’ll get there one day, but weeks, months and even years pass by without sampling Tetsuya Wakada’s modern fusion cuisine. We deprive ourselves even as the accolades continue to flow in, like Tet’s being named the fifth best restaurant in the world in 2007 by Restaurant Magazine.

In December 2006, we decided the excuses were over, and secured a booking at arguably Australia’s most famous restaurant in late March 2007 (yes, you do need to book ahead). The months passed and finally the time arrived for our pilgrimage to Sydney. With fame and glowing reviews come expectations, and we certainly had ours. After one sublime evening for dinner, Tet’s met and surpassed some of these expectations, but fell below on others (more later).

The first surprising element of Tet’s was its location in a quiet section of Kent Street. From the outside, the restaurant resembled an embassy compound, complete with electric security fence. Not knowing if we had arrived at the correct address, we nearly walked past it. Only when the fence automatically opened for us did we realise that we had indeed arrived at the right place. A short driveway led to the front entrance, where we were greeted warmly by the maitre’d.

The second surprising element of Tet’s was the boisterousness of the place. Perhaps owing to Tetsuya Wakada’s background, we had half expected a serene, tranquil and Zen-like ambience. Instead, the restaurant was filled with the din of patrons enjoying themselves. We didn’t mind it though, and liked the somewhat informal vibe that Tet’s exuded, helped by the friendliness of the wait staff.

Tet’s is divided into two main dining areas, with several private rooms. A lovely Japanese-style rock garden provided a beautiful outlook for diners. An impressive wine storage facility is obviously a main attraction, with patrons constantly popping in for a look at the array of amazing wines. We were seated in the second dining room, which provided our first quibble. We were seated on a table designed for four, and sat facing a wall. It felt a little strange to not sit facing one another, or to face out into the room. This was a minor point, however, and did not detract too greatly from the experience.

We plied ourselves with glasses of Winston Churchill’s favourite bubbly, Pol Roger, whilst perusing the extensive wine list that lists the wines by label. Unable to choose, we consulted the very friendly sommelier, who recommended a few glasses of wines to accompany the degustation to follow.

To keep the hunger at bay whilst waiting for first course, a choice of rolls - crusty Italian or sourdough - was served with a black truffle and parmesan butter. The scent and taste of truffle was amazingly pungent, and paired excellently with the faint blush of parmesan. As the butter was unsalted, one couldn’t help but add an extra sprinkle of salt flakes.

First course was a chilled sweet corn soup with a small quenelle of basil ice cream. The soup itself was incredibly silky and tasted entirely of young sweet corn, and a slick of pouring cream added an extra dose of decadence. The basil ice was mild, but an interesting flavour combination. And it looked a treat served tall in a martini glass.

A tartare of tuna on sushi rice with avocado was wonderfully interesting. The tuna was top notch - despite being diced tartare-style you could tell there was excellent fat distribution. The pile sat on a puck of sushi rice, which itself lay in a lake of the most velvety, luscious avocado cream studded with small islands of caviar.

We had been given instruction by the waiter “…get your fork in there, break it up and make sure you get a bit of everything.” As much as one wanted to be ever so dainty in deconstructing it, we did as directed. The entire mouth feel was fantastic - the silky avocado cream, the meltingly tender tuna, the soft sticky sushi rice. And then the real delight - little pops of salty caviar that exploded between the teeth. It was absolutely divine.

Next course paid homage to our fishy friends, and was (mostly) a wonderful example of keeping things honest. To the left, a skewer of rolled tuna marinated in a soy and mirin dressing, topped with a curl or two of spring onion. In the middle, a sliver of ocean trout, heady with the flavour of smoke, draped languidly over a spear of crisp asparagus. Finally, marinated NZ scampi sitting on a chicken and walnut parfait.

Now whilst the scampi was enjoyable, we felt it wasn’t honest to the integrity of the dish. The parfait was perhaps a little too overpowering considering the simplicity of the prior two examples. It obliterated the subtle flavour of the crustacean with the overwhelming tang of parfait. It just didn’t make sense.

Next up was the dish that Tetsuya is renowned for - his signature - confit of Petuna Tasmanian ocean trout with konbu, daikon and fennel. The first mouthful was almost too much; too flavoursome, too salty, too umami. The konbu (dried kelp that coats the trout) was a real kick to the tastebuds. It was actually quite disconcerting. But the sensation soon died down, and the other flavours - that of the trout itself, the daikon and fennel soon came through. It was visually stunning on the plate and a nice play on textures, again.

The ravioli of Queensland spanner crab with tomato and basil vinaigrette was the dish that most impressed us. The tender pasta parcel contained flakes of sweet, sweet crab meat which sat on a concasse of precisely diced tomato flesh (no skin, no seeds) and then garnished with a chiffonnade of basil and a piquant balsamic and olive oil dressing. It captured the essence of its’ ingredients in a very clean and fresh way. Its simplicty was exquisite.

A twice cooked de-boned oh-so-tender spatchcock was the next impressive dish that obviously showed the amazing skill and technique of Tets merry band of chefs. The bird itself balanced precariously on a thick disc of braised daikon, and to the side, a serving of wonderfully green edamame and a hand turned potato. A light but flavoursome bread sauce finished off the dish. It was lip smackingly good.

By this stage we were both feeling rather full, but one certainly has to suck it in for the grilled wagyu beef with asian mushrooms and citrus jus. The wagyu had been sliced ever so thinly and rolled into a divine little scroll, and cooked to medium rare. The dish was quite stunning, but we don’t know whether it was the wagyu, the mushrooms or the amazing jus. All the flavours was merged, and it was a partnership that worked superbly well.

Our first course of dessert acted as palate cleanser, which was a good touch after the last two full-on dishes. A mouth puckering pineapple sorbet was served to the left, and to the right, Tetsuya’s take on the Strawberry shortcake - a fluid deconstruction of the classic.

Second dessert course was a vanilla bean ice cream with white beans, dates and a sprinkle of praline. Now this was interesting. You can’t go too wrong when you play around with voluptuous flavours like cream, vanilla and dates. The white beans didn’t provide too much flavour in the taste department, but they offered a density and bite to something that would otherwise just be melted in the mouth. And the praline added another textural and taste (nutty toffee) component to the dish.

Our third course of dessert was a floating island (meringue) with a well executed praline and vanilla bean anglaise.

Inside the floating island was a vein of dark chocolate and raspberry coulis, which was a stunning visual surprise. Unfortunately the surprise didn’t follow through in the taste - the expected bitterness of the chocolate or sourness of the raspberry, which would have been a welcome delight, was just too lost in the sweetness of the anglaise. The dessert ended up tasting rather one-dimensional.

The petit four were rather disappointing too; sweet potato balls coated in dark cocoa powder and coconut date balls. Now it wasn’t that they were inedible or foul tasting - it just appeared that they could have been knocked up by a five year old kid. There wasn’t a lot of skill, and there wasn’t a lot of taste. One expects to be delighted with petit four (..and anyone who has been to Vue de monde will know this). In this case, there was just no “eyes-closed and pursed-lips in absolutely delight” moment, which is so how you want to end a great meal.

Despite this, Tetsuya’s was an amazing dining experience. The floor staff were suave and professional and worked the room smoothly and with a minimum of fuss. The food was exceptional and creative, the only real disappointment being the dessert/petit four. But perhaps one does need to wonder whether this creativity is stagnant, as he appears to be serving pretty much the same dishes as he was serving two years ago.

The pilgrimage was well worth it though, and we were so very glad to have finally had the Tet’s experience.

Entry written by ElegantGourmand and Mellie

The South Melbourne Market is one of Australia’s oldest, commencing operation in 1867. It is a very popular destination for Melbournians, offering a great range of fresh seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables. Stalls abound, selling everything from clothing and homewares, to foodstuffs and mobile phone accessories. One of the most famous stalls in this foodie hotspot is the one simply known as South Melbourne Market Dim Sims & Spring Rolls. Like the American Donut van in Victoria Market, the dimmie stall is a Melbourne institution, being in existence since 1949. As shown in the above picture, people travel from everywhere to queue for the stall’s bill of fare.

For those who are not familiar with the dim sim, it is a Chinese-inspired meat dumpling style snack that is sold in fish and chip and takeaway shops everywhere in Australia. It was made popular by William Wing Young, the father of Melbourne celebrity chef, Elizabeth Chong. Mr Young used to peddle the meaty treats at football games to compete with the meat pie. These days they are usually made by Marathon foods, or otherwise they are home-made, like the ones in South Melbourne.

Dimmies can be steamed or fried, and both varieties are proudly offered at this venerable institution. Ordering is a little Soup Nazi-ish - be sure to know which type you want, how many, and in separate bags or all in the same bag. Pay your cash; dimmies are $1.20 each. You must keep the line moving! After getting your little brown bag of treasures, help yourself to soy sauce or fiery chilli sauce, but keep the line clear!

It ain’t pretty and you’ll be guaranteed to make a tremendous mess whilst eating, particularly if they’re steamed and doused in soy and chilli sauce, like ours. Long time fans know to bring your own fork and napkins; otherwise you can avail yourself to washrooms that are just around the corner from the stall.

But my God, the taste! I hold in my hand a cricket-ball sized parcel of flavour, a combination of pork, mystery meat, cabbage and spices, all deliciously encased in perfectly steamed dumpling skin. The chilli sauce was a great accompaniment but go easy as it is so spicy it will make your lips tingle! If you are game, the stall sells bottles of this fiery condiment, as well as soy sauce. Also for sale are take-home frozen dim sims and spring rolls.

The original owner, Mr Ken Cheng, sadly passed away late 2006, but his legacy (and secret receipe) lives on through the Cheng family, who are keeping this institution well and truly alive.

Pushka is a mouse hole of a place off a lane that’s off a lane (although it does runneth over into the lane). It has all the hallmarks of somewhere cool and funky - it is slightly grungy, a little bit arty, it serves excellent coffee with kitschy teaspoons (Lady Diana from the royal family series is particularly popular), does good bagels and select range of patisserie, and it has crazy toast. It functions as part cafe, part bar (cheap beer!) and part art space. And it has fish. Yeah. Funky.

Half consumed excellent coffee with kitschy spoon. Actually, has anyone else noticed the number of places that are doing kitschy spoons at the moment? It seems to offer a bit of street cred these days

This is one of the toasted bagels - from memory called the King. Whilst they don’t use the traditional dense New York style boiled bagels, these ones are good. And their fillings are top notch - a sprinkle of maldon salt for the tomatoes, good prosciutto, fried egg, excellent cheese.

They also serve a range of baguettes, and as mentioned previously, crazy toast. Actually, I have quite fallen in love with crazy toast, and am now doing crazy toast at work for lunch on my days in. It is a split bagel (or Burgen is a good choice too), smeared thickly with vegemite and avocado. Mmm. Whilst it won’t have the men in white coats knocking at your door, it is a slightly ingenious take on adding salt to your avo’s. I love it.

And this is how Pushka spilleth over into the lane. Don’t be scared by the guy who looks so pointedly at you from the window directly ahead. It is a cardboard cut out, and it has freaked me on a number of occasions

A leisurely walk from the CBD to Sydney Road, Brunswick is certainly deserved of a spinach and cheese pie at A1 Bakery, one of my all time favourite snack stops. Alas when EG and I arrived there (it was Easter Monday), we found it was closed. Arghh. I had been looking forward to a pie for every step of our just completed 6km journey.

Luckily not too far away we spotted a rather busy little shop, Tabet’s Bakery. I had never been there before, but yeah…I think this would probably satisfy my craving

This is the spinach and cheese pie - a lovely little triangle of yeasty bread, filled with cooked spinach and salty curd cheese. It was very moist, but having just come out of the gas pizza/bread oven, was still firm (they can tend towards sogginess once the juice starts to flow and they cool down). Mmm….it was goood.

EG and I also shared the oregano pizza with salad, a doughy base generously slathered with an oregano overdosed olive oil, stuffed with fresh tomato, green peppers, onions and large salty black olives. This too was also very good - fresh and tasty, and cheap at only a few dollars.

Speaking of which, I was amused to see the most expensive item on the menu (which runs with traditional Lebanaese meat/sausage pizzas, oregano pizzas, cheese pies, untraditional hamburgers, chips etc.) was the fruit juice cocktail. Uh huh, it was $6.50.

Okay, this post is going to reveal how dedicated I am to this all this food blogging business. See, I have developed a fascination with a certain cafe that has a fabulous autumn breakfast menu. And I have made it my mission to work my way through it - to have everything at least once (…or twice, in some cases ;-), before they move to their winter menu. And goddangit if I ain’t gonna do it too!

So why do I keep returning? Could it be for the absolutely amazing spanish milk rice with cinnamon and orange infused raisins? Go on, look, it is pictured above. When I get this I feel like I am having dessert for breakfast And see the cute little bottle of warm milk you get on the side? I could almost coo in delight.

Beetroot is only open Monday to Friday (damn them - I want a good weekend breakfast!), and only then for breakfast and lunch. But this has its benefits. The same staff are able to work, day in day out. There is continuity. There is developing customer relationships. There is the fact that half their patrons are on a name by name basis. I like that. I hate being lost in the experience. I like to be welcomed and enveloped by one instead.

And this is what Beetroot does so well. It is the little details that make it for me. The fact that my coffee comes with a chocolate freckle or a muffinette, or that after our third visit, they know exactly what coffee EG and I order (and that I have a particular sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast). I love their faintly square coffee cups (the espresso cup is just adorable), their little jars of sugar cubes and crushed pepper. Home made jams lining the walls. Personal postcards and photos pinned up on the other. The banter is friendly, and I feel like I am in someone’s home.

The bircher muesli is one of the better ones I’ve had in this town. Rolled oats and plump raisins are made tender by yoghurt, and it is sweetened naturally with house-made poached fruits, a berry compote and whole pistachios. The actual components of the bircher changes on occasion - I guess utilising whatever is best in season. Peaches, plums, nectarines and blackberries have all had their go at playing protagonist. The pistachio nuts seem to be a regular player though, which is fine by me considering I love pistachios.

The scrambles, infused nicely with pesto, are wickedly good. I know some think it sacrilegious, but I kind of think it has become a bit of a Beetroot signature. The bacon, as you can see, was perfectly cooked - not underdone (eww), but not charcoaled to crispness either. And it was all served on a hunk of barely toasted turkish bread, which again, is up for some discussion. But I like it.

Now this is a breakfast that is up there with the best (…and leaves bills hotcakes for dead). French toast with banana, dark chocolate and vanilla mascarpone. This is the play by play. Turkish bread halved and stuffed full of banana. Dip in egg and fry in butter. Drizzle with a dark chocolate sauce. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Top with a generous dollop of sweetened vanilla mascarpone. Oh. my. god.

Okay, I’ve had this twice now. I couldn’t resist. It is THAT good (…and if I wasn’t so keen on completing the Mission: Autumn menu, I would have had it again, and again, and again…)

Now if you are wanting a healthy option - and yes, even I am prone to bouts of altruism, one can go the porridge. The toppings change regularly, in this instance it was stewed rhubarb - a nice tart accompaniment to the rib sticking oats.

And this is the baked beans infused with maple syrup and bacon. The beans are firm and bitey in the way that only good home made baked beans can get. And the infusion of maple syrup is no lie - it is quite discernable and goes so well with the bacon (yes, I did spend a little time in Canada developing a penchant for bacon and maple syrup).

You can also get plain toast (well…turkish bread or a gluten free option bread) with your choice of spreads, or the wonderful Flinders fruit loaf. They also do a range of fresh baked muffins if nothing else on the menu excites (which I assure you, won’t be a problem here).

Between EG and I we only have two more menu items to try. We’ve got this one licked…although the Winter breakfast meny is only around the corner

This is what goes into the hotpots over in Dixon Street, Chinatown (Sydney). Eeewww..

Featured in the Seinfeld episode The Dinner Party, Jerry’s proclamation to Elaine is as much about race relations as it is paying homage to one of New York city’s favourite foods. The black and white cookie is, in fact, not a cookie, but a flat cake with a thin frosting of vanilla and chocolate. As anyone who has watched the above Seinfeld episode will know, the key to eating it is to ensure you get a balance of black and white with each bite - “nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate”.

We thought we’d bring some to the football where our team, the mighty Collingwood Magpies, who play in black and white stripes, were playing the Richmond Tigers. Home-made by Mellie (you can find the recipe here), the cookies were delicious, texturally cakey and sweetly frosted with icing. We felt at peace with racial harmony. It must have been a good omen too: after trailing miserably to Richmond, the undermanned ‘Pies came back in the second half of the game to swamp the Tigers and come away with a solid 25 point win.

The connection to the cookie is not lost here either, as Collingwood’s sister Australian Rules footy club in the United States are the New York Magpies.

Could this be Melbourne’s best cannoli? Well…I’d have to say it comes pretty close, if not nails the title quite squarely.

T.Cavallaro & Sons have been dolling out these little tubes of custardy goodness for many years. And they aren’t on display getting all soggy like in most other shops. You sidle up to the counter and place your order - vanilla, chocolate, vanilla and chocolate, or traditional ricotta. The staff then whip out back and pipe your cannoli fresh. That’s right - on demand cannoli.

The pastry - oh my - the pastry. It is crisp, crunchy and bubbled from the boiling oil, but more of a surprise is the taste of marsala. Mmm. And the crema pasticcera (custard) piped into the cylinders is divinely and wickedly sweet. Some poor sod has stood over a hot pot of milk, egg, sugar and flour and stirred this baby till it thickened.

One can also purchase the equally good Brutti ma buoni - which literally transaltes as the “ugly but good” cookie. Yes, they may not be pretty, but these Italian chocolate and nut meringue cookies are crisp on the outside and gloriously chewy, nutty and sweet on the inside. The perfect treat with a good cup of espresso.

West Melbourne doesn’t often come on the radar for being a destination for great places to eat. In fact it is a rather quiet place out of business hours, the only buzz coming from the comings and going at MAP or the Embassy Taxi Cafe. Which in fact was the reason for our visit to Hotel Spencer - we had walked past it on our way to the Embassy not long back, and after checking it out in the Cheap Eats/Good Food Guide, thought a return journey to try out the fare was in order.

We decided to eat it in the bar (as opposed to the slightly more expensive, yet still very reasonably priced dining room). Besides, we wanted to be close to the bar for some freshly pulled beer, and Bert Newton’s 20 to 1 was also providing some mild amusement on the tele.

The pub is rather old school, funked up in a dashing shade of burnt orange. But it is comfortable - a nice long bar to prop your elbows on, a good range of brews (and microbrews) on tap, big chunky wooden furniture, requisite bunch of lads living it up at the counter, and a bar menu that would satisfy both the tradie and gourmand in us all.

I couldn’t go past the braised beef, mushroom and guinness pie with mashed potato and sauteed greens. This is classic pub fare, and it sure didn’t disappoint. The beef was slow cooked and wonderfully tender, and I could actually taste the earthiness of the guinness and the mushrooms in the gravy. The pastry lid was crisp and flaky, and the mash a good balance of potato and milk/butter (i.e. it wasn’t too rich). And check out the sauteed greens - firm peas, tender crisp broccoli and green beans. A nice hit of chlorophyll for the otherwise comfort foodish meal.

EG went the other classic, bangers and mash - or to be more precise, grilled snags with mash, peas and gravy. Three thick tasty sausages were straddled across a generous dollop of mashed potato, the whole lot liberally doused in a brown oniony gravy. It certainly satisfied his craving for salsiccia (and then some!).

The servings are absolutely HUGE - value for money can’t be beat. And we were actually quite impressed with the variety of the other menu options on offer, such as a pork, veal and pistachio nut terrine, a corned girello on mash or an Asian braised pork belly. Both of us can’t wait to get back to try some of these offerings.

A hearty (and non-inebriated) thumbs up.

We found a lovely little haven of tranquility right in the heart of downtown Sydney in the Chinese Garden of Friendship. Finished in 1988 as part of Australia’s Bicenterary, it was initiated by the local Chinese community to share in their cultural heritage. Using traditional forms of landscaping, architecture and garden design it does a wonderful job of recreating the natural form of nature - lakes, mountains, waterfalls and forests. One can sit on a rocky outcrop and watch fat happy carp sliding through the waters, dragonflys buzzing happily suspended in mid-air, or all manner of birdlife snoozing or catching some rays.

A gorgeous little teahouse waits at the end of your meandering walk, though I wished it were perhaps a little more “traditional” serving exotic ranges of teas etc. As it was, your usual cafe fare (and cafe tea) is available, although surprisingly there were three dim sum on offer. EG and I couldn’t resist kicking back with a steamer basket of siu mai and a chilled bottle of commercial iced tea (well, it was hot outside!). A nice escape from the bustling city.