happy happy

Last Sunday was Malc's birthday and as per tradition, a gourmet experience was in order. For his previous birthdays, we've always had dinner at a Japanese/Japanese-influenced restaurant, but we've been to all the Japanese restaurants we wanted to go to.

So, it was time to broaded our horizon. When I booked the chosen restaurant, I was hoping that Malc would be surprised and also like place. I drove to the restaurant and on the way Malc tried a few times to find out where I booked, to no avail. Heading towards the Hickson wharf area, Malc was veering towards a well known restaurant, but I nudge him towards the Ottoman Cuisine (2/3 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay Sydney ph 02 9252 0054).

The Ottoman is a "branch" of the iconic Canberra restaurant. We really enjoyed our Ottoman experience in Canberra and I was looking forward to the food in their newly opened Sydney restaurant. The first thing that impressed us was the venue, right at the edge of water and in direct view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We were one of the first diners to arrived, so the restaurant looked empty. I was a bit worried that it was not doing so well in Sydney and it would be a shame if it closed down . . . my fears were unwarranted as the night progressed and the entire place was filled with diners.

On to the food. After studying the menu, we decided to try the degustation.

a slice of heaven

Last March, Malc received a most sought after dinner invitation from the Consul General of Japan. The Consul General has his own personal chef, Mr Noboru Takayama, who trained in one of most prestigious restaurants in Kyoto. Thus with excitement and anticipation, Malc & I arrived at the residence and were greeted by a surprisingly laid back Consul General and his wife. The guests where then asked to sign the guest book, with a traditional Japanese brush . . . Malc heaved a sigh of relief when I signed both our names in katakana, as he has not practised his brushwork for quite some time.

Prior to dinner, we had drinks and chatted by the pool overlooking Sydney harbour. Mr Kawada gave us a brief history of the residence. It was bought by the Japanese government from some dodgy businessman and he noted that the pool has peep-holes on one side.

After drinks, the guests were ushered into the main dining hall. It was wide, with good quality wooden floor and high vaulted ceiling. Perfect for kendo practice! Anyway, as it would have been an absolute faux pas if I took photos of the food, I instead scanned the menu. In addition to being a skillful diplomat, Mr Kawada is also a talented artist, and he hand-drew Australian animals on the reverse side of the menu. Each animal matched the wine glass tags of the table setting.

As for the food, well, all the praises were justified. Each dish was perfectly seasoned, and complimented each other. One could sense the care that the chef took in choosing the freshest ingredients. Malc's favourite was the ring fish covered with radish snow and mine was the sashimi of the day.

Another notable mention goes to the wine. Mr Kawada noted, and Malc agrees with this, that Japanese food does not normally go with wine, but he discovered that the Henschke 1992 Shiraz seems to work pretty well. Malc raved about this wine for weeks.