all day buffet

Our good friend and ex-housemate Dr Shogo (now at Manchester U) is in town for a conference on East Asian security architecture. While the intellectual discussions will be stimulating, Malc & I know that what Dr Shogo is really excited about being back in Australia (aside from the weather) is the FOOD.

Shogo arrived early in the morning after a 10-hour delay in Los Angeles because, well, Qantas decided to cancel his flight and though he did not need to know about it in advance. So to make up for our national carrier, we took him to Bondi Beach for brunch.

Brunch was at SoBo (70a Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach NSW 2026 ph 02 9300 8898). The restaurant is right at the edge of the beach and has an airy and laid back atmosphere. When we got the the restaurant, we were seated quickly and our drinks arrived in no time. Shogo has been so deprived of proper coffee that he had to have 2 cafe lattes.



We took our time deciding because all the dishes on the menu sounded really delicious. In the end, I chose scrambled eggs with fetta and it came with oven dried tomatoes, haloumi, prosciutto, chorizo and sourdough bread. This was such a hearty breakfast with first rate ingredients. The fetta gave the scrambled eggs a nice bite and mixing the eggs with the meats reminded me of longsilog (Filipino breakfast dish), how I wish it came with fried rice instead of bread . . .

Malc had eggs bénédict with smoked ham and a side of fruits. I noticed that a few other diners ordered this dish too, so it must be one of popular ones on the menu. Malc said that it was a very well done take on a standard dish.


Shogo had potato rosti with free-range poached eggs, oven dried tomato, mushroom, bacon and sourdough bread. When his order arrived, Shogo proceeded to demolish his food with determination, pausing only for brief grunts when we asked how his food was.

After breakfast, Malc & Shogo had a quick dip in the ocean while I guarded our stuff on the beach. After the beach, we went home to shower and throw our beach gear in the wash.

* * *

Next on the agenda was shopping. So off we walked to city to check out Shogo's favourite shops and on our walk home, Shogo quietly suggested afternoon tea at Lindt Chocolat Cafe (Shop 104 Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour NSW 2000 ph 02 9267 8064. The cakes were, as usual excellent, but service was, also as usual, lacking.

* * *

After taking a bit of a break, we were on the move again. This time for dinner at Azuma. Malc & I have been telling Shogo how we really like the food at Azuma and promised to bring him there when he comes over.

So after months of anticipation, here is a rounddown of our Azuma experience:

Our first choice on the menu was silky tofu with spicy pickled mustard greens. The tangy-citrusy dressing really pepped up the tofu and the the accompanying greens were mouthwatering.



Next was finely sliced white fish with chili ponzu dressing. This is Malc's all time favourite dish and no visit to Azuma is complete without this dish. The white fish is so succulent and the dressing is out of this world, a citrusy-soy flavour first hits the palate and then followed by the nice burn of the chili.

Then we had a serve of fresh pacific oysters and salmon roe served with ponzu dressing. The oysters were so plump and juicy. They had a nice clean ocean taste that was enhanced by the salmon roe.



Next came smoked sliced pork salad, we were initially sceptical, but this dish turned out to be a revelation. The pork was full of flavour with a hint of sweetness and the accompanying tomatoes and greens brought freshness to the dish.


And then the piece de resitance, the special sushi place made up of the freshest tuna, salmon, salmon belly, salmon roe, prawn, scampi, scallop, oyster, eel and white fish. This dish was incredible.



Then at last, dessert. Dr Shogo and I had red bean zenzai and Malc had caramel ice cream affogatto.



Heaven, heaven, heaven.

seeing pink

Tonight, Malc & I went to see the documentary Lagerfeld Confidential, which was part of the French Film Festival. The movie did not really live up to the hype for us, so we needed something to give our evening a lift.

Walking back from the cinema on Oxford Street, we passed by Pink Peppercorn Laoitian Cuisine (122 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW ph 02 9360 9922), one of the first restaurants we went to when we moved to Sydney. We enjoyed our first visit and decided it was high time to give it another try, and the food was as good as ever.

We had Yaam Ping Ngua, char-grilled beef tenderloin. This was my favourite, the beef was so tender and the spicing was wonderfully subtle and clean. The charing also gave the meat a light sweet flavour.


We also had Gaeng Phet Paa, perch fillet in lemongrass curry. This was Malc's favourite. The lemongrass flavour was pleasantly understated and the spice gave the palate a mellow burn.

Malc enjoyed the Pink Peppercorn very much and even quipped "good food is a great pleasure."

banana break

This weekend, Malc & I decided to explore the NSW north coast with an overnight trip to Coffs Harbour. In addition to the great beaches and surfing scene, Coffs Harbour is also home to the Big Banana, so a photo op was imperative.

In terms of food, there were a couple of places listed in the Good Food Guide, however we were not too interested in the cuisine served at these places. For dinner, we tried the Tandoori Oven (384B Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour NSW, ph 02 6652 2279). We had chicken vindaloo and vegetable korma. The food was okay, and the level of spiciness was more than acceptable, especially for the vindaloo. However, the one hour wait for the food to arrive lessened our enjoyment.

The next day, after a morning dip at the beach, we headed back to Sydney and on the way tried out the Coffee House at the Clog Barn (215 Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour NSW, ph 02 6652 4633). The place is a Dutch theme park, however we did not get to see the model Dutch village.

On to the food, I ordered the big breakfast pancake and was looking forward to a stack of pancake with the lot. Unfortunately, my pancake was not such a big affair, on the plate was a saucer-sized pancake topped with egg, 2 pieces of bacon, a couple slices of tomato and some mushroom & cheese. Oh well, it would have been alright if it tasted great. . . but sadly the taste was average, with the pancake lacking the thick fluffy texture.

Malc ordered Canadian pancake with ice-cream, whipped cream and of course Canadian maple syrup. So I asked Malc: "do you think the syrup is real maple syrup?" His answer was "no", and since he had gallons of the stuff growing up, I trust his expert opinion.

While the food aspect of our trip was a tad ordinary, Malc & I really liked Coffs Harbour and will be back, maybe for a longer than 2 days. Hopefully, we'll run into an exceptional restaurant next time.