For a few years, I did a lot of food blogging. It was a fun way to share my passion for eating! And the website Zomato gamified it, so the more reviews I did, the higher I would rank on their list of Sydney food reviewers. I thought it was pretty fun. And there was even a period where I’d get invited to events and even some special meals.
But life moves on. Restaurants are doing it tough. And they shouldn’t be offering free meals or deals unless it really helps them. Zomato basically closed down and food reviews have migrated to Google reviews, which seems smarter, easier and democratic. Some reviewers, like Does My Bomb Look Big In This? – my favourite food reviewer – now post reviews on Instagram and Facebook, rather than on a traditional blog.
As for us, we eat out much less frequently, and from the COVID lockdowns and onwards, have become passionate about cooking at home (and making pretty great cocktails). So, a meal has to be pretty special to inspire me to do a blog post, and my meal at Kuon Omakase, in Darling Square, for my 55th birthday, was very special. I also liked pretending that it’s my restaurant, Quan Omakase, but Chef Aki explained Kuon means in Japanese ‘a long period’, or as Google tells me today, an ‘eternity’.
I’d heard about the restaurant since it opened, four years ago, I think, but with only 12 seats, I knew that we’d need to plan it carefully (you can make reservations on the first Tuesday of the month for the next month). I got the reservation in early June for 7 July. Hurrah. We grabbed the early sitting, at 5.30pm. We arrived and were seated (the second last couple to arrive, I was happy we weren’t the last).
Chef Aki prepares or finishes each course, in front of you, and then lays it on the counter, where one of the two lovely and efficient servers then move it in front of you.
The Seiyo Shoro Chawanmushi, with shaved Australian truffle, and little pieces of lily root and mochi was a divine start. It smelled so good!
The sashimi was latchet, wrapped around thin spears of vegetables, which you then smear with monkfish liver and wrap it in a sheet of nori: a perfect bite. That liver was so good!
The appetizer plate, Hassun, was pretty mind-blowing, as each element was so refined and so delicious. Miso cured black cod (my favourite), baby eggplant, steamed abalone, a tiger prawn, gingko nuts, mackerel roe and tamagoyaki (a very delicate version of the egg omelette where white fish was whipped into the eggs before it was cooked).
The tempura was so good, that I’m sad that we missed going to the Kuon Tempura outpost, which has recently shut down. Fried in some super expensive sesame oil, imported from Japan, these were so light and crisp. I’ve never had scampi tempura, which was amazing, though the scallop and mushroom tempura were of the same calibre. Oh, and served with a curry salt, which we were warned would be addictive, and it was!
The sunomono course was the tiniest firefly squid. Almost too cute to eat. With those little seaweed pearl things and some other seaweed.
And then, what followed was Omakase Sushi, with Chef Aki moulding each piece of rice by hand, for each sushi, for each patron. I was very excited to try Yamaguchi Tora Fugu (pufferfish) for the first time, tasting to me a bit more like raw squid than a fish. Husband didn’t like this one!
Next, ‘Ara’ Hapuka.
And the first of the three tuna pieces, which Callan Boys in the Sydney Morning Herald described far better than I ever could: ‘marinated ruby-red akami (lean meat from the tuna’s back); luscious, highly marbled otoro (from the fattiest part of the belly) and chutoro, a pale-pink, medium-fatty cut with a flavour that pings every pleasure receptor.’ This first one was the chutoro.
Boafish. What’s that? Google tells me it is Stomias affinis, a long deep-sea fish that looks a bit like an eel!
The next one was previously hanging in a fridge that you can see on coming into the restaurant. A work of art, really.
I think the dry-aged salmon was husband’s favourite.
Next the lean ‘akame’ tuna. Check out the colour on this.
I can’t see the octopus sashimi on the menu. Perhaps it was an extra little gift to us!
The next one was a highlight for me. We were offered the choice of uni (sea urchin) from Tasmania or Japan. We opted for one of each. My family are big fans of uni but I’ve not caught on, until this one: this perfect creamy bite of the ocean.
The next one I think was the imperador, which I particularly liked, though I might have swapped the photos of this one with the boafish. I’m not sure!
The last one was perhaps my favourite: sea eel (anago). Charred with a blow torch before serving.
We finished with a perfect bowl of miso soup, Hojicha tea (by chance, I bought a home supply of this not long ago) and a refreshing dessert, Anmitsu, which the birthday people got a candle in it. I liked the special attention which was on top of service which I thought was so wonderful and gracious. There were 4 birthdays out of the 12 of us that sitting!
In case you’re interested, the meal was AUD$230 each, to which you could add special supplements (the Japanese uni counted as one, our neighbours to the right had wagyu beef and extra sushi courses). I did the sake pairing, and the waitress explained where each one came from, and they ranged from dry to sweet to one warm one and a yuzu-infused one as the final dessert pairing. I loved them all!
It all reminded me of a few special meals in Japan, in particular getting up very early to go to Tsukiji fish market, and then lining up at the small sushi bar that I’d researched and chosen. The freshest seafood. Personal service. And the skills of the chef on display right in front of you. I thought it was very, very lovely. As we left, Chef Aki ran after us outside to shake our hands before we left. The other photos that I’ve seen of him don’t capture his ebullience but I think husband captured him well, as he was skewering some gingko nuts!
Hope you enjoyed dining with us!
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a blog post on a restaurant, but for Dessance, I’ll make an exception. With so many exceptional restaurants in Paris, I always recommend that 
friends treat themselves to at least one very special meal while visiting (if not more!). When I had the opportunity to be in Paris in March 2023, I decided that Dessance would be my choice.
But I’m happy to report that Dessance is as good as I remembered. I had a spectacular meal. The service was perfect and charming. They allowed me to try to practice my French and only for a few words did I need to ask for a translation.
tables upstairs in a sort of alcove above the kitchen, and downstairs, there’s a lovely open sense of space with a super-high ceiling. It feels elegant but not stiff.
carpaccio, with an orange croustillant, a crisp, which was typical of the food here, almost always a textural element added, like roasted buckwheat or quinoa.
other in a graceful dance, and you can see how the dishes are assembled, and the expertise and artistry involved. Finally, the desserts. Rather than a rich and decadent dessert, say involving chocolate, I found it an interesting choice to serve such light desserts focused on fruit. The kiwi, aloe vera, sorrel and green pepper sorbet was refreshing and surprising. A soup of sorts!
fully engaged in tasting and enjoying each dish, sometimes closing my eyes and focusing on what was in my mouth! I enjoyed just soaking in the atmosphere and the experience, and counting myself so lucky to be able to eat such a wonderful meal at a wonderful restaurant in Paris.
Because I’ve been lucky enough to live in Paris twice – four months in 2014 to 2015 and three months in early 2016 – I am sometimes asked for advice. And I freely give it. From my Dad, when I was growing up, I learned a restaurant or business should come recommended. The best advice would often come from someone you know.
So my first advice about Paris may seem counter-intuitive. The thing is, in my experience, so many people have been to Paris and love Paris, that they will offer advice, a lot of it, about their absolutely MUST-do activities. And the truth is: Paris will be magical, and will be yours, so my first advice is not to worry about taking everyone’s advice. Including mine. If something catches your interest, it can be a fun adventure to seek it out. I often build my travel around various missions: certain restaurants or treats or a tour of used designer clothes stores. But cities will offer you their own gifts, especially Paris.
I’m a particular fan of the almost-free bike system in cities like Paris. It is astonishing that you can ride around freely, often in wide bike lanes, but even in traffic, it seems like Paris drivers are so used to chaos, and cyclists, and pedestrians, that you should feel safe and easy. These days I think you need to download their app, and use their app, and you can rent cycles for single trips, or for a day, or with some difficulty for three days at a time. I love riding on a Vélib in Paris. I feel utterly free. Exhilarated. Getting lost is part of the fun.
I think it’s a lovely thing to go to a humble French restaurant, the tables all close together, and the menus all nearly the same. Tripadvisor or Google Maps will give you reviews for ones near where you’re staying. A friend told me in 2023, the new trend is to go to a bouillon, a classic French bistro serving humble food at not high prices. I should have checked them out myself! If you’re in the Marais, I really like the restaurant Dessance: it’s very good value for such a gourmet meal, not the top-end of restaurants (which are so expensive) but a treat nonetheless, and you should treat yourselves to AT LEAST one lovely meal while in Paris. You can watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen; the staff are utterly charming, and the food is surprising and delicious and wonderful.
I also love the Israeli food and falafels in the Jewish streets of the Marais (Rue de Rosier), an ‘ethnic’ break from French food, but really, the only reasonable and nice non-French food in Paris (Asian food was terrible (though perhaps improving?) and other cuisines will be expensive and generic, though Moroccan or Tunisian restaurants can be pretty good. L’As du Falafel is famous.
I find no greater delight in Paris than the pastries. If you see a sign that says a boulangerie has won a prize for best croissant or baguette, go in and buy one! They’re crazy good. My trip in 2023, I discovered a new pastry, le pain de seigle feuilleté: it’s made from rye flour and tastes like a croissant with many layers but in the form of bread. I chased down mine at Les Copains du Faubourg (as recommended by the New York Times) but the bakery near my AirBNB (La Parisienne St Germain) also had them, so, even though a friend from Paris said she’d never heard of it, maybe it’s a new trend?
I think it’s really important to try a pastry from a shop that will be glowing and sparkling and looking like they sell jewellery or expensive watches instead of just pastries! Splurge (because when’s the next time you’ll be in Paris?). I am ALWAYS telling my friends to go to Aux Merveilleux de Fred (there are branches all over Paris, look on Google). Based on a traditional recipe from Northern France, they’ve shrunk a cake to individual portions, basically a meringue filled with cream, and covered in chocolate flakes. They’re unbelievable. Don’t go for the small ones: the proportions are wrong. Have a proper big sized one. Please.
Still, there are astonishing pastry shops on Rue du Bac, and all over Paris. Macarons were a bit thing for a period, especially from Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, and I mean, you should certainly try one, but do also try a fancier pastry. Or two. Or three. On my last trip, I discovered the Pierre Hermé are also renowned for their pastries, in additions to their macarons. I tried two varieties, and my god, they were incredible. Actually, as weight control, I skipped lunch one day … and had a pastry instead. The description on this one said: The 2000 feuilles presents a harmony of textures: caramelized puff pastry and crushed hazelnuts contrast with the creaminess of its praline mousseline cream.
A favourite meal in Paris is a hole in the wall (the space is literally called ‘Le trou dans le mur’) where the wall happens to be the back of a really great wine shop, La Cave des Abbesses (it’s below Sacre Coeur, not far from Montmartre). You order une planche (a platter, a plank?) of cheese and meat, and my god, it’s the best cheese and charcuterie EVER. Wash it down with aperitifs or a wide selection of reasonably priced French wine. I can’t recommend this enough.
favourite Paris food writers, David Lebovitz, recommended a sandwich from Le Petit Vendôme, centrally located a stone’s throw from Opéra. You have to sit at the counter, rather than at a table to order a sandwich, but my god it was good. I’d wager that it was *perfect*.