I’ve been hearing great things about Nel. and thought a lunch would be a nice introduction. I wasn’t disappointed. Reviews talked about the great value for high-class 
degustation. For lunch, that’s four courses with an extra treat at the end. I sometimes think I’m just going to take one or two photos of a meal, instead of one of each course. It ends up I exercise control and not take a photo for one course (in this case, a delicious pea soup) and then end up taking photos of all the rest anyways. Sigh.
I think the odd savoury marshmallow, with vinegar and cheese, was our favourite. A light-as-air way to be nicely startled into the meal. The pea soup was indeed delicious.
Fish was nicely plated with squid-ink pasta (tasty, I thought, but not outstanding). We both loved the dessert, so simple, a tiny little deconstructed apple tart, yet each element was perfect. Finishing off with a beet-root meringue with rhubarb jam (served on a rock of 
course), and it was a really lovely meal. Good value though by the time we added the matching wines, and two celebratory glasses of champagne, well, that added up.
I also liked the Finnish waitress (who doesn’t like the Finns?) and I’ll certainly be back to try out dinner. Thanks, Nelly!
My kingdom for the perfect late night snack! But alas, I didn’t find it. After a movie (the very fun ‘Grandma’ with Lily Tomlin), we headed in search of something delectable, and I thought that the Zomato ratings on this were pretty high (3.9 at the time). With such modest exteriors, and a little further away from Chinatown, it’s not somewhere I would have wandered into casually.
I was kind of hoping to find the incredible pan-fried round dumplings like they serve at the New Shanghai in Ashfield (really, the best ever), but nope, they had a much more modest offering.
Bishop Sessa has been serving delightful, inventive, top-quality food at very moderate prices for some years now. After the much-loved Tabou closed down (the French restaurant with the double-based cheese soufflé…), there was an incarnation called Gotham I believe, and then Bishop Sessa.
When I first discovered, I loved how they were doing degustation menus which somehow managed to be both luxurious (showing off what the chef can do, and I think the first meal, with extremely generous pours of matching wines…) and economical (because for the price and that many courses, it is quite reasonable).
Bishop Sessa now seems to have settled in as a neighbourhood gem, hosting special themed nights and dinners, and weekday specials. I hope that’s a sign that they’re doing well, and engaging with their diners, rather than suffering in the very crowded and competitive Surry Hills market.
In any case, when I saw they were doing nights where the chef was trying out degustation plates, 10 for $100, I thought that it was a good reason to return. And hey, we loved. Even when some of the dishes were less successful, we loved it, because it was fun, and interesting, and hey, it obviously takes a lot of work to get dishes just right. We were glad to be guinea pigs.
With a huge range of traditional bistro dishes on their menu, as well as French aperitifs and digestifs, served by adorable young mostly French-speaking staff, Claire’s Kitchen has 
a rather nice feeling of authenticity. And the food is very, very delicious.
your bill) and welcome, as the prices here aren’t cheap (nor are they overpriced).
Gelatomassi has always been my favourite ice cream store in Sydney. I’m biased in that it was located on the street where I worked, so various treats to myself meant that I tried a number of flavours, and… well, it always felt like a treat and occasion whether after work or meeting friends in Newtown.
I was never sure why it never got more notice. Gelatissimo, not far away, managed to do the presentation in a way that was more clichéd, and managed to open a ton of stores at the same time. Gelato Messina, well, that’s in a different category of popularity and buzz. I am amazed at a number of their flavours, and their special cakes and desserts, and occasionally, I find 
their experimental concoctions irresistable yet sometimes too sweet.
We were coming back from a lecture on Ken Wilber’s Stages of Human Development, and you know, I was kind of hungry. My better half reminded me that if we stayed on the bus 
and extra stop, we’d be right near the restaurant from Yunnan that I’d told him at least twice I wanted to try.
For Yunnanese food: what’s that? Even though I’d been to Kunming at least twice for work meetings, I wasn’t sure what they would bring to Sydney and promote as regional Chinese food. All I knew is that every time we went by, this place was packed.
My better half had a small bowl of medicinal chicken soup, which was tasty and inexpensive and also tasted a bit different – richer, more complex, a bitter note – than expected.
All in all, a great snack, an excellent way to finish an evening of human development, and sufficiently intriguing that I’ll want to go. Also, as you can tell from the photos, this place was rather photogenic.
What I find really amazing about Onde is its longevity and consistency. I think it’s been around at least since I moved to Sydney in 1999. While it talks about ‘simple and provincial French-influenced cuisine’, for me it’s the best of the Modern Australian style of food: using different cultural influences, applied to high-quality local ingredients, and served up with style.
I haven’t been there many times over the years, but each time we’ve been its consistently delicious and impressive. On this night, the three of us split a paté, which was smooth and tasty, and salt cod brandade, served with a generous serve of yummy toasted bread. Freddy had the fish of the day, and Randall and I both had crumbed beef cheek, which was both melt in your mouth, but also with a nice textural contrast. All this with a nice bottle of red, and it was a great night out.
in Japan; and the view of the kitchen through a window fashioned perfectly on a wall that evokes the outside of a house, is really, absolutely charming.
We also had enoki mushrooms, the stems wrapped in beef, and grilled. I think the texture of enoki mushrooms is pretty bizarre, but this worked perfectly. And I think we had some grilled chicken perhaps. The grilled skewers here had so much flavour, 
both of fire and something else, I wonder if they’ve got particular wood chips they’re using or? Hmm. So tasty. And we polished off a very tasty bottle of sake (and half a bottle of sake is enough to make me very tipsy).