Category Archives: Food

Lantern by Wagaya.

There’s a restaurant you can eat and drink in, you can also eat and drink in the private karaoke rooms.

In a private karaoke room with Nelson, Atsuko and Nanami.

Ran into Garth and Val out on the street, the more the merrier! :)

Val and Zi.

Me, smashed, so tragic.

John Lor Special.

West side homies. John (on the mic) and Phuoc.

I’m a huge fan of Wagaya (haven’t ever had a bad night there!). Now, around the corner on George St. there’s a new izakaya style establishment Lantern by Wagaya which is basically Wagaya + Karaoke (YES!). The decor is great, the same great Wagaya touchscreen menu and crazy fast service has been carried across too. I’m looking forward to many more loose nights at this joint! Visit their facebook page for more info.

Kingfish pastrami with tomato and fennel seed.

Pork belly without crunch? Somehow refreshingly different and left of field.

Autumn gourd roasted and stuffed with quinoa, organic vegetables & babaganoush. Loved dissecting this arty and hearty dish.

Boer goat braised on the bone with root veggies and fermented grape juice. Very hearty and comforting.

Last night Christina and I had dinner at Cotton Duck on Holt St. Surry Hills. It’s situated next door to Muum Maam and run by the same guy who runs Danks St. Depot.

After a bit of Googling around I was looking forward to checking out the sustainable inspired decor as well as the tables which were set far apart from neighbouring tables but on entry we soon realised that they had no reservation for us (I did receive a confirmation!). They were very sorry and were quick to offer us a table in their lounge area, which a lot of people were eating in too so we took a bench and accepted complimentary glasses of champagne as an apology.

They’re shutting shop tomorrow and I’m not too surprised. The booking stuff-up is unacceptable, the food whilst hearty and well cooked was far from wow for the price ($40 mains).

Duck in the oven!

The feasting continues! Peking Duck, Xiao Long Bao, fried rice… a Chinese feast with Nanami, her Mum and her Mum’s sister who’s visiting from Tokyo.

Makoto – owned by the Masuya Group so you know it’s good.

Salmon Deluxe for two. Decadent? Very!

Brekkie @ Toby’s Estate Potts Point this morning. Coffee was creamy and strong as. I’m still surging!

One of my fave staple foods, the humble bacon and egg roll. I was supper chuffed to see it on the menu, ordered it only to be told that they were not available today… I expressed my sorrow (lol) and ordered something else, but 5 minutes later the waitress plonks this on our table :) #winning

Nanami went for the BLT.

Nanami’s relo’s are over from Japan, and they brought a bag of these evil individually wrapped crunchy things… #converted

Christina went for the Duck Ragu. Fresh pappardelle was great.

I always test a new Italian restaurant with a bolognese, but this time I went fot the home made gnocchi instead of spaghetti (sauce was great, would have been better with spaghetti though for sure, next time!).

Semifreddo was almost too naughty for my tummy/

Red + White wines in cups.

Christina and I caught up for dinner at Il Baretto – a lovely little Italian restaurant on Bourke St. Surry Hills. Pasta is fresh (yes!). I’ll be back!

Nana’s Spag Bol.

Still being spoilt! Got to love a good home made Spag Bol! Spaghetti Bolognaise has to be my fave Italian dish, which I’ll order every single time I dine at a new Italian Restaurant. I figure if they can’t make a good Spag Bol, then they can’t do anything else right! Right?!

Meh…

Finally tried Miss Chu (@ Bondi Beach). Loved the vibe of the space, but the food wasn’t great, nor worth the money. If you’re after great Viet food you’re MUCH better off heading out West (but we all knew that already, right?!).