Two words : Oz Roll. Translation? Fish and chips in a sushi roll. With tomato sauce.

Rest assured, this is not why I’m writing about Koi. In fact, I rarely write about the restaurants we visit these days. I did however want to mention this modern Japanese restaurant in Woolwich, because we had a great meal there recently and I’m hoping that anyone reading this will feel compelled to pay it a visit as well.

This isn’t exactly a brand new restaurant, yet it had somehow managed to fall under our radar until recently. A booking was finally made at the recommendation of a friend, and I dragged my family along because we are constantly in search of the next Japanese restaurant to check out.

We did not order the Oz Roll, but did manage to try quite a few other dishes. Highly recommended are the miso cod, the mushrooms with aspagarus dish (which is comforting and earthy, and redolent with the aromas of sesame), and the unbelievably fresh and crisp tempura.

Of course I’m not advising anyone to go and expect the superlative Japanese restaurant experience. Koi is not without it’s flaws. What makes it a memorable dining experience (apart from a few stand-out dishes) is the little details that other restaurants often fall short on. The manager notices our dishes are slow coming out of the kitchen and even though we don’t say anything about it, we are later offered two complimentary dishes (a stunning vinegared white fish dish) as an apology.

When we find the eggplant in the nasu dengaku a little undercooked for our tastes, the dish is swiftly removed from the table, and a whole new one is prepared for us, this time a little more cooked than before. Even though ultimately a little disappointing, I like the dish for it’s combination of hazelnuts and the sweet eggplant, and for the fact that it’s not wallowing in oil as some nasu dengaku dishes can be.

The evening ends with a complimentary palate cleanser of green tea mousse and green tea granita, and a plate of shimmering fish-shaped chocolates. I leave, feeling impressed and happy at the thought that there are actually fine dining places on my side of the Bridge, worth visiting.

Koi
102 Woolwich Rd
Woolwich 2110.
(02) 9817 6030

The poached egg could have been warmed up slightly, or even at least served at room temperature, but even so, I happily pierce the runny yolk with a knife, allowing its sunny contents to mingle with perfectly crisp onion rings, greens and the creamy remoulade underneath.

We are at Ash St Cellar in the Ivy complex, and in the height of Summer, this is exactly the kind of place I want to visit, for a quick dinner before the early show we are about to see at the Angel Place Recital Hall.

Granted, this was not our first choice for dinner, but as the Ivy employee clad in formal shorts informed us, Sushi Choo was closed for the whole of January. While this was initially a disappointing bit of news (the website made no mention of this), it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because we ended up several hungry steps away, at Ash St Cellar.

It’s almost hard to believe you are in the heart of Sydney, sitting in that laneway, in this small and cosy place, with its fabulous wine list and tasty tapas-style dishes that hint at the refined and restrained touch of head chef Lauren Murdoch.

I love the clean, fresh flavours and unfussy presentation. Between the two of us, we manage four dishes, with complementary bread, which adds up to $100, including two glasses of wine. Even though we’re full, I’m sorely tempted by the tart of the day, proudly displayed on its very own marble pedestal. Maybe next time. Although, next time, I’m thinking the Ivy would really be complete if it had its very own dessert bar – something Sydney is lacking.

As for the show? Camille was frenetic, primal, visceral, humorous, breath-taking. Good food, great music? This is what Summer should be all about!

(clockwise, from top left corner : chocolate macaron (a strawberry crumble tart hiding underneath), cannele, chocolate brownie, ginger ninja cookie, another cannele)

I was going to tell you about the glorious twice-bitten cannele I had sitting in front of me. Another two bites later however, and it’s suddenly all gone. Caramelised on the outside, custardy on the inside. The stuff deep sighs and satisfied smiles are made from. Today I tried to convince my Wednesday lunch buddy to make the trip to Newtown to visit Christopher The’s new shop, Black Star Pastry. She was reluctant to spend a portion of her precious lunch hour on a train, so we settled on sandwiches and coffee from Luneburger before I said goodbye to her and hello to Newtown and those canneles.

I read about his shop in Good Living yesterday (ah, so that’s what he’s been up to!), and what got me really excited was spotting the little canneles at the bottom right hand corner of the picture accompanying the blurb. In case you’re wondering what the fuss is all about, well, I can’t remember the last time I saw a cannele in a shop in Sydney. The last cannele I had was in Tokyo. We stumbled across a stall selling vanilla and chocolate versions, bought some even though we weren’t hungry, and later were filled with regret at not having bought more. So yes, you could attribute part of their appeal, to their elusiveness. I have never attempted making them myself, and perhaps it’s about time I did!

In the meantime, I think everyone should visit Black Star Pastry. It’s a small shop located on Australia Street, right next to Oscillate Wildly. It has a simple, rustic, pared back (budget friendly) set up that reminds me of sixsevenate in Chippendale, when George Sinclair and Lorraine Godsmark were running the place. I worked with them for about a year, and always longed for a similar sort of cafe/pastry shop in my own neighbourhood. The kind of place you could go to and be assured of decent coffee, a quality pastry or two, and friendly, personable service.

Black Star has the advantage of being in a good location (even if someone apparently told them that the shop was cursed), opposite the train station. Their pastries are reasonably priced and very reasonably sized as well. I like small bites with coffee, and am definitely going back next week to have something savoury, this time with my Wednesday lunch buddy in tow.

Black Star Pastry
277 Australia St
Newtown 2042.

Also inspired by my love of small things, I made these burnt orange and elderflower creams based on a dish by Dan Hunter, which appeared in the Sept/Oct 2008 edition of V.EAT. The pineapple and macadamia polvoron are his recipes, but I based the cream recipe on another one I’ve used before. The original intention was to make passionfruit flavoured creams. I recently ate a passionfruit brulee that was out of this world – and this is coming from someone who isn’t usually terribly fussed about brulees (or passionfruit, for that matter). But passionfruit brulees certainly work for me. Passionfruits were horribly expensive that day, so I used orange juice and elderflower cordial instead. Surprisingly, the end result was quite passionfruit-like!

This is a dish that could easily be converted into a dessert canape, especially if like me, you love the shape of small things. 🙂