Sepia, Sydney CBD

We first visited Sepia many years ago, back in our dating days when "month-versaries" were something worth celebrating. Fast forward many years, and Sepia is now heralded as one of best restaurants in Australia and we were itching to go back to see how it has developed over the years.  

We will let the photos do most of the talking.  Suffice to say, every dish we tried was clever, showcased the flavours of the ingredients and was presented immaculately.  

The service was very attentive, as you would expect at a fine dining restaurant but it was at time a little hard to hear the descriptions of the dish. As it was a blind tasting degustation, it made it a little hard at times to know what we were eating. 

We started with an optional starter course of oysters following by our amuse bouche: smoked scarlet prawn with pickled daikon and shiso.  This was K's favourite dish - the prawn was crunchy and the pickled daikon giving it a refreshing vinegary flavour.  Gets you salivating for the rest of the meal. 

Next course: sashimi yellow fin tuna, goat milk cevre, avocado, belle radish and pork crackling. Subtle flavours but slightly too creamy for K's liking.

Next, we had the bonito on a nest of fried potato.  Hidden beneath the bonito is a poached quail egg and topped with caviar and roasted chicken powder.  The poached quail egg was rich, gooey and together with the potato nest, added an interesting textual element to the dish.

Then came the charcoal grilled black lip abalone, dashi sabayon (like a chawanmushi but better) and roasted chicken skin. The sabayon helped to accentuate the fresh seawater flavours of the abalone - this was yum and an interesting way of serving abalone that I had not seen before.

Unlike other fine dining restaurants, Sepia served its bread part way through its savour courses. This bread was very warm, soft and moist. It was so tempting to go back for more, but we held back knowing there were several courses still to come.

Onto our last seafood course - soy cured black cod with yuzu and sheet yoghurt, horseradish, ice plant and nasturtium.  We love black cod - our favourite being the signature miso black cod at Nobu and this one was very good too. We've never had ice plant before but it gave this awesome crunch and lightness to the dish which was a real surprise. Probably another one of K's favourites for the day (though it made C crave Nobu's version more).

Next came two red meat dishes.  The first, a roasted duck breast with candied fuyu persimmon, oba and wild strawberry vinegar.  If you thought this would be your run of the meal duck breast, you are mistaken. Eaten with the candied persimmon (with a lovely jelly texture), there is an explosion of salty and sweet flavours all at the same time. Pity there were only 4 pieces on the dish!

The final savoury dish looked pretty as a picture: seared venison, sansho pepper, roasted pumpkin, miso and artichoke. The autumn leaf like sheets of pumpkin which sat on the top were delicious and had such a concentrated pumpkin flavour.

Hidden beneath is a perfectly cooked pink venison:

After the venison, we had a palate cleanser of candied native apples, miso apple caramel, creme fraiche and snow apple sorbet dai dai and sake. C thought the sweetness and sourness in this dish overpowered a lot of the more subtle flavours. If we were given a menu in advance, it may have helped us to pick/appreciate the different flavours more.

You know how sometimes your brain tricks you into only remembering the good parts of something?  Well that certainly wasn't the case with this next dish. This dessert was the most memorable dish when we first visited Sepia several years ago and it definitely lived up to this memory and more this time round.  And again, isn't it so pretty?

This is Sepia's signature dessert: winter chocolate forest - which is like a deconstructed black forest - soft chocolate, hazelnut and almond, lavender and honey cream, blackberry sorbet, elderflower and meyer lemon jellies, green tea, licorice, chocolate twigs and bronze fennel. I would come back to Sepia just for this dessert.

The second dessert option was the "Milks" - consisting of milk done 6 different ways - milk chocolate, coconut yoghurt, rice milk pudding, goat milk dulce de leche (like a candied milk), sheep milk sorbet, milk cake, milk crisp and yuba (a bean curd skin made from soymilk). I can't imagine how much technique goes into making this dish - whilst the description sounds like it might be a bit heavy, this dish was perfectly balanced and just so so clever.

We cannot recommend Sepia highly enough for a special occasion. There aren't many fine dining restaurants that you'd be willing to re-visit given its price tag but this one is a special one. 

Yuki's at the Quay, Sydney CBD

Don't think you could ever get tired of this view.  C+K re-visited a old favourite recently for C's mum's 60th birthday - Yuki's at the Quay.  Don't get fooled by the relaxed and simple restaurant decor - Yuki's is situated in a prime CBD position next to Quay Restaurant with stunning uninterrupted views of the Opera House.  This has become a go-to for us over the years when there is a special occasion and we can't agree on anywhere else to go! 

Yuki's offers an a-la-carte menu as well as number of different degustation options.  However, since it was a special occasion, we opted for the Chef's Winter Course.  

First up, we had the sashimi carpaccio with Japanese vinaigrette dressing.  The dressing complements the freshness of the sashimi well and does not overpower the delicate freshness of the sashimi.  A really refreshing start to the meal. The sides of salmon roe, yuzu jelly and radish also gives the dish a little something extra. 

Sashimi carpaccio with Japanese vinaigrette dressing

Next was a dish of roast duck with yuzu miso sauce and scallops with prawn mousse. The duck was tender although we would personally like it a little less cooked.  Unfortunately our scallop tempura batter was a bit thick and soggy by the time the dish arrived so overall this dish was a little disappointing.

Roast duck with yuzu miso sauce and scallops dressed with prawn mousse cooked in tempura style

The 3rd dish was a choice of either a wagyu shabu shabu ramen with pork broth or a nabeyaki seafood udon with seafood broth.  C+K both picked the wagyu option.  It was good that we did because otherwise we would have fought over one plate!  The wagyu is melt-in-your-mouth and the pork broth has a deep, strong flavour and a thick consistency that is evidence of a well-brewed soup - plenty of collogen (and fatty) goodness!  Just be sure to not dunk your wagyu in the soup for too long or you will overcook the beef!

Wagyu shabu shabu ramen with pork broth

By this stage, our stomachs were starting to struggle but there was more food to come - the mains had not yet made an appearance! You have a choice of 3 options: an assortment of sushi with scampi miso soup, wagyu beef steak (MS 7+) or a grilled half size lobster.  C (of course) opted for the wagyu and I opted for the lobster.

The lobster is perfectly cooked and the flesh has already been thoughtfully removed from the shell to make for easy eating.  The tartar sauce is not as creamy as it appears and does not overpower the sweetness of the lobster but because K was so full by this stage, it was a struggle to finish it - which is unfortunately because it really was a very tasty dish!  

Grilled half size lobster dressed with tartar sauce and salmon roe

As with the wagyu shabu shabu, the wagyu steak is perfectly cooked, tender and flavoursome.  Can't really fault anything about the star of this dish.  A must for any wagyu fans out there!

Wagyu beef steak (MS 7+) with chef's special sauce

 Finally came the dessert - creme brulee and a chocolate tart.  The creme brulee gave the perfect "crack" as you dug your spoon in and was nice and creamy.  The chocolate tart was not overly sweet but overall, it wasn't the star of the night and given how full we were, we struggled to finish this one.

Home made assorted desserts (creme brulee and chocolate tart)

Overall - if you're looking for a restaurant with amazing views and reliably fresh Japanese food that has a bit of a modern twist on traditional classics, you will be satisfied at Yuki's.  Just make sure you wear loose clothes/stretch pants to hide the food baby! 

Catalina, Rose Bay

Foie gras with candied walnuts

C recently had his birthday and to celebrate, we both took a day off work to enjoy the sunshine with a lunch at Catalina.  Being a birthday club member, Catalina sends us a special discount voucher every birthday, so what better excuse to enjoy the sunshine, impeccable food and a glass of wine!  If you ever find yourself at Catalina, do ask them about being a birthday club member - it's a great feature and at no cost!  The only down side is that the meal is only available on weekdays for lunch or dinner but like us - it can be a good excuse to have a day off and enjoy each other's company.  

Entrees: K had the foie gras for entree (pictured above) and C had the pork belly (pictured below).  After a terrible experience of foie gras in Hong Kong, K was nervous about ordering this.  It was not disappointing at all.  The sweet crunchy candied walnut really offset the richness of the foie gras.  We cannot remember now what formed the base of the foie gras (note to self: take a photo of the menu next time!) but it added a nice contrast along with the balsamic vinegar reduction. Yum! Unfortunately this is a daily special so it does not regularly appear on their menu. If you see it, order it!



Crispy skin pork belly, honey glazed parsnips, lentils, parsley oil and red wine jus

C actually had the pork belly the first time we came to Catalina as well (surprise surprise).  This time, it was much more impressive than the first.  It had a right proportion of fat to meat and very generously portioned for an entree. 




Fettuccine nero with lobster, tomatoes and chilli infused lobster oil

Main: This was the hero dish and the reason why we came back to Catalina again after our first experience.  The plate is generous with large lobster chunks and there is a decent amount of chilliness to the dish.  We found the dish a bit more watery than the first time we had it (as you can tell from the photo) but nonetheless very very tasty!  It's definitely a bit pricier than other mains on their menu but well worth the money. 




Champagne jelly with fresh raspberries and pomegranate; raspberry ripple ice cream

Feeling a little stuffed, we decided to share a dessert between the two of us and opted for something lighter.  The champagne jelly was amazing!  You could definitely taste the champagne and the pressed pomegranate beneath the row of fresh raspberries was like adult roll-up!  I found the raspberry ice cream a little too creamy and would have preferred a fruiter ice cream but I think that is just a matter of personal preference and when eaten together with everything else on the plate, it was really tasty. 

NB: Catalina currently has a Winter Special Menu - 2 courses for $49 from Monday-Thursday lunch or dinner (or 3 courses for $60).  A good opportunity to check out this place if you haven't already!