Mel was already in Sydney so Monica and I coordinated our flights so that we would arrive in Sydney around the same time on Friday for the long weekend. AirNZ was the cheapest so I flew normal instead of budget for once.
When I checked in, the Air NZ lady said to me "I was getting married in London the day you were born... the first time." Bahahaha.... one life ended and another began i guess. Anyway she must have felt an affinity to me because she offered to block the seat next to me so that no Ah Bui sits there. All good, lady but how am i going to meet a rich handsome stranger, fall in love and live happily ever after with a good deed like that? Oh hang on, rich stranger would be in business class. Ok, never mind.
My usual pre-flight routine.. except with Burger King breakfast and not Mackers.
Never again... I prefer Mackers.
The plane was new and the entertainment system was awesome! One of those where you can watch before the plane takes off and you can choose what movies you want to watch instead of one movie for all. Forgive me if I wax lyrical here about it, I don't get to travel full fare much.. bahahaha. No entertainment system or food on Pacific Blue!
I watched Ice Age III. Soooooo good.
I went for the continental option as I was feeling piggy for eating 2 lot of breakfasts.
Arrived in Sydney and I beat Monica to the railway station where we were to take the train into the city. Her plane was delayed. I was at the International Terminal which was the first terminal and she was at Domestic Terminal, the second one. So I had to text her 5 texts to make sure the bimbo would be on the same train as me.... texts like make sure you are on the right side of the terminal, it's the next train coming, etc etc. Phew, she made it.
Mel's conference was at Hilton so we went to meet up with her and then walked to Westin, where she was staying. On the way, we walked past Apple's flagship store in Sydney. It was Ipad launch day so we saw a long line of losers queuing up for the latest toy. It's just a glorified gigantic ipod, people. The madness continued for the rest of the weekend. Everytime we walked past, the place was packed.
Our room at the Westin....
View of the clock tower outside our bedroom window:
Then we went and wandered around Pitt Street Mall. First stop : David Jones foodcourt for my favourite yoghurt.
Fruit salad with berry yoghurt... check!
Mel went back to the conference to check out a lecture she wanted to attend so Monica and I wandered around Queen Victoria Building. Check out the ceiling.
Went to Myer and poked around a bit... saw this cool lego model of Sydney bridge.
Forgot to take a picture of our lunch because I was starving and wolfed it down. But the desserts were awesome and deserved pictures! L to R clockwise - berry cheesecake spongey thing, berry pudding thing, berry tart and green tea vanilla pannacotta thing. Haha, I know I'm awesome at descriptions.
Mel escaped so we went shopping. Helloooooo Chanel.
When we decided to go to Sydney together, we got Monica to ring up Tetsuya's for a booking. Unfortunately the only spot they had was for 4 people and they refused to allow 3 people to have that booking. Snobs!! So we gave up on the idea of going to Tetsuya's, currently ranked 38th in the world. It used to be 5th and then 17th last year so Mr Wakuda has been a bit slack in his efforts! Anyway, Monica missed a call from a mysterious number around 4 pm on Friday afternoon. She rung back and it was Tetsuya's!!! They've had a cancellation and wanted to know if we want to take the spot! We got all flustered so had to have a quick emergency meeting about it. Should we, shouldn't we? Is it too extravagant? etc etc. In the end, we decided that it is a one in a lifetime thing and we'll probably kick ourselves for not doing it, plus it's kismet! So we did!
We got to the street address on which Tetsuya's was meant to be but couldn't find the place. It turned out that it was the house inside the gates next to Monica. I guess it didn't need extra advertising.
We rocked up at 6 pm and the whole place was empty. All the waiters were out at the entrance to greet us.
The service was impeccable! The waitress who looked after us was from Whangarei... and she kept asking us if the pace was alright and whether we needed a break between courses. Everytime we told her we were fine and to bring it on! Heheh.... We were having the 13 course degustation as they don't do a la carte.
First up, Italian white roll and butter with truffles and parmesan.. Yum yum. Monica nearly licked the butter bowl clean.
I don't usually have butter in my normal everyday life. The only exception is when I eat out at fancy restaurants. The butter just seem nicer! Anyway, I slathered it on as you can see. Sooo good.
First course : Warm Chestnut Soup with Sour Cream. This was really similar to a pumpkin soup. I loved it. So smooth and yummy.
Our bags were behind us on our seats so our waitress ran off to find a stool to put them on. A waiter also met Mel partway when she got up to go to find the bathroom. Her napkin was also removed and exchanged for a new one. I don't know if they do this for everyone else or whether they thought Mel's napkin was too scruffy and needed a change. Like I said, the service was amazing. They also tolerated the constant flashes going off from our table as we all took photos of each dish. So 3 cameras multiply by 13 courses... you get the idea.
Second course: Sashimi of Kingfish with Blackbean and Orange. The fish was so fresh and tender and the blackbean sauce was very reminiscent of something Mum would cook. Bold call comparing a top restaurant to my Mum's cooking, you say? Well, you haven't tasted her cooking is all I can say.
The dishes looked big since I took them at close range. This was what it really looked like. On average, you get about six bites out of it. 4 if you are a Hii girl haha.
Third course: New Zealand Scampi Tails with Curd and Scampi Jus. This has a very heavy Asian influence as the white blobs were soft silky tofu. It was very nice but every so often, I got a mouthful of raw jelly-like scampi. I think this was Mel's favourite.
Fourth course: Tetsuya's signature dish - Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Celery and Apple. This was the first time I had trout. It looked and tasted like salmon to me but a lot saltier. It was balanced very nicely by the tart and crispy apple and celery. I liked this.
Fifth course: Grilled Fillet of Baramundi with Braised Wood Ear and Chestnut Mushrooms. This was nice but again, tasted like something Mum cooks regularly.
Sixth course: Braised Oxtail with Sea Cucumber and Yuzu. The oxtail was rich and buttery. I was glad it was only a small portion as I would have gotten sick of it really quickly if it had been a main.
Seventh course: Twice-cooked De-boned Spatchcock with Truffles and Barley Risotto. The spatchcock was really tender but it was just a glorified chicken dish to me. I did enjoy the barley risotto though.
Eighth course: Sirloin of Wagyu with Braised Leeks, Sansho and Soy. The wagyu was cut really thinly so it tasted and looked like bacon to me!! Very very tender. Bit salty for my tastes. I donated my leeks to Mel and Monica as I'm not a fan.
Ninth Course - the : Pear Sorbet with Brown Butter Ice Cream. This was good. The pear sorbet was tart and refreshing and the brown butter ice cream did have a very buttery taste to it which was interesting.
Tenth course: Cannellini Beans with Mascarpone and Soy Caramel. This was plain weird. Salty with beans swimming in it. This was the only dish I didn't finish.
Eleventh course: Salted Sable with Lemon Scented Leatherwood Honey. This was yummy. It was delicately salty and nicely balanced by the rich creaminess of the filling. Yum.
We were stuffed and tired by the end of this and the waitress asked if we wanted coffee or tea. We were too full so we declined (but also because we were too cheapskate to pay for coffee). She then said they also have macaroons for us which she would get boxed up for us to take home. Yay!!
Puuuurrreeeettttty:
2 layers of macaroons with 4 in each layer. 3 flavours - pink, orange and brown. The flavours were very delicate so it was hard to determine what they were... might have been strawberry, orange and chestnut. I liked the brown one the best.
The waitress also made sure we got a menu each to take home with us as it was our first time there. I had been scribbling the names of each dish down furiously as they were introduced to us throughout the night so I needn't have bothered. Oh well, it was nice of her.
What???? The tea and coffee were part of the menu!!!!!!!! We feel cheated now.
That's it for Part 1. Part 2 coming right up.
View of the clock tower outside our bedroom window:
Then we went and wandered around Pitt Street Mall. First stop : David Jones foodcourt for my favourite yoghurt.
Fruit salad with berry yoghurt... check!
Mel went back to the conference to check out a lecture she wanted to attend so Monica and I wandered around Queen Victoria Building. Check out the ceiling.
Went to Myer and poked around a bit... saw this cool lego model of Sydney bridge.
Forgot to take a picture of our lunch because I was starving and wolfed it down. But the desserts were awesome and deserved pictures! L to R clockwise - berry cheesecake spongey thing, berry pudding thing, berry tart and green tea vanilla pannacotta thing. Haha, I know I'm awesome at descriptions.
Mel escaped so we went shopping. Helloooooo Chanel.
When we decided to go to Sydney together, we got Monica to ring up Tetsuya's for a booking. Unfortunately the only spot they had was for 4 people and they refused to allow 3 people to have that booking. Snobs!! So we gave up on the idea of going to Tetsuya's, currently ranked 38th in the world. It used to be 5th and then 17th last year so Mr Wakuda has been a bit slack in his efforts! Anyway, Monica missed a call from a mysterious number around 4 pm on Friday afternoon. She rung back and it was Tetsuya's!!! They've had a cancellation and wanted to know if we want to take the spot! We got all flustered so had to have a quick emergency meeting about it. Should we, shouldn't we? Is it too extravagant? etc etc. In the end, we decided that it is a one in a lifetime thing and we'll probably kick ourselves for not doing it, plus it's kismet! So we did!
Walking to the restaurant in peak hour traffic... methinks I won't be able to survive in Sydney. I'll turn into a permanent angry person because of the crazy traffic. Notice I said permanent.. heheh.
We got to the street address on which Tetsuya's was meant to be but couldn't find the place. It turned out that it was the house inside the gates next to Monica. I guess it didn't need extra advertising.
We rocked up at 6 pm and the whole place was empty. All the waiters were out at the entrance to greet us.
The service was impeccable! The waitress who looked after us was from Whangarei... and she kept asking us if the pace was alright and whether we needed a break between courses. Everytime we told her we were fine and to bring it on! Heheh.... We were having the 13 course degustation as they don't do a la carte.
First up, Italian white roll and butter with truffles and parmesan.. Yum yum. Monica nearly licked the butter bowl clean.
I don't usually have butter in my normal everyday life. The only exception is when I eat out at fancy restaurants. The butter just seem nicer! Anyway, I slathered it on as you can see. Sooo good.
First course : Warm Chestnut Soup with Sour Cream. This was really similar to a pumpkin soup. I loved it. So smooth and yummy.
Our bags were behind us on our seats so our waitress ran off to find a stool to put them on. A waiter also met Mel partway when she got up to go to find the bathroom. Her napkin was also removed and exchanged for a new one. I don't know if they do this for everyone else or whether they thought Mel's napkin was too scruffy and needed a change. Like I said, the service was amazing. They also tolerated the constant flashes going off from our table as we all took photos of each dish. So 3 cameras multiply by 13 courses... you get the idea.
Second course: Sashimi of Kingfish with Blackbean and Orange. The fish was so fresh and tender and the blackbean sauce was very reminiscent of something Mum would cook. Bold call comparing a top restaurant to my Mum's cooking, you say? Well, you haven't tasted her cooking is all I can say.
The dishes looked big since I took them at close range. This was what it really looked like. On average, you get about six bites out of it. 4 if you are a Hii girl haha.
Third course: New Zealand Scampi Tails with Curd and Scampi Jus. This has a very heavy Asian influence as the white blobs were soft silky tofu. It was very nice but every so often, I got a mouthful of raw jelly-like scampi. I think this was Mel's favourite.
Fourth course: Tetsuya's signature dish - Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Celery and Apple. This was the first time I had trout. It looked and tasted like salmon to me but a lot saltier. It was balanced very nicely by the tart and crispy apple and celery. I liked this.
Fifth course: Grilled Fillet of Baramundi with Braised Wood Ear and Chestnut Mushrooms. This was nice but again, tasted like something Mum cooks regularly.
Sixth course: Braised Oxtail with Sea Cucumber and Yuzu. The oxtail was rich and buttery. I was glad it was only a small portion as I would have gotten sick of it really quickly if it had been a main.
Seventh course: Twice-cooked De-boned Spatchcock with Truffles and Barley Risotto. The spatchcock was really tender but it was just a glorified chicken dish to me. I did enjoy the barley risotto though.
Eighth course: Sirloin of Wagyu with Braised Leeks, Sansho and Soy. The wagyu was cut really thinly so it tasted and looked like bacon to me!! Very very tender. Bit salty for my tastes. I donated my leeks to Mel and Monica as I'm not a fan.
Ninth Course - the : Pear Sorbet with Brown Butter Ice Cream. This was good. The pear sorbet was tart and refreshing and the brown butter ice cream did have a very buttery taste to it which was interesting.
Tenth course: Cannellini Beans with Mascarpone and Soy Caramel. This was plain weird. Salty with beans swimming in it. This was the only dish I didn't finish.
Eleventh course: Salted Sable with Lemon Scented Leatherwood Honey. This was yummy. It was delicately salty and nicely balanced by the rich creaminess of the filling. Yum.
We were stuffed and tired by the end of this and the waitress asked if we wanted coffee or tea. We were too full so we declined (but also because we were too cheapskate to pay for coffee). She then said they also have macaroons for us which she would get boxed up for us to take home. Yay!!
Puuuurrreeeettttty:
2 layers of macaroons with 4 in each layer. 3 flavours - pink, orange and brown. The flavours were very delicate so it was hard to determine what they were... might have been strawberry, orange and chestnut. I liked the brown one the best.
The waitress also made sure we got a menu each to take home with us as it was our first time there. I had been scribbling the names of each dish down furiously as they were introduced to us throughout the night so I needn't have bothered. Oh well, it was nice of her.
What???? The tea and coffee were part of the menu!!!!!!!! We feel cheated now.
That's it for Part 1. Part 2 coming right up.
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