Kingfish, Salmon and Tuna Sashimi

In the heart of Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross, nestled on Bayswater Road is where you’ll find a new Japanese bar and restaurant. Walk in and be transported to a Japanese Tea Garden in the new up and coming hit venue, Crane Bar Restaurant. Be prepared to be wined and dined as if you were eating out in the heart of Japan.

On this particular occasion Secret Foodies guests were greeted with Tea Garden Cocktails upon arrival. They were then led into the back garden, decorated with candles, lush trees and many handcrafted cranes. As everyone took their seats and nibbled on truffle edamae, little did they know they were in for a treat by head chef Taichi, as he proudly brought out a half of 50kg tuna and meticulously cut this into fine slices of high quality sashimi. Guests watched in awe as whole ocean trout and king fish were next under the knife. Thin slices of tuna, ocean trout and king fish were then carefully arranged on individual plates and entrees were served.

Miso marinated lamb cutlet

The fusion of tastes did not stop there as the guests were served alternate serve of oven grilled chicken breast with teriyaki butter sauce, Miso marinated lamb culets, Emerald Valley stripling steak with special Japanese sauce, oven grilled ocean trout with sweet miso and medium rare yellow fin tuna with nori puree and sweet soy dressing.

Oven grilled chicken breast with teriyaki butter sauce

Green tea tiramisu

Junmai Sake and wine were served during dinner. As the dessert of Green Tea Tiramisu was being prepared, Taichi told us humorous stories of cooking for the likes of Snoop Dog and his love of Fried Chicken. We finished off the night with a plum wine as none other than Ms. Darlinghurst herself trained guests in how to make their own origami cranes.  This late night hangout fused with a Japanese dinging experience made our Secret Foodies night a great success. Don’t take my word for it, read below the comments from guests who experienced first hand this Japanese Tea Garden like no other.

Crane
32 Bayswater Rd  Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 9357 3414
http://www.cranebarrestaurant.com/

Secret Foodies even celebrated it’s 3rd birthday and what better way to celebrate than with Secret Foodie’s friends and family Potluck dinner.

Big thanks go to The Boston for having us, Direct Wine Cellars and Murrays Craft Brewing Co for the booze, Sonoma and Pepe Saya for the bread and butter, Homemade Fine Foods for desserts and Badoit and Evian who kept our guests’ thirst quenched. Finally, a big thanks to all the masterchefs that attended a Potluck dinner, you made this such a wonderful experience. 

See below for more images of the series:

Guests were greeted with Ketel One summer cocktails and live music before taking their seats at the long communal table. Wine and conversation flowed but chatter slowed to an appreciative din as soon as the food began being served. Al Carbon catered the fantastic rustic feast, with a menu featuring slow cook kleftiko (stolen lamb) and herbed chicken with tzatziki and lemon roasted potatoes, fresh country salad, rocket salad with parmesan, pear and walnut and rustic breads. The meal ended on a warm and sweet high note, with dessert being a fantastic home-baked apple pie, served with vanilla ice-cream.

Photos courtesy of Cowan Whitfield

Each foodie did their bit as $5 from each ticket went to the campaign, providing a child in Laos with school meals for a whole month. That’s gotta make you feel good!

See below for images of the night. Thanks to Adam Leo for the photography.

Orto Trading Co. 
38 Waterloo St, Surry Hills.
http://www.ortotradingco.com.au/

The multi-sensory experience began with guests receiving a text message to meet at The Railway Hotel in South Melbourne. They were told to dress in 1950s attire and we given codes to receive a complimentary ride to the event by our friends at Uber, the private car service. Upon arrival they were met by characters from the film and a Hendrick’s Gin and Schweppes Tonic waiting for them.

They were then sent to ‘The Village’ where they met the town priest and entered one of the sets from the film (still a secret to all guests). Here in the village they met more characters from the film and enjoyed, fresh oysters, French onion soup and duck liver pate. Bubbles were flowing from our sponsors Brown Brothers and we had a band playing French style music.

It was then time to take seats inside the hall where entrees and mains were served and finally the film was revealed. It was CHOCOLAT!! The room erupted in cheers when the title came on the screen.

After dinner it was time for dessert and as the name suggested it was…decadent! Thank you to our event caterers Bright Young Things who timed each dish perfectly and made everything so delicious.

Thank you for having us Melbourne, we can’t wait to come back!

Photography by Daniel John Bilsborough
www.djbworldphotography.com

See below for photos of the night and what our Foodies have to say.

Trio of Fresh Oysters

Cloudy Bay’s Clam chowder

Roast fish tail saltimbucca

Lamb Shoulder

Duck fat fried chips

Greens

Sean’s Pavlova

The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room
225 George St
9247 6744
Facebook.com/TheMorrisonSydney
http://themorrison.com.au/
Open Monday-Friday 7:30am-late Saturday and Sunday 11:30am-late

See below for photos of the night and reviews from secret foodies.

Tortilla chips, guacamole and chintextle (black beans, pumpkin seeds, dried prawn

Crisp pork skin & spices and Fried plantains & spices

Charred corn, pumpkin seed, chipotle and queso fresco

Scallop ceviche with cucumber, green tomato, chile, lime & coriander

Lamb rump, mulato chile adobo, walnut & pinto bean

Chokos, oregano, garlic & green chile

Smashed flan of coconut, single origin Mexican chocolate hazelnut & goats milk caramel

Little almond cakes and Little chocolate & chipotle cakes

Head Chef Matthew Fitzgerald

Head Bartender Luke Redington (left) and Brendan Keown

]]> http://secretfoodies.com.au/east/el-topo-mexican-sydney/feed/ 12 http://secretfoodies.com.au/all-restaurants/kaya-restaurant/ http://secretfoodies.com.au/all-restaurants/kaya-restaurant/#comments Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:23:50 +0000 Ms Darlinghurst http://secretfoodies.com.au/?p=3375

Secret Foodies followed a trail of kimonos, leading them ‘underground in Tokyo’ to Kaya, a new Izykaya style Japanese bar and restaurant that opened recently on Oxford St. Kaya is split over two levels with a light and casual style restaurant upstairs perfect for dining with friends and a more intimate, soft-lit bar downstairs great for a date night. Both upstairs and down offer the same menu which has a very different offering from the usual sushi-based Japanese restaurant.

Taking over the entire upstairs level, secret foodies were treated to a special menu created by Head Chef Stephen Lim (formerly of Azuma and Monkey Magic). Edamame, sashimi, cured salmon and octopus, braised pork belly with green shallots, chicken karage (or ‘JFK’ – Japanese fried chicken), corn with soy butter, soy ramen and a selection of gelatos were delicious. Sake, of course, accompanied the meal perfectly.

Check out the photos from the night and reviews from our foodies.

NV Progenie Brut – Mendoza, Argentina, canapes: Salmon Roe Blini w Yoghurt, Oxtail & Field Mushroom Croquetas

Oxtail & Field Mushroom Croquetas

Las Habas Con Jamon
 18 Month Aged Serrano Jamon with Broadbeans and Soft Cheese


Warm Escabeche of Blue Eye Trevalla with Baby Vegetables

Green Asparagus, Crushed Peas, Manchego and Mint

Slow Roast Shoulder and Saddle of Milly Hill Lamb with Sofrito

Pear foam with crushed nuts


Churros with Warm Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Check out more photos on https://www.facebook.com/secretfoodies