Waitan, Haymarket

Say hello to the newest restaurant addition to Sussex St in Chinatown whose concept is to connect east and west, old and new like never before. If you thought house renovations were expensive, think again. The price tag for this creation was over $10 million! Thanks to an invitation extension from Krissie Vitasa of Hill + Knowlton Strategies, I attended the launch party for this lavishly fitted out restaurant. They sure did hit us with the wow factor first thing. We hadn't even walked into the restaurant before we were greeted by a long line of models at the doors!

But then we were greeted by this fella.

I have to say that I really loved the interior design of this place. This main dining area clearly has a lot of traditional influences, yet embraces the contemporary with an end result that is very stylish.

More intimate areas can be found in the Opium Den. No, it is not ACTUALLY meant for anyone to smoke in this area, but instead to provide a more private setting for smaller gatherings for a drink or two. The cushions and plush seats definitely help the area look very inviting.

Look at the production line go to get those Peking Duck pancakes out the door! Well, not really a production line - one chef and many waiters trying to get him to hurry :P Who doesn't like Peking Duck pancakes? These ones vary from any traditional pancakes you've had though. One particular difference I noted was that they used raw red onion instead of the traditional sprig of spring onion. The flavour profile is also different, having been cooked in a cherry sauce. You can see the oven over in the background. I spotted at least 20 ducks hanging inside, cooking! Duck Master Mr. Yuejin Ma was flown in specially from Beijing to cook up a duck feast storm in Waitan's signature brick oven.

Oyster Bar

Veuve champagne served at the bar

I was surprised with the Veuve champagne, which has a definite tang compared to the likes of Dom Perignon and it went down quite easily with the canapes being served.

Spring rolls with satay sauce

The spring rolls were stuffed with plentiful of prawns, and the chefs seemed to have ditched the traditional short spring rolls in favour of ones that are long, streamline and skinny. Much like our jeans in contemporary society these days.

Wagyu beef buns

I really enjoyed these as the wagyu beef was tender, wonderfully smoky, peppery and was lovely with the burst of flavour from the pickle.

Deep-fried quail egg with tofu

Quail eggs are so delicately bite-sized! The broth it was sitting on top of was very subtle yet had a beautiful flavour.

 

And just because all those normal sized champagne bottles weren't enough, they had to crack out the omega sized one! It definitely was amusing watching them struggle with trying to pop the cork :P

I've yet to try out their normal menu, though I am curious to see how they would fare with their food after blowing so much on decking the place out from head to toe. I think it's time you all see what this new and extravagant place is all about, so what are you Waitan for? ;)

Waitan

405 Sussex St

Sydney, NSW, 2000

8218 1000

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday: 6:00pm - 12 midnight

Momofuku Seiobo, Pyrmont

As an extremely belated birthday present from my dearest younger sister, she treated me to a dinner at the Momofuku bar - what a darling :) Dining at the bar is as easy as 1, 2, 3. There is no need to go through the rumoured frustrating online reservation process. Just stroll right in after 6:30 and you could be eating pork buns in as little as 15 minutes without having to fork out for their degustation menu! I have desperately been wanting to try the pork buns here after really enjoying the ones from Ippudo :D

Our eyes were clearly bigger than our stomachs and we managed to order majority of the menu minus the pickled items. Shame because I really am interested to see what a pickled egg is like!

Pork buns, $15.00

The pork buns come as a serving of two and looked ever so inviting with two pieces of pork belly sandwiched in the middle with cucumber and hoisin sauce. Give a little squeeze from the sriracha bottle depending on how spicy you like it and it was perfect. The pork was so tender! The bun was so soft! It felt like biting into a pillow hehe. The flavour profile is completely different to that of Ippudo, so I really wouldn't compare the two at all.

Confit chicken wings, $16.00

Though the menu said wings, it came as a serve of three mini drumsticks and three wings. The chicken was deliciously succulent and coated in a super flavoursome sauce. Tried to keep it classy by eating these with our chopsticks :P

Spanner crab roll, celery salt chip, $22.00

While the crab brioche roll was nice, I wasn't particularly enamoured with it, instead being incredibly wowed by the celery salt chips on the plate! I would not have picked up on the very subtle celery flavour if it wasn't mentioned on the menu. I only paid careful attention because I was aware of it. That aside, I loved the chips! Thin, crispy, delicate. What's not to like?

Roasted rice cakes, xo, lamb, $17.00

I've had this dish twice now, with my friend ordering it when I came back for a revisit. When I first tried it, the ginger completely overpowered the flavour of the lamb. Was the mince beef? Pork? It was hard to tell, despite trying to get past that ginger hit. There was also a tad too much spice however, I still quite enjoyed this dish. It was quite addictive with the crunch of the outside of the rice cakes giving way to a soft, chewy centre. The balance of flavours on the second time around were spot on though! I enjoyed it much more that time. I'm just a bit surprised at the huge inconsistency in flavour at this high end establishment though.

Fried brussel sprouts, fish sauce vinaigrette, $15.00

I used to hate brussel sprouts but these mini cabbage-like vegetables have grown on me over the years. I generally enjoy them with bacon! However, this version won me over all over again. Slightly tart from the vinegar yet there was a strong salty kick from the fish sauce. Not to mention that crunch you get from the popped rice and the vegetable had slightly crispy outer leaves from being fried. I would've been happy with just this and a bowl of rice.

Top to bottom: bread & butter pudding, pear & almond, pecan danish, caramel au buerre sale, pineapple, caramel banana balsamic, salted butter caramel on toast, popcorn, lychee & coconut, fingerbun

And the sister and I could not resist getting a box of macarons from Zumbo right opposite of Momofuku. Special mention goes to the caramel banana balsamic which stole my heart! I was very wary about this one, despite the store assistant raving about it but boy am I glad we decided to get it after all. There was none of that artificial banana flavour crap, and it melded extremely well with the dot of reduced balsamic glaze in the centre of the macaron. Delicious! All of these were gone much too quickly. They were all way too delicious. I had my heart set on trying out the zonut, but apparently they are all gone by 1pm already :( Better luck next time I suppose.

Momofuku Seiobo
The Star, Level G, 80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont, NSW, 2009
http://momofuku.com/sydney/seiobo/

Opening Hours

Lunch
Friday + Saturday

Dinner
Monday - Saturday

Bar
Monday - Saturday: 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Friday + Saturday: 12:00noon – 2:00pm

Ms G's, Potts Point

I have finally trekked to the Red District to get me some Asian fusion cuisine!

I wonder what the bright neon lights stand for?

We got there before 6 and were promptly seated as it was still early in the night. The waiter was friendly and helpful with recommendations although I already knew what I wanted to order!

Ms G's Famous Yuzu Slushee, $14.00

This standard Russian vodka cocktail was very refreshing with all the citrus flavours from the Limoncello, yuzu juice and grapefruit bitters. I tried my friends' Pina 'Pearls' Colada and Good Morning Vietnam, but I thought mine was the best ;) The flavour of the alcohol also came through much stronger in the other two - that's why I like vodka better!

Ms G’s grilled corn on the cob, parmesan & lime, $4 each

 I love corn! And these juicy cobs were flavousome and delicious.

Mini crisp pork belly bánh mì, $6.00 each

With all the hype about these cute mini burgers, I wasn't expecting it to live up to its grand expectations. After all, could it taste that much better than Vietnamese pork rolls which I already love? But as I took my first bite, it completely blew my mind - they were so good! I think it has something to do with the tasty mayo. Now I'm really tempted to try the chicken katsu one as well!

Prawn toast with yuzu aioli & herbs, $14.00

Crunchy pieces of toast with prawn innards. Very reminiscent of all the prawn dumpling varieties you can get at yum cha only with a very crispy exterior so this was good.

Calamari & snow crab salad with yuzu & miso ranch dressing, $18.00

Sort of ate most of it before a photo was taken, oops. Compared to the other dishes we just had, this salad lacked the wow factor. It was still nice, but the delicate flavours of the ingredients were overpowered by the creaminess of the dressing and as a result, it felt quite heavy for a salad.

Jow’s sweet & sour lamb ribs, $23.00

I love lamb ribs, and when paired with the sweet and sour marinade that normally comes with pork? Spectacularly tasty! The lamb was very well cooked and tender, and the sweet and sour sauce went very well fattiness of the ribs. I normally have lamb ribs braised in soy at home, so this was a welcome change.

“Breakfast” crunchy cereal, sticky rice, burnt honey ice cream, mango & cranberries, $12.00

This really messed with our minds because the icecream tasted like Crunchy Nut! It was probably infused into the icecream. But I really enjoyed the flavour and it was consistent with the theme of the dessert.

“Stoner’s Delight 2.0” doughnut ice cream, peanut butter, raspberry jam, candied bacon, potato chips, mars bar slice, banana fritter, $12.00

I couldn't taste the doughnut in the icecream :( It was nice, but I was looking for that doughnut flavour. However, I fell in love with the banana fritter! It was so unlike any that I've had before and it tasted so good. The exterior was not the normal deep fried coating and instead, it had a thin noodle-like exterior that wasn't oily at all and felt quite light for a dessert.

“Ms G’s Lemon tart” with lemon curd, streusel, lemon granita & mascarpone sorbet, $12.00

However, this was my favourite dessert of the night! It was creamy and not too tart. When digging around, we found streusal hidden within the lemon curd which had a very thick consistency - almost like jelly but not quite. The lemon granita and mascarpone sorbet went wonderfully with every component in the glass and really made this dessert sing. If you love lemon, this is a must order! Especially as it was featured on Masterchef ;)

Overall, it was fantastic being able to catch up with friends over good food. I was not disappointed with Ms G's and I had a very enjoyable night there.

Ms G's
155 Victoria Street
Potts Point, NSW, 2011


Trading hours:

Lunch
Friday: 12pm - 3pm
Sunday: 1pm - 5pm

Dinner
Monday to Saturday: 5pm – 11pm
Sunday: 5pm - 9pm
Bar opens until late