Ester Restaurant - Chippendale, NSW

It's always the new year that brings out the best intentions in us. Something about...starting a fresh, clean slate and all this "new year, new me" stuff. Realistically, it's not any different from the last 365 days you've just experienced but somehow, you feel more motivated, more invigorated and more certain that this year, you will fulfill your tasks and achieve your goals. Such is the wave of emotions I was overcome with this new year. The passing of another year had me thinking about how quickly 2016 had passed and how little I managed to achieve blogging-wise...and it did not make me feel happy at all. I reflected on the fact that my blog had been around for awhile now (longer than any of my previous attempts) in fact, just today I found out that we've been active for more than 2 years.

So long story short: I'm back once again after my hiatus and I've recharged my blogging batteries for now. I have saved up a small collection of places we've dined at and as I've done before, I will make an attempt to write multiple posts until I've caught up. Today, I'd like to reminisce about the spectacular dinner the Mrs and I had at Ester. You'd think that being married and not having any kids (yet) would mean that the two of us would be able to share intimate dinner moments more often...well, you'd be mistaken. So therefore, in light of how rare the opportunity is, we tend to cherish the nights where we've committed to going out for a fancy dinner.

To be honest I've heard nothing but good news about Ester and the work they do but I could not have prepared myself for what followed. I met the Mrs after work where we decided to bum around at Central Park before heading over. At this point, the Mrs had yet to decipher where exactly I was taking her but she soon figured out (with the help of Zomato of course...). Arriving promptly for our dinner reservation, we were seating almost at the centre of the dining room that had yet to be filled with eager guests. This provided us with ample solitude to mull over the decisions of what we would order and how much we would indulge that night.

Upon arrival, each table is given a light snack to open up your appetite and help ease our hungry stomachs into readiness. A small plate of crisp, roasted chickpeas perfumed with aromatic herbs and a touch of salinity that begs you to go for more. The Mrs opted to not have any alcohol that night but I on the other hand, decided to settle in with a nice glass of Nikka from the barrel (after very little coercion from our delightful hostess).

Opting not to go for the set menu, we ordered a multitude of items which we believed best suited our palates. First to come was the fermented potato bread with salmon roe and dashi jelly. By far, the MOST impressive starter/bread service I've ever had in my life...the wood fired oven that you can see most prominently in the kitchen is a sure-fire sign that whatever comes out of that furnace would be delicious and that, to be honest, is barely sufficient to describe this bread. Cut open that savoury and smoky crust and you will find the most pliable, soft and doughy bread in existence. Slather a mild amount of the salmon roe combination onto the bread and put it in your mouth for an instantaneous umami explosion. This is the dish I would start and end my meal with...stuff dessert!

Shortly after came the roasted oysters with horseradish emulsion which were absolutely sublime! Admittingly, the mild shell-cutting-the-edge-of-my-mouth incident did dull my enjoyment ever so slightly however, I just couldn't get over how well the flavours melded together! The oysters were plump and buttery and the emulsion just gave it a really nice contrasting element.

There was a dish on the menu that I had to order for myself which was the blood sausage sanga. The Mrs isn't the biggest fan of blood sausage but I am a willing sucker for anything of the sort. This did not disappoint because not only was the sausage delicious, the slice of square bread it rested on was also impressively moist and soft...I'm sensing a common theme here.

The next two dishes to come were definitely for the Mrs however: salt baked crab and the marron with salt and pepper sauce. The Mrs adores crustaceans and shellfish (what she gets for being inducted into a Chinese family) but even I had to admit that the crab was mighty impressive in it's simplicity. The flesh of the crab was unbelievably sweet which I can only assume lends part to the fact that the baking of the crab in salt assists with. There was a crab roe dipping sauce that was provided but I remember barely touching it at all as the inherent flavours of the crab was more that sufficient. I almost felt bad for wasting a beautiful sauce that someone put so much effort into making! I personally was more impressed with the marron...smaller than the tasmanian lobsters I'm used to having but much larger than yabbies, the marron provided just enough succulent meat to whet your desire but sadly, not enough to satisfy it...not something for people with a huge appetite for seafood. The sauce was very, very impressive though...not an overpowering saltiness and a rather decent and refreshing kick from the pepper.

To round off our meal, we had ordered the flank steak with smoked cream and kombu. We then paired this with their house cauliflower with almond sauce and mint. Flank steak is definitely not my favourite cut of beef but my word, this was done well. Cut against the grain (like any good flank should be), the meat just tears away so easily...and then melts in your mouth when consumed...not something I would expect with flank. Every other element on the dish was designed to heighten your bovine experience...the smoked cream, the jus and the side of pickled daikon all served to take that humble piece of meat and make it heavenly.

Though the beef was great, the "designed-to-be-shared" portion sizing left the glutton in me wanting more. Fortunately, this is where the delectable side of roasted cauliflower comes in. I know from my experience with the many delicious cauliflower dishes I've had but prior to all this gourmet eating, I never could have imagined that the humble and unassuming cauliflower could taste so good and satisfying....but it totally does! The almond sauce was really rich in flavour and I really enjoyed the fresh, herbaceousness from the mint.

Overall, our night at Ester can be summed up in one word: impressive. At that price range, Ester is a standout amongst a lot of equally impressive eateries mainly for their service, their technique and how each dish complimented and elevated the next. There was literally no crescendo....it just kept going up and up. And if you're fortunate enough to find yourself sitting at one of their tables, please...double down on that potato bread.

Yakitori Yurippi - Crows Nest, NSW

I really can't believe that it's been almost a month since my last blog post...I mean, how did they time pass so quickly? I guess life for us has just gotten that hectic that I hadn't had the time to sit down and reflect but I now find myself in a position where I can sit quietly and reminisce about the most AMAZING (I mean amazing) dinner I had for my birthday. Despite claiming not to have planned anything in celebration of my birthday, the Mrs had actually booked a table for the two of us to go to a place that I've wanted to go to for some time now: Yakitori Yurippi.

I love places like Yurippi...humble, homey and welcoming small eateries that offer amazing food for relatively little money. The decor is like any authentic Japanese izakaya and the eclectic crowd shows it...a family out for a nice dinner, a group of old friends catching up over drinks or a young couple (like us) flirting and enjoying each others company. Everyone is welcome and everyone will be able to find something they enjoy. We arrive relatively early for our booking and are one of the first guests seated. Immediately, I notice the extensive menu of drinks (I'm a sucker for Japanese whisky) and the small but concise list of savoury items you can order. At $2.90 per skewer (most skewers), every item is an absolute steal!

I start off with a glass of Mars on the rocks whilst the Mrs chooses to have the Oolong high. My Mars is crisp, sweet and oh-so-refreshing! I love the fact that so many places are stocking and appreciating Japanese whisky nowadays and it's even better when they serve it with an ice sphere. The Mrs Oolong high is still a bit too strong for her but it is very mellow. The distinct taste of the Oolong tea really helps smooth over the alcoholic content and brings out a very lovely characteristic.

 

Shortly after our drinks came, our food quickly started to arrive at the table one after another. First to come was the chicken karaage. Seriously, I kid you not, I've had my fair share of karaage but this, hands down, has to be one of the best. So juicy and flavoursome on the inside yet crunchy on the outside. It may have soaked up a bit too much oil in the fry but you don't really care because the marinade penetrated the meat so well that you are just overwhelmed by how moreish and delicious the chicken is. No mayo or citrus needed...just pure poultry indulgence.

Then after that came our dish of small oden items. To sample as much as you can, it's always best to order a little bit of everything and we definitely did not hold back. Eggs, chikuwa fish cake and radish with a rather nice broth, all of which were nice to have with a smidge of Japanese hot mustard.

As I said earlier, the items came quick, hot and fast and before we finished our first bite of the oden, our gyoza and first plate of kushimono came! The gyoza had just the right amount for sharing and as you can see in the picture below, had an amazingly crunchy skirt. The crackling-like skirt almost stuck to your teeth as you chewed which makes me suspect they used rice flour instead of plain flour for the gruel.

For the kushimono, we ordered pork belly, chicken cartilage and chicken skin. When ordering certain items, you have a choice of two flavours: salt or soy. We decided to try one skewer of each flavor for the pork belly and to be honest, though the soy was really nice with it's sweet yet savoury attribute, the salt really, really stole the show as the salt helped bring out the natural rich porcine flavour of the belly fat. The cartilage was a great snack as it offered a nice contrast of textures before moving on to the most desirable skewer: the chicken skin. Charred to a perfect crisp yet supple in some parts, each stretch weaved over itself to capture the oils and flavours in the nooks and crevices...if you visit, it is imperative that you order this.

On our second plate of kushimono, we had another skewer of the pork belly, some miso ox tongue and two skewers each of the chicken thigh. The miso ox tongue was really tender and beefy though it could have done with a bit more of the sauce. The way it was applied made it hard for the sweet and nutty miso sauce to stick to the meat. The chicken thigh was cooked really, really well: tender, juicy and so amazingly savoury...I could go all night, skewer after skewer and not be bored.

Then we had something that was surprisingly delicious and I seriously regret not ordering more: the pork jowl. Charcoal grilled until the exterior is crispy yet yielding a gelatinous snap, the three pieces of meat almost taste like pork flavoured butter when eaten as it melts and seaps into each of your tastebuds, overwhelming them with a sense of elation and momentary bliss before you realise...there's no more. Mental note to self: order more next time.

Another interesting skewer we had was the bacon wrapped mochi. Tasted like torched, unsweetened marshmallows wrapped in salty, smokey bacon. Though not my favourite item that we ordered, the Mrs thoroughly enjoyed it for which I am glad.

Another skewer that I had high expectations of but didn't exactly satisfy was the wagyu beef. Very, very tender and rich but...slightly lacking in meatiness and char.

Then came the thing that blew everything out of the water. A few years back, I'd visited Hong Kong and went to Yardbird. I was keen to try their chicken meatball (tsukune) but it was so packed that we couldn't get a table and it didn't work out. Since then, we've been fortunate enough to have many places borrow that formula and open up in Sydney. That said, until that night, I had still yet to try the famous chicken meatballs on a skewer. But when I did, oh man, there was no going back. Soft and juicy chicken mince (with some cartilage thrown in for good texture and measure) that's charred and smokey on the outside but so mellow and crazy delicious on the inside...served with this umami packed dipping sauce that has a 63 degree egg gently floating on top of it. Mix it all up so that the yolk, white and sauce cling onto the meatball...take a bite and literally ascend into chicken heaven. It was so, so, so good that I ordered seconds.

By this point, the Mrs and I were quite full so we ordered some last snacky items to round off the meal. Unfortunately, as they were getting quite busy, we had to vacate our table soon (we were part of the first round on a Friday night) but no biggie! We had so far thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the service was so fantastic that we didn't care. I do admit though...I would have wished I could have spent my whole evening there gorging away. But alas, our last few orders came and it was time to wrap up. The scallops with kombu butter were tasty but could be something saved for the seafood lovers and the veges (although cooked perfectly) could have been substituted for more chicken thigh and meatballs...ok, I admit it, the other items were amazing as well but I just wanted more time to enjoy the meat. The Japanese omelette though is a must order....so warming. Literally, the perfect way to end the dinner.

As I reluctantly left the establishment, I noticed that the outside had quickly formed a rather large line. Whilst I'm unsure as to whether or not the line was for Yurippi or the yakiniku place next door, I'm convinced that if I had such an amazing time there, the line must have been for Yurippi. I have never been more impressed with the decor, service, staff, quality of the food and the value that we recieved. Inclusive of the drinks and almost 40 items between the two of us, our bill only racked up to $140 so in retrospect, I should have gone HAM. No worries, after this experience, I'll take any excuse and any invite to go again *wink wink nudge nudge*