Nomad - Surry Hills, NSW

I'm really glad that the Mrs and I are super corny. Despite having just been married, we both still care deeply about our dating anniversary and make an effort to book dinner in celebration. Yes, part of it may be an excuse to dine at really good restaurants and eat great food but still, a large part of it is because we'd both like to uphold a meaningful tradition. This month, being 6 years to the day that I got together with her, I took her out to a restaurant that I've been wanting to go for a while: Nomad. 

I knew almost nothing about Nomad other than the fact that they produced a number of great chefs...needless to say, I had no idea what was in store for us. We arrived 15 minutes earlier than our booking time and they were kind enough to accommodate us which already set our night off to a good start. We were then seated at a small, intimate table where we had great lighting and a good view of the open plan kitchen...second tick of approval. Quickly thereafter, we were attended to by a very friendly, helpful and jovial floor staff member. Not only did he bother to converse with us (you'd be surprised how often that's not done), he really helped in sorting us out and picking the appropriate amount of food to order (a lot)...hats off to you good sir!

We started our night with an order of okra which really surprised me in how good it was. I like okra but the carnivore in me tends to shun any attempt to appreciate vegetables...this dish made that same carnivore stop and do a double take. Smokey, salty and with a nice aniseed-ey flavour (from what I guess is the fennel seed), it's the perfect way to pique your appetite for the coming feast. I especially liked the peppery element which came on gradually and left a tingling sensation on your tongue...very fascinating.

Our second snack came shortly after and quickly became on of my (our) favourites of the night: smoked brisket empanadas. A golden, thin and crunchy dumpling that yields this meaty, rich and fatty beef that is not only moist but ever so moreish. They also provide a jar of hot sauce for you to add an additional but of heat and vinegar to cut through the richness.

Just when I thought I couldn't be more impressed, then came the small dish that almost stole the show: zucchini flowers served with pecorino and truffle honey...oh man, this was good. The coating on the zucchini flowers was so airy and delicate that it cracked and crunched with the lightest bite. The pungent smell of truffle wafts through the air but gives is veiled behind velvet smooth honey and pecorino cheese.

The food just kept getting better and better as we moved onto the kingfish ceviche with finger lime and coriander crackers. The Mrs is normally not a big fan of ceviche as it can occasionally get slimy depending on the freshness of the fish but this was spot on, cubes of the freshest hiramasa is mixed with tiny pieces of finger lime, chopped coriander, chilli flakes and delicious avocado cream and then eaten on herby, crunchy crackers. It was the most refreshing thong to have on a scorching hot Sydney night.

Our feast then hit a crescendo with the main: the ranger valley hanger steak served with squid ink aioli, grilled cucumber and mustard. The wait staff who brought this dish to our table expressed his passionate love for this cut of beef and after we ate some, we agreed with him. Imagine the richness and fullness of flavour that you get in brisket, compacted into a tender, meat steak...that's how good this is. Nomad does this particularly well as it was cooked to a perfect pink middle and had a delicious crust on the outside. I also thoroughly enjoyed the grilled cucumber as I never thought of cucumber as something you could enjoy as a side to steak...really crisp and clean which worked really well in cleansing your palate for the next bite of steak.

As an additional side to our steak, we also ordered a side of cauliflower which was fried and served with middle-eastern accents, to which I mean labne. The herb and cauliflower was rather tart by themselves but have it with a decent dollop of that middle-eastern yogurt and it becomes sensational: creamy, savoury and equally meaty to the steak, if you aren't completely stuff by this point you will be.

In certain ways, my dinner at Nomad was very reminiscent of the amazing experience I had at RONIN in Hong Kong: both were examples of amazing food served by passionate and lovely people. Both were genuinely wonderful experiences that I'd be happy to have again and again. I'm glad that our 2016 is getting off to a good start. Despite both of us having moved out and having more responsibility thrust upon us, neither of us has been really cranky with each other (yet). I'm so grateful that we both have the energy and resources to go out and enjoy a nice night out like this every now and again. 

Catalina - Rose Bay, NSW

You probably might have gotten the idea by now (what with us being food-bloggers and all) but the Mrs and I really like to dine out. Sadly, we haven't really had the chance to go out and enjoy a really nice meal lately because we've had to save some money for a special event we have coming up. That's why I was so excited when a major milestone of ours came up and I used this opportunity to go and book a restaurant that the Mrs had been wanting to try for a while, Catalina.

A little tip for would-be diners: don't fret too much about needing to beat the traffic and find parking. They have ample parking outside the restaurant and you won't really encounter the typical sydney traffic trying to get there. Upon entering, we were seated at a rather ideal table located right by the water, perfect for setting up a romantic evening. Service was also impeccable from the moment you sit down, but is expected of a dining experience of this calibre....still, major points to the staff.

Despite there being sushi and sashimi available on the menu, the Mrs and I fought our temptations and stuck to the regular entrees and mains. For our entrees, we decided to share an order of the crispy whitebait and duck-egg as well as an order of the pan-seared scallops. When the dishes arrived, we were fascinated by how the dishes were presented and served as the duck egg was cut up and tossed before being placed onto the table. To say that we were impressed by the whitebait dish is an understatement. The crispy texture of the whitebait was complemented by the delightfully moorish duck-egg which made the dish extremely tasty. Despite sounding heavy, there was a slightly citrus-like element in the dish which cut through the flavours making it really appetising.

The scallops were also pretty good but I have to admit that in this case, the Mrs did pick the tastier entree. The scallops themselves were cooked perfectly but I can't say there was any other element of the dish which was memorable. That said, I do have a palate that craves heavy and distinct flavours so that's why when we ate the whitebait and the scallops back to back, the scallops wouldn't have had as much impact as the whitebait did. The dish was good in it's simplicity and the freshness of the ingredients.

Quickly thereafter, our main dishes arrived at our table and boy, were we impressed. The Mrs ordered the pan-seared kingfish from the daily menu which was served in a seafood bouillabaisse. Kingfish is possibly my most favoured type of fish when cooked which is great because this piece of fish was cooked beautifully with crispy thin skin and an almost steak-like texture of the fish being just cooked on the outside but still a bit raw in the centre. Just underneath it was refined and elegant seafood bouillabaisse which was smokey and savoury in all the right ways. The dish also had clams and mussels which made it just so much better. For me, this was definitely a highlight of the night.

The star of the show had to be my dish though, the lobster and fettuccine nero with tomato and chilli-infused lobster oil. The dish was magnificently presented with vibrant colours and a smell which was well indicative of how good this dish was. The pasta was cooked to an al-dente snap and was tossed with an abundant amount of plump and juicy bits of lobster meat. The sauce itself was absolutely moorish but had an acidic tang to it which made it irresistible. It was a shame that halfway through I had to give the pasta to the Mrs...the things I do for love. In addition to all this, we also ordered a side of mash just in case the mains weren't enough.

Normally, we'd end the night there (neither one of us is big on dessert) but since we hadn't been out in a while, we thought it'd be a good idea to order a sweet treat just this once. I naturally gravitated to the most chocolatey dish available and the Mrs obliged. We ordered the caramel-centred dark chocolate mousse with feuilletine crumble and valrhona milk chocolate ice cream to share which was a great decision because the dish was so amazing but so rich and decadent. A must order for any chocolate fan.

In addition to the dessert, the staff also provided us with a little gift for our special occasion which the Mrs and I were very appreciative of and thought was a great gesture. That last bit pretty much adequately describes our experience with Catalina, Perfect. The staff provided some of the best service we've had with their attentiveness and care which only made the food and the night even more spectacular. This has to be one of the most memorable dinners we've had and we're both so glad we chose to celebrate at Catalina.

Jamie's Italian Trattoria - Parramatta

Normal people adore musicians and celebrities right? I don't, I fanboy over chefs. I follow people like Dave Chang, Chase Kojima, Dan Hong, Nic Wong and Anthony Bourdain more closely than I do the Kardashians. That's mostly because I practically learned to cook before I learned to run and it's the chefs I saw on TV and in the cookbooks that fostered my intense love of the culinary (special thanks to my dad as well). That's why when I found out (about a month or so ago) that one of my all-time idols; Jamie Oliver was opening a restaurant in Parramatta...I made it my life mission to go. This was rather convenient as the Mrs and I also had a monthsary to celebrate so we booked a table as soon we had a chance. We didn't choose to dine on a busy day so it wasn't immensely packed and upon being seated, we had our orders taken relatively swiftly and so, the date night started out spectacularly.

Now, I'd heard rumors about the long wait times for food at Jamie's Italian in the city so I was rather worried at first but surprisingly, the food came rather quickly! First to come were the porcini mushroom arancini and crispy squid & zucchini. The arancini was fried to a nice crisp on the outside but unfortunately, the rice was a little undercooked in my opinion. It also lacked a bit of the deep mushroom flavour I was expecting from the porcini but the sauce made up for it with it's intense depth and richness.

The squid was perfectly crispy and spicy, almost reminiscent of an italian version of salt & pepper squid. The zucchinis were slices super thinly and the squid was cooked to a perfect tenderness. The chillies gave it a decent amount of heat which really complemented the way the dish worked with the zesty lemon juice and aioli. Honestly, the dish was a wonderfully crunchy and appetising way to start dinner.

The meatballs came shortly after and it looked visually amazing. The piping hot sauce covered the bottom of the dish with five plump little meatballs sitting in the middle. The odd numbered balls made it slightly harder to share but it worked out fine in the end cause the Mrs was more interested in the other dishes to care.

After our plates were collected and a short intercession, our much anticipated mains arrived at our table. The Mrs stayed safe and ordered a prawn linguine which was good but according to the Mrs, lacked a bit of heat. The bowl it was served in also retained heat so well that the pasta continued to cook in the indirect heat. Still, she was satisfied with her dish and that's what matters right? Portioning was large too despite the small looking dish. 

My dish was heaven in a bowl (to me). I ordered the truffle tagliatelle and honestly, I wouldn't have wanted anything else. To meat? No veges? No problem...it was just you, the carbs and the sensory overload of truffle. Despite the intense aroma wafting into the air, the dish was surprisingly light in flavour which made I really appreciated. We had also ordered the rosemary scented skinny fries which I had the absolutely brilliant idea to throw into the truffle sauce thereby creating truffle fries. Waste not want not right?

Overall, I was rather impressed with Jamie's Trattoria. To me, it tasted exactly how I'd imagined Jamie's food to taste (rustic and homely). Definitely a big plus that there were minimal wait times for food and ample seating. Parramatta now has another great foodie destination.