Kensington Street Social

The Mrs just celebrated her birthday this Monday and while she didn't get to have the most perfect birthday ever (no thanks to her useless husband) we did get to enjoy a very impressive dining experience at Kensington Street Social. I'd been planning this dinner for a while now and as usual, it's rather hard for me to keep it under wraps since the Mrs is rather intuitive about these things (and I can't keep a poker face to save my life).

We got to the area with some time to spare but still had some difficulty finding parking...to be expected though because it is the kensington street. My advice: go earlier or take the train. Luckily, we managed to find parking in the nick of time and arrive at the restaurant 8pm on the dot. As we go in, we're led to a spot which they advised were the "best seats in the house"...they weren't joking as we got seated right at the bar where the open kitchen was. This meant we got front row access to the pass and all the action in the kitchen.

We started with some cocktails (it was a tough Monday for the both of us) and being a know-it-all like I am, I offered to pick our cocktails. I chose the cereal killer for the Mrs and the three little maids for myself. I would have thought she'd have liked the cereal killer since it looked sweet and creamy but I neglected the fact that she like sweet, fruity flavours more...so I ended up swapping with her...which was great! I liked the drink a lot more anyway.

The first dish to come to us was the squid ink crackers. Now, if you had to start your night at KSS with any snack, this is definitely the way to go. Imagine prawn crackers on flavour steroids..the salty, savoury crackers do really well in opening up your appetite and the creamy, airy mousse with trout roe that you dip the crackers into is simply divine.

Second to come was the vine tomato with burrata. This is probably the dish I see the most on Instagram and since the Mrs knew nothing about Kensington Street Social, I had to do some hard convincing for her to let me take charge and order it. That said, I'm positive that she's glad I did because this dish was mad impressive. A sweet and fresh tomato casing houses this intensely creamy burrata that when eaten creates this vibrant party in your mouth feeling. This combination is made richer and more moreish by the capers and the aged balsamic vinegar they pour on top. I've never had caprese salad before but if it's anything like this, I'd be happy to have that salad anytime.

After that, we got to sample one of the best dishes of the night: kingfish tataki with kohlrabi...I love raw kingfish possibly as much as I love salmon but I've only ever had it sashimi, as sushi or aburi (torched). I've never tasted kingfish in this fashion and I must say, its absolutely delicious. There's this vibrant verdant liquid that the fish sits in and along with the creamy dollops on the plate, each piece is elevated to a new level. Add to that the aromatic and herbaceous dill tips and man...sensual overload.

At this point I'm (we're) sufficiently impressed with each dish that's come out of the kitchen. One resounding thing we've noticed with each dish is that a lot of care, attention to detail and thought goes into everything. You can tell that each flavour profile is analysed and paired with the most appropriate elements to maximise enjoyment and satisfaction. This is why it came as so much of a surprise to me that the next dish (which I had the most hopes for) just didn't work. From the description on the menu and even as it is presented to you, everything looks great: charred kernels of corn sit in this corn puree that cups a lightly cooked organic hens egg. This is all topped with crunchy chicken scratchings and the gravy/sauce (poured from a cute little chicken shaped boat). In a visual and olfactory sense, this dish should be ticking all the boxes but I found that the husky, charred corn kernels just didn't work well with the puree. It made the dish taste too much of corn and frankly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd liked to.

But aside from that, the next couple of dishes were back to impressive which was great! It took quite some time before we got our mains but when we did we were so glad...first on the table was the wagyu rib eye with miso butterscotch and eggplant. There wasn't much eggplant to go around and the miso butterscotch tasted like vegemite (which is a divisive taste) but my god, that rib eye is good. I mean, it's wagyu so it has to be but it is good. Cooked to a perfect medium rare and so tender yet still so meaty...I'm sure this ticked all the boxes for the carnivorous Mrs.

My personal favourite of the night was the crispy skin mulloway with pippies and potato dashi and there's a reason for this: I don't generally like cooked fish...but I like this a lot. The mulloway was flakey yet still has a lot of texture to it and as you chewed you could really taste the freshness of the ingredient and how well balanced the seasoning was. The pippies were just slightly cooked so they were still plump and that unbelievably nice potato dashi is a thing to try...I'd just wished there was more.

As previously stated: despite the longer than expected wait for our mains, one particular point of service that irked us (I won't go into detail) and the disappointment of one particular dish, our experience at Kensington Street Social is definitely positive. Kudos to the kitchen staff who work so hard to push out these dishes because to maintain such quality and consistency in a high pressure environment is unbelievably difficult. I will say though that price wise, we paid almost the same amount as we did at NOMAD (not $$ but definitely not $$$) but we were more satisfied at NOMAD than we were at KSS. The Mrs and I believe it had to do with the flavour profile: the general theme we got around every dish was clean, crisp and fresh. Each dish worked to highlight the natural flavours of the produce and let the food speak for itself but in that, we also lose that moreish satisfaction. Still, Kensington Street Social is definitely a great place to eat at and worth it if you do go...I'm certainly glad I went and I encourage anyone else planning a visit to give it a try and see what you think.

Nishiki Sushi - Campsie, NSW

How is it that $35 buys you so much happiness? That's what I was wondering the whole time I was having dinner at Nishiki. There is nothing that gives me more elation than to know that I have the option to gorge on as many of my favorite morsels as I can and not have to pay exorbitant amounts of money. Does happiness equal sushi? In my case, it certainly does.

Recently, the family has been seeing ads in the Chinese papers informing us that new sushi buffet has opened in Campsie. We were feeling particularly in the mood for sushi so we decided to drive out and try it out for dinner. Being located on the main road means that parking is a bit of an issue so don't hesitate to duck into one of the side streets, it really isn't that much of a walk.

Strategically speaking, you should always try and position yourself as close to the chef as possible. Unfortunately for us, being that those spaces were already occupied, we chose to sit at the seats closest to the door as we were particularly famished. In truth, this really wasn't much of a detriment (in fact, kinda became a benefit) because you have the option of ordering as many items as you'd like from the staff. Being so close to the front counter meant that we were always quick to be attended to.

I'll be very honest, we didn't expect very much from Nishiki...mostly because we've been scorned by so many sushi buffets on offer however, in my case, I was rather pleasantly surprised when I found the quality of the sushi to be better-than-decent. The neta (sliced fish) tasted relatively fresh and the rice really wasn't that bad. I also quite enjoyed the selection they had on offer as it did focus more on the nigiri than the rolls. I do have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the kingfish belly. I found the fish to be a bit on the thicker side and the skin wasn't cut as thinly as I'd have liked it to be which made it slightly harder to chew. 

Aside from various pieces of nigiri and maki available, they also provided small slips of paper which allowed you to order hot food by the piece. Being that my absolute favorite fried oysters were on offer, I'm really surprised I didn't go crazy with my ordering. If you're not a big fan of sushi, I guess you could stick to the fried foods (they also had self-service miso soup on offer) but I'd suggest only ordering a bunch of the stuff you really wanted. The karaage was missing it's starchy crunch but all else was great. The fried oysters came out piping hot and every bite yielded a perfectly crunchy exterior and briny, creamy interior.

As you must have gathered, I had actually walked into Nishiki a skeptic but I definitely came out a convinced and satisfied man. I got my month's worth of sushi in one sitting (mum and the sister needed to join plates to catch up to my pile) and I didn't feel nearly as full or as pressured than when I went for the annual sushi challenge at another unnamed sushi purveyor (one of my proudest moments, 24/25 plates). Nishiki is definitely worth the return, if not for the decently delectable sushi, than for the value for money you get out of the experience.

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.