Bennelong

My partner's parents had a week-long trip to northern area, including Hunter Valley.  They have come back to Sydney to spend the weekend to meet up with their daughter who was leaving for Papua New Guinea to join her boyfriend.  Since her flight was in the morning, we had arranged a late lunch with them and their friends at this restaurant, Bennelong, located right in the Sydney Opera House.

A long-awaited blue sky brought many tourists to the landmark, and I could see so many people enjoying the scenery of beautiful harbour.  Somehow most of them were from China, and it reminded me of how Tokyo was, especially, Ginza.  (Ginza is a shopping spot - now filled with Chinese tourists.)

The restaurant was surrounded by panoramic view of Sydney Harbour, and it offered a spacious dinning area.  Even with this much space, the restaurant was one of the hard-to-book places, so I was so thrilled to enjoy the lunch there.  I am pregnant, so I cannot drink there, but they have such a posh bar right near the entrance, and I seriously want to go back there after serving my duty!

The food was beyond my expectation, and I loved them all.  I felt well-served and staffs were well-trained.  I definitely consider this place to be one of my favourite places in Sydney.  As it was organised as my early birthday lunch (great surprise!  I wasn't expecting this at all!,) we did not have to pay for the lunch...kind of feeling bad as the lunch 3 course was 150 AUD per person.  I thought it was a well-worth of quality, and I would love to go back to this restaurant again.

I would definitely dress somewhat nice for this place.  I felt okay wearing jeans, moccasin and jacket, but I don't mind wearing nice dress with heals to have intimate dinner or champagne in the bar.

By the way, during the lunch, his parents were talking about this restaurant in Hunter Valley.  Definitely going there during my next trip!  http://www.exprestaurant.com.au

For Bennelong, I have to give ★★★★★ for everything.

Nikuzo Japanese BBQ

My partner goes to this Japanese owned hair salon called Shinka in Sydney.  (They have shops in Tokyo, and he was a regular customer there as well.) His hairstylist had recommended this Japanese BBQ place near our place, so we'd wanted to try it for awhile.

The place does not have a website, but here is some information from tripadvisor.com.  The restaurant is called Nikuzo, and it is an authentic Japanese BBQ, 'Yakiniku' restaurant.

The restaurant opens at 5:30pm, but we could only book for 5:30pm or 8:30pm, so we went there at 8:30pm.

The food was just like what we had in Japan.  I recommend "special" grade instead of "regular" grade for meat.  We ended up ordering all in special grades.  At the end, we decided to order one more plate of meat, and they mistakenly gave us this regular grade, and we could tell right away that the grade was completely different.

I think I enjoyed the experience of Yakiniku, but what disappointed me was this person who served our table towards the end.  I have a feeling that he was the owner or restaurant manager, but he absolutely had no smile or friendly attitude; he acted like he was unhappy serving us.  Because of the experience, I am not sure I want to go back there again.

Regardless if you like do-it-yourself kind of environment, you will enjoy indoor BBQ experience. Please do not wear anything fancy as you need to wash your clothes as soon as you get home.

Food was great, but the place could be cleaner and more friendly.
I need to give this place ★★

The Dinning Room

My partner's parents are in town.  They helped me so much with upcoming baby shopping.  We went out to buy pretty much everything this weekend.  I am so blessed to have such a generous help, and I cannot thank them enough.  (They were all top of the line!)

Tonight, they took us out to The Dinning Room located in Park Hyatt Sydney.  What a beautiful place!  It is located right in between Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.  When you walk in, you are surrounded by fresh flower scent - they had sakura cherry blossom and white lily arrangements, so you can imagine how pleasing it was.

The restaurant was as posh as I'd expected.  The food and desert were great.  Again, I am not sure if it was a trend of Sydney restaurant, but I felt like we were underserved as we had to try to get waiter's attention a few times.  But I really liked the atmosphere and presentation.  People were well-dressed (than Q dinning,) and I could see this restaurant as a place for special occasion.  I felt okay in casual attire at Q dinning, but I like to dress up a bit for this place.

We had a great time over fabulous cuisine.

★★★★ for this place.

Q dining Restaurant Circular Quay

It has been almost two months since I have left Tokyo for Sydney.  I noticed that Sydney restaurant price was a bit more than what I used to pay in Tokyo.  I personally feel that Tokyo offers more variety and quality, but Sydney definitely offers breath-taking views and atmosphere.

It has been many years since I have updated my blog; many things have happened to me.  Now I am pregnant living with my partner here in Sydney.

Today we are celebrating his best friend's birthday at Q dining Restaurant Circular Quay located in Pullman Hotels and Resorts right in front of this beautiful view of Circular Quay.

When you walk in, the first thing you notice is this spectacular view of the bay.  The setting is cozy and intimate; you can wear jeans and nice crisp t-shirt or shirt and be okay.

Have you been to restaurants with big fat vocabularies on the menus and you wonder what you are ordering?  I kind of had the experience at this place, especially, the chef chose to create everything somewhat in Japanese (but I saw Kimchi with Pork, so Korean, too) and French fusion.  The food looked and tasted good, but the restaurant was definitely understaffed.  I would not recommend this place for super hungry group as it would drive them crazy.  When the waitress came to me and asked me how I was doing (after charcuterie and bread - oh, yes, the fig bread and olive bread were very good,) I ended up telling her I was hungry as I felt like I was waiting for the food forever.

We may go back to the place again as we get a huge discount using Accor Advantage Plus, but I need to give ★★★ for now.

Fonda de la Madrugada

Last night four girls got together at Mexican joint in Harajyuku. The food was great as usual, and Mexican singers were singing, ‘El amor, amor, amor~~~.’ The trios made me wonder where my love was.

Anyways, our endless chat about love and relationship went on and on, and I realized that I had pretty difficult standard for men. I certainly like a successful man, but I also like this particular profile of man who is relatively short and chubby. I named a few celebrities’ name I liked, and girls were pretty grossed out. After all, life is fair because of a person like me.

The dinner was nice and sweet, and it reminded me that I still had great friends around me although I had no man in my life.

★★★
Fonda de la Madrugada
www.fonda-m.com

Hamadaya

I haven’t had a chance to update my blog. I went to several places, so I will update it as soon as possible!

Last night I went to this traditional Japanese restaurant with my very close friend. How traditional? Sometimes they invite Geisha over to the location to entertain executives. The restaurant looks like a traditional Japanese tea house, and our server actually told us that the place used to be Okiya for Geisha a while back (Okiya was a house where Geisha and Maiko lived…)

We were first lead to a waiting area where you could see a traditional Japanese garden. I felt like I was at onsen or ryotei in Kyoto. Then our server came to let us know that our room was ready. Our room also had Japanese garden although it was located on the second floor.

Since they often have foreigner guests, they provides English menu along with Japanese menu. You can also request your favorite food prior to your visit.

If you like to ride on a time machine to go back to old Japan and enjoy a good food, this is where you should be. Of course, you need to pay for the trip, and it is not that reasonable. Our bill was right below 80,000 yen, so fasten your seatbelt and get ready.

It is located in Nihonbashi.
http://www.hamadaya.info/

However, they have another one in Roppongi. They said it was more casual, but I would call it more ‘modern.’
http://www.hamadaya-midtown.com/

I had an amazing experience...so my rating is ★★★★★ for sure.

Kusa no Ie

There was ‘Hanryu Bumu’ in Japan…is it still around? Do you still see so many young and old ladies going after Korean actors and actresses? Well, it seems like Tokyo has more Korean restaurants today. I often go to Shin Okubo and Akasaka to have my mini Korean nights to enjoy the hot and spicy dishes.

Well, my friend and I wanted to try this Tofu Soup place in Azabu Jyuban (this place http://r.gnavi.co.jp/e586000/ )…but this place was closed till 5:30pm! But we were super hungry, and we could NOT wait…plus this was our 3rd failed try to visit this restaurant that we decided NOT to even try to eat at this restaurant anymore.

…so we were just walking down the street just to find a restaurant…and we ended up pressing an elevator’s button to go up to this Korean restaurant hoping that they would have decent dishes to satisfy us (you know how picky I am…)

OMG!!!! This Korean restaurant was so different from other restaurants I’d tried. I would describe it as ‘high-end’ or ‘classy’…just like me (alright, I am kidding…doh!)

Everything tasted so classy and good that I must say this place is probably one of the best Korean restaurants I’ve visited in Tokyo.

I strongly recommend you to try their Chijimi with Seafood, then you will know what I am talking about…oh, don’t forget to order Nenmyong cold noodle after the meal.

★★★★

Kusa no Ie
http://www.kusanoie.jp/

Two Rooms Grill | Bar

OK, girls, I finally went there to check it out. The place is bigger than The Oak Door, and I absolutely loved their martini and mojito selections. A perfect place for girl’s night out! I definitely want to pick a dress for the place. I think I would love to have a dinner date in the dining area and have a few drinks in the bar. (Gotta find a date first...ouch!)

I loved it. My kind of bar!

It makes me wonder how their dinner is. I am going back there for sure.

Two Rooms Grill | Bar
http://www.tworooms.jp/

I gotta give ★★★★ for the bar area.

Ten Shan Fay Way - Chinese Hot Pot

Do you believe in eating good food to be healthy and beautiful?
People talk about detoxification and alternative medicine everywhere. You know what? I will rely on anything that promises me to make me more healthy and beautiful. Yes! I am so into ‘Anti-Aging’! Turning 34 last month made me realize that I need to start paying more attention to anti-aging gossips…girls, don’t you wanna age gracefully? Well, I do!

One of my favorite anti-aging spots (well, besides my Boudoir Spa) is this Chinese Hot Pot restaurant in Akasaka. They have so many locations, but Akasaka is my favorite one. I tried so many different hot pot restaurants, but this place’s hot pot is somewhat easy to eat…not too smelly or spicy. I love their 5000 yen course that includes appetizer and sweets. (I can never finish everything…) They give you a big plate of different kinds of mushrooms and veges by explaining, ‘this is good for your skin, this is good for your immune system…’ Trust me, you will feel guilty by eating so much. But guess what? They are good for you!

Ten Shan Fay Way ★★★
http://tenshanfayway.com/
(Sorry, no English website...)

SANT PAU

I always wanted to try this Spanish restaurant. For my birthday, my very very close friend took me out to SANT PAU Tokyo. OMG...I ended up going to this restaurant without checking the menu or price. The food was great! Sparkling water was a bit salty though. We ordered the course menu (I think it is like 22000 yen per person or something...) and a bottle of wine, so I am sure the bill was somewhere around 70000 yen. I will recommend this place for a special occasion for sure, but don't look at the bill and freak out.

The food was like Spanish fusion...I think everything was influenced by French and Japanese. I personally thought everything was a bit salty, and they used too much gelatin for many things. Ingredients they used were amazing...even olive oil for bread was tasty. We were not too impressed with pork because it was medium rare and tasted like beef, but it is just a personal preference. I have to give this restaurant four stars. A full of surprises until the end (including the bill and a nice Japanese hostess with Spanish accent.) Don't forget to pay attention to paintings on the wall. I really liked leather covered doors (the leather was Italian though...)

SANT PAU TOKYO　★★★★
http://www.santpau.jp/english/index.html

The Oregon Bar & Grill

...so my birthday was 8/18. My closest friend took me out to The Oregon Bar & Grill on 8/17. This restaurant has been one of my favorite places to hang out on Saturday. Why Saturday? They have this amazing happy hour in the bar area until 7pm everyday. If you go there on Saturday, you don't have to worry about getting up the next day, right?

Anyways, this restaurant is perfect for a date to impress. It is located on 42nd floor, so the view from the restaurant is like 'wow, hello!' kinda view. So you can impress your date very easily. When we went there, the bottle of bubbles was 50% off! Well, they usually have good wine selections from North West, so don't forget to try their Chard.

The Oregon Bar & Grill ★★★
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g385006/

La Rondine

60 minutes…my lunch break is usually around 60 minutes. Even in Aoyama lunchtime restaurants are not so sexy…filled with businessmen and sometimes all they do is just complain about their jobs.

I have a perfect Italian getaway during my break. Not only the food is perfect, but the atmosphere of the restaurant is also my pick. I could even forget that I am on my lunch break. The restaurant is only an alley away from busy Aoyama Street – so quiet, clean and classy.

I need to give this restaurant ★★★★★ for their lunch selection.
I am sure the dinner is fabulous as well…I wonder who will take me out to the dinner rendezvous...

Gosh, I sound so desperate :(

La Rondine
http://www.la-rondine.jp/

Mogami

...so I met up with my friend in front of Sanno Park Tower to grab a quick after-work champagne on the 26th floor. Right next to Shunjyu, there is a nice quiet bar there. (Here is Shunjyu's link. Great place for dinner, but just OK for lunch... http://www.shunju.com/ja/restaurants/tameikesanno/)

After a drink each, he and I had to head out to this kushiage restaurant in Akasaka to meet up with our friends.

It was kind of weird because my male friend made comments about me a few times saying, 'yeah, you know how she is.' I just thought it was strange because he didn't know me too well, but he acted like he knew me super well. I was thinking, 'dude, we only saw each other 4 times before this meeting, and it was 5 years ago!' Yes, guys, he and I went on dates 4 times 5 years ago...and honestly, I looked great last night, but I was a bit surprised to see how fast he aged. (OK, now I am a big 'B'!)

Kushiage was great. I think I did 11 or 12 kushiage. I am sure other kushiage restaurants are the same, but this restaurant, Mogami keeps serving kushiage until you tell them to stop. We could pick our sweets at the end, I had edamame ice cream...not bad at all.

I like to give ★★★for this restaurant.
I could put extra star for Mogami, but you all would wish if the location was somewhere else...us girls feel uncomfy to be right in front of Pachinko place!!!

Mogami
http://www.kushi-mogami.co.jp/

Harem

Spring has come~. Lovely season, isn't it?
Oh, I wish I could say that honestly. I am having this terrible pollen allergy that I am crying with runny nose. I am hoping this beautiful spring season to end as soon as possible...sigh.

Since my throat is itchy as hell, I somehow crave for anything with bubbles...
I had this urgent craving for champagne last night, and I just wanted to have a glass of it over nice dinner.

So we did. My gal pal and I ended up walking out of Nine West VIP Family Sale without a single pair of shoes, but we decided to spend the shoe money on our dinner and drink. The restaurant was full of older man (50s?) and we (somehow) found a Japanese actress, Hisako Manda...very pretty for her age. Maybe because they have a dance show on Tueday and Thursday at 8:30pm, the place was packed. We were so lucky to have out table without a reservation!

The food was so exotic. I loved them all. Of course, having my urgent champagne helped me to rate this restaurant with more stars, but I would definitely go back to this place to try other things on the menu.

We ended up leaving before the dance show...next time I'd make sure to be there at 8:30pm on Tuesday (or Thursday.)

Great restaurant...simply loved it.

Harem
http://www.harem.co.jp/

Karo

I haven't updated this blog for a while...oh, no...not that I hadn't eaten outside..., but you know how it could be when you were heartbroken...I didn't feel like doing anything.

Tell you the truth, my ex and I are communicating again. (But we are not back together...fyi.)

Last night my friend decided to take me out for this 'cheer-up' dinner. Well, I told him I wanted to go to this Spanish restaurant in Meguro, but it was full before 7pm. (I knew it, I knew it...I was disappointed that he didn't make reservation!)

So he ended up taking me out to this Japanese izakaya on Gonnosuke-zaka Street near Meguro station. I was a bit surprised that the place was more spacious than I thought. The food was good; it was better than regular izakaya. I had sashimi plate, deep fried Taro potato and grilled vegetable along with glass of beer. They had a full menu for sashimi. I guess it could be a good place for sashimi lover. (Sorry, I am not a big raw fish digger.)

Izakaya price but fresh tasty food...that's what it was.
My verdict? It might be a good place to hang out as a group. But I wouldn't pick the place for my date...Just perfect casual hang out with great Japanese food.

Karo
http://www.gonnosuke-karo.com/

Kasei Sakaba

It was super cold and windy last night, but my beautician/therapist and I were ready for our catch up...

We met up at Meguro station and headed out for monjya yaki restaurant. I liked this place when I visited for the first time...this place made me feel like I had time-traveled to Tokyo in Showa era.

...so we ordered hot drink and monjya yaki and started talking about our men. Of course, the conversation would never solve our issues or problems, but girl's talk is all about cheering each other (so we don't have to feel shitty...ha.)

After spellbinding ourselves with comforting words and food, we were ready to string ourselves into a new era.

I don't think I can forget or completely be over with my 'on-hold,' but I am making a progress bringing myself into focus...slowly but surely.

http://gourmet.gyao.jp/0004011995/

Katsina

TGIF! Finally the end of work week. I was wondering about my plan tonight when my MSN messenger sent me a message from someone unexpected. My ex boyfriend from US pinged me...wow...

He said he was in Japan near Shibuya. Apparently he emailed me on Monday, but I never check my hotmail, so I didn't receive it. He said he was staying here till Sunday, and he wanted to see me for lunch today. (Sorry for talking about my 'day' gig today...)

Well, I just came back from my rendez-vous lunch at Katsina. I use this restaurant as my lay back relaxing lunch spot at least twice a month. Of course, their food is good, but what I like about this place is the spacious dining area where I can literally sink myself into the sofa.

OK, so let's get back to my lunch with ex...

He was still the same except he was more mature and sophisticated. Back in US he was known as a crazy boy...I mean...from the beginning it was crazy. Instead of nice meeting you ritual, he bit my hands...oh, what else, he was super good at singing and dancing Prince to me...and he was laying down on a kitchen counter waiting for me when I visited his place for the first time...oh, he was CRAZY and lots of fun!

I somehow miss the crazy time with him. I guess I grew older? I don't know what it is, but it all became a sweet memory of my youth. As I was having my last sip of coffee, I jumped out of my daydream.

Am I desperate to find an escape hatch from reality? I am not sure.
But at least lunch time caffeine has woken me up this time.

http://www.katsina.biz/

Marche de Metro

I am getting ready for my long bath right now...oh, I cannot wait to relax!

Tonight my co-worker took me to this quick bite place called, Marche de Metro, in Omotesando Station. It is located in the actual station, but wow~it is like a French influenced food court. It is a perfect spot if you want to grab something quick and easy. They even serve wine and beer there. Well, I was determined to relax tonight, so I had no drink with my Tom Yum Pho, but it was definitely a place to be if you were to hang out with your friends during your busy schedule.

I was expecting fast-food-quality food, but it was actually better than some restaurants I'd been to.

Here is the map...
http://www.tokyometro.jp/echika/map/marche/index.html

Perfect little spot in this weather...no walking in the cold rain.

Yoroniku

My girlfriend asked me out for dinner. Since I was in this 'on hold' period with my boyfriend, I decided to go out to check this hip BBQ beef place in Aoyama.

Tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting much since I was NOT a big beef lover...

Well, I was wrong. This is somewhere I want to go back to.
The entire restaurant had this high-end restaurant environment where boys could use this place for thier first dates to impress the potential candidates.

I am definitely going back for more meat and their fabulous shaved ice. (The owner of the restaurant told me that some Asian rich men came over...from don't know where...just to eat their shaved ice...so go figure.)

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a388101/

Here is the information.

I only liked furred animals (well, they are fabulous...,) but hay, I had to change my mind.
I began my year of cow at this perfect restaurant...yum.

Rakushuen & Per Regalo

Girls often have relationship problems. Since my boyfriend decided to hide himself in the cave, I have been definitely one of them. Well, tonight I received a text from another one of them, and she decided to wait for me at this Taiwanese restaurant in Shirokanedai.

The restaurant, Rakushuen, has been one of my favorite Chinese authentic place since I've moved to Tokyo. Warning! It is not Fancy! It is like one of those you could find in China Town in SF. But believe me, it is a perfect place to indulge authentic Taiwanese food.

So there at the restaurant, my one of them was waiting for me. When I walked in, she already had our favorite dishes and beer on the table. I had my beer there, too. But this restaurant is not built to be a girl-talk friendly spot (chairs are not that comfortable, and I can hear what other people are talking about...,) so we decided to cash out.

Around the corner of Gaien Nishi Dori (I don't know why people call this street, Platinum Dori...nothing Platinum about the street...besides Shirokane means white gold...I'd prefer platinum over white gold..., but come on, this is Shirokanedai,) there is an Italian restaurant called Per Regalo. This place has a roof terrace, and I usually go to this place during the summer for my bubbly drink. When it opened up, the service was bad that I didn't like this place, but everything has improved since then. I even come to their lunch buffet time to time. Anyways...we sat in the bar area and talked about our problems until closing hoping to find the solutions or remedies (in this case, our bubbles and smoke became the perfect remedies temporarily.)

When I got home, I smelled like an ash tray and empty champagne bottle. There was my answer...I jumped into shower and sighed.

I grabbed a nicotine patch box from my closet and started reading the direction.
I can't be depressed just because my boyfriend is. Girl, Get Real!!

http://www.rakushuken.com/

http://www.per-regalo.com/
(Sorry, Per Regalo is now closed for good... as of August, 2016.)