King 143, Modern French

Restaurant King 143

143 King Street

Sydney 2000

9231 0143

http://www.king143.com.au/

You probably walk past Restaurant King 143 every day without knowing it. Its right opposite the Lyric Theatre and its an excellent choice for pre-theatre meals. They also have a four course menu for $60 pp that includes tea &coffee.

Its located just around the corner of Pitt St mall and easy to miss unless you're looking out for the yellow 'Restaurant King 143' sign.

Run by chef Toshi Ishihara, the restaurant offers modern French inspired cuisine with a touch of Orient. The Japanese lady who served us (I think it might have been Ishihara's wife?) was sooo sweet. Best service I've had in a long time :)

Its a cute restaurant and has a very old-fashioned homey feel.

We're served complimentary bread as a starter.

And order complementary drinks to our meal:

We order a Grilled Prawns and Avocado salad ($19.00) as an entree to share. Delicious, fresh and tasty.

I order the special of the day, the Pork Chops with White Wine served with steamed greens ($26.00). This must be the healthiest dinner I've had all week (quite sad actually).

L orders the Braised Lamb Shanks with Mashed Potato ($26.00).

What a find! Its honest, simple and good food without all the glitz, glamour & pretentiousness. I'd definitely recommend it :)

The Good: Great value, great location (right off the corner of Pitt St mall) and genuine service

The Bad: The decor is 'homey' but some might think its outdated..

Le Pain Quotidien

Le Pain Quotidien

Level 4,

Pitt St Mall Westfield Sydney

http://www.lepainquotidien.com.au/

The idea behind "Le Pain Quotidien" is simply to make a good daily bread, a handmade bread with a good crust and a firm slice, the kind of bread that makes great tartiness. Bread not only to nourish the body, but the spirit as well. A bread best shared around the table, to be savoured amongst friends.

Le Pain Quotidien. How do you pronounce that?? I've been saying Quo-ti-di-en but I have a feeling I'm saying it wrong. I'm pretty sure the proper pronunciation is more fluid (and french).

Gotta love good cafes in the Sydney CBD, and I think I've hit the jackpot with this one. Only disappointment is that they don't serve the usual bacon and poached eggs breakfasts :(

Cafe Interior

At the end of the cafe is a large round table which is great for random chit-chat with strangers (mostly with older people so I wouldn't come here to pick up haha). The floor to ceiling glass lets you watch the city go by.

I tried Le Pain Quotidien about a week ago and liked it so much that I returned with my sister. These photos are from both the visits. No I don't eat that much :)

Skim Cappuccino ($3.25)

The coffee here is served in bowls so you cup the bowl with both hands to drink it!

Pain au chocolat ($4.25)

Organic soft boiled egg/s with organic bread soldiers (2 eggs, $7.95)

Okay so I think the way you're supposed to eat this is crack the top of the egg, peel off the shell, and then spoon the runny yolk onto the bread soldiers. And then eat it. Yum! Its also very nice with a little bit of vegemite and butter, something recommended by A :) Although don't put vegemite on the sweet breads.. it doesn't taste very nice.

Roast beef with caper mayonnaise, diced tomatoes & shallots tartine ($13.95)

Tartines are open sandwiches made with organic wheat bread, greens and fresh herbs. They're also served with some fruit which is a nice touch.

I ordered the beef tartine and it was delicious. The seeded mustard and beef combination works really well. Theres also a side of gherkins and honeydew (for dessert? haha)

Rustic Tuna salad with tomatoes, black olive tapenade and roasted red peppers ($12.95)

The Good: Centrally located in the new Pitt St mall, coffee in cute bowls, roast beef tartine and breads baked daily

The Bad: Tables are a bit small. A bit pricier than your standard cafe.

Onde, French Bistro, Darlinghurst

Onde Restaurant

346 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst

9331 8749

No Bookings

Since J first took me here a year ago, I've been dying to come back. I still remember how good that first taste of duck liver pate was. It took me a whole year to organise dinner again at Onde, mostly because of the restaurant's 'No Bookings' policy and the location.

It was extremely risky going to Onde on a Friday night at 7pm with no booking. It was a half hour walk from Town Hall station (but there is a bus as well) and when we arrived we were lucky enough to get the last available table.

A word of warning- its loud. The place is so popular that they cram as may tables as they can into the restaurant.. And with that many people, it gets very very noisy. This can be slightly chaotic if you're trying to hold a conversation. At one point I had to literally shout to be heard.

Hint- Dont bring a girl here on a first date. But do bring her here eventually because the food is really good.

Blackboard menu

I think the menu changes seasonally because last year we came here the beef cheeks weren't available. We ordered the duck liver pate, the duck confit and the crispy polenta.

Duck Liver Pate & Cornichon

This dish is the reason why I walked 30 minutes to get to this restaurant. It was just as good as I remembered it.. amazing. We shared this as it is very rich and dense. By the way, cornichon is the french word for gherkin. The baguette served on the side was crispy and freshly baked. The waiter was nice enough to give us another piece since we ran out of bread but had lots of pate left :)

Duck confit with caramelised apple, mesclun and walnuts

There is also caramelised peach in this and I think peaches and duck confit go perfectly. I've tried this before so I can tell you that its very very good. They actually serve you two pieces of duck, so all in all you get almost half a duck. But this time it seems like portions were smaller than last time. GFC?

Crispy Polenta with roast tomato, grilled zucchini and eschallot

I decided to try something a bit different ordered the polenta as a main. To be honest, I've never tried this before and I didn't really know what polenta was. I'm so glad that I did order it because this was my absolute favourite dish of the night. The flavours were just perfectly balanced and so fresh. This dish reflects the flavours of the vegetables so honestly that I almost wanted to turn vegetarian. Never before did I realise vegetarian food could taste so good.

Absolutely delicious

The verdict? Again I am wow'ed. Both times food have been spectacular and I'll be back more often this year (I promise).

Assiette, French, Fine Dining

Assiette Restaurant,

French & Fine Dining

http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au/

48 Albion Street Surry Hills

9212 7979

Nestled deep in the bustling heart of Surry Hills, Restaurant Assiette provides an intimate and stylish haven for foodies, gourmands and casual diners alike; a sanctuary to relax and enjoy the best food and wine with a modern French twist.

If you're a foodie like me, then you must have read in the news that Becasse will be relocating to the Sydney Westfield on Pitt Street. This is very sad news for me. First of all, I've never once ventured into Becasse, so I guess I'll never get a chance try out the Clarence Street establishment. Secondly, Plan B will be changing and this may be the end of its famous wagyu burgers. But I guess at least I've dined in a restaurant that once held Becasse.

Assiette:

Assiette is the type of place you would want to go if you have an anniversary to celebrate, a special date or just when you want to wowed over by gorgeous food.

They have a degustation menu for $99, which is extremely good for a two hatted restaurant. Our group chose to have the a la carte menu as we were not very hungry.

Starter- Pumpkin & leek soup

Entrees:

1) Cured Marlborough salmon with prawn peignets, pink grapefruit, mandarin and fennel

My friend who ordered this said it was delicious.

2) Terrine of duck and foie gras with cured duck breast, raisins and caramelised peach

This entree was probably the wrong choice for me. It was too meaty, too strong and too heavy for my tastes. The foie gras was also extremely fatty and didnt actually have much taste to it. However the caramelised peach was sweet and juicy and matched the duck breast perfectly.

I apologise for the photo quality- the restaurant was very dim.

Mains:

1) Mushroom crusted veal fillet with cepe spaetzle, asparagus, dashi jelly and mushroom emulsion.

Cepe spaetzle? I have no idea what this is but I hear its very good

2) Pan fried dory with seared scallop, onion bhaji, cauliflower puree and mango chutney

I love scallops and I loved this dish. I couldnt really taste the mango chutney (which I think is a good thing)

Overall I enjoyed the experience and recommend Assiette.