toko-licious

If Longrain had a younger Japanese brother it would be Toko. The large wooden communal tables, the never empty private dining room, the swanky bar and music.

It's been a long time coming, but I finally went to Toko. The long, dark room is almost always full so we arrived early before the after work crowd packed in. Cocktails to start of course with some edamame which are warm and salty and great food for thought while looking through the five page menu.

We order the shochu tonics, beri shu and ringo shu served on a stone of ice. Not quite our cup of gin so we move on to the lychee and jasmine mojitos....magic!

Beri Shu

Icy Mojito

After trawling through the menu we make up our minds and order the tempura squid with a soy, chilli dipping sauce, the tempura is crispy and the squid is cooked to perfection.

Tempura Calamari

Next we order a Chef's selection of sushi, sashimi tuna, kingfish, salmon, prawns and squid, all exceptionally fresh.

Chef's sushi selection

By the time our next few dishes arrive, I'm so hungry I forget to take some snaps.

We order the soy poached chicken with five vegetables, the veggies are my favourite part. But then the teriyaki sweet potato and the miso marinated lamb cutlets arrive and my hunger woes are soon forgotten. The sweet potato is deliciously soft and caramelised and the teruyaki and sesame sauce is divine. But the lamb cutlets are rare and and the smooth chilli miso and pickled eggplants work perfectly with the lambs meatiness.

On to dessert and we weren't disappointed, I even managed to get the camera out again. I ordered the apricot and clotted cream Creme Brulee. The thick conserve like apricot sat chilled under the warm creamy brulee, I didn't want it to end.

http://www.toko.com.au/index_surryhills.cfm

Apricot and Clotted Cream Creme Brulee

Rhubarb Crumble

White Chocolate Panacotta

cotton duck at Christmas

The call of the Christmas Party was loud and clear and the deadline was fast approaching so we decided on lunch at Jared Ingersoll's new restaurant, Cotton Duck.

Cotton Duck aims at "clever, thought-provoking cuisine taking its cues from the everyday to the abstract". This becomes clear after I try the Corn Pudding - roasted corn and popcorn shoots in a corn broth. A few of my colleagues were skeptical but the pudding is smooth and creamy while the sweet corn adds just enough crunch, everyday food turned abstract.

The house baked bread

Feeling festive we order two bottles of sparkling red and white.

To begin, along with our corn pudding we order the salmon cured with spice and tobacco, it's served with a side of the tobacco it was cured in. It isn't edible but merely put there for the aroma. The salmon was delicious, soft and fresh with a hint of the tobacco's smokiness. We also go for the pork rillettes, a fan favourite, served with croûtons and sour cherries and the Saucisson Secs with Cornichons.

For the mains there is a choice of Quail with crispy fried pancetta, sour raisins and green plums, the King Salmon poached in butter with asparagus and lemon walnut sauce, the pork loin and Coffin Bay Mussels cooked in white wine and tomato served with hand cut chips.

While all four look delicious, I only get to taste the Quail. The pancetta is crunchy and works surprisingly well with the green plums and the quail and the raisins are a match made in heaven. Jared's concept is local, sustainable, seasonal produce on a relaxed plate and it shows in every dish.

From all counts the mains are fresh, simple and the produce speaks for itself. For dessert we can't go past the cheese plate with brioche and fruit so we order that for the group along with the Summer pudding and the chocolate tart.

What a delicious way to end the year.

http://www.danksstreetdepot.com.au/page/cotton_duck.html

take me back to Porteno please

The sign out front should say "vegetarians need not apply". Not because there aren't any vegetarian meals, because there is and they're delicious. Case in point the crispy fried brussel sprouts with lentils and mint ($14), for anyone who's never liked sprouts you will walk out converted.

It could be because you walk into Porteno and see pig and lamb carcasses resting on top of the Parilla Grill at temperatures of up to 250 degrees. They have been there for eight hours and I couldn't be more grateful.

This is my second time to Porteno and if you asked me to go again tomorrow I would. The boys from Bodega Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate have created something really special. The large space has been fitted out in true rockabilly form and completely transformed from what could be a very empty and drab restaurant.

When you go, do as I say - gather a group of four or more (five if you want to make a booking) and start with a delicious bottle of red we weren't disappointed with the Mil Piedras Sangiovese. Order the olives, house baked bread with the creamy and delicious pork pate and olive oil and then tuck into some tapas until your heart is content.

I've already mentioned the sprouts but we also went for the seared tuna with grilled asparagus and a charred jalapeno dressing($22). The tuna was cooked perfectly and the sauce had just enough kick, the dish was a stand-out to me. We also went for the BBQ eggplant with tahini, pearl barley and preserved lemon($14), reminiscent of baba ghanoush. And finally grilled calamari with pickled green tomatoes and chilli($18), my mouth is literally watering at the thought.

Last but not least, the 8 hour lamb ($42) and pork($48) which you absolutely must order. Melt in your mouth soft but smoky with a crispy crackling served with salsa and chimichurri.

There are four desserts on the Porteno menu and it is impossible not to order all of them so that's exactly what we did. The postre chaja ($14) (below) with caramel sauce, sticky mango and crunchy meringue, the leche quemada a burnt custard (below) and my favourite of the four, the chocolate fondant with banana ice-cream and a summery fresh Pina Colada float with coriander.
http://www.porteno.com.au/

all aboard the Christmas Train

"Dashing through the bush in a dusty Holden Ute, kicking up the dust, esky in the boot!" Just last week I celebrated Christmas the Australian way by jumping aboard the Indian Pacific for the tenth annual Christmas Train. The journey begins in Sydney and travels 4,352km across the continent where it ends in Perth, a route that makes it's way across the expansive Nullabor Plains.

The Nullabor Plains

Also on board the train were legendary rockers James Reyne and Mark Seymour who performed some of their classics with a few Christmas tunes at each stop usually accompanied by the local school. Every year a different performer comes on board to spread some Christmas cheer performers like Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Jimmy Barnes and Marcia Hines. The stops along the way included Broken Hill, Adelaide, Watson, Cook, Kalgoorlie and Perth.

James Reyne & Mark Seymour

The carriages are small but comfortable and once you get used to the constant rocking, you sleep quite well. Especially after you have been wined and dined at every meal.

Now to the highlight, early every December the indigenous people of Maralinga, now re-settled in the communities of Oak Valley and Yatala, drive 300 km from their remote homes to meet the train at Watson. The train stops, literally, in the middle of the Nullabor with nothing but a tree decorated with tinsel and a seat for Santa.

Santa's chair under the Christmas Tree

Waiting in Watson for the train to arrive

Concert in the Outback

With each stop came a new experience, I can't say I've ever been to a town with the population of "20 dingoes, two dogs, four people and three million flies". The family that lives there now runs a gift shop for train travellers and provides a place for the train to stop for water and re-fuel.

Cook - Population: 4

The trip was an incredible experience, thanks to Great Southern Rail for the chance to join the Christmas trip this year!