Iza Kaya Fujiyama - Surry Hills NSW

A pub that opens from 6 pm every night, except Sunday evenings, and which combines a wide selection of the brew from Japan. Sit on casual wooden tables and down the brew with delicate and tasty snacks representing the best of a cultural tradition - and using the freshest of ingredients.  This is what Izakaya Fujiyama offers, as if it was nestled on a station up the mountain slope, with narrow boat-like serving utensils and in a venue hidden away from the main strip in Surry Hills.  Above , a selection of fresh bluefish tuna, salmon and mackerel.  The ambiance was seemingly cluttered but informally easy, as perhaps what a sit down sake shop should be.

There are rice wines, Australian wines, plum wines, well known mainstream Japanese beers like Sapporo and Asahi, soft drinks, straight shots of Ronin, mixtures of high balls and even a Cabernet blend from Yamanashi.  The latter named is  a rare treat in the Australian market, where it can be a task to ask for wines from outside Australia and New Zealand.

It is meant to be pub-styled food, so servings are necessarily cocktail sized, but each bite of the savoury and not so savoury degustation offers interesting glimpses into the Japanese penchant for texture, intensity and yet lightness, all at the same time.  The long beans shown above have been coated with a distinct sesame dressing.  Below, the view of Paddington styled terrace houses across Waterloo Street, standing at the front of the Izakaya.

A plate of chef Kenji' Maenaka's  fried chicken was sampled, but what intrigued me was the steamed pork belly, garnished with hoba miso and eggplant.  Hoba refers to the magnolia plant  leaf and miso is the bean based paste that most often is a staple of a soup.

My group of nine persons commenced dinner before the sun set, and located centrally on the venue, had the glare from a direct setting sun, with occasional bursts of cloud cover.  Above picture shows the Edamame, salted young soya beans that do go well with beer and the like.

The Izakaya is fashioned in a distinct way, distinguishing itself from the sushi train model and ramen laden civility. It played American tracks from another era in  a brash and upfront way.  Hey, it is meant to be a pub. It is a Japanese pub.  I half expected to see salarymen and geisha types, but being in Surry Hills, the demographic of the guests was not difficult to measure up. Some of them may have wandered from the neighbouring Aussie styled pubs to come have some light and more healthy food, instead of the mash and steaks.

Would I return?  I reckon it's a good choice for a group of mates and it provides the setting of a night out, which means there can be other places to adjourn to after the Izakaya.  In my case, my group went for the Sicilian gelato joint, Messina.  I noticed that all the cooks in the transparent kitchen area were Asian, but the Caucasian staff wore Nippon styled aprons.  Staff were attentive and responsive, especially when it came to drink orders.  Next time I may try the Satsuma Age, home made fish balls with ginger soy sauce, sounding very Chinese; the kingfish nuta with tortilla, garnished with a lime flavoured miso and eaten with a wasabi mayonnaise; their version of a grilled fish head; and the Fujiyama Jaffa cake, a flourless choc concoction with choc custard, ruby grapefruit and of all things, popcorn.

Bar Lissimo Cafe, Foodstore & Catering - Gwynneville, NSW

An interesting new retail concept has been operating in a suburb of Wollongong for the past few months, and until Michael took me there, I was not aware of this delightful outlet where you can shop for deli stuff whilst having your Italian inspired meal and coffee.  The set up at Bar Lissimo reminds me more of Sydney's eastern suburbs or inner city Surry Hills or Balmain / Rozelle rather than an easy drive inland from the Wollongong beaches.   Sauces, preserves, sugary items and well prepared breakfast and lunch items caught my eye. I understand that they are also open on two week nights but not for dinner on weekends, when they complete operations by 2 pm.

Both of us had the pulled pork burger, which was delicious.  I particularly liked the way the pork was prepared, with a sumptuous texture and accompanied by fresh herbs and thin crusty chips.   There are many items to consider in the store, replete with canteen styled wooden tables and other desks for two to four in a  group. You can choose to sit on the ground floor balcony or inside.  Uni is nearby, so watch out for their staff or students.  Service was quick and it was crowded on the day we visited.  "Lissimo" is a musical term in Italian meaning the highest.

Bar Lissimo is located at Shop 4, 174-182 Gipps Road, Gwynneville, a suburb of Wollongong nearer to the escarpment and below Mount Keira. It is part of the Masonic Building which also houses a Chinese supermarket and only a few doors away is the Gwynneville Bakery, with its nice sausage rolls.eLi
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Canberra to Sydney - Dash 4 800 - Vistas from a Window

Taking off from Canberra Airport on a sunny Friday afternoon - order and simplicity at this air terminal.

Approaching Botany Bay (above) and then the Dash makes a curved route to make a landing at Sydney runways from the ocean side (below).  The southern Sydney shire of Sutherland is laid out below , together with the entrance to the King Georges River, a main artery of Australia's largest metropolitan region.  Sydney Airport, Kingsford-Smith with the international,  domestic and airline cargo terminals, is sited rather close to the city centre and its iconic Harbour Bridge.  In 2010, this airport handled 36 million passengers.  It has strict aircraft curfew restrictions in place since 1995, and also has a cap of 80 aircraft landing at any one time, perhaps causing the infamous delays on Friday evenings with aircraft having to go through a waiting pattern over the Blue Mountains or the Canberra region before they are authorised to land.

Above and below, the Dash flies over the Royal National Park, a bush reserve that separates southern Sydney from Wollongong and the start of the NSW South Coast.  The RNP was the first Government declared reserve in Australia, modelled on and inspired by the preservation of the Yellowstone National Park by the US Congress.

It is always impressive to see Sydney, whether from a passenger ship or from an aircraft, so it is good to have a window seat. Something about the ocean and the coastal landscape combine to have this exhilarating effect on passengers as the craft swoops in close to land, whether by night or in the daytime.  The Dash provided  a more personal and close up perspective of this experience.

Aqua Cafe - North Wollongong, NSW

I had the Irish cream milkshake to begin with and ended with a barista made coffee, and in between had some red wine and drinking water. What was more interesting were the dishes served at the Aqua, a long time institution in North Wollongong, popular with cyclists, couples and groups, and the company I had. It was a relaxing arvo, when rain had come down in most of Sydney but not in the Gong, but the Tasman Sea looked only a shade of its true self on a summer's day.

Above, the seared South Coast prawns  served on a roquette salad with avocado, Italian relish and balsamic dressing. Andy and I had this and there was no regret absolutely - the prawns were juicy and tender, not over done and literally melted inside my mouth.  The relish was sufficiently provocative and yet reassuring.  Below, the salt and pepper squid, which Nancee chose,  with a sweet balsamic dressing generously poured over - but what captivated me was the macerated mango slices with fresh mesculin ( a mix of young salad leaves including lettuce, spinach, dandelion greens and raddichio).

The risotto above, chosen by Vinu,  was presented with a bed of rocket, while below, the really red tomato slices celebrated the flathead fish and chips, garnished by a Mediterranean styled canopy of capsicums, lettuce and sweet Spanish onion slices (Chye had this).

Other items that caught my eye are the Fritto Misto ( a rather nice name for a variety of fried sea foods);
the Aqua Cabernet Merlot; the hazelnut milkshake; the guava fruit frappe; the freshly made pineapple juice; the veal escalope;  the Scotch fillet wrapped in pancetta; pan fried mussels with garlic and parsley accompanied by vermicelli; and the seafood marinara served on pasta shells of conchiglioni.  Aqua also distinguishes itself in providing a  choice of entree or mains servings for many of its menu items.

The Aqua Cafe is open everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My impressions of my most recent visit to the Aqua, with a mate, Penang and California relatives, are:

Taste: Rather fresh ingredients used and up lifted the outcomes of each dish ordered.
Service: Friendly but one does wait for over the average time in other restaurants, so do decide early.
Ambiance: Compact space, looks more cafe than restaurant but the food is more restaurant than cafe.
Location: We can see the ocean just a stone's throw across Cliff Drive in North Gong, and those ever present container ships queuing their way to enter Port Kembla.  provides both indoor and outdoor seating.
Innovation in Cuisine: I thought this was good.
Overall: It makes the most of Australian seafood and produce, gives a Mediterranean twist and is worth a try.
Would I return? Yes.

Lunar New Year of the Snake - Gatherings

 William and Martin cut the two flourless chocolate cakes at Cherrybrook, north western Sydney.

Tasty and aromatic Indian styled curry from Nancee.

Beijing duck with skin sliced , ready for use on hoi sin sauce smeared wraps, garnished with shallots and cucumber cuts.

The festive yee sang mix (left of photo above) and the dried pork jerky (right of photo above), two dishes with auspicious meaning for the Lunar New Year.  Picture taken in Carlingford, NSW.  Yee sang has raw salmon, crunchy bits, fresh herbs, chili garnish and a light sour and sweet dressing.

One of the best quiche I have ever eaten, made by William of North Ryde, NSW.

Egg based noodles, stir fried with broccoli, to provide a lighter contrast to the richer foods on the table.

Cakes and more. Reunions and catch ups. Relaxing summer afternoon and easy chats. Photo credit to Zoe Yu.

Lai Mee's version of  the yee sang (above) and caught at late lunch (below).