The Harbourfront Restaurant, Wollongong Harbour, NSW

Authentic, with a savoury sauce that got the palate going as an entree. Prawns can be de-veined and are lightly touched with lemon juice and set aside. Scallions, garlic, celery and parsley are finely chopped to get the flavours started. The chopped herbs are sauteed in cooking oil. The brew is enriched with broth, dry white wine, salt and pepper.  The ready sauce is added with the prepared prawns and sprinkled  with chopped oregano and crumbled feta cheese. Then everything goes to be baked at 400 degrees Celsius for at most 15 minutes.  Garnish with cherry tomatoes and fresh scallions.

What differentiates the Harboufront Restaurant in Wollongong from its fellow practitioners?  I reckon it is the quality of the seafood and the service.  The ambiance may already be pre-determined by its harbour side setting, with guests being able to look out to the calm waters of a marina and further gaze into the escarpment holding tall above the Illawarra coast.  It is the careful and friendly way the staff attend to you , from when you step in, to when you ask for things away from the menu, that make a difference. It is the texture, flavour and integrity of the ingredients used, plus the accompanying sauces and garnishing, that complete the satisfying picture.

Although I have been at the Harbour Front before for pre Christmas meals, it was a pleasure to visit it  again to mark the Lunar New Year of the Snake, to relax with a good mate.  I thoroughly enjoyed a great conversation, spurred on by three other wonderful experiences -  the Long Board pale ale(local top the Illawarra and was served by the Harbourfront);  the Sartorini prawns (photo above); and the affagato coffee consumed after the mains.  My mate had the five point lamb rack, whilst I reaffirmed the Harbourfront's speciality in seafood by enjoying my choice of moist grilled salmon and a grilled scampi (picture below).

The chefs Joshua Marks and David Vidal have a gem going for them, the restaurant being winners of the category of Best Seafood, South Coast NSW as recently as last year.  The restaurant also overlooks the fishing boats coming in occasionally from the day and night's outing to the Tasman Sea.  Seasonal sensitivity in choice of ingredients may be a key factor.  Established in 1984, Harbourfront continues to enjoy a neighbourhood with a renovated Belmore Basin, a demographic who appreciates surfing and other ocean side delights the ocean and more properties rising in value along next door Cliff Road.

There is no traffic rush on evenings in Wollongong CBD, unless there is an NRL game live at the nearby WIN Stadium.  Summer lunchtime, or when the weather remains sunny and balmy during any season in the year, can pose vehicle parking issues but it is most often just a nice stroll away to the Harbourfront.  I have hardly tried their meat offerings like Angus Scotch and their rib eye.   There are Italian inspired creations with gnocchi, calamari and panna cotta, but I stand always with the John Dory, snapper, barramundi and Atlantic salmon served at the Harbourfront.  They also have wedding function and dinner packages.  I recall fondly their seafood platters, both with cold and warm items, as they handle crustaceans well. There is a reserve wine list, consisting of mainly Yalumbas, Penfolds and Henschke, plus a range of premium spirits like bourbons, Pimms, Cinzano, Bombay Sapphire and Captain Morgans rum.  A ground floor venue accessible from the main upper two floor dining site also provides a more casual beach cafe option.

The Urban Pantry - Manuka, Canberra

Egg Benedict, perhaps the smallest serve I have experienced, with only several pieces of leg ham bits and a small slice of Sonoma sourdough. A Friday morning in February 2013.

It is a dinner, brunch, lunch and breakfast place that will do well in any trendy setting.  It carefully describes and offers its produce as organic and fresh.  It provides options as gluten free and free range.  The Urban Pantry has quick acting staff and customers were so relaxed on the morning I had walked over from the Rydges Capital.   There were several similar places open that early morning, but this one was the most busy.  I had a breakfast smoothie in a tall glass (AUD8) and the Eggs Benedict shown above.  I did consider the buttermilk pancakes, but I was bothered with the infused mascaporne so early in the day. The smoothie was made from oats, honey, bananas, almonds and berries, all blended with milk.

The proximity of the Urban Pantry to the Australian Parliament may underlie its understated importance of a place where networking, intrigue and dealing may take place. Up front, it was a lively gathering hole for a variety of demographics, ranging from women friends, couples, office types, retirees and families.

Urban Pantry's stated philosophy is to provide a warm space for customers and to serve with knowledge and finesse. They do take extra attention with the earthy decor and rustic accessories. However, the tables are unavoidably small to make more effective use of the nature of the venue.  Urban Pantry does come out with unique choices like a braised duck leg risotto, garnished by orange butter and sugar snap peas.  They are strong on the meat table with suggestions like veal medallions, fennel salted pork tenderloins, herb crusted lamb rump and the roast duck breast forming a bed below pearled barley and pecans with a pomegranate dressing.  There are different surcharges to a guest's bill between Sundays (open till 2pm only) and public holidays.

Situated at one strategic corner of the Lawns in Manuka,  it can be crowded inside but offers options of el fresco seating on the corridors outside.

Other breakfast items that caught my eye served at other tables were the sweet corn and zucchini fritters served on toast and graced by bocconcini, spinach, basil and cherry tomatoes.  Apart from modern Australian, there are hints of Mediterranean fare available - for example for lunchtime, there is a burger accompanied with green pea falafel, quinoa tabbouleh and tahini yogurt; and for both lunch and dinner, the pappardelle with king prawns, zucchini ribbons, chill, lemon and mint.   Dessert delights include traditional Dutch dumplings and the coconut rice pudding, enhanced with passion fruit syrup and mango sorbet.  The store also offers a wide variety of oils, antipasti, preserves, whilst also embracing its own coffee blends.

Salmon Tamarind Flavoured Curry

Tender bites of Omega 3 laden fish. Moist seafood infused with sensations of produce from herb and spice plantations, with hints of the monsoon breeze and served with fluffy basmati rice that is neither overcooked nor too dry. The gravy seeps into the rice and juicy tomato cuts.  An appetising possibility awaits you on the dining table. You long for this to be served on banana leaves but it is good enough on white china.  You wait for a beer, or something soothing and cool to accompany this dish.

This was a daily affair for the colonial officer a hundred years ago, whether he was based in India, Ceylon, Malaya or Indochine.  The home country was only but a memory on a sweaty and humid tropical evening.  The kitchen was well staffed, mainly with women who stayed at home the whole day long, not out of choice but cocooned in convention.

Freshness is everything and sets the tone, but can also be considered to balance out the richness of seafood curry.
Light bites of green grapes and muscato can help provide alternatives on the palate.
Italian tomatoes are always favoured to blend in with salmon.

Tamarind flavoured salmon curry is perhaps an illustration of contemporary fusion, but has roots that go back to the Straits Chinese and Straits Indian kitchens of Malacca, Penang and Singapore.  The fish is not native to South-east Asia but the spice mix is.  Lemon grass, onions, garlic, chillies, gelangal and the kantan flower are all finely cut and lovingly pounded by mortar and postal to bring out the best nuances and potential of these ingredients. The pounded result of a consistent paste is then garnished with bits of the dried shrimp concoction of the belacan, bathed with tamarind juices and showered with pinches of sugar and salt before being placed to the cooking pot.  Only when the flavours rise from the simmering paste do the salmon pieces go into the next step of brewing the produce of the oceans with the produce of the land.  Note that for this recipe, yummy large fish heads can be used instead of salmon fillets.

Salmon, fresh from the markets and sliced into manageable slices and with enough surface area to absorb the brewing spices and flavours.  Texture, appearance and taste all intertwine into a powerful combination.

Rice is one of the most manually exacting crops to grow and harvest. Every little grain is a microcosm of the biological cycle and reflects attention to detail and an encapsulation of quality and hard work. When eaten with the salmon curry, the appreciation for rice is enhanced.

Ona Coffee - Manuka, Canberra

Serbian born Sasa Sestic not only has a torrid affair with coffee,  but also enjoyed the game of hand ball and loved chocolates. Ona Saw outlet had its beginnings in Manuka itself in the Australian Capital Territory. This started with chocolates but then coffee was selling better.  In 2007, Sasa began seriously going into the art of coffee bean roasting, with two mates, Aaron Howman and Angus Mackie.  It is said the guys from the start longed to - and did -  produce niche and unique coffee. And so the story of Ona began.  They source their single origin and blended  beans from places as diverse as Malawi, Costa Rica and Italy.  Today, Ona not only brews, but offers barista sessions, holds community gatherings, whips up cafe food, organises coffee themed events and sells related hardware and accessories.

The deep passion shown by Sasa translates into the coffee served at the Manuka cafe. Here, crowds already gathered on the early Friday morning I visited the place. There is an air of positive intensity as the baristas concentrate on their craft, whilst customers willingly abide and quietly soak in the ritual. There are expectations.  There is a focus on business, yet also the carrying out of a craft.  There is a flow and momentum behind the coffee machine.

Ona also has branches in the Jindabyne /Perisher area and Newcastle in NSW, whilst in Queensland, you can  find an outlet in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast.  Interesting enough, they have come up with a decaffeinated premium product for sale, together with several others which can be found in store and on line.  The site in the Lawns in Manuka may seem compact, but there is a vibrancy found from the product - strength, flavour and texture of the coffee beans used - and the service delivery, with  a village feel.

Would I return? A definite yes, I reckon this is the best coffee I have had in Canberra. This a must visit for anyone then going to explore further the delights of Manuka - the church, the cinema and an orderly  neighbourhood - before choosing a place for lunch time. Maybe the Ona Coffee Cafe again!

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.