Besides Rockpool, this is probably the most highly rated restaurant we are heading to thus far in Sydney. Awarded Two Chef’s Hat in the latest Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, we were having some great expectations for the restaurant.

After spending the day walking around Paddington, we headed to Buon Ricordo where Thad had made a reservation the night before. I was really looking forward to it!

Buon Ricordo, which means “Good memories” in Italian, is located in a nondescript double-storey building near Darlinghurst. If not for the pretty salmon-pink color, it’s quite an easy building to miss.

I’m loving the rustic iron-wrought balcony and overhanging signage. Unlike many restaurants, there’s no way of taking a peek into it. In fact, we weren’t quite sure if we were too early as they didn’t appear open. Our reservation was for 6.30pm and it was about 6.15pm. We knocked on the wooden door and a very polite server and maitre’d held the door open and welcomed us in.

We were seated in the ground-level of the restaurant, which was very intimate and quaint. Decoration was rather old-skool which exuded a cosy charm. I hear that the second-level is more modern and chic. There was only one other couple at this time, and the atmosphere was rather quiet you could hear a pin drop. I’m not very accustomed to intimate restaurants where everything is hush-hush and you can feel the servers’ eyeing you from the corner so I have to admit, I was starting to dread how the night was going to proceed.

We pretty much knew what dishes we were going to order; we just wasn’t sure sure what portion we wanted them in. Eventually we ordered two primi piatta and a secondi piatti. When we asked the server if we should order a side, I appreciated his advice that we were having quite a bit of pasta and perhaps it was best to consider later once we’ve had our dishes.

He brought along a basket of bread shortly to start off the night. I loved munching on the breadsticks! Thad said the slices of bread were really tough even with the soaking of olive oil so I left them untouched. At this point, we were offered complimentry amuse bouche of bruschetta, courtesy of Chef Armando, which was a really nice touch. Unfortunately we devoured those too quickly and I didn’t get to take a picture! Suffice to say, it was delish with juicy roma tomatoes and a rather copious amount of olive oil.

Timballo Napoletano @ $35

Our primi piatti arrived not long after. We ordered the Timballo Napoletano, which is Chef Armando’s take on an 18th-century Neapolitan festive dish. The tubular-shaped pasta is stuffed with peas, minced meat, eggs and tomato sauce. The dish actually arrived with the pasta “standing upright” which was quite a pretty sight. Unfortunately, I didn’t stop our server in time and he proceeded to demolish the dish and served the individual portions to us. Thankfully, even with the “demolition” he managed to stack them up quite prettily on our individual plates.

Mmmmm. This was really flavourful and delish. Quite the comfort food that is hard to go wrong. But difficult to blow your mind too. However, a testament to the delicious flavours of this dish was that Thad was raving about it after. And he DOES NOT LIKE tomato-based pasta, unlike me. This dish was mopped up clean in no time. Also, I have to point out that what is pictured is HALF the portion – the servings were very generous.

While waiting for the secondi piatti, more diners arrived and the restaurant became more lively with cheery banters between diners and servers. Chef Armando himself came out of the kitchen to recieve some guests, possibly regulars as I see him giving specific instructions to the server appointed to the tables. He runs a tight ship – throughout the night I see his head peering through the kitchen door ever so often to see how the night was going.

The dish that arrived next is the one reviewed in magazines all over and what made Chef Armando famous in the first place – the Fettucine al Tartufovo (Fettucine with Truffle Infused Eggs). I ordered it as a primi while Thad ordered as a Secondi, which we were told was a DOUBLE primi. Eeeeks!

First, the cheese was brought out. Blocks of cheese.

The dish was served with two fried eggs atop (for Thad’s portion). Now, these aren’t your regular eggs. They are TRUFFLE INFUSED. We were told that the eggs are kept in an air-tight container with truffles, and the truffle flavour gets infused within the eggs. Also, the flavour is infused within the egg yolk and not the egg white.

The server then proceeds to grate BLOCKS and BLOCKS of cheese. Even Thad, who is the avid cheese-lover, had his eyes popped looking at the amount of cheese being grated over his pasta.

Finally, he proceeds to toss the pasta, mixing up the cheese, pasta and egg. At this point – woomph! – the flavour of the truffle hits you like a brick! Seeing our reaction, the server quipped “Do you smell it now? You didn’t smell if before because I didn’t break the yolk yet. Now when I mix it all up, the flavours come out!”

My lame attempt at capturing a picture of our very earnest and modelesque server – he could be on the cover of GQ!

Thad digging into the very rich and indulgent Fettucine al Tartufovo. Yes, he stood out in the crowd of shirts and suits with this Superdry t-shirt (and bermudas might I add).

My 3-step fettucine.

Fettucine al Tartufovo (Fettuccine with cream and parmesan, topped with a fried truffle egg). Tossed at the table. $33.50 as Primi; $45.50 as Secondi (Pictured: Primi Piatti)

I’m rather embarrassed to say that we both struggled through the dish. Nono, not because it was bad, but because it was so rich! The truffle, the cheese, the cream… oh boy. It was probably a cardiologist’s nightmare. One thing was for sure – they didn’t skimp on the truffle. If you’re a truffle-addict, this dish is for you. We also had the heavy Timballo as an entree earlier, which probably filled us up more than we had thought.

We took our time with the dish, but eventually Thad had to give up. It IS a portion for TWO if you think about it! The server reappeared at our table and gave a sympathetic look – “probably a bit too much?” Not wanting us to overeat and make ourselves sick from what is an otherwise great dish, we stopped and allowed him to clear what was left.

Now, you didn’t think we were going to leave without having dessert do you? With Thad, there’s ALWAYS room for dessert. I like to tell people that I’m fairly proud of the fact that I haven’t ballooned into Augustus Gloop given the amount of meals and dishes I have to eat with the husband.

Dolce – Semifreddo Torrone $21

For dessert, we asked the server for recommendation and he pointed us towards the Semifreddo Torrone, a combination of Italian nougat ice-cream, pistachio cream drizzle and candied fruits. The dessert was lovely – I loved the crunchiness of the nougat and almonds, it wasn’t too sweet despite the candied fruits and helped remove the feeling of heaviness from the earlier dishes. The pistachio cream was especially intriguing. A wonderful way to wind up a good meal. We also appreciated their thoughtfulness in portioning out the desserts into two plates when they realized we were sharing (although that might be less appreciated by couple in a burgeoning relationship yearning to feed each other mouthfuls of desserts). I digress.

For a Two Chef’s Hat restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised by the pricing. Yes, expensive for pasta but not so expensive for what is regarded as one of the top restaurants in Australia. The fact that we were stuffed meant that we over-ordered as well. Unlike some reviews that I read, service was very pleasant and non-intrusive. I can imagine that with the way we were dressed we would have been slighted at many other restaurants, but we received none of that nonsense here.

All in all, a lovely date night (: The other restaurant that we have our eye on is non other that Tetsuya’s, who happens to be a very good friend of Armando!

Buon Ricordo
108 Boundary Street, Paddington
Telephone: (02) 9360 6729
Reservations recommended.

Finally got round to uploading the wedding highlights! Only the morning highlights available at the moment. The night program – with all the speeches, songs and dances – will be available in due time!

Enjoy

Edit: Is anyone having problems viewing the video?

I have so many incomplete posts in my account!! Absolutely backlogged with a bunch of food posts!

Amongst my backlog was this entry on one of the most popular casual Japanese eatery in Sydney – Wagaya Japanese Restaurant. With it’s reasonable prices, chic interior and funky technology, it’s proving to be a very popular destination for group gatherings!

As a result, it’s REALLY tough to get seats for dinner. Reservations definitely recommended. The place is closed for lunch, which only serves to make the line for dinner even longer. Walk in on an average night and the wait is at least 30-35minutes. Once again, the trick is to show up early for dinner.

One of the highlights of the restaurants are these touchscreen ordering systems. It’s quite funny how it’s hyped up in Sydney, because Sakae Sushi back in Singapore has had them for YEARS! Essentially you browse through the electronic menu, place your orders and your food and drinks get delivered to your table very shortly!

Agedeshi soft shell crab @ $7.50

We ordered a few appetizers to share. There were 3 pieces of agedashi tofu which works out perfectly for Mikey, Thad and I. The tofu was okay – I usually prefer the sauce to be a tad sweeter, as this was bordering on sourness. What really elevated the dish was the soft-shell crab – ooh!! It was hot and crunchy, none of the sogginess you encounter at many restaurants. AND, I discovered that the husband doesn’t like soft-shell crab! Imagine the surprise! Ah well, you continue to learn something new, even after 7 years. More soft-shell crabs for me!

Ox Tongue skewers @ $5.50

Here’s something that he likes! He loves ox-tongue curry rice, so no surprise here. These were really tender and chewy. I know a lot of people out there cringe at the thought of eating ox tongue, but honestly, it’s just another part of the animal. I’m of the view that if you’re going to slaughter an animal for food, you should make the most of whichever part can be eaten. Hm, the only other animal’s tongue I’ve had is the duck – and yes, the ox has a LOT more meat. Speaking of which, I wonder how many pieces of skewers you can get from one cow’s tongue?

Chicken Nanban & Tartar Sauce @ $8.50

Oh this was so yummy! And NO, it’s not because of the tartar sauce. The meat was really succulent and well-marinated. I will happily lap it up without the tartar sauce!

Dragon Roll @ $9.50

We weren’t really sure what the Dragon Roll was but it sounded cool enough. Essentially, it’s Unagi Roll which really can’t go wrong. What I did love was the crispy fried lotus-root chip topping the sushi – really wonderful to nibble on!

Salmon Avocado @ $3.50 each

Haha these were so ridiculously huge! It was stuffed with SO much rice. They also gave huge slabs of avocado and salmon, which gave it the wonderfully creamy texture.

Ox Tongue, Chicken Gizzards @ $4.50, Salmon Avocado Handroll

The middle dish is the Chicken Gizzards. Unfortunately, these were overcooked so they were really “bouncy” and crunchy – and not in a good way.

Scallop & Garlic Fried Rice @ $9.90

The Scallop & Garlic Fried Rice comes sizzling hot in a stone bowl. It might look like a plain and simple dish, but it’s really flavourful and makes a wonderful base to eat your other dishes with (yes, we are so Chinese – we need to have rice with everything!). Actually, I take that back. I think it’s actually yummy to eat it on its own!

Mentaiko Pasta @ $9.50 – Popular!

Voila! My must-have dish – Mentaiko Pasta!! Slightly creamier than I would have liked (it bordered on a Carbonara), it’s still really delish with generous sprinkling of mentaiko, squid and mushrooms. No surprise that it was tagged “Popular!” on the menu.

Black Sesame Ice-Cream @ $4.50

What better way to round up a meal with servings of ice-cream! They only have three flavours – vanilla, green tea and black sesame, which is a shame because their ice-cream is really smooth and creamy! And served in a big heap too!

Maccha Green Tea Ice-Cream @ $4.50

We all agreed the Maccha was better than the Black Sesame. The Black Sesame tasted a little artificial and was lacking the ‘charred’ taste that comes with a lot of Black Sesame dessert. I know there are people who actually dislike the ‘charred’ taste, but I think that’s the essence of Black Sesame-flavoured desserts! The Maccha on the hand had just the right taste of bitterness, and went down very well after a heavy meal. And the chocolate wafer was crispy to boot! Thumbs-up!

Our bill for 3 people came up to $89.20 – for just $30 per person, we had quite a lot to eat! Service was efficient and we were not hurried at all despite the long waiting line, the restaurant’s decor was modern and we love the booth-style seating areas for slightly more privacy and it’s at a convenient location.

Wagaya Japanese Restaurant
Address:
Level 1, 78-86 Harbour St, Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9212 6068

I sign up for free stuff on a regular basis but a lot of times they are pretty sad samples. But check out what came in the mail today!

Funny packaging

Very generous full-size samples! Rock salt and roasted garlic flavoured ABE’s Bagel Crisps!

Thanks ABE’s!

Ok, Starting a firePLACE! (alright, I was more of a bystander… but someone had to help take the photos!)

Enjoying the fruits of their labour.

Something totally unnecessary in Singapore!

After having a good night’s rest at our cottage, we awoke to a blanket of grey skies and continuous drizzle. But we weren’t going to let a bit of rain (ok, it was quite the thunderstorm) stop us from enjoying our long weekend at Hunter Valley!

What better way to cheer up the day but a trip to the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company!

Chocolates galore! Lemon myrtle, chocolate-covered coffeebeans/strawberries/marshmellow/macadamia/fill-in-the-blank, reeses pieces, chilli chocolate… there was really quite an amazing variety!

My favourite section was the special pralines! Look at how real they look! Would have bought him a tub of the golf ball pralines for his birthday… two of his favourite things in one!

Koala!!! A coffee bean for its nose – how cute!

Penguins!! Complete with orange beaks!

We didn’t purchase any this time round, but my bro and sis-in-law did get us a lovely box the last time they were here! There was a “cupcake”, a “champignon” and my favourite “cappucino” !!

And then we came to a very inappropriate food section! I imagine a lot of parents have had to steer their kids away from the section to avoid answering some very awkward questions…

Ahem?

Ahem ahem…

The boys and their chocolate stash!

Hunter Valley Chocolate Company
http://www.hvchocolate.com.au/index.shtml
Petersons Champagne House, Broke Road, POKOLBIN NSW 2320
P: (02) 4998 7301
F: (02) 4998 7224

Factory and Showroom, 820 Lovedale Road, LOVEDALE NSW 2325
P: (02) 4930 7388
F: (02) 4930 7488

Enjoyed a tipple at Audrey Wilkinson and more!

Going goofy wine-tasting!

The very lovely Graham from Audrey Wilkinson guiding us at our wine-tasting session.

Gorgeous views of the vineyards from Audrey Wilkinson.

We took off to Hunter Valley for the weekend and stayed at our very own little cottage!

Lovely verandah where we had our brekkies…

Cosy cottage with a real fireplace!

We’ll be taking a weekend trip to the wineries at Hunter Valley, staying at our own little country house!

I had something else in mind to kick-off the 30-New-Things campaign, but something else came up…

1. Samoa Tsunami
2. Philippines Floods
3. Indonesian Earthquake

It’s horrific how all these disasters happened at the same time. I can’t imagine how stretched rescue teams and charities are at the moment. Someone in the office sent an email around appealing for supplies and I thought I’ll try to bring something tomorrow. We’ve all donated money at some point in time, but there’s something quite different about putting together a supplies package. So many thoughts went through my head as I tried to put some stuff together.

“Will someone find this useful?”
“If the person has lost everything in his home, how useful is a pair of shorts?”
“Is it not very nice to put in the t-shirt that I no longer wear?”
“Is it practical to send things like can goods where it’s very chunky to transport?”

I looked around the house looking for something to put in, and when it boiled down to what someone needs when he has lost EVERYTHING, I realized a lot of things we have at home are useless in those situations. Who needs DVDs when he doesn’t have electricity? Who needs shower gels when he doesn’t even have water supply?

But. A person who has lost EVERYTHING, could definitely do with SOMETHING.

So here’s a pile of towels that we have at home. Not sure why we have, like, 7 towels, for just 2 people. Still going around the house trying to pack in as many things as we can.

I know it’s not something exciting as a new thing to do for the day, but hopefully it’s a lot more meaningful.

Please help where you can!