Ocean Room, Circular Quay Sydney

Ocean Room had always been on my list of restaurants to visit however I just had not have a chance to pay a visit until I received a notification email from the Ocean Room that the restaurant will operate on its last day in mid April 2014. Quite a shocking news!

Ocean Room was located at the Overseas Passenger Terminal near the historic The Rocks. Due to compulsory development of the terminal announced by the Sydney Ports Corporation, the restaurant which opened its door for the first time in 2004 had to say good bye to its customers in April this year. So there are no other choices but to book in!

Please stay with me while I share my magical experience with Japanese food with you :)

Ocean Room (My Rating: An amazing 9/10)

Entertainment book voucher accepted? Yes

Overseas Passenger Terminal at the Rocks

The Back Door of Restaurant

Dim Light Interior

Hundreds of Bamboos Hanging from the Ceiling Just Above from where I sat

Left: Violet Mist Cocktail - Shirashinken Barley Shochu, Creme de Violette, Lemon
Right: Afternoon Tea Mocktail - Earl Grey Tea, Orange Juice, Mint, Sugar Syrup & Housemade Marmalade

The cocktail came in a such a pretty pastel blue colour with three dried roses on the top however the roses were just for decoration purpose only, the alcohol taste of it was not so strong. On the right side, the mocktail tasted just like earl grey tea with a few other ingredients which lifted the flavour of the tea itself however there was no X factor in this tall glass.

Customers are offered either ala carte menu or 12-course tasting menu which was created by the executive chef of Ocean Room, Raita Noda. The BF and I would love to try many dishes with smaller quantity thus we opted for the latter which costed $120 per person for 12 beautiful courses. That was quite a catch considering the quantity and the quality of food served and each of us had our own plate for each course so we didn't have to fight over the food (quite a relief!).

1st course: Kaki - Cold Smoked Sydney Rock Oysters, Tomato Water Jelly, Chili Pearl, Baby Basil

The first course came out pretty fast, the oysters did not have strong smoked flavour however they were so fresh so no complaint about the freshness of seafood even from the very first course. The other components compliment the oyster lightly without overshadowing the natural oyster flavour.

2nd course: Ochazuke - Cold Drip Dashi & Gyokuro Green Tea, Flame Seared Latchet, Rice Crust & Umeboshi Sorbet

I found this dish was interestingly bizarre in term of flavour as it was too sour to my liking even though I do love sour food! The green powder on top of the glass was wasabi powder and you're supposed to eat everything from the glass in one sip combined with the wasabi powder. However I had to lick a bit of the powder as it sticked quite well to the glass LOL

The red meat in the glass was the latchet fish, I googled it and was quite shocked with the shape of latchet species. It looks like a fish with butterflies wings!

The Close Up of Ochazuke

3rd Course: Maguro - Yellow Fin Tuna, Sicilian Green Olive & Buffalo Mozzarella Drops Soy Pearls, Tomato Chips

The most interesting elements on this dish were the green and white coloured drops on the right side of the dish, I love the fact that they bursted into my mouth once bitten.

4th Course: Canned Ocean Room

I was so excited about this dish, opening a closed tin like a happy young kid opening a can of Coke. Inside the tin there were fresh cuttlefish stamped with an unknown symbol, crab meat, fresh roe, sea urchin, okra & eel. Soya sauce, wasabi and nori seaweed were served on the side.

We guessed the right way to enjoy it was to place the fresh seafood inside the nori and rolled it however we might be wrong, we enjoyed this course while commenting about how cool the tin packaging was.

Wrapping the Fresh Seafood inside the Nori Seaweed

5th Course: Onsen - Winter Vegetable Collection, Yaki-Onigiri, Black Shichimi, House Made Anchovy & Garlic Bath

How can a dish be so beautiful and yummy at the same time?! The vegetable was supposed to be eaten by dipping it into the garlic anchovy sauce which was heated by the candle beneath the bowl. This dish represented Japanese hot bath. I could not get enough of the sauce which was so fragrant.

6th Course: Kassen - Daily Seasonal Sashimi Collection

Starting from the left side; they were freshly smoked salmon, king fish, bonito and tuna. The presentation of the smoked salmon in a glass was amazing as I had only ever seen it in cooking TV show. The taste of the smoked salmon was strong but not overwhelming and the freshness of the seafood was not a question at all.

Collection of Fresh Fishes in Season

7th Course: Foie Gras - Pan seared, Oden Daikon, Seasonal Mushrooms, Horseradish

As the courses moving on, we started having a more heavier and savoury dish. The foie gras was so soft in texture and for those of you who are not aware what foie gras means, it is a French delicacy which was made of duck/goose liver which has been fattened. The daikon complemented the strength of the foie gras flavour perfectly.

8th Course: Miso Cod - Grilled Sweet Miso Cod, Zucchini Flower, Ginger Risotto, Orange Miso

The fish was so sweet with a hint of miso flavour and I would not mind having another piece of the sweet miso cod as I loved it too much. The fried zucchini flower was stuffed with ginger risotto which was just okay.

9th Course: Butabara - Simmered Pork Belly, Melting Tofu, Soy Broth, Yuzu Chili Ponzu

Pouring the Chili Ponzu to the Bag of Pork

This dish came in a tied plastic bag and the waiter cut the bag in front of us releasing the hot steam of the soy broth. The pork belly was so soft I felt like it was melting in my mouth. At this stage we felt so full already but we were still waiting eagerly on the last 3 dishes.

10th Course: Deconstructed Burrito - Wagyu Flat Iron Steak, Chili Con Carne, Tornado Potato

The steak was grilled to perfect medium rare, the tornado potato was crispy however the chill con carne was just average. Don't expect an awesome Mexican chili con carne from a fancy Japanese restaurant.

The Fully Packed Restaurant on Its Last Day of Operation 

Ocean Room Bar

11th Course: Edo-Mae Sushi - Authentic Tokyo Style Nigiri Sushi

12th Course: Hotondo Ichigo - Strawberry Mascarpone, Strawberry Chips, Sweetened Beetroot, Pop Soda Strawberry, Minty Lemon Air

After 11 courses of savoury dish, a sweet ending was a must to wash down all the courses we had smashed earlier. The mascarpone was creamy but so light and was not overly sweet, it was a really pleasant course to finish off.

The View from the Front 

In conclusion, this experience had been amazing and we would like to thank and say the last good bye to Ocean Room for the magical experience throughout the night. We were advised that there might be a chance for Raita Noda the executive chef to re-open a new restaurant in the following year while he is enjoying a career break for the rest of this year.

Sayonara for now, Ocean Room! You have served us very well.

Ocean Room used to be located at:
Ground Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal
Circular Quay West, The Rocks Sydney 

Kusina Filipino Restaurant - Weston Creek, Canberra

Kusina is the only Filipino restaurant in Canberra and it is a family owned restaurant. Kusina means Kitchen in Filipino. I have never tried Filipino food before so I was so excited about the visit. 

Kusina Restaurant (My Rating: 8/10)

The service is extremely friendly here. The menu is not extensive, it is listed on just one page with dessert selections on another menu. We found it a bit tricky to choose which dish to order as the dishes on the menu are so unfamiliar to us and everything looks interesting.

Pritong  Talong $8

This was a vegetarian entree dish; it was a fried eggplant with tomato, red onion, salted duck eggs and garlic sauce. There were 4 portions of eggplants in the dish. OMG it was finger licking delicious, the salted egg complimented the fried eggplant and mayo perfectly. I wanted more!!!

Chicken Inasal $20 & Garlic Rice $3.50

As a no. 1 garlic fan, the garlic rice is always a compulsory order every time I visit this place. Try this garlic rice instead of the plain white rice if you are in the same garlic fan club as me :)

Chicken Inasal was a dish of grilled chicken marinated in lemon grass, garlic, ginger and came with a bowl of  their special soy sauce. I was not sure whether it was half chicken portion as it was not stated on the menu and I was too busy enjoying to pay attention to it. The chicken was so tender and was full of aromatic spices.

Inihaw Na Isda $22

 This was a whole grilled baby snapper topped with spicy mango salsa. The price of the dish was not counted by the weight of the fish. We were lucky enough that night to get a quite big snapper, sometimes I had a smaller size of snapper on my other visits.

The spicy mango salsa consisted of cubes of ripened mangoes, lime juice, chopped red onion, baby eggplants and spring onion. The salsa was so fresh and complimented the snapper really well. The poor fish was left only with bones even the head part as my favourite part is the cheek. Chinese do consider fish cheek as a delicacy!

Bicol Express $18.50

This dish was pork belly braised in spicy coconut cream. The belly was so tender it fell apart with just a touch of a fork. As it is quite a rich dish, it is best to share with someone else.

Demolition In Process

Special Menu Sunday

Desserts

In overall the friendly service and the delicious food are making Kusina one of my favourite restaurant in Canberra.


WHERE CAN I FIND THE FOOD LISTED ABOVE???
Kusina - Cooleman Court, Weston Creek ACT 2611

Sage Restaurant (5 Course Tasting Menu) - Braddon, Canberra

Sage is a fine dining restaurant in Braddon which offers Modern Australian cuisine. It is located at the heritage building Gorman House Arts Centre. The Gorman House was first opened officially in 1925 as a government hostel and was used up to 1972 as accommodation for public servants. 1981 saw the conversion of the building into an arts centre which is still the case until now. 

Sage Restaurant (5 Course Tasting Menu) (My Rating: 7/10)  

Signage at The Front of Sage Restaurant

Mint Garden Bar - Part of Sage Group

Sage Restaurant Atmosphere on Dinner Time

Sage held "Taste & Test" event available for Tuesday to Thursday dinner during the 5-week period from the 27 August to 26 September. The 5 course tasting menu costed $60 and the diners were given a chance to enjoy and provide feedback on each course. 

The dishes which earned the most positive feedback from the diners will be included as the new permanent menu in the restaurant. The new tasting menus change every week during the 5 week. I personally think that the idea of introducing this event is very smart, business and feedback at the same time! 

Handmade Plates as Used in Sage are Available for Sale

Bread & Butter on a Unique Handmade Plate

I dined at Sage on the third week and as I made the reservation just the week before I was allocated a seat on 8.30pm. The restaurant space is not big and the environment reminded me of the Ginger Room Restaurant at the Old Parliament House (Ginger Room is now closed).

The table was covered with a plain white paper with the same size as the table. The waiter came with the biggest stamp I have ever seen in my life and stamped on the right side of the table where each patron sat. Starting from there my 2-hour career as a food judge commenced :)

The comments on the 5 course testing menu are on the second last picture. I will share my feedback for Sage to you there.

Pan Fried Brocollis, Puffed Rice & Rockford Blue Cheese

Ponzu Tuna, Avocado & Tomato, Yam Chips, Seaweed Crumbs and Lime Sauce

Hamcock & Pork Belly Ravioli, Pork Crackles and Red Wine Jus

Duck Rillette, Potato Hash, Pickled Cabbage, Cheese and Dijon Mustard

Fresh Berries, Meringues, Lime Sauce, Caramel Sauce and Sauvignon Sauce

This Is How It Feels Being Like a "Masterchef" Judge

It was an enjoyable dining experience although there was some hit and miss on each course. Degustation means small testing dish which left the poor BF still a bit hungry so he stuffed his stomach with the complimentary breads served by Sage so that he did not need to visit a junk food store afterward haha.

I was recently contacted by Sage that after the "Taste & Test" event they have developed the 5 course degustation menu for this spring season for $60 instead of $95. So why not try it?


WHERE CAN I FIND THE FOOD LISTED ABOVE???
Sage Dining Rooms - Gorman House Art Centre, Batman Street Braddon ACT