Fish & Chips at the Fishery, Milton, Brisbane

I have an issue with cooked fish ... I didn't even eat battered & fried fish as a kid. I ate lots of chips, and pluto pups, and bacon egg rolls, and pineapple fritters. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy eating fish! Mainly raw fish though. It's the texture of cooked fish I generally don't like. Living in Hokkaido for close to 3 years though, I have developed a whole new appreciation for fish .. tsubodai is my favorite thing to get at an Izakaya now - a rich, fatty fish from the Northern seas of Japan that is salted and hung to dry for a day or two before being grilled over charcoal. I even somewhere along the way, in my last couple of visits developed a real liking to battered fish - even when it tastes of more than oil & salt.

Now, we eat a fair bit of fish in Japan, as you would ... but it's the same with beef. We are blessed with some of the most premium beef & seafood products in the world. The quality is gob-smacking, and that's just the stuff in the supermarket! But, like we still often crave for a nice, grilled steak as everything you get in the stores is small portions, usually sliced very thin, and so rich I don't even think eating a 300g steak would be possible without some serious stomach cramps!

Fish is the same, the quality and variety of fish we get at the supermarket exceeds anything I could have dreamed of. But again, because of the quality & just their culture of how they eat, fish is eaten in small amounts, often raw, or grilled bone in, used to flavor stocks or salted & dried. A huge chunk of meaty, white fish coated in a thick batter and fried until golden .... nuh uh, not around here. Even if we are lucky to find seafood other than shrimp tempura'd, the batter is much lighter and the pieces of seafood would be tiny bite sized bits. Which brings me back to Fish & Chips. Something I now crave when heading back home. Sitting outside, by the water, a whole spread of deep-fried goodness with wedges of lemon & a Bundaberg Ginger Beer, bliss!!

The world of twitter introduced me to The Fishery at Milton. This was on our must-eat list. The address is punched into the Tom Tom and before we know it we are headed towards the GBB? "Take the GBB?!" WTF is the GBB? ahhhhhhhhhhh, the Go-Between-Bridge. We put our faith in Tom Toms hands and arrive at a little community shopping village. I imagined it would be by the water? We head inside and place our order.



There's a large menu on the wall, some daily specials, and showcases filled with all sorts of fresh seafood delights. We settle on some fried cod, crumbed whiting & sea scallops, home-made potato scallops & of course chips.



The chips are golden & crunchy, the perfect nest for all of the fresh, delicate seafood on top. The sea scallops were sweet, still translucent in the centre with a golden crumb coating. The whiting was salty & delicious, and the huge battered piece of cod was divine. We had home-made tartare & aioli to dip everything into and both stopped in our tracks with the first bite of potato scallop... Thick cut chunks of potato were coated in a dreamy batter and fried until the color of the sun on a clear Summers day.... Yeah, those little fried potatoes messed with my head.. hot, crispy, salty overload!

This was the first of several fish & chip meals on our visit home, and something I am already missing now we are back in Japan...

The Fishery
6A / 16 Baroona Rd
Milton QLD, Australia 4064

T: +61 (07) 3369 4707
Open Daily, 10am-8pm


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Bistro CBD, Sydney

It's Thursday afternoon and we swing by the stylish CBD hotel for a quick lunch.  We're headed for Bistro CBD, located on the first floor of this CBD hotel which is part of the Merivale empire. Bistro CBD has been awarded one chef's hat from the SMH for a few years running.

Simun Dragicevich is the man behind the stove, a friend of ours from my time at est. and we're actually popping in to say 'Hi' to him as well. Unfortunately (for us) he's back home in New Zealand for his birthday. We take a nice quiet seat in the corner and browse the menu. We remembered seeing something about set lunches on offer at CBD on the Merivale website (which I'm looking at now, and they are indeed offering the 'Fixed rate feast' of 3 courses for $40) but we don't see this anywhere on the menu and weren't verbally notified of any such thing, so just decide to go al a carte. I have trouble selecting my appetizer as there's a few things I like the sound of. I start with King salmon with spiced melon and ginger. There's 2 generous slices of salmon that are crusted with fresh herbs and resting on a nice avocado and lemon mix, with some spiced melon slices and fried ginger off to one side. I have trouble trying to work out what has been done to the salmon ... it didn't appear smoked, but was slightly cooked, perhaps sous vide. The flavors are all nice, it's just nothing exciting.



Kim chooses a classic, Jamón Serrano with Manchego, fresh figs, witlof and escarole. There's 3 slices of Manchego, a few slices of Jamon draped delicately, a black fig cut in 1/4's and a escarole and witlof salad. An extra slice of sourdough is in order, and I do manage to get a pick. All beautiful ingredients, and a classic combination.



With the trouble I had choosing which appetizer to order, and no main taking my fancy, course #2 for me is another appetizer. I settled on the seared scallops with cured duck breast, celeriac puree with fennel and watercress salad. I see a bit of Peter Doyle in the plating of this dish. The scallops were okay (I guess after now being spoilt with Hokkaido Diver scallops nothing really compares) the cured duck breast, celeriac puree and little salad were a nice combination though.



A big hunk of beef! That was what Kim was after. We both really miss just having a good steak. That's one thing we haven't got to indulge in since being in Japan. As wagyu is the standard breed of cattle, the beef is just so rich, that no one would sit down and eat more that 60 or 80g at one time. It's another classic, simple bistro pairing of grilled fillet of Angus beef with jerusalem artichokes, green shallots and red wine jus. I know it's lunch time, they're super busy and want to churn through the guests, but the steak wasn't even rested. We would have been more than happy to wait an extra 10 minutes while the meat was rested. With a combination this simple and classic, it needs to be executed perfectly, and it was not. To boot, the side order of fries that got sent to our table were horribly undercooked, so we sent them back. It was terribly disappointing to see that the bowl of fries, that was already seasoned with salt, was thrown back into the fryer for a few minutes before being returned to us. The result, a horribly oily, semi crisp shoestring chip. Eew.



With the way lunch was going, we didn't decide to stay for cheese and dessert, which we had full intentions of doing.

Simun's pressence was definately missed in the kitchen on this paticular visit, as his passion and enthusiasm shines through his food, usually elevating these classic bistro staples to something sublime.

A little taste of New Years at Sekka

New Years Eve is all about celebrating the... heck, for me it's about food and fireworks!  Especially when we've spent the last 6 New Year's in kitchens cooking dinner for other people. But we usually manage to catch some good crackers at the end.

This was what we were serving up at Sekka Dining this NYE.

New Years Eve 2009

Hokkaido ice oyster with shochu marscarpone, soy salmon roe and pickled cucumber

Beef carpaccio with smoked namenko mushrooms, mitzuna and monviso

Chicken and black pepper tea with enoki mushroom

Hokkaido diver scallops with roast Niseko sweet potato crepe

Slow roast Tokkachi beef with du-puy lentils

Okinawa Mandarin granita

Raspberry and Sambucca semi-freddo

Nothing like tooting you're own horn, especially at NYE!

Kamimura's, Niseko Hirafu

You can wait up three months before being able to set foot as a diner into Tetsyua's in Sydney, luckily for us with not to much trouble we were able to acquire a seat at Kamimura's. Kamimura is a Japanese chef who worked his way up through the ranks of Tetsyua's before returning home to open his own much acclaimed restaurant. The front of house is led by by former "Glory days" Bel Mondo manager Michael Phipps.

Nine course degustation is the only option for eating, the menu changing seasonally as well as records of your dining being kept so should you return within the same season you won't be offered the same menu twice. To go with the dinner we opt for the matching wine deg, it's hard to pick a bottle to match and entire meal, and there's a interesting sounding Nagano Merlot on the deg. that we're keen to try.

First dish up is abalone with eringi mushroom and yuzu, I've always liked the combination of abalone and mushrooms, the fine yuzu peel shavings lifting the dish lightly.



Next served in a martini glass, a flounder sashimi with caviar. The fish is lightly dressed in lime, the caviar is both sturgeon and salmon providing a great saltiness and over the top micro shiso giving a herbal hint.



We were then offered a small house made bread roll as an accompaniment to a perfectly executed duck and veal consomme. Crystal clear with a rich duck flavor.



The forth a foie gras terrine with twice cooked eggplant and port reduction. The terrine covered with a layer of diced chives and a few grains of sea salt, the eggplants creaminess adding to the foie gras's richness. This dish we were told was one of the first dishes Kamimura made for Tetsyua and has been with him ever since.



The next dish was the one with the interesting wine pairing we were waiting for. The Nagano Merlot was soft and rich with hints of cherries and blackcurrant. We thought it was really drinkable, and were happy to see some local support for the very young Japanese wine industry.



The dish it was paired with Hokkaido scallops with truffled cream and herb salad was nice, the scallop cooked perfectly.



After this it all got a little kinki, kinki fish that is. Kinki fish is one of the most valued and if hand line caught, most expensive fish in Asian cuisine. Super soft and super silky, sitting in a flying fish broth with braised gobo. It's topped with fried leeks and a little shredded nori.



By now we were on such a roll that when the next dish came we ate half of it before remembering to take a photo (please don't tell the food bloggers union). Braised endive with mimolette. Salty, sweet and still with a little bite.

The last of our savoury courses was Wagyu with three different Niseko potatoes, red, purple and yellow, confit in three different oils, walnut, hazelnut and olive. The wagyu was deliciously rich, I only wish that there was twice as much.



Cheese and crackers were next arriving on handmade wooden plates from Kamimura's home town Asahikawa.



Our pre-dessert of green tea sorbet was lifted out of ordinary with the addition of candied adzuki beans, a red bean often used in Japanese sweets.



We finished up with spiced sauteed apple topped with biscuit crumbs and a calvados ice cream. Again a dish full of contrasts; salty, sweet, warm and cold and delicious and tasty. Well the last two aren't contrasts but it was both.



Finally for us was petit fors and tea.



You can see hints of Tetsyua here and there, but Kamimura has definitely stamped out his own style.

We'll be back with the change of season to see whats next.

Kamimura Restaurant

1st Floor Yamashizen West

185-8 Aza-Yamada
Kutchan-cho, Hokkaido
044-0081, Japan

Telephone: +81 (0)136-21-2288
Fax: +81 (0)136-21-2288

Sushi, Suskino, Sapporo

We're in Sapporo again after a day with M1 at Chitose hunting out some more fine Hokkaido products.  During the day we're already discussing our dinner plans.  As we haven't had sushi in Japan a phone call is made to Y and it's all organised.  Now the whole afternoon is spent eagerly awaiting this fine treat.

After a freshen up, we're picked up from the hotel.  We drive around for a  bit before ending up over in the vincinity of Suskino.  In the evening with all the flashing lights and crazy neon, it's quite a sight!

We find what M1 thinks is the building.  He's looking a bit puzzled though.  There appears to be a florist on the first floor, a set of lifts at the end of the corridor, and on the side wall a vague floor guide, all in Kanji of course.  

M1 doesn't seem to confident that we're in the right place.  He makes a phone call....  apparantly this is the building.  We take a life up to the 4th floor and walk past a place called "Dolce Bar"...  I was thinking, nice, somewhere for dessert after we fill up on sushi (if this is the right place) but upon walking by, realise that it's not that type of "Dolce" .  Anywhoo, we pass another few hostess bars before finding a quaint little entrance.  There's a plant, a sign in Kanji, and a curtain.  We head on through.....

It's allready quite full.  There's traditional Japanese seating off to the left, but thankfully we have one of the best seats in the house.  The 3 of us are seated directly in front of the 2 sushi chefs, at the counter.  We take a moment to take it all in....  The counter is housing an abundence of fresh seafoods...  There are many things unknown to us.  How exciting!

After a nice hot towel, drinks are arranged.  We start with our first, of many, Hokkaido sake's.  Delicious. 

I am then given a kawaii (too-cute) little napkin with the moon and some rabbits on it.  Only girls get these, apparently.

Then the food starts....  A lot is being said between M1 and the 2 sushi chef's, we're not quite sure what, but we're happy to leave it in their hands.  First course is a delicate little bowl of cod-roe with konnyaku. The cod roe was soft and salty, with a slight pop on the tongue. The strands of gelatinous konnyaku a nice flavour and texture contrast.

Next is a bowl of Hokkaido taraba crab.  It's been dressed lightly with fresh lime, and has the most amazing sweet natural flavour.  Sitting beside is a pile of fresh uni (sea urchin) which has a nice creaminess.  

The next to be placed in front of us is a generous bowl filled with ikura (salmon roe).  This is somewhat of a specialty in Hokkaido.  I have been blown away with the freshness and flavour of all the ikura we have sampled since we arrived ....  This is no exception.  Each little ball an explosion of flavour on the tongue.  Slightly salty with the addition of a very good shouyu soy, but still with it's incredible natural flavour.  All this is savoured from a little wooden spoon resting on the side of the bowl.

In some broken Jap-English, we're asked if we like oysters.  Of course!  We then watch as they are carefully removed from their shell, they are then dressed with a tangy ponzu dressing with and finished with a little seaweed.  Yum!

More sake is had as we watch some scallops going onto the little grill which is situated just behind the two chefs.



The scallops are then brushed with a sweet glaze.  Sheets of nori are then flashed over the grill, before the glazed scallop is wrapped up in a sheet of nori and handed to us over the counter.  This one is to be enjoyed with the hands.  Mmmm, and enjoyed it was.  The crisp toasty nori a perfect contrast to the plump, sweet scallop.

We sit back an savour our sake...  Our next dish is the only one of the evening to not be prepared at the counter.  When it arrives, there's a few giggles.  We try to ask what we're about to feast on, but all we manage to get out of them is "the female fish" and plenty more giggles.  Heh, anyway... it's tempura'd so we should be fine.  There's a little wedge of lime and some salt on the side.  The crisp batter reveals some very white and gooey stuff.  It's delicious, none-the-less.  There are also a few pieces of maitake mushroom which have been battered as well.  These have a great nutty flavour.  We later find out this Japanese delicacy is known as 'Shirako' or 'Tachi', which is cod milts, or to put it in lamen terms, cod sperm.  We have since seen this, and eaten it, on several occasions, prepared in a variety of different ways.  Tempura is still up there as one of the best, though.

We move onto another sake, and then start the marathon nigiri effort.

We all receive a beautiful jade coloured crockery plate in front of us.  Each piece of nigiri is then crafted before our eyes, before being placed, one-by-one, onto the plate.  The first is a piece of flatfish.  There is just the right amount of wasabi, the rice is still warm, and the fish so fresh brushed ever so lightly with sauce.

Then there's abalone nigiri.  Lightly scored and brushed with sauce.  It's nice a meaty, with great flavour.

Next up, prepare for battle-ships.  As each one is made, the little strip of nori is grilled before being wrapped around the warm rice.  It is then topped with the creamy uni.  Mmm.

We then see the nice big chunk of toro we've been eyeing off all night removed front the cabinet.  Toro nigiri.  Sublime!

Next is sweet shrimp nigiri.  The flavor is delicious, I just have a bit of a problem with the texture of raw shrimp....

But then next out is salmon belly, one of my absolute favorites.  It's so smooth and tasty!

I think they seen how much we enjoyed the toro...  A norimaki roll gets made right before our eyes.  A bit of the toro is taken and lightly chopped before being added, with a little sauce.  

They have some rather unidentifiable piece of sea creature they are then trying to explain to us.  One of them goes out and gets a little book.  It's full of pictures of all things seafood, with Japanese and English names.  We work out that it's Hokkaido surf clam.  It looks a little like a tongue draped over the shaped rice, but it was delicious!

We're then each given 2 pieces of inside out tuna norimaki, with toasted sesame seeds around the outside.

Then there's a rather unusual offering.  Smoked daikon pickles.  They're a deep brown colour, and the smoke smell is intoxicating.  Three plump slices of the pickle are served with a good dollop of sour cream.  An unusual but outstanding combination of flavors.

While we are savoring our pickles, one bite at a time, some small pieces of salmon are grilled.  This is then wrapped into a little norimaki, topped with ikura and bonito flakes.  Yum!

Another thing we had been fascinated with, was a little container full of the smallest little spring onions.  They looked like something that belonged on a Barbie dolls dinner table, or in a little doll house.  We sorted of pointed and expressed our interest.  We first had a look at the container.  Each strand was so perfect and green.  They were almost the length of my thumb...

We must have spent a while oohing over them, because before we knew it was another plate.  There were batons of Chinese yam, a very glutionous yet crunchy vegetable which had been pickled with perilla (red shiso).  They had a beautiful blush pink colour too them, and were lovely and refreshing.  Sitting to the side was 2 neat slices of tuna tataki, with the same sweet glazed brushed over them, and a little drop of cream cheese on each one.  Again, a rather unusual combination that worked really well.

We all move onto a Hokkaido sweet potato shochu.  It's nice a mellow, and served in a beautiful glass.

We then all (just about) finish with a gorgeous little minegi nigiri.  It has such a delicate onion flavour....  and it is so up there in the cute stakes!

We just sit and enjoy ....  before being asked if there was anything else we would like again or to try.  During the course of the night we had seen this large pink looking thing being sliced up...  We were curious.  We found out it was whale bacon or whale tongue and both lost our curiosity quick smart.  I ask for a grilled salmon nigiri.  Oishii.

Kim has a piece of fresh water eel grilled nigiri.

Another thing we were curious about, turns out to be house-made bottaga.  Awesome.  2 thin slices are served between crisp daikon.

Then comes a plate of house-made skimono, Japanese pickles.  There's daikon, cucumber and carrots and gobo that have been dipped in nutty toasted sesame seeds.

We watch as the two chef's work in harmony to create a gorgeous platter of sushi.  This is then taken down to one of the hostess bar's in the corridor.

We are again game to try a natto roll.  They all laugh when we agree.  We both eat it, I don't mind it's nuttiness, but it is rather slimy.  Again, the whole texture thing.  I mean, it's okay, but nothing either of us are crazy about.

It really is such a privilege to be able to sit at the counter of a fine sushi restaurant.  And to be in Japan and have that honor we are both truly grateful....

As we are leaving, I notice a too-cute little nigiri clock.  Nice!

We are walked all the way to the lifts by one of the chef's.  The whole floor is now buzzing, the bars all busy and plenty of hostess ......  Who would have thought, a fine sushi bar in amongst all of this.  Oh, wait, we are in Suskino.

Here's a copy of the shop card, with address
Somewhere around Suskino
Ph: 011 513 8002