I Don't Eat, I Devour

One of the best spots in Sydney for Mexican food, Mejico is certainly a must-book-in-advance type of place, it's so bustling. On a weekend it can play host to anything from birthday parties to bachelorette / bathelor parties. Although the decor is not exactly intimate, it certainly lends itself well to a night of boozing and eating with friends and familty. On the other hand, if you don't book but go early enough / at an opportune time, you can nab yourself a seat at the bar and watch the bartenders make all kinds of Tequila-based creations, so that can be very fun too. To celebrate my little brother's birthday, we decided to ask Mejico to "Feed Me" - a culinary trip of most of Mejico's signature dishes. The Feed Me menu is subject to change seasonally, and we are still eating from the "winter" menu, so I would expect some small changes to what this post shows in the next few weeks. Straight off the bat - I certainly wouldn't mind asking them...

Those who know me know that pasta is, hands down, my favourite food. I whole-heartedly agree with La Favola's motto "life is a combination of magic & pasta" - in fact, at La Favola, pasta is magic. Although the service is surprisingly fast, the pastas, stocks and sauces are in fact hand made on site every morning - and a peek into the kitchen, with its large bags of flour, suggests this is indeed the case. As a side note, there are actually two kitchen areas - an open kitchen where diners can watch the chef toss pasta in sauces; and a back kitchen where the prep happens and other food-stuff is made. I'm ecstatic to report that both kitchens are immaculate. The name of the game at La Favola, of course, is their pasta - but let's begin with a little appetiser - carpaccio. Delicate, thin slices of raw beef is topped with kale chips, rocket, parmesan and drizzled with truffle oil. The contrast between the baby-softness of the beef and the satisfying, ligh...

I have been putting off writing about Automata because I needed to expand my vocabulary beyond "amazing", "delicious" and "highly recommended" without veering into territories I refuse to enter (think "scrumptious" and "yummy") or - but I can put it off no longer. With an ever changing tasting menu, Automata waits for no food review. Flaky, light, savoury pastry and squid-ink puffs filled with cream cheese are the perfect morsels to whet the appetite - the contrast in texture prepares us for the menu to come. The main event of the evening begins with a white radish and fennel puree topped with sand crab and fermented chili sauce. The fermented chili sauce bears a distinct similarity with kimchi, and it works surprisingly well with the creamy, light sauce. The sand crab meat is delicate and sweet. This, my friends, is raw kangaroo. Though the concept may seem a little intimidating at first, any feared "raw meat" ...

I have heard friends talk about Queen Chow, a trendy Chinese eatery in Enmore (plus a Manly location which opened earlier this year) that offers traditional Cantonese style food, but with surroundings very different to the busy, bustling and no-nonsense Chinatown locations which normally jump to mind when we talk about Chinese food. Why has it taken me so long to try Queen Chow (in fact, I wouldn't have tried it but for my friend's birthday dinner)? Much to the astonishment of friends and acquaintances, Chinese food is my least favourite cuisine and my last choice when it comes to dining out. Having said that, I appreciate good food when I taste it, but it takes very special Chinese food for me to be impressed.  Queen chow steamed dim sum platter, $32 The dim sum platter comes with the following selection of dumplings - wagyu beef xiao long bao, vegetarian dumpling, prawn dumpling and prawn & scallop dumpling. The flavours are balanced and delicate, but with the...

When Kid Kyoto opened in the heart of Sydney's business district, there were a lot of hype around their lunch time bentos. Served during the work week, these $35-a-pop bentos were tooted as the best bento in Sydney. As a frequent customer of dinner delivery services, I am no stranger to bento, and I am a huge fan of them - a small salad, a protein main, some sushi / sashimi, some rice - not only does the bento box provide variety, it is a pretty balanced meal and as healthy as takeaway gets. However, I also know that the bento boxes we are familiar with from Deliveroo or Uber Eats doesn't do the bento justice - like many Japanese things, the bento can be elevated to a work of art. That's what I imagined the Kid Kyoto bento would be. Kid Kyoto Bento, $35 Upon first glance, it's not bad. However, it's really not great either - the entire affair had a whiff of the pick n' mix, where pre-prepared, cold food could be lined up and simply put onto a tray. Th...

Known for their clean designs and less for their culinary prowess, for most people, the most we know about Swedish food comes from IKEA - which I doubt is a very good representation of what Swedish cuisine has to offer. Fika is a small cafe moonlighting as a mini Swedish specialty food store, serving up some unusual yet simultaneously highly accessible food: think meatballs and open sandwiches. Latte, hot chocolate, $4.50 each Fika serves a pretty respectable coffee, but what drew my attention is the absolutely adorable way the hot chocolate is decorated. Made with syrup rather than powder, it is not particularly amazing but not bad either. Salmon Lover, $19 Can there be anything more Scandavanian than pumpernickel and cured fish? Fika cures their own salmon, which is thickly piled on a slice of the heavy, dark (and extremely healthy) bread atop some smashed avocado and horseradish cream. The egg is poached to perfection - thickly runny. Egg on toast + skagen, $15 P...

Muum Maam means "little glutton" in Thai, which is a rather fitting name for a casual restaurant serving up delicious, classic Thai dishes. There are two venues in Sydney - the original in Surry Hills, and the 2016 opening of the Barangaroo branch. The food at the Barangaroo venue is amazing - and I'm sure the food would be just as good, if not even better, at Surry Hills. The atmosphere at Barangaroo, however, is a little too noisy and crowded for my liking - in fact one can barely navigate between the closely-packed tables, as the venue is more of an al fresco dining area than a proper restaurant; but hey - some people might find that charming and adds to the experience. The best way to experience all that Muum Maam has to offer is to go for one of their set menus, which are of excellent value, and will have you groaning with satisfaction by the end. Moreton bay bug betel leaf The first thing that arrives with the set menu is  an amuse-bouche: packed full of fla...