est - Establishment, Sydney CBD

est is another one of those places that I've only heard rave reviews about, so when their pre-seven heaven deal was on during January, a girl's night out was in order.

est has been awarded 3 hats every year since 2004, which is a pretty impressive feat.

Italian buffalo mozzarella, nectarine, serrano jamon

This dish came out and stole the showing - so pretty and fresh!

Prawn and moreton bay bug ravioli, young leeks, coriander, lemongrass vinaigrette

This sounded absolutely delicious on the menu, so I knew this was going to be my entree. 

Pan roasted mulloway fillet, green peas, snap peas, snow peas, bonito and parsley

For mains, it was a no brainer, as the other dish was lamb. The mulloway was nicely cooked and served on a bed of various peas. It was good, though I think the entrees stole the show in comparison.

Until dessert came along...

macadamia praline ice cream, mango, lime – tequila sorbet, coconut jelly

I would best describe this as summer on a plate, especially loved the sweet mango paired with the macadamia praline ice cream.  

Morello cherry souffle with raspberry sorbet

This is definitely the best souffle I've ever had - the height, perfect airiness, like eating a cloud!

I can definitely see why est has three hats, everything from the service to the food was impeccable, and it is definitely on my birthday eat list now.

The Woods - Four Seasons, Sydney

For the lovely A's birthday we went to the newly opened restaurant, The Woods, headed by Hamish Ingham. The menu is centred around good quality and fresh produce cooked over naturally flavoured Australian woods, giving the food a deliciously wood smoked flavour.

Wood grilled calamari, pork cheek bacon and pickled muntries

Muntries are otherwise known as emu apples and are a native Australian berry. The wood fire oven gave the tender calamari a wonderfully smoky flavour.

Salad of cucumbers, grilled sea urchin and yoghurt

Our second entree gorgeous summer salad with some delicate flavours - I usually don't go for sea urchin when I go to a sushi restaurant, but this dish was quite enjoyable.

Aged Coorong sirloin on the bone & black garlic butter

From the wood fire meat selection, and was a perfectly cooked steak.

Mallee wood roasted spatchcock, radicchio, pine nuts, currants & preserved lemon

The spatchcock main was delicious and the most generous serving out of all the mains.

Crisp skin wild fish fillet, giant snow peas & wood grilled fennel

Green beans & almonds over embers

As tempting as fries are as a side dish, green beans are always a lovely way to get a good dose of greens in. 

The Woods tart 

A warm and crispy tart full of juicy figs and accompanied by ice cream

Chocolate swiss roll, grilled cherries & sesame

This was an interesting twist on the usual swiss roll, with the tartness of the cherries and saltiness of the sesame. 

Rose geranium ice cream, toasted brioche & white peach caramel

This fruity and dessert was my favourite out of the three, especially the the chewy brioche and the beautiful floral ice cream. 

Arras - Clarence St, Sydney

Arras has been a restaurant on my ever expanding restaurant wish list, mostly due to that amazing lolly tray at the end of the meal.

Pretty wall feature and spacious decor 

The waiter come around with a bread basket filled with an array of fresh and warm bread, making it hard not to fill up before the meal

Roast skate

Parsnip, raisins, capers and butter

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of raisins, especially in a savoury dish, but these worked well in the dish.

My memory fails me on the exact ingredients of this dish (my visit was mid last year!) but this was a smoked eel dish. I really liked the different plates they used to complement each dish, it makes for such pretty presentation!

Another one which escapes me, but from what I remember this fish main had squid ink and olive. 

"In the weeds"

Pickled and marinated vegetables

Slow cooked onion and bitter leaves

A very texturally interesting dish with the tangy pickled vegetables adding an extra bite to this dish.

Potatoes - confit, crisped and melted baked potato broth

What's there not to love about a dish that consists only of my favourite carb?

Pistachio cheesecake

Flowers in the window

Roses, violet, pistachio and raspberry

Such a spectacular looking dish. I love floral flavours in dishes, so I really enjoyed this dessert.

Such a pretty, floral and fruity dessert, it reminded me of a garden in bloom!

And in preparation for the grand finale and the most exciting part of the night:

We each received a pink perspex holder in anticipation of all the sweet treats to come

This was definitely the highlight of the meal

It was like being a kid in a candy store. Handy hint: save room for the magnificent array of sweets at the end. I struggled to try everything I wanted to because I was so full from the other dishes. 

Kit Kat time

My Japanese kit kat haul from my NZ trip, thanks to K's parents!

Huge stash of Japanese kit kats - such pretty packaging compared to the ones we get here! 

Strawberry kit kat - very pink and sweet! 

Green tea and sakura 

I really enjoy the green tea kit kats, and these ones have a nice floral hint as well.

Massive Tokyo sky tree edition of orange kit kats

With three packets hidden inside

I don't normally like orange chocolate that much, but these were really nice and light.

The original green tea kit kat

Dark chocolate

And the most interesting, a halloween edition that was pumpkin flavoured

I was hesitant about eating a pumpkin flavoured kit kat, but it turned out to be one of my favourites with it's sweet and subtle flavour. 

I'm always on the lookout for interesting flavours of kit kats. I think the best one I've seen so far is the soy sauce edition. 

What's the most interesting flavour of kit kat you've seen or tasted?

NaruOne - Pitt Street, Sydney

A much overdue catch up was in order with the newly married J & Z, Miss V & J, and Miss A. 

Fried chicken, lots of it, was the order of the day, and where else to go but NaruOne in Sydney's Koreatown (there's even a sign now!)

Side dishes to nibble on whilst we decide on other dishes to counter the plates of naughty fried chicken

Seafood and leek pancake - this seems to be a staple order everytime I visit a korean restaurant

Cold buckwheat noodles - these are super refreshing and perfect since it's such a hot day on our visit. The chunks you can see in the bowl are actually ice!

And of course... the main attraction

The other kind of KFC - korean fried chicken!!

Half half - regular korean fried chicken on the left, and with the sweet, spicy sauce on the right

Fried chicken with spring onion

It certainly hit the spot for fried chicken cravings with perfectly fried tasty chicken, in a cheap and cheerful setting. My favourite is the one with the spicy sauce - be prepared to get sticky fingers, it will get messy!