A little Japanese Cocoon in London

Following the yummy Taste Festival in June and a sampling of its delicious wagyu beef over hot stones, a visit to Asian-fusion restaurant Cocoon moved rapidly onto the to-do list. We crossed off the task last Saturday night.

It's really centrally located, just off Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus.

When you walk into the bar and restaurant section on the 2nd floor, you walk into a sea of mute green and orange - it has a modern, casual, somewhat retro oriental feel to it. And then you're seated at low tables with rose petals sealed into a laminate table top. The cocoon shape is everywhere - round edges, smooth lines, circles.

Two veteran sushi chefs were in full view of our seats, preparing bits and pieces. I shall remember to try to get a seat at the sushi bar next time - I love watching sushi chefs do their thang.

We munched away on some steamed edamame beans, which somehow now seems the thing to do before a Japanese meal. While I was very tempted to order the wagyu beef on hot stones, I really could not stomach the £65 price tag. So...instead, I ordered yellowfin tuna sashimi and beef gulgogi for the main, with a side order of sesame spinach. Ant ordered the wild mushroom spring rolls and BBQ chicken. And sake to wash it all down.

The meal was really well presented and delicious. The servings of the mains were huge - much bigger than you would usually expect in a place like this. We couldn't actually finish everything on our plates, which is pretty rare for me.

The one thing I didn't really like about the service was that the waitress cleared our plates too quickly...she practically grabbed them as soon as the last mouthful went down. Although the place was crowded and we had to be out before the second setting, there was really no need for them to be as er....efficient as they were. The sake really complemented the food as well.

Cocoon is renown for its sashimi and sushi and the yellowfin tuna was spectacular. I would love to go back again and try a more fishy meal.

This one is definitely worth a visit!

Dad turns 60 - but not without a gear box failure...

I can't believe my luck. Or my bad luck, as the case seems to be.

Everything fell into place timewise for me to be able to be in Queensland for Dad's 60th birthday.

I planned for a Harley Trike to pick Mum adn Dad up, take them on a one hour drive throught the bendy hills of Mt Tambourine, and up to what looked to be a fab restaurant in a rainforest. In the spirit of the Big 60th Surprise Birthday Stuff Up, I wouldn't have thought universal forces would have conspired once again to stuff up a perfectly good surprise!

The big day arrived, and we all sat round the kitchen table, waiting - on my instruction - to leave at 11.30am. This was when a big biker bloke was to come humming through the gates of my parent's complex, install them in the Harley Trike, and whisk them up the mountain. I was planning to take their car and meet them there.

11.20am rolled by....11.30 rolled by...I sms'd the driver to let him know the pass code for the front gate....

Nothing.

11.35...call from driver. "Hi Melanie...bad news".

My heart sank. "Yes...where are you Paul?"

"Er...we just blew the gear box in the trike. We're stuck in the middle of the road and won't be moving till the tow truck picks us up. In three hours."

"I see."

"I'm really, REALLY sorry. But this bike is going nowhere. We can send two motorbikes...they could be there in an hour or so."

"Er...no thanks. I don't think that will work. Not quite the same effect."

"Can we arrange alternate transport? A limousine perhaps?"

"Er, thanks but, we not quite what I had in mind, and we need to be at the restaurant in 45 mins. Can we please postpone the trikes for another time...we need to leave now to make our booking."

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! Unbelievable.

Anyway...Plan B moved into action, and we drove up the long and scenic hill to Songbird's Retreat - a fabulous restaurant and accommodation provider tucked away in the Gold Coast Hinterland.

Everything about Songbird's is perfect - the setting, the staff, the service, the food, and the resident ducks who run around the entrance to the outdoor loos.

It was one of the best meals I've ever had, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable.

For a starter I had the Tempura Coated Soft Shell Crab, and for the main, I had a MOUTH-WATERING Pan-Seared Sirloin of Wagyu Beef. I wanted to see if it was as good as the square inch I had at 41. It was. Oh GOD it was yummy.

Dad seemed to enjoy himself and the meal too, and the plate of desserts was equally stunning.

It was a lunch to remember! Happy 60th birthday Dad!

Yet more seafood..a lunch at Doyles

Another perfect sunny day in Sydney, and the food and booze wagon rolled on.

After we picked Mum and dad up from the airport and poked around some of Sydney's eastern beaches, we had lunch at Doyles at Watson's Bay.

Possibly one of the most iconic restaurants in Sydney, the view from Doyles back over my favourite city is awesome. This is one of their promotional pics.



We used to sail into this sheltered cove years ago, and the beer garden just off the beach has also been a favourite haunt on the occasional quiet Sunday arv.

Yet more yummy seafood was enjoyed by all.

The best meal ever?

The Oz trip also promised a big dose of Australian food, which I reckon is amongst the freshest and best in the world. Yes yes, I'm biased :-).

We had dinner one evening at Forty One, which ironically is on Level 42 of the Chiefly Tower in Sydney.

Once the lift doors open, we walked through a mini oriental garden, and then the full panoramic view of Sydney Harbour hit us.

We arrived just on dusk, as a beautiful sunset filled the sky. The view spans from the Harbour Bridge, out to North and South Head, and around to the Eastern suburbs. It's a unique view of Sydney Harbour, and the lights below us continued to twinkle throughout the meal.

Out came the bubbly, which went down as easily as the view.

I had originally planned to have the Menu Degustation, but when I saw the menu, I felt that the five course menu actually offered more choice.

They've slightly changed the meal since we went, but between us, and over the five courses we had the following dishes:
- Western Australian Yabbies Poached In A Saffron Bouillion With Tomatoes, Chorizo & Calasparra Rice
- Grilled Sea Scallop, Steamed Korobuto Pork With Hand Picked Crab Meat And Thai Spices.
- Tandoori Marinated Quail Breast, Fried Aubergine “Ravioli” Cucumber Raita, Chilli And Cardamom Oil
- Slow Cooked Ocean Trout, Crushed English Peas With Prosciutto, Peccorino, Basil, Mint & Lemon
- Western Australian Yabbies Poached In A Saffron Bouillion With Tomatoes, Chorizo & Calasparra Rice
- Blackmore Wagyu Beef Onglet Slow Braised With Fermented Black Beans & Stir Fried Fresh Coriander
- Cervena Vension Medallion Sauteed With A Chorizo Stuffed Date Wrapped In Pancetta, Cauliflower Puree

It was all awesome...truly mouth watering and exquisitely presented. Canapes came between each course, and we tried a great West Australian wine from Margaret River called Virtues and Vices...loved it!

The standout part of the entire experience was the wagyu beef. I'd seen a documentary on the plane about famous Australian Japanese chef, Tetsuya Wakuda, and his use of wagyu beef. It showed him visiting his wagyu beef suppliers in Tasmania, and described how they raised their wagyu cows.

Wagyu cows are a special breed of Japanese cow, and the Tasmanian wagyu cows are kept on a farm which spans three islands off the Tasmanian coast. The farmers muster the cows from island to island at low tide. Apparently they keep the cows content and relaxed in order to produce the best meat.

I can't rave enough about how delicious wagyu beef is. Marbled fat runs through the meat when it's raw, which makes it creamy and rich when braised, as ours was. We only had small portions, but it was an unforgettable.

Antony also raved about the trout and mushy peas, which are apparently coming back into vogue - ironic, as we could actually see Harry's Cafe de Wheels from where we were sitting.

We couldn't quite fit dessert, athough the lovely people at Forty One gave us some nicely packed chocolates.

It will take a lot to beat this meal - anywhere. Hats off to chef Dietmar Sawyere.

A welcome dose of Aussie seafood

After a solid night's sleep following the torturous 20-hour flight, we pottered around Sydney's Eastern beaches before heading into town for dinner.

The bar at the forecourt of the Opera House was heaving - I couldn't believe how warm it was for late March! It felt more like a summer evening than an Autumn one! Ant was surprised to see how much flesh Sydney chics were flashing. Good to see nothing's changed...

We stuck our head in at Doyle's at Circular Quay, which was packed, and then wandered past the Waterfront. I'd never actually eaten there, and I was hanging for decent seafood after a 9 month drought, so we grabbed a seat.

Ant too was looking forward to sampling Aussie seafood, so we ordered the cold seafood platter. It's been SOOOO long since I've had one of those.

It was great - not too much fried food, and a fantastic selection of shellfish, including bugs, crabs and prawns. The oysters were awesome...my oyster drought probably made them taste even better.

The restaurant was packed, and loud with animated conversations. I'd never realised how big the place is.

Anyway, as we sat there, up to our eyeballs in seafood, knocking back some great Australian wine and with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in full view, I pondered that there really is no place like home.

Show me the crab (and gimme a satay while you're at it)

My all-time FAVOURITE experience in Singapore is chilli crab. Even if I only have a 3-hour stopover in Singapore, I'll hurtle out to the East Coast Parkway to get a dose of this mouth-watering dish.



Anyway, we had longer than three hours for the evening of Mum's birthday, and attempted to over-dose on chilli crab at the Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. Consumed with a Singha beer or ten, this is truly one of best food experiences on the planet. I said to Mum that I intended to be gutsing out on chilli crab for my 60th birthday.

Other fab restaurant precincts in the ever-expanding Singapore, include the newly refubished Clarke Quay and CHIJMES.

And of course there's always the trusty hawker centres, which we visited another night. Newton's Circus, now known as the Newton Food Centre is one of my favourite haunts - Mum and Dad first bought me here about 20 years ago and to me it's always been synonymous with Singapore.

Here's a pic of Dad working his way through a couple dozen mixed satays and the obligatory Singha.