Kam Fook

It’s as if there’s only one yum cha joint on the entire North Shore, which is probably why Kam Fook at Chatswood Westfield has had to build such a massive room to house the masses that cram in here. There’s precious little space between tables and barely enough in the lanes for the carts which transport those bamboo steamers filled with a bevy of dim sum. Highlighting the quality were the har gao prawn dumplings, white and plump and siu mai bloated large. Despite Kam Fook being on the North Shore, the only premium you’ll pay is the toll to get back across the bridge.


3 / 5 yums!
------
Where? Westfield Shopping Town, Level 6, Shop 600, Help St, Chatswood, NSW

Little Fish, Big Fish

Poison, poison, AH!!! TASTY FISH! Ironically there aren’t many seafood options on the menu, let alone fish at this very Western pizza and pasta shop in the heart of Central Asia. Late opening hours and the reasonably priced fare attracts the young juveniles as the venue of choice for a bit of a hang out. It’s honest, cosmopolitan food that doesn’t pretend to be anything special, perfect for a feed when others are snoozing.


2 / 5 yums!
------
Where? Shop 4, 25 Anderson St, Chatswood, NSW

Je Ge Mu and Shimbashi

If I were a billionaire tyrant and had cash to unload, I would create an award for the annual best new restaurant name. The inaugural winner would go to the fine Neutral Bay Japanese Harvey Dent restaurant Je Ge Mu and Shimbashi. Je Ge Mu for Okonomiyaki & Teppenyaki, Shimbashi the Buckwheat Noodle House. Lucky for us, we won’t have to make separate visits to sample the menu, the sides are connected so you can order anything you like. The difference is the feel and décor of the two places. Je Ge Mu more modern with the stainless steel teppenyaki hot plate, vent and bench the dominating feature, Shimbashi a more traditional Japanese diner with the very impressive stone grinder out the front that mills the buckwheat into flour for which the chef uses to create soba noodles in house.

Desserts certainly not their speciality, generic green tea and black sesame Asian ice-creams that probably fell victim to a lack of turnover. That’s where the disappointment ends.

The quality of the restaurant’s name is equally matched by the food, it’s classy, elegant Japanese food. Cold noodles with dumplings, duck, chicken or hot with white radish, mushrooms come with your choice of soba or udon. Soba noodles are excellent, other than original there are the special flavours of green tea and shiso, a brilliantly minty taste, with a refreshing dipping sauce with more of the Japanese herb. Tempura soft shell crab does not retain any oil, the batter light and crisp letting the sweetness of the crustaceans sing and dance in the mouth. Okonomiyaki, savoury pancakes Japanese style, pan fried with noodles topped with a sweet barbecque tonkotsu Japanese mayo or seafood covered in a mound of spring onion the type of really really thick pancake you’d want to wrap yourself in. Okonomiyaki Mura Hiroshima eat your heart out.

Might find you and your company flipping a coin to decide your dishes. No need for that ridiculous award from this flogger to grab attention, the food does all the talking.


4 / 5 yums!
------
Where? 246 Military Rd, Neutral Bay, NSW
What? Most dishes around $15

Fishmongers

SO Eastern suburbs. Don’t be fooled by the shopfront, it’s basically a fish and chip shop with a cool name, a breezy open shop and beachy furniture you’d probably find in Jack Johnson’s shack that serves up battered (top quality) fish you won’t find at your down the road that used to be run by George and now more recently Ying. Don’t expect to receive the same bang for your buck, the grease and the butcher’s paper, middle finger length and two knuckles width fish fingers are served up in brown recycled paper boxes. Also absent are the floury chips, Fishmongers use only real potatoes with skin on, crispy on the outside, lightly seasoned and cloudy soft. The chips, once rated amongst the best in Sydney are worthwhile, but like upgrading from economy to first class, do it once to kill the curiosity.

2.5 / 5 yums!
------
Where? 42 Hall St, Bondi Beach, NSW
What? Deals under $15

Berowra Waters Inn

Toys with a Happy Meal. A 7th blade that escorts the 6th that keeps the 5th warm in the new Gillette HcaM7000 Fusion for the closest shave ever. Kevin Rudd’s promises. That gimmick to attract customers. It is the thing that immediately differentiates and defines Berowra Waters Inn. That majestic boat ride from the wharf to the restaurant, that has housed many of Sydney’s finest chefs, on the shores of the Hawkesbury.

And majestic the food certainly is, complementing the calm and tranquillity of the surrounds. The décor is extremely stripped back and relaxed, letting the serenity of the environment speak volumes. Let the inner Homer Simpson glutton take over, choosing from 4, 5 or 6 courses for a DIY degustation depending on how many flavours you’d like. The portions are scaled up or down but be assured you will leave suitably satisfied. Already envisaging future trips to try everything, the decision is tough as you work your way though the light but beautiful combination Hiramasa Kingfish, Mud Crab and apple, textured by toasted hazelnuts or the chucky thick medallions of grilled scallops, who’s sweetness is accentuated by a lovely rich pea risotto. On the heavier side of things, the slice of roast duck breast, fat rendered into the pinkish meat, accompanied by a filo wrap of duck leg confit ended with a very rich foie gras stuffed dated that whilst was pleasant, perhaps shadowed the Donald. Luxurious Korabuta Pork Loin was more successful with a Madeira Jus. Eclipsing that, mini steaks of Wagyu Sirloin seared and blotted with the finest and freshest pepper berries, grinded and flavour released upon mushing with the chompers. Such simplicity yet so utterly Aussie, a nod to what the gourmet Mick Dundee would prep to impress on the banks of the Hawkesbury.

It is said that this venue has had its ups and downs, but fortunately for the foodie world, chef Dietmar Swayere has resurrected this venue to a stratosphere worthy of its surrounds.


3.5 / 5 yums!
------
Where? Public Wharves (water access only - call for pickup), Berowra Waters, NSW
What? 4 courses $125, 5 for $135, 6 for $150