A highlight though, was a dish I had at the wedding – and I rarely eat anything amazing at weddings, due to everything being luke warm, dry and overcooked.

Shark fin soup, served on a layer of steamed egg (chawanmushi style) with crab meat. You can’t see the steamed egg in the photo as it rests on the bottom of the plate, but the silky egg and crab meat complements the thick, rich soup. Garnished with a full piece of shark’s fin, goji berries and “silver” bean sprouts. Decadent and divine!

I wish I could’ve stayed longer! I did stop by a restaurant named “Devi’s Corner” which was recommended by the hotel concierge to have really good Nasi Lemak, thought it really wasn’t anything to write home about, as the Malaysian place down the road from my office in Sydney would’ve done an equally (if not better) job.

The Top 50:

1 El Bulli, Spain (=)
2 The Fat Duck, U.K. (=)
3 Noma, Denmark (+7)
4 Mugaritz, Spain (=)
5 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain (+21)
6 Per Se, U.S. (=)
7 Bras, France (=)
8 Arzak, Spain (=)
9 Pierre Gagnaire, France (-6)
10 Alinea, U.S. (+11)
11 L’Astrance, France (=)
12 The French Laundry U.S. (-7)
13 Osteria Francescana, Italy (New Entry)
14 St. John, U.K. (+2)
15 Le Bernardin, U.S. (+5)
16 Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville, Switzerland (+11)
17 Tetsuya’s, Australia (-8)
18 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, France (-4)
19 Jean Georges, U.S. (-2)
20 Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan (New Entry)
21 Chez Dominique, Finland (+18)
22 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (+21)
23 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany (+12)
24 D.O.M., Brazil (+16)
25 Vendome, Germany (+9)
26 Hof van Cleve, Belgium (+2)
27 Masa, U.S., (Re-entry)
28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16)
29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13)
30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry)
31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry)
32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16)
33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4)
34 Nobu U.K. (-4)
35 Mirazur, France (New Entry)
36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17)
37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13)
38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry)
39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5)
40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry)
41 Daniel, U.S. (=)
42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry)
43 Le Louis XV, France (-28)
44 Tantris, Germany (+3)
45 Iggy’s, Singapore (New Entry)
46 Quay, Australia (New Entry)
47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2)
48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25)
49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13)
50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)

and the other 50:

51 Zuma, China
52 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, U.K.
53 Spondi, Greece
54 L’Arpege, France
55 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, China
56 Hibiscus, U.K.
57 Aqua, Germany
58 Le Gavroche, U.K.
59 Chez Panisse, U.S.
60 Les Amis, Singapore
61 El Poblet, Spain
62 Maison Pic, France
63 Cafe Pushkin, Russia
64 Le Meurice, France
65 Bukhara, India
66 Varvari, Russia
67 Schauenstein, Germany
68 RyuGin, Japan
69 La Maison Troisgros, France
70 Wasabi, India
71 The River Cafe, U.K.
72 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
73 Le Cinq, France
74 Allegro, Czech Republic
75 Quintessence, Japan
76 Restaurant Dieter Mueller, Germany
77 Geranium, Denmark
78 Caprice, China
79 Jardines, South Africa
80 Amador, Germany
81 Biko, Mexico
82 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon U.S
83 Fasano, Brazil
84 Mozaic, Bali
85 Obauer, Austria
86 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, France
87 L’Ambroisie, France
88 Maison Boulud, China
89 De Librije, Netherlands
90 Babbo, U.S.
91 Maze, U.K.
92 Zuma, U.K.
93 Manresa, U.S.
94 Pier, Australia
95 De Karmeliet, Belgium
96 Aubergine, South Africa
97 Bo Innovation, China
98 Rust en Vrede, South Africa
99 Del Posto U.S.
100 Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, UAE

Stracchino has got to be one of my favorite vices. I love it best left at room temperature, when it’s melted into a soft gooey cream and served with antipasto. While I was buying Stracchino off the friendly man at Pasanella, he recommended that it was a great cheese to use on pizza. It is normally used in a Piadini or a Calzone but a great melting cheese. The texture became similar to a buffalo mozzarella after it’s been baked, but so very indulgent. I was a little light on the cheese on the first one, but we more than made up for it on the second pizza. No photos on the second pizza, as we ate it in darkness during Earth Hour.

Salad of free range chicken, spiced peach, keflatori, rocket and pancetta

Chilli soft shell crab, asian salad, papaya salad and red chilli nahm jim

Oven baked flathead fillets, fries and tartare sauce

There is also a small shop in the cafe which sells gourmet produce and modern beach house interior decorations and gifts.

78 Cyrus St
Hyams Beach 2540 NSW
Phone: (02) 4443 3874

And the best thing – an after lunch dip in the ocean!

An Incomplete World art:guided tour

Take a walk into the minds and creations of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucian Freud, Damian Hirst, Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter and Cindy Sherman. These are some of the greatest contemporary artists in the world, and chances to hear some expert commentary on their pieces while peering at the original artwork don’t come around very often. An Incomplete World looks at the relationship between people and environment, in both natural and humanly constructed settings. Pieces have previously been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Tate Modern, London.

When: Until Sun 29.07. Tue (12pm) Thu (12pm) Sat (12pm) / Wed (7.15pm)

Where: Art Gallery of New South Wales (Art Gallery Rd, Sydney, 02.9225.1878)

Price: FREE!