April 27 (Bloomberg) — Noma’s victory at the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants last night is a triumph both for the Copenhagen eatery and for the awards, which were stuck in a rut, handing out first place each year to El Bulli.

Danish chef Rene Redzepi was there to collect the crown that had gone for the past four years to Ferran Adria for his establishment north of Barcelona. El Bulli has been in the top three every year since the awards were founded in 2002.

Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck has been the other big winner, coming first in 2005 and always making the top three since 2004. The U.K. restaurant came third last night, behind El Bulli. The only other winner has been the French Laundry, in 2003 and 2004. Noma, which seats 42 diners, was founded in November 2003.

Noma — which stands for Nordisk Mad, or Nordic Food — is housed in a converted warehouse by the waterside in the Danish capital’s Christianshavn district. Redzepi, 32, travels the region in search of ingredients and culinary inspiration for his seasonal menu. Noma entered the table at 33 in 2006 and had risen to third by last year.

After last year’s success, Taste of Melbourne is returning to Carlton for another tasty event perfect for food-lovers. After my visit to the recent Taste of Sydney, I can assure you that having the ability to forage through freshly prepared dishes (in tasting portions) from the city’s top restaurants all in one day is a dream come true.

Participating chefs include Frank Camorra from MoVida, Jacques Reymond from Jacques Reymond, George Calombaris from The Press Club, and Hellenic Republic, Shane Delia from Maha Bar, Matthew Wilkinson from Circa the Prince, Ping Yan Yeung from Silks, Tobie Puttock from Fifteen, Dallas Cuddy from Verge, Philippe Mouchel from the brasserie by Philippe Mouchel, Joseph Vargetto from Oyster Little Bourke, Jocelyn Riviere from The Court House, Stuart McVeigh from The Botanical, Tadashi Takahashi from Nobu and Gary Mehigan from The Boathouse.

For all you Master Chef fans, George and Gary will be there serving up their signature dishes – perhaps you can give them a cheeky pointer or two!

Masterchef Judges

To get a good idea of what delectable dishes are on offer, check out the menu here

WHAT: Taste of Melbourne – The Ultimate Dining Experience

WHEN: August 27-30, 2009

WHERE: Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens

HOW MUCH: Entry tickets from $27.50 – special offers available

Tickets on sale now!

Chef Nathan Sasi (ex Rockpool) has designed a sharing menu that takes our palette on a global journey with spices from Spain, Middle East and Africa, while still maintaining his focus on the freshest seasonal local produce. Everything is designed to be shared, and each section of the menu is stylishly categorized with Peruse, Bite & Devour and Savor.

Peruse consists of dishes you can graze with flat bread and a glass of wine while you wait for the rest of your friends to arrive. We selected (clockwise from top) Manchego w Membrillo, sliced Iberico jamon (cut to order), baba ghanoush and house made sheep’s milk labneh – beautifully prepared and full of flavour.

Tasting Dishes

Oysters (3)

The flesh of the kingfish thinly sliced, the flavours delicate with Spanish influences, prepared “En escabech” (marinated with a citrus vinaigrette) and served with a fennel and soft herb salad.

Hiramasa Kingfish "En Escabech", Fennel Salad

From Spain we transcend into Arabia, with grilled king prawns marinated in chermoula. I’ve always known chermoula to be a Moroccan spice, but Sasi has given it a ras el hanout style, which in Arabic means “head of the shop” or the best spices one can offer. Infused with paprika, cumin and coriander it really transcends your taste buds into the spice markets. The watercress against traditional tabbouleh gave it a modern twist. It was delightful!

Chermoula King Prawns w watercress tabbouleh

This was my favorite intermission of the night - that day’s addition to the menu: Artichoke soup with scallops and white truffle oil, warm, creamy and just perfect for the cold winter air.

Artichoke Soup

For the main event, we shared the daily special of lamb kofta to continue our Arabic journey. Kofta is somewhat like a cigar shaped meatloaf, moulded around sprigs of rosemary. It is served with pickled vegetables, mint and onion salad and yogurt dipping sauce.

Lamb Kofta

Who could forget dessert? Aptly named as “savor”.

The olive oil and pistachio cake with yogurt sorbet and sumac (another Arabic spice) strawberries was not overly rich and a wonderful way to end things with a sweet note. The sumac strawberries were very popular with the girls!

Olive oil and Pistachio Cake

But the Sesame seed and orange blossom cohibas with rioja poached cherries is a clear stand out from the rest. The tactile “cohiba shell” encased a silky orange blossom filling is more enjoyable eaten by hand, alongside the cherries with the satisfying “pop” as the stem is pulled off.

"Cohibas"

And just when we thought we were well and truly fulfilled, Manager Mikee Collins sends out some irrestible Moroccan doughnuts with spiced custard…

Moroccan Doughnuts...with a Turkish MochaTurkish Mocha

That was language of spice class 101. I’ll be back to take more lessons.

Jone’s Bay Wharf
Shop 120
26-32 Pirrama Rd
Pyrmont 2009 NSW

Phone: (02) 9518 4884

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

Smoked mussels in thai marinade served on cos lettuce leaf

Chilled Blue Swimmer Crab & Crystal Bay Prawn Remoulade with Pickled Cucumber

Greenwell Point Rock Oysters natural

Seagrass Kilpatrick with Fresh Lemon

Special of the day: Ocean trout

Grainfed Eye Fillet with Lyonnaise Potatoes and bernaise sauce

Rocket, Reggiano Parmesan Salad

Jaffa Affogatto

Wicked Nutty Belgian Chocolate Terrine with Chocolate Ice Cream

• 13 Currambene St
  Huskisson 2540 NSW
• Phone: (02) 4441 6124
  
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Robuchon a Galera at Hotel Lisboa – Joel Robuchon being one of my favorite chefs… this was one of the places I couldn’t wait to try! A lot of friends have commented that this restaurant is much better than its Hong Kong counterpart (which is probably over-trendy with less focus on the food).

Warm egg cocotte with spinach, truffle and parsley toast, Chicken soup jelly with Fois Gras, Onion tartin with Sliced black truffle

Papilotte of silver cod with black truffle and baby artichoke and leek - cooked to perfection in a paper bag, cream sauce dressed at the table, and the flesh of the fish just falls to the touch of the fork. mmmm

The mille feuille (my favorite dessert of all time) with very fresh pastry and vanilla cream, the floating island with chestnut ice cream

The Peninsula Spa

“Exclusive poolside lunch featuring Naturally Peninsula light and healthy cuisine” – Poached salmon in vegetable broth

H One @ IFC

Steamed White Asparagus, Italian “Sunny Side Up” Egg, Shaved Parmesan, White Truffle Oil

Agnes b – Le pain grille

High tea set – very cute, relaxing environment perfect for a girly chat over a hot cup. I went with my grandmother!

Da Domenico -10 Hysan Ave, 10-12, G/F Sunning Plaza, Causeway Bay

Their famous Lobster linguini – to die for. A cute trattoria styled Italian restaurant I visited with my boss. I snapped this photo during his smoke break!

They bake twice a day, so if you buy bread home after work, it would be fresh out of the oven. Opens til 6pm!

Hearty beef pie (with soft chunks of braised meat) in a flakey pie pastry ($4); Lamb, harissa and almond sausage roll – sensational mix of flavours ($4). Chocolate meringue with a soft gooey centre that my entire office went ga-ga for ($2.20); Chocolate poppyseed stick – two long strips of croissant pastry sandwiched with chocolate sauce, and baked in a crispy poppyseed shell ($3).

Talk about a carb overload for lunch in the office! I think I’m in heaven…

Tue, Mar 4

From:

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)

Departs:

10:20pm Tues Mar 4

Sun, Mar 16

From:		HONG KONG, HONG KONG S A R (HKG)	Departs:		11:55pm Sun, Mar 16
To:		SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (SYD)	Arrives:		12:10pm Mon, Mar 17

I just bought the Michelin Guide 2008 Tokyo: Restaurants & Hotels (Michelin Guide Tokyo)
but I would really love some personal recommendations. I want to try food in Tokyo that I cannot try anywhere else in the world…

Oh yes, if the opportunity arises, I am most definitely up for eating Whale. There, I admitted it.

Ingredients:
Silken Tofu (ready to eat out of the pack)
Wakame (soaked)
Corn Kernels
Edamame beans (boiled and shelled)
1 tbsp Soy or Tamari
1 tsp Mirin
1 tsp Rice vinegar
Yuzu and Japanese sesame dressing (Drizzle to taste)

For some reason I totally forgot to add my edamame beans into the salad before I left the house yesterday morning. You should also add bonito flakes and toasted sesame seeds for added texture. This is very quick to prepare before running out of the house in the morning.

Oh… by the way, my diet’s going quite well! I can fit into my pants again!

The Corn and Basil soup from Plan B by Becasse today, was AMAZING, and only $5 for a large bowl!

I also bought the Coronation Chicken Sandwich, and the BLT for my colleagues. They both said it tasted amazing, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera before it was both wolfed down. (so it’s got to be good!) Sandwiches are $8 each. (photo link here)

Plan B are best known for their Wagyu Burgers – but alas, not part of the current diet plan, girlfriend!

Highly recommended! 24 Hickson Road, Sydney (02) 9252 6285 (approx $100 per head including wine)