Launch: Gary Mehigan becomes ambassador for Citibank Dining Program, CBD Sydney (9 Aug 2012)

Level 40, 2 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.citibank.com.au

Free wining with your dining

Thanks to Liberty Miller from Liquid Ideas for inviting me to the announcement launch of Gary Mehigan becoming the ambassador of the Citibank Dining Program — whose actually been a Citibank customer for 10 years. Guests were treated to Pol Roger Champagne and canapés by a chef team from Fenix and Chef Chase Kojima of Sokyo. Wine was supplied by First Creek Wines which are one of the major suppliers for the free bottle of wine you receive at restaurants with the Citibank Dining Program if you’re a Citibank cardholder — I wish my bank provided such an offer. A small band of MasterChef contestants mingled with the crowd and were more than happy to have their photo taken with fans. Presentation of the canapés was intricate and clearly showed attention to detail. My favourites were the tasty flavours on the 'Tosta Matrimonio' Ortiz anchovies, goats curd & green olives and the interesting Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, truffle salt & spicy mayo. The Mini fish burger with sweet pickles & mayonnaise was also very popular that was thankfully not too messy to eat. For a dessert treat the Peanut & caramel popsicles were great — I’d love a large pack of these for my next birthday please. A selection of Macarons were supplied by Adriano Zumbo but sadly he wasn’t on hand to ask which flavours we were treated to. A competition for the best photo on the night was in play to win $1000 at Sokyo. Not having a smartphone to tweet I joined forces with Denea who provided a winning caption and tweet with my photo of Gary Megihan and his cardboard cutout ‘Oooooh @crispycrackling picked up at #citibankdine ..!’. I now look forward to sampling the dishes at Sokyo with a nice glass of wine or two courtesy of Citibank. The event was well-organised with free flowing food and drinks on hand and the views from level 40 were pretty spectacular — I wish my office had a view like this.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Interesting canapés, Nice ambience created, MasterChef and My Kitchen Rules contestants amongst the crowd, Gary was very down-to-earth and seemed to be a really nice guy who's clearly passionate about good food and wine

CONS: I don’t have a Citibank card to get free wine at restaurants

MUST TRY: Visiting Sokyo at The Star
VERDICT: A well-organised event with free flowing food and drinks plus spectacular views from level 40

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A bit of Pol Roger Champagne never hurt any one

Dukkak spiced quail eggs with cauliflower cous cous, lemon puree 

Croquetas with jamon, smoked paprika mayonnaise

'Tosta Matrimonio' Ortiz anchovies, goats curd & green olives
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Prawn boudan blanc, fennel jam, almond biscuit, salsa verdi

Tai Yuzu Honey, onion, caper, crunchy miso

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, truffle salt, spicy mayo 
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Mini fish burgers, sweet pickles & mayonnaise 
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Sammy and Bella hungry for mini fish burgers

Roasted Cape Grim beef, red onion marmalade, basil mash 

Lamb Maple Miso, burnt baby eggplant

Peanut & caramel popsicles
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Macarons by Adriano Zumbo

The black macaron was really good — it tasted like a Cookies & Cream

Gary Mehigan and Chef Chase Kojima

Speech time: Gary Mehigan, Joanna Savill, Roy Gori (Citibank Australia CEO)

Meeting a few lovely MasterChef contestants with Kylie Millar, Audra Morrice, Amina Elshafei and photobombing courtesy of Gary Mehigan

Guests including Joanna Savill, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor (MCA), Anthony Laver (General Manager Marketing Citibank), Sammy and Bella Jakubiak (My Kitchen Rules) & Marion Grasby (MasterChef)

Liquid Ideas team

Citibank team

Supported by First Creek Wines

Win a $1000 dinner at Sokyo via tweeting a pic with #citibankdine — yes please!

“Oooooh @crispycrackling picked up at #citibankdine ..!” — winning photo tweet

Denea Buckingham with Linda Duncombe (Director of Marketing, Digital and Customer Experience at Citibank Australia) with winning $1000 prize

Nice ambience and decor created

Every celebrity chef has to have a cookbook

Some serious gear on these official photographers

Free wine is just the beginning

Goodie bag including signed copy of Gary Mehigan's Comfort food cookbook and First Creek 2010 Chardonnay

The view from Level 40 looking towards the Kings Cross Coca Cola sign

The view from Level 40 looking towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Looks like there's a party happening on Level 40 :-)

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A Fish Called Coogee: Seafood, Coogee (2 Jan 2012)

229 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee NSW 2034

Something fishy in Coogee

It's quite unusual for me to have fish n chips twice in a row after New Years Day but the good weather brought me down to Coogee Beach to get some extra vitamin D. The popular A Fish Called Coogee was certainly packed to the rafters and seating was at a premium but I always prefer sitting closer to the beach anyway. My Fish Burger ($7) had a super soft bun, maybe a little too soft if that's possible but at least it was fresh. It was quite nice although I probably would have preferred a slice of tomato rather than the sun-dried tomato. It came with a fair dollop of sauce which thankfully held up OK without making the bun too soggy although eat quickly is my best advice. Small Chips ($4) were hot and crisp although I would have expected the hand cut chips to look a bit more rustic and irregular in shape like The Battery used to serve up. Atlantic Salmon ($21.45) comes at a premium price of $55 per kg but is cooked well and served about medium rare to retain some moisture inside. It looks a little lonely on its own and perhaps would be better value if served with a side salad or some chips. The basic Salad ($6.90) is fairly fresh with a tasty dressing and comes with sun-dried tomato which I guess will last longer than normal tomatoes. They only accept cash and it can get pretty noisy when busy with the open kitchen right next to the indoor seating which looks very cosy ie squashy.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Decent menu variety, Fish cooked quite well, Some reasonably priced items on the menu, Fairly close to beach, Environmental packaging

CONS: Premium price for just fish, Limited seating, Can get noisy and hot being close to kitchen, Cash only

MUST TRY: Other menu items next time

BABY ON BOARD: Seating inside too crowded and cramped for a pram, Go for an end seat outside for better luck or better still head to the beach

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Planet safe plastic bag for take away

Fish Burger ($7)

Small Chips ($4)

Atlantic Salmon grilled medium rare ($21.45) - flavoursome and cooked well although perhaps expensive at $55 per kg with nothing included

Salad ($6.90)

Bill $39.35 for two

Outside seating

Shop not too far from the beach

Shop front

Coogee beach nearby


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