The World is a Book...

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - St Augustine


A small interruption from my EuroTrip photos as I celebrate my birthday...

Sono, Queen St

Like most Asian cultures Filipinos traditionally serve noodles during birthdays to symbolise long life. This comes in the form of pancit in all its variations.

But because this year is a milestone celebration for my dear wife cooking pancit just would not cut it. We wanted something extraordinary and intimate. Yes, you read it right, an intimate dinner with our family (including the kids), friends and friends’ kids.

A Chinese banquet, although special, seems too busy and not intimate enough. Then there are the Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Korean restaurants that we know of in Brisbane. They all lack that X factor we’re after fitting the momentous occasion.

And then there’s Sono more specifically Sono at Queen St. Situated right in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD it truly is a tranquil gourmet escape for city folks.

Sono offers various types of seating. There are Japanese booths, a sushi bar, as well as western style of seating. And for boutique parties like ours the restaurant also has traditional Japanese private rooms. But because we only booked on the day we missed out on having our own private dining room (note to self: book early).

The restaurant has got quite an extensive menu. They boast to have the highest quality hand made sushi in Brisbane.

For starters we had their appetizer platter composed of fresh oysters with ponzu sauce, simmered pork belly with sweet soy, soft shell crab with shiso sauce, crab croquette and edamame. The kids had tuna sushi.

And because we’re after some noodle component in our dinner we went for Sono’s Wagyu Sukiyaki. There’s a shabu-shabu version of it if you’re not too keen on the sweet soy. The kids had tempura udon, chicken karaage and more sushi.

All the dishes were very good as expected. Their sukiyaki servings were plentiful. We had enough leftovers for a couple more adults.

I would like to commend the restaurant’s staff for their high quality of service. Kids are not a big part of their regular clientele but we were accommodated without much fuss. A high chair for my toddler and a special table for the kids away from the steaming hot sukiyaki pots were effortlessly set up by smart and beautiful looking kimono clad staff.

But what made that night a lot more special was the company of true friends who indeed rejoiced with us. Thank you Patrick and Pilar, I almost ruined the surprise but anyway,… And thank you Lyndon and Carla (and Aaron, and Ayden and Anthony) for joining us, enduring the 12+ hour drive to Brisbane on a wet and stormy weekend.

An Evening with the Master - TETSUYA'S, Sydney

Apart from the almost inconspicuous name at the gate there was no other indication that a Michelin starred restaurant is located in this battle-axe block behind a heritage listed property on Kent St, Sydney.

Yes, there was and still is a gate which further emphasises the exclusivity of Tetsuya's (and made me wonder if they'll let me in). Guests are normally chauffeured in. I'm one of the very few who came by foot.

The evening started with drinks at the bar where I joined a dozen or so of my dining companions. Various aperitifs were on offer including Bollinger champagne. I was still too much in awe at that stage and decided to have some sparkling water instead.



Before we knew it we were all ushered to the upstairs section of the restaurant where the man himself was quietly completing some final touches for his master class.

Tetsuya's Master Kitchen by Electrolux was a sight to behold. One major feature of his impressive domain is the absence of any buttons/knobs/dials/handles etc. which makes keeping it spick and span easy (an army of staff doesn't hurt either). Heat levels seem to magically change with the slide of his finger. His cupboards open/close with a slight touch. I would love to have my kitchen fitted as such. But that dream would have to remain...a dream.

With all his accomplishments and various honours chef/owner Tetsuya Wakuda did not put on airs. He gladly answered every question in his soft-spoken manner. At the end of the class he also happily stayed for photos with humble bloggers like yours truly. Calling him Tets did not seem irreverent any more after personally talking to the man. One priceless thing I found out that evening is the fact that he does not like salmon.

He began the master class by skilfully preparing a warm tuna salad with black beans and orange garnished with fine tendrils of chilli. I scoffed this dish down like there's no tomorrow. No precise measurements were provided. As suggested by Tets, it's all up to the diner. This plate of sublime elegance is definitely something I will give a go at home. Tets made it seem easy enough.



Next to Japanese, Italian is his other favourite cuisine. He demonstrated this by showing us how to cook fregola/fregolone (a type of pasta from Sardinia) for a quick yet impressive meal anyone can do at home. He prepared fresh tomato sauce which he lavishly finished off with spanner crab meat from Noosa.

Other tips from the Master:

1. Use grapeseed oil (mainly for non-Italian dishes). It can stand higher temperatures than other oils.

2. Tuna is best aged a couple of days rather than fresh out of the sea to allow the fish to develop that distinct tuna taste.

3. Fresh tuna is best wrapped in paper towel then plastic wrap before storing in the fridge.

4. Use medium to low temperature when cooking garlic in oil for Italian dishes.

We were then escorted to our table to begin the evening’s degustation. We were first served with a choice of fresh sourdough or Italian bread and luxurious butter whipped with ricotta, black truffles and parmesan. That definitely set the scene for an evening full of superlatives.

Rather than boring you with details of the menu I purposely took a photo of every single dish and labelled them accordingly.

If I’m to choose a favourite it would have to be the oxtail with sea cucumber. It was rich, smooth, melt in your mouth stickiness. Among the desserts I’m very partial to the warm bread and butter pudding. It was cinnamony creamy comfort goodness served in a pot.

To cap off what was already an unforgettable dining experience a gift bag was handed over to us containing a signed copy of Tetsuya the cookbook, truffle salt, and a box of macarons amongst other things.

Once in a lifetime is the only way to describe it. As much as I would like to think it will happen again I know it will be a while if at all.

The Beancounter was a guest of Electrolux. Flights, accommodation and dinner at Tetsuya were part of Electrolux Tetsuya Masterclass Competition.

Yorkshire Puddings

I find Yorkshire pudding quite intriguing. I actually thought it was a dessert. I can be forgiven for thinking such. It's called a pudding after all. But then again, the British also have "black pudding" which is anything but.

Yorkshire pudding is the classic accompaniment to roast beef. It's like pancake batter cooked in the oven to make the most of the drippings from the roast. For a lighter version (like mine) use sunflower oil as an alternative.

I've never made these before but the recipes I've read looked simple enough I did not hesitate making them when we had roast beef for dinner last Sunday evening.

In hindsight I think I would have had a better result using self raising flour. Mine just did not rise high enough. It wasn't a complete disaster. My son couldn't get enough of them as a matter of fact. But if you're going to try the recipe below use self raising flour instead.

Yorkshire Puddings

150g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
Sunflower oil




1. Sift flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the egg.
3. Add the milk a little at a time making sure everything is well mixed together. Set aside for at least an hour.
4. Place a bit of oil in about 12 individual muffin tins.
5. Heat tins in a 220C oven for a few minutes.
6. Pour the batter into the tins about half to three quarters of the way up.
7. Lower the heat to 180C and bake for about 25 minutes.