All-you-can-eat ribs. It’s such a beautiful concept that it almost makes me tear up at the thought.

Tender, succulent crescents of meat that slips effortlessly off the bone. The finger licking goodness of the slightly sticky sweetness of the flavourful sauce. As much as your stomach will allow, and then a little more.

I’ve been hankering for these all-I-can-eat ribs from Cafe Ish, ever since I’d first heard about them while on a holiday in Malaysia. Read more »

Dim lights of orange and yellow cast rays of warmth, drawing forth a sense of comfort on an otherwise frigid winter’s evening. Lights, that barely give form to sophisticated cocktails and diners a like, provide an intimate mood of romance, elegance & class.

A party of five gathers around a small table, some of whom are old friends. The transformation from stranger to acquaintance takes place as introductions are made and pleasantries exchanged over martinis and aperitifs. A moment passes. Before long, an escort directs us to a booth. Positions are taken around a square table. A listless anticipation builds, as we await the first course of the tasting menu at Tokonoma. Read more »

Mr B’s, or more specifically the Japanese & Thai restaurant Iima located on the same premises, is a venue that’s only come up on my radar recently; a last minute invite for dinner out with friends, and friends of friends. It is something of a curiousity, or perhaps an oddity.

Encompassed within the two levels of this establishment (ground floor and overlooking mezzanine) that use to be the premises of the old Mandarin Club, are a Thai restaurant, Japanese restaurant & a western bar/lounge (with its own menu). It’s an East-meets-East-meets-West sort of affair. However, each component remains true to itself and distinct from each other (for the most part), rarely falling into the culinarily dubious territory of fusion cuisine. Read more »

the heart of food is now a little over a year old, having first started on February of 2009. The birth of this blog is in some part thanks to Helen, from the prolific Sydney food blog Grab Your Fork. She was the one that inspired me to start this whole blogging thing, as she has with a number of other Sydney food bloggers.

Over this past year, there have been quite a number of amazing food experiences. One of the things that stands out in my mind are the birthday celebrations of various food bloggers.

Please join me for a review of the food experiences regarding birthdays and birthday-related posts over the past year, including some new material and images. Read more »

It was a warm Summer’s evening when this whole episode began. A little too warm and a little too Summer for my tastes. I’d received word on the wire from a fixer that I know. A friend. She’d tipped me off to a function at a cocktail bar & lounge that had opened recently on Crown St, Surry Hills. A group of us were invited. Wanted to know if I was interested. The joint was called Tokonoma.

Tokonoma had meant nothing to me at first. My fixer informs me that there was the promise of free food, and more importantly, free drinks. That was all I needed to hear. Like the seductive scent of an exotic femme fatale, suspecting that there would be trouble by the end, I was drawn in like a moth to a raging bonfire. How could a man, down on his luck, refuse such an offer. Read more »