View from Shangri La hotel, Sydney

Kangaroo Pizza

No one tell my kids, ok?

Lego R2-D2 at Meyer's Department store, Melbourne

Sushi at Shiki

I was hungering for sushi my first night, and Sydney has a reputation of great fish. Being Sunday many places were closed, but the concierge at the Westin pointed me to Shiki at The Rocks, a very cool shopping area by Sydney Cove. I'd been there already in the morning exploring the shops, so was excited to go back at night.

Shiki Japanese Restaurant

The atmosphere in The Rocks is very cool; young and trendy, but with a lot of history packed in. A fun mix of old and new, and a lively vibe even for a Sunday night. I found Shiki relatively easily, and while the restaurant was almost empty, it was beautiful inside, again combining a decór of classic Japanese with a modern edge. The sushi bar was clean and the chefs friendly, and the aquarium of snow crabs behind them was full. Almost too full actually; it was a bit depressing seeing all those crabs piled on top of eachother, barely moving, eyeing their bretherin getting masaccered in front of them. Hmm, on second thought, that's kinda wrong.

The sushi presentation was beautiful, and the fish looked great. However the Hamachi (yellowtail) didn't look or taste like Hamachi, and I even questioned the chef but he insisted it was. Hmm. I'm not convinced. Sake (salmon) was delicious, but he laid several pieces on top of a slice of lemon, and by the time I got to them, the lemon overpowered the fish. D'oh. Don't do that again please!

Beautiful presentation

The chef offered some fish that I'd never heard of (and never did quite get the name he repeated five times), which was tasty and unique, so that was a nice surprise. My closing selection, a salmon skin handroll, was nothing like what I'm used to and quite disappointing. The skin had almost no flavor, was overcooked, and there was no sweet sauce on it like I usually see. My sushi 'desert', wasn't.

When the bill came I had to send it back as it had $30 of food I didn't order; apparently he forgot to "clear the register". Um… seriously?

Shiki Japanese Restaurant
Clock Tower Square
Corner of Argyle & Harrington Streets
The Rocks 2000
www.shiki.com.au
+61 9252 2431


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rating: 3 feet
verdict: Good fish overall, but questionable Hamachi. The lemon slice under the Sake was just wrong. Great atmosphere, but overpriced. Some tasty chef selections. I'd be able to conditionally recommend it if it was half the cost. OK maybe 2/3; this is Sydney and the US dollar is weak.

G'day from down under!

My first time on this island… and besides a bum foot that's seriously limiting my walkabout capabilities, I did manage to walk around (probably a bit too much) the first day and second morning to see a few sites.

Syney Opera House and a P&O cruise ship just after sunrise

Sydney Opera House

Along the way I met a Yorti Yorta man; an Aboriginal man making his living in the city selling artwork. I bought from him a beautiful dotted painting of the Rainbow Serpent; the Creator.

Urrunga, a Yorti Yorta man

On the second morning, thanks to a jetlag-induced 5am wake-up, I made a run for sunrise to the other side of the Opera House, and due to road closures because of World Youth Day (someone should tell them to rename it to World Youth Week-and-a-half), I had to hoof it the last mile and came over the hill just as the sun kissed the fins of the Opera House. Pretty, but with a cloudless sky, not terribly interesting. I'm hoping for some more dynamic weather before I go (it is winter after all… can't you tell?!)

Sunrise from Mrs. Macquiries Point

This is a public photo gallery; (this same gallery is linked on all Australia posts)