Niall

He sold it so that he could concentrate on his other restaunt; The Wharf. It is a much bigger place in the Rocks, although a bit more down market. I'm just back from Sydney and ate at Claudes for dinner and the wharf for lunch. Claudes was fantastic; I would say the experience was at a similar level to the last time I wsas there. The service was fantastic from the start; we brought a bottle of 1975 Bollinger RD BYO. I gave it into the restaurant 45 minutes before we were due to eat there and it was chilled well and served with the care it deserved. The food was fantastic. The wharf was a bit disappointing; we had the 'lets do lunch' option which was Wagyu Beef with Rice noodles and a Coriander pesto; it was a bit uninspriing; and the beef was overcooked; it was served medium.

Try Simon Johnson; there are shops in Woolahra, Pyrmont and Castlecrag. They have Valrohna, Amedi and a few others. David Jones fooshall in the city has some too.

I haven't been there for a few years; but Cibo was good when we were there.

Lots of demotions though; 41, Cottage point inn, Prime, Salt, Sailors Thai.... and plenty more.. But it is good to see Matt Moran get back up there.. 3 hats next year anyone?

I've been there twice now, and I have also been to a cooking class with Justin North, and have been very impressed. His winter menu is particularily good.

Places we like are: The essential ingredient in camperdown. Accoutrement in Mosman Victorias Basement in the QVB Kitchen Kapers in Crows Nest

Again in no particular order. Aria - Great food, service and views Tetsuyas - The master Billy Kwong - Great modern chinese Anhs in Bankstown - Best Pho in Sydney 2060 - Was our local place in Waverton when we were there; great food, great people Claudes - Fantastic food. best 'french' food in sydney Yoshii - Best Japanese - great sake tasting to go with the food Sushi Counter in Crows Nest - Great Omakase - great prices East Ocean - Great tradional chinese, great seafood, good yum cha Milsons - Great food, BYO at good prices with great service.

We went to Claudes last year; the food is fantastic and very original. He buys practically the entire Tasmanian crop of truffles each year and does a special menu to accompany them. It is also BYO. We will be back in Sydney this October and have a booking at Claudes; unless the reviews between now and then are very negative we will give it a go. Chui Lee Luk will be the fourth owner of Claudes; so hopefully she will keep up the traditions of the place. It has three hats from the SMH, which is a good recommendation

Tim Pak Poy has sold Claudes in Sydney; the new owner is Chui Lee Luk; She has worked there for 4 years. Claudes Website

While only haven lived in Oz for 6 years, now that I've left I really miss Yum Cha, Pho and Aussie burgers. The bloody big ones you get from any non chain chipper with pineapple, eg and bacon. (skip the beetroot)

You should write to the Hotel and tell them of your complaints, if for no other reason than they try to fix it. An establishments response to a well constructed complaint has won me over a few times.

I think that Braisiere would be a fantastic place for a romantic dinner; It is a one star place in the 17th; onb Rue Cardinet. It's specialties are from the Cotes de Gasgogne. It is small and intimate; the service is fantastic. There isn't a degustaion menu, but if you ask the chef will be more than happy to come a discuss one with you. when we were there the menu cost us 70 euros, and it has a good value wine list, particularly if you choose the gascony wines.

I hhad dinner both at the Chapeau rouge in Dijon and Lameloise in Chagny a couple of weeks ago; we ahd the degustation at both places and both were absolutely fantastic. The wine lists at both places were very good. We stayed at the Montrachet in Puligny Montrachet. A taxi from there to Lameloise cost less than 15 euros.

This is true. When you try to bring foie into Oz, customs have a criteria that it must meet. I have generally only seen bloc de foie in Oz.

I usually buy them live and kill and quarter them before cooking chilli crab.. yum. To kill them, I freeze them for a couple of hours. Then lift up the triangular flap, and pull the top shell off. Then cut in half. Clean then quarter. THis is how we were shown us how to it at the Sydney Seafood school a couple of years ago. Northern Territories Fisheries PDF doc

The times has an article about this.

Tim Tams should be a hit and redeem you afdter putting anyone through vegemite. When I first went there I found it odd that they put beetroot on burgers.. bizarre. As for BBq; don't just stop at shrip; octopus and calamari were quite common too.

Try a Rioja; they can go well with spicy foods.

I'm a big fan of the Australina Roses; The turkeys Flat, Margan and Charles Melton ones are all very good.

Tetsuya's in Sydney explicitly offers a half glass tasting course with the meal. And I believe that it is in high end restaurants where you are more likely to find the staff more receptive to the idea of splitting a wine course.

In England, the whopper does indeed have the edge over any burger Maccas has. But Maccas has the best fries. But in Oz, the fries are just as good at the BK equivalent Hungry Jacks.

Mimolette vielle. My fav cheese.

Ribena is great with Pernod; and for that ultimate sugar hit when you're doing an all-nighter in Uni, having a cola with a dash of ribena is very sugary. We always have ribena in the house, and we usually have it with sparkling mineral water.

Here's a list of the Sydney schools; Citysearch and The NRMA There is a bit of duplication between the lists

Piar, malabar and nilgiri's in crows nest Amars down near circular quay, Zaafran in Darling Harbour harbour There are many more around; particularily in Newtown and Glebe, and most are reasonable quality. Most Indian Home diners are pretty decent. Is there any area in particular you are interested in? Edit: add beach info On the south side, Do the Bondi to Coogee walk; it will take a couple of hours and you will see quite a few beaches; if you just want to go to one beach for the day try Bronte for both the kids and people watching; there's a great little park with a little train that goes around a small loop. Bondi is good for people watching, but it is overly busy, and half the people there are english and Irish backpackers. Coogee is the same. On the North side, there a plenty of good beaches; Manly is a bit touristy, but good for people watching; walk down to Shelly for a smaller beach; it's good for snorkling or learning how to swim because it is sheltered. Dee why/ long reef is a great beach; and if you do go up to cottage point, head across to either palm beach, avalon or whale beach; if you're interested, Palm beach is where that awful aussie soap opera, Home and Away is filmed. You can see th Summer Bay Surf Life savers club from the show on the beach; but it is still a beautiful beach.