Sushi Bar Makoto - Sydney CBD. The Empty Fridge Celebrates its Blog-iversary and all things Awesome.

Neglect. Sorry my friends, I have been guilty of this. With a million and one excuses, I plan to make it up to you. The last 3 weeks have been a double tornado. For those of you who are not familiar with the term - it is the chaotic equivalent to the serenity of a double rainbow. In a nutshell I resigned from my job, started a new job, had a total career (and yes, a wardrobe) overhaul, battled a meatball addition, built Ikea furniture,  and quietly celebrated The Empty Fridge turning one. Okay, not so much chaotic but busy and emotional nevertheless. But we'll touch on that soon ;)

In this relatively short amount of time there has been so much change, and also been plenty to celebrate. New career does tend to equal several new pairs of shoes in my books but how does one celebrate this "little blog that could" turning one? And a little brother turning 19? And having an emotional goodbye to your office home and snack drawer for the last few years..? Enter my happy place. 

Makoto, my happy place, has been a constant in my life for the last 8 years. So yes - this will be an extremely biased blog post. In fairness, I won't talk about each dish..I'm going to talk about how much one humble sushi bar in the World Tower complex has been present in almost every aspect of my adult life. I'm not even going to say it is the "best" sushi in Sydney even though I'm yet to find better. This is my Makoto story.

 

The Sushi Train / Miso Soup $2.50

In life, I consider this place to be my rock. If this was MySpace, Makoto would be number one in my top eight. If this was Facebook, you'd see "Gianna is in a relationship with Makoto". Now my life is not as dramatic as your average Marissa Cooper, Blair Waldorf or Lauren Conrad (although I do hope that it could be as stylish). Through many stages of my little life - Makoto sets the backdrop.

Handrolls! From $3.60

 During High School my free periods and half days would mean a train ride to the CBD, a bar seat by the conveyor belt for one and my extension history textbooks on the ground. I distinctly remember the manager at the time "Jun-Ichi" teasing me that he would contact the school and tell them I was a truant.

Fresh Tuna Sashimi - The Masuya Group buy daily at the Sydney Fish Markets

My fondest memories were that of the floor staff looking baffled when I'd ask for 2 Teriyaki Chicken hand rolls instead of the usual 4 - how I miss that teenage metabolism. The last minute panic on eve of my HSC exams I'd walk over after cramming at the state library. It was my happy place.

Sushi Selction on the Conveyor Belt

 I think I celebrated nearly every birthday since turning 18 at Makoto. If we visit fancy restaurant for dinner, then I would be there for lunch, or have to sneak a meal in the day after.My equally addicted little brother has also done the same.

My Family and the Sashimi Selection

 I guess when you are working weekend shifts at Target, Makoto was considered a proper and fancy restaurant. From a young age I had love Japanese food and through dining here I was able to really appreciate quality sushi. I remember cringing at the thought of sushi from the train station take away shop that my school mates had after school. Was this the makings of a sushi snob?

Ebi Fry with Egg and Mayo salad topping $3.60

 My high School Boyfriend - (Demos skip through this section please) Although he was king of the deadshits and poured battery acid (twice) on my car and stalked me, he did appreciate my love for Makoto and for every single "date" we had - we ate here. Me and the crazy deadshit.

Spicy Tuna Roll - with cucumber, avocado, capsicum and sesame seeds $3.60

I remember one time, the deadshit and I had a fight at the restaurant - he walked out of the restaurant leaving me to hold back tears. I stayed in my spot because the teriyaki chicken hand rolls had not arrived yet.

The freshest of fresh prawns $5.60

After High School, I was accepted into UTS but to my dismay I was based at the Kurring-gai Campus at Lindfield. Proximity to Makoto was an issue for me and thankfully I had classes at the city tower one day a week. It was at this stage that they opened the branch at Chatswood which was 10 minutes away from Lindfield. The sushi gods answered my prayers. "Jun-Ichi" had moved to this branch and called me a traitor!

The Sashimi Platter

 Of course the deadshit boyfriend did not last long and I think it was second year where I took a Uni boyfriend here (Demos, sorry, still not you..scroll along) This lovely boy was at that stage in his life where sushi was new and all he ever was exposed to was traditional Italian food. "I've never had Japanese food before"  Lucky for me we both went to UTS so it was a midday lunch break destination.

Pork Katsu rolle with Avocado and Cucumber $3.60

 The "I've got an assignment due tomorrow and I'll be at the library" line more often than not turned into "I'm at Makoto". It was my haven from all the now seemingly unimportant stresses of uni life and paved the way for the expert procrastination that only exists in the world of a uni student.

A thick slice of Premium tuna belly $4.60

One memorable Makoto visit involved a run in with the deadshit ex and the Uni boyfriend. Ohhh that little altercation was one for an episode of "The Hills".  From that day I knew - I have to specify that I get custody. We break up, Makoto is mine and if you go - may you choke on your tuna. Only kidding. I'm not vindictive but consider this a warning Demos.

Karage Chicken $5.80 and Special Salmon Roll $6.60

 Working as a nurse was beyond insane. The hours, the workload, the emotional baggage and of course the distance between the hospitals and Makoto really took it's toll on me. It made me burn that Uni boyfriend scored a job a block away. I'd trek it into the CBD after a strenuous morning shift to meet him for lunch but in reality - Makoto just was able to make everything better.

Tempura Prawn Hand roll $3.60 and Unagi (eel) Hand roll $5.60

Our bad romance came to an inevitable end and we parted ways. I was not quick to realise that emotional eating at Makoto had become a coping mechanism. Some girls reach for the ice cream, the chocolate, the vodka..I dealt with my breakup with a stack of sushi plates of course. The clear spirits had to be saved for later..

Soft Shell Crab with Roll hand roll $5.60 (in Chatswood this comes with an egg omlette)

 With bad romances, comes love at first fight. Yes Demos - this is where you come in. Yes, we bonded over double espresso dates, but for the longest time at the start - we hardly dined out. Who would have thought that now dining out is what we do best?

Robo Cog Cafe, Surry Hills

Robots, Bikes and Brunchtime Burrito's - Oh My! These are a certain Empty Fridger's favourite things, in the one convenient location - Robo Cog in Surry Hills. The other Empty Fridger happily waddles along with the promise of Burrito's. Can you guess who that one that was? But that's it; shut the gates, the promise of toys and good food was enough to make any either of us happy so we decided that a visit was much needed to this super cool cafe on one of our weekend dates.

Chill Frappe - Mint, Rockmelon and Pear

Piccolo latte

Robo Cog is not your run of the mill cafe - for starters it is an unassuming white converted cottage. Hungry patrons spilling onto the sidewalk was the only indication we had found the cafe. We talk about toys we had as kids over a first and second piccolo latte. The coffee here is fantastic, with the Green Bean Coffee roasted on site. Inside there are pieces of cool art and robot motifs that adorn the walls. Littered about on shelves and invading almost all the spaces, the variety is amazing. They are just the coolest thing ever, and this made someone feel particularly regretful for neglecting Megazord all those years ago. 

The robot theme runs supreme and does the name of the cafe justice. The other part though involves that of the bicycle. The cog component of the cafe is in reference to the owners love of all things bicycle. On our visit the brick wall bicycle display was that of a yellow Cinelli fixie. A certain Empty Fridger is quite the bike enthusiast and tends to wax lyrical about frames, wheels and italian bike brands that sound like pastry names ("What are you eating?" "Oh this..it's a custard filled Cinelli..you should try the chocolate Pinarello"). Whist thinking about bike pastries, a certain opportunist also manages to swindle a fruit frappe whilst the other remained distracted by the colourful objects.

RoboCORN BACON BACON Brekkie

Speedos Cafe, North Bondi

Summer. It all seems like a distant memory now that many of us are getting last winters heaters, flanelette sheets and cozy jumpers out from their hiding places. A few weekends ago Demos and I caught one of the last beach days of the season and enjoyed a lovely brekky with one of my best girlfriends CJ at North Bondi.

Now my lovely CJ is every bit the baywatch bombshell that her nickname suggests and I affectionately refer to her as my other, other-half. We have been best friends since high school and more recently she has moved to the east. I believe this move was motivated so she could easily stalk a particular Bondi Vet. I've actually just realized that I haven't actually mentioned her in this blog before- but our eating escapades go way back. It's probably because when we are together inhaling pizzas most likely there is hardly any time to get snaps in between our lengthy gas bagging sessions.

And of course Demos is used to all this. CJ and I actually made his life hell when we all met in high school (D was in the boy school next door) and I do believe he hated our bitchy guts back then ;) 8 years later, we still give him hell - the poor bloke just cant have his breakfast in peace. Speaking of Breakfasts - which is what we are here for..

Speedo's is a very busy and crowded cafe tucked away off the main drag at North Bondi. With a name that pays homage to the budgie smuggler, it seems fitting that they are blessed with a great panoramic view of Bondi Beach. Its a very relaxed atmosphere and the staff are kept on their toes by the weekend customer traffic filling in. Our coffee's and CJ's fruit frappe understandably takes a while to arrive.

South African Boerwors Sausage on Turkish.

Uccello - Ivy Complex, CBD

Taking a joke to far. Thats the best explanation as to what happened one ordinary evening. The usual suspects - The Boss Lady, Wiki Mel, Demos and Myself assembled after work at Uccello. Now Demos, bless his little heart, has become used to the company of us three rambunctious (his words) females. Of course being the gentleman that he is - he arrives on time and patiently waits for us as we file into the restaurant. One by one we greet our favourite male companion "Happy Birthday" ever so loudly and apologise for being a tad late. 

Demos' birthday is in November and this dinner was during an outing in April, so of course the poor boy was confused. But hey, we needed something to get excited about and celebrate. We toasted to Demos' imaginary birthday - and because this was an after work dinner, I know I speak for my dining companions when I say the vino was much needed.

As we get comfortable in our lovely booths, we arrive quite early and it seemed like we were the only people there. Uccello is a elegant Italian restaurant located in the Ivy complex. During the day the sun just fills up the whole room and reflects so beautifully off the white marble tables and bright yellow accents. You have a wonderful view of the Ivy pool and bar on one side, a expansive wine collection on another, and an bustling kitchen on the other side.

 

Selection of Italian style cured meats with marinated olives $27

The last time us Empty Fridgers visited Uccello, it was back in the day where Massimo Bianchi was at the helm. Chef Fernando Riva has now taken the reigns at this establishment and we were all very curious to try his take on Italian fare. We start off with the Salumi platter and a bowl of mixed olives. The cured meat selection was top notch - Prosciutto San Danielle, Wagyu Bresciola, Spicy Salami but unfortunately it did not go too far with 4 hungry patrons who do love their antipasti.

 

Heirloom tomato, Ligurian olives, basil and caramelized Spanish onion $15

We find our other starters very tasty, however the portions didnt seem to be big enough to share. We did fight over the sweet chunky slices of tomatoes in the heirloom salad - it was a beauty to look at as well with Demos making the comment that he only wanted to eat the yellow pieces because yellow Lambourghini's go quicker then the red ones. I'm sure this was said to throw some random masculinity in the mix being the only male on the table.

Tuscan style calamari, baby spinach, chickpeas and spicy tomato sauce $24

The calamari was one of the favourite dishes of the night and WikiMel happily let us attack her plate and try it even thought he serving was quite small. The chickpeas cut the acidity brought by the spicy tomato sauce, but the winner definitely was the fresh and tangy calamari pieces. We all wanted more!

Spelt tagliolini, seared scallops, roast pumpkin, basil and pangrattato