The Kerrigan at Pier One Hotel, Walsh Bay - Sydney

The season for picnics and enjoying the outdoors has arrived! I especially love eating by the water. So when Pier One Sydney Harbour Hotel announced that they were doing an outdoor food shack called The Kerrigan, I knew I had to check them out ASAP.

Pier One's food shack The Kerrigan (named after their smoker the Kerrigan) is right behind the hotel by the water. You get a nice view of the Walsh Bay waters while smashing a great feed. They have everything sorted from smoked bbq meats, to burgers and fried chicken wings. Oh be still my heart!

Fries with melted cheese and bacon

The shoestring fries is only $4 and for additional $1, you can add melted cheese and bacon. It was so damn good!

Their smoked beef brisket ($15) was pulled and served in 3 tortillas (like soft tacos) with lettuce, lime, salsa and coriander. It was a nice way to serve the brisket. Though, I would have preferred chunks of fatty brisket instead as you would get the buttery texture in chunks. 

Korean fried chicken wings

The fried chicken wings were off the hook! I opted for the Korean-style ($14). The coating was rippled and crisped, which kept the meat juicy in the process. The sweet and spicy yangnyeom sauce was on point!

Double smoke stack

Last but not least was the best thing I tried here, the double smoke stack burger ($16): double beef patty, double melted American cheese, pickles, smoky crisped bacon and Kerrigan sauce in a lighty toasted soft milk bun. For a double stack burger, it handled very well. They seem to have used a fatty patty blend. Even if it was cooked well done, the patty remained juicy. Seasoning was just right. It's a classic cheeseburger executed well. The kerrigan sauce was creamy with tangy notes.

Stunning views, music and delicious food. What more could you ask for?

The Kerrigan

Pier One Sydney Harbour

11 Hickson Road,

Walsh Bay NSW 2000

Opem daily

11:30am to 9pm

Ume Burger - Barangaroo, Sydney

The Streets of Barangaroo is one of the most popular and still growing dining districts in Sydney. Since the completion of Wynyard Walk, access to Barangaroo has been super easy! Just take exit 4 from Wynyard station and you're there in about 5-7 minutes.

Walk down straight to Wulugul Walk near the water and you will find one of my most loved burgers in Sydney, Ume Burger! My homie Kerby Craig (Executive chef and owner) and the Ume family has done a great job with the set-up. The space is all about wabi-sabi: minimalist, simple, uncluttered and beautiful. It works for Ume Burger and it reflects the type of Japanese-style burgers they offer: simple, beautiful, perfect, and no nonsense. It's all about treating the produce with respect and making flavours work right. The other two things that made me excited about the new Ume burger is their vending machine that has Calpis and a D.I.Y. SOFT CREAM MACHINE!!!

Yuzu brown sugar soda

The soft cream (to be exact) from a DIY soft serve machine is Hokkaido style where the soft serve base is milk and infused with Ume's flavour of the week. In this case, strawberry and shiso!! It tasted like fresh strawberries and milk with notes of citrus and cilantro.

Here are the classics:

Fries with umami salt ($4.80) was on point! What's even better is that you can get a nori mayo ($1) as a dip. Do yourself a favour and get this highly addictive dip full of deep flavours.

The Ume burger ($14.60) is as umami packed as ever! A cheeseburger with perfectly medium-cooked grilled Wagyu beef patty, melted American cheese and meat sauce in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. The burger is balanced with the sharp flavour of chopped onions, sweet pulpy juice from the truss tomato and creamy mayo. The beef is one of the juiciest and beautifully seasoned patty I've had.

The Menchi burger ($14.80) is back! Handmade pork katsu, mild mustard, tonkatsu sauce, spanish onion and shredded cabbage in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. I love the contrast of textures you get from the tender ground pork and crisped golden coating of the pork katsu patty. The bite and acidity of the mustard and umami from the tonkatsu sauce compliments the pork katsu well.

The ebi burger ($15.50) is my all-time favourite Ume Burger item. Handmade prawn katsu patty, Japanese tartare sauce and shredded cabbage in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. The prawn katsu has a golden-crisped crumb coating and perfectly cooked prawns.

I have always loved the philosophy of "perfection in simplicity". That's probably why I love the work Bar Ume and Ume Burger does. Congrats Kerby and team Ume!

Ume Burger
Wulugul Walk
Barangaroo NSW 2000
Opening hours:
11am till late (around 10 to 11pm) everyday

Osaka Trading Co. - Tramsheds At Harold Park, Forest Lodge

Sydney's latest dining destination Tramsheds at Harold Park is now open. Since opening its doors to the public last Thursday, this Mirvac transformed venue has been flooded with food loving punters. That's expected when the likes of Gelato Messina, Bodega 1904, Fish & Co, Belle's Hot Chicken and many others has set-up their spaces here. But I had my eyes on Osaka Trading Co. (OTC) as my restaurant to commemorate my first Tramshed experience.

The awesome team behind the award winning small bar Tokyo Bird and Head Chef Shota Sato (ex-Bar H Head Chef) is the driving force behind Osaka Trading Co. Just like the entire Tramsheds, OTC has industrial interior and fittings with contemporary finish. Wall displays of whisky and sake bottles and boxes was a nice touch. Though OTC is an izakaya in essence, they are more focused on the food. That's because they want to be a reflection of Osaka, which is Japan's culinary center. From what we tried from the lunch menu, they have achieved that desired aim.

Karaage chicken

The karaage chicken with Japanese tartare and rice ($17) was an absolute winner! The meat was so flavoursome with notes of ginger and possibly shio koji. The batter was crisped and almost flaky-like.

Chirashi sushi rice

The chirashi sushi rice bowl ($20) tastes as good as it looks. This bowl just made the beautiful produce speak for itself. A vibrant mix of fresh sashimi and pickles complimented by sesame seeds and perfect sushi rice.

Katsu sando

The katsu sando ($17) here is one of the best I've had. The tonkatsu was on point with its crunchy coating and beautifully cooked fatty pork. The sweet, caramel-ish and salty tonkatsu sauce gave this sandwich extra umami.

Tip: Purchase anything from Supamart and you can get your onsite parking ticket validated for 90mins free parking.

Osaka Trading Co.

Tramsheds at Harold Park

1 Dalgal Way

Forest Lodge, NSW 2037

PHONE: 02 8880 0765

OTC HOURS

Monday to Thursday :12 pm - 10 pm

Friday:12 pm - 11 pm

Saturday & Sunday:11 am - 11pm