Japanese dining across the office
It certainly was not my intention to visit Azuma this past Friday night. My plan was for a quick drink followed by a stop either at a pie-shop or a McDonald’s on the way home before calling it a week. Instead it turned into one quick drink followed by a meal at Azuma.
I’ve always wanted to eat here, but never could find the occasion to do so (it seemed to be one of the more upmarket restaurants in Sydney and I couldn’t justify going in there just to eat a quick dinner). But as I sat at the last free table (we had no bookings) with a friend from work I realized that while their prices might put them in the slightly upmarket section the inside of the restaurant was just pleasantly so-so, almost casual in fact. Elegantly casual.
It took me awhile to decide what I wanted to eat as I flipped back and forth through their menu. Nothing really jumped out at me and in the end I ordered their sushi special (10 piece sushi) along with a spicy tuna & avocado handroll and two pieces of aburi toro–seared tuna belly.
First to come was the handroll and I have to say: awesome nori! It definitely was not soggy as it cracked with each bite and pressure applied to it without being brittle and dry. As a whole, however, I had mixed feelings about the roll. They had sprinkled chili powder on it instead of using the spicy mayo. Looks like I’ll have to be specific next time I order this (the menu only listed a “Tuna & Avocado Handroll” and I had asked if they could make it into a spicy handroll). The saving grace though was the tuna used inside the roll. I wasn’t ready to pass judgments yet at this point but it was fresh, and tasty. Heavenly.
Then came the sushi plate and I realized I was eating the best sushi I’ve ever had ever in Sydney. And fortunately for me, the plate contained the four sashimi I used to judge a sushi restaurant: scampi, tuna, salmon, and scallop. The slices of these four served on top of the rice blocks were fresh and served at just the right temperature. Not warm, and not chilled. The scampi in particular was just right–sweet but not overpowering and chewy but not rubbery. And then the aburi toro finally came and just as I popped the first piece into my mouth I received a work phone call, forcing me to chew and swallow it quickly while excusing myself from the table. After finishing the call I came back to the table and enjoyed the second piece. Absolutely amazing.
It was then that I remarked to my friend that that was the best sushi I’ve ever had in this city.
Then came the dessert: a belgian chocolate mousse for myself and a caramel ice cream affogato for my friend. While not the best they were certainly the best I’ve had in recent memory.
I’m definitely coming back for more.
Azuma
Level 1, Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square
(Cnr. of Phillip & Hunter Street)
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9222 9960
Homepage: www.azuma.com.au
The simple fisherman
I got into a debate with a friend of mine the other day while discussing things like the meaning of life, etc. So here I present to you a dramatized version of the conversation:
Her: One day a Harvard professor of Economics–
Me: Great. Harvard. Economics. But I bet he’s the fool–
Her: So this professor from Harvard is on a beach and he sees a fisherman coming home early, earlier than the other fishermen who are still fishing, and playing with his kids. He goes up to the fisherman and asks him why he came home so early. The fisherman told him it’s so it’s he could play with his kids. “But if you stay out there longer, you can get more fish,” the Economics professor from Harvard argued. “You can then buy bigger boats, hire more men, get more fish, and so on.” “But what would I do with all those money and boats?” “Well, you can … ” and here the professor was stuck. Then he said, “Well, you can spend time playing with your kids.”
Me: The next day the fisherman found out his youngest daughter has leukemia.
Okay, so it’s very shortened and tidied-up version and I definitely came off as a lot wittier than I actually were during the conversation. But the point is, as much as I like to simplify life and get to the basics, sometimes there are certain realities that can’t or shouldn’t be ignored. Yes, the pursuit of money can be ugly–after all, the biblical quote wasn’t “money is the source of all evil” but that “the love of money is the source of all evil”–but the simple fisherman in her story, to me, came off as a simplistic, ignorant fool, not to mention selfish as he’s obviously not thinking of the long-term physical/material survival of his family.
He could’ve had more fish, more boats, more men, and he wouldn’t even have to work so he can even more time with all his kids. But to this she said, “But he’s already doing that. And plus, he won’t be playing with his kids for that 10 or 20 years while he builds his empire.”
Not that I thought of this at the time, but that sounds a whole lot like, “Well, I’ve got a burlap sack. Why would I want to work to get proper clothes? I’m still covered-up right?”
The SQ Lemonade
Every now and then Singapore Airlines disappoints. But even the best fails at times so I suppose this is only normal. One such example was my recent SIN-DEL flight whose cabin crew’s performance was definitely sub-par (though I’d still take this crew over most other airlines’ crew–sub-par for SQ is still better than many other airlines’ inflight service). Whenever I encounter one of these sub-par crews I always think back to my FRA-JFK flight aboard SQ26 at the end of 2005. SQ likes to advertise themselves as having “the inflight service that even other airlines talk about”. To me, the crew that worked the upper-deck on that flight could proudly advertise themselves as “the SQ cabin crew that even other SQ flight attendants talk about”. They were just that good. But about two weeks ago, a few days after the disappointing SIN-DEL flight, I encountered a cabin crew that definitely deserved the same accolade.
My AP US Government teacher would have politely described my situation onboard the SIN-SYD flight SQ219 as stagflation: everything coming out from both ends. I knew I was ill when I could barely make it to the gate and security (in Singapore security check is done at the gate) actually took me up to the front of the line, cutting in front of an old lady in the process. It was this same knowledge that led me to ask my seatmate, upon her arrival, for a switch as I was in the window seat and she had the coveted aisle seat. (I think she was happy with her decision.) And it was just sometimes after take-off that I grabbed the barf bag in the seat pocket in front of me, ripped it open, and threw-up into it.
(My apologies to the flight attendant that handled this–I couldn’t see the “tab” that I was instructed to rip and opened it at an angle that when she tilted it she spilled a little of the content onto myself, my armrest, and a tad on herself. That couldn’t have been pleasant. :( )
I’ll skip on the details of what happened in the toilet, but I was eventually back in my seat and I managed to muster enough energy to rip open the blanket’s plastic wrapping and threw it over myself. Never had that SpaceBed seat ever unfolded itself so comfortably for me–everything just right for my aching and freezing body. Under the single layer of blanket I curled-up tightly, my body shaking violently from the chill.
The flight from hell? More like the flight through hell. For the first time ever I dreaded the 7-8 hours I’d have to spend aboard an SQ flight. But, leave it to SQ to turn what is my worst possible flight ever into a much more positive experience, making the best lemonade out of the sourest lemon thrown at me.
There was a palpable “all hands on deck” measure being implemented just to care for lil’sick me. I knew that even if it was the Chief Stewardess (second in command so to speak–if you ever fly SQ, she’d be the lady in red or the gentleman in a matching dark blue suit) who personally cared for me, the others did help me out once or twice during my flight and were all aware of my condition and could be relied on for assistance. At the end of the flight even the Inflight Supervisor came-up to my seat to check on me.
With all this attention, you bet I was impressed!
As for the Chief Stewardess, being cared by her was not at all different from being taken care of by a nurse, albeit one who had gone through the SQ training on customer service and had moved-up the ranks to Chief Stewardess. She out of all of them really gave me a peace of mind and comfort.
Additionally, I never at any point signaled for assistance (I simply didn’t have the energy) yet someone always came-up to my seat when I needed something (e.g., more blankets, medication, etc.). At the same time they also did not interrupt my sleep more than necessary. It was as if they were able to read my mind as to what I needed and when. Amazing.
Another thing that stuck in my mind is the observation made by the Chief Stewardess when she was advising me to drink water to replace the fluid my body lost. She didn’t simply give me the standard lecture on how my body is losing water but instead she pointed out how dry my lips had looked and that I really had to drink-up or else I would also be suffering from dehydration. Talk about detail! I would’ve loved to check on this crew’s table setting had I been able to enjoy the meals on-board! (One quick’n dirty method of testing their attention to detail is to see whether all the Raffles class logo that appear during the mealtime are lined-up facing you: glasses, tablecloth, plates, bowls, etc.)
(Compare this to the QF crew that forgot to hand my jacket prior to landing at LAX and the subsequent crew who refused to do anything while we were still on the ground at LAX and finally announced to me near the end of the flight as we were approaching JFK that the jacket must have been taken off the plane at LAX.)
Eventually I managed to sleep in a cocoon of three blankets and one duvet (which the very nice lady in red produced from the first class cabin when she realized I was still shivering under three blankets) for a good six or seven hours and woke-up feeling more or less well-rested and also that the flight had been rather comfortable. I was also able to enjoy a conversation with my seatmate–all thanks to the amazing crew on-board.
Anyhow, here’s a very special thanks to Chief Stewardess Dorothy for making my flight a much more comfortable affair than I thought it could ever be given my condition.
