3 Stand-out dish reviews of 2023 openings:

Ito’s Hokkaido scallop, served with green apple and milk.

• First of all, Ito needs to be released from the confines of Sydney’s grip on fusion food and be seen as a highly informed, cross-cultural (and bloody-good) curation of food, cocktails, ambiance and ceramicware.
• Seafood and dairy pairs like an unconventional dream, where a single bite of this dish underscores the totality of an izakaya ambiance with trattoria- exceptional quality produce.
• There is an initial velvety-smooth mouthfeel of the scallop, happily undercut with a tart green-apple endnote. Milk and pink peppercorn dust work together in tandem, asserting a creamy yet light richness that is forward with a peppery zing.

Kurumba’s roasted pumpkin curry, served with ground mustard and coconut vinegar.

• Another family-owned darling welcomed on the prized Crown Street of Surry Hills.
• The pumpkin curry presents itself first with the taste of muskiness, attributed to the careful medley of tempered spices.
• With the coconut vinegar, and toasted nuttiness of the pumpkin seed garnish, you’ve got a full bodied, robust curry that’s paired with perfectly flaky and oily paratha in classic Colombo fashion.

Raja’s milo kulfi with hazelnut praline.

• Inventive playfulness exudes from this twist on classic Australiana nostalgia; a more coy counterpart to what we all know and love as ‘choccy’ ice cream.
• The crystallines of hazelnut give an exciting crunch to otherwise a perfectly Milo-y kulfi, a grand departure from expected mango, pistachio and rose flavours.
• The element of ‘play’ is also awfully fun, the sticky-fingerness, the dripping-on-to-the-tableness – who knew eating in a fine dining venue could make you feel the same as licking a paddle-pop during your primary school sports carnival?