When you take the first bite of a new dish and the intensity and immediacy of the flavors freeze time, it does something to your brain. This causes him to save the newcomer to a file marked Unforgettable. Here are 11 Sydney dishes I’ll never forget, from half a lifetime of restaurant reviews.

Puree of Paris, Pond, Kings Cross

Pond was my first review for The Sydney Morning Herald, in 1994. I had heard that a young French chef named Guillaume Brahimi had worked with the famous Joël Robuchon in Paris. Having recently eaten at Jamin de Robuchon, I passed by. The basil-infused tuna was something completely different for Sydney (I hailed it as a new culinary icon), and the thick, glossy, buttery, almost elastic Paris mash, made from the famous mashed potatoes by Robuchon, was a marvel. Slam! 16/20 on site. (1994-1996)

Poultry liver Paris-Brest, Café Paci, Newtown

Café Paci is one of Sydney’s most rewarding dining experiences, and Pasi Petanen’s ever-changing menu leads a dream team of superstar players. This crispy, crunchy choux pastry with almond flakes from 2020 is just one of them; Rococo ruffles of a rich, silky parfait, hand-laid on a bed of sweet onion jam. I want it now.

King George Whiting with Lemon and Hojiblanca Olive Oil Cobram Estate, Margaret, Double Bay

Produce, produce, produce – and be smart not to get in the way. Thank you, Bruce Collis, for the fish, and Neil Perry and Richard Purdue for the purity and care of the grill.

Laksa Bombs, Ho Jiak Town Hall, Sydney

All the things you’ve always loved about spicy, creamy Singaporean coconut laksa soup – but in a dumpling? Ho Jiak’s chef-owner Junda Khoo sends up big, silky, supple dumplings filled with shrimp, chicken and two types of noodles bathed in a dollop of heavily reduced laksa soup. Kapow.

Berkshire pork jowl with maltose cracklings, Quay, Sydney

I’ve been eating Peter Gilmore’s intuitive, elegant cooking ever since I reviewed De Beers in Whale Beach in 1999 (“One of the most exciting chefs I’ve met all year; it all works”). But it all really happened for him under the patronage of the Fink Group at Quay, starting in 2001. This slow-braised and moist pork jowl was accompanied by richly pickled prunes, prune pit oil, cream creamy cauliflower and maltose caramel cracklings. To date, “one of the most exciting chefs I’ve met all year; everything works.”

Char Kwai Teow, Temasek, Parramatta

I first reviewed this quick, no-fuss Singaporean family favorite in 1998 and called it a bloody gem. Today managed by the founder’s son, Jeremy Cho, it still is. I like everything: dark curry puffs, fish head curry, lightly jellied Hainanese chicken. But best of all is the char kwai teow, with its char straight from the fire. The smoked and stir-fried flat rice noodles soak up the dark, sticky, sweet and salty sauce, studded with bean sprouts, crispy cheong sausage and decent little shrimp. Comfort food for my inner noodle freak.

Japanese stones, Sepia, Sydney

As a chef, Martin Benn has a love of beauty that drives him to create high-concept, high-technique dishes that are works of art. This earned him three hats at Sepia in Sussex Street (2009-2017), which he directed with partner Vicki Wild. The Japanese Stone Dessert (2011) was an extraordinary thing to eat, as the crisp, smooth shells of cocoa butter opened to reveal soft hearts of chocolate, coconut cream and cherry, on a bed of mousse of green tea. An edible rock garden.

Snail lumache, Bistrot 916, Potts Point

Bistrot 916 was a fever dream of a romantic, candlelit, cocktail-filled French bistro (2021-2024), where chef Dan Pepperell evoked a feeling of Parisian tradition while sending it up gastronomically. Its snail-shaped lumache pasta shells basked with escargots, in the same mossy herb, shallot and garlic butter that the French love to serve with escargots. It was a snail on a snail and it made me laugh out loud.

Dry-aged Tuna Wellington, Saint Peter at the Grand National, Paddington

It’s a fish restaurant, and a very nice restaurant, even if you risk leaving thinking you ate meat. Take Josh Niland’s Pastry Wellington – impeccable, precise and classically prepared with pastry, pancakes and mushroom duxelles. Its crimson heart, however, is not beef, but bigeye tuna dry-aged for 18 days. It’s cleaner, leaner and lighter, but still robust enough to pair with red wine. It’s not something you forget in a hurry.

Potato and Eggs, Oncore by Clare Smyth, Barangaroo

The signature dish at chic, upscale restaurant Oncore is a nod to Clare Smyth’s Irish upbringing: a whole potato. Cooked low and slow in kombu butter, it’s then topped with herring and trout roe and tiny fermented potato chips planted among small sprouts of sorrel, chives and arugula. With the talented Alan Stuart leading the Sydney team, it’s a three-hat potato every time.

Pork and century-old egg congee, Palais Royal, Chinatown

Rice congee is such a staple and late-night savior that you forget to even think about it while you’re gobbling it up. Until it’s so ridiculously creamy and studded with goodies that you stop and look at it, like it’s just talking to you. That’s what happened once, during a yum cha lunch at the tram-laden Palais Royal, and I’ll never forget it.