Momofuku Seiobo, Sydney

I popped onto the Momofuku website on a whim at 5pm on Thursday and saw they had availability on Saturday. I whipped out my phone with one hand to call Karen and my credit card in the other – 10 mins later we had our Saturday plans sorted.

It can be difficult to get a booking at Momofuku Seiobo. The restaurant team only post availability 10 days in advance and only allow bookings online.

Seems the stars were aligned for us that afternoon.

Once admitted to the inner-Momofuku-sanctum, all difficulty melts away. The booking is confirmed by email (with a firm warning that a no-show will result in a $100 charge on the credit card). A follow-up phone call comes through to confirm the booking again and to check dietary requirements.

On arrival at the door, I’m welcomed by name. We’re seated in the a la carte area but it’s no trouble to have us moved up to the bench surrounding the kitchen –easily the most popular seats available.

I start off with a St Germain (elderflower liquor) and Soda drink. Then the gastronomic games begin – 10 mini courses of degustationary delight.

Course 1/10

First up is a smoked potato puree with apple crisp and apple jelly – crisp and smoky, it turns out to be one of my favourites.

Course 2/10

Steamed bun pork belly. This is the signature dish and the dough is light and fluffy, the pork belly caramelized and juicy. I think my cloud 9 would be made out of that dough. It took me to a happy place.

Course 3/10

Pink snapper, celery and mustard oil. I love ceviche, so this was also a favourite dish

Course 4/10

Potato, trout roe, parsons nose. This was an interesting combination of flavours and textures. I’ve never eaten parsons nose before (it’s the cartlidge from the base of a chicken’s tail) but I barely felt the texture and was just left with a strong chicken taste. The saltiness of the roe worked well with the fried parsons nose.

Course 5/10

Eel dashi with turnip and almond. The prettiest dish by far. The eel flavour came through the dashi but I didn’t really like that flavour in a jelly format. That’s kinda the point of going to a restaurant like Momofuku – expect to have your mind blown, but in exploring new frontiers there are a few you won’t really like.

Course 6/10

Zucchini, onion mustard, yolk. The ‘yolk’ in question was cooked at 66 degrees for 1 hour ‘sous vide’ style. Sous vide refers to the process of sealing food in an airtight bag and putting it in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times. This might become a common trend as the result is very tender food, retaining a lot of flavour and moisture. Although doing it well, as with lots of tricky techniques, isn’t easy. Thankfully the team at Momofuku knew what they were doing with this yolk and it was really creamy.

Course 9/10

Goats curd, blackcurrant, mint. By this stage I had also indulged in a glass of wine and was so engrossed in conversation that I didn’t really give this dish the focus it deserved. 

Course 7/10

Mulloway, cucumber and black garlic.  

Course 8/10

Lamb, eggplant, lettuce. The lamb was tender and juicy. But the lettuce was sensational! Now I’m back at home I’m googling sautéed lettuce recipes. Between this and the lettuce with sesame and tahini that I had a Harts Yard a few weeks ago, I think I’m hooked!

Course 10/10

Pear, honey cream, muntries. The muntries, despite sounding like the name of a folk band, are native Australian berries. This dish also had ‘toasted milk’ in it – another tricky molecular gastronomy-type maneouvre that tasted like milk and felt like unsweetened, shaved white chocolate.

Surprise 11/10 Course!

Burnt caramel doughnut

The verdict

Experiences like eating at Momofuku Seiobo are just that – experiences. The meal cost $125 each including two drinks. You don’t go to Momofuku to eat until you’re full, or to have one dish you pop in for once a week. 

Some people would pay $125 to see a band they like – but at the moment it’s food and chefs that are my pop songs and rock stars. And for the price of admission you enter a world where everything is stylish, classy, beautiful. Everything works, is in the place it should be. It’s an escape into a world different from the one I regularly inhabit. And that, to me, is worth a $125 meal once or twice a year. Provided you choose the right moment to get in, where the stars are aligned and you find yourself nonchalantly popping onto the website to see if there are any bookings available, prompting you to duel fate with a phone in one hand, and a credit card in the other...

12WBT - Pre-season Task 3 - Say it out loud

Dear family and friends,

This is an open letter to say thank you for being there for me, for inspiring me and believing in me and being the loudest of all when I cross each new line of pushing myself further.

I am writing to you today to tell you about a goal I have. Since my first triathlon last Sunday, people have asked - what's next. So I'll tell you:

My goal between now and my 38th birthday in May, is to lose 23kg.

You may be thinking: That's a big goal, is she setting herself up for failure? or You don't need to lose that much? But I'm not, and I do.

Now I ask you the same thing that I am asking of myself - have faith.

If there is anything I have learnt over the past few years, while I've also been learning to run kms, swim oceans and conquer my fear of running and cycling up hills, is that you need to have faith. Put your fate into the hands of someone you trust. Turn up every single time, no matter the weather or other things going on, and give it your best. When you start to question it, or feel doubtful, just have faith that in the end, it will be all you imagined and more.

So I am doing this by following Michelle Bridges through her 12 week body transformation programme. Starting tomorrow, Monday 11th February - I am putting my faith in her program and, in myself. My birthday, to be celebrated on 4th May, will be the end of the program and I want to celebrate with you, while wearing a size 14 dress.

Just over two years ago I couldn't run 40 metres. Last weekend I propelled myself across 25.75 kilometres of land and sea. My body is capable of so much more than I have asked. So now I am asking more than I ever have before.

Over the next few months I'll be saying no to a lot of things - particularly those around eating or drinking. I'll be bringing my own food to events, and asking questions about the food available. I'll be asking you to come and train with me, to swap 'catching up for a drink' with 'catching up for a run, or a cycle, or a swim'. I'll be asking if we can meet up in places and times that works with training, and can't promise I'll always look pretty (or clean!) . . .  but I'll always be glad to see you.

Thank you for being there for me xxx

12WBT - Pre-season Task 2 - Set your goals

One of the tasks for Michelle Bridges 12WBT is to set your goals.

I think it's really important to have a clear vision of where you want to be.

Triathlon training wasn't easy - I definitely had some dark patches along the way. But I also visualised how I would feel actually doing it. How great it would feel to cross that line at the end. And that vision helped me through.

Conveniently, my birthday weekend co-incides with the end of this 12WBT round in May. I have invited a big bunch of friends to one of my favourite places in NSW (a 100 year old mill where the owner cooks incredible organic meals and has a kinda 'open' cellar, and a conservatory on the grounds).

So my end vision is to celebrate my birthday in a size 14 skirt or dress. I have loads of them in my cupboards. I may even buy a new one. But the label needs to say size 14.

This means that I need to lose around 23kg. I want to lose this weight, but I also need to. It's only a matter of time before the health issues of carrying so much extra weight catch up with me.

And - I want to do more physical challenges - maybe an olympic distance triathlon, or a half marathon, even a marathon?? But I can't do it while I'm still carrying so much weight.

So, my goal between now and my 38th birthday in May, is to lose 23kg. 

There. I said it. Not easy. But it's out there.

I plan to do this by:

1. Food - Following 12wbt nutrition. Plan ahead. Pack food for the next day, the night before. Measure/Chop as much of dinner as I can do, the day before. Set up all that I will need to cook healthily, the night before. Track everything I eat, on MyFitnessPal. 
2. Exercise - Train 6 times a week, with 1 rest day. Burn 500 calories a day, and 1,000 on Saturdays. Make the most of the friends and connections I made by doing the triathlon. 
3. Mentally taking time out when I need to
4. Enlisting support of friends and family

To keep motivated:

Week 1 - w/c 11 Feb
Tues 13 Feb - DEXA scan
Thurs 14 Feb - Andrew Boy Charlton Biathlon
Fri 15 Feb - Buy 23kgs of tinned tomatoes, move them from one side to another as I lose the weight.
Put pics of myself in my tri-suit up in my room and on the fridge as motivation for losing the weight.
Sun 17 Feb - sort out clothes and put all the size 14's, size 16's etc together.

Week 4
Friday 8 March - Measurement update with Mel at Vision. Take progress pics at home.
Thurs 7 March - Take my tins of tomatoes for a 7km walk, to appreciate how much weight I have already lost.
Weds 6 March - pull out size 16s and see what fits.
Reward myself with healthy weekend away - a few glasses of wine with the girls in Bowral on Sat 9th March when we go to Canberra.

Week 8

Friday 5 April - Measurement update at home.

Thurs 4 April - Take my tins of tomatoes for a 7km walk, to appreciate how much weight I have already lost.

Sat 6 April - pull out size 14 clothes and see what fits. 

Week 10
20th April - Flatmate's birthday weekend - save up calories to really enjoy this one!

Week 12

Tues 30 April - Dexa Scan

Weds 1 May - Measurement update with Mel at Vision. Take progress pics at home.

Thurs 2 May - Take my tins of tomatoes for a 7km walk, to appreciate how much weight I have lost. Sign up for a new challenge - like half marathon??

Fri 3 May - Start my birthday weekend.

I appreciate that I am being more honest here than some people are comfortable with. That's ok. I like it when other people are at their most genuine and honest and I also don't want to feel ashamed  of anything that is me. This extra weight is part of me now, and it shouldn't define me, perhaps losing it in future will. But sooner or later, it won't define me at all.