Zimzala, Cronulla

We wanted to dine at Zimzala after reading very good review about this restaurant, and also it had won the Best Restaurant - Fine Dining 2010 awarded by Leader

So we booked a table for two 3 weeks ago on a Wednesday evening.

Just a quick review on this restaurant as I don't want to comment too much in detail. Overall, I think this restaurant is over-rated, and it is not really a fine dining restaurant as they serve breakfast during daytime! When we first arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by the captain and another waitress. Both of them seemed very polite and professional at first. However, as the place got busier, it was difficult to get proper service anymore. In short, they were understaff, there were only 2 staff waiting on the patrons the whole night, and in the end I think they let a kitchen helper help serve the patrons. There were only one big group table plus probably 5 or 6 tables occupied by 4 patrons each. They could not cope with the crowd. Food is over-priced and doesn't taste very good. The cuisines are badly presented, my soft shell crab was served in a soup bowl???? We ordered a rocket salad and when it came, the portion was so big it could feed a whole army - not that we are complaining but we just couldn't finish it and this is really wasteful. Our table is located very closely to the big group table, that it was hard for the waitress to move around between us and them. The waitress bumped into my back twice - just to let you know how tight the space was. There was literally about 5 cm of space area between my chair and another patron's from the big group. I felt very awkward with the sitting arrangement.

Anyway, this is the first and the last time for us.

MASA Japanese Restaurant, Sylvania

Dinner at MASA Japanese Restaurant on 17/11/2010.

We booked for a table for two at 6.30 pm. We arrived on time, and Mrs Shinji said we could have the table by the window (near the main door) or we could be seated at a table inside. We chose the one inside.

There were already three tables occupied, and phone was busy with calls for more bookings for that evening. They also had a new helper, a middle age Japanese woman. From the looks of it, she's new as Mrs Shinji would inconspiciously showed her what needs to be done, from giving us the menu to taking drink orders. Mrs Shinji is still the one taking the meal orders.

We ordered from the special menu of the day as well as from the standard menu. We had seared salmon sashimi with crusted black sesame and tuna sashimi. We also ordered deep fried calamari, soft shell crab, prawn tempura, salmon and tuna sushi, miso soup and some rice.

Kevin had a beer and we both had some green tea as well. As for dessert, we shared a Green tea ice cream.

We felt really special when Chef Shinji came out to serve the meal himself. He would chat with his customers and shared a joke or two. At one point, he was showing us how the tuna sashimi should be eaten by wrapping it with a kind of mint leave that was served on the side of the dish. He is always making sure that we enjoyed the cuisine.

Total cost = $109.

Verdict: As usual, outstanding!