Azuma and singing waitresses

Thinking (as usual) that I had plenty of time, I left it a bit late to book somewhere for dinner for my birthday. We were going to go to Rise (after having a fantastic time at Ocean Room for bf's bday), but it was going to be too difficult to get to.
So I managed to get a booking at Azuma Japanese restaurant, in Chifley Plaza. And what a night it was: wonderful food, great service and a taxi rank right outside.

Chifley Plaza always reminds me of work, because I sometimes frequent the (very good) food court at lunch time. Azuma is on the same level as the food court, separated by some glass screens. The food is in a class of its own.

We had the Omakase degustation, which consisted of 10 fresh, beautifully prepared courses. They were all just amazingly delicious, though I hit the wall about the time course number 7 (wagyu steak) rolled around. But I always leave room for dessert. And just as well I did, because bf had arranged for a special birthday message to be written on the dessert plate. And the lovely waitresses trooped out with candles and a sparkler and sang 'happy birthday' as well! And to top it off, they took a photo of us and presented it to us a few minutes later.

Here are some pictures of the food. For some reason, it reminds me of the dishes on Iron Chef...?

Maybe I could have eaten a bit more if I hadn't prepared this scrummy breakfast a few hours earlier...