We’re back to 1989, the year budding chef Tetsuya Wakuda opened his first solo restaurant: a Japanese-French fine diner in Rozelle that would soon become a global gastronomic sensation. Now located in the CBD, the inner-city sanctuary remains a tranquil setting. White-clothed tables are angled towards a Japanese-inspired Zen garden where topiary trees and a pebbled pond set diners’ minds at ease.

You don’t even have to trouble yourself with an order: the only option is the eight-course degustation which marries Japanese flavour profiles and French techniques together on the plate. Silky seared scallops topped with a sesame seaweed crumble is a textural delight of deep-sea flavours. A fat-tracked wagyu, robata-charred on the edges, is offset with sweet-salty plum powder. The high point is still the confit trout, ceremoniously sheathed in kombu, with apple and witlof batons.

No discernible changes have been made to the dish in decades, and no matter how many times you’ve had it, it won’t disappoint. While restaurant trends come and go, this iconic fine diner – and its signature dish – have stood the test of time.

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