Matkim

The 18-course meal at Matkim is an hours-long spectacle. What’s more, only eight guests are welcomed into this sleek diner each night to experience it. If you’re lucky enough to be one of them, you’ll get front row seats to a show by chef Noel Lao and his team, who work quietly at the counter as they execute one of Sydney’s finest Korean omakase experiences.

The menu at Matkim takes inspiration from the four elements (earth, wind, water, fire) represented by the black trigrams, or geongongamri, in each corner of the South Korean flag. And while omakase menus are often a showcase of traditional cuisine, Matkim aims to recreate classic Korean dishes using Western ingredients.

Food is served on custom-made China, and fresh utensils are presented for each dish. It might be needle-fine chopsticks for house-made buckwheat noodles, and a mother-of-pearl spoon for the Abrolhos Island scallop mulhoe (seafood soup). Guests are invited to choose their own steak knife from a boxed collection, and petits fours are served from the delicate drawers of an antique jewellery box.