Keepin' it local

We kicked off the upcoming 5 day Easter weekend with a little date night. We walked to Hawthorne where we started with amazing entree of ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers paired with the best little German riesling, picked for us by the uber nice and friendly sommelier. He had us at hello when he said, "oh your accents aren't that bad, I thought you had been here awhile." Thanks 'mate' yours is not so bad either! To be sure this is a huge compliment in his opinion.  The food was great, the wine was great, the wine list has wines from places other than Australia! The service was great and it is a 3 minute walk from my house, this could be bad and oh so good. Then we caught the bus for a 5 minute $2 ride down Military Road to Sushi Studio. Yum! Yum! Yum! When can I go back? I can not believe all of this fun can be accessed via public transport or your own two feet and it is all in my backyard!

A perfect "Fall" night let us enjoy wine and dine al fresco!

My seasons are upside down

One thing I never considered a challenge is proving to be a bit challenging. It is always the things you do not put on your "to obsess over list" that sneak their way into your psyche. Southern Hemisphere living means living in "upside down" seasons. It is Fall here, I love Fall, I love everything about Fall. The weather has a bit of crisp in the morning but the days are sunny and sometimes downright balmy, the nights are cool and Fall smells good, really good. I also love the rituals and routines that swing into gear in Fall...College Football, Halloween, and EASTER? What? Easter? screech...the music stops...people stare...Easter? I am all mixed up! This can't be! I should be snuggling into the couch to watch my Seminoles or The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I had to buy a bunny tea towel and hang it in the kitchen so I could remind myself daily this is April, not September. I bought the kids all kinds of sweets for their baskets, we painted eggs, we will dye eggs tonight, we went to a Good Friday service this am. It just isn't sinking in that this is Fall and this is April and soon it will be June and the dead of winter.

             There is no better way to spend a Fall/Spring "Fring" day than at Balmoral Beach

                                                    

One man's dim sum is another man's yum cha

 We happened to be sightseeing in Chinatown/Darling Harbor on a Sunday so we seized the opportunity to indulge in yum cha (dim sum in the States). To me this is one of the greatest ways for a group to dine out together. There is constant activity, you get to try new things, the kids are entertained by the passing of carts and the flurry of bamboo baskets. It promotes conversation as you discuss, what you are eating(if anyone actually knows) what you liked, loved, hated and you do not have to decide your entire culinary fate in one step and you get to see everything before you order it. Think how many meals gone wrong this would have saved you and how many you would have done differently had you know what the actual meal looked like vs. what was on the menu. You can move through cravings and whims like a two year old. I want that and that and that and poof instant gratification. We went to a decent restaurant, Emperor's Garden. I am sure there are way better but this is where we ended up and we had a great time! I attached a link to a  list of SMH top ten, this way next time I am in the yum cha state of mind I will be in the know! One thing is confounding to me, if it is a "Chinese word/phrase" then why is it different in US English vs. Aussie English?

I smuggled nuggets in, there was no need as he was happily shoveling down green beans. On second thought, between two children we managed to annihilate 16 nuggets, 1/2 family serve of green beans, 1/2 bowl of rice. This is after banana rama mania, where just a half hour earlier they devoured 8 small bananas. Be afraid, be very afraid when you invite us to dinner!

                                                                              

CH attempts to "hug it out"

                                   

Someone has to protect the delicious little Emperor's Puffs at Emperor's Garden Cake and Pastry Shop! At just $1 for 4 tasty hot and now custard buns this could get ugly! 

You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!

When I was in college some of the "witty" bouncers used to say this clever line when ridding themselves of the responsibility of a bunch of young drunks who thought 2 am was still early. You can apply this phrase to most of the "hotels" here in Oz. Most are not "proper" hotels and you can not no matter how drunk you are stay there. Here is a little background:

The word "Pub" is used in Australia to indicate a bar, also known as "the local". They are often called "Hotel", the reason for this dates back to the days that licenses only allowed pubs to provide alcohol to traveling public, the presence of a few rooms ( who might never be used) then gave some impression that the rules being followed.

To confuse things we also have proper hotels that also call themselves hotels. How can you tell the difference? Well, if you are "gettin pissed"(Aussie slang over served/drunk) and then escorted upstairs via elevator and you wake up with in nice comfy sheets with a $350 room charge to your bar bill, you were at a proper hotel, if you are "gettin pissed"and thrown in a cab in hopes you will make it home or you wake up in the drunk tank at the pokey(that's jail, not an Aussie poker machine room) you were probably at a pub.

LK demonstrates one effective method for "gettin pissed"

$200 and I have to cook it myself?

We hit the Oaks this Saturday night for a little "pre-game activity" (drinks before dinner). We had so much fun sitting under the big Oak outside and soaking up giant Hoegarden Beers that we decided to go back Sunday night for dinner. The Oaks has many different areas to amuse yourself in, the outdoor beer garden, pizzeria, a 1930's lounge, a cocktail bar, a sports bar, and the restaurant. One of us, (male) thought it would be so cool to visit the restaurant and do the very Aussie style thing and cook your own steak on the giant grills. The females were of the opinion, if we put on make up and do our hair, someone else better be doing the cooking.  It should be mentioned that you can go to many of the "hotels" here and CYO, cook your own. After participating in the CYO obsession I DO NOT GET IT! Even though the men cooked, it was still a production and not relaxing or enjoyable in my opinion. At least half the table is up at any given time, ordering food, ordering drinks, gathering cutlery, plates etc, then cooking, then occasionally if more attention was paid to the sports on TV or male camaraderie there was some recooking. Minus the kids food $15, we spent $185 and I felt like I was at a YMCA campout or youth hostel(not that I have spent much time in either). That being said, I love the Oaks for drinks, and the food they cook for you is fantastic. I ordered mussels cooked by a "professional" i.e someone other than my family, they were to die for and such a large serve that two people could have had it as their complete meal. 

Maybe it was the beer talking when we decided to go back for a second night, Cheers to the Party!

Obscured view of the inside grill where all of the CYO fun happens

The Tall Ship

We bought Momo and Big Daddy a cruise on the Tall Ship. Apparently, it was not so good. WAY Too crowded, no lights, no tables, steep stairs to the bar, stingy barman, not even enough room to eat your dinner. If you have friends and family in town skip the tall ship!

We have no bananas today!

When bananas hit $15.99/kilo(that is $8.00/lb or about $1.80/banana) I stopped buying them. The guilt I would feel over throwing away such a dear banana was too much! Well, we have bananas TODAY! We went to Chinatown this weekend and took a peak into Haymarket. We were there at the crack of dawn for a Sunday, 10:00 am, and so we had the run of the place. After deciding we all already had enough stripper costumes and "designer" handbags we went through to the green grocery section. This is where I discovered and purchased bananas for $4.99/kilo! Just like a drunk misses his drink, CH missed bananas. He ate 5+ bananas. I went back and bought more. By the time we got back to the market it was packed and Momo was almost savagely run over by a produce cart, but we got our precious discounted bananas. Of course today, I am the only one eating bananas.

Happy Banana Dance in Darling Harbor