The NYT reviewed a restaurant in Sydney as having the best eggs in the world and I didn’t even know about it!?! Until Sunday that is… This was possibly the best breakfast I have ever had - we ordered everything. The highlights were the eggs but also the ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and grilled banana. Guests in the main dining space sit at a massive communal table adorned with plenty of reading material from newspapers to magazines while you wait for our food to be ready. This corner space that opened 20 years ago by 22 yr old Bill Granger, I now know is a bit of a Darlinghurst institution.
Adam, I can’t wait to take you here to introduce you to our new favorite breakfast joint! The irony does not escape me that we are transitioning from Uncle Bill’s to Bill’s. How perfect?
A few months ago my boss invited myself and Danielle to go with her and her friends to a concert in Sydney Olympic Park. While never a huge boy band fan the thought of going to an NKOTBSB (New Kids On The Block - Backstreet Boys) concert was a bit intimidating. Will I know the songs? NKOTB joined before I was born, I’m not a real fan, I kind of liked NSync… Anyway the concert was so terrible it was amazing - it included 40 yr old (has been) heart throbs ripping off their shirts, random crotch thrusts to the camera and some dance moves that haven’t been attempted since the early 90s - but the arena loved every second of it. Fortunately, from being subjected to pop culture I knew almost every lyric. We were up dancing and being the “woo girls” so much so I had a raspy voice in the morning… Success.
Please don’t take your shirt off again.
VIVID is a light show done annually on the Opera House and other buildings in Circular Quay. Couldn’t stay too long on a cold night but it was beautiful…
State of Origin is a series of three footy (rugby) league games. The opposing teams are from New South Wales and Queensland. The Blues vs Maroon (pronounced mer-own) seem to be a mutual obsession by both states. Players that may play on a professional team in another state have to return to their state of origin for these three matches. This match was all I heard about for weeks. When Queensland won it was the first time I saw Sydneysiders get really angry - time to leave. Thank you for the cultural experience.
For Arminé’s birthday we did a weekend trip to the wine region, the Hunter Valley, recognised as the area with best wineries close to Sydney.
We arrived Friday at dusk and were lucky enough after stalking some vineyards and fields to find some kangaroos in the wild. So exciting to see them in their natural habitat hopping around. We were obsessed.
Saturday was the Lovedale Long Lunch and the reason we came. Unfortunately, no one in the group knew what we were getting ourselves into. A logistical nightmare of thousands of drunk people hopping on and off buses to different wineries we stayed in safe distance but close enough to people watch.
Sunday was a much more typical day of tastings and stopping into little country shops. You never know what local treasures you will find - like the largest lolly kangaroo.
With cases of wine packed up we headed back to Sydney.
Sums up the LLL
Lolly Kangaroo
With the Birthday girl
Work took me to Mollymook this week - a beautiful coastal town in the South East. We had gorgeous weather, food and being able to hear waves crashing from your bed is pretty great too!
View from the “office”
Sun rise
Mollymook towne in Ulladulla
Bonne fête des mères, maman and the many other Mothers in my life :)
With the sun out it was the perfect weekend to be close to the coast. It was almost warm enough to swim! A delicious brunch with Steph in Bronte (Sarah he says hi!) to give us all we need to know before we go on a New Zealand road trip. Fortunately he has done the trip three times so he is a wealth of knowledge on the South Island and handed over some very detailed notes, maps and guide books!
For months I have been writing, designing and talking about the Bell 429 helicopters that we recently acquired as part of the Royal Australia Navy (RAN) Retention and Motivation Initiative. Our company helps train and test the Naval pilots to be mission ready. In preparation for an acceptance event with the Chief of Navy, Andy and I went to Nowra the HMAS Albatross base to meet the Squadron and plan logistics of the day. So excited I got a tour around the hanger and got to sit in #48. To read more about the helicopters. There is a piece in our publication Momentum - my first edition as editor which was fun :)
It’s actually fall in Melbourne. Cool enough for a light jacket and some of the non indigenous trees are changing. Beautiful morning to slip out and grab something from KoKo Black. My first event in Oz - an art gallery space part of the restaurant Cumulus was surprisingly a hit. I was told it bordered on too edgy for our company but me physically pushing the group out at 11 must mean they enjoyed it.
This is a hectic week - coming off the red eye back from Singapore work will take me from Sydney > Melbourne > Canberra > Nowra > Canberra > Sydney.
A good omen when sitting at the terminal… I think so
We are by no means required to, but when Danielle and I happen to be traveling to the same city we share hotel rooms. It is kind of like a grown up sleepover but instead of painting our nails and gossiping about boys we painted our nails and watched PM treasurer Swan announce Australia’s budgetry cuts to bring the country back into a surplus by next year’s election. $5.4 B cuts from defense is not favorable for us… The news will not be good. Still enjoyed our pseudo picnic though.
Knowing Dad was heading to Singapore in May for work we decided to meet up on this side of the world. Originally this was going to be somewhere in the middle - Perth, Darwin, Bali…? Then we decided I had never been to Singapore and although this was Dad’s 5th trip he had seen little of the country. Eight hours doesn’t seem like a long flight in comparison to going home to see him. While I’m not coming home till December this was his first of many 60th Birthday celebrations.
The Republic of Singapore (made up of 63 small islands and seperated from Malaysia) is a very young country having only become an independent nation in 1965. As Dad explained the Singaporean Govt makes it very easy for foreign business to make this their South East Asian hub. Banking and Petrochemicals bring in large companies and tons of jobs - the city skyline is littered with cranes and new construction. The city is impeccably clean (its against the law to chew and spit out gum) and the residents are extremely friendly. While English is the national language it doesn’t feel that way walking around and talking to people.
Day 1:
Mostly spent hanging out my the pool and in the lounge recovering from jet lag (Dad’s flight was 18 hours)
Day 2:
Walking around little India, Singapore CBD and the night safari which unfortunately was dark so no photos to share (the Indian elephants were my favorite)!
Dad’s first “Indian” coffee
Red Dot Design Museum
Day 3:
Walk through the Orchid Garden in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Chinatown, foot massages and Dad’s special dinner on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands.
Chinatown
I convinced Dad to eat Street food… He loved it!
First visit to a Hindu temple
Marina Bay Sands (stolen image) - there is something very scary to me about this structure it feels unnatural and something out of a sci fi movie.
Pool
View from inside
Yeay it was a surprise :)
Day 4:
Authentic Dim Sum in Chinatown and the River walk.
It’s just too easy :) Bye Singapore till next time…
Leave it to Arminé to find a really cool restaurant on a quiet street in Darlinghurst that was a former laundromat. The Darlie Laundromatic has kept the original sign and plumbing fixtures to remind visitors of its humble beginnings. This small place specialises in mini things and snacks to share. There was a show on my a local artist that alters old vinyl covers to look like skeletons… how dare she deface my favorite movie.
Typical Australian news… when the MX isn’t covering the stupid things Americans are doing they focus on the important topics such as new hair trends.
My sincere apologies that the trending topic of this blog is food – I would be remiss if I didn’t admit it is my one true passion and what I get most excited about. For as many times as Dad has rolled his eyes when I suggest a Wednesday only subscription to the NY Times (food section day) he has generously given me his iPad subscription details so I can go in and read it any time I like.
My newest obsession is wanting to make my own sushi. Without the proper kit to do so, I fill the void with visiting sushi restaurants where I can intensely watch the masters. Wasavi, in the 5 Ways (a trendy dot on the Sydney map) , was perfect for this with only 24 seats in the whole restaurant we were able to sit right in front of the chef while he did his work. A highlight was a spicy mixed fish roll with Korean spicy sauce – YUM.
