Sydney Festivals - Crave and Art and about

Something about Spring makes Sydney come alive. Its great weather and loads of things to do. We found the Rubyos 4 course Brunch on the Crave festival website and trooped down to Newtown for a scrumptious feast. $25 for a champagne cocktail upon arrival, Haloumi/ Bacon Bruschetta, Salmon/Ham/Spinach Eggs Benedict, Ricotta Hotcakes and a Fruit and Yogurt platter. It's beautiful and a great start to the weekend.

After a heavy meal, it wasn't difficult to trek down to Carriageworks for the Eveleigh Markets, trying to catch it before it closed at 1p.m. As Farmer's markets go, the prices are premium but the produce are so different from what you may have been conditioned to accept from the Supermarkets. We picked up some poppy peonies and heirloom tomatoes and basil. I am looking forward to recreating my favourite Heirloom tomatoes salad tonight.

 The evening was spent checking out the Art and About and its moveable feast. The city is once again decked out with installations that are eeriely beautiful and reminiscent of a Sydney of yesteryears, The Last Drinks at Martin Place, the theatres at Lees Court, The kid that just stands on a corner of George and Barrack Street watching the cars zoom past.

The moveable feast is a streetfood fest with children kept entertained with a showing of Ratatouille and adults by live music and loads of streetfood selections ranging from burgers, hotdogs to pork belly buns and pulled pork. Yumm! Even seagulls didn't leave us alone that night.

I am paying for the day out now, tucked in bed nursing a full fledged cough that keeps me awake at night. But for that lovely day in Sydney we had yesterday, I'd say it was worth it.

Today I saved - Priceline haul

There's always something a girl can find to buy at a drugstore. I wandered into Priceline today knowing I wanted to buy something, not knowing what. There's been a lot of agonising over aging here lately.

Models Prefer Mini Hair Straightener 15% off, I saved $2.25 but given a GHD is over $200, this is a real real steal. Of course it doesn't work as well as a GHD, it just serves the purpose in removing the kinks at the end of my bob.

 Models Prefer Thermal Radial styling brush. I needed a radial brush and this one was only $10.

This here is the real reason I went to Priceline. I needed a neck cream. Getting closer to 30 is showing on my neck nowadays. Noticeable creases are forming and if they are like the fine lines around my eyes, I know they won't go away. I'll only be able to minimise the appearance of wrinkles. The Loreal Youth Code Night cream was on special so I thought it was worth a try over the Olay anti-ageing cream which wasn't discounted.

The pleasant smelling cream was thick and oily, hard to absorb into the skin, but it promises that after one night my skin will be rehydrated and results within a week. I will report back. I saved $11 on this.

Garnier invisi mineral deodorant 20% off so I saved $1.10 on something that is just an everyday staple since I had hit adolescence.

With the discounts, I saved $13.35 which is decent. What's a girl gonna do when there's bargains and beauty promises galore? Not shop? Didn't think so. *wink*

Commitment of the heart

I went to a wedding last night after work. Don't ask, kinda don't wanna waste twenty minutes of your life, just wanted to share on the thrills of helping out with wedding plans again. It's been so long.

I was the first person to arrive at the venue. Eventhough I was family (in-laws), I really had no idea what was the reception schedule, I could only base it on how we had it done last year, find out what the venue's boundaries are and say I will follow up when the family arrives and I have found out the answers they seek.

I did rock up with music though. Stolen off Mr.HEA's computer as he has less Indie taste in music. Then half an hour before the reception start time it was a whirlwind as the wines arrive, reception decorations were set out, the cupcake tiers set up, table numbers and seat charts communicated and wishing well assembled. I got given duties to man the reception table.

I was rather lonely, attending the wedding by myself without Mr. HEA, the last time I did this, it was a while ago and I wasn't surrounded by family. Sob story aside though it was fun playing with the kids at these family events. I didn't care if I was considered the clucky lady chasing down any child that would let me hold them or take them around.

Here are some aspects of the night to share with you all, I am back on my crappy iPhone this week so bear with the once again lower resolution pictures. At least I don't have to block out faces I suppose (I don't like showing pics of children on the web usually, but the below I hope are not clear enough to be in any way incriminating for them).

Cupcakes that the groom's sister made. How loving!

Pretty bouquet of ranunculas and roses

Check out the little flower girls in their cutesy dresses from Target. They wore floral headbands too (K is for Kani style)purchased from the Marrickville Markets, but the headbands had fallen off by this time of the night as they went crazy hyper from the sugat in the icing and kept twirling in their flouncy skirts. You remember what that was like?

Wondered if you'd be interested in seeing her dress. It was simple and elegant, with the sash straps extending to the small of her back and ending with three dainty sash rossettes and a sweet little train. Childhood sweethearts of twenty years, finally tying the knot. If that is not a commitment of the heart as any, then there is no hope for the rest of us.

Oblivious to the festivities, a child sits in the middle of the stage, kept entertained blowing bubbles.

Happyeverafter one year

It has been a long day. So different from a year ago from today but I had a very lovely package today waiting at reception. I am glad he remembered, but couldn't cope with others asking questions. So I hid it under a trusted friend's desk until I left the office.


There were two boxes. He got a vase so that I could keep it at work, but I really didn't want to remind anyone else it was our one year's.
 
He sent such a lovely card. I had tears well up in my eyes before I blinked them away. It was just the most beautiful sentiment, to know he loves me.


He sent white roses and pink lilies. The Lilies are my favourite, but the roses are graceful, There was a massive heart-shaped chocolate bar the size of my palm too in the box amongst the flowers.

  We had plans to make rendezvous over the Internet. A virtual date where we vowed to eat one favourite dish and share a photo with each other. I meant to have sashimi, but it was too cold. Noodle soup was close and oh so comforting. I had a salad too because if I had my way, a salad for lunch is what I'd prefer.

We used facetime on the bed at the same time. We replicated pillow talk. But being about to go to work made it difficult to make anything meaningful out of it. But we decided we were going to postpone the celebrations. I will be in London in exactly two month's time, so we'll make some fancy reservations and enjoy our marriage and being in the same place again at once.

Give me a shout out of where you think we should visit in London for Lunch?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Collective menu at 414 Bourke Street

Let me tell you the story of how a group of old friends gathered around a pork-a-licious pot last night, eating a wholesome meal of carefully prepared dishes, chatting over excellent wine and parting with full stomachs.

The story began after we left Beresford Hotel where we hung out waiting for our 8.30pm reservations. Sydney has become this place where if you are a big group, you simply can't expect to be seated at a decent hour for a meal.

Our table wasn't ready when we got there, so we all waited at a bar table where we were brought steaming hot bowls of Chorizo popcorn (yummy savoury things they were) to try to appease our raging stomachs. We wasted no time in ordering the collective plates to share amongst the group and was guaranteed the food would come as soon as we were seated.

We got given fried bread, a 'bad chef'  kinda dish where it tastes so good but is probably so bad for your heart.
Just before our bodies realised what we had just consumed, we were whisked to our table and promptly fed Iggy's bread with olives. It was 9p.m. when the flavorful fun began.




Miso Smoked Salmon
Lemon Curd and Fennel Bread

I really wanted to try this dish when I first saw it on the menu and was so glad it was part of the collective plates tonight. Whilst the miso flavor was too subtle for us to pick up, it was such a delicious dish, we didn't complain.

Ham Hock Terrine
Crumbed Pigs Ears and Apple Sauce

When Pig Ears are crumbed, even little children will eat them, its just that yummy. I'd eat pig ears uncrumbed anyways for the record.

Chicken Wing
Parfait, Crispy Tortilla and Apple Chutney

The Parfait was overpowering. Good if you like your pates, but if you didn't, best to eat the thoughtfully deboned wing without the parfait.

Whole Stuffed Rainbow Trout

On to the mains, excellently paired with our NZ Reisling Pinot Gris Gewurtztraminer, the sweetest, most complex wine I'd ever selected. The trout was slightly overcooked on some ends, but moist still in the middle choice parts. The lentils stuffing was excellent, and I think if one was pregnant, this would be the perfect sorta dish to make every night.


Fennel and Orange Salad

I love fennel salads. This one is a classic and was kept light and crunchy to go delightfully with the trout.


Roast Pork with Apple
Colcannon and Pickled Cabbage

And then, I kid you not, the climax of the story. By now we had switched to a bottle of Tempranillo to accompany this dish. I got given a slab of apple, a slice of perfectly cooked fatty pork, some cabbage and ham hocked sauce drizzled all over it. Divine when topped with the crunch of the crackling which we saved out of the sauce before it all got too soft. We couldn't finish it, because we had feasted too much on the other food before this. But oh it was so good, I almost cried when they were clearing this unfinished plate from our table, but we needed room for dessert, so we let it go.

Mixed Grain Salad



I woke up craving more of this salad. The nutty flavour, the brown rice texture, the wholesomeness of it all, imagine it soaks up the fatty pork and combines with all that bad to make it all that good. I miss consuming quinoa too, which was abundant in this salad. More please, I keep thinking this morning. Why was I too full to eat anymore?

White Chocolate Sandwich
Dulce de Leche

Dulche de Leche heaped to look like poo, but that was the only bad thing about this dessert. It had everything else that was so right about it. Delicious vanilla-like ice cream, blends perfectly with the sweet sweet caramel and it all becomes very amicable in your mouth really.

Bounty

My friends preferred this dessert because it was less sweet and it was bitter chocolate powder with coconut flakes, which was a lot healthier than the other dessert I suppose.
And just like that, we ended our dinner with Colin Fassnidge. No really, he was sitting at the table right next to us. Thank goodness for Masterchef, we now know the face of the people who cook our fancy meals and can recognise them when they are dining amongst us.

The service of the place was very friendly and professional, and the restaurant is one of those dimlight, noisy chatter place with an open kitchen in the corner. I know my iPhone pics don't do the pics any justice. And my throbbing head this morning from all the wine I'd consumed doesn't help me revive the memory beyond the purple haze my iphone is showing me, but I knew it was good. Very good and we all happily paid our $85 each with no complaints and went home haply ever aft.

- The End -