Taste of Sydney 2013

  

Nestled in the parklands of Centennial Park, was a great lineup of Sydney`s finest restaurants. We went in knowing we were to build our own degustations and like last year, we went anti-clockwise around the park to get our tastes of the hottest Sydney restaurants at the moment.

We kickstarted with some Mediteranean flavours, beginning with Popolo's Fregola all Zafferano con Ragu Di Maialino, a creamy and cheesy Italian dish

 

and Efendy's Icli Kofte.

Strong flavours that needed a washing down with a Strawberry and mint Cointreau cocktail.

 

We watched a little of the Masterchef Master class,



but resumed our degustation journey very quickly. Jonah's Grimaud duck with pickled plum, lemon verbena, Kohlrabi and roasted almond picada was as impressive as it looked, a moreish flavour that would be perfect with a glass of pinot noir.



Then it was Claude's confit ocean trout, served with saltbush and anchovy dashi, the highlight of my evening as I still remembered it melting in my mouth hours later.



We also tried Claude's slow braised pork cheek and black fungus relish rolls, little sliders with Asian-like flavoured pork.

We took a break at the beer hall and then bee-lined for PorteÑo for the BBQ Cheese with Honey, Lemon and herbs,



 Chorizo with Chimmichurri

 



and tender tender BBQ Wagyu beef brisket with BBQ Sauce and pickle.

 

Too bad they sold out of sweetbreads, but that's OK, we promised ourselves we'd make a booking there and go, the food was too yummy! And we are dying for some of that fried brussel sprouts.

By now we were almost full, refreshing with some passionfruit Rekorderlig we visited the Tasmanian Pavillion to taste some whisky,

lamb skewers



and meatpies,

the boys filled up with some Salts Meats Cheese charcuterrie

 

whilst the girls impatiently wait for desserts time. We hit Four in hand for their 4fourteen White Chocolate Ice cream sandwich

and hmm, the boys still wanted a savoury dish so we also got the spit roast suckling pig with coleslaw and hot sauce.

 

It was easy to pop 'next door' to Three Blue Ducks for their Chocolate, Yuzu curd and miso butterscotch, a very complementary dish to the sweetness of the ice cream sandwich with the lemon twang of the yuzu to cut through it.

With a quick stop at Cafe society for some Acqua Panna

and a quick sweep of some last minute alcoholic beverages before they stopped serving at nine pm, we finished the night off with some delicious salted caramel Èclair from Ananas bar & brasserie ( not for the faint hearted),





 and the best way to end the evening's long meal, Claude's lemon curd, muscovado crumb and coffee meringues that bursts with flavour in your mouth.

 

 

 

 

Two dresses for a wedding

Using the same accessories and in the same price range are two gorgeous dresses  managed to find on sale at David Jones and Myer respectively.

The one on the left is a Thurley maxi dress that was light and airy with the most gorgeous details and with the beige lines running through the flowy material, made it ok to wear as a guest to a wedding without it seeming like I am wearing white.

The one on the right above is a Coast cocktail dress made for a different vibe, but still so gorgeous in its own right with its lace panel bodice and the figure flattering A-Line skirt, I just couldn't leave it on the rack.

So the question now is, which dress should I wear to a wedding at the art gallery with a waterfront reception area afterwards?

Woman

How did you spend International Women's day? I worked at Hunter Valley. Ironically the people I worked with yesterday were all successful females in their own rights and we spent a lot of time talking about working as a woman.

One built a successful business and had four kids but was coping with her second divorce with four kids.

One other was a meek young Director who was working in a man's world and had to learn the art and science of the profession and make it her own world

Another was just trying to build her networks in her career and was grappling with the scenario of whether having drinks with a male client was appropriate networking and how could she handle that situation without losing the client but not overstepping the line.

Things seem so much harder in the corporate world for women. The lady in the first story was being judged for her marriage falling apart because she prioritised her business, How could she be so unfair to her kids, putting them through another divorce? The woman in the last story was not sure whether the scenario would be any different if she was a man. Whether she was reading too much into it, after all they were both married, and worried that the deal might fall through if she didn't agree to the drinks.

All with a variety of career paths but yet each struggling to find their own way and make their way through the world embracing their femininity. Just a lot to reflect upon really as to how far women have come in society, but yet how much further we had to go. How apt to wrap the night up watching SATC 2 on Gem. How many stages of my life have I aligned to these four women and found relatable scenes and quotes from the series/ movies? Did you remember when the four of them stood on the stage and belted out "I am woman Hear me roar"?





The last time I watched it I related to different things, having been just married and was nesting, I related to 'cheating on fashion with furniture' and also I related to the fear of losing the sparkle a lot more then. But this time around, the question of distance between a couple and how no one else looking in could ever really understand the relationship as those that were in it, hit close to the heart.

Scene in the movie where Carrie speaks with her butler who's warming her milk:

- It is fine. She is in India.
- Oh.
-I will see her in one month. I'm afraid if I apologize then, it will hardly make sense.
-So you work here and you travel back and forth?
-Yes. Every three months, when I have a break in work and can afford the plane fare.
- Isn't that hard?
- What, miss?
- Just, you know, being married and spending all that time apart.
-Time does not matter. When we see each other, each time, it is very wonderful. I'm a lucky man.

So with that, I happily ended International Women's day knowing that I will be fine. I am strong enough to get through it all, that others have gone before me and have survived. I have everything ( man, career, girlfriends) that defines me now and will eventually have those which will define my future. As long as I never stop believing in myself and never stop losing focus of who I am. A woman.

Dîner en Blanc Canberra

Perhaps one of the most exciting public social gatherings I have ever been a part of.

When I first found out about the Sydney Dîner en Blanc, I knew I wanted to be part of this magic. I stalked the page for any details I could find on the events around the globe and was stoked when they eventually released a new location with a date that I could make it to. This was my chance to get on the guestlist somehow, given that the first phase of registrations always goes to members and their guests, we had to register our interest and see if we get lucky. Membership was exclusive to each location too, so getting on the Canberra list didn't mean I get on Sydney's at all.

Well, what's Dîner en Blanc? It's hard to explain in one sentence because it has so many elements to it. Here's my take: it's a flash mob pop-up picnic in a secret location revealed to five different groups of people coming in together from different pick up points, dressed in the same dress code so that you can recognise each other. They setup, they eat, they drink, they dance and then they leave, as if they were never there at all.

How's that?

Attire:

• WHITE…WHITE only!
• ELEGANT… indeed very elegant!
• ORIGINALITY is always welcomed

Attire that Is NOT permitted:
• No t-shirts and sport tops
• No colored sport shoes
• No baseball caps
• No shorts

Dressing all in white can be daunting, and some people might think, pretentious, but its magical and if you had enough friends doing it together, it's really fun to be part of the secret!

• Bring a square folding table (60-90cm), two white folding chairs, a white tablecloth, a picnic basket with non-disposable utensils and plates, as well as, delicious food. Please no paper or plastic (except wine glasses. Wine glasses must be made of plastic material)

The forum set up for members was really helpful to help source these things. You could tell it took commitment and passion from all the members who just want to help each other get the themes right. Bringing along some strong guys is a great idea to help move things to and fro, but ultimately, you could get smart and use trolleys and shopping carts and you'd still be able to get there.

So what happens?

Evening Timeline - Dîner en Blanc Canberra

Date: Saturday 2 Mar 2013

5.30-6.00pm​ Guests arrive at designated departure point

6:00pm ​​Departure time depending on transport mode
6:30pm ​​Guests arrive at secret location
6:30-7.00pm ​​Guest set up (objective - 30 minutes table set up + hamper collection)

7.15 pm ​​White serviette waving to signify the start of the event

7.15-9.00pm ​​Dining commences, guests enjoy their dinner

9.00pm ​​Sparklers held by each guest

9.00 – 10.00pm​ Guests enjoy dancing, drinking, general frivolity and merriment. There was a DJ provided for the evening.

10.00-10.30pm ​​Guests pack up, clean up, dispose of refuse at the allocated area.
10.00-10.30pm​ Hire equipment dropped at collection point
10.30pm ​Guests continue on to the after party and buses depart transporting guests back to their departure points

The hired DJ was awesome! We grooved to strains of Dancing Queen, Love Shack, Gangnam Style and Prince amongst other cool tunes. Ending it with the Nutbush was wicked and it was the perfect close to a great night out. Like I said, one of the most exciting public social gatherings I have ever been a part of.

And here's the official video for the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUgsvwojDVo&feature=youtu.be

February empties

Trudging along with my Project 100 Pan, this month's empties aren't as thematic as last month's. For one, they aren't just moisturisers this time and they aren't all one colour scheme.

First up was the SKII Facial Treatment clear lotion that is equivalent to the toner of the basic SKII range. I picked up SKII when I was 20 which was really young, but my cousin was 9 years older than me and had beautiful skin, so when she recommended it, I pulled out my college fund and bought a starter set. Since then, I have never lived without a bottle of the SKII essence handy. But its toner, well, I couldn't quite see equal benefits of relying on just this toner and so it will be a while before I need a replacement bottle. I still have a number of samples to get through anyhow.

Dermalogica's multivitamin thermafoliant was a microfine facial scrub that smells like eucalyptus and heats up your pores as it cleanses your skin of dead cells and buildup. Powerful stuff and a really long lasting tube suitable for daily use. Mental note that once I finish all the other facial scrubs I've accumulated, I am coming back to this one.

Crabtree & Evelyn's La Source Conditioner travel size tube nicked from the bathrooms of the hotel we spent a night in Maldives whilst waiting for our 6a.m. seaplanes. I love La Source's scent and so it was a no-brainer, packing with me the bathroom products with me.

Pantene's Split end fuser that comes in an array of 5ml tubes of leave on treatment. This was the last tube of the range. I rely a lot on leave on conditioner and one cannot underestimate the product packed in this tiny tube. I never use the full lot each time as I really don't have to. Half the tube (three quarters if you have longer/thicker hair) was always enough to allow for a comb to slide through those wet tangles in your hair.

Revlon's lip butter in Peach Parfait, a lipstick that's really gloss masquerading as lipstick. This is a really moisturising stick that isn't a very strong colour and so is really good for the girls who can't quite commit to rich coloured lipsticks yet, but still want that sexy stance when applying lippy. These sticks melt really easily in summer so I ended up digging up the lip butter with a lip brush towards the end.

Last on the list is Victoria Secret's Angel body butter in Dream Angels desire, a very very girly, sick floral scent that was a delight to put on, absorbs quickly but also leaves a good moisturised feeling for a good while after still. I bought this at a clearance sale in one of their outlets in America for get this, USD5! I haven't seen this in the VS store at our airport and I have looked, but this would be my favourite one from their range truly.

And so that gives me a total score of 8.333 proverbial pans hit so far in 2013.