The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room

Six girls after work on a Wednesday troop from all parts of the city to the Brooklyn Hotel. This place is no longer the seedy place that attracts backpackers and poorly paid grads. It cleaned up real nice.

 It might have been odd for us to choose an Oyster bar when half the girls didn't like oysters. That's why we didn't crack open the champers and go to town, but I do admit the Oyster list is extensive and impressive.

SEAN’S CHICKEN LOLLIPOPS 

southern fried chicken, chilli & molasses dip

Yummy fried chicken made chic on the bone. Dainty enough to tempt us to forget our diets and dig right in molasses and all.

CHILLI CRAB LINGUINE  

snow crab, parsley, mint, chilli, lemon

Who doesn't like seafood pasta? This crowd pleaser got all our votes.

Duck Fat Chips

Like having an affair. Guilty sex. Just so sinful but delightful to indulge in.

Slow cooked roast pork on a bed of lentils

Succulent roasts always go down a treat don't they? Get carving!

WHOLE ROASTED JOHN DORYsmoked paprika & chilli butter

Maybe I should get pans like these and just roast fish for dinner. It's so healthy, so delish, so impressive. Yeah I reckon I could do this.

Did we love it? Yeah! It took a while to fill up but once it got going, the late dinner crowd was noisy and bustling. Loved the Diner style they were going for. You'd have gotten sneak peeks at the beautiful blue ceramic plates and the gorgeous glass candle votives. Get there before 7p.m. for $10 cocktail hour just to get you in the mood. Excellent service, honest food, I'd say let's visit again sometime.

Wadrobe Cull/ Ebay sale

Hello, Wadrobe culls seem to be quite the trend nowadays. I don't have a lot of designer clothing, most my designer items are bags, but I thought the following pieces might be of interest to someone else as they never got many wears when I had them and actually would form some nice basic pieces for someone else's wadrobe.


Click on the link to go to where all the items are listed!

Louis Vuitton Epi clutch

Pink FCUK mid-length sleeve top

Wrangler Jeans Size 10

FCUK white singlet

FCUK Jeans Size 10

Bright Orange Kookai empire line top

Morgan de Toi halter top

Christian Dior heels

FCUK T-shirt

Rory Beca Lace blazer

MNG white pencil Skirt Eur Size 38

Zara Basics dress

Bebe faded jeans Size 10

If you are interested and don't have an ebay account, please contact me on happyeverafterbride@gmail.com

Porteño in Surry Hills

Going to Porteño was quite a feat. We had to gather five foodies that were willing to dine fancy without a reason other than the name and fame of the restaurant. And in my circle of friends nowadays, it was rather hard to find. The most foodie of my friends have all gone overseas to live. Anyhow, we ended up pooling our connections and got a booking so that we didn't have to wait till 9p.m. for and excitedly, we all turned up for the Argentinian fare one Friday evening.

I think the last time I was here, it was for a 21st for a pair of twins, and we were smashing plates, but no one in my party remembers if this used to be a Greek restaurant all those years ago. *Shrugs*. I didn't mind, it's just that the place still retained a very mediterannean feel for me with its marble tables and floor tiles and that made the whole experience feel like we were invited to a Argentinian home eating food from some fantastic home cooks. The crockery felt like what you would expect to find in any Argentinian's home. But I have never been to Argentina and only have been to one Chilean home in my lifetime so I am not an expert.

CHORIZO PORTENO  

Housemade Pork Sausage

 But I know Chorizos and this was the first dish we got, glad that it was a familiar one and that the flavour was good.

MORCILLA  

Blood Sausage with Red Peppers in Garlic

 Then the adventure really begin. We weren't squeamish about blood sausages as we have grown up eating blood products in our culture. But the black sausage took us with surprise with its moreish flavour. It was earthy, well seasoned and really creamy in texture (almost like a Pâté).

ENSALADA DE QUINOA Quinoa Salad, Harissa Eggplant, Preserved Lemon & Mint Yoghurt

MORRONE Y BRENJENAS ASADA BBQ Eggplant & Bullhorn Peppers with Garlic, Chilli and Sherry Dressing

 That wasn't the only creamy dish for the night. The eggplant was almost like it had been pureed. Some parts of it was a lot more charred than others and didn't have as pleasant a flavor and some others got more oil than I seemed to get on my spoonful. I loved my bite, they didn't. Ah well. The Quinoa salad was Yum! Everything I can't seem to get in my quinoa salads. But I could just eat a bowlful of this one on its own for lunch.

CHANCHITO & CORDERO A LA CRUZ  

8 hour Woodfired Pig

& Lamb

 Porteño is famous for its wood fired pit, so $46 for each of these dishes didn't seem overpriced. The meat falls of the bones and melts in your mouth. What more can one expect? Awesome pork crackling? Yep they got that one down pat too.

VERDURAS DE OTONO Marinated BBQ Wild Mushrooms, Young Potatoes, Braised
Cavolo Nero, Red Quinoa & Creamed Cauliflower

 The perfect dish to wash the oily meats dishes down. This simple combination of power foods was light and refreshing and creamed cauliflower so smooth it was as though nature made cauliflowers that way.

PULPO AL MALBEC  

Malbec Braised Octopus, Chicken Fregola Risotto & Witlof Chopped Salad

 A nice dish to finish the night's oily dishes with. Porteño is also known for its seafood dishes and this was a good one to try. The sweet seafood taste balanced with the bitterness of witlof salad, it was a yumm dish and  again very refreshing after the oily meat dishes.

Btw, I don't seem to have a picture of the fried brussel sprouts. I must say they do live up to its hype, never thought brussel sprouts could be made to taste yummy. But, to get it tasting that good, it takes a lot of oil and ermm, I don't think I could feed my children this no matter how desperate I am to get them to like brussel sprouts. But they'd definitely convert with this dish for sure.

 A traditional chocolate torte with apricot and cream. Rich and rustic but I wouldn't necessarily be ordering this to finish of the meal we just had. I might like something more tart, lemony and light I suppose, but this did feel like something an Argentinian grandmother is likely to dish up.

 A burnt leche custard that is delicious, well balanced with the fennel ice-cream, the rhubarb and the popcorn introduces the right level of surprise in texture to its otherwise creamy counterparts.

POSTRE CHAJÁ South American Style Pavlova with Peanuts

Something that was again rustic and hearty. We were really stuffed by this point though and unfortunately didn't have much more room for this dessert. If only we didn't have to leave our table for the next sitting, I would have loved to just sip at my Pedro Ximenez and soak in the happy noise and digest away some of that deliciousness. But sadly, we need to share and someone else was about to begin their own Argentinian adventure.

So there you have it. Something that was on my bucket list that I ticked off. That was easy.

Bespoke Summit

I work in the world of conferences and so it was logical for work to pay for my attendance to AFR's bespoke summit. Whilst we don't sell fashion or luxury, we did have a world-class brand and a keen mind for business, the place I work for. So I eagerly adorned myself this morning and made my way to the Sydney Opera House, not realising that I was in for quite such an entertaining program.
I expected to learn something, but I didn't expect to learn so much.

I learnt the power of a good story; building a good story that is uniquely yours and one that inspires those that listened. A full day of people of success and great stories that were original and honest, all flown in to this stage to collaborate in leading the business of luxury and defining what makes luxury. From the humble jean and surf to the elite runways and integrated resorts, the history of candle and perfume and the rise of the cultural and digital evolution of our present retail climate, nothing was left unaddressed. Everything that epitomises bespoke luxury was laid out raw and bare for us to scrutinise.

But it has always been that hasn't it? Luxury was pure industry, laborious craftsmanship creating well loved products/ services that brought with it great experiences. Touhami of Cire Trudon explains the purchase of luxury as the exchange of time. My time spent earning money in exchange for the time you spent on making the product. All that money and success and they never took away his ability to still call a spade a spade and to laugh at himself. Hats off to him (If I wore a hat).

Another European man today that inspired me today said these moving words in a beautiful Italian accent:

 “What I want to tell you in the end, after all this shouting, all these collaborations garner attention and make business sense ... It’s not charity, it’s just work. Thank you.” Simone Cipriani

Others who dazzled me today include the humble James Packer and his polished, quietly confident demeanour; Pallavi Sharda with her loyalty to her roots and the passion for her exuberant culture (making me vow to never cull my future children's eccentricity and affinity for a different culture when they are growing up, it might just become their identity); The Saturdays boys with their originality and boyish business acumen; Mr Net-a-Porter's clarity of comprehension of the male shopper preferences (made me wish he was married to my husband and so could explain him to me!). Also So sweet to see the husband and wife collaboration behind Coco Rocha and James Conran, to see so much love & protection from him of her brand.


All that in one jam packed day of information. A weaved collaboration of some of the best luxury players in the world to bring to Australia the ideas and insights of the industry. Now feast your eyes!

Premium catering by Matt Moran

Loved the eclectic introduction slides for Josh Goot

Fruit station for anytime you're in need of a snack

I go crazy for this trend of drinks in jars and strped paper straws

James Conran and wife Coco Rocha

Truly Sydney Panel

The brains and hearts of Sass & Bide

The man who encouraged us to not shy away from little digital experiments and to let your community build you

Selling their honest lifestyle, the Saturday boys lets their brand grow organically.

Movida Melbourne

Walking up towards Hosier lane, I knew this was one of those funky places that is located in an unassuming alleyway. I was expecting a massive queue, but for a five pm Sunday arvo bar snack, I guess there wasn't much contention and I got seated at the bar really quickly.

The bartender/ waiter was really helpful and knowledgeable, relating the foreign wines to a local palate to a tee.

2009 Esporao Reserva Antao vaz/arinto/roupeiro Alentejo Portugal
Described to be full and buttery, like a Chardonnay, and he was right. It was a golden liquid that was a perfect accompaniment for the rich bar snacks I ordered to go with it.

QUESO $4.00 each: Quince Paste Cigar with Whipped Goats Milk Cheese

Anything that is crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside surely has my vote, but this delicate tapa was light as a feather and the cheese this delicious flavour that just lingers that little bit on your tongue. A shame almost, to wash it with a sip of wine.

Lobster Sashimi Special
A special of the day that caught my attention. It didn't melt on my mouth as one would expect from looking at it. Despite the nice flavouring, it was rather chewy and not the best lobster sashimi I've had. Serves me right for not sticking to the traditional Spanish dishes.

 POLLO ESCABACHE AL MIGUEL $4.50 each: Spiced Chicken Escabache Tapa on Crisp Crouton

This one was a generous serving. I ended up deconstructing it and having two tapas. Delicate wafer thin croutons, topped with chicken that's just the right tinge of sour for escabeche. Really good for getting the juices flowing as a starter.

GAMBA; a full prawn baked in a bed of rock salt & rosemary served with a wedge of lemon. I thought whilst the presentation of this was lovely, the prawn was overcooked and lacked any flavour other than the salt it rested on. Really fiddly to eat too if you didn't want to use your hands. Not that bad a dish as the prawns were a good quality, but certainly not recommended for a bar snack.

2010 Castro Martin Albarino Rias Baixas Spain: I really didn't need a second drink but the bartender had described this one so well and since he was spot on with the other wine, I got curious. Am glad I did though, this wine seems to embody the rocky, chalky terrain (with puny little resilient purple flowers peeking from the cracks) it must have originated from. Well, if it didn't then, that's certainly what I envisioned when I started drinking it, transported to a foreign land where I was at peace with myself.

So in that happy daze, having had two amazing wines and tapa and two average ones, I stumbled back out towards Flinders St station. The sky had turned dark whilst I was indoors. I had forgotten I was in Melbourne's alleyways, or that I was away from home. Glad that the afternoon slipped away in such a trendy fashion, I braced myself for the balmy walk back to South bank, with lingering memories of the Spanish trip I had just taken.

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