Locations: Northside Produce Markets, Fratelli Fresh, Danks Street Depot
After sleeping in late & still feeling 'gah', went to the northside produce markets. "Lucky these end at noon", I say as we pull into North Sydney at 11am. Despite my blithe words, a lot of store holders were packing up. I visited the usual favourites: Pastabilities, Willowbrae chevre, Redgate Farm for cheese. The Redgate man said that the easter saturday trading was very quiet, a lot quieter than normal.
I tried a new lamb supplier that I hadn't seen there before - Ladysmith Lamb. We bought lamb sausages and a roast, then true to form tried the products fresh from the bbq, and they were tasty! Other products that we got were some fresh quail (had a craving), english stilton (love a cheese that can clear the sinuses), a grapevine ashed goats milk brie (indulgent!), and some grana padano to replace "my old faithful unspecified hard cheese which has been living in my fridge for the past three years but was really tasty grated over pasta". Somehow managed to burn through $75 in less than an hour.
I got a coffee from Toby's, despite my misgivings about getting t/a coffee, esp toby's which I never saw the point of the fuss, because "the man himself, was making it". It was okay, but I wouldn't do it again. Considering we were off to Danks Street Depot!
After looking at the map, I couldn't believe that I hadn't visited the place before. For some reason I keep getting Woolloomooloo and Waterloo mixed up, and this place is literally just across the road (& the park) from where I live.
First up was Fratelli Fresh, apparently *the* suppliers to the stars, and open to the public only on Saturdays. Or maybe Fridays too. There was quite a nice range here of fresh produce, with kiwi berries and feijoias standing out. Surprisingly I didn't see any figs, although I'm sure they're in season at the moment. There's a good selection of Italian packaged goods upstairs in the grocery section, and all sorts of 'inspirational' Italian, um, writings.
The cafe at Fratelli Fresh (Sopra) was packed, and there was a decent sized queue awaiting a feed and refreshment, so I wandered down the road and into Danks St Depot, a place I have wanted to try for ages.
Blogspot went & lost my post TWICE, so I can't quite remember what I got what was it I liked; but I do remember that they had a reuben sandwich. Apparently big New York thing, it had sourdough, and seeded mustard, saurkraut and roast beef. We were lucky enough to be seated near the kitchen, so I could see the chef in charge of making it. In fact all he seemed to make was this reuben, again and again. I like seeded mustard. I like it so much that when I go to the pub, I bring along my own tub of seeded mustard 'just in case they've run out', and also so I can dip my chips in it. But this was tooo much mustard!
Ah yes! The other the we got was a celeriac panfried sandwich thing, with an Italian chesse, all melted and gooey. One of the reasons I wanted to try it was because it used celeriac, and it wasn't remoulade! It was funny. The reuben was so strong, so overpowering in taste, that I didn't like it - and I ended up stealing mustard off it to make the celeriac sandwich taste less bland!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Sydney 24hr mtb race
Location: Dargle Farm, Lower Portland, somewhere between Sackville & Wiseman's Ferry.
Despite my protests of being as sick as a dog, or well on my way to it, rode the 12 hours of daylight for the sydney24hr, in a 4 person team.
Got up disgustingly early to pick up one mad guy, who was signed up to do the full 24hrs solo (Mad, mad, I tell you!), then to pick up 3rd member of team, before proceeding in a conga line to Dargle Farm. Just beat the early morning queue in, set up tent, I snoozed until 11am, where I had dibs on the first lap.
The track had four sections, the first bit of singletrack; a generally flat dirt road section to the end of the valley, the jumps (burrums? & table top) and then the second bit of singletrack.
The first bit was quite dusty, with the initial hill out of the transition area very steep and sandy. There was a choice of left line (rocky, but not continuous), or right line (sandy as) to take. I walked it every single time. Then the bit of single track was okay, a couple of switchbacks and grids to get past, one downhill section that got progressively harder as the erosion got worse. If you took to wrong line, you were pretty much certain to fall off. Past the second grid, there was a tight left-right turn combo, with a couple of boulders in the way. I also walked this bit. But then you were out onto the dirt road. Good time to be made here, but also the most annoying headwind. Cuts your speed right back. Having some sucker to draft you is the way to go here.
First lap was the best lap. I was pretty much at the end of the pack, and no one had had time to finish the course & start overtaking me. So I did it pretty cruisy, and I didn't have to worry about silly people behind me trying to overtake at bad places.
Second lap had more people out on the track so I kept getting overtaken. It was okay... except that I fell in the first section of the lap, grazed my knee, and then while I was standing by the side of the track, another guy tried to take the same line as I had, didn't make it, so I got two bikes and a 70kg guy landing on top of the dent I had just made in myself. Ow, ow, ow. And I got blood on my pedal. It congealed straight away (cause the track was really dusty), and I kept going. (Visited the first aid guy to get a patch on it, got accused of being a wuss cause I kept making noises when he was scraping the congealed stuff off with a gauze).
Third lap was the last one for us for the day. I took my (pathetic) lights as a just in case I was still on the track at night fall. Already in the 5.5 hours from my first ride of the track to this one, I could see that it had deteriorated quite a lot. The dusty/sandy places where a lot deeper, there were a lot more obvious lines where people had gone, the jumps/erosion past the boulders were deeper & more dangerous. And I came off! A tight left hand turn, I meant to stop to let some people over take, and I fell over in a very ungainly fashion. I was very much not a happy camper, and wanted to bail right then & then. I continued riding on though, but was a lot more careful in the places I chose to stop to let people past.
Dinner was lasagne, and then I went to bed at 930. Didn't sleep very well cause there was loud music, cheers as people rode down the finish chute, and generators going. (Plus the aches and pains). Got up to go to the amenities at 3am, and it was fricken freezing!
Despite a 'quiet time' in the schedule, some team had set up a really noisy generator & it was going like the blazes. It was very pretty in the valley though, with smoke from the bonfire further up the valley drifting (it was to keep the night riders warm), and the twinkle of lights in the trees on either side as the total mad people kept going! I would've thought that they would've slowed down a bit riding at night time, and it being so cold, but no, they were still going at the same speed as they had been when I went to bed earlier.
Awoke on the Sunday morning feeling like death & hearing the cattle call "5 mins until the 12 hours of daylight race resumes! Riders assemble!". *groan*. Lucky for me, I had ridden the last lap of the night before, so no call for me to get up yet. Boy did it instead, thank goodnes.. I hate my team mates, none of them ache like I do. Why oh why did I feel so crap? Yep, as I worked out later, it was the lurgy exacting bitter revenge.
Didn't make the 2nd or third laps later. Struggled with breakfast (large mocha, bacon & egg roll, some token cereal - all the elements of a pre-race go-getter), and then made my one and only lap appearance aroun 930. Slowest lap ever. Even deducting the time I took to go to the bathroom before I hopped on the bike (& while the clock was ticking), I still managed only 1 hour 10 minutes for it.
Lucky me though. Third teammate, possibly in a gungho 'nothing's gonna happen to me' attititude took the exit chute on his second Sunday lap a little too fast. And he ate dirt. Really badly. The front wheel of his bike is now tacoed. Someone at the transition area saw him come off, ran over & helped him carry the bike over to the transition area. He thought he was okay, but it hurt to lift his left shoulder. Then he went to the first aid guy who said he had a broken collarbone & strapped him up.
*After* he had helped us one-handed to pack up the campsite, and *after* we had driven him back to Sydney (2xjelly cups, 1x pineapple juice, 1x bottle of water, totolly sugared out), mentioned that his other wrist hurt.
Ze collar bone, broken. Ze wrist, she is broken.
Phone call 3 days later. Ze other wrist, she is broken.
One broken bone per teammate, all on one poor guy's body. I feel so bad!!
Despite my protests of being as sick as a dog, or well on my way to it, rode the 12 hours of daylight for the sydney24hr, in a 4 person team.
Got up disgustingly early to pick up one mad guy, who was signed up to do the full 24hrs solo (Mad, mad, I tell you!), then to pick up 3rd member of team, before proceeding in a conga line to Dargle Farm. Just beat the early morning queue in, set up tent, I snoozed until 11am, where I had dibs on the first lap.
The track had four sections, the first bit of singletrack; a generally flat dirt road section to the end of the valley, the jumps (burrums? & table top) and then the second bit of singletrack.
The first bit was quite dusty, with the initial hill out of the transition area very steep and sandy. There was a choice of left line (rocky, but not continuous), or right line (sandy as) to take. I walked it every single time. Then the bit of single track was okay, a couple of switchbacks and grids to get past, one downhill section that got progressively harder as the erosion got worse. If you took to wrong line, you were pretty much certain to fall off. Past the second grid, there was a tight left-right turn combo, with a couple of boulders in the way. I also walked this bit. But then you were out onto the dirt road. Good time to be made here, but also the most annoying headwind. Cuts your speed right back. Having some sucker to draft you is the way to go here.
First lap was the best lap. I was pretty much at the end of the pack, and no one had had time to finish the course & start overtaking me. So I did it pretty cruisy, and I didn't have to worry about silly people behind me trying to overtake at bad places.
Second lap had more people out on the track so I kept getting overtaken. It was okay... except that I fell in the first section of the lap, grazed my knee, and then while I was standing by the side of the track, another guy tried to take the same line as I had, didn't make it, so I got two bikes and a 70kg guy landing on top of the dent I had just made in myself. Ow, ow, ow. And I got blood on my pedal. It congealed straight away (cause the track was really dusty), and I kept going. (Visited the first aid guy to get a patch on it, got accused of being a wuss cause I kept making noises when he was scraping the congealed stuff off with a gauze).
Third lap was the last one for us for the day. I took my (pathetic) lights as a just in case I was still on the track at night fall. Already in the 5.5 hours from my first ride of the track to this one, I could see that it had deteriorated quite a lot. The dusty/sandy places where a lot deeper, there were a lot more obvious lines where people had gone, the jumps/erosion past the boulders were deeper & more dangerous. And I came off! A tight left hand turn, I meant to stop to let some people over take, and I fell over in a very ungainly fashion. I was very much not a happy camper, and wanted to bail right then & then. I continued riding on though, but was a lot more careful in the places I chose to stop to let people past.
Dinner was lasagne, and then I went to bed at 930. Didn't sleep very well cause there was loud music, cheers as people rode down the finish chute, and generators going. (Plus the aches and pains). Got up to go to the amenities at 3am, and it was fricken freezing!
Despite a 'quiet time' in the schedule, some team had set up a really noisy generator & it was going like the blazes. It was very pretty in the valley though, with smoke from the bonfire further up the valley drifting (it was to keep the night riders warm), and the twinkle of lights in the trees on either side as the total mad people kept going! I would've thought that they would've slowed down a bit riding at night time, and it being so cold, but no, they were still going at the same speed as they had been when I went to bed earlier.
Awoke on the Sunday morning feeling like death & hearing the cattle call "5 mins until the 12 hours of daylight race resumes! Riders assemble!". *groan*. Lucky for me, I had ridden the last lap of the night before, so no call for me to get up yet. Boy did it instead, thank goodnes.. I hate my team mates, none of them ache like I do. Why oh why did I feel so crap? Yep, as I worked out later, it was the lurgy exacting bitter revenge.
Didn't make the 2nd or third laps later. Struggled with breakfast (large mocha, bacon & egg roll, some token cereal - all the elements of a pre-race go-getter), and then made my one and only lap appearance aroun 930. Slowest lap ever. Even deducting the time I took to go to the bathroom before I hopped on the bike (& while the clock was ticking), I still managed only 1 hour 10 minutes for it.
Lucky me though. Third teammate, possibly in a gungho 'nothing's gonna happen to me' attititude took the exit chute on his second Sunday lap a little too fast. And he ate dirt. Really badly. The front wheel of his bike is now tacoed. Someone at the transition area saw him come off, ran over & helped him carry the bike over to the transition area. He thought he was okay, but it hurt to lift his left shoulder. Then he went to the first aid guy who said he had a broken collarbone & strapped him up.
*After* he had helped us one-handed to pack up the campsite, and *after* we had driven him back to Sydney (2xjelly cups, 1x pineapple juice, 1x bottle of water, totolly sugared out), mentioned that his other wrist hurt.
Ze collar bone, broken. Ze wrist, she is broken.
Phone call 3 days later. Ze other wrist, she is broken.
One broken bone per teammate, all on one poor guy's body. I feel so bad!!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Inspired by eating, now made by me
Have you ever had a dish at a restaurant that thought was so amazing yet simple, feel inspired to try & make it yourself at home? I have. The things that I now make regularly which were inspired in this way are:
* yoghurt with fruit salad, seeds, fruit salad & mint from some eco-tourism resort in QLD;
* seared scallops with cous cous salad, orange, mint & pistachios from a pub in Berry
* brown rice risotto with mushroom ragu, from the vegie bar, melbourne
* thai green papaya salad, my usual barometer dish at any thai place that offers it.
Okay, so the last dish isn't so simple, but I tried making it last night because it was too darn hot. I used the recipe from the hot pink thai food book. The worst bit was shredding the papaya. I pretty much shredded my hands using a cheese grater. The papaya was slimey in an oozing kind of way, and very hard to hold onto when i was trying to grate it. The potato peeler didn't really work in taking off the skin.... It result was tasty though! I only used 2x of the small thai scud chillies, but the sauce nearly blew my head off. Next time though .... less peanut in the sauce... more as an addition instead. And I'm quartering the papaya, removing the seed, & slicing it with the food processor. A pic when I can upload it.
* yoghurt with fruit salad, seeds, fruit salad & mint from some eco-tourism resort in QLD;
* seared scallops with cous cous salad, orange, mint & pistachios from a pub in Berry
* brown rice risotto with mushroom ragu, from the vegie bar, melbourne
* thai green papaya salad, my usual barometer dish at any thai place that offers it.
Okay, so the last dish isn't so simple, but I tried making it last night because it was too darn hot. I used the recipe from the hot pink thai food book. The worst bit was shredding the papaya. I pretty much shredded my hands using a cheese grater. The papaya was slimey in an oozing kind of way, and very hard to hold onto when i was trying to grate it. The potato peeler didn't really work in taking off the skin.... It result was tasty though! I only used 2x of the small thai scud chillies, but the sauce nearly blew my head off. Next time though .... less peanut in the sauce... more as an addition instead. And I'm quartering the papaya, removing the seed, & slicing it with the food processor. A pic when I can upload it.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Billingsgate
Thankfully, now that that tv series isn't showing anymore I can actually get a table at my local.
That's Billingsgate.
I was quite a fan of their take-away menu, more especially since I once tried to make seafood chowder. That took for bloody ever and next time I'd much prefer to pay someone to grind my prawn shells twice instead of doing it myself & covering the kitchen in pink bits of shell.
Then they stopped doing the take-away business & the show started on tv, and I couldn't get a booking at all, and I was deprived, *deprived* damn you all. But now all the foodies have moved on to the latest & greatest flavour of the month, so I can finally head there.
So I got to try:
* crumbed sardines (WA?) with salsa verda and mashed potato
* hirasama kingfish
* seared salmon with toasted pine-nut risotto
* seared barramundi with brussell sprouts and potato cubes
The kingfish had an almost sweet dressing - olive oil, lemon & sugar I think, and little baby salad leaves. The sardines - tasty.....but really tasted just like a sardine skin in batter.
The barra - well, if it wasn't for the barra, I think I would have said that I had arrived at Otto's pig-lovers 7 course banquet a little early. There were brussell sprout leaves which had had their edges crisped in bacon fat. There were little crunchy cubes of potato, made crunchy with bacon fat. There were itty bitty pieces of bacon, such as when you had fried bacon very quickly on a high heat & all the fat has melted away.
Salmon. Meh. Salmon Tasty. Pine -nut risotto though - wow! I'm going to have to try & recreate this one at home. Little triangles of pumpkin, toasted pine nuts- so moreish, spinach & stacks & stacks of cheese. And - not made with aborio! I don't like making risotto at home because you end up with a pot full of glug and a stomach that feels like you've eaten lead. But this - I gotta try making a risotto with long-grained rice instead. Seriously, it looked like rice that you've let soaking overnight in the rice cooker.
Gotta go back again. Deal! $35 pp for the pre-ritz (<7pm)>9pm) menu - and you get to choose 2 items. Mmmm, double dessert anyone?
That's Billingsgate.
I was quite a fan of their take-away menu, more especially since I once tried to make seafood chowder. That took for bloody ever and next time I'd much prefer to pay someone to grind my prawn shells twice instead of doing it myself & covering the kitchen in pink bits of shell.
Then they stopped doing the take-away business & the show started on tv, and I couldn't get a booking at all, and I was deprived, *deprived* damn you all. But now all the foodies have moved on to the latest & greatest flavour of the month, so I can finally head there.
So I got to try:
* crumbed sardines (WA?) with salsa verda and mashed potato
* hirasama kingfish
* seared salmon with toasted pine-nut risotto
* seared barramundi with brussell sprouts and potato cubes
The kingfish had an almost sweet dressing - olive oil, lemon & sugar I think, and little baby salad leaves. The sardines - tasty.....but really tasted just like a sardine skin in batter.
The barra - well, if it wasn't for the barra, I think I would have said that I had arrived at Otto's pig-lovers 7 course banquet a little early. There were brussell sprout leaves which had had their edges crisped in bacon fat. There were little crunchy cubes of potato, made crunchy with bacon fat. There were itty bitty pieces of bacon, such as when you had fried bacon very quickly on a high heat & all the fat has melted away.
Salmon. Meh. Salmon Tasty. Pine -nut risotto though - wow! I'm going to have to try & recreate this one at home. Little triangles of pumpkin, toasted pine nuts- so moreish, spinach & stacks & stacks of cheese. And - not made with aborio! I don't like making risotto at home because you end up with a pot full of glug and a stomach that feels like you've eaten lead. But this - I gotta try making a risotto with long-grained rice instead. Seriously, it looked like rice that you've let soaking overnight in the rice cooker.
Gotta go back again. Deal! $35 pp for the pre-ritz (<7pm)>9pm) menu - and you get to choose 2 items. Mmmm, double dessert anyone?
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Deja vu? Or tell-tale signs ...
Today I:
1. Hid a take-away coffee from Campos in my handbag so I could get on the bus;
2. Bought two kinds of chocolate from Haighs - peppermint chocolate frogs and coffee crackle;
3. Started scrabbling frantically at the stickytape on the latter;
4. Realised that I was mentally chanting "chocolate now! must *get* at *chocolate";
4b. Slowly put the chocolate back into its paper bag;
5. Resolved to cut down on my caffiene related products again.
1. Hid a take-away coffee from Campos in my handbag so I could get on the bus;
2. Bought two kinds of chocolate from Haighs - peppermint chocolate frogs and coffee crackle;
3. Started scrabbling frantically at the stickytape on the latter;
4. Realised that I was mentally chanting "chocolate now! must *get* at *chocolate";
4b. Slowly put the chocolate back into its paper bag;
5. Resolved to cut down on my caffiene related products again.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
I'm sorry, who?
In this article:
the smh has decided to add a montage of faces, representing "some of the biggest names in australian music". The faces are of:
(1)missy higgins
(2)john butler
(3)kate ceberano
(4)shannon noll
(5)kasey chambers.
Sorry? Biggest names in music? I had to go look up who number (4) was , since I couldn't remember who he is from the picture. Since _when_ does coming runner up in a dreadful tv show based on how you look (rather than how you can actually sing) count you among "the biggest names in australian music"? When in fact, hmm, the show _itself_ is a ripoff of a tv show originally shown in the USA, and then your debut single is actually a cover of someone elses' work. Are you paying royalties, m'lad?
the smh has decided to add a montage of faces, representing "some of the biggest names in australian music". The faces are of:
(1)missy higgins
(2)john butler
(3)kate ceberano
(4)shannon noll
(5)kasey chambers.
Sorry? Biggest names in music? I had to go look up who number (4) was , since I couldn't remember who he is from the picture. Since _when_ does coming runner up in a dreadful tv show based on how you look (rather than how you can actually sing) count you among "the biggest names in australian music"? When in fact, hmm, the show _itself_ is a ripoff of a tv show originally shown in the USA, and then your debut single is actually a cover of someone elses' work. Are you paying royalties, m'lad?
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Skiing - woot!
I went skiing for a week, for the first time ever. It was so much fun, indescribable. I was pretty stoked to find out that I had been at the snow for the first time ever at the same time as adventure girl, but also at Perisher as well. Woot! So I went again, and got snowed upon on the first day, and had the most fantastic time screaming "Go faster!" at everybody. Technique be dammed. Speed is the key. Pics to come.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Minty Goodness. Mmm, Chocolate.
Apparently a must-stock-up-on-item when people head to Melbourne, I finally went & bought my own cellophane packet of Haigh's Peppermint chocolate frogs. Sydney has just scored it's own Haigh's Chocolate store, quite suitably situated in the Strand Arcade.Dithered between dark chocolate & milk chocolate versions, Got 10 for $8.80. Considering Woolies has packets of funpacked freddos at about 10 for $3 at the moment... I still reckon that at 88c per frog these are pretty rockin. Very smooth, without that oily mouth texture the compound freddos have. A good hit of peppermint oil, but without the sickening sweetness that you get with after dinner mints.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
But does it contain real girl guides?
I remember reading, in all that kind of trash that I used to read about girl guides and bob-a-job month and all those good-for-you curl-your-toes kind of altruistic fantasy. I had also read about these girl guide cookie fund raising drives, and the brilliant retort "But does it contain real girl guides?", which actually, come to think of it, is a Wednesday Adams line. I've always wanted to use it.
So today, for the first time in my life, I was offered a girl guide cookie.
I used the line. It got a chuckle.
It tasted awful.
I don't know how they manage to sell them, it tasted like fat (the choc coating), compressed sawdust (the biscuit bit) with a slight bit of texture. like those wheat cookies. but on the whole, awful. Not a minature girl guide to be seen!
So today, for the first time in my life, I was offered a girl guide cookie.
I used the line. It got a chuckle.
It tasted awful.
I don't know how they manage to sell them, it tasted like fat (the choc coating), compressed sawdust (the biscuit bit) with a slight bit of texture. like those wheat cookies. but on the whole, awful. Not a minature girl guide to be seen!
Decaffing - II
I tried, I did. But now I've gone back to trying to get off the bean. I'm amazed at what caffiene is present in the lindt 70% dark chocolate that I've been using to prop up my habit, to try and supplant it. One square of the delicious dark stuff, and I've stopped yawning, my eyes have cleared, and I can actually tell the difference between my left and right hands. Dark chocolate is tops, lindt 70% is even tops-er. 85% cocoa is still a little till chalky for me.
I am reduced to sniffing coffee grounds at my desk utill the yawn attack passes.
I am reduced to sniffing coffee grounds at my desk utill the yawn attack passes.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Challenging Times Ahead
I've just been roped into taking part in a global steps challenge through my work. It starts tomorrow. If the organisation wanted to increase the overall health of people in the workplace, wouldn't it make more sense to get non-active people to participate and thus improve their fitness levels? Rather than what has happened now, and roping in already-active people to count their steps. When I lived elsewhere, once-upon-a-time, way-back-when, I did have a pedometer, and I did count my steps for several months. I always exceed the recommended 10 thou, although probably not at the heart-elevating pace, and usually averaged 13 thou.
Coffee: 2. Steps: unknown.
Coffee: 2. Steps: unknown.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Observing the Observatory
1. Jupiter is kewl. It is rotund, and has little stripes around its middle, and has four moons observable at present. Io, Ganymede, Callisto and one other.
2. The moon is yellow like cheese. Wallace & Grommit were right!
3. The guys at the observatory rock, to put up with idiotic geeks like us. I'm sure they've heard it all before.
4. The alternative scientist is vicious. The mouse that reckons that the super giant will turn into a blackhole: watch out for his 'spaghettification' demonstration, when he tries to show what happens near the event horizon of a black hole.
5. Play with the sound effects when in the telescope domes. Standing on opposite sides of the dome you can hear what someone on the other side is saying, but as if they're standing behind you. If you're in the middle, you can can hear all whispered conversations of everyone around the outside of the dome. They're out to get you. No, really.
2. The moon is yellow like cheese. Wallace & Grommit were right!
3. The guys at the observatory rock, to put up with idiotic geeks like us. I'm sure they've heard it all before.
4. The alternative scientist is vicious. The mouse that reckons that the super giant will turn into a blackhole: watch out for his 'spaghettification' demonstration, when he tries to show what happens near the event horizon of a black hole.
5. Play with the sound effects when in the telescope domes. Standing on opposite sides of the dome you can hear what someone on the other side is saying, but as if they're standing behind you. If you're in the middle, you can can hear all whispered conversations of everyone around the outside of the dome. They're out to get you. No, really.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
My tax cut is bigger than your tax cut!
Not content with being the also-rans party, Beazley wants to be the one-upmanship party. Not happy with the libs bleeding the country dry (literally and figuratively), he wants to prove he's an ineffectual man of the people, but offering them a bigger tax cut. Not happy John!
Even unhappier Kim
Even unhappier Kim
Thursday, May 12, 2005
budget-oh-rama oh-five
Young Costello has just released his 10th budget. Since it _does_ affect me, I really should pay more attention to it, and stop the eyes from glazing over. The theory goes that I can then ask my local rep to propose changes to it when it gets voted through. It was all I could do to not switch off the radio last night when the coverage was on. This year, it really gets my goat*
What is with these tax cuts? It is so much easier to keep tax at the exisiting level, and use this 'surplus' to fund worthwhile causes, or even stick it in the piggy bank, rather than try and claw it back next year in the form of increasing taxes to their previous levels, because you suddenly find a funding shortfall.
Things to spend a budget 'excess' on:
*Shakes head* I am so very very disappointed with this year's budget. It smells like a "Hey look at me, I'm so waaaaay for the people!" type campaign.
*If I could afford to have a goat to be got.
What is with these tax cuts? It is so much easier to keep tax at the exisiting level, and use this 'surplus' to fund worthwhile causes, or even stick it in the piggy bank, rather than try and claw it back next year in the form of increasing taxes to their previous levels, because you suddenly find a funding shortfall.
Things to spend a budget 'excess' on:
- Giving the money back to TAFEs instead of setting up your own, competing 'super skilled colleges' => part of a solution to solving this so-called "skills crisis"
- Funding for more nurse and doctor places at unis instead of forcing places like Sydney Uni to close their nursing courses because you like the sound of Notre Dame better.
- Give more money to hospitals! They can upgrade their equipment! Less waiting for elective surgery!Wow!
- Allowing those Asylum seekers who are all locked up and costing us $1000 per day to do so, out! So they can work! And then pay taxes! Which gives you more money to spend in the future! Gosh! That's supporting the future that is.
- Invest in infrastructure! A separate national freight rail network, so if a freight train breaks down, it doesn't affect ordinary commuters. It gets heavy vehicles off the road, and might even supply more jobs. Super!
- Support people who want to work part-time/flexi-time by rewarding companies who allow employees to do so, to do so! Its not a novel concept, it's called the carrot, and not the stick!
- Give grants and subsidies for people who install a FULL GREY-WATER-RECYCLING SYSTEM, so water can be re-used safely. Don't just rely on a water tank, which still relies on the skies being friendly and bloody raining.
- More full time child care centres! Hello ?! guys - remember basic economics. Supply will equal demand for a certain price. Since demand at the moment is more than supply, train more child care workers and pay them better, so that then the supply increases. Gosh darn it, the price of child care will fall. And people can then actually afford child care, head back to work, and pay more taxes yet again.
*Shakes head* I am so very very disappointed with this year's budget. It smells like a "Hey look at me, I'm so waaaaay for the people!" type campaign.
*If I could afford to have a goat to be got.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
From Blarghh to Yarrrgh - I
Sick to death of feeling so BLARGH, and my skin feeling all yuck, I've gone all detoxy on myself. I'm giving up the lollies (oh no!), and the excess sugar (fantales - but I've eaten them all already. 500g in a week - is that a record?), and going all healthy and stuff.
I'm not going to make the same mistake I did last time, and try to give up all my vices all at once. I'm just going to give up two: sugar/lollies, and evil chippy snacky things (eaten mainly due to laziness). The coffee and the chocolate are non-negotiable. No really. No budgin'.
So I had a yoga lesson this morning - which was good, and the brisk walk to the train station made me chirpy.
After I got off the train, I went into the supermarket and bought juice, cherry tomatoes, rocket, corn thins and fetta. okay, so the only non healthy bit is the fetta because it's got a lot of salt in it - but it has calcium, right? And combined with the limes that someone has sooo kindly donated to work, I've had my cup of water (uh oh, it was supposed to be warm water, wasn't it? strike one down) with lime juice in it, also I have had two bottles of water, and am looking at the prospect of breakfast.
Reading Carrie's account of her unsuccessful detox is not encouraging. Oh dear.
I'm not going to make the same mistake I did last time, and try to give up all my vices all at once. I'm just going to give up two: sugar/lollies, and evil chippy snacky things (eaten mainly due to laziness). The coffee and the chocolate are non-negotiable. No really. No budgin'.
So I had a yoga lesson this morning - which was good, and the brisk walk to the train station made me chirpy.
After I got off the train, I went into the supermarket and bought juice, cherry tomatoes, rocket, corn thins and fetta. okay, so the only non healthy bit is the fetta because it's got a lot of salt in it - but it has calcium, right? And combined with the limes that someone has sooo kindly donated to work, I've had my cup of water (uh oh, it was supposed to be warm water, wasn't it? strike one down) with lime juice in it, also I have had two bottles of water, and am looking at the prospect of breakfast.
Reading Carrie's account of her unsuccessful detox is not encouraging. Oh dear.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Omakase at Rise Restaurant
Based on casey's glowing review, and similar raves on eatability, I toddled off to Rise one wednesday night to sample their Omakase menu. I tried to take notes. I took pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This is what I remember having:
The semi poached egg was an egg yolk with the sea urchin sauce, some caviar, and little green tails (shiso?) served in a 3/4 eggshell and a little pepper filo/breadstick on top. That was P's fave.
The broth was good, although I couldn't actually smell the sesame scent. How would you make a clear broth without tasting the ingredients used to make it? Couldn't be dashi, cause you could taste it, couldn't be miso, because that is also very distinctive. It came with a gorgeous itty bitty baby carrot floating in it.
Sashimi. Perhaps I'm a heathen, but out of the first 3 courses, this was my fave. Well duh, of _course_ it tastes way different to a sushi train! The last batch of sushi train I had bought takeaway was at 8pm on a thursday night, and the kingfish was stringy and chewy, and the rice had gone crunchy. The salmon and the kingfish here were served in little shotglasses. The kingfish with a bit of ginger on top, the salmon with sesame oil. The oyster had a mild ginger...chutney?.. and a tiny leaf of coriander on top. Loved the salmon. Loved the Kingfish. Good meaty chunks cut evenly. The oyster was great in texture, but the ginger sauce hid a lot of the tastiness. I'm a purist, just love oysters by themseves with a tiny bit of lemon. And who would have thought, sesame seed oil & salmon? Tasty!
Not a bright yellow corn taco shell, but a white rice paper or pastry wrapper that had been deep fried & cut in half, the soft shelled crab had been dipped in a spicy batter and fried as well, and the whole lot had been assembled with a strips of cucumber and bean sprouts. This was great, and on par tastewise to the sashimi plate before. The other two items on the seasonal plate were also a surprise, the finger lime 'beads' looked almost like caviar, but with a citrus burst instead; the eel was wrapped in a white wrapper similar to the stuff used for the crab taco. Unusual and a favourite.
I had misread the menu, and thought I was going to get agadashi tofu, not tomato. The cubes of foie gras stuffing tasted like liver, and the whole thing was coated in a gelatinous substance that was sort of crunchy on the tomato bits, but gelatinous when not on it. The resident "I dislike tomatoes with a passion" person quited liked this one, but conceeded he could hardly get tomatoes with foie gras stuffing at his next bbq attendance.
A fruit granita and jelly must be the in thing of the moment, I'm seeing them everywhere i turn. This was fantastic, bits of strawberry and whole blueberries, nextling amongst a tart kiwi fruit granita, and I had to beat off desperate hordes to finish mine.
Sooooooo worth it. Sooooooo going again. Even the vego & the tomaoto-hater were happy. Plus they have a deal with the entertainment guide, so I'm going to try some other dishes next time at 25% off the total bill.
- amuse bouche: semi poached egg with sea urchin sauce and shiso
- soup: sesame scented clear broth with panfried snapper and yuzu
- sashimi: assorted 3 varieties of today's fresh market sashimi
oyster kingfish salmon - seasonal plate (sushi): deep fried soft-shell crab tacos RISE style
grilled eel & bamboo shoot mixed sushi "inari" style sea urchin & finger lime sashimi - signature dish: deep-fried "agedashi" hydroponic tomato stuffed with foie-gras
- main course: "gai-yang" style grilled corn-fed chicken
with ruby red grapefruit and spanish onion salad (plus pomegranate)- rice dish: tuna sushi
- dessert: kiwi fruit granita and fruit flavoured jelly
- seasonal plate (sushi): deep fried soft-shell crab tacos RISE style
The semi poached egg was an egg yolk with the sea urchin sauce, some caviar, and little green tails (shiso?) served in a 3/4 eggshell and a little pepper filo/breadstick on top. That was P's fave.
The broth was good, although I couldn't actually smell the sesame scent. How would you make a clear broth without tasting the ingredients used to make it? Couldn't be dashi, cause you could taste it, couldn't be miso, because that is also very distinctive. It came with a gorgeous itty bitty baby carrot floating in it.
Sashimi. Perhaps I'm a heathen, but out of the first 3 courses, this was my fave. Well duh, of _course_ it tastes way different to a sushi train! The last batch of sushi train I had bought takeaway was at 8pm on a thursday night, and the kingfish was stringy and chewy, and the rice had gone crunchy. The salmon and the kingfish here were served in little shotglasses. The kingfish with a bit of ginger on top, the salmon with sesame oil. The oyster had a mild ginger...chutney?.. and a tiny leaf of coriander on top. Loved the salmon. Loved the Kingfish. Good meaty chunks cut evenly. The oyster was great in texture, but the ginger sauce hid a lot of the tastiness. I'm a purist, just love oysters by themseves with a tiny bit of lemon. And who would have thought, sesame seed oil & salmon? Tasty!
Not a bright yellow corn taco shell, but a white rice paper or pastry wrapper that had been deep fried & cut in half, the soft shelled crab had been dipped in a spicy batter and fried as well, and the whole lot had been assembled with a strips of cucumber and bean sprouts. This was great, and on par tastewise to the sashimi plate before. The other two items on the seasonal plate were also a surprise, the finger lime 'beads' looked almost like caviar, but with a citrus burst instead; the eel was wrapped in a white wrapper similar to the stuff used for the crab taco. Unusual and a favourite.
I had misread the menu, and thought I was going to get agadashi tofu, not tomato. The cubes of foie gras stuffing tasted like liver, and the whole thing was coated in a gelatinous substance that was sort of crunchy on the tomato bits, but gelatinous when not on it. The resident "I dislike tomatoes with a passion" person quited liked this one, but conceeded he could hardly get tomatoes with foie gras stuffing at his next bbq attendance.
A fruit granita and jelly must be the in thing of the moment, I'm seeing them everywhere i turn. This was fantastic, bits of strawberry and whole blueberries, nextling amongst a tart kiwi fruit granita, and I had to beat off desperate hordes to finish mine.
Sooooooo worth it. Sooooooo going again. Even the vego & the tomaoto-hater were happy. Plus they have a deal with the entertainment guide, so I'm going to try some other dishes next time at 25% off the total bill.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Northside Produce Markets
Having missed the Growers Markets earlier in the month, I decided to make the trek over to the darkside & see what the Northside Produce Markets had to offer. According to Casey, as recently as last August, the mushroom man was still turning up, but alas it was not to be. This was, of course, my main attraction.
Upon arrival, we got told from a regular fruit & veg person that the mushroom guy hasn't been sighted for ages, and that they would usually stock more variety than the last packet of swiss browns we snapped up. Wandering around, I couldn't help noticing that a lot of the stalls were identical to the ones I usually visit at the Pyrmont Growers' ones, like Roche Brothers (the peach man!), Willowbrae Chevre, the Tobey's and Forsyth Coffee stalls, the Cootamundra Kid, and Lee from Kurrajong. So I whenever I saw something a bit different, I jumped at the opportunity to sample it.
Whitworths, well, I'm not sure what was going on here. I try and avoid all semblances of coffee on weekends, to prove to myself that I can do it dry, and that no, I'm not really addicted. But since I hadn't seen these guys before, I thought, well why not. There was a bit of miscommunication between the people working the stall. The girl taking the money seemed all too happy to assure us that the beans they were using in the machine were the Columbian blend. The girl doing the milk side wasn't sure what kind of beans they were using, and had to ask the barrista. The barrista replied that they were actually using the Costa Rican blend. Which I had just purchased 250g of. If I had been told that at the beginning, I would have purchased the Columbian blend instead! This already put us in a bad mood in which to sample the coffee. This is what it looked like:
Upon arrival, we got told from a regular fruit & veg person that the mushroom guy hasn't been sighted for ages, and that they would usually stock more variety than the last packet of swiss browns we snapped up. Wandering around, I couldn't help noticing that a lot of the stalls were identical to the ones I usually visit at the Pyrmont Growers' ones, like Roche Brothers (the peach man!), Willowbrae Chevre, the Tobey's and Forsyth Coffee stalls, the Cootamundra Kid, and Lee from Kurrajong. So I whenever I saw something a bit different, I jumped at the opportunity to sample it.
Whitworths, well, I'm not sure what was going on here. I try and avoid all semblances of coffee on weekends, to prove to myself that I can do it dry, and that no, I'm not really addicted. But since I hadn't seen these guys before, I thought, well why not. There was a bit of miscommunication between the people working the stall. The girl taking the money seemed all too happy to assure us that the beans they were using in the machine were the Columbian blend. The girl doing the milk side wasn't sure what kind of beans they were using, and had to ask the barrista. The barrista replied that they were actually using the Costa Rican blend. Which I had just purchased 250g of. If I had been told that at the beginning, I would have purchased the Columbian blend instead! This already put us in a bad mood in which to sample the coffee. This is what it looked like:
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Car Dependance
Well. I have just gone and bought a car, after several years of dithering & thinking about it; then replying that no, I could get around on public transport and on my pushie just fine, and in fact, I live in the inner city, and I don't NEED a car, I went and bought one.
And what a shiny new toy it is. I feel guilty just filling up - and I've done it only once. Looking at those last few drops of liquid from the bowser, I made sure I got every single drop that I had paid for. Can you believe it, something like one tonne of fossilised and compressed plant material and dead dinosaurs went into making the one litre of petrol we are so cavaliar about combusting into nothing?
Already, I have used half a tank of petrol. In 3 days. Since I went and picked the car up, I've used it every single day without fail. And I'm going to use it for the next three days as well. Instead of thinking 'oh, i'll have a quiet night in', I went and drove across town to see a french film in leichhardt, and, because leichhardt is under the delusion that "kitchen open till late" means 10pm !?!?!?!?!, went to a friend's house and had take out pizza instead. Stayed until just after midnight, but the point is, if I hadn't had the car, I wouldn't have been lazy and driven over to leichhardt, I probably would have stayed at home and gone to bed. And even if I had gone, I would not have stayed so late. And what does that say? That the public transport system in this city is ROOTED, and it sucks that I can only get across town by going into the city and then out again. The public transport system resembles a spider: there is no way of getting from leg 1 to leg 5 without going through the main body. GRRR.
Anyway, back to laziness, and car dependance. Then, instead of riding across town again to meet my friends and go on a virtuous bike ride, I drove. Across town. With the bike in the back. In order to go on a "let's be healthy" bike ride.
I hang my head in shame.
And what a shiny new toy it is. I feel guilty just filling up - and I've done it only once. Looking at those last few drops of liquid from the bowser, I made sure I got every single drop that I had paid for. Can you believe it, something like one tonne of fossilised and compressed plant material and dead dinosaurs went into making the one litre of petrol we are so cavaliar about combusting into nothing?
Already, I have used half a tank of petrol. In 3 days. Since I went and picked the car up, I've used it every single day without fail. And I'm going to use it for the next three days as well. Instead of thinking 'oh, i'll have a quiet night in', I went and drove across town to see a french film in leichhardt, and, because leichhardt is under the delusion that "kitchen open till late" means 10pm !?!?!?!?!, went to a friend's house and had take out pizza instead. Stayed until just after midnight, but the point is, if I hadn't had the car, I wouldn't have been lazy and driven over to leichhardt, I probably would have stayed at home and gone to bed. And even if I had gone, I would not have stayed so late. And what does that say? That the public transport system in this city is ROOTED, and it sucks that I can only get across town by going into the city and then out again. The public transport system resembles a spider: there is no way of getting from leg 1 to leg 5 without going through the main body. GRRR.
Anyway, back to laziness, and car dependance. Then, instead of riding across town again to meet my friends and go on a virtuous bike ride, I drove. Across town. With the bike in the back. In order to go on a "let's be healthy" bike ride.
I hang my head in shame.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Sailor's Thai
I've always wanted to try this place, ever since I purchased the
Thai Food book by David Thompson, the founder of the restaurant. Plus, it was rated one hat by the smh good food guide. The book is so gorgeous, bound in hot pink silk with two ribbon bookmarks (useful!), but I found it so dense with information and complicated recipes, that the only thing I have managed to make from it was Tom Yum Soup. Another problem I found with it is that the spelling of the dishes is different to the spelling that you see in the Thai places around Sydney, so even Tom Yum is not filed as such, but under 'dtom yam gung'.
The menu was short - one side for mains, another for the drinks list. Some of the items on the menu included:
· Pad Thai - stir-fried rice noodles with peanuts, dried prawns, and bean sprouts
· Som Dtam - green papaya salad with cabbage, coconut rice and bbq caramelised pork
· Raw Salmon marinated with chillies and lime juice
· Jewfish with large chillies & ..?
· Yellow chicken curry with mustard greens
My only complaint about the wine list is all the wines available were very young, with the oldest being 3 years old. But perhaps older, more complex wines aren't suited to the thai style of food.
Usually a risotto is my 'test dish' of any restaurant that I visit; hard to do well, but fantastic when it is. It looks like the green papaya salad has turned my Thai restaurant equivalent. So I ordered it. It came out very quickly, so I guess they had all the ingredients to hand & just had to plate it. The salad was very smooth, with crunchy roast peanuts, dried shrimp, a cherry tomato & raw beans. The coconut rice was topped with fried shallots, and had that nice glossy finish & a delicate flavour. The BBQ pork, however, was the star of the dish. Intense nuggetty little squares of pork, that must have been air or oven dried before roasting it again with a yummy sweet sauce - similar to the Chinese Char-Siew, but more like the flavour of beef jerky that you can buy from stalls in Chinatown. The whole dish was a meal in itself, and you had enough varied tastes so that you enjoy every bite. However, I found the salad a bit lacking. It seemed to missing one element, one edge - like just a little more crushed shrimp, or a tad more chilli, or a pinch more garlic in the sauce.
The second dish ordered was a yellow chicken curry with egg noodles. The garnish was different, deep fried egg noodles, and at first I thought that were all the noodles I was going to get. Thankfully there were also some served in the curry sauce, although it seems a strange concept. Curry is for rice, right? Good yellow colour, but I'm unsure what a yellow curry is supposed to taste like. Even squeezing in the lime segment, and adding a little of the black chilli sauce to the curry didn't seem to make a difference. I could taste top note of chilli, and a base note of a light coconut milk, but there was no depth, nothing in between. Unlike the salad, I think that with this one, the dish didn't seem complex enough to hold it's own. "Wagamama-Syndrome", I've nicknamed it, where the dish tastes boring and 'samey' all the way through.
Rice was served in a flat open bowl, and got cold very quickly.
Service was very quick, atmosphere was fun & communal. I kept wanting to reach over & try a little of the prawn spring rolls that my neighbours had ordered. Serving sizes were deceptively large. Total damage was $56 for two, with two dishes, serving of rice, and two drinks. Would I go again? Yeah, probably, but with a larger group.
Thai Food book by David Thompson, the founder of the restaurant. Plus, it was rated one hat by the smh good food guide. The book is so gorgeous, bound in hot pink silk with two ribbon bookmarks (useful!), but I found it so dense with information and complicated recipes, that the only thing I have managed to make from it was Tom Yum Soup. Another problem I found with it is that the spelling of the dishes is different to the spelling that you see in the Thai places around Sydney, so even Tom Yum is not filed as such, but under 'dtom yam gung'.
The menu was short - one side for mains, another for the drinks list. Some of the items on the menu included:
· Pad Thai - stir-fried rice noodles with peanuts, dried prawns, and bean sprouts
· Som Dtam - green papaya salad with cabbage, coconut rice and bbq caramelised pork
· Raw Salmon marinated with chillies and lime juice
· Jewfish with large chillies & ..?
· Yellow chicken curry with mustard greens
My only complaint about the wine list is all the wines available were very young, with the oldest being 3 years old. But perhaps older, more complex wines aren't suited to the thai style of food.
Usually a risotto is my 'test dish' of any restaurant that I visit; hard to do well, but fantastic when it is. It looks like the green papaya salad has turned my Thai restaurant equivalent. So I ordered it. It came out very quickly, so I guess they had all the ingredients to hand & just had to plate it. The salad was very smooth, with crunchy roast peanuts, dried shrimp, a cherry tomato & raw beans. The coconut rice was topped with fried shallots, and had that nice glossy finish & a delicate flavour. The BBQ pork, however, was the star of the dish. Intense nuggetty little squares of pork, that must have been air or oven dried before roasting it again with a yummy sweet sauce - similar to the Chinese Char-Siew, but more like the flavour of beef jerky that you can buy from stalls in Chinatown. The whole dish was a meal in itself, and you had enough varied tastes so that you enjoy every bite. However, I found the salad a bit lacking. It seemed to missing one element, one edge - like just a little more crushed shrimp, or a tad more chilli, or a pinch more garlic in the sauce.
The second dish ordered was a yellow chicken curry with egg noodles. The garnish was different, deep fried egg noodles, and at first I thought that were all the noodles I was going to get. Thankfully there were also some served in the curry sauce, although it seems a strange concept. Curry is for rice, right? Good yellow colour, but I'm unsure what a yellow curry is supposed to taste like. Even squeezing in the lime segment, and adding a little of the black chilli sauce to the curry didn't seem to make a difference. I could taste top note of chilli, and a base note of a light coconut milk, but there was no depth, nothing in between. Unlike the salad, I think that with this one, the dish didn't seem complex enough to hold it's own. "Wagamama-Syndrome", I've nicknamed it, where the dish tastes boring and 'samey' all the way through.
Rice was served in a flat open bowl, and got cold very quickly.
Service was very quick, atmosphere was fun & communal. I kept wanting to reach over & try a little of the prawn spring rolls that my neighbours had ordered. Serving sizes were deceptively large. Total damage was $56 for two, with two dishes, serving of rice, and two drinks. Would I go again? Yeah, probably, but with a larger group.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
The Motorcycle Diaries
The original plan had been to head to the moonlight cinema at centennial park, and with the atmosphere of screaming bats, vengeful ibises and suicidal mozzies watch "The motorcycle diaries". We thought it would be entirely appropriate, watching a movie about the life of Che Guevara before he became 'Che' under the stars.
Firstly, it sold out. Okay, so instead we went to the Opera Bar for a pre-movie drink (How far the mighty have fallen), where M was in raptures of the G&T.
The movie was great. It started out quite slowly, with Fuser & his sidekick Angelo (who was sidekick, who was leader)? conceiving a mad plan to ride across South America, and 'get lots of chicks', before Angelo turns 30, and before Fuser starts medical school. Starting out on 'The mighty one', visiting Fuser's girlfriend, finally losing The-Mighty-One after one too many encounters with cows. You could see Angelo as the kind of friend that you both hate to love, and love to hate, as he gets you embroiled in one scrape after another. The film got a bit disjointed near the end, where Fuser turns from just the quiet thinker, the background man, into something to really step back and watch; moving from observer/empathiser of south american hardships to a sudden rousing speechmaker. That was a bit jarring, as though the director suddenly thought that they had to finish the movie, and now.
But it was really really good.
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