happy

Happy birthday Malc!

Yesterday was Malc's birthday! And to mark this special day, a gastronomic treat was in order.

The chosen restaurant was Galileo in the Observatory Hotel (89-113 Kent Street, Sydney ph 02 9256 2222). The restaurant was very well run, the staff was very professional, attentive but not overbearing. They were quite knowledgeable with the menu and happily answered diners' questions on the ingredients, cooking methods and unfamiliar terms. The sommelier was also on the ball, Malc was impressed with his wine choice as well as the explanation he gave on each type of wine served. When I rang to reserve, they even asked if the dinner was for something special, and I told them it was for Malc's birthday. My only complaint though, was that our waiter only offered bread once.

On to the food.

We decided on the 7 course degustation menu with Malc opting for the accompanying wines. First came the appetiser, egg cocotte, which was like chawan mushi. This multi-layer dish was served in an eggshell, on the bottom was duck foie gras, then the next layer was egg custard on on top was a truffle infused sauce.

Next came the mixed entree of Tasmanian oyster with a citrusy sauce, New Zealand venison tartare with eggyolk and red wine reduction, whiting with black sesame sauce and seaweed ceasar's salad.


Then came the pasta dish, "the chef's hand-made beetroot noodles with konbu stock, shredded nori." The dish was like zaru soba, the noodles were dipped in the konbu stock before eating.


The first of the main dishes was pan-fried ocean trout with sundried tomato sauce and fennel. This dish was perfectly done, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.


The next main dish was veal tenderloin with sauteed spinach, Japanese root vegetables and smoked potato. I really liked this dish because the quantity was not overwhelming. Although, someone from the table next to us ordered this dish ala carte and, seriously, the meat must have been more than 500 grams.

Then came two desserts, well, a pre-dessert and and a dessert. The pre dessert dish was made up of strawberry sorbet and green tea mousse topped by a chocolate mochi. Malc really enjoyed the green tea mousse because it had a strong green tea flavour.





The actual dessert was buttermilk pannacota with honeydew soup and melon bits and a bit of tofu. This was my favourite, I have to recreate this dish!








Around this time, I was wondering if there was a surprise coming up, since the restaurant knew it was Malc's birthday . . . and it came with our after dinner coffee & tea. We were served a complimentary petit fours, with a chocolate 'happy birthday' written on the plate.

Malc and I agreed dinner was great, and it was indeed a happy day for the birthday celebrant.

westward bound, part 1

Malc I headed off to Perth for the Easter break. The National Kendo Championship was in Perth this year and it was my last chance to compete with the ACT team. Also, our very good friend from our Canberra days, Margaret, has moved to Perth. It was a great opportunity to catch up with her and Scott.

We arrived in Perth Tuesday night and were picked up at the airport by Margaret and Scott and then we headed off to their new house. After some quick catching up, we called it a night as Margaret and Scott had to work the next day.

We spent our first day checking out the CBD, mainly walking along the shopping areas. We then headed off to the Barrack Street jetty to catch a river cruise along the Swan River. The cruise ended in Fremantle where we headed off to do the no. 1 item on Malc's to-do-in-Perth list . . . to have coffee in one of the cafes along Fremantle's cappucino strip.

The cafe we chose was Gino's Cafe (1 South Terrace, Fremantle WA phone 08 9336 1464). Since it was lunch time, we decided to order food first. I had fettucine carbonara and Malc had blue cheese gnocci. The pasta was not bad at all, and the surprisingly, the fettucine sauce was not made with cream but raw eggs mixed in with steaming pasta . . . just like the traditional carbonara recipe an Italian classmate gave me some years ago.

And then, the awaited moment, Malc's coffee experience. Malc had his usual flat white and I had my hot chocolate. After enjoying our drinks we walked around Fremantle and went to the tourist kiosk to check up other places to visit. We decided to head off to the former Fremantle Goal and joined the tour. It was quite informative, and our guide was very knowledgeable.

Next stop was the Fremantle Chocolate Factory (312 South Terrace, South Fremantle WA phone 08 9335 5529). The shop was in a converted petrol station and was fully stocked with Easter-related chocolates. After careful scrutiny, Malc & I selected our goodies.

We then headed back to the city to pick up our rental car for our adventures the next day.

I am, you are . . .

. . . we are Australians !

Yesterday was Malc's Australian citizenship ceremony at the Sydney Town Hall hosted by the Lord Mayor. It was a relaxed affair with the Lord Mayor giving a brief speech welcoming the new Australians before handing out the certificates. Each new citizen then posed for a commemorative photo with the Lord Mayor. Friends and relatives were seated at the back of the hall but were encouraged to come to the front to take photos during the handing out of the certificates. Afterwards, afternoon tea was served with Australian favourites such as lamingtons and party pies.

After the ceremony, I took Malc out to dinner to celebrate the occasion. Earlier in the week, I told him that I was taking him to a Japanese restaurant, and he kept pestering me tell him the name of the restaurant. I managed to keep him in the dark for maximum surprise effect (no, I did not take him to Tetsuya's).

The 'top-secret' restaurant was Certo (340 Kent Street, Sydney ph (02) 9299-0506). While the food served is Italian, the chef and the wait staff are all Japanese. Hence, it is a Japanese restaurant!

Semantics aside, our meal was glorious. Upon arrival, we were treated to a complimentary amuse bouche of roasted pumpkin (me) and beef carpacio (Malc), a sign of more good things to come. Malc & I decided to try the 4-course degustazione. First came the antipasto plate of fresh tomato with boconcini cheese (not in photo), frittata, broccoli with toasted garlic and three kinds of shellfish.

The primi piatti was penne with tuna and mushroom in tomato and cream sauce . . . so rich and so good. Malc described it as having a 'rounded flavour' . . .




Next came the secondi, and as it was a Friday of Lent, we had pan grilled snapper served with mashed legumes. The fish was perfect, crunchy on the outside and soft and juicy in the inside.



At this point, Malc and I were ready to wave the white flag, but we could not bring ourselves to miss dessert, which was torta di cioccolata. An Italian version of chocolate cake, packed not fluffy and and more bitter than sweet.

With our extremely full, but satisfied stomachs, we walked happily home, Malc clutching his Australian citizenship certificate.

pub culture

Yesterday, Malc & I went to the Beach Palace Hotel in Coogee (169 Dolphin St, Coogee ph (02) 9664 2900) to join in the celebration of Susan's birthday. Susan is my officemate and was my buddy, showing me the ropes, during my first few weeks at work.

We arrived fashionably late, and already there were Susan's friends as well as our work colleagues. I was pleasantly surprised with the venue, it was roomy, well-furnished and none of the stale-beer-and-cigarette-smoke smell. The menu was modest but offered a good variety ranging from the staples (steak, fish & chips, scnitzel) to pasta, pizza and rissoto. And all dishes were very affordably priced.

I ordered seafood hotpot (mixed seafood in a napolitana sauce, served on a bed of rice) and Malc had seafood basket (prawns, scallops, calamari & fish pieces), both for less than $35! The portions were huge and the seafood was deliciously fresh. According to Malc, it was great value for money.

The food aside, it was great to hang-out with my workmates outside the office. We did talk a bit about work, but the conversation covered a variety of topics including some interesting overseas experiences. Malc was not his usual "entertaining" self as he was concentrating on the 2 TV screens in the pub, one showing a rugby league match and the other showing an AFL match.

After dinner, Malc & I excused ourselves as I had iaido training the next morning while the rest partied on . . .

Finally, happy birthday Susan, hope you have an exciting year!