normality

Malc is home!!!

This morning, Malc walked in the apartment just as I was waking up. Fantastic to have him back home. In between stories of his travel adventures and family updates, he also unpacked the omiyage (presents) he brought back for me. I did pretty well, I got 3 cans of maple syrup and a box of maple sugar lollies, both labeled in English and French. Malc also got me a Prince CD, two t-shirts (one from New Orleans and one with Roots Athletic on it, which I'm not sure how my Aussie friend would react to) and books.

And, as if he did never left, after unpacking he said we should go out for brunch. So off we went to Cafe XII for some organic breakfast fix.

After breakfast, I headed off for a three hour iaido training session, but not before showing off what I've done whilst Malc was away, which were: (1) set up a wi-fi network at home, (2) ironed two weeks worth of laundry, (3) installed dividers inside the cutlery cupboards, (4) actually did some vacuuming, and (5) managed not to trash the unit.

After I got home from iaido training, we went out for a quick meal at Da Niang Dumplings (42- Dixon Street, Chinatown, Sydney ph 02 9211 0378). I had the traditional pork and Chinese cabbage dumplings and Malc had beef and celery ones. The dumplings here are just average, but for about $6 a serve, are quite reasonable.

Disgressing a bit, whenever we have a meal here, I'm always reminded of my first ever meal in Beijing when I spent a few months there to learn Mandarin. My friend & I ordered a serve of dumplings each, expecting about 6 to 8 pieces each, instead a whole big bowl of dumplings (may have been more than two dozen) arrived! It took us forever to finish our food! The best dumpling I've ever had was in Ritan Park, also in Beijing, and a close second were the dumplings cooked by Dr Tianbiao and Dr Shogo.

Dumplings aside, Malc is truly back home. Our TV has been tuned to sports programs, except for an hour and a half of Iron Chef, all day.

Welcome home Malc!

national tour

With Malc off to sunny Ottawa, via New Orleans, I have a couple of weekends to spend all by myself. Should I finish unpacking and get our new home in order . . . hmmm I don't think so.

Good thing my friend Khariss brought up the idea of driving up to Canberra for the weekend. Khariss has never been to the national capital and, despite the looming cold winter weather forecast, we decided to go. Accommodation was a bit of the problem because it was school holidays and most of my preferred hotels have all been booked out. We took a risky move and booked ourselves at a hotel I've never heard of before, the Diplomat Hotel. The hotel was actually quite pleasant, it was roomy, clean and unpretentious.

After leaving our bags at the hotel, I was raring to show off my town to Khariss and the first order of business was lunch. And of course, to one of my favourite brunch place in Canberra, Bookplate Cafe at the National Library where I had lamb curry and Khariss had a healthy turkish sandwich.

We then headed off the Parliament House. It was quite strange actually, when I was living in Canberra, I would go to the Parliament House for exercise, walking up and down the side slopes of the building (before the anti-terrorist railing were put up), but this time around, I was a tourist on a guided tour inside the building. Next stop was the National Museum, Malc & I last visited the museum when it first opened and it was good to see new additions to the collection. After the Museum, I took Khariss to Telstra Tower to have a 360 degree view of the city.

Then dinner! Khariss has to eat healthy, so I took her to a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant, Au Lac (Shop 4/ 39 Woolley St Dickson ACT ph 02 6262 8922). This is one of Malc and my favourite restaurants in Canberra, the dishes are all made of tofu made to look like meat and fish and they really look and taste like the real thing. We ordered carrot and pawpaw salad, steamed buns, fried fish and sauteed vegetables. The fried fish amazingly tasted so like fish and the flesh was also flaky, and there was even a thin film of tofu that looked and tasted like fish skin.

I was planning to show Khariss some of the Canberra nightlife, but it became really cold, so we decided to return to the hotel and watched Wimbledon matches on cable TV.

The next day, we started with breakfast, of course. I took Khariss to one of the more "upmarket" brunch places, Artespresso (31 Giles St Kingston ph 02 6295 8055). A lot of people Malc & I know rave about this place and when we tried it before, we thought the food was okay but the service was a bit snobbish. This time, the food was still okay but the service was non-existent, probably because we came in a bit early and there was only one wait staff.

After breakfast, we headed to the National Gallery where we checked out Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles, and of course the gallery's Monets, Cezannes, Picassos etc. We also spent some time looking at the Indigenous art collection and Asian collection.

Next stop was the Old Parliament House where there was an exhibit of some of the First Ladies' memorabillas. The National Portrait Gallery is also located in the Old Parliament House, so we also checked out the exhibit.

Before heading back to Sydney, I had to show Khariss the city centre, to prove indeed, there is a shopping scene in Canberra. We did a bit of window shopping at the Canberra Centre and bought plates (of all things). For lunch, we went to Hidden Dragon (City Market Shp37a/ Bunda St Canberra ph 02 6248 9896) for some rice fix, I ordered sweet and sour pork and Khariss had steamed chicken.

And before the cold weather became unbearable, we drove back to Sydney promising to come back in September, when the weather is warmer and the flowers at Floriade are in full bloom.

tearful day

Tomorrow, Malc is heading off to Canada to see his parents, brother, sister and 4 nephews. So, I was feeling a bit sad to be without him for the next few days. Not that we have not been apart from each other for long periods, it was only last August when we ended almost 2 years of one of us living in Canberra and the other living in Sydney. So, as some sort of going away party for two, we went out for dinner at Masuya (12 O'Connell St Sydney 2000 ph 02 9235 2717). The last time we were here was with Shogo and his parents when they were in Australia to attend Shogo's graduation. Back then, we ate probably half of the menu!

This time around, the mood was a bit more somber and the appetite less ravenous. Malc had garlic and chili chicken and I had Tasmania-don. The food was as good as ever, but the service was not up to scratch, which was surprising for a restaurant run by Japanese. They forgot to serve our entree of chawan-mushi and we had it after dinner.

But the most devastating news of the day was that my all-time favourite football player, Hidetoshi Nakata has retired at 29 years old. Friends who know me very well will understand how upset I am of this news, and from early this morning, I have been receiving emails and news articles about his retirement from everyone. Like millions of his fans, this has caught me by surprise.

My admiration for Hide started about the same time as when I caught the football bug. Malc & I were students in Japan when the J-League started, and the enthusiasm for the game rubbed off on me. Malc, of course did not need encouragement as he is the epitome of the whatever-sport fan. And after leaving the Japan, I have been keen on keeping up with Japanese football players, and when Hide made his international debut in France 98 as a flame-haired 21 year old, I became a fan! Finally, a Japanese (and Asian) player that can hold his own among the best in the world. His move to Italy was unJapanese-like, risking the comfort of the J-League and venturing to one of the major leagues with only the self belief that he is as good as any player in the Serie A. Although his roughly 9-year stint in Italy and one season in Bolton has been up and down, his mark and influence on Japanese and Asian football is undeniable.

And there is Hide, the person off the football field. His website (www.nakata.net) is one of my most frequented websites. Here, Hide posts photos from his matches, holidays and commercial shoots. He also writes his thoughts on his matches or whatever takes his fancy. And sometimes, he even posts recipes (to Shogo's delight). In short, though his website, fans get to know him better. And there of course the 'hotline' button, where fans can leave messages for him, and in more than one occassion he has noted that he reads every single message, including probably my mails congratulating, encouraging, berating and outrightly scolding him.

As a tribute Hide and to commemorate his retirement, I put together some of my memorabilia and took a photo of it.

afternoon tea

Last Saturday, Malc & I drove to Canberra for an early celebration of Miwa's PhD thesis submission. The whole event was organised on the stealth by Miwa's husband Peter and the chosen venue was the Hyatt Hotel for afternoon tea.

So, with some clever maneouverings, including a quick trip to Spotlight in Queanbeyan for some coat buttons, Miwa arrived with Peter, Jessie and Alex, and was greeted by Malc, Reiko, Nicky and me. We proceeded to take advantage of the sandwiches and cakes while catching up with everyone. Malc made the comment that while we have been together in Sydney for nearly one year now, we really still do not have a social life in the big city and most of the friends we hang out with are still in Canberra.

So to Miwa, a BIG congratulations!

PS. we hope to be in Canberra for another big celebration in September, not that we're putting any undue pressure on . . .

re-wired

We're finally back on line.

Malc & I moved to our new home nearly 2 weeks ago, after the stress of dealing with real estate agents, the bank and lawyers. And to add to everything, the former owner of our new unit did not really clean-up before she left, that meant we had to hurriedly organise carpet cleaning around the schedule of our movers. We spent our first evening wiping, spraying and scrubbing the bathrooms, kitchen, window sills and cupboard . . . something we promised never to do again. And then of course, we had to clean our old apartment, so more wiping spraying and scrubbing!

To celebrate our first day (with furniture) in the new house, Malc & I had soba (Japanese buckwheat noodle), as per Japanese tradition when moving houses and chicken teriyaki, all from our neighbourhood Japanese restaurant Hamachiya (261 Harris Street, Pyrmont ph 02 9566 2866).

Our move also concided with the World Cup, so to make sure we did not miss any matches, the first items we unpacked/arranged were the sofa, tv stand and television.

Speaking of the World Cup, I have always been a vocal supporter of the Japanese National Team and when Japan was drawn against Australia, it was the classic case of being caught between two loyalties. Malc & I received an invitation from the Sydney Football Club to watch Japan v Australia the match at the Star Casino ballroom on 4 huge screens and we did make our way to the Casino. But about an hour to kick-off, we decided to go home because we were not sure what would happen to us when we start cheering for Japan . . .

So, on match day (or early morning), I wore my Japan-Nakata shirt (thanks Dave), watched the game at home and sat at the end of the seat while Japan scored the first goal. And then, in the dying minutes of the game, Australia scored 3 goals! I can't explain my emotions after the match, how can someone be overjoyed and devasted all at the same time. Nevertheless,, I was on the www.nakata.net the next day giving Hidetoshi Nakata a piece of my mind (via his website, that is). The most enjoyable viewing, for me, has been Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden, where T&T held Sweden to a draw. That is, not including Thierry Henry's fantastic goal vs Brazil. I just hope that Dwight Yorke comes back to Sydney FC for next season.