Girl Talk

My great friend John has written two tracks for the Thai singer Mint, who's album has just been released by Sony Music. I ordered myself a copy of the EP which arrived in the post this week. John's got his name in the sleeve notes three times and everything!

John has written the title track of the album Girl Talk and also the first single to be released Love needs Love. The tracks are sung in Thai which has caused a few problems for my burgeoning vocabulary. My favourite track is Girl Talk on the basis that I can understand at least a bit of what is going on!

I'd describe John's style as pop-rock. Love needs Love fits into this mould, but Girl Talk is slightly different. The drums are very much in the back ground and it has an almost R&B feel. As a friend I'm obviously going to say this, but I really believe the rest of the EP drops away after John's tracks. It becomes very predictable love songs with little to distinguish it from lots of other artists out there.

Right, music review over. Get yourself over to eThaiCD and order a copy. I realise that I haven't sold it as a complete work of music, but the $8.50 US (incl delivery) is worth it for the first two tracks alone.

Old Fitzroy Theatre: One Long Night in the Land of Nod.

One Friday night I went for a laksa, beer and to see a play at the Old Fitzroy Theatre in Woolloomoolo. Just in case you are like me and make a complete fool out of yourself when you try and pronounce the suburb Woollooomoolo for the first time, it's wool-a-ma-loo.

The Old Fitzroy is a pub/theatre. The pub is quite characterful and more reminiscent of a traditional English pub than the more modern Aussie bars that you usually get. Worn, dark wood, small rooms and a creaky staircase. At the back of the pub there there is a Malaysian kitchen churning out laksas (a popular dish here in Sydney).

Behind the kitchen is a small intimate theatre that we calculated seats about one hundred guests. One Long Night in the Land of Nod was an intense and engaging hour long production that started with a gun shot bringing everyone to attention. The play only has two characters; brothers who are trying to reconcile their past, demons in the closest, their sick father and the inheritance form the family cattle station. The play was a perfect choice for a small pub theatre requiring only two actors, a small set and no costume changes. The intensity coming from the actors held your attention the entire time. We sat in the front row and were so close to the actors that we thought they might tread on our toes more than once.

Something a bit different and a very enjoyable evening. The acting and general standard of the production exceeded my expectations for a pub theatre.

The day the sky turned red

(Click the photo or here to see a slide show of the red storm)

This morning when I woke up, rather than seeing sunlight stream through my blinds, there was a warm red glow. Looking out of my window I couldn't work out what was going on, I didn't think bush fires would be in the city. All I could think of was the old expression Red sky at night Shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning Shepherd's warning. I guessed we were in for a storm.

About an hour later the red glow was beginning to fade, red dust was settling on cars and pavements and the cloudy sky was slowly turning white again. The walk to work tickled the throat. By lunchtime it was nearly all over and tonight there are strong winds blustering around Sydney sweeping the dust away.

It even made front page news on the BBC website and a couple of friends from the UK have been in touch with surprising speed.

Crumpler Bag

As part of my conversion to all things Australian I had to get myself a Crumpler bag. For those that have never heard of Crumpler, they are a Melbourne based company who make practical camera/messanger/laptop bags with a funky design and every self respecting Aussie has one!

I popped into one of the shops on Saturday after breakfast at Barmuda. The cool thing about the Newtown store is that you are able to customise your own bag, and they have a workshop inhouse where they can knock together your bespoke design.

I wasn't creative enough for that, but I did go a bit crazy and bought three bags. Shhhh, don't tell the Bank Manager........

Restaurant Review: Barmuda

On Saturday morning I went for breakfast to Barmuda in the suburb of Newton with Penne and Clint. Where New York does brunch, Sydney has an early morning breakfast vibe. I hadn't been out for breakfast for a while so I was looking forward to my Saturday morning treat.

I ordered a berry smoothie so thick it came with a spoon while we pondered the menu. There were lots of great choices on the menu, it was a shame I could only choose one thing! The homemade granola with fresh fruit and homemade baked beans were choices I had difficultly looking over. As was the potato stack ordered by Penne and the sweet potato hash Clint chose. I never like to order the same thing as someone else at the table so I ended up deciding on the corn fritters.

My corn fritters came with an avocado salsa, crispy prosciutto, roasted tomatoes and baby spinach. It was a combination of flavours that worked well, but was ever so slightly dry. More avocado salsa and toamtoes? Or a light sauce drizzled over?

The potato stack looked anything but dry. I didn't get a taste, but it looked like a rectangle of potato gratin covered with fluffy scrambled eggs, a few rocket leaves and roasted tomatoes. A hearty start to the day.

I have to admit I was too busy tucking in to have a strong recollection of what Clint ordered. I remember a couple of poached eggs and sweet potato hash? It certainly didn't last very long on Clint's plate so must have been good!

I might be looking for excuses to head back to Newtown so I can visit Barmuda again!

Orbit Bar, Sydney

Last night I went for a drink at the revolving Orbit Bar at the top of Australia Square in Sydney.

The Orbit Bar gently rotates giving you a 360 degree view of the Sydney skyline every hour and a half. Watching the view of North Sydney, Luna Park, the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the harbour slip past is majestic. The second half of the rotation towards Centennial Park, China Town and Darling Harbour is less absorbing.

The service was attentive and every thirty minutes or so one of the waitresses would pass buy with complimentary canapes that were delicious. I thought the prices were reasonable given the location.

The Orbit Bar was an option when my sister came to stay, but we went to the bar in the Shangri-La Hotel instead. I think the Orbit Bar wins hands down. If you are lucky enough to get a window seat at the Shangri-La it could be a special experience, but at the Orbit Bar everyone gets a view.

*I must confess I didn't take the photo

Breakfast in Manly

Summer is arriving in Sydney and there is palpable excitement in the city. People are talking about weekend trips to the beach and other adventures they have been saving up during winter. (The term winter should be taken with a pinch of salt for those that have grown up in the UK.)

This morning I headed over to Manly to have breakfast with a friend called Jane who has come over from the UK for a couple of weeks. I took the ferry over to Manly which is a journey that I am never going to tire of.

We had breakfast overlooking the beach and then went for a walk across to Shelly Beach where I saw this bit of sculpture...

We continued looping round the headlands, taking in this view of Manly and Freshwater beaches, before looping back to Manly via Collins Beach. This is why you come to live in Sydney.

Restaurant Review: Emads, Surrey Hills

For the second Friday night in a row I found myself in Surrey Hills for some after work frivolity. A week ago I was sampling a few of the watering holes with some friends from the UK. Last night I had dinner at one of the Lebanese restaurants.

I hadn't noticed before last night that Surrey Hills has a concentration of Lebanese restaurants. We choose Emads, which Dave and Ali had eaten in before. I'm guessing that the restaurant was in a converted house and I can't decide if it was shabby chic or just a bit shabby. We were seated upstairs at a low table with cushioned benches, the uneven floors and narrow staircase all adding to the character. A trip to the loo involved walking through the kitchen and into the garden. (Where there was an outside loo, you weren't expected to use a flower bed!)

All of the dishes on the menu were meze style and we doubled up on most to satisfy our group of six. First to arrive were tabbouleh, hummus, babah ganoush and flat breads. Hungry from the day at work (and appetite whetted by a couple of beers) we all dived in. The tabbouleh was fresh and fragrant and I liked the smokiness of the babah ganoush. The hummus was nothing out of the ordinary and the flat breads paled in comparison to the homemade wonders of Meze Mangal.

Next to arrive were vine leaves, served warm which I think was a first for me, and lady fingers. Besides tasting great, I'm not 100% sure what the lady fingers actually were. Filo parcels of minced lamb, chopped nuts and spices? We also had some stuffed courgettes / zucchini which came in a tomato sauce and foul madames, slow cooked fava beans. Both were a first for me.

Rounding off the meal were the Lebanese sausages, which were strongly flavoured with cinnamon, and lamb shish kebabs. The kebabs were the best dish we ate. Like a French steak the lamb had been heavily salted before being cooked and it was more flavoursome and tender as a result.

Towards the end of the evening a belly dancer came to our table to entertain. Comically she stopped and started twice as the music cut in and out. Giving up when the music faded away for the second time we only got half a dance. In many ways it summed up the restaurant.

Cheap, cheerful and a fun experience.

Sabai Massage, Glebe

While I was living in Thailand I was going for a massage at least three times a week. There was the trusty local Tesco Lotus, but also the heavenly two hour massage we found. It was so cheap that it transcended from a luxury to a necessity.

This created a few problems when I arrived in Australia; massages are ten times the price and not nearly as good. The best Thai Masseuses all train at Wat Pho in Bangkok and they don't seem to travel well.

However, I have recently struck gold, discovering Sabai Thai Massage in Glebe. (Sabai means "health", and as I know the translation I thought I would share it with you.) The massages are excellent. I've been there four times, and am trying to ration myself to once a fortnight. On Sunday I nearly fell asleep which I think is the highest praise a massage can get.

I usually manage to get in a bit of Thai conversation practice with the staff too. Prices are reasonable by Sydney standards; price comparisons with Thailand aren't really fair.

Whisky Live

My unwitting membership of the Distant Thunder Whisky Club (DTWC) continued yesterday with a visit to the Whisky Live Expo in Sydney.

The Expo was in the International Passenger Terminal for cruise ships located in Circular Quay. It's a building I've wanted to get inside to take a look around for a while. The fantastic view from the balcony of the Opera House, ferries coming and going, and an amazing red moon setting over Watson Bay helped make up for the soulless interior. The inside doesn't keep up to the promises of the sleek exterior.

On arrival everyone was given a tasting glass and vouchers for food, beer and most importantly whisky! At a guess there were around 18 stalls each representing one or more distilleries. In addition to Scottish whiskies there were Indian, Welsh, Japanese and Australian tipples on offer. Most of the stall holders spoke very knowledgeably about the whisky making process and the uniqueness of their own distillery.

The event was quite well run. Being the first year the distilleries were not quite sure how much whisky they would sell and some had run out of stock. Luckily the whisky supplies for tasting were not exhausted! The stalls were a bit uniform and unexciting. A bit more effort next year please!

I can't say that I am yet a convert to whisky, but I did sample 4 or 5 drams. This was a lot less than some of the other DTWC members who were definitely inebriated by the end of the evening! There was a chocolate stall doing whisky and chocolate matching which I thought was quite innovative.

The Secretary for DTWC, Clint, spent a solid two months drumming up support for a trip to the Expo between members, before realising he couldn't attend himself! (Something about a 60th birthday party in the family.) Throughout the evening we bombarded Clint with text messages letting him know what he was missing. I am sure he was quite annoyed with us by the end!

I am sure there will be reviews shortly being posted by other members on the DTWC site.