Prince and Me Four

Back in February I posted a cryptic blog about recording a single. Judging by some of the reaction it was perhaps a bit too cryptic as none of you seemed to know what I was going on about!

I can now reveal all. It wasn't me who was recording a single, it was my good friend John. Who was recording the title track for the film Prince and Me Four. The movie and single should be out in the autumn, and the trailor has just been released for your viewing pleasure.

Someone I can love (recorded back in Feb) kicks in at about 1m 40s into the trailor. Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Belgian Beer Cafe, Balmain

On Sunday night I went to the Belgian Beer Cafe in Balmain. How to describe it?

For someone who has previously spent a very pleasant weekend in Brugge and has frequented the likes of Belgos in London, I was perhaps a bit underwhelmed. But then I decided that comparisons with Europe are a bit unfair. I can't just pop to Belgium for the weekend or get a variety of continental beers easily in Sydney. I think you need to take the place at face value.

The pub has dark wooden floors and there is dark wood panelling on the walls. It could be terrible tacky like a themed English pub, but it isn't. It looks rather good. They have a large selection of Belgian beers, five on tap and a further thirty bottled beers. They even make the effort to serve the beers in their correct glasses. I'm sure you won't find a larger selection in Sydney.

The food menu, predictably, serves contains bowls of mussels, chips and mayonnaise and a variety of beer based dishes (e.g. beer stew). I went for the steak frittes; excellent chips, nice salad, but the steak itself needed more flavour. Dave's slow roasted pork belly was similarly hit and miss. Great pork, but the accompanying mash and sauerkraut were a let down. It's a pub where you go for a good time with friends, so perhaps I shouldn't judge the food too harshly.

Restaurant Review: Il Gondoliere, Manly

On Saturday night I went for dinner to Il Gondoliere in Manly with Saurav, Brad, Chel and Chel's brother Garrick.

It's a rustic hole in the wall kind of place that is barely big enough to fit the kitchen and a few tables, but is a regular favourite of Brad and Chel's. The menu is simple serving huge plates of homemade pasta, risotto, veal and chicken escalopes.

We all went for the pasta with the exception of Saurav who chose the risotto. You can see me above with the seafood pasta. The pasta was great, the white wine sauce wasn't too heavy and I liked the prawns, squid and scallops. I wasn't so keen on the mussels in the pasta. Anyone who knows me well, knows I am not the biggest fan of seafood, but I am trying to expand my tastes. The dislike of the mussels is more to do with my palate than anything else.

It's cheap, hearty and you can bring your own alcohol. My only suggestion would be to offer smaller plates of pasta for those without the will power not to clear their plate!

The Hunter Valley

Yesterday I visited the Hunter Valley with some friends and went on a little wine buying spree.

Our first stop was at the Audry Wilkinson vineyard. An independent operation it was a great first stop on our trip. Their vineyard is set in amongst some beautifully rolling countryside and the welcome was warm from the friendly staff. The Hunter Valley is best known for growing Shiraz and Semillon grapes. I enjoyed the red shiraz, but wasn't so keen on the semillon, buying an unwooded chardonnay instead.

Next up we went to Brokenwood which is a smart boutique vineyard. As well as growing grapes on their property, they also buy in grapes from other parts of Australia to create a greater variety of wines under their own label. I bought a bottle of the sangiovese, a grape I fell in love with after first tasting it in Greenwich a couple of years ago.

We bought some picnic goodies and ate them at Tyrrell's for lunch. Tyrrell's was the first big vineyard that we visited on the day. So far I thought the wines had been quite pricey, with no real bargains to be had. Tyrrell's had a range of wines at decent prices, so I splashed out on four bottles of plonk for the table.

Next up we visited the boutique vineyard of Moorebank. Much quieter than the other vineyards we had visited, there were geese, kangaroos, chickens and sheep roaming round the lawns. The wines were some of the nicest we tasted during the day and one of the few semillons that I genuinely liked. However, there were prices to match and for the first, and only, time during the day I decided not to purchase.

We moved onto another large commercial vineyard called Mount Pleasant owned by McWilliam's. They make a semillon called Elizabeth. My mother's name and the name of the house where I grew up combined in a single label. I was committed to buying a couple of bottle regardless of taste, which luckily was rather drinkable.

We ended the day at Pietersons which is another boutique vineyard in the Hunter Valley. One of Dave's favourite vineyards the tasting room had a cosy, almost club like feel to it. I completed the day with another bottle of shiraz and chardonnay.

It was a great day out in the autumn sunshine. There weren't as many bargains to be had as I had hoped, but it was good to taste some of the local wines and get a few bottles for the cellar. Below is a picture of Ali and I looking a lit bit squiffy from all the tastings.

Pyrmont Market

This morning I went to the Pyrmont Market which takes place on the first Saturday of every month. It is almost exclusively a food market, with a couple of plant stalls, someone selling shopping trolleys and a knife sharpener there for good measure.

The stalls all seemed to be quite upmarket selling hand made cheeses, breads, chutneys etc... The market was packed with people buying breakfast treats (the Breakfast of Champions below was doing a roaring trade) as well as some gourmet delights for the weekend.


The stalls seemed a bit pricy, but I'm going to be living not too far from the market, so I am sure that it will become a regular visitor for some foodie treats.

Cycling Across America

My good friend Sean is just about to start a mammoth cycle ride across America. He is going to be cycling from San Francisco on the west coast, all the way over to the east coast (I can't remember exactly where he finishes). He will be leaving on 7th June and plans to arrive on 28th July.

I have to admit I am very jealous of Sean. It is going to be seriously hard work, there will be lots of saddle sores, blisters, days when you never want to see the bike again, mountains, rain and physical exhaustion. But what a personal achievement to say you have cycled across America. That is just under FOUR THOUSAND miles on a bike in a month and a half.

Sean is going to be blogging about his journey here.

More importantly, if you want to sponsor him you can do so here. He is raising money for The Alzheimer's Society.

May Photos

It hasn't been a big month for photography, but I have uploaded my May photos here.