An Autumn Morning in Chatswood, Sydney

An Autumn Morning in Wollongong

Some Days Are Diamonds

Shadows continually cast by some dissipate in the timely light beamed by unexpected special hearts of friendship; such is the wonder of the human experience, and the fortune to know such happiness.

Joseph and I were waiting for our claypot dishes on a pavement table outside a small
eatery in Eastwood in north-west of the greater Sydney area. At a neighbouring table, the teapot was sliding down on what was obviously an uneven bricked floor. The distinguished looking lady at that table was undecided on what to have for this Saturday lunchtime and was discussing the board menu with her nephew.

I could not help intrejecting to them that the menu they were planning for was only valid between 2 and 5pm. It was 1230pm. We next introduced ourselves; Paik Ling was the Principal of a well known girls school before she retired and with her nephew, Michael, they had come for an easy outdoor al fresco eat out on a sunny May day in a suburb not far from theirs. Both of them were interesting to chat with, and it was good to see an aunt being taken out for a meal. All four of us ahd to be patient before our dishes came - what I ordered had rice that was too hard but the other dish was tasty.

Whilst partaking my food, I saw through a glass partition of the eatery and realised that another lady was waving to me from inside. She then came out to greet me - lo and behold, it was Louisa, from way back when, at least 20 years ago when we last met. What wonderful hallmark moments I had - it was just by chance that Joseph and I picked the eatery for a meal.

On an autumn Mothers Day, Ee-lane and Ray had prepared a sumptious Thai home cooked dinner in Parramatta. The spicy and tasty spread provided much needed warmth inside once we had sampled through the several offerings. This ranged from minced pork salad to a fish marinated with the subtlelities of Thai flavours. We sat at a long table in a much loved house with a heritage front in a town that was founded not long after the first British settlement at the Rocks in Sydney.

One Saturday, after dropping by at a house for sale in the hills above Austinmer, I followed Shane and Danielle with their family to Thirroul Beach. Both the sky and ocean had hues of blue, different but complementary. There was a local surf carnival for under 18s going on on the clean powdery sand beach, but the Thirroul pool had been drained completely for the arrival of winter. The girls, Bridget and Nieve, took to the seagulls, ice blocks and outdoors naturally and eagerly. The bit of ocean wind did not affect the most amicable temperature. For a while, I was reminded that this is life as it should be spent, as for waht we work hard for.

I had not dropped by Marta's house for six months, short of the one attempt when she was away in Sydney that morning. So I thought I better visit her. I brought along a small serving of teatime cakes and Marta made tea and coffee to warm up our chat around her dining table. I could see her neighbour's washing alternately getting wet and dried by the chnaging weather and periodically passing showers. The expanse of Lake Illawarra could be viewed behind me, but we both enjoyed this catch-up conversation so much it did not bother us where we were. Marta and I had kept communicating by phone or email, but nothing is as good as talking in person.

On these recent cool mornings when my neighbourhood moves into winter mode,nothing makes it more easy to jump out of bed and get going, than the prospect of seeing Nathan and Scott at my routine coffee pick up on working days. More than the hot beverages they offer, it's the welcoming and bositerous manner in which they greet me, not so much as a customer, but as a friend. They wake up earlier than me, in the pre-dawn darkness, to make sure they are there when I arrive - and their absolutely inspiring attitude and demeanour makes me think - each of them deserves an opportunity to pursue and realise their personal dreams and passion for their exciting life-long adventure ahead, no matter what it is in their hearts right now.

My cousin Susan and her husband Boo Ann had made lovingly wrapped rice dumplings for the recent Dragon Boat Festival and gave me some. I sit at my dining table admiring the wraps, reminding me of their iconic cultural and philosophical significance. Some days are indeed diamonds!

Revitalising

I ordered the lamb focaccia at the Cacao Cafe. It was appetising, especially on a cool autumn day with swirling wind, changing overcast and blue sky and with rain ever threatening to arrive. After driving from Rockdale to Newport, we were definitely hungry for a late lunch. The beach side resort was more quiet than I recalled, but then the last time I was there was on a summer's day. Now the cafes stood lonely and reminded me of a small village in New Zealand. I was tempted with the ice cream counter but decided against it. Sean and I went to feast our eyes on the open ocean, where the foam of white had cuddled like milk and were gradually building up surf board waves. I always like the misty shower hanging in the air at Newport Beach and it was there again, magical and fascinating. What a dessert!

We were aiming for the Kilimanjaro, not in Africa but in Sydney's Newtown. We were fortunate to find a parking space. I noticed that the Fitness First gym was next to the Food Works supermarket - how convenient. I rediscovered an elegant stationery and book shop that starts with the alphabet P. I definitely reaffirm that Burgerfuel has a more inviting set up than Burgerlicious. I remember my first exciting foray into Burgerlicious with Michael a few years back. Amazingly I can also confirm that the Newtown outlet of Burgerfuel looks exactly like the store in Parnell, Auckland. To kill time, we hung around the Dendy Cinema and had drinks - I chose Cinique's blackberry and blueberry smoothie. It was too early to get into the pub, but I thought Culato's was great. Did I get that spelling right, maybe not.

When we reached Kilimanjaro, we decided to go for simplicity. I yearned for cous cous, so choosing the lamb curry and cous cous was not a problem. Lamb again, you may ask. Hey, I am in Australia. Sean preferred a chicken casserole that had tomato flavours. We downed the meal with a rose petal flavoured drink. I really thought we were having Indian food, and I know there are Indians in Kenya. Idi Amin sacking the Indian population many years ago to Britain comes to mind. The ethnic Indian staff waiting on us wore African robes though. Then came a real tall African, looking all smooth glowing in skin and with a smiling face. To order, there were no printed menus and intending diners had to crowd around a dimly lit menu board on the wall. Apparently one could not book in advance, but just had to come at the right time to get a table immediately. Like we did.

Six Months of My Facebook

I reckon that the Sakis Rouvas number This Is Our Night should be commissioned and recognised as an Olympic Games tune.

Okay, great leap from my current structured role in the day time to a bar tender.

....and did not come home. Came home Sunday morning and was off again this arvo. Just came home again after giving the car an almost midnight wash self service in Russell Vale. Now I really know why the house is in a mess.

Kevin is bothered with two rude situations confronting him - should I be too kind and get trampled over, or stand up for what's decent?

I noted it was 12 degrees last night on the hilltop highway and cannot wait to see it go down to single digits soon. Felt lucky to escape the storm last night in Coogee.

Just came back from Leichhardt, where I had a spunky spaghetti marinara and chicken parmigiana at Gioia"s at Norton Street.

Kevin has come back from business in Sydney CBD - enjoyed the opportunity to sit down at a boardroom styled meeting and exchange ideas with peers, Board members and even caught up with Franco at the meeting. The wind was picking up this arvo but my mind has also been revitalised!

Had a great day getting beer into bottles, catching up with people I should keep more in touch with and then finishing up with Singapore chili crabs and a garden romp!

Kevin is so glad that he still nurtures dreams and has persistence, despite the roadblocks that energy depleting people throw at him.

Kevin feels so good devoting a weekend to his inner self and outer need to do nothing structured, as he promised himself.

Kevin is feeling so mellow, happy with closure of things that fail to capture his attention anymore and looking forward to things that really count.

I am exhausted after a long day on business off-site and coming back in the rain, but glad that he attended a farewell do back at uni.

A Path Less Travelled

This time it was the persimmons, bright-orangy, firm and standing out like dazzling leaflets on a stand over the pavement. Bankstown in Sydney never fails to astonish me. The day had been warmer than expected, with the winds of the past week huddled away, and yet there seemed to be fewer shoppers. Maybe it was the late afternoon, or perhaps the recession had taken a stronger bite. I scanned through various delicacies of cakes and stuff displayed at most of the shop fronts along the Mall. There were miniature dumplings laden with bits of pork, shrimp and chives - hey don't they look like yum cha stuff, but then there was this chili spicy sauce to take them with. I returned to the modest food shop that made a sensational tasty bowl of mung bean noodles swirled with seafood and garnished with aromatic, appetising ingredients. I looked at herbs that had not reached the shelves of Woolworths and Coles as yet.

The early night saw me around a home dinner table in Carlingford with coconut milk flavoured rice steamed and placed over banana leaves. To accompany this traditional Malaysian breakfast item, there were smoked crunchy anchovies, hard boiled egg halves in South-east Asian sambal, Lebanese cucumber slices, marinated prawns and chicken curry laden with potatoes and gravy. I always thought it can be too rich to eat this first thing in the morning, and now I find its rightful place as dinner on a Sunday night. No lamb roast. The Indo-Chinese jelly I obtained from a Bankstown shop complemented the grapes, nashis and rockmelon cuts on the fruit platter often served by cousin Susan and her hubby Boo Ann. This time Susan also made the tasty banana fritters. It was Eurovision finals night in Moscow on the telly.

I took a path less travelled through the expanse of greater Sydney and was restored with the fascination of discovering a new dimension. From Heathcote, I cut through Menai, avoided going back to Sutherland and kept going north till I found Bankstown. From Bankstown I checked out Strathfield through Belmore and then it was on to familiar territory through Concord, Top Ryde and Epping to Carlingford. Curry leaves and kumquats from Balgownie were packed in the car with me - I had looked at them and realised that these were not common in Australia not many years ago, but now has added to the fabric of diverse foods in both Bankstown and Carlingford.

Fruits of the Season - May

Mandarins on a platter

Plums and Custard Apples


Longans On The Stem

Three Worlds, All On a Sydney Saturday

The pavements overflowed with fresh produce - vegetables, fruits and concoctions that came from both Australia and South-east Asia. I could not figure out totally if the stall holders and customers were all Cambodian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese or Thai - but one thing was for sure, there was a notable absence of Caucasians. The cooked dishes called out in an appetising manner, whether they were fish in marinade, roast duck or curries. There were grapes red and green, seedless or with seed; longans on their stalks, plucked from plants; and all types of meat cuts in the butcher shops. I sensed the strong buzz of commercial enterprise and personal dynamics of purpose in the place. I had accompanied Jen and Viv on a market adventure. This was Bankstown Mall on a sunny May evening, the autumn air crisp and the aroma of flavours floating in the air.

The mocha had the delightful quality of Colefax chocolate. Five of us were lounging around a low table sipping in the hot beverages and taking a break from the everyday.
A Saturday morning, and the hustle and bustle of an Italian village lifestyle carried on outside, with happy children in the company of busy parents, couples lining up for pastries and cakes and the odd outsider visitors checking out the shelves of Zanetti or Lamonica. I could not resist getting my fav bread rolls in the bakery along Dalhousie Street, eyeing the currant studded buns with caramelised tops.
My group of friends relished in the lunch at Napoli en Bocca, which waiter Freancesco described a s "A Taste of Naples in the Mouth". I was impressed with the calamari ripieni, a delightful package of wrapped seafood in a stimulating sauce. Needless to say, it was good to see Alessandro again at the homely cake shop of A & P Sulfaro. This was Haberfield on the start of a weekend, with the proverbial blue skies and everything nice.

It was early night, and I tucked in the bonito curry, served with tangy tomato cuts and spicy reminders from the Indian Ocean. The lobak pieces melted in my mouth and instantly brought me back to memories of Penang coffee shops and home cooking. Lobak are compact parcels of tender juicy pork cuts marinated with five spice powder, amongst other things, and mixed with crunchy vegetables and other stuff, all cut finely and wrapped by bean curd skins, before they are deep fried in a wok. Then there was soy sauced chicken with hints of pepper. All thanks to the home cooking of Joyce and Aunty Rosie. I finished up with Italian biscotti and Charmaine's dark chocolate cake with sensations of nutty flavours. There was familiarity of chatter and conversation. There was banter with familiar people and friends. Ashleigh and Caitlin danced to the Wiggles on screen. This was Baulkham Hills at night, with the nippy air biting outside and flashes of lightning in the far distance.