Rippling Good

Starters at Ripples, Chowder Bay, Mosman:

Sand crab ravioli sat upon by prawns.

Scallops and pork belly ala Ripples.

And now the mains that follow:

Cindy chose angel hair pasta with mussels, prawns and other seafood.

Charmaine tucked in her pasta ragu.

and I had de-boned quail over goat cheese, followed by raspberry and orange semifreddo and coffee.

We had lots of laughs, soothened by a just right warm arvo and surrounded by the blue of the sky and ocean, the chatter of fellow lunchers and the sights of a calm sea meeting the coast.

Chowder Bay, Mosman

Verandah with a view - looking out at Chowder Bay, from Georges Heights on Sydney's lower north shore, this was the site of the Australian navy section handling ammunition and explosives in the 19th century and more recently, skirts the abode of HMAS Penguin. Imagine an evening looking out on to a sheltered cove far away from the old country, enjoying a climate that is most agreeable, neither too hot nor cold on a fine April day. Located in the Headland Park and accessible from Middle Head Road in Mosman, there are walking trails, scuba diving lessons, artists precincts, tennis courts, historical fortifications and several cafes /restaurants. Public buses and ferries bring people in from Sydney CBD and overnight accommodation is also available.

Pre-lunch, Charmaine and Cindy dabble in relaxing photography near the wharf.

The views from the side of Chowder Bay.

A delicacy awaits those who have taken in the outdoors and want to savour a well deserved moment after a long week at work or at the business!

Do check out Charmaine's blog for more interesting angles on Chowder Bay, especially her interpretations of the cuisine.

To De-clutter and Move Forward

My muscles were aching, but I knew it was a darn good ache of liberation and growth. Tim and Steven had come to help me cut out the crap, so to speak, but in terms of the garden under and over growth. They worked hard, but they removed the shadows, and opened up spaces I once had before and forgot about them entirely. Hidden creatures scurried hurriedly as we exposed them under the sunlight - I did recognise some of them. I loved the sound of the grrr chain saw cutting away at excesses nurtured by my neglect of and assumptions about my garden. It felt good to let go of some things - they were never any good anyway, despite my initial hopes and expectations of most of them.

I had chats with my neighbours, listening to experiences where trust had been broken down by someone; of episodes where some individuals did not provide the whole truth and thought they were real clever in selecting particular pieces for their own covert purposes; and in contrast, thankfully, also of trying times overcome and life put back as it should be. As some shrubs were pruned, their fruits did roll down on to the lawn, and I thought, hey these are like hidden gems and harvest, only to be realised when we cut ourselves off from the burgeoning dark side. There are occasions when we are unwittingly sucked into things that are totally contrary to our nature and all our love and care we exude cannot save us -in fact, they are amazingly used against us to be squashed aside and ignored in the path of the beast. However, when we are thrown lemons, we can make lemonade out of them - that is what I did.

To de-clutter from such negativity takes effort. Call it a make over, detoxification or cleansing,in every such process, we are shown a revelation of what really is. Such a disclosure frees us to move on to better and higher things, in thought, reality and society. We may have been in illusion - that things are better than they are - or in denial - of the dangers that are unforgiving - but our realisation of what is helps us not cling on to falsehoods, appearances and toxic smiles with back stab daggers. We are thrown out of the Ferris wheel of convulated and provincial minds, and for our sweat in encountering this, we feel a gladness in our hearts that we have escaped from the in-bred cycle of the proverbial village caucus. We then know that we never belonged to this unique group anyway - and do not want to. We happily see such a group wallow in the mud of their own making.

Back at Bankstown Too

An Easy Saturday Morning - Balmain, Sydney

Entrance to a pastry counter from Darling Street




Walnut and banana bread loaf to be accompanied by a dash of passionfruit butter





Sago and coconut-flavoured drink that goes well with a raspberry inspired brulee garnished with lychees, strawberry cuts and biscottis





Check out Sassychix's blog for more details and images of Balmain.

Chin's Love Song

Copyright Chin

Return to Pasteur's

It may look like a simple soup dish, but the pho noodles from an outlet of this Pasteur's chain speaks volumes in my heart. I first came across them upon moving into Sydney and recently was delightfully surprised to find this unique food offering still alive and available from the very first chain of modest shops making them. The world-wide Pasteur chain has a business history pre-Australia and is an illustration of the combination of French influence, Asian spices and Vietnamese creativity. You can find noodle soups in various forms in several countries, from the clear forms with dumplings to Japanese bean miso and chilli laden encounters in tom yam and prawn flavoured versions. The stock soup of the pho utilises the potent aromatic stewing of cinnamon and meat bones, filled in by chicken or beef slices and tempered by fresh bean sprouts, fiery chilli cuts, a twist of a lemon slice and the headiness of basil leaves. It is a product of the Vietnamese penchant for fresh produce and a solid brew.

The look and feel of the Pasteur shops in Sydney have not changed much despite the passing of the years. Even if they were the pioneers, they now face competition from many to cater for a large regular market. It is not just the pho which attracts this clientele - my other favs from the Pasteur days include the broken rice dishes, the crispy fried chicken served on a bed of tomato-flavoured rice, the paper thin rolls with the most sweet tasting refreshing vegetables and the sugar cane cuts with prawns. Why the name Pastuer? Louis would have been proud.

In The Ozzie Bush

Love Harder

Copyright Ali Love

A Letter from Wollongong

The cicadas were having an intense orchrestral session almost every evening in early March, a good sign that summer was still with me, despite the official pronouncements of autumn arriving,  Soon, I hope, the evenings will be crisp, fresh and have a bite of nippiness.  This would be great for a meal in the outdoor settings of places like Sushi-ya in Artarmon or Kaiser Stuben in Terry Hills. Seriously, the heralding of autumn should be put off to May in coastal New South Wales and then winter skipped, with spring barging its way by early August.

It is already April Fools Day and there has been some relief. It has been cloudy and raining - yes with wet downpours swooshing with gusty winds - for the past three or so days, and how cosy it has been to settle under the doona on such ensuing nights. One of thr reasons I have remained in Australia for so long is this type of benign temperature and to watch the dew and moisture on plants during a misty morning.

Clearing electronic garbage can provide a calming sense of letting go, just like the unwelcome junk mail from old fashioned postboxes.  Email can be quick and easy to use, but also accumulates a devastating trial of unwanted addresses, forgotten unsolicited marks of strangers we pass by in the proverbial wasteland and highways of cyberspace traffic.  To clear what they left behind is to clarify, to de-clutter and to seemingly have more space - again.

I do have a penchant for mangosteens.  the Queensland varieties are now in season, and I could not resist getting 32 of them for around twenty dollars. The shop guy was also enthusiastic and had a smile for me as he persuaded me to try, not knowing that I would have bought them anyway. This fruit has not reached Australian suburban supermarkets like Thai durians and red rambutans. Is it because of its forbidding hard purple shield, desperately hiding a luscious inside?

There is nothing much to watch on holiday TV in this nation, only the threats of double or triple penalties on drivers licenses, increased petrol prices at the bowser and a thick settling in of quietness that may not truly reflect the liberation of a long weekend. Many families use the Easter season to catch up on reunions. April may herald a more leisurely pace as opposed to the Christmas and the end of financial year season, but also offers two separate public holidays in Australia, the other involving Anzac Day.  It is an opportunity for more introspective reflection, beyond the group camping and outdoor activities. The business season has progressed in earnest, it is time for consolidation and changing of the seasons.

Simple Pleasures

Growing Foliage in Balgownie

Delightful but unexpected entrance to the Canterbury Leagues Club in Sydney

Light on the palate, fresh in sensation and easy on the diet - a Japanese lunch offering

(Image credit - R Lim)

Syrup flavoured ice shavings, compemented with beans, fruit slices and more

(Image credit - R Lim)

Pattern on porcelian, kept for over twenty years

Only a few know what I went through to get this speedometer mileage of 70, 459 km as at 31 March 2010 - yes, but I love driving too