A Monday Morning

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages" (William Shakespeare)


On the Monday morning here in eastern Australia when a political challenge was being held in Canberra, the 84th Oscars ceremony was concurrently being held on the west coast of the USA in Tinsel town Hollywood.

Both events shared common themes of drama,expression and reaching out to the public as observers. Both events exuded emotion, use of media and had lead-ups to the actual function. One involved the complexity of politics and the other rode on the magic of movies. Both events involved individuals who took the most personal risks in career and self-belief, or had endured much in arriving at where they are today socially, financially and professionally.

There were many amongst people I know who could not have cared for the outcomes of either event, but I did spend some time watching, on the side, the reactions of individuals and their ensuing speeches.

The event in Canberra struck me as one of alienation, aggravation and allegation.
The clear aim was to break intent of the perceived opposition and utilised much of the proverbial hanging of dirty laundry in public.

The one in LA showed outcomes from persuasion, persistence and performance. This nurtured hearts, determination and personal growth.

On balance, I sensed more sincerity from the people in LA, who, ironically, may be seen to dabble more in make believe - and yet provided me the most satisfying impact in producing positive self-worth, hope and inner nourishment. Maybe the Oscars, once again this past week and consistently in the past, appealed to me better visually and conceptually, in graphics, through music and in engaging my senses.

In contrast, the Australian Labour Party in-fighting displayed instances and flashes of non-reliability, personal viciousness, negative articulation, changing tact and surprising intensity of emotional attacks. I am convinced once again that political animals of any colour never assure me where they actually stand, even if a few personalities, in the past week, have shown greater strengths and better character than most.

No politician that morning came across as fully sincere, compared to this year’s best actress winner Meryl Streep. Meryl had, in the course of her acceptance speech, highlighted and recognised that she will never be on that stage again; emphasised that with this opportunity, she wanted to first thank the most important two persons in her life; and said that many in America may not welcome her Oscar win for the third time, but who cares, whatever, anyway. Oscar ceremony host Billy Crystal held the crowd’s attention in ways better than parliamentarians - and the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences always knows how to elegantly farewell their best and most memorable in the segment on celebrating the past year’s departures in the movie industry. In LA, there was humour and wit, missing conspicuously in Canberra that morning.

The media in Australia had been overly obsessed with the workings of an internal political party caucus. Some may say that Hollywood is also too pre-occupied with themselves. The politicians that day made passing references to the interests and welfare of voters and the nation, but foremost one could instinctively understand where their passions and energies mostly lay. At the same time, there were no outward social or community causes espoused on stage for the underdogs in society at this year’s Oscars.

Yet, on balance, it is what politicians do or decide that has the most impact
on our everyday lives – although we do seek relief, in various degrees, in the refuge of movies. And there was this acknowledgement, that day at the Oscars, that the power of good movies can change the way, we, as individuals, voters, parents or community members, think, transform, are encouraged and can act to better our lives. What do you personally choose to do? It can be difficult to reconcile the realities of political impact on the everyday Joe or Jane with the promise of movie dreams. For me, words are mere language, unless converted into action and realised for the ultimate user - whatever you call them, voters or the audience.

Crown Chef Chinese - Wollongong NSW

This restaurant has since closed. I have been unable to locate an authentic Chinese restaurant for several years in Wollongong CBD. What I usually find are blends of East and South-east Asian cooking, perhaps due to the practicalities and realities of the market here. The underlying penchant for Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Indonesian and Cantonese cuisine from the mainstream market's perception of "Asian food" somehow has resulted in a fusion of all these styles in a typical Asian cafe or restaurant in the Australia outside the capital cities. I do recognise that food is an evolving development in order to thrive, to be relevant and to attract. Based on that, I still have to make trips to Hurstville, Sydney CBD Chinatown, Eastwood, Ashfield, Parramatta and Chatswood in the greater Sydney region to have a taste of real food from China. So I am delighted recently to be introduced to a close authentic outlet ten minutes from my home in a relaxed, informal and modern setting - the Crown Chef. Above image, spiced marinated lamb on a hot plate from Crown Chef in Wollongong CBD.

Howard had selected the lamb whilst William had ordered the long beans stir fried with shrimp paste and chili cuts. We had ordered steamed rice to accompany the dishes and relaxed in comfortable chairs in this recently opened restaurant beside the Lower East Cafe. The staff was smiling friendly. It helped to speak Mandarin but this was really not a necessity. The beans dish had wok heat aroma and the lamb bites were tasty. Howard deemed the dishes we called for as still southern Chinese cuisine but there was a variety on the menu - I would go back.

Parking was relatively good along the non-mall side of Wollongong city's main strip of Crown Street. I could see Lebanese, Italian and modern Australian fare in outlets outside the windows of the Crown Chef. My choice of dish ordered (above picture) was pork belly braised in soy sauce and offered with bok choy and lychees, a mild combination but easy to eat. The prices asked per dish were in mid teens.

Cho Express, Hurstville

In the Sydney suburbs, I had never expected to find several retail outlets around a train station, but I did at Hurstville, south of Sydney CBD. There were supermarkets, bakeries, noodle outlets, herbal medicine shops and more. What caught my attention was the constant queue at a small take away cookery, a branch of Cho Express. The service was methodical but fast. Staff mostly spoke in Mandarin, but they had big display photos to make it easy to order. Most dishes available were under Aud10 each, and what was also interesting were the various combinations of salads, some pickled, mostly cut in thin slices, one with mayonnaise, some with tofu and many with chilis. (picture above) Marta and I ordered savoury dishes to take back to Wollongong - I could not resist the stewed pork and prawns with onions, whilst Marta had seaweed salad and sweet potato balls. I also noted that the staff mentioned to us how long it took, in minutes, to deliver our food orders.

Taiwanese food is a blend of Fujian, Hakka, other mainland Chinese provincial, Japanese, Dutch and indigenous inspirations. Dumplings, mushrooms, milk fish, pork balls, Taichung sun cakes with a molasses filling in side, thin noodles like mi-suah, oyster omelettes and hard boiled eggs stewed in soy sauce are some of the well known dishes from this island.

The wave of popular desserts from Taiwan - with themes of milk, glutinous rice dough balls and various types of teas and fruits - was also found in a back lane of Hurstville near the rail station. Called the Espresso Lane Cafe, it uniquely also offered Australian mainstream cafe dishes like big breakfasts, burgers and toasts. We ordered the tofu pudding in syrup and the beans (red and green) boiled in milk (image below). Servings were huge, and I noticed the mainly Taiwanese crowd enjoying the savoury dishes.

Unplanned and unanticipated, it had been almost 24 hours immersing in Taiwanese things and stuff. The evening before I had viewed the 2010 movie, Au Revoir Taipei, a delightful piece from director Arvin Chen,that reminds us that, at times, the true and important things in life have been right in front of us all along, whilst we had dreamed of hopes overseas and far away. Jack Yao puts up a convincing appearance as the main character Kai, who is lovesick and wants to be reunited with his girl in Paris, but somehow finds himself involved with street gangsters, noodles and a book shop girl named Peach.

Jonga Jip Korean Restaurant, Eastwood - Sydney

Jonga Jip fashions itself on offering Korean fusion food and is located along Rowe Street in the Asian-dominated suburb of Eastwood, 20km to the north-west of Sydney"s Harbour Bridge. Servings are generous and the food is tasty. I am always fond of the entrees served in Korean meals before the main dishes actually ordered arrive. They remind me of Spanish tapas or Chinese yum cha, but usually involve pickling, sesame oil, cabbage, radish, lettuce, garlic, chilies and bite-sized variety. Such entrees are provided like bottomless jugs at Hungry Jacks - Jonga Jip staff ask if you want more of the entrees after you finish them.







The salad dressing used in Korean cuisine can be innovative and different from other Asian practices. The penchant by Koreans for corn, wheat and potatoes reflect their geographical location and climate in north-eastern Asia. Above, the delicious potato noodles, stir-fried with black fungus, chili slices, sesame seeds and crunchy vegetables.

Contrasts in texture can be experienced with the bean curd based morsels of starters (above picture) and the marinated chicken below. Korean cuisine primarily is strong on grilled and barbecued meats, especially beef, although we did not try that.

Interesting features provided by Jonga Jip are the press button on guest tables to draw attention to waiting staff ( no need to hand wave) and the charcoal fired cook burner available for use in the center of every dining table. Another good option is to try the Haemul Pajeon, or green onion pancake with seafood, which must be taken when served hot. The ambiance in Jonga Jip is modern, with wooden tables and fast service. We even went grocery shopping after the lunch and also had our cuppa, Korean style, at a nearby bakery cafe.

Festivity - Biscuits and Fruits

The Lunar New Year is a time for reunions, gatherings, reflections and replenishment. To accentuate meanings, joy and good omens, snacks are selected that provide an atmosphere of

positive vibes and mention of good words. Above, my traditional family ribbon twist, peppered with sesame seeds, that has been made for beyond a hundred years. They are particularly addictive and go well with beer.

Below, the mish-mesh of salmon slices, crunchy bits and thinly sliced vegetables, including carrots, white radish or daikon, red pickled ginger, turnips, pomelo, chopped peanuts, pepper, jellyfish and chili. A dressing mix (made up of of plum sauce, kumquat juice, rice vinegar and sesame oil) is then poured into all the ingredients just before eating. This dish heralds positive luck, prosperity and growth, when every diner at a ten seat round table can dive in to collectively stir with their clean chopsticks - an act referred to in Cantonese as "lo hei" or symbolically stirring up the qi energy, happiness and prosperity.

Fruits can be symbolic as in red cherries (above) or fresh lychees (below). Biscuits can be made to represent the lively symbols of wealth and health. Spot the chicken, fish and pineapple in the moulds below of the kueh bangkit, made from a combination of eggs, tapioca flour and coconut milk before being baked. This Straits Chinese recipe is only utilised once a year - they may look hard on the outside but are a delight inside the mouth.

Butter cookies, above, were made by my sister-in-law Sian Kin as part of her annual baking sessions leading to every Lunar New Year. They do melt exquisitely in the mouth, are aromatic and are topped by a red glazed cherry eye. They go well with tea (above). Blueberries below are a recent addition of mine to the festivities.