Northbeach Pavilion -North Wollongong NSW

A parade of bruschettas.

Casual, outdoor embracing, serving great pizzas and family friendly.  The ability to convert part of the beach pavilion at North Wollongong is a stroke of genius - one can swim, surf and have quality food as well. The concept of having cuisine available right on the door step of fine beach sands and views seems to be done well in the Illawarra area - I can readily think of Flanagan's Dining Room, Diggies near the Novotel North Gong and the Austi across the road from the wholesome beach at Austinmer.
The location of such restaurants can determine the kind of clientele and the sort of offerings they come back for - and in the case of the Northbeach Pavilion, it is the pizzas, made lovingly inside a blue tiled purpose built oven near its entrance.  The entrance can be a but tricky to find, as there is no access from the beach walkway - one goes into an apparent shower room passage and looks for the access.  The pavilion building itself is iconic of the surfing and beach lifestyle, an institution of North Gong.  Once inside the restaurant, we are taken to another world, reminding me of lazy summer holidays, bright painted stripes to suggest of ice cream and burgers and two-tiered flooring, all mostly surrounded by Tasman Sea vistas.

There is an Italian and Mediterranean influence on the menu - for example for breakky, there are a variety of Italian inspired pastries and for lunch, there is a shared platter option of proscuitto di Parma, Pane Carasau, pickled veg and Pecorino cheese slices.  On the other hand, you can also choose the potato and spinach roast with poached egg graced with hollandaise (Holl' & Daze Roast) or a big breakfast equivalent called the North Pav Big Boy, having Aussie familiar components of toasted sourdough, mushrooms, pork sausages and bacon.  My fav brunch item is cleverly called thee Ovo-Lacto-Vego!  Calamari is deep fried with semolina flour, you can have pappardelle pasta with black truffle and mascarpone cheese and the pork belly is twice cooked and served with green beans (the Pancia di Maiale).

Early evening before 6pm.

The pasta carbonara here has a different texture and feel, much drier, more eggy and as what the host told us, with "none of the New York creaminess".  I can recall only one other place in the Illawarra serving this version.

The jewels in the crown of the Northbeach Pavilion offerings are the red sauce based and white based pizzas.  Of the latter, what stands out for me in this pizza range are the Pizza Pavilion ( with butternut pumpkin, mozzarella, ricotta, pine nuts, spinach and rocket) and the pizza version of the Pancia di Maiale (aka pork belly). I find the red based pizzas are better eaten with seafood like baby octopus, and prawns.   There is an extensive use of the fior di latte, a mozzarella that is made from pasteurised or non pasteurised cow's milk and not the water buffalo.  Mozzarella is a fresh cheese originally from southern Italy, where many of the Australians of Italian background hail from.

The view from your table at the Northbeach Pavilion.

I enjoyed the evening catch up with Dimitti, Amie and Michael. There was sufficient room for Amie to
explore and she seemed happy with her bambini package of a tomato-flavoured spaghetti and vanilla ice cream.  I am glad to have taken up Michael's recommendations of the pizzas.  When the beach is not overly windy, when you have good company and when you just want to unwind, this is a suitable place to congregate to.   There are Italian beers, a choice of wines and also good coffee. This is both Italy and Australia by the beach.  The Italian side wants you to dress up for the occasion but the Aussie side wants as well to make you chill out and be more casual.  So you achieve a certain harmony of vibe, wardrobe and buzz, sitting at this place, especially reminding you of where all this seafood comes from and what a coddled space you can be in.

Affogato, with strong espresso coffee an  a creamy and comforting cold delight!

The dolci menu is highlighted by a cleverly named Ugly Duckling Italian doughnut, with cinnamon sugar, ricotta and a Nutella dip.  When I see a Nutella presence in a restaurant in Australia or New Zealand, that is a signal for some thing Italian. This was magnified in the shared dessert we had for the Calzoncino.  A true chocolate filled sock, it had Christmassy vibes and we felt like eating out of a gratifying food stocking.  We hit the beach after all this, taking in the fresh but salty breezes massaging our cheeks , whilst Amie delightfully explored the powdery sand.  It had a been perfect evening, the ocean was calm and we and chatted on more than just food.  A new year beckons, with all its possibilities, determination and reward.

A delight that stole my heart - the grilled eggplants, served with the ever popular rocket.

Costa Azzurra, Fairy Meadow - Wollongong NSW

A light summer perfect olive oil drenched salad of rocket with Parmesan and cherry tomatoes.

The Costa Azzurra has been a long term landmark to the Australian community of mainly Italian background in Fairy Meadow, a suburb several kilometres north of Wollongong CBD, sited beside the narrow Princes Highway. It sits in a interesting and diverse hub with the Leisure Coast markets and nursery as its neighbour and with the  Fraternity Club grounds across the main road. The building may look the same as when I first moved to the Wollongong area, but inside the renovated environment is pleasant, is inviting and provides a more spacious dining experience than years before. The menu may have changed gradually over the years, but the food is ever reliable, harking back to traditional recipes, is ever wholesome, good for family groups and still sensitive to more innovative trends.  The restaurant emphasises its wood fired gourmet pizzas.

Rich and yummy, the pork belly sitting on a bed of potato mush accompanied by fresh and crunchy greens.
The thing that also mass the difference is the gravy!

Geographically, the Costa Azzurra refers to the French Riveria, with all its perceptions, buzz and natural beauty.  In Europe, there is a Ristorante Pizzeria Coasta Azzurra in Ventimiglia and I would like to think of both restaurants - in Australia and in the EU - as possibly having a cosmic connection.  I must thank Andy for suggesting this place for dinner recently as it is located in my own neighbourhood and yet I have unintentionally forgotten about its unique charms and offerings. I reckon it is a good place to consider for a special occasion, besides the causal dropping in for its pizzas.  Service is friendly - and when we got pour servings later than expected, we got a well worded apology for the wait.  The dishes served are in large portions and just like what Mama would prefer.

Lamb shoulder, braised with TLC and comes out top notch.

Chef and co-owner Chris Stojanovski strives for an elegant dining experience but also provides for  a home feel with items like spaghetti meatballs, spinach and ricotta ravioli and pizza flavours like the Ancona (with both veg and salami) and the Calabria (with prosciutto and bocconcini).  I have not seen so  many Aussie themed pizza toppings like in Philip Island ( with Mexican beef, jalapeños and pepperoni), the Noosa (fresh ham, cheeses and pineapple) and the Port Lincoln (with marinated chicken fillets, mushroom, bacon and fresh tomato).  There are both function and ala carte menus available.  Costa Azzurra is also BYO. I noticed that tables are not crammed too close together, a refreshing aspect with more than reasonable walking space between tables for the guests. You also have relaxing surrounding window views of the outside and vehicle parking is also relatively easy in their own courtyard.

The garlic bread gets the palate going on an early summer's evening.

Hugo's Manly Beach NSW

The popular tasting plate, with touches of Italian styled veal and pork meatballs; Mediterranean cheese, salmon belly carpaccio with a lime dressing and fennel salad; Aussie barbie calamari with rocket and aioli; and sheer raw Sydney Rock oysters with a twist of lemon.

For a capital city restaurant, Hugos at Manly Wharf has a perfect location, mostly perfect weather and the smell of the oceans wafting in. The staff are friendly and try hard, even on a busy afternoon leading up to the Christmas week. Colours surrounding our table were intense, deep hues of everything, mixed with a brightness and tropicalness anyone would want on a holiday trip.  Our trip was just on the commercial run Manly FastFerry, with a certain striking cleanliness and staff engagement not often found in the Government run services from Circular Quay in Sydney CBD.  The restaurant has tables mainly under a covered out deck, with access to the benign looking sandy beach already filled up with sun tanners, water soakers and people literally watching the world go by.  There were not too many sea  gulls around the day I last visited , perhaps they had flown off for their festive break.

There is a strong spectrum of beers , wines and spirits at the bar. Tables are mostly with long benches, casual, but provided with the frills and whistles of fine dining, not too beach like but we had a terrific location with access to wooden pier walks, sea looking rails and the nearby Norfolk Pines of Manly Beach beckoning us to another time, another place.  Hugos here is  terrific place to watch sunrise, or just the ferries and other sea going vehicles arriving into the calm bay.  The restaurant is surrounded by a myriad of other retail choices and it can be fun taking a walk or dipping your toes into the sand or water.  You can arrive there also by public bus or private vehicle.  Hugo's menu epitomises the best of the South Pacific, the traditions of Italian cuisine  and the farms of mainland Australia.  The key item is fish - this is logical as Pete Evans is one for the brothers behind this business.  I would recommend the pork belly and for pizzas, the veg version, or the one with chocolate and hazelnut.

Grilled barramundi served with a carefully made potato mush bath of peas in gravy.

There are related lounge and pizza bars in Sydney CBD, and also at Bondi Beach and in Melbourne, but to me this Manly site is my preferred outlet. Melbournians wanting a change from the alley way chic in their city would find a refreshing blast of fresh ocean breeze here.  I return for the angel hair pasta with tuna,capers, Parmesan and chill; pan fired ocean trout with a warm salad mix that includes quail egg; fresh fig salad with proscuitto and buffalo mozzarella; and there beetroot and baby heirloom carrot salad with goats curd, sour cherries and walnuts in an orange dressing.

Crispy polenta chips are also available with truffled Parmesan. A lighter option would be the rocket with pear and Parmesan.

Two of the owners of the Hugos Group are chefs themselves. Kids are made to feel welcome and busy with coloured pencils.  The staff are generally cheerful but the crowds can provide a noisy background.  Pizzas are a celebratory item here, but you can understand why when you realise that many football club fans, surfs, twenty somethings and easy going DINKs hang around and congregate here to relax. An innovative concept at Hugos Manly is there afternoon deck menu, available from 3pm top 6pm.  Their cheese board and dessert wines are worth checking out, with offerings of French Le Coutances, Irish Crozier Blue and Victorian Maffra Cheddar.

Enmore - Sydney NSW

Friands, snails, Danishes and Portuguese tarts - the effect of multiculturalism in an Enmore bakery.

The familiar standard bearer of the Enmore Hotel still stands sentinel at a busy traffic junction.

A  strikingly coloured Vespa on the side of the Great Aunty Three, with smaller servings of noodle soup, the expected banh mi rolls and a buzzing but small customer space.

Enmore has a different train line and may be viewed as Newtown's lesser cousin - but it is worth an easy half day's checking out.  You may then find yourself frequenting some quaint, unique and loveable places to hang out, casually, instinctively and naturally.  It is a kind of suburb that grows on a person's psyche, dopes not require much fuss and what thinks about when seeking a change.  If you reside there it provides a village atmosphere. There is entertainment, off the cuff brunches and breakfasts and the fav bar. As its location is outside Sydney centre, it embraces the best and worst of a capital city life, unless you find yourself saying hello to the same people in gigs, afternoon beer sessions or in intimate dinners. For a relatively small suburb, there are choices to go which suits your mood and urge - whether it is Young Henry's, at nearby Wilford Street,  with head brewer Richard Adamson; or checking out how Jason Saxby heads the delivery and finesse at Osteria di Russo & Russo, reminding one of an old styled Italian house lounge; or feeling the buzz at the Bravo Coffee entrance; or obtaining alternative menus at Revolution Foods; and more.  The streets may look drab and ordinary at times, but it is the people and their creativity expressed that makes Enmore today.

In the inner sanctum - the Shenkin Kitchen. "If it's not made with Love, we don't make it" - and it shows.

Old style and look good cookies that can romanticise a bakery front.

Having vibes of an inner city suburb, Enmore has good transport links, a village atmosphere and sprouting of delightful lifestyle choices.

The Drift Cafe - Corrimal NSW

The escarpment of the Illawarra is not far away on a new concept cafe along Princes Highway in Corrimal, ten minutes north of Wollongong CBD by car.

The Drift offers an innovative menu in breads, juices, rolls and fuller lunch and breakfast options.

Fried egg over bruschetta, with bacon, dipping sauce and fresh greens.

With shades of seaside cabins, little touches of colour and smiling family staff, the Drift has a space that is bright, inviting and buzzing.

Yummy - poached egg with mushrooms and rocket on a sourdough.

The Breakkie rush - with banana, yogurt, oats, honey, cinnamon and milk

One of the specials in its second week of business - black rye  encapsulating ham slices, tomato and a yummy bite.

One of my local cafes - The Drift is sited at 244 Princes Highway, Corrimal NSW 2518.  This si about 15 minutes drive north of Wollongong CBD. The cafe is open everyday except on Tuesdays for breakfast, brunch and lunch, closing between 3 and 4pm.

Mural Graffiti - Newtown, Sydney NSW

In the inner west hubs of Sydney city, the lanes in the boundary between Newtown west and Enmore, including names like Philip, Thurnby, Ford and Wilford, offer amazing and delightful vistas of street art in inspirational and eye catching form.   Most of these feature bio-mechanical forms and visualisation, suggesting of another world in sic-fi, anime, Nordic creatures, Tibetan stylised representations and creatures.  Colours are rich, solid and displayed with powerful strokes. The buildings are industrial and drab otherwise without these spray paint works of devotion and art.   EMOS seems to have done extensive mural work here, although as in any dynamic neighbourhood and practice of so-called graffiti, many of the displays by EMOS have been successively covered by other succeeding artists. This fascinating corner of urban Sydney is not alone with such murals, for you can also catch them along parts of the long and winding King Street in Newtown proper, the Camperdown Memorial Rest park, parts of Surry Hills south of Sydney's Central Station and in n neighbouring Erskinville.

Should such art be more preserved by local councils and utilised as people's expressions?  They illustrate the energy, creativity and freedom of individuals at a certain age, a specific phase of experience and in a sudden burst of expression.  Such displays underline the emphasis that art need not be confined to having big pay checks, indoor galleries and exclusive memberships in societal arrangements.  When I first moved to the Wollongong area, two things impressed me, so many people riding bicycles on the streets and the pervasive presence of purposeful painted electrical boards along most streets in the CBD and nearby suburbs. Ever since then, I have fallen in love especially with the particular forms of yarn bombing, stencil graffiti  and wheat paste graffiti.   Graffiti to me translates as every individual having a special and unique talent - and the challenge is to uncover and lodge this talent free to bloom.

The phrase "to bomb" in graffiti community speak is to paint as many surfaces within a specified area.
'To burn" is to snuff out the immediate competitor in style.  Having your street art still not removed is to continue to have it "burning".   There are dedicated techniques like domming, which refers to rubbing two different types of spray paint whilst they are both still wet.  Using acid solutions to create frosted glass is to etch, named after a real person who first used this approach.  If you increase your repute, you are "getting up" in this spectacular world, perhaps the most simply worded expression to mean what it really means.  If you want your art piece to be difficult to remove, you paint on heaven spots.  Personalities in this space can be varying and colourful themselves, but there is a term called "hat" which indicates the honour among thieves.    If you are inspired to chain public furniture with an old bike lock, you have completed a lock on.  A married couple"" need not have gender issues in street displays, for this just means two simultaneous whole cars painted next to each other, with the gap between the two vehicles connected in a humorous or innovative way of paint (to imply a marriage).  A paint eater is not a person but an unprimed surface where you cannot paint. A toy refers to poor work, as opposed to a king.  If I cannot read text in a graffiti, it means I am looking  at a wildstyle.  Most interesting and significant of all, a graffiti artist in broad speak in this dimension is never used and instead he or she is known as a writer.

The so-called tool bag of the spray paint writer in this world has several items, of which the most important are a respirator, circular objects like buckets, paper towels, an oil painter's palette knife and of course, spray paint itself.  This writer, like one with words, has to plan a mental sweep of what the whole outcome or picture will be like eventually - and then the details within this visualised frame have to be filled in.  Layering is often utilised to create in-depth impact and a complicated vista.  Hidden messages are symbolised by various representations and ambient effects are materialised by using spatulas, straight edges and maybe one's fingers.  The spray art form is said to originate from Mexico but this can be a matter for debate.

What do graffiti writers transform into?   Does it echo something they dabble in only at a certain point of time, or does such urges and activity remain in their hearts throughout ?   Why are there no annual mega events where such artists can gather and show their love in an publicly endorsed extravaganza?  Is part of this practice to leave your unique mark and talent in haste and secrecy - and then to take comfort in the fact that other people do come and view them with pleasure, or with some other form of  reaction and response?   How do property owners view such results? Not everyone takes it positively, like the hotel owners on the Gold Coast in which Justin Bieber stayed recently, in which the young pop sensation decided to become a "writer".  Whatever our reaction to such displays, one cannot deny that anyone can have access to such art in urbanised places.  Will history judge this phenomenon in a more sentimental and grateful manner in the future?