Kindly Yours

Il Nido now offers Sunday breakfast and lunch, adding to the variety at Balgownie Village.   I hopped over to Graze the butchers across the road after a mid morning catch up with mates at Il Nido.  Breakfast begins at 8am. The Chich Breakfast - it is the oomph of the sauce with the baked beans, the quality of ingredients like the sausages and the eggs plus the lightness of the mushrooms and the rocket. The menu - I am already eyeing the Softies & Quinoa, together with the Smashed Avo. The Italian Mako coffee set, just nice for two persons.

Kueh Kapek - folded "love letters" made to mark the Lunar New Year.  Families used to gather and make such festive creations together, patiently sitting over a row of charcoal ambers and toasting the mould holders containing the dough. Once the layers are ready, they have to cool down sufficiently before they are folded over and stored in air tight containers. Belly pork on the bone - to signify plenty and prosperity for birthdays and other festive occasions. With agricultural and cultural reliance on this very important live stock, many nations across the world  have strong cuisine traditions roasting, simmering, slow cooking and deep frying pork. The Jiu Hoo Char - A Straits Chinese salad and savoury mix that emphasises texture, taste and refinement. This dish used to be  a crucial test in showing good up bringing for potential daughter-in-laws.  The lack of discretionary time for working women these days means less opportunity to delve into practising the

The Shang Sydney CBD is already sited on top of a hill and when we got to Level 36, expectations were naturally high.  Located above the iconic Rocks, the hotel group's only operation in the whole of Australia has to be distinctive and quality.  Alas, there is no yum cha outlet as in its Asian hotels, but having fantastic look outs on to both Sydney Harbour and Darling Harbour does carry the weight of responsibility and imagination.  At the literal pinnacle of this Sydney Shang, you come across the Blue Bar and the Altitude. We were there for a cocktail and canapés function, surrounded on one side by a clear glass through-view of what Sydney Harbour is to the world's imagination - and in reality. The persistent rains and cloudy storms of the past week had passed this Saturday afternoon, to reveal why Sydney attracts visitors, especially on New Year's Eve and in summer - and also why the city has been named the fifth most expensive city in the world st

A certain charm - a window side view of Thirroul Beach from Flanagan's. I recall easy and lazy holidays beach side. I can feel the refreshing breezes rolling in and enveloping my face. I am taken back to beach bungalow days. I see iconic symbols and reality of the great Australian life style. I greet dogs and cyclists passing by in absolute content. I hear the roar of the ocean surf.  I watch a young board surfer running down with anticipation to where the waters meet the fine sand, and to what lies ahead for a day of technique, practice and fun. I see intent walkers strutting out on the sand washed pavements. There are women and men of various ages watching the Tasman sea coast with focus, some ready with surf suits, mostly holding their boards and all under the spell of a sea side lifestyle.  And then we come across Flanagan's, heard so much about, with much expectation.  Already we like what we see outside the modest but charming place, Black pudding breakfast

For My Breakfast French toast - from student days Masala dosa - from Madras Croissants and bagels - French Morning break Goi cuon - spring rolls from Hanoi Parma ham - snack bites from anywhere in Italy Lunch Fettuccini marinara - subtle with juices and produce of the sea - form Napoli Char Siew So - baked pastry with roast pork inside - from Guangzhou Seafood paella - soft and flavourful rice topped with fresh produce of the sea - from Espanol Fish curry - Mum's Straits Chinese version Fish and chips - from the Illawara coast NSW Grilled unagi- delicately marinated eel slices - Japan Pho - rice noodles in a soup with stock - Vietnam Kam Pin Fan - mung bean noodles stir mixed dry with seafood and a pork lard based sauce - from Cambodia and Vietnam Dessert Hokey pokey ice cream on a cone - New Zealand High tea Homok or otak otak - steamed fish and egg mousse, wrapped in banana leaves - from Thailand or Penang Lobak - pork cuts wrapped in soya base

A baked delicacy, the tau snah pneah , with aromatic pastry, pound bean filling and with Fujian traditions. Lonely Planet earlier this year declared the current top food destination in the world as in Georgetown, Penang, followed by Victoria State in Australia.  Enjoy... Fish curry, with garnishing of okra, tomatoes and Indian monsoon winds Glutinous rice, with southern Chinese sausages, shallots and preserved duck, a dish for winter.  Fong Wei Chinese Restaurant, Georgetown. The Bee Kueh Moy, swirling with fresh coconut milk and red beans, in a marriage of the Chinese and Malay cuisines. Red curry, with chicken and potatoes, echoing of Indian, Portuguese, Dutch and Indonesian traditions. Thai homok or Straits Chinese otak otak , served cleverly in a deep fried spring roll wrap. A classic and iconic Straits Chinese pickle, the acar.  It requires deft cutting of vegetables, flavourful combinations and a sprinkling of sesame seeds or crushed pea