Kindly Yours

Vermicelli and prawns in a claypot cook off. When I was told that Tawandang, with its first base in Sydney along George Street in Haymarket, had opened another restaurant in Chatswood, on upper Victoria Avenue, just off the train platforms, I was thrilled. My first thoughts were on the Thai styled pork knuckle, well done with a strong eye on German inspired beer, and on the charcoal grilled shoulder pork slices.   For these two dishes, the Chatswood joint carries on the tradition, reputation and taste on the day of my visit.  Some other diners have mentioned to me that the knuckle can be inconsistent at times and some have found it served dry. That evening ,more than twenty of friends were attending a birthday dinner upstairs at this Chatswood restaurant.  I was impressed with the lay out and spaciousness of this level, with good views of the nearby high rises and shops near the station.   There is even a balcony and the inside is tastefully d...

In contemporary society, many individuals commute for long hours each day, to find themselves immobile in front of computers in businesses and offices. Then they come home to mostly sit in front of smart phones, smart tvs and tablets.   Even tradies need to complete and email a customer payment or transaction using a laptop. Unless a person consciously incorporates into his or her daily regimen purposeful walking or other activity, modern life continues to be sedentary. House cleaning, walking the dog, gardening and grocery shopping are outsourced by those who can  afford it and say they have no sufficient time to do those chores.  These same individuals may be the ones who sweat it out though at boutique gymnasiums, stop two blocks away from their transport and walk to their destinations and have a fitness trainer for boot camps on weekends. Money is made by playing the speculative markets in shares, options and property. People can get rich by sittin...

Kiddies, parents and teens lining up not just for their Mackers but the toy and movie momento packs that go along with purchases.  This can be an epitome of marketing and revenue generation, with customers not just going for the primary product of the business but trivial sidelines that create real passion and excitement for the market, but are really things forgotten in a few years.   Who really cares about the health implications of burgers and fries, there is more than a reason to visit a Mackers store  -  it is the experience. Rich property buyers hiring people to stand in for them in lining up for apartment purchases off the plan.   Proxy buyers and representatives employed to place deposits for a speculative and hot market.   The idea is to get a place, a booking to make even more money.  Property real estate agents are masters and wizards in churning up need, interest and action....they are experts in auctioneering, hyping up and mak...

Scallops placed on a corn puree base and topped with delicate things. "Kevin", the tall and smart looking gentleman behind the counter called out to me. I shook his hand but I was not terribly sure initially who he is.  He sensed my uncertainty and quickly mentioned 'Hevan". I was impressed.  A young man who looked hipster in the mornings at a Corrimal cafe fav of mine has transformed into an even more dashing personage at Wollongong city centre's outstanding restaurant for degustation, fusion and bar experience - the Babyface Kitchen. Duck spring rolls looking and are yummy, with Namjin sauce  - my repeated favourite. Babyface Kitchen is located at Shop 1, 179 Keira Street, Wollongong city centre, New South Wales. Contact +61 2 4295 0903 Opening hours are from 6pm every week day except Tuesdays, and from 12 noon to 3pm on weekends. Fully Licensed Bar.  BYO Friday lunch only with $10 Corkage per bottle or 6 pack of beer. ...

They say, on a sunny day, Sydney Harbour sparkles at its best, especially with a gentle but sturdy breeze.   What then is an opportune time to catch up and have a meal beside a renovated pier, with no hint perhaps of its past, but within a contemporary designed hotel as a bonus.    Welcome to the Gantry. The Gantry is located at 11 Hickson Road in Walsh Bay off Sydney Harbour, New South Wales. Executive Chef:  Chris Irving Contact +61 2 8298 9910 Opening hours are from noon to 230pm and from 6pm to 10pm every day. Public holiday surcharges are 10 percent. Group bookings are considered for nine or more guests. My butter fish mains, accompanied with Samphire , leek, mushrooms and corn sprouts.   Samphire is a succulent Euro variation of the parsley. The emphasis is on seafood, Australian, Sydney....I felt we were in some retro colonial setting with a marine going heritage and yet contemporary.  The entry lan...

Jared Diamond in his 2006 Penguin Books publication  " Collapse" has inspired me to outline several key factors as to why and how some several societies thrive, others decline and yet another group only manages a slow pace of growth. 1.   Having a mindset of continuing to practice things only applicable from the Motherland - and not sufficiently recognising changed and more pertinent requirements of newly settled lands, like its unique topography and prevalent climate. The European colonists in their grand age of territorial expansion, trading passion and military adventure, from the 16th to the 20th centuries, displayed many examples of this attitude and behaviour.   The significant exception was when they cultivated relevant cash crops in demand that fuelled their profits and embedded their socio-political power.  Otherwise, illustrious examples of sentimentally missing what they knew from the home nations can be seen in irrelevant codes of dressing, ex...