KL in Parramatta

A close family friend had organised and shouted a sumptuous dinner last night in a quiet corner of one of Sydney's booming and growing shires, Parramatta. Bordering the now famous Bennelong electoral constituency which recently cost a long standing Australian Prime Minister his seat, Parramatta is the fifth largest growing urban concentration in the Australian economy - after Sydney, Melbourne,Brisbane and Newcastle, and churning a GDP by itself faster than Adelaide,Cairns, Hobart and Darwin.

The day had been dry hot, averaging thirty degrees Celsius and I had been looking forward to some spicy-kick food. A new set-up called Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Cuisine had been established near a primary entrance/exit of the rail station, with a menu that reflects the multi-cultures of the homeland of most of the diners. Cooked by ethnic Chinese, my group of 13 persons could sample the variety of dishes offered, including Penang char koay teow; chicken rendang; bean sprouts stir-fried with salted fish bits;tofu steamed with minced pork; sago dessert soaked in Malacca palm sugar and coconut milk; squid dry curry; whole fish deep fried in sour and hot curry; Hainan styled chicken with flavoured rice; and Chinese-styled spinach.

I could have been in a restaurant in Petaling Jaya or one of the Klang Valley suburbs surrounding the Malaysian capital. The key to Malaysian cuisine is the texture and vitality of the many ingredients and sauces that go into the marination of a dish. The freshness of the curry, or the smoothness of the meat or veg cut in different ways, are important indicators. There is more preparation work, the aroma of the right herbs does help and the mood of the chefs do infuse into the final product served. Having said that, I was very satisfied with two dishes - subtle egggplant and the delicate thin pig slices served with onion and a certain Beijing marinade - at a modest joint, Hangfu, along Parramatta's George Street for lunch the same day. The care and love that went into these two dishes showed throughout.

Back in KL, the waiters and the commercial cooks these days are mostly of Burmese, Bangladesh or Indonesian origin. In Australia, we still get ex or transplanted Chinese-Malaysians running the kitchen and the tables. Food is a passion with my dining companions that evening - whilst eating the food, we talked about food, we compared rival outlets and we analysed the things that went into the dishes served in front of us.

Ridges Street

In the dusk hours, it had a certain charm, especially when the harsh light of direct sunlight had ceased. Walking in the grey blueness of this short road, we felt the peculiar attraction of Ridges Street. It was a quiet enclave and refuge from the hustle and bustle of surrounding roads and suburbs. Here one can find solace in an old but well maintained church or find delight in the hundreds of photos plastered on the walls of a modest old-styled barbershop operated by George who emphasised his Italian heritage.

Dining at one end of Ridges, we dabbled in Armenian-Lebanese cuisine. The place was full with customers on this weekend evening, with tables laid out in small shop lot reminiscent of the European quarter of Istanbul, rather than North Sydney. The clientele was more Anglo-Celtic than in ethnic Arab Punchbowl of multi-racial greater Sydney. The food was thoughtfully prepared at Safi's. Delicate dips made of chilli, walnut and pinenuts or mild eggplant were a good way of familiarising ourselves with the thin-crust traditional bread. Our group of seven persons ended the dinner obviously full and even the hostess remarked that we were doing "really well" for the amount and variety of food we had. Fresh cuts of capsicum, onion and carrot placed in skewers were what we needed to compliment the well marinated lean lamb steaks. The water pitcher was a curiosity, with a short but effective beak and in the overall shape of a gourd.

Unassuming quiet apartment blocks stood at the northern corner of Ridges, reminding me of a cbd street I visited in Melbourne one Christmas Eve. There was an upper floor tennis centre adjoining a multi-storey car park. Partly commercial, partly residential, Ridges Street encapsulated what North Sydney is. It was easy to find parking even on a Saturday night so close to Christmas. Whilst the retail outlets were mostly closed except for the few restaurants, the church was open and the small units had signs of life from its mostly Gen Y occupiers. Sydney's Harbour Bridge was only five minutes away by car and one could walk to the train station downhill in 5 minutes. What a life, to be chic and cool, living in an oasis so near to Australia's largest city - and one with a harbour view at that.

Is The Grass Greener?

Latest statistics on legal migration numbers to European countries reveal 125000 persons moving from Poland to Germany, 89500 individuals leaving Romania for Spain, 62300 persons leaving Romania for Italy and 33,500 former Australians settling in the United Kingdom. 9500 Algerians moved to France, 2500 Brazilians relocated from the tropics to Portugal and 1300 persons came from China to Denmark. Some migration movements seem natural as they involved neighboring countries, like from Sweden to Norway, Ukraine to Poland, Russia to Finland, Germany to Austria and France to Belgium.

Do people move because of the search of a better life, better jobs or returning to similar shared cultures? Romania is the single country in the European Continent with the largest emigration. The destination countries for Romanian immigrants all have a better economic and social quality of life. Does the high value of the British pound induce Australians to forsake blue skies and better meat to come to the inclement weather of the British Isles? Why do people travel so far to start a new life? 4800 Russians moved to Greece, possibly for the warmer Mediterranean weather. The outstanding recipient countries are Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain.

There is easier movement of people and yet at the same time increased border control restrictions apply. Some parts of Europe are seeing a noticeable return of its native wildlife as villages get depopulated. It is also logical to note that some major recipient countries did not have any significant outflows of migrants, for example, Spain, Ireland and Italy. We cannot assume that the ethnic mix of immigrants and emigrants are the same. The changed stratification of particular economies may induce immigration from certain groups, as when different types of jobs are no longer attractive to long time residents of a country, and for the country to practically operate,it is imperative that it open up its borders to people who are willing to perform jobs for which there are serious labour shortages.

When Asians descend on to an European country with a relatively small population, the impact of an obviously different culture can weigh heavily in social interaction. If such an impact is confined to bringing in more outlets of a tasty cuisine, the results can be positive. However, what comes with the food are so-called foreign habits in shopping, crossing the road, driving a vehicle and so forth.
Such contrasting scenarios may not apply when you have 1600 Czechs moving to Slovakia.

Internal movements within the EU can only help in the direction of developing a United States of Europe. The recent numbers do not show strong trends in vertical population movement, like from Scandinavia to the Iberian Peninsular. With some exceptions, most emigrants try to stick within the same climate zone.

Return to Goulburn

For a regional town that has experienced the Biblical seven years of drought,Goulburn was blustery shiny on this Sunday morning. More shops were open for business when they were not a few years back. There were the under thirties and a spattering of teenagers walking out and about which is vital to the demographics of any urban concentration. Businesses like Harvey Norman had taken a vote of confidence in Goulburn by occupying that vital corner store location along the main road - when others like Harris Scarfe were before. There was even a spanking new Asian food outlet.

The icon of Goulburn - the Big Merino - had been moved to nearer the Hume highway to Canberra. The other icon of the town - Bryants Pieshop - has steadfastly maintained its two outlets, one in its original shop and a branch at the shopping centre only a block away. The pie varieties remain the same good consistency and in taste. An outlet selling casual wear to Gen Y had a hive of activity near Sunday lunchtime. The RSL club stands right in the town centre and had custom no different from any other suburb of Sydney at this hour on a weekend day.

Are retail outlets opening longer hours on weekends as a result of under sales achievement during the week? Maureen at Allens chats to me and informs me that she has to work when the store reopens after Christmas on Boxing Day itself. She is slightly surprised that I have come all the way from coastal Wollongong with my mates to shop in this inland town about a good 90 minutes drive away. Maureen knows the Wollongong area well - she has a brother residing in Figtree, a suburb south of the university and city. I find a long desired lemon and orange skin zester and Maureen sells it to me at half price.

Houses are offered for sale at a third of Sydney prices. Food prices are the same as in the Big Smoke. There is even a branch of the bookshop chain Berkelouw, for which the only other outlet I am aware of in NSW is in Darlinghurst in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Maybe it is the Christmas shopping season that has contributed to higher than imagined retail activity to me in Goulburn that morning.

By the early afternoon, I am back in Wollongong, washing my car and wondering why the ladies at that particular Shell station along the Hume highway are never friendly. I make an affirmation to stop by the apple orchard and Eling Forest Winery at Suttons Forest the next time I am back on the highway leading to Goulburn. Ever since I spent two weeks based in this town on business several years ago and I have been hooked ever since to make occasional visits. Is it the lure of empty wide misty streets on a cold winter's morning that adds to the fascination I have? In summer it can be extremely hot and dry. I don't really know why, but Goulburn has a irrefutable and inexplicable place in my heart.

Food, Politics and Change

I was in the electorate of Bennelong, Sydney when the news came through - a Federal Government which had been in power for around 138 months had been voted out in a sheer process of democracy. Over the delicious Indian rojak salad that cousin Susan and her hubby Boo Ann had prepared, the people in this gathering contemplated the experience of change. A sitting Prime Minister, who perhaps had stayed on for too long, was almost on the verge of being replaced by a fresh newcomer in Bennelong. Political history was being made over the night.

The evening before, in another suburb, I had tried Swiss pizza for the first time, with thinner crusts and more meat. I was not convinced that my group of colleagues were not eating Italian pizza, for how can one separate the two definitions? It was a warm night outside, but we were sitting in air-conditioned comfort. I watched, with intense interest, the goings-on of an open kitchen preparing the food, with the woodfire oven in full view and a fatigued teenager continuing to turn the dough. How can this place be called Swiss Quattro, I thought. The food perhaps reflected the Australian society of today, a fusion of values and cultures. After downing the bruschetta, Ceasers Salad, pasta and pizza, we could dip pre-cut strawberries and marsh mellows with chocolate sauce as if we were having fondue on the mountain slopes near Lucerne.

Recovering on Sunday in Wollongong town with a lunch enjoyed with an ex-colleague, I realised that the flavour of the weekend had been change. It was about actual and contemplation of change. Politics - or basically how those in power run a place -may not be related to the partaking of food, but is perhaps best digested together, for achieving that balance of nourishment for both the mind and the stomach. Three individuals I know, and whom I had met up that past week, were making changes in their lives, one even going inter-state. Do my friends already want to make that change long ago, or were they encouraged in a kind of evolving process? Do people remain in their comfort zone and require to be pushed to change? Or do people refuse to change and push out others who seem be a threat to their presumed existence?

And to celebrate those changes, we had met, over food.