To De-clutter and Move Forward

My muscles were aching, but I knew it was a darn good ache of liberation and growth. Tim and Steven had come to help me cut out the crap, so to speak, but in terms of the garden under and over growth. They worked hard, but they removed the shadows, and opened up spaces I once had before and forgot about them entirely. Hidden creatures scurried hurriedly as we exposed them under the sunlight - I did recognise some of them. I loved the sound of the grrr chain saw cutting away at excesses nurtured by my neglect of and assumptions about my garden. It felt good to let go of some things - they were never any good anyway, despite my initial hopes and expectations of most of them.

I had chats with my neighbours, listening to experiences where trust had been broken down by someone; of episodes where some individuals did not provide the whole truth and thought they were real clever in selecting particular pieces for their own covert purposes; and in contrast, thankfully, also of trying times overcome and life put back as it should be. As some shrubs were pruned, their fruits did roll down on to the lawn, and I thought, hey these are like hidden gems and harvest, only to be realised when we cut ourselves off from the burgeoning dark side. There are occasions when we are unwittingly sucked into things that are totally contrary to our nature and all our love and care we exude cannot save us -in fact, they are amazingly used against us to be squashed aside and ignored in the path of the beast. However, when we are thrown lemons, we can make lemonade out of them - that is what I did.

To de-clutter from such negativity takes effort. Call it a make over, detoxification or cleansing,in every such process, we are shown a revelation of what really is. Such a disclosure frees us to move on to better and higher things, in thought, reality and society. We may have been in illusion - that things are better than they are - or in denial - of the dangers that are unforgiving - but our realisation of what is helps us not cling on to falsehoods, appearances and toxic smiles with back stab daggers. We are thrown out of the Ferris wheel of convulated and provincial minds, and for our sweat in encountering this, we feel a gladness in our hearts that we have escaped from the in-bred cycle of the proverbial village caucus. We then know that we never belonged to this unique group anyway - and do not want to. We happily see such a group wallow in the mud of their own making.

Back at Bankstown Too

An Easy Saturday Morning - Balmain, Sydney

Entrance to a pastry counter from Darling Street




Walnut and banana bread loaf to be accompanied by a dash of passionfruit butter





Sago and coconut-flavoured drink that goes well with a raspberry inspired brulee garnished with lychees, strawberry cuts and biscottis





Check out Sassychix's blog for more details and images of Balmain.

Chin's Love Song

Copyright Chin

Return to Pasteur's

It may look like a simple soup dish, but the pho noodles from an outlet of this Pasteur's chain speaks volumes in my heart. I first came across them upon moving into Sydney and recently was delightfully surprised to find this unique food offering still alive and available from the very first chain of modest shops making them. The world-wide Pasteur chain has a business history pre-Australia and is an illustration of the combination of French influence, Asian spices and Vietnamese creativity. You can find noodle soups in various forms in several countries, from the clear forms with dumplings to Japanese bean miso and chilli laden encounters in tom yam and prawn flavoured versions. The stock soup of the pho utilises the potent aromatic stewing of cinnamon and meat bones, filled in by chicken or beef slices and tempered by fresh bean sprouts, fiery chilli cuts, a twist of a lemon slice and the headiness of basil leaves. It is a product of the Vietnamese penchant for fresh produce and a solid brew.

The look and feel of the Pasteur shops in Sydney have not changed much despite the passing of the years. Even if they were the pioneers, they now face competition from many to cater for a large regular market. It is not just the pho which attracts this clientele - my other favs from the Pasteur days include the broken rice dishes, the crispy fried chicken served on a bed of tomato-flavoured rice, the paper thin rolls with the most sweet tasting refreshing vegetables and the sugar cane cuts with prawns. Why the name Pastuer? Louis would have been proud.