Hideaway in Bungendore, New South Wales

Bungendore Village was settled in 1837 but still thrives as a viable community lying between the Federal Highway form Australia's capital and Batemans Bay through Braidwood in New South Wales. The village is well planned in a grid, with mostly residential houses, but there are two hubs for any visitor - Gibraltar and Malbon Streets. Accommodation is charming country, with a variety of cottages, old buildings and pub hotels. Bungendore is strong in its traditions of leather crafting, rural art and wood work. It is especially good for a day time stopover, especially with its markets on the third Sunday of each month, antiques on offer and its cafes. Not far from town are several vineyards like Affleck, Lambert,,Shepherds Run, Lake Hill, Lerida and Lake George. The real Lake George is nearby but now is a dried up version of its former self.

A fireplace gets going (above) on a nippy Sunday morning in July whilst

fine wood creations are displayed in a store (below).

A porcelain plate that serves as a house address marker in Bungendore Village.

A table by the window, graced by freshly plucked chrysanthemum flowers, at the Le Tres Bon Restaurant, which serves elegant and ambient French cuisine.

A heritage farming contraption that stands proudly outside an antique outlet.

My attention was caught with these pieces of treated leather hanging on a railing.

A sign board from early Bungendore days.

This Shanghai, China tricycle from the early part of the 20th century has made its way to an agricultural community in rural Australia.

A Sunday Lunch Snapshot

It looked like representatives of the non-Malay diaspora had gathered, not over political gripes, but over the fondness of food they grew up with and which they do not have access to easily back in their homeland.  There were Indians, Cantonese-speaking families, young Australian-bred Asians, Eurasians, Asians who brought their Caucasian spouses and those who articulated in the Fujian dialect. It was a cloudy Sunday outside the windows, but this contrasted with the spicy and simmering gravies, sauces and aromas of dishes created by a different generation, the originators themselves being migrants to a new land themselves.

A grandfather remained silent as he took in the hor fun, broad-based rice noodles that were braised in an egg mixture and swirling with Aussie prawns, Chinese choy sam vegetables and thin slices of fish cakes. He hardly acknowledeged the presence of his wife, who in turn had no choice but to concentrate on her food.  A trendy guy of Indian origin from Leichhardt took his Aussie girlfriend to try Hainanese chicken rice and curry laksa. A big group of twelve gathered at a large table tucked away in the corner, graced by a variety of cultural backgrounds. An elderly grandmother commented unsatisfactorily about the lack of bones served with the chicken, for she felt that taste had been compromised when you do not cook with the bones intact.

Hong Kongers thrive on such Sunday lunches with their yum cha, but Chinese of South-east Asian background relish their concoctions born of the trade routes between East and West.  Transposed to the Australian continental island, they now pay at least three to four times for what they used to pay back int he land of their birth.  True, the servings are at least twice as large and the ingredients more fresh and appetising, but at times they wonder at what price they have paid in soul and heart for the choice of emigrating. The food they partake is consoling and mitigating, but their offspring in Australia have no memory and sentiment that their parents have. The old country may not have moved on to what they hope, but changed in character and purpose. The new nation they adopted and embraced is even more multi-cultural than the one they left.

The mostly young waiters spoke with a Malaysian accent and seemed to be students who have recently arrived from the land of birth shared with the customers. The food now transferred to Australia may have already undergone their own transformations back in the equatorial garden of their inspiration. However, here the expectations are what and how it was cooked way back in Penang, Malacca or the Klang Valley back int he eighties. What is clear is a certain sense of continuity of innovation, blending and adaptability in the dishes served.  When the migrants began arriving in British Malaya about two centuries ago, they brought along ingredients and cooking traditions from China and India which have infused with local produce into the new creations that have now become classics in their own right.The descendants of such migrants have now dispersed into Western countries - and the fusion continues. Fillet of chicken enrich a bowl of curry laksa, when originally there were no such excesses in such meat offerings.  The sambal kangkong comes in richer crunchiness and green of vitality, the kangkong being spinach grown in Australia, but the sambal (shrimp and chili condiments) are still made in the way required from fifty years ago.

Return To Parramatta, NSW

I used to work there, having figured out its initially unique one way roads and grid lay out.

Like with Kuala Lumpur, I have mixed feelings about Parramatta and the way it has changed and developed.

It holds a special place in recent Australian history, having been the first inland settlement for the colonising Brits after they established themselves at Port Jackson, now known as Sydney's Rocks district.

Parramatta the name is based on a reference to "where the river ends" but today serves as the administrative centre for the New South Wales State Government and has demographics NSW Governor Macquarie in the late 18th century could have never imagined. The regional centre rivals some other Australian capital cities in terms of business, tax contribution and variety of cultures.

(Image above shows how to create captivating bouquets out of lollies in a Parramatta business near the Church Street Mall).

The Town Hall in Parramatta on a cloudy July Sunday in 2010.

All images in this write-up were taken on the run with an I Phone concurrently with a shopping frenzy chill out

by the author of this website. Shopping in Parramatta is centred on an extensive Westfield centre, but amazingly some shops do more than survive along its original CBD streets.

Innovative display window from Gymboree.

Image above taken at the Hype DC store near the cinemas. I could not resist getting one of the Pointer canvas casual shoes, assisted by Mark.

The Ed Hardy outlet, a rare find in Australia, along Church Street Mall.

Spanish inspired chocs found in an ambient cafe along the dining strip of Church Street.

South Indian influenced mee rebus from the main Malaysian restaurant along George Street in Parramatta. The dish was spicy, had fresh cut chili bits and depends on a tasty potato-based stock for the essential gravy. Deep fried soya bean cakes, hard boiled eggs, Hokkien noodles, prawns and aromatic herbs are added for body. Rebus means simmered.

Hmmn, I wonder what they sell - this unusual sign is found along George Street.

Another version of the ice kacang, this time from southern peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

How will the primary Anglo-Christian culture in Parramatta accommodate and share the space with other influences and religions? What is being transformed in this area has significant impact on the socio-political landscape of New South Wales.

(Image above - Sunset at St John's Cathedral)

Teatime in Georgetown, Penang Island

Above: The commemorative designed box for bean paste biscuits, otherwise known better as tau snar pneah.

Below: The Cantonese-inspired kai chai peng, baked chicken-flavoured snacks garnished with sesame seeds.

Almond biscuits are a staple of southern Chinese traditions heavily influencing South-east Asia -  the above comes from Macau.

Chicken and mushroom flaky pastry pie, perfected by Hainanese chefs cooking for mainly Scottish masters far away from the British Isles.  (Courtesy of Breadtop)

Design of box holding classic savoury yet sweet Penang specials, the beh teh saw, bite-sized baked delights.

Home made curry puffs from sis-in-law Sian Kin.

(Image Credit - S.K. Teoh)

The 5 Ds

Twenty years ago, I had observations, from many people I came across. of the 5Ds idiosyncratic of Australian society - Drive, Dance, Dole, Drugs and Dogs. These ostensibly one-sided views of the possible propensities of most likely Aussie behaviour stereotyped the need to cover long distances to do anything; the apparently high drive to express one's self in performing arts at an early age; the strong financial support provided by government for individuals and families without employment income; the easy availability of fixation substances and addictive products ranging from alcohol and tobacco to party sniffers and street poisons; and the presence of so many well taken-care-of canines, who seemed to have a better life in Australia compared to many human beings overseas.

At the cusp of a new decade, I have re-visited the 5Ds of my own Australian experience and now offer a revised update of these original Ds. To me now, they are personally Determination, Detail, Demeanour, Decisiveness and De-cluttering.

Australia can be a comfortable society, and it is vital to maintain the determination for improvement and innovation. It has been a rather Lucky Country, cruising through difficult world economic patches with perhaps timely demand for our resources to mitigate against our mainstream unproductive past times of retail spending, excessive debt accumulation and lack of concern that we have lost our manufacturing base forever. To have determination in human beings, often enough one needs a certain level of hunger, ambition and aim. To quote a micro illustration, I reside in a region of this continent nation where the variety and quality of food and food products, in my opinion, can be rather limited, and that maintains in me a hunger to appreciate good food and produce when I can access it. If Australia as an economy has not had a rather sharp economic adjustment since 1991, how can one ensure the motivation to build up the determination to compete against other nations and challengers?  (oh yes, I still have to drive for long distances in Australia  - and that has not changed since 1989).

Attention to detail is useful in a nation with the world's possibly most complicated tax regulations, fine print in contracts or equipment manuals/ cd guides and having one of the most litigious mindsets after California, USA.  There are too many choices on supermarket shelves, it can take the fun of impulse buying - and one also gets the dollar price indicated per 100 grams or per part of a litre, so there is no opportunity, while walking the aisles, to work out bargains in your own head.  On the other hand, there are still many roads in greater Sydney at junctions with no road names displayed, just when one gets lost without a GPS signal and yet there is the repeated same names for roads in every suburb.  Everyone must ensure paying attention to the detail on customs declaration and arrival cards at any airport in Australia. 

How you hold yourself, apart from the verbal barrage that some people I know at work practice to much relish, is even more important. At times, your apparent demeanour is utilised to interpret things in yourself which you never even dreamed of.  Most of Australian society is quickly taken with the gift of the gab when they have made up their minds to love you, and when they somehow otherwise find you irritating, even for no reason at all, they analyse your every non-verbal signal, presentation and look.  Be especially wary at interviews, when first meeting strangers and when you try to sell something.  The right smile may overcoming everything and lead you to open vistas or new opportunities. And I am sure the right expression always comes in handy if you are making a dance move.

With so little time available and so many things to do in the big smokes of Sydney and Melbourne, a rather good flair in applying decisiveness can get you the last available dining table, the sought after ticket and the right train cabin to jump into on some rather confronting days and scenarios. This is an advantage when trying to place your beloved child in the right school, camp activity or Saturday class. Decisiveness also means when to flirt to the next big bonus, corporate box, share tip or mentor in the ever delectable and delicate game of politics and personalities in the business or political world.  People come and go, so decisiveness is most significant when you have the love of your life in front of you and yet you do not jump at the potential offer(and I am not talking about drugs!).

When you reckon you have achieved a fair measure of implementing all the above Ds, then it is time to consider de-cluttering.  The average Australian household, I am told, changes location on an average of every seven years, so it is best not to over accumulate things, using the innate fear of removalist day to always practise moderation and the art of letting go.  Personally I use the benchmark that I do not need to keep something if I have not used it for over a year. Maybe I have to be more strict with myself going forward.  The changing of the seasons encourage us to acquire new plants, electronic stuff, kitchen utensils, software in various media forms, sports, groups, hobbies, clothes and the like.  I have since realised all that I need is a new attitude in treating new products or trends as passer-bys, instead of forcing them to join my inner sense of a club.  Then I will always have room for the new, the untried and the unusual.  Not just in physical form, but more so in ideas, concepts and state of mind.