Diggies, North Wollongong NSW

Diggies offers come-as-you-are entry. It is sited literally beside North Wollongong Beach and across the road from the nearby Novotel. You can feel the ocean breezes, the salt in the air and see the texture of grainy sand not far from your table. The menu changes according to winter and summer preferences. The cafe offers a fusion of styles -modern and traditional, Australian and Mediterranean, vegetarian and meat - but with a sense of creativity, passion and presentation. I love the drink concoctions -from Kissed to Little Tanaka - but what I enjoy most is the relaxed holiday ambiance -and looking out at those container ships queueing up to enter Port Kembla Harbour. Above image, grilled trout with a hard boiled organic egg.

As you would expect, fish and chips are a must (above, with the juice of the day, orange with mint and strawberry). Below, illustrations of a range of smoothies, frappies and other thirst quenching offers. You can choose to be seated on the out deck, inside a mirrored section or just be on canteen styled bar tops. There is also a selection of cakes and pastries, beers and wines, or mineral water.

My breakfast choice (below) of croquet with salmon, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

After a meal, you can run,cycle or walk down the user-friendly footpaths that lead one way to the Belmore Basin and Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse, or the other way to Stuart Park beaches, barbecue facilities and picnic grounds.

Diggies is at No 1, Cliff Road, North Wollongong, NSW.

Newport Arms Hotel, NSW

Placid waters (above) from an off shoot of the meandering Hawkesbury River provide a pleasant backdrop to the Newport Arms Hotel. My first visit there was on a Sunday afternoon, with many families, twenty somethings and more gathered for a lazy but gregarious chill out. They were all spread out in various break out seating arrangements. The Hotel has been serving this community in Sydney's northern beaches at Kalinya Street since 1880 and borders the marina at Church Point, Scotland Island and Ku Ring Gai Chase National Park. It is an icon of Pittwater living.

There is a sizable beer garden (apparently Australia's biggest) which adjoins bistro dining. I had fettuccine prawns, garnished by juicy cherry tomatoes (image below) and one can easily access the standard serve of chips or wedges. For more discerning occasions and tastes, there is the Pittwater on Terrace Restaurant. This venue is perhaps best to check out on a Saturday night. Then one can check in one of its limited number of rooms with en suites. It can be a base for exploring nearby sights like Whale Beach, Avalon Village and Palm Beach.

Freshwater Beach, NSW - What a Beaut Day

The South Pacific comes to mind, on a clear and sunny day. Freshwater,the first beach north of Manly in NSW, was once a privately owned estate, apparently with reference to a source or stream of such a resource in the early days of European settlement. Its neighbouring precinct of Harbord was also a personal asset. Today in the 21st century, both suburbs offer an unprecedented lifestyle, in both summer and winter, of immersing both visitors and residents alike in another world, only 30minutes north of Sydney's Harbour Bridge.

Pilu Restaurant at Freshwater is located on a site adjacent to the open ocean, or as it likes to state, "on the beach". We were there too early for lunch, so we settled for its adjoining kiosk, where I was taken by the rich chocolaty froth of its served cappuccino (image above) and accompanying pistachio biscotti.

The suckling pig toasted sandwich (image below), stuffed with rocket and more, made an easy snack on a lazy weekend morning. Associate this with beach break waves over a sandy bottom, a characteristic of Freshwater for surfing quality. It may be too popular for its own good, as the parking lots, sandy spots and water space tends to range from crowded to over crowded. The locals are generally okay if you stay within the boundaries and do not drop in too much. Freshwater hosted the first official historical surfing event in Australia, graced by the Duke himself. Visitors are advised to learn at the northern end of the beach and only go to the mid-section once one improves. Do proceed to the "alley"once you are truly confident, the alley being the southern end.

Musings and Rumblings

The customer queues on weekends were consistently long on previous occasions when I came across this dessert joint. The operators offered an array of Taiwanese-styled concoctions in Sydney's Chinatown, obviously standing out amongst the variety of food, snacks and dining experiences. I wondered what made people wait patiently for the stuff offered inside. I do enjoy a cuppa of hot smoked tea, but not so much the tapioca filled pearls in bubble tea choices that this place seemed to thrive on.

The cafe had a series of short steps before you arrived at its sales counter and limited sitting area. On a rainy day, I chanced upon these same steps without anyone waiting on them. I walked in and with a relish, ordered a red bean based dessert with piping hot tea. I had expectations. My opinion, on actually being able to taste two representative products from this place, fell short of those built up perceptions - but they were still okay and did keep me warm, whilst watching the version of the London Eye through the cafe's rain-blury windows. I reflected, building up hype in a business may be useful in the short term, but as in any thing in life, it is necessary to follow up strongly in reality and consistent delivery.

An elderly lady, though with a walking stick, was steadily making her way to the entrance of the Bankstown Sports Club, located in Sydney's south-west. She offered me a smile when I opened the manual entrance doors to let her come in first. I noted her enthusiasm as she approached the club with an obvious intent - there was no doubt she was going to spend an enjoyable afternoon there. The thought crossed me, how we spend our precious time is up to us, with family, mates or by ourselves, for we can never get it back.

At a Chatime outlet in a busy suburb just outside Sydney's CBD, I ordered red beans with cold bubble tea, an apparent new choice from this chain. The female staff member at the counter asked me if I wanted sugar and ice with my drink, and I said no to both. It was interesting, when she asked further, if I had taken bubble tea without sugar before. It struck me for a moment that perhaps the Chatime products all had to be taken with additional sugar.
I concluded that perhaps more importantly, this reflected quality staff training in customer engagement. Surprise a client and show that you care as well.

I was struck how relatively quiet the main strip of Caringbah was on this Friday night. I already had felt the vibes of an emerging retail slowdown in Australia for several months now.
Caringbah lies at the heart of Sutherland Shire, to Sydney's south. A group of mates and I had pizza and pasta at Antonio's, which was not as packed with diners as I had hoped. We adjourned to the home of the Cronulla NRL team, the Sharkies. It was even more quiet inside.
The coffee and alcohol drinks were good, the young staff were busy removing furniture and the Dragons had lost to the West Tigers. The world's share markets had taken a significant dive that day. Life goes on, but life, fortune and sports can be in a cycle - and we must be prepared to ride the waves over not so positive times and make opportunity from it all.

I was enjoying my summery dish of black mussels with bread on a rather amazing blue-sky day in the middle of the so-called Wollongong winter. My Sydney guest could not believe what a lifestyle the lunch place was located in. We could hear the roar of the waves, see the deep blue of the ocean and sense the buzz of laid back enjoyment. Not as much money could be made here, and people who made money elsewhere spent them here. Choices are important - make them and we are offered different pathways of experience, preserverance and reward.

Teatime from BreadTop

BreadTop bakery outlets may not be viewed in the same company as some other patisseries, but they do offer a practical range of offerings at practical prices. Personally, I see them as snacks on the run and which can add to a picnic basket when otherwise one would have to bake them yourself. The business has been in Australia for ten years, opening first in Box Hill in the Melbourne area -the first Sydney store was at World Square in the cbd. Its South-east Asian roots are unmistakable in the way they fashion their buns, gateau cakes,ice creams and pies. BreadTop also offers a rather controversially named range of cakes termed bra, poo, ball and more. I prefer their savoury buns and pastries.

This year, the Mooncake Festival falls on Monday 12 September. It celebrates the mid-Autumn Festival in China,but provides an occasion for families and friends to gather for drinking tea and cakes. Moon cakes normally have a savoury and/or sweet pastry filling, and above, my favourite versions of durian fruit flavours. Below, the custard egg tarts which you normally find in yum cha lunches at Chinese restaurants around the world.