Tea'Se Me Tea Emporium, Wollongong CBD

One of the more invigorating quick breakfasts I have had recently lately was at the Tea'Se Me Tea Emporium, along Keira Street in Wollongong CBD. I loved the bernaise sauce offered to accompany a bacon and egg toasted bagel special (image above) - it was absolutely delicious! The surroundings are homely and modern (picture below), with shelves of tea drinking contraptions, containers and variety.

Open weekdays from breakfast time till 5pm, and also for half a day on Saturdays, the emporium offers more than tea. There is a good selection of lunch snacks involving pide and more, with a good blend of cooking reminiscent of regional snacks and beach side practicality. There is the all day breakfast menu available. It is attractive for a gathering of mates as well as or the casual office crowd. To me it was a delightful discovery to have such a choice in contrast to the neighbouring Asian food outlets. This is recommended as a restful stop for shoppers visiting the nearby Crown Street pedestrian mall. The day I was there, there were youthful customers, family groups and those obvious tea lovers.

Magic Moments - 19 December 2011

Street Food, Sydney CBD

There is always a crowd and a queue at Ichiban Boshi, a ramen and udon cafe on the same level as the Kinokinuya Bookshop at Galleries Victoria in Sydney's CBD. This Japanese noodle chain also operates on the Gold Coast in Queensland and at Bondi Junction in Sydney's eastern suburbs. On a recent drop by in Galleries Victoria, I had the Tantan cold noodles served with a rather spicy and salty stock soup garnished by a half hard boiled egg, garlic, minced pork and two cherry tomatoes. So packed the place was that we had to share a round table with a Japanese executive, a Hong Kong career lady, a student and a gay couple. Perhaps the proof of the pudding, so to say, in selecting the best of what a cafe provides is to note what the other lunchers are having. I noticed that popular orders were the ramen soup, either spicy or the Tokyo version, with either beef or pork cutlets.

An easy going and quick option for a snack or a no-fuss meal, either before going to enjoy a casual evening of drinks with mates at Darling Harbour, is to try one of the the varied food choices at the uppermost level of Market City in Chinatown. There are many choices for hotpots of seafood or vegetarian, hot plates of beef, chicken, lamb or chicken and stir fries or soups with different types of noodles. I loved my choice of curry laksa with seafood and wriggly egg noodles (picture above), topped by fried bean curd slices. For other options, there are Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Indian fare.

The above serving of Hainan chicken rice came with out the traditional practice of serving the skin. The accompanying chili and vinegar infused sauce is essential to this dish, otherwise it would have been too plain to contemplate. What was missing? The ginger and garlic based concoction, vital to enhancing the thin slices of white meat and to blend with the aromatic chicken stock flavoured rice. The small bowl of soup was well made. Image above taken at the Singapore food outlet inside Oxford Square, Darlinghurst.

Scenes from Sydney

The largest metropolis in any nation is bound to be special, controversial and unique. Several British colonies around the Australian coast vied for the honour and title of going to be the most important, the most productive and the most nurturing city. One may speculate about the harbour with many bays, or the more benign climate between the tropics and the temperate, but Sydney turned out to be ahead of other locations, even those with more viable hinterlands. A city may be great, but it is the people who live there - and enjoy the best of its opportunities or suffer the worst of its excesses - who count and matter. A sprawling urban congregation may thrive on the benefits of business and economic advantage, but the final judgement of a meaningful place to call home is its heart, its degree of organisation and the quality of its environs. Above image (credit to Torsten Blackwood / AP/ Getty Images) encapsulates the view of a beggar on a city street pavement, in a country with structured social security, rather high minimal salary rates and a relatively low population.

Sydney was founded more than 224 years ago, and yet it is relatively young compared to the old cultures of the world. Added to the indigenous history are the heritage richness of various streams of immigrants, most recently from both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Once joined to old land masses, it currently is infused with strong influences from more than two hundred nationalities. A significant contribution to what Sydney is today was made by the working classes, many of them from the Celtic tradition and arising from mass Irish immigration to the New World. Image above, Scruffy Murphy's Pub stands proudly alongside surrounding skyscraper buildings in the Chinatown district and near Central Station.

What the denizens of a great city do in their spare time also define the character and attractiveness of a place. Slim cyclists are seen out on the streets of Sydney and its suburbs on any weekend, especially early mornings (above, along Anzac Parade in Kingsford on a December morning), whether in groups, leisurely solo or on training intent. The world perceives Sydney as a surf beach mecca, and rightly so - but more than that, essentially most of its residents love the elements of the outdoors, wear shades and get the barbie going, plus not missing any opportunity to be one with Nature, whether in bush trialling, taking a drive, walking the dog, boating, having picnics or having a beer on the patio.

And of course , eating in innovative restaurants, during home parties, on outdoor pavements or in ethnic enclaves. Melbourne can claim that as well, except for the different climate. Sydney has always had notable southern Italian food, questionable American fast food and retro Chinese food. In the past twenty years, Sydneysiders have had the privilege of having access to more varieties of cuisine at various price levels than almost any other city on Earth (again, maybe except for Melbourne). Above, a typical Singaporean food joint and below, the corner of Crown and Oxford Streets, in Darlinghurst, one of the many growing hubs of choice in dining.

There is no such thing as the perfect place. For all the variety of its entertainment options, cultural displays and seaside bays, Sydney city has still to grapple with long standing issues - to improve public transport, a housing dilemma (above image - inner city apartments ), rising costs of living, traffic gridlock at rush hours, quality of personal and property security and childcare challenges. They increasingly say that if one has wealth, it is a good Sydney to live in, and if not, oh well, please just refer back to the very first picture in this piece. The spectacular fireworks at Sydney Harbour on New Year's Eve may give a thrll for a night, but it is the city's residents who has to face the reality of daily life long after that magical, annual stroke of midnight.

Sydney - Louis Vuitton George Street Maison

Louis Vuitton, the harbinger of expensive but potentially rewarding experiences, the symbol of quality and elegance, and an European tradition hallowed by many of the new rich in rising China and India economies, has opened a flagship outlet at the corner of King and George Streets in Sydney CBD. Officially it is known as the Louis Vuitton George Street Maison, opened on 2 December 2011. This follows the opening of another maison in Singapore's Marina Bay precinct. Its neighbour in Sydney is the second largest Apple store in the world. Its staff attending to clients on the floor are minimally university graduates. On the morning of my visit, the scene could be summed up by Indian sales staff taking care of mostly China buyers. There was no rush at the entrance, but two well dressed staff members controlled the flow of visitors by opening and closing doors. When you enter the three level delight, you first notice the high backlit ceilings, sense the buzz of eager buyers (mostly women) and know that you are going to enjoy a very well planned and thought of experience in checking out both clothes and accessories for both genders.

The outfit is thought to have cost around 10 million Aussie dollars to set up. This is the tenth LV store for Australia. Another good reason to drop by this store is the choice of personalising your selection of an LV purchase, an option not to be taken lightly as it may not be available elsewhere. Japanese tourists have been in obsession with LV for so many years, and this may draw them back to Sydney. Above, one of the several wide-sized shopping display windows that stand out in striking red. Below, a bicycle on an upper floor that caught my eye, combining perhaps the best of French daily life and the exquisite LV touch.

LV is a master of catching attention, celebrating the unique and providing excellent taste. I immediately fell for the rooster (picture above), active, inquisitive and purposeful. The contraption was made of various LV products, cleverly combined and created into a wholesome piece having a separate life of its own, so to speak. Individual items, glowing and beaming, are carefully placed in clear glass displays over the various floors, suggesting more of the Louvre in Paris rather than a fine jewellery shop. There is space, plenty of it, in this magical retail outlay, space to walk, space to admire and space to contemplate. Staff wear dark suits, carry themselves with both a purpose and a smile and the result is to make the client comfortable enough to make a decision. I came across a young Caucasian lady of not more than twenty years old, holding a beautifully wrapped LV box, beaming to her parents, as the latter had to take a picture of this important moment in time, in this young lady's life. I felt that truly, madly and deeply, this roadside take was as important as her prom, her graduation and her first kiss.