A Cultured Afternoon at the Theatre: God of Carnage

Another beautiful shot of the Opera House by G.

G promised to take me to see the Taming of the Shrew at the Sydney Opera House, because I love Shakespeare. Yesterday we set out to make good on that promise.

We arrived at the Box Office a couple of hours beforehand to try to get tickets through the youth rush. Turned out that no youth discount is offered for Shakespeare. I was a bit disappointed, but the lovely woman attending us let it slip that it wasn't exactly her favorite production, and offered us other options. We ended buying tickets for The God of Carnage, of which the woman had heard good things and tickets were being offered at the discounted rate.

Photographs of past productions outside the the Theatre.

We had a couple of hours before the show and by now we were starving, so once again we headed out to find lunch on Circular Quay. We decided to go to Young Alfred at the Customs House, which is a little expensive, but we both felt we owed them a little karmic debt. A few weeks ago I lost my phone. They found it and were nice enough to get ahold of us so I could pick it up. It also didn't hurt that they have a nice patio where we could enjoy the sunny afternoon while having lunch. The food turned out to be lovely as well.

A beautiful Trout Salad and Margarita Pizza -- at Young Alfred they called it the Martha.

The God of Carnage was fantastic. It's a satire on modern manners. Two sets of parents get together to discuss a playground altercation in which one of their sons hit the other. The plan is to discuss the matter in a civilized fashion, but things quickly devolve into war. Attacks fly not only from couple to couple, but from men to women, and women to men, until each person is fighting for himself alone. Things get explosive. When it comes to kids, all manners fall away.

It's biting and witty in a way that will makes you cringe. The tension of the scenes move you first to giggle uncomfortably, and then to laugh out loud in spite of yourself.

After the show, we decided to cap off our afternoon with a walk through the Botanic Gardens. This time we glimpsed a kookaburra. I've been wanting to see one of these guys in the wild. While we didn't get to hear him do his crazy kookaburra laugh, it was lovely cap on our afternoon of refined culture.

Cute little Kookaburra


I just like the flower.

Chinese Snacking and Salsa Dancig

We had a very festive Friday night.

We started the evening in Chinatown, where they hold a Night Market every Friday. It's packed to the gills with shoppers and eaters trolling the many stalls packed on top of the many restaurants and shops already covering these few blocks. Many stands sell chachkies, toys, and quirky clothes, but of course we came for the food.

Each food stand sells a few items of Asian street foods. One might have a slate of dim sum treats, while another might focus on just kebabs. Prices start at two bucks a pop, so we had a lot fun hopping around, peeking to see what was cooking at each stall, and picking and choosing what to try. We got to taste lots of goodies we'd never had before.

G with some spicy meat skewers.

These reminded me of arepas when we saw them from afar. They're sandwiches made out of grilled bread stuffed with a scallion and meat filing.


These shrimp balls were the night's winner. Savory doughnuts with a liquid center and stuffed wuth a shrimp.


For dessert, stuffed pancake. The centers are stuffed with custard in a variety of flavors. Our's is green tea.

After munching on Chinese snacks, we made our way down to the Rocks to meet up with some friends for some dancing. Latin dancing to be exact. Latin dancing and I didn't have to do any cajoling or persuading to get anyone out. It wasn't even my plan. Carla, Alexandra, and Shradha concocted the plan. I was just along for the ride, and oh so happy to go! Happily, G was willing to come too.

We all met up a little club called Vivaz that played a good mix of music – funk, reggaeton, and of course, merengue and salsa. They switched off between a DJ and a live band. The place had a nice vibe that wasn't at all pretentious, with a good number of people on the dance floor without being packed, so there was plenty of room to dance. Still, you can't help but get knocked into a few times.

One thing I love about latin dancing is that it brings in people of all ages. As often is the case, the best dancers on the floor were a senior couple. The gentleman suavely spun his gorgeous partner around the floor, very aware and proud of her sensuality. I only hope to have a small hint of that at her age.

I have to say, I think our group represented well. Carla and Alexandra obviously knew what they were doing. The moves petite, little Shradha's used while dancing with her husband, Addy, packed a walloping punch for such a pint-sized package. And Ms. Jen's moves caught the eyes of a couple of admirers. I think the easygoing vibe of this club suited G much more than the militant style of dancing at some of the places we've been to in LA, so I'm pretty sure even he had a good time.

G and Addy. I think this is proof that G's having a good time.

By the end of the night, I'd worn me feet raw with dancing and had to limp all the way home.

Buon Ricordo to Celebrate Nine Years

On Wednesday, G and I celebrated 9 years together. That is a substantial amount of time. I certainly think it's worthy of some recognition and maybe a little reward . . . let's say, an amazing dinner together.

Not too long ago, our friend Todd sent G a link to a mouth-watering blog entry on Chubby Hubby about an Italian restaurant in Sydney. I think he'd been fantasizing about it ever since. When I gave him the choice over our coupledom anniversary dinner – after all, the poor boy has been working sooo hard – it didn't take too long for him to pick Buon Ricordo.

The place is slightly hidden on a small side-street in Paddington. It looks like small Italian villa, but it would be very easy to pass it by if you're not looking for it. Inside, there is a funny mix of modern elements with quirky pieces you might find at your grandma's house. Funky art hangs on the walls over tables with chairs covered in a flower pattern worthy of a retirement home in Florida.

The food, however, was flawless. We ordered four dishes, and our waiter was nice enough to arrange to have them all split ahead of time so that it was presented as a four course meal. Actually, the waitstaff was really wonderful across the board, and service was never stuffy.

Before our ordered courses began to arrive, two beautiful pieces of bruschetta were sent out to start the meal. Slightly roasted tomatoes mixed with a generous amount of basil mounded on top of bread with a light coating of olive oil. Pretty much your basic bruschetta make-up, and yet somehow, this was exceptional.

Our first course was Trout Crudo off of the specials menu. Beautiful, thin slices of trout were drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with tarragon and bottarga – dried fish roe. I'd never hear of bottarga before, but it really punched up the flavor of the fish.

Next up were the Fagottini di Carne. We could smell these rustic, homemade sausages well before they hit the table. The wafting scent of truffles preceded the plate by a good bit. A parmesan crust lightly coated each sausage, upping the flavor another notch, and a light drizzle of lemon oil brightened all of the flavors. Umami galore! The bitterness of the greens served on the side cut the richness just beautifully.

Sausages are among G's favorite foods and these sent him into profound fits of ecstasy. He ate each one with such care and savored each bite so slowly, visibly concentrating on extracting every last possible bit of flavor and meditating on experiencing every moment to it's fullest. I'm pretty sure there were tears in his eyes when he finally came to the end.

Usually, it would be difficult to follow such an amazing course. How could anything top it? However, the Fettuccine al Tartufovo did not disappoint. This is the restaurant's signature dish and it was pictures of this pasta that drew us in. The secret is a truffle infused egg. Our waiter explained that the eggs are placed in airtight containers with pieces of black truffles, and somehow the flavor permeates the entire egg. And does it ever! The pasta is brought to the table with the fried truffle egg on top. Heaps of parmesan cheese are shaved onto the pasta and then the whole thing is tossed together table-side. Pure decadence!

For our final course we had Anatra con Broccoli – roasted duck with broccoli in a light garlic and chilli sauce that was refined down to a beautiful red glaze. The duck skin wasn't crisp, as we had expected, but it was luscious.

They also sent a side of rosemary potatoes and green beans with a light herb and olive oil sauce, similar to a pesto. As with the bruschetta there was nothing to indicate that these would anything out of the common way, but they were spectacular. The potatoes weren't in the least bit greasy, but brown and crispy on the outside, and completely fluffy on the inside.

By the end, there was little room left for dessert. However, the restaurant very kindly sent us a couple of mini pistachio cannoli on plate with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate.

G and I were in agreement that this was probably the best Italian meal of our lives. Buon Ricordo means good memories, a fitting name for the occasion and we have quite a few new ones to take away.

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For anyone interested in learning to infuse truffles into eggs, check out the instructions on Truffle Dogs WA.

Flaming Lips: Red Chilli Sichuan Hot Pot

I was so enchanted by Glebe that on Sunday I took G back there for a dinner break. We ended up at Red Chilli Sichuan Hot Pot. Neither of us had ever tried Hot Pot before, so it seemed like an adventure – and it was.

The tables each have a large indented section in the middle with a burner at the bottom. A large pot filled with your choice of broths fits into the slot. We chose a combo of broths – one was very mild, the second was dark red from the copious amount of chillies stewing in it. Next, you choose from a selection of meats, fish, noodles, and veggies to add to your soup. As these arrive, you cook them in the boiling soup. Basically, your composing your own soup bowl as you go.

The chilli broth was as intense as its color. For some reason, if I slurped it too quickly the spicy peppers would cause the back of my throat to collapse and send me into a hacking cough. However, if I actually made sure to taste it first, it was all good. Well, that and cutting it substantially with the mild broth. Nonetheless, by the end our lips were bright red and inflamed to twice their size. I think we may have both looked like a couple of clowns . . . but it was sooo good.

In addition to the hot pot, there were a couple of other treats. As an appetizer the restaurant sends out shelled edamame doused with a hint of chilli and toasted sesame oil. So simple, so delicious. I think I'll have to try that preparation at home.

For dessert, we had pumpkin cakes. The pumpkin seems like it was nearly pureed to a jelly-like consistency, then the cakes are covered in sesame seeds and fried. Not too big, with just a hint of sweetness. The perfect dessert.

Our mouths staid on fire for more most of the rest of the evening, but I'd definitely go back for another round.

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So Much to Celebrate!

It was celebration time this past weekend. Just one good excuse after another to go out and have a good time.

Two long weeks of midterms for the AGSMers finally came to a close on Friday, and the school sponsored a BBQ at Coogee Beach for everyone to chill out and blow off some steam. A large group turned out with partners and a few with kiddies. Kate chased Maria and Peter's adorable twins around the park for a good while. When she needed a break, I took a turn, but it was clear that they were already smitten with her chasing styles.

First, we stuffed our faces with burgers and sausages. Then it was time to work off some of those calories in a nice game of kickball. I hadn't played kickball in . . . oh, maybe a decade, if not more, but somethings you just don't forget. The really funny part was that this is a very international group. Very few people had the benefit of year and years of recess kickball games under their belt. You don't realize how complicated it actually is until you have to explain it to a group who has never played it before. Before too long though, everyone had it down and we were into a very heated game. Scorekeeping somehow fell by the wayside, but it didn't matter. Our team kicked major booty!

The BBQ started pretty early, so afterwards everyone still in a celebratory mood. We moved over to the nearby Beach Palace Hotel and hung out a while longer.

I didn't get any pictures that night, so I got this one from their website.

Now, a word on G. He is an illustration in the principles of momentum. It is sometimes difficult to get him out of the house, but once he's out, it is just as hard to get him to go back home. After a few hours of chatting and drinking, if there are even a few people left, he wants to keep going. After we moved on to yet another location, with people splintering off every few minutes, he still gave me a “do we gotta?” look when I finally got sleepy.

The next day was Halloween. Granted, it's not as widespread as it is in the States, but there are plenty of ways to mark the occasion. Kate found a little Halloween themed musical going on in Glebe at the Roxbury Hotel. Even with midterm exams done, G still had a lot of work to do, thus Kate and I ventured off together.

The hotel was pretty cool, but sadly, the show turned out to be pretty bad. It was a cabaret-style show put together by a small band of players. The group could sing, but their dialogue was in need of serious rewriting. Ah well, cheesy as it was, it still hit the Halloween spot. And Glebe, the surrounding neighborhood, was awesome – just full of funky little cafes ad shops. We explored for a while and found a fantastic little chocolate cafe, called Chocolateria San Churro. They have all kinds of confections and amazingly rich hot chocolate – including a super spicy Mexican-style, Azteca Hot chocolate. My favorite. What would Halloween be without a treat?!

Festivities continued on past the weekend with the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday. The Melbourne Cup is Australia's Kentucky Derby – except bigger. You've got all the crazy hats on an even larger scale, because it seems to me that everyone gets in on the party. At the pubs everyone looks like they're dressed for New Year's. It's like a national Holiday.

The AGSM crowd got together at the University Bar (yeah, that's right, the University has a bar) a watch the races. Obviously, a race is more fun if you have horse to back, so they arranged a random draw bet. Pay $5, draw a horse's name out of hat; for another buck, you get another horse. Cheap, easy, and no one has to know anything about horse racing to play. Neither of my horses won, but yelling and cheering was fun. After another afternoon of hanging out and drinking beers, a few people moved on to the Doncaster for that $11 steak dinner. The party kept on moving from there, but decided to call it a night.

Standing out in the sun drinking beers can really take a lot out of you.