Australian Adventures, Part III - Chinatown and Bondi Beach
Sydney made for quite an interesting trip. My first culinary diversion was into Chinatown. The place was packed to the gills with people, and absolutely gorgeous. Clean, well maintained, and full of shops, restaurants, and parks, it was a great place to check out. I looked for a noodle shop recommended by a travel guide, and the food was outstanding. I keep having the problem of my eyes being bigger than my stomach (and my wallet). I had a bowl of noodles and beef, some fried pork loin in sweet and sour sauce (JUST like in Beijing, the first authentic food I'd had that was sincerely authentic, outside of China), some steamed pork, egg, and chives dumplings, rice, and cups and cups of hot green tea. It was divine, I felt like I was back in China again (and eating the heck out of everything then too!) I waddled my way through the district (searching for some baijiu, I mean, come on, what's wrong with a good little bottle of erguotou after a good meal?) and stopped short when I heard a beautiful sound. This old man was on the street corner playing the erhu. I mean, its been forever since I saw ANYONE with an erhu (kind of like a cross between a cello and a sitar). I had to stop and just soak it in, looking at the white clouds and blue sky, out across the buildings of Sydney. I started to tear up again, it was so beautiful just to enjoy that sensation of beauty, peace, and freedom. On my way back, I also saw a woman playing violin on the corner, though she was making a killing, and pretty good at it too (does Sydney not pay its orchestra enough or something?)
After the crowds, I headed back to the hotel for a nap, and to change. I went off to the Darling Bay Harbor to see my cousins and have dinner overlooking the place. I had my first kangaroo steak, and got to talk with the local Aussies about the place. Their beer is pretty good, come to think of it. The 'roo was good too, and also environmentally conscious. The red kangaroo has done pretty well in the outback, despite encroachment from foreign invaders, and its numbers aren't dwindling, much like the white-tailed deer in the US. Not only that, but eating kangaroo also reduces carbon emissions. Well, in a weird way. You see, kangaroos are remarkably efficient creatures. They need very little water to survive, and don't eat as much as say, beef cattle, yet they're still quite meaty and taste delicious. If you reduced the numbers of cattle by encouraging people to eat 'roo instead, you'd actually reduce the load on resources required for the cattle. Plus, kangaroos are native, so they don't overgraze the way other ruminants do that aren't used to eating the native plants. Mmm, tasty!
After dinner, we had a walk around the place. The night was still warm, but pleasantly so, and the city was still incredible to walk through. Most of Sydney is pretty accessible, making it a great walking city. We went by the Circle Quay, where all ferries meet with the trains. We also saw the glowing Opera House and walked by the Harbor Bridge. Both looked incredible lit up at night, and all the lights across the Harbor shone through the groves of trees like a hidden jungle. Very beautiful.
Most of the rest of the week followed a similar pattern. I usually had one event to accomplish, followed by a fun dinner, and then sometimes an evening out to the bars and clubs, or relaxing back in the room. I went down to Bondi Junction to buy some clothes, which reminded me of any mall back home, despite having monopoly money to throw around. Because of the Australian exchange rate, its very easy to overspend. Although prices adjust for the difference, there are some things you can still get for a deal, like some food and clothing. So even though something may look high in dollars, its actually more reasonably priced in AUD. However, that's not always the case, so to avoid Monopoly Money Syndrome, try to always be shocked by the price values and spend accordingly. If you try to save that way (without being uncomfortable), you'll find that you've actually saved quite a bit of cash after the conversion.
Bondi Beach was another fun spot. The beach was like any other, pounding surf, happy beach-goers, and a deep blue ocean. Unfortunately it rained while I was there, but it cleared the beach out pretty quick, so there was plenty of room to dry out once the sun came back. The water was pretty cold, but warmed up after a little while. The surfers were out in force, which seemed surprising to me, since the waves weren't all that high. Probably just the popularity of surfing alone drives people to go out, and since they start further in from shore, its a bit easier to catch one before it pounds you in to the sand. I stopped by a restaurant called Nico's, on the esplanade, where it was out of the hot and wet. They had a great shiraz from the Barossa valley, and were really friendly. The staff even suggested a nice dining spot for the evening in the city. The food was great too, some salmon cakes and greek salad, was very filling and delicious.
By comparison, Manly Beach was much bigger, though I went on a weekend, so the place was flooded with beach-goers. There were a number of surfers out, and some dangerous looking waves, but otherwise it was pretty pleasant. The sun was out in force, and I ended up taking a nap for a few hours without even thinking about it. I also went down by a nice cafe on the beach called The Bower Room, which had a delicious wine selection and some scrumptious tempura prawns. I chowed down on those pretty quick. All the seafood I've had in Sydney has been fresh and scrumptious. Possibly the cleanliness of the Australian waters helps with that, so its very nice to be on an island. The walk down through the gardens along the beach was pleasant. The whole of Sydney seems to have been landscaped either exceedingly well, or not at all - the feeling is very natural. More hilarious is the fact that many of the wildlife that would be considered pests here are exotic back home - like rainbow lorikeets and myna birds. One night out I saw a possum climbing in the trees, and by a hotel in the desert, a blue-tongued fat-tailed skink was just hiding out in the shade, flicking its tongue out at me to try to scare me off as I came up to it.
Out on Oxford St, I had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of fare. At a thai place, had some of the best pad thai ever! Plus a duck in red curry sauce - was so delicious I was in a swoon, and reasonably priced too! There was a swank asian fusion place that had incredible japanese food. The prices were steep, but surprisingly, we were able to make it fairly affordable in the group. The sake was flavorful, and we had a variety of tempura and sushi dishes. All the catch was fresh, and done very well in terms of taste. One thing I have to say for Aussie cuisine is that they know how to blend. They do a great job of creating good combinations of ingredients without making them taste like a train-wreck. So far, I've always been pleased with the fare. And it helps that all the Australian wines taste incredible. The beer is also pretty good, even the dark Victoria Bitter is pretty tasty.
More in Part IV...
After the crowds, I headed back to the hotel for a nap, and to change. I went off to the Darling Bay Harbor to see my cousins and have dinner overlooking the place. I had my first kangaroo steak, and got to talk with the local Aussies about the place. Their beer is pretty good, come to think of it. The 'roo was good too, and also environmentally conscious. The red kangaroo has done pretty well in the outback, despite encroachment from foreign invaders, and its numbers aren't dwindling, much like the white-tailed deer in the US. Not only that, but eating kangaroo also reduces carbon emissions. Well, in a weird way. You see, kangaroos are remarkably efficient creatures. They need very little water to survive, and don't eat as much as say, beef cattle, yet they're still quite meaty and taste delicious. If you reduced the numbers of cattle by encouraging people to eat 'roo instead, you'd actually reduce the load on resources required for the cattle. Plus, kangaroos are native, so they don't overgraze the way other ruminants do that aren't used to eating the native plants. Mmm, tasty!
After dinner, we had a walk around the place. The night was still warm, but pleasantly so, and the city was still incredible to walk through. Most of Sydney is pretty accessible, making it a great walking city. We went by the Circle Quay, where all ferries meet with the trains. We also saw the glowing Opera House and walked by the Harbor Bridge. Both looked incredible lit up at night, and all the lights across the Harbor shone through the groves of trees like a hidden jungle. Very beautiful.
Most of the rest of the week followed a similar pattern. I usually had one event to accomplish, followed by a fun dinner, and then sometimes an evening out to the bars and clubs, or relaxing back in the room. I went down to Bondi Junction to buy some clothes, which reminded me of any mall back home, despite having monopoly money to throw around. Because of the Australian exchange rate, its very easy to overspend. Although prices adjust for the difference, there are some things you can still get for a deal, like some food and clothing. So even though something may look high in dollars, its actually more reasonably priced in AUD. However, that's not always the case, so to avoid Monopoly Money Syndrome, try to always be shocked by the price values and spend accordingly. If you try to save that way (without being uncomfortable), you'll find that you've actually saved quite a bit of cash after the conversion.
Bondi Beach was another fun spot. The beach was like any other, pounding surf, happy beach-goers, and a deep blue ocean. Unfortunately it rained while I was there, but it cleared the beach out pretty quick, so there was plenty of room to dry out once the sun came back. The water was pretty cold, but warmed up after a little while. The surfers were out in force, which seemed surprising to me, since the waves weren't all that high. Probably just the popularity of surfing alone drives people to go out, and since they start further in from shore, its a bit easier to catch one before it pounds you in to the sand. I stopped by a restaurant called Nico's, on the esplanade, where it was out of the hot and wet. They had a great shiraz from the Barossa valley, and were really friendly. The staff even suggested a nice dining spot for the evening in the city. The food was great too, some salmon cakes and greek salad, was very filling and delicious.
By comparison, Manly Beach was much bigger, though I went on a weekend, so the place was flooded with beach-goers. There were a number of surfers out, and some dangerous looking waves, but otherwise it was pretty pleasant. The sun was out in force, and I ended up taking a nap for a few hours without even thinking about it. I also went down by a nice cafe on the beach called The Bower Room, which had a delicious wine selection and some scrumptious tempura prawns. I chowed down on those pretty quick. All the seafood I've had in Sydney has been fresh and scrumptious. Possibly the cleanliness of the Australian waters helps with that, so its very nice to be on an island. The walk down through the gardens along the beach was pleasant. The whole of Sydney seems to have been landscaped either exceedingly well, or not at all - the feeling is very natural. More hilarious is the fact that many of the wildlife that would be considered pests here are exotic back home - like rainbow lorikeets and myna birds. One night out I saw a possum climbing in the trees, and by a hotel in the desert, a blue-tongued fat-tailed skink was just hiding out in the shade, flicking its tongue out at me to try to scare me off as I came up to it.
Out on Oxford St, I had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of fare. At a thai place, had some of the best pad thai ever! Plus a duck in red curry sauce - was so delicious I was in a swoon, and reasonably priced too! There was a swank asian fusion place that had incredible japanese food. The prices were steep, but surprisingly, we were able to make it fairly affordable in the group. The sake was flavorful, and we had a variety of tempura and sushi dishes. All the catch was fresh, and done very well in terms of taste. One thing I have to say for Aussie cuisine is that they know how to blend. They do a great job of creating good combinations of ingredients without making them taste like a train-wreck. So far, I've always been pleased with the fare. And it helps that all the Australian wines taste incredible. The beer is also pretty good, even the dark Victoria Bitter is pretty tasty.
More in Part IV...