Uploading the last few images from our trip down under...this is the last day that we spent in Sydney before heading back to Sing...

Looking at these pictures kinda made me miss my bob-hairstyle... hmm.. now I kinda regret cutting back short...okie... I need to grow back my hair!

Other than that...it's Wall Street Woes... its depressing seeing the financial markets these days not knowing what is going to happen next..[BIG sigh!] How I wish I could live in a little bubble and be protected from all these gloomy stuff.

more cam-whoring...

Bondi Beach was absolutely breath-taking with its glorious views of the beach and hot bods surfing and riding the waves. If it weren't winter, I would be jumping and prancing around in my summer gear but unfortunately, we were decked out in our winter gear. For most of the time, I was just shivering as I wore a dress over my winter coat... was trying hard just to smile at the camera without gritting my teeth too hard. ;p

Still reeling in from the fullness of our lunch, we tried to eat light for dinner. It was hard not to over-eat in Sydney as we had too many choices when it comes to dining. For the eve of our departure, we chose Icebergs (see previous post on Icebergs). The place was all that it promised to be. Boasting great views of the Bondi Beach, it was absolutely breath-taking sitting by the edge of the bar whilst sipping our cocktails. Dinner was a lovely affair as well...dimly litted restaurant with patrons that were all decked out in their evening finery. As we had an overdose of fish for the day, B chose the lamb, whilst I chose the squid ink rissotto with chilli and lime garnish.

more aussie photo-taking

Day out at the Sydney Fish Markets... we went there rather bright and early. But it was nothing that fantastic.. not like the Tsukiji Fish Markets but seafood was abundant!! We had fish and chips and calamari for breakie.. Dunno why but I was craving for calamari at this point in time. Haha..

Then we headed to Paddington Market to check out the local market scene... hmm, not that great either. Stuff were pretty normal...nothing too over the top. So we headed off to the next place, QVB Building, one of the oldest shopping arcade in Sydney. I didn't find the shopping there too exciting as well.. haha.. But had a ball of a time taking pictures...

Sydney

Arrival into Sydney and we just hung around the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House... I will just let the pictures do the talking...

Tetsuya's

Remember my post about Tetsuya's? We couldn't believe when they told us there was a waiting list for dinner till the end of the year. So we tried our luck for lunch, but they never did get back to us, so we decided to give up. Little did we know, we did manage to score a reservation. They were trying hard to get hold of me but I didn't turn on my mobile till we arrived in Sydney. Was really quite ecstatic when we found out that we were going to having lunch at Tetsuya's!! :) Yippee dee doo dah....

It was an eleven course degustation menu at Tetsuya's... the diet plan literally just went down the drain! Anyways, that's the only menu that all patrons can have. The menu was delightfully and sinfully exciting!

Bread was served with not just any normal butter but non-salted butter with black truffles and aged parmesan cheese. The amuse bouche was a small serving of warm green pea soup that was drizzled with white truffle oil. This summoned our 11-course luncheon...

1. First up was the fresh ocean trout cake with Beluga cavier and scalloped egg. Initially, we thought that little white dollop was scallop mousse but it turned out to be a tiny little egg. The sweetness of the yolk matched the trout cake perfectly. This dish was paired with sake from Kyoto.

2. Next was the tuna sashimi with wasabi and ginger dressing. It was paired with the Lost Valley Savignion Blanc 2006. Wouldn't say this dish was super fantastic, but the dressing was refreshing to one's tastebuds. To quote my better half, 'this dish is very nice.'

3. Grilled Tasmanian scallop with diced onion and bacon was paired with Tyrell's 02 Seminion. The juices from the scallop made a nice warm broth, an added accompanient for the dish.

4. Another ocean trout dish but this time served with konbu salt over a crunchy green apple and fennel salad. I thought I couldn't stomach another trout dish but this dish proved me wrong. The konbu salt gave the trout a much needed salty boost whilst the green apple and fennel gave this dish its a crunchy balance on the palette. This dish is also said to be Tetsuya's signature dish and paired with the Eden Valley Joseph Hill 2007 wine.

5. Ravioli stuffed with Queensland spanner crab and served over a tomato basil sauce. Dish was paired with Pierro Estate Chardonnay 2007 - specially produced for Testuya's.

6. The last crustacean dish for the course was this baby barrumundi over a flower bed of baby fennel. By this point in time, both B and I have had enough of seafood and were raring for the meat dishes to come on out.. haha..

7. The first of our 2 meat dishes - the pinkish duck breast that was soft and tender, served with Tetsuya's Pinot Noir.

8. The seared veal with wasabi butter. Wasabi in butter, what a heavenly pair!

Oh.. the famed chef Tetsuya came out to greet all the patrons. I couldn't resist being a groupie and asking him to take a picture with me! :0

9. And you know how many restuarants normally just give you a sorbet to clean your palette? At Tetsuya's they gave us this spoonful of sugared lentils with shaved cheese. We just took a hard look at this and almost wanted to just give it a miss but our server told us to just give it a try. And we did... the result? Wow... this spoonful of sugar helped changed our palettes in preparation for desserts.

It's finally time for dessert!!! YAY... there were about 5 other tables around us, but we were the first ones to come this far.. I guess we eat really fast! haha...

10. Beetroot and blood orange sorbet on shotglass 1 and in shotglass 2, bread and butter vanilla pudding. Hmm, nothing too over the top and fanciful I guess.

11. Last but not least, petite fours!!! From left to right - Sweet potato chocolate truffles, white macadamia biscotti, gingered chocolate macroons and the chewy soft green tea marshmallow. What a delightful sweet ending for the entire meal...

What can we say about this? PERFECT and STUFFED....

This was our WICKED night out! When I found out that Wicked was showing in Melbourne, I was esctatic! Dun ask me why but Vic said I would love this show as it was rather girlie with bimbo undertones.. haha...

Tried to get the tickets online but they were rather ex! AUD 189 for the front portion of the theatre and those right at the back were AUD 109 - 119. So B told me to get the tickets when we arrive to Melbourne. When we arrived Melbourne, I immediately got the concierge to help us get tickets for Wednesday night. They were going to cost us AUD 120 each. B said to hold on again and try our luck for tickets on Thursday. So we did. Early Thurs morning, went to Regent Theatre and the tickets that were available right right right behind. I was rather disappointed by then thinking I wouldn't get a chance to see the show. Then the nice lady behind the counter said that there were having the Wicked Lottery Draw at 6pm where winners will get to buy front row tickets at AUD 30! I immediately told B that we would have to come back and try our luck!

And so we did! When we arrived back at the theatre at 5.30, there was a small crowd. We estimated there was about 100 odd persons in the queue. So we waited patiently and hopefully for either B or my name to be announced... and YAY...they did announce my name. I was the 3rd person to win the pair of tickets... so we got FRONT ROW TICKETS TO WICKED FOR AUD60!!!! Yippee dee doo dah!! Maaaaaadnesssssss and Happppppynessss.......

I loved the cast of Wicked Australia. My fave character was Glinda (but, of course, what were you expecting?!!?). I loved her bubblegum personality and not to mention she reminded me of Anna Faris.. and when I looked at Elpheba, she somehow reminded me of Jennifer Garner in green.. haha..

Here are some pictures from Wicked that I got off their website....

My fave songs from the show... POPULAR, I'm not that girl and For Good! :) I am glad B bought the CD so that I can listen to the songs over and over again...

drink, drank, drunk....

Am going to jump straight into day 3 of our trip where we headed to Yarra Valley to get drunk. We arrived at Yarra Valley about 2-ish and headed out for a light lunch at Domain Chandon (the only winery that is operated by the good people at Moet & Chandon). I had the beef pie that was served with a rocket salad drizzled with superbly yummy wine dressing and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. B chose the sparkling Shiraz to go with the pie. Never tasted sparkling red wine and it sure was bubbly sweet! :) The weather was a downer, so we stayed on and ordered the Cheese Board Platter that was paired with 4 different Champagnes. After drinking those 4 glasses, I was giddy high...hic hic....

Dinner was at the charming and quaint Chateau Yering. It felt like we booked the entire restaurant! Cos there was no other patrons there that night except for us. Remember that we went there during deep winter!

We each had the 2 course meal. Hmm, I can't remember the starters...forgot! But for the main, I had the pigeon served medium rare. At first, I thought 'Hmm, medium rare pigeon...scary!' But the pigeon served medium rare was surprisingly tender. The meat was soft and pinkish.. and tenderly soft! Perfect...paired with a great red wine!

B and I shared the apple souffle for dessert and ended up goofing around thereafter.. playing with our cutlery as you can see! haha...

I decided to just register Comic Life to make my photo-blogging life so much easier..and easier it is now! :)

I just spent an hour 'making nice' those pictures and getting them in order.. hopefully in chronological order...

I gotta head to work really really early tomorrow, so I will write more tomorrow night...

Can you believe it? I am still jet-lagged..eye-bags are really showing...

Back to reality

Heylooo.... am back from my Aussie holidaze with B and it was madness!! It was freezing co...old.... but we still managed to pack in the fun...

Here are a couple of highlights from the trip.. am a little tired and promise with blog more tomorrow once I have settled down and sorted out the rest of my luggage :p

From left to right:

• Road trip to the Great Ocean Road (great pictures, the weather wasnt that great though :( )
• Wine tasting at Domain Chandon in Yarra Valley, was fun! It was our first stop but I was drunk after about 4 glasses of wine and champagne.
• My fave pic from the trip. B's new cam really did capture nice shots... you will see from the next couple of posts.
• We caught WICKED!!!! Loves the musical from Broadway and we got wickedly lucky as well... tell you more next time.
• And lastly, we scored lunch reservations at Tetsuya's... and we even met up with the Chef. Was great!! :)

Gotta head to bed now..will blog more tomorrow...Nighty night...

Gastro oogling...

Because its not possible to get a table at Tetsuya's (double sigh!), here are the other top restaurants in Sydney that are worth considering:

Icebergs
1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach
Tel:(02)) 9365 9099

With uninterrupted views of the Bondi Beach, this restaurant offers diners a relaxed dining experience. Mediterranean entrees start from A$21. Ooh, it would be so nice to dine here with the soothing sounds of the oceanic waves. The Polenta with Crab dish comes highly recommended!

Marque
4/5 355 Crown Street, Surry Hills
Tel: (02) 9332 2225

Degustation menu starts from A$145, and the restaurant just completed its renovation to mark its 10th year anniversary. Serving French-Australian fare, this restaurant promises an exciting dining experience that will linger in your minds even after you leave Sydney. WOW...

Becasse
204 Clarence Street
Tel: (02) 9283 3440

Ten course degustation menu offered for lunch and dinner at A$120, seems like a pretty good deal! :) Becasse is one of Sydney's premier dining spaces with it's modern French cuisine and professional service.

Ooh, I can just hear my stomach calling ... there goes any form of diet for our 9-day holidaze!

OZ Gastronomical Want...

Tetsuya's Restaurant,

529 Kent Street,
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Telephone:+61 2 9267 2900

Wanted to go to try out Tetsuya since I have heard quite alot about him. So the moment I found out that we were heading to Sydney, I bugged B to allow me to make the reservations for his restaurant. Reservations are said to be ESSENTIAL! And since we booked the tickets like 3 months ahead, I thought better book the reservations for the restaurant.

Guess what?!?! The reservations for dinner at Tetsuya are filled till Jan 2009! Can you believe it? I can't imagine a restaurant with such a loooooong waiting list.... so so long...So we took the next better slot, B is now trying to get us in for lunch on a Saturday...

I wanna go...

the Sydney Fish Market!

The seafood is said to be fresh, fresh, FRESH! And perhaps best of all, we do not have to wake up at 4-5am to head to the markets. The markets open at 7am and closes around 4pm. Great...leaves us plenty of time to make our way there.

Can't wait to chomp on the succulent prawns, scallops and let's not forget fresh 'melt-in-your-mouth' uni!! Yumz yumz...

For more infor, check out: www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

dreaming

I always fancied a farm stay and looks like its' going to come true rather soon! :)

We will be staying here at the Araluen Lodge at Yarra Valley when we hit Melbourne...its going to just chilling out and taking long walks, having picnics whilst taking in the nature that surrounds us.

Mind-boggling Choices

I am torn with making decisions on accommodation. The last time I was tasked with this, I booked a cheap hotel room that looked nice on the web and said that it was near town. But in reality, it was 30 minutes away from the city via cab and it was not at all nice. I got scoffed by B and reprimanded rather heavily for making the wrong choice. After that incident, I kinda got scared trying to book for accommodation. This time, I make sure I do my research, make sure that its recommended by the travelers and at the same time, make sure that it is within our budget and not obscenely expensive!

So now I am still searching for the Sydney accommodation.. I dunno what B does, but he always manages to find nice stuff.....

Whilst Kathryn's home-stay is a choice, these are some hotels that come recommended (in order of preference)

Diamant Boutique Hotel
14 Kings Cross Road, Potts Point 2011, NSW
www.diamant.com.au

This brand new premier boutique hotel is located in the hear of Sydney's most vibrant quarter. Enjoying Sydney's famous views from every direction, the Diamant is Sydney's most desired hotel address.


Valentine on George
767 George Street, Sydney 2000
www.valentineongeorge.com

Valentine on George is a boutique hotel featuring 15 comfortable appointed suites which brings together the efficiency of the 21st Century with innovative design, communication and entertainment centre, featuring the latest technology. Be it for business or leisure, all suites are equipped with the highest standard and state-of-the-art business and lifestyle facilities.


Medusa
267 Darlinghurst Road Darlinghurst Sydney 2010 NSW Australia
www.medusa.com.au

Sophisticated travellers have long enjoyed the indulgent pleasure of boutique hotels all over the world. Sydney has Medusa in Darlinghurst.




The Kirketon Boutique Hotel
229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst
www.kirketon.com.au

The Kirketon Hotel is an award-winning boutique hotel that exudes class, excellence and value. Positioned at the doorstep of Sydney's cafe, restaurant, bar and niteclub distritct.

I think I am now more geared to stay at the Diamant... looks pretty posh and within the budget! :)

I wanna go...

to 'THE CUPCAKE BAKERY'!!! I wanna sink my teeth is this sugary and guilty afternoon treat!!!

Ooh, check out the flavours I cant' wait to eat:

Carot Cupcake and Lemon & Poppyseed Cupcake!

And here's the addy if u ever head down to Sydney:
320B George St, Sydney NSW 2000
438 Oxford St, Paddington, NSW 2021

Travel Worthy Mention: B&B

B has tasked me to plan the itinerary for our Aussie trip... I am to plan the Sydney leg of the tours. Hehe... and whilst I go a-planning, I found this lovely and luxury B&B in the heart of Sydney...

Kathryns on Queen Boutique Bed & Breakfast
Address: 20 Queen Street, Woollahra 2025, Sydney NSW, Australia

This B&B came recommended by the LUXE Travel Guide. There are only 3 rooms available and they are girlie pretty.

Nothing great to rave but looks pretty chic to me for now! :) Heard the breakfast is great as well and the owner is warm and friendly to all guests. Hope the Attic Room that I selected is available when we are up there.