It's a Quick Trip for Sydney Vivid 2015; It's All about Food Porn on Day 3 #46, 07/05

[PrincessInOz]

A Short Walk - Clovelly Beach




We had gone grocery shopping yesterday so that we....er....I could cook breakfast for our friends. I ended up putting on bacon and scrambled eggs, with toast and a side of fried tomatoes and onions. I was definitely feeling a little prickly on this morning....I completely forgot to take a picture of breakfast.







But @franandaj will be interested to know that my friends are equally as picky about how scrambled eggs are done as we are. There were NO complaints this morning about how the eggs were cooked!




We were out later than planned in the morning. But we did eventually get out for a quick drive and a short stroll.

Our destination?








Clovelly Beach is a small beach located at the end of a narrow bay. There's one of those saltwater pools in this location that is so quintessentially Sydney.






It was a comparatively warm day and there were some brave souls swimming in the ocean.






Not us. We kept going and headed to enjoy the view.











It didn't feel like we'd walked a long way.....but I think you can just make out the car park in this picture. That's where we set out from.






I will be the first to admit that perhaps we had set out with ambitious plans this morning. We had thought of heading towards Bondi Beach. Given that it's the beach you can see, I think we can be forgiven for feeling lazy.






I even passed on going one round in the outside gym.






My preference was watching the birds!











This has gotta be one of the most scenic cemetaries in the world!






I've been to Sydney a few times, but I don't think I've ever walked this section of the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk.






It was at this point that we decided to turn back. The natives were getting hungry!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Seasalt Cafe



Our friends had suggested that we could have lunch at the Seasalt Cafe at Clovelly Beach. The cafe looks more like a place of residence rather than a cafe, doesn't it?






It didn't take us long to get a table and place our orders. Whilst we were waiting for the food, the teens sculled down some milkshakes.






Aside from water, the adults also got some juice. This one was pineapple based, which is as close as I was getting to a Dole Whip this trip.





One of the locals got the pie of the day.






I had tossed up between the pie and the salmon fish cakes. Both were on the specials board. DH and I ended up ordering the fish cakes.





I'll admit to having order envy for this meal. The fish cake was adequate....but it certainly didn't compare to the pie!


The teens settled for fish and chips. The chips were very good!





The other local got an Asian flavoured chicken wrap. It was too sweet for me.






We spent the better part of the afternoon sitting there and enjoying the time chatting. It was late afternoon before we headed back to Pyrmont.

 

[lffam]

some truly spectacular photos, thank you for sharing them. The opera house photos were just fantastic. I just love to visit Sydney, the harbour is just spectacular in my view and at nighttime all lit up ...wow

What camera do you have if you don't mind me asking? I'm in the market for a new one before our trip later this year.

 

[franandaj]

OK I saw the pictures on FB (which I am no longer looking at, waiting for then here), but why were you or someone holding that creature?????? And other than using "prickly" to explain why you forgot breakfast photos what does a thing like that have to do with breakfast???????

I'm glad other people besides me are picky about their eggs. I felt bad mentioning it, but was glad you shared my sentiment.

I had the same thought when I saw the pics on FB, but didn't ask, where in the picture is Biondi beach? Is it that far in the distance that I can't see it from the little pictures on my phone or is it that obvious that I'm an idiot and totally missing it?

I would have liked the fish and chips.

 

[ACDSNY]

I had to show DH the stick insect, he'd be pretty hard to find in a tree or bush.

Count me in the picky eggs group as I don't like runny yokes and only eat eggs scrambled.

 

[PrincessInOz]

some truly spectacular photos, thank you for sharing them. The opera house photos were just fantastic. I just love to visit Sydney, the harbour is just specular in my view and at nighttime all lit up ...wow

What camera do you have if you don't mind me asking? I'm in the market for a new one before our trip later this year.

Thanks, lffam.

I have the Canon 7D (mark I version). By all accounts the Mark II is a fantastic camera...but it'll come down to how the camera feels in your hands. We did set out wanting a Nikon but the body didn't sit right for either DH nor myself...and the way the buttons and functions were laid out weren't intuitive to us either. So we ended up with a Canon camera.

I also have a whole bunch of lenses to go with the camera.

OK I saw the pictures on FB (which I am no longer looking at, waiting for then here), but why were you or someone holding that creature?????? And other than using "prickly" to explain why you forgot breakfast photos what does a thing like that have to do with breakfast???????

The stick insect belongs to the daughter of our friends. He, and his companion, are housed in an enclosure near the dining table. They look at us eating....and we look at them when we eat. She brought this one out when we were just about serving breakfast and I was so distracted by shooting it that I completely forgot to take a shot of breakfast!

I'm glad other people besides me are picky about their eggs. I felt bad mentioning it, but was glad you shared my sentiment.

I'm glad you did!

Our male host (and we've known him for over 20 years!!!) didn't mention it and only said that he wanted his eggs fried (sunny side up, yolk just set). So, I fried 2 eggs for him first. And then he saw how I was doing the scrambled eggs.......and only then spoke up!!! He still ate the fried eggs (and some of the scrambled eggs) but we spent a good couple of minutes talking about how so many cooks and chefs absolutely overcook eggs.

I had the same thought when I saw the pics on FB, but didn't ask, where in the picture is Biondi beach? Is it that far in the distance that I can't see it from the little pictures on my phone or is it that obvious that I'm an idiot and totally missing it?

Glad you asked! I stop short of pointing it out in the picture like this....because I didn't want anyone to feel like I was insulting them or something!!!






I think you can see why we turned around and walked back to Clovelly Beach rather than keeping going. It wasn't getting there that bugged us.....it was the point that we then had to turn around and walk all the way back!!!

I would have liked the fish and chips.

The teens inhaled it in. But that's not necessarily any recommendation, is it? Those teens of ours would have inhaled anything in at that point in the day.

I had to show DH the stick insect, he'd be pretty hard to find in a tree or bush.

Count me in the picky eggs group as I don't like runny yokes and only eat eggs scrambled.

 

[mvf-m11c]

The picture of the insect on your hand looks very nice.

All of your ocean scenery pictures are very nice especially the long exposure shot of the waves.

The Seasalt Cafe looks like a nice place to have lunch and it doesn't look like a Cafe where it looks like a residence house.

 

[franandaj]

I had to show DH the stick insect, he'd be pretty hard to find in a tree or bush.

Count me in the picky eggs group as I don't like runny yokes and only eat eggs scrambled.

I don't think you would like to eat eggs with PIO and me. We like our scrambled eggs just on the verge of still almost runny, not overcooked and brown and dry.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The picture of the insect on your hand looks very nice.

All of your ocean scenery pictures are very nice especially the long exposure shot of the waves.

The Seasalt Cafe looks like a nice place to have lunch and it doesn't look like a Cafe where it looks like a residence house.

Thanks! The stick insect is actually on the hand of my friend's daughter.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the World




After we had spent some time hanging out at our friend's place, we headed to the Chatswood area of Sydney.


When we were both younger and pre-DS, Chatswood was an area that both DH and I would get to on a fairly regular basis for our respective work. It's about 10 km outside of the city centre and a number of large multinational companies have chosen to locate their HQ here. DH, in particular, used to spend a fair amount of time in Chatswood. Neither of us have been to Chatswood in over 14 years, so we were quite keen to go see how it had changed.


More recently, Chatwood has become quite a foodie area and there was one restaurant that had recently opened up that our Sydney friends were keen to hit.







The original Tim Ho Wan, Hong Kong, is the world’s cheapest Michelin Star restaurant. The kitchen genius behind THW is Mak Pui Gor, a Hong Kong chef formerly of the prestigious Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong. For those of you that followed or even remember my Hong Kong trip report from 2012, you may remember that I did have plans to eat at THW and I was even prepared to queue for the 4-hours it seems to take to get a table in the HK store. Sadly, I came down with bronchitis and this was one plan that fell by the wayside for HK.


So, when the news that THW restaurants were planned to be opened in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane broke late last year, I cheered!


I just didn't expect that my first foray into blissful bites was going to be in the Chatswood store.








For the record. We got there early and our wait wasn't too bad.....it was only 15 minutes. Not bad at all....considering that by the time we had finished, the wait time was nearly 45 minutes.








The view from our table.







The system at THW is very efficient. They hand you an order sheet whilst you are waiting and you are expected to fill in your food order before you even get seated. For the 6 of us, we decided that we would need 14 or 15 serves of the blissful bites or baskets. Roughly 2 baskets of food per person plus a little bit more. It probably is as good a rule of thumb as any other.....although, we did end up ordering another 3 or 4 serves...of sweet stuff after.
Once you sit down, they come and take your paper away and the food comes out pretty quick after that.



Our food strategy: Order all the Dim Sum standards that you know.

Har Gow or Shrimp Dumplings







Sui Mai or the Pork Dumplings







Hor Fun or Rice Noodle Rolls. We got both the BBQ Pork and Shrimp varieties.













Rice congee.






And because we had the pesky vegetarian to consider, we didn't get too many of the meat dishes. Rather, we got serves of the Vegetarian Dumplings......







....and the seasonal vegetables with oyster sauce. I had hoped for Gai Lan (or Chinese broccoli) but we got Lettuce instead.







To make sure you fill up bottomless teenage stomach pits, order a serve of the sticky rice.







There are a number of THW 'specialties' on the menu. We decided to only stick with one of them as they were mostly meaty. This is the Char Siew Baos, which would normally be steamed. At THW, these are baked! Sweet, savoury, crispy and crumbly. My only minor complaint would be that these were a touch too sweet for me. But I've been cutting out sugar from my diet, so it might be a reflection of my changing taste buds. Otherwise, these were like nothing I've tasted before. Positively divine!







We should have ordered the Lo Bak Koh or Fried radish cake as well from the 'specialty' section; but we figured we had enough. Something that I will need to order when the chain opens in Melbourne.



What did we add to our order after we ate the above?


We ended up with 3 bowls of the mango pomelo sago dessert. Normally, I would expect this to be a set pudding; but this was completely liquid and I loved the sweet mango and sago beads mixing in with the pearls of pomelo segments giving it a slightly tart burst of flavour.







We also ordered one serve of the Steamed Egg Cake (another from the 'specialty' section of the menu).








The verdict?

I suspect that your tastes will be very different to mine. For me, I found the dishes to be sweet, which is not what I would expect to taste in a lot of the standard Dim Sum dishes. Without a doubt, that's because I've cut sugar out of my diet this year and I now pick up any trace of sweetness as extra sweet.

Aside from that, the food was amazing and it was in the delicacy of the rice noodles and the dumpling skin that I could totally see how THW garnered that Michelin Star.





The price?

You know....I really don't know. This was one meal that our friends picked up and I have no idea what the damage was. Suffice to say....the price per basket is more expensive than what I would expect to pay in Dim Sum places in Melbourne. Significantly more. It will be interesting to see what the price per basket is when the Melbourne store opens up. If they are priced the way Sydney is priced, it may not get any repeat business at all. Afterall, there are quite a few decent Dim Sum places in Melbourne that it will need to compete with.

 

[mvf-m11c]

That must have been fun to eat at TomHoWan during your trip and it will be even better when it comes to your hometown which is even better. It did look so busy so the food must be astounding for the wait time. For only a 15 minute wait time that is better than waiting 45 minutes. The food looks very nice for a Dim Sum place.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I finally made my way over here. The projections are amazing and I love the view from the beach. What a shame that public transport was such a nightmare.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

The coast is gorgeous! The good pics look amazing too! Adding things to my must do list!

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Mmmm, that Dim Sum looks tasty. Hopefully the prices are competitive in Melbourne. (Another item to add to my list!)

Jill in CO

 

[dgbg100106]

I am late to the party but I am here finally.

all the pictures are beautiful, I love the night pics with all the buildings a light.

Your hike this morning was beautiful, and I can see why you did not make it to the beach.

The food, oh my you should have warned me.. I am so hungry right now, and I will have to find some dim sum soon.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That must have been fun to eat at TomHoWan during your trip and it will be even better when it comes to your hometown which is even better. It did look so busy so the food must be astounding for the wait time. For only a 15 minute wait time that is better than waiting 45 minutes. The food looks very nice for a Dim Sum place.

Thanks, Bret. I'm sure you'll find out when I do get to eat at Tim Ho Wan in Melbourne. I'm incredibly curious to see if there will be a difference in price between Sydney and Melbourne.

I finally made my way over here. The projections are amazing and I love the view from the beach. What a shame that public transport was such a nightmare.

Corinna

Glad you made it over! It's been incredibly busy all round, hasn't it? Hope you and G are doing okay.

The coast is gorgeous! The good pics look amazing too! Adding things to my must do list!

Jill in CO

Mmmm, that Dim Sum looks tasty. Hopefully the prices are competitive in Melbourne. (Another item to add to my list!)

Jill in CO

They should definitely be opened in Melbourne by the time you make it over. If you don't make it to the Sydney store, we can add it to the Melbourne list! Hope your plans are coming along!!

I am late to the party but I am here finally.

all the pictures are beautiful, I love the night pics with all the buildings a light.

Your hike this morning was beautiful, and I can see why you did not make it to the beach.

The food, oh my you should have warned me.. I am so hungry right now, and I will have to find some dim sum soon.

Thanks for getting here, Brandi!

And yes....don't forget that food porn is a feature of my TRs.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Vivid Colours Night 2



Our second night in Sydney and we were in Chatswood. 2015 was the first year that this Sydney suburb was all lit up for Vivid, so it was something novel for our friends to enjoy as well. The Chatswood illuminations were all about an underwater fantasy with floating water creatures and pulsing colours. It sounding intriguing.


We started at the Chatswood train station, where the Jellyfish Chandeliers were.






The whimsical fish at the end of the tentacles were pretty.














The Chatswood Mall was meant to an immersive, light-filled ‘river’ where glowing creatures are brought to life with lighting. It definitely didn't meet that mark for me.







Still, there were some interesting displays. Norbert the Nautilus is the hero of The Nautilus and the Sea. This was the hand crafted light sculpture surrounded by glowing seaweed.








The bubbles changed colour.







Moving right along.







We made our way to The Concourse, where an environmental fantasy was being projected across the buildings here. All the photogs brought out their cameras for this display.














This illumination was definitely better viewed from further away.







You could see the matching projections on the stairs.









There was a small, matching jellyfish display here.







But after watching two rotations of the projections, we figured it was time to move on.


There was one more illumination to look at in Chatswood. The Lieutenant Angler display was set up in Chatswood Chase.








Sadly, we found Chatswood to be interesting for about 45 minutes. That's about how long it took us to walk from the Train station down to the Chatswood Chase, with a few stops for pictures along the way.





Not content with what we'd experienced at Chatswood, our friends were quick to suggest that we stop at McMahon's Point for a view of the Bridge.







Believe it or not, we probably spent longer here than at Chatswood.







I won't subject you to every picture I took here. From a few different angles!







Suffice to say....lots!







In actual fact, it was an intesting vista.....given that the moon was also rising.







The photogs in the group kept going, whilst one of the Sydney friends took the kids home. We headed to Kirribilli Point, where the other side of the bridge is.







I hadn't yet gotten a decent picture of the Sydney buildings lit up.








"Yet".....being the operative word.








Our night was not yet over. We headed back home to grab the others and walked down to Darling Harbour. We made it just in time to catch the last water and laser projection for the night.







It's not quite World of Colour, but it was a lovely water and laser display.














There was even fire! (Yes, I know this is a tad overexposed)







The photogs were really happy with this show.















By this stage, it was past 11 pm and we took the long way back home. There was still lights being projected at the Star Casino.







And the Chinese dragon to look at inside the Star.








It had been another good Vivid night's shooting.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Another amazing day during the Vivid night shooting. All of your photos are very amazing. I really enjoyed the pictures of the bridge.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It's been incredibly busy all round, hasn't it? Hope you and G are doing okay.

We are both fine and busy planning our respective trips.

I had high hopes when you said that this area had an underwater theme, but this left me luke-warm. I love the bridge shots though.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

I guess I never commented on the food pictures. Everything looks good, but if it's priced higher than items you can get at a normal restaurant, I can see why you might go elsewhere.

I looked up Michelin stars (as we have other systems that we normally rely on) because I was confused by "one Michelin star". Most American systems you go for the 3.5+ rated business, well at least we do. So I guess, just getting a star is good?

The pictures of the "under the sea", we nice, but I can see where you enjoyed the others more. The ones at the bridge in Sydney were definitely stunning! Not World of Color, but still very pretty!