We finally made it! After planning to have lunch at the Sydney Fish Markets but never remembering when the time came around to decide where to go and what to do. I was a bit disappointed, though, because we didn’t see any of the action that you would expect down at the fish markets. The place was tiny and filled with retail shops. Whhhheeeeereee oh wheeeeeere were the real markets, yo? Where people scream prices at each other and haggle?! And fresh seafood is thrown all over the place?! Maybe we were in the wrong area… or maybe a few hours too late!

Looks a bit like he stole it, doesn’t it? lol.

Lobster mornay platter. Can’t remember what was on there. I think oysters – kilpatrick and mornay, octopus, prawns, calamari and chips. The abalone and scallop were extra.

This is where we ate – The Fish Market Cafe.

ZOMG! ALASKAN KING CRAB… legs!

The (_I_)head is an avid fan of The Deadliest Catch and was excited to see what the men of the show put their lives at risk to bring back. They were huuuuuuuuge! Crab legs bigger than my head!

Chocolate dipped strawberries. I am a sucker for these! You should’ve seen my eyes roll into the back of my head when I was indulgently devouring a strawberry kebab at the Royal Easter Show. SO. GOOD. I didn’t go to the Easter Show this day but I fondly think back to it when chocolate dipped strawberries come to mind :Q___

Big birds! (Seagulls for comparison)

It would be cool to see one of these with their beaks full like in the cartoons! These pelicans are lucky they’re hanging around the fish markets! Can’t say the same for their mates in the Gulf of Mexico at the moment, though. Poor bastards

Yummmmmmmm! I was looking forward to this event for some time and was glad when it finally rolled around. We attended the extended lunch time session on the last day which worked out well for us as the rainy weather from the days prior had cleared up. We made sure we were there ready to be let in at noon which was great because it was quite a bit more crowded by the time we left at 2 – 2:30pm. I don’t have snaps of all the things we ate (oh lawd, there was just too much excitement!) but we did manage to exercise a bit of restraint to capture a few pictures

Sydney rock oysters with Vietnamese dressing, crispy shallot and baby coriander – Assiette

Saddle of Suckling Pig with Garden Peas and Smoked Bacon Jus – Restaurant Balzac
I  have never been so willing to eat peas in my life… I think this might have had something to do with  the Smoked Bacon Jus that they were swimming around in

Chilled Vichyssoise, Salmon Caviar, Hawkesbury River Oyster Beignet – Berowra Waters Inn
Yummm! I love anything creamy (huge veloute fan, here!) so this creamy foam was an instant hit with me. I had no idea what vichyssoise or a beignet was but I knew I had to have this when I saw it floating around. I have always wanted to head to Berowra Waters and this just confirmed it.

Organic Grass Fed Wagyu Beef Burger – Plan B
Now, you’re probably wondering why I am posting this blurry, unfocused photo. It is because, my friends, this is how it appears in my memory. Quite frankly it wasn’t that special but maybe I’m being harsh in my judgement because…

… of the freaking HAIR I found sticking out of the pattie! I wanted to get a shot of this but David compulsively yanked it out before I got the chance. Needless to say, I was pretty turned off which is a shame because we have always wanted to eat at Becasse/Plan B. You sort of have higher standards for restaurants of this calibre. I’m sure though, that this was just a one off…

The outdoor dining and entertainment area

I spotted a pirate! Arrrr!

I  have to make a mention of the following dishes I didn’t document because they were damned good!

• Waygu Beef Daube with Paris Mash (Guillaume at Bennelong). Mmmm, didn’t even need a knife because the meat fell apart with just the prod of my spork!
• Vanilla panna cotta with lavendar honey and fresh pomegranate aka the booby pannacotta (Jonah’s at Whale Beach). Awesome. The combo of flavours was fantastic! I can’t even describe it.

We had a few ‘Crowns’ (festival currency) left so I decided to buy a cocktail with it. Man, I forget what it was – rum of some sort with pomegranate and lime but BOY did it pack a punch. I couldn’t finish it. The few sips I had, I’m pretty sure, would have burnt away my stomach lining if I hadn’t just eaten so much food throughout the day, haha.

This is more or less what it looks like in real life… if you can picture it without the glare. Sorry, still experimenting with my new set-up!

Speaking of which, I thoguht I would post a few photos of what it looks like for anyone interseted. It’s totally self-contained and comes with two lights, a tripod and a back drop. Totally awesome!

Hehe, the display pic even shows the same camera that I use! This is me, guys, except I use the grey backdrop… and the toy car would be a bottle of nail polish!

And another shot for those lacking in imagination

image: http://www.merryswankster.com/tag/ezra-koenig/

image: http://blog.taragana.com/sports/c/world/page/3/

The (_I_)head and I went out to a fancy dinner to celebrate our 4th anniversary. Note the donning of ‘cheesey’ (i.e. BAWLER) accessories, lol. We had to make sure we ‘fit in’, so we spruced up our outfits with little details, (although this did not help as much as we expected because we soon discovered that we needed a few years on us if we were to truly blend in ). Dinner started at 8:30 and we weren’t out of there until 10:30pm. I was sooo knackered! It was quite a contrast from the bustle of the Royal Easter Show, where we had spent the day earlier.

Check out the cool architecture in the background! I can’t say I have dined anywhere like this before. I guess there isn’t any other place quite like the Sydney Opera House! It was really nice, despite being initially seated at one of the less desirable tables at the back.. on the side. But that’s ok, we were moved to the front where we could admire the beautiful view after some of the other diners left.

ze menu!

Our Amuse Bouche. I think it was foie gras and gingerbread off the top of my head.
I can handle foie gras in small amounts but I think this was just too much.

I made the rookie mistake of filling up on the bread ): There was a selection of three varieties and of course, I had to make sure I had tried all of them while I was there!

YELLOWFIN TUNA basil infused with soy and mustard seed vinaigrette

ROYALE OF ASPARAGUS with spanner crab and truffle
This was amazing! I hadn’t ever tasted anything like it before. I guess this is where the dollars go. I’ve found that with fine dining, you also pay for the innovation, not just the ingredients. I can’t think of anywhere else I could get a Royale of Asparagus if I felt like it. God forbid I ever get a craving for something like this, lol.

MORETON BAY BUGS steamed and served with Sterling caviar and cauliflower veloute
Again with the innovation and creativity. From reading the menu, I did not expect the dish to come out the way it did. Oops, I could have gotten a better picture, it just looks like custard in this shot

BLUE EYE TREVALLA roasted on an étuve of baby Autumn vegetables

GRIMAUD DUCK roasted breast with braised endive, leg confit croquette, sweet potato and foie gras puree with a fig jus

DEBONED RIB EYE OF TAJIMA WAGYU BEEF (500 day grain fed, F1 marble grade 9+) with a tombé of field mushrooms, baby spinach, confit of shallot, merlot sauce. Paris mash on the side.
Delicioussss! The merlot sauce added such a complexity to the dish. I wish I had more room at this stage for another dollop of smooth, creamy, paris mash. *Sigh* By now it was about 10 o’clock and I was just absolutely knackered from spending the day at the Easter Show. I have to admit, I struggled through this despite how lovely it was. I wish it came out before the duck!

SOUP OF SEASONAL FRUIT with lime marshmallows and mango sorbet

SELECTION OF BERRIES with lemon verbena cream, meringue and a trio of raspberries

Mmm, nomz!

Here are some random tidbits:

• You can really tell something about someone by the way they post letters/documents. I have the glamorous task of opening the office’s mail and have found that nothing screams “lazy tightarse” more than 10 pages of paper folded into a little square and then jam packed into an envelope the size of those little gift cards. Seriously. Could you not just bother to get a bigger envelope?!! I have a new appreciation for people who are organised enough to clip their pages together and neatly send it off in an A4 envelope. Have you ever tried wrestling a whole stack of paper that has been folded and creased far too many times? IT just keeps bouncing back at you when you’re trying to work with it.
• Oh yeah, I graduated. YAY! And I ate my grad cake for breakfast everyday for 4 days straight. It was the best 4 days of my life during which I produced the most pleasant smelling burps I’ve ever.. burped.
• The weekend is far too short. I had started my job with a couple of 4 week days and I think a 4:3 weekday:weekend ratio is the perfect balance

Generally, dining out was cheaper over there but I still think Sydney has the better tasting food. Maybe it has to do with the “omfg-so-hungry-effect” where anything tastes awesome anyway after exerting lots of energy. Yeah, that must be it, considering NZ is the adventure capital of the universe!

Disgusting plain food. Ugh. Wasn’t even heated through.

The Boy and his (own, unstolen) steak at Mac’s Steakhouse

Seafood chowder! CHOW-DEURRRR! So awesome! They had this on offer in most places throughout NZ. It’s like their national dish, lol

Corn fritters. I was disappointed with these to be honest, but I think it’s my own fault. For some reason I was expecting a creamed corn like filling inside a deep-fried crumbed casing… Err, I think I was thinking of those of the frozen variety. I have no idea why I thought they would serve those in a restaurant, lol.

Surf ‘n Turf Stone Grill at Triple 1 Five Cafe.

Steak of some sort

Roasted vegies

Eggs’ Benedict at Relish Cafe. This was okay but still, nothing compares to the one we had at the Boardwalk Cafe in Cairns. I still salivate thinking about it. Mmmm. I must post a pic of it some time.