Le Pelican, Surry Hills

Last Thursday my friends and I headed to contemporary French Restaurant Le Pelican in Surry Hills. Though I think Surry Hills is a bit misleading XD. We GPS'd our way to it and walked the backstreets. We didn't realise that if you continued up Oxford Street for a bit and then turn right you'll find it much more easily.

There was about 30 of us. I'm guess-timating here and we had the $70 A la carte menu.

They placed a copy of the menu at every seat. Once everyone arrived the ordering process was explained. The waitress would come around to each person and take the orders for all 3 courses: Entrée, main and dessert.


Complimentary bread

Entrées

“Pâté Maison” onion jam & cornichon
Out of all of the entrees, this would have been the most filling. But I suppose, that's not what entrees are for.


Seared scallops, new season garlic, braised cos, guindilla & mullet roe
I was expecting more scallops, to be honest.

Mains

Coorong Angus onglet, potato mille-feuille & sauce vierge


House smoked Flathead pie, “lobster bisque”
This was pretty good. And rather filling. That bowl is deep. I barely finished it because I was getting pretty full.

Dessert

Soufflé "Retour du marché"
Don't let the colour trick you. It's strawberry or berry flavoured which was totally unexpected when I took a bite.


Buttermilk Vacherin, dried fruits & maple syrup
Too much crushed ANZAC biccie and not enough sorbet.


Chocolate fondant, thyme ice cream
When you open it up, chocolate gushes out. The chocolate's not too sweet but it's still good.
Overall, it was a good dining experience. The interior was very pretty. Food presentation was amazing. The food itself, wasn't as amazing as I expected for the price. But it was good and it was good to try somewhere different.

(NOTE: The names of the dishes might differ from what they are. I got the names from the online menu but it appears as though they're not exactly like the menu that we had on the night. And I didn't take a photo of the menu!)

• Find Le Pelican at Shop 2, 411 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010. 

Day 1 of Christmas shopping

Firstly, I can't believe it's December already. This year, my gosh, went by so fast! But I say that every year.

And here's part of my tree! That's a Mickey Mouse ornament that I got from Disneyland Tokyo 3 years ago. I can't believe I haven't been back yet. Oh, I so need a job.


Despite the sweltering heat in Sydney (forecast said it would 42 degrees out where I am, car thermometer said 39 but I was in a shopping centre most of the afternoon so yeah) I ventured out into the world to get a start on Christmas. This is pretty early for me. I'm usually a late shopper. I didn't get much bought today. I'm still pondering on what the best gift is. My brother is like "Just get them photo frames! Just get them candles!" Like, how impersonal. Really. Not that they're bad gift ideas but, like, some effort would be nice. Unless you don't really care so much.

So, what I got so far for the grown ups (aunts and uncles).


- Candle gift set
- JAG wallet
- Tea cups and saucers





Tomorrow will probs be an update post about me and what's been going on. So, yeah, stay tuned for that. It will include a whole bunch of low quality camera phone photos!

#jff16 - "Tug of War!" Onitsuka goodie bag

I was going to post this earlier but then got lazy and forgot. If you're in Sydney the film Tug of War! has already been screened and viewers would have gotten their goodie bag already. If you're in Melbourne, though, Tug of War! screens on the 8th December. If you need something to persuade you to see it, besides the movie itself, every ticket holder to Tug of War! gets this goodie bag!









You get a rather large tote bag in either red or black, a wrist sweat band thing, a clicky pen (black ink), a notepad and then a bamboo media manager for putting in phones and the like I guess.

I and other volunteers who helped pack them got to take one home, so yay for that. XD

So enjoy the festival and the goodie bag!

Tees

... because it's almost summer and I have no summer clothes. And I almost always wear jeans so I need to buy some shorter pants or skirts or something.

So, yeah, t-shirts from Myer. Just an excuse for a post.





Think the yellow one was 25 bucks and the pink one 20 bucks. And somehow the nice lady at the register convinced me to get a Myer one card. It was free and I do shop there a lot at Christmas time so yay for another points card.

Yep. That is all.

A good cause

The follow-up appointment with the cardiothoracic surgeon was today. Turns out whatever it was in my dad's lung was not cancer but an abscess. (An abscess is "a collection of pus in any part of the body that, in most cases, causes swelling and inflammation around it.")

I was so relieved I wanted to cry.

In the hospital the doctor had said to my dad that it was lung cancer. At the appointment though the pathology report said that it was an abscess. After all that, it appears that my dad must have breathed in something that caused an infection. Maybe it had something to do with the pneumonia that he had in June which started this whole ball rolling.

In any case, it was not cancer but it was best to remove the abscess anyway. Somewhat related but not really, my dad has a follow-up with the GP about a cyst in his liver in December which is something not to be alarmed about I'm told.

Ever since my Aunt was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 I've become more aware of the prevalence of the disease in our society. When I was younger I thought it was something that happened to other people. However, more and more it seems that those other people are turning out to be someone you know. Just today my dad was telling me that one of our long time family friend and neighbour has cancer.

I volunteered for Pink Ribbon Day this Friday (though official day is Monday, 22nd October). I just wanted to do something. Sometimes I wish I had the brains to go into medical science but I don't so I'm going to help in any way that I can. You can still register to volunteer at http://www.pinkribbonday.com.au/volunteer.

Anyhoo, if you see the stalls around town please buy something if you can!

Or you can donate at http://www.pinkribbonday.com.au/donate-pink.


Some links for more information:

• Cancer Council Australia - http://www.cancer.org.au
• Cancer Council NSW - http://www.cancercouncil.com.au
• National Breast Cancer Foundation - http://www.nbcf.org.au
• Pink Ribbon Day - http://www.pinkribbonday.com.au

Chinta Ria - The Temple of Love

A somewhat impromptu Public Holiday Monday dinner found my friends and me at Chinta Ria, Cockle Bay Wharf. It took me a while to find the place on my own. I've never been but I've read blog posts on other blogs about it. I went up a set of escalators much too early. To find it walk all the way down Cockle Bay Wharf until you hit the escalators leading to Pyrmont Bridge. Turn around and face the city and it'll be in that area on your right, hidden behind foliage (I'm not quite sure I used that word correctly ...) That's how I got there. There is probably another, maybe even easier, way.

The first sight that hits you is the massive Buddha. It's pretty in the low light. Well, I guess it's pretty in any light.




We had a table for six. I liked the colourful, retro-looking bowls and chairs. The restaurant had low lighting and the flash on DSLR was painful for my fellow dining companions so I used it minimally. As such, photos were too dark and not bloggable.

We ordered maybe 5 dishes, I forget which ones because it was a couple of weeks ago now. But these two were my favourite.


Beef Ria - $25.30


Roti Kari - $18.70
The other dishes, that escape my memory, weren't amazing. I guess that's why I don't remember. I think it has a very cosy atmosphere. Food wise, there's probably cheaper and better Malaysian restaurants out there. It's not bad but for the price (note: I'm still looking for work so ... XD) I was expecting some more bang for my buck, so to speak.

I think I'll go back one day to try some other dishes that perhaps are particular to this restaurant, if there are any.

The Buddha though. Amazeballs.

• Find Chinta Ria - The Temple of Love at the Roof Terrace of Cockle Bay Wharf, next to the Pyrmont footbridge entrance, 201 Sussex Street Sydney 2000. 

Sugar Hit at Shangri-La Hotel

I've always heard of, but never been to, the Sugar Hit part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival. As part of the month long food fest you can eat assorted desserts coupled with a glass of wine for $20 at selected venues.

After dinner on Monday night, at a friend's suggestion and after googling, we headed to the Lobby Lounge at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney.


According to the website "The Lobby Lounge offers a decadent chocolate tasting plate with an assortment of handmade chocolates infused with rose, Earl Grey, orange, lavender and Irish whisky; with a glass of Brown Brothers dessert wine."





I am not the neatest eater. I was trying to figure out how to best eat these (also, could not figure out a good way to take a photo of the whole plate). In the end I ate with my hands. I did not know a good way to eat with just that fork. Also, I do not think the flowers are edible.

My favourite in that whole platter was that little chocolate, double layer dessert on the end with the puff-looking stuff on top (awesome blogger am I XD). There was an unexpected crunch when I got to the bottom and it was amazing.

SO MUCH SUGAR.

For more info visit the Crave Sydney website: http://www.cravesydney.com/index.php

Because Topshop opens tomorrow

... which is something I had no idea about it until I walked by the as-yet-not-opened store on Monday night.




The only Topshop I've ever been to has been in Manila in the Philippines. I'm glad that Australia, and especially Sydney because I'm a Sydney-sider, is getting more international clothing stores. I'm not quite sure of the price range. Hopefully it's pretty affordable.

Also, look at the girl in the last photo just looking at me taking a photo. XD

I haven't posted in a while ...

Nothing really happening at the moment. My dad had his operation. It went well and he's recovering fast. Next doctor's appointment is on 17th October.

In the meantime here's a random photo of UNSW's main walkway at night. SO PRETTY. I MISS MY ALMA MATER. I was visiting UNSW for a friend's graduation.

24th August is Daffodil Day

Tomorrow is Daffodil Day. A day of fundraising for the Cancer Council of Australia to "to help support Cancer Council's research, prevention and support services for patients and their families" (http://daffodilday.com.au/cancer-australia).

I didn't really used to think about cancer. It seemed like it was a distant concept that had nothing to do with me. In 2004, my Aunt aged 33, was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was in my last year of high school and I had finished my HSC. I had all this free time. It was spent going with my Aunt to and from doctors' appointments for tests and appointments. She had a biopsy performed to check if the tumour in her breast was actually cancer and I was in the room with her. She didn't want to be alone. She was scared. And I regret not being able to hold her hand at that time.

It was an odd summer day when we found out she had cancer. My uncle, her husband, returned first from the Doctor's office to where we were waiting and said simply, "She has it." My Aunt returned a little after, dabbing her face with tissues and sat with us. Her phone kept ringing and she just ignored call after call.

She had so many operations and stays in hospitals. She had a metal rod put in her leg, she had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, she had seizures. The cancer had spread from her breast to her bones to her brain. And it was sad. She was so positive and she believed in God and miracles and she prayed.

She spent time in a hospice in the last few weeks of her life. She spent her last birthday there. She was full of drugs of some sort and seemingly out of it. She was transferred back to a hospital where she was in a coma for the most part.

On 23rd April 2009 my cousin called me to say that the doctor believed that she would not stay much longer. All the family came to visit in the hospital. She was not conscious, just a body in the room, still alive but not living. My cousin had been spending the last few months living with my Aunt and taking care of her. I watched my cousin clean my Aunt's teeth and talk with familiarity with the nurses. My Aunt's two little children, aged 9 and 6 at the time, went in to say their last goodbyes.

And then, early in the morning of 25th April she went. There was another call from my cousin around 1am of 25th April and we all headed to the hospital to see her. I kept on thinking, she must have waited for everyone to see her before she left. The timing was spooky. What if we hadn't all said goodbye? What if we hadn't said "If this is too hard, then you can go. It's ok." What if we had sad, "Stay." But then, what kind of life could she have had? She was in pain and drugged up all the time. It would be selfish of us to keep her here. She once said that she didn't want anyone to tell her to go. Her mother, my grandmother, was in hospital because of cancer too. My other Aunt had said to their ill mother something along the lines of "It's okay if you want to go". But then, I wonder if it works that way.

My dad is currently scheduled for an operation to remove the lower left part of his lung. The doctor said that he's more than 50% sure that it's cancer. His opening words to us at the appointment were something along the lines of "It's probably cancer." I'm hopeful that once it is removed, whatever it is, that it'll be the end of it. That if it is cancer, it hasn't spread. It seems like removal of it is not urgent and that hopefully in the time before the operation, it hasn't spread either. I don't think I've said but my dad is the only parent I have left. I've wishing so hard that this operation is all he needs to be healthy again.

So, when fundraising days like Daffodil Day come around I try to do my part because it's not such a distant concept that has nothing to do with me. According to the Daffodil Day website "1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85." Statistically speaking, someone you know will be affected by cancer. Tomorrow, and if you can any other time, please do what you can. Every little bit helps.

http://daffodilday.com.au/

The one where I go to beaches, and eat.

(Did I use that Oxford comma correctly? XD)

It seems like the last blog entry I made was almost a month ago. July was rather a boring month for me this year. I’ve finished all my subjects for my Juris Doctor and I just need to do my PLT. Some personal things are in the way currently so I’m looking for work and placement rather slowly. A whole bunch of my friends have or are leaving Sydney for work reasons. A few of my friends are heading off to South Korea to teach English. I’ve been to so many farewells in the past month!

One of my friends had never been to Bondi or Manly and so, before she leaves the country for a year, we went!

I don’t live close at all to Bondi. I’ve been there now 4 times. Maybe. If you’ve never been you can catch the bus all the way to the beach or, like we did, catch the train to Bondi Junction and then catch the bus from there. It’s much quicker than a bus, I feel.

(I need to clean my lens. I can see spots!)






To get to Manly you catch the ferry from wharf 3 at Circular Quay. You can take a billion photos of the Opera House while you ride the ferry. I know I did.



It’s about a 30 minute trip one way. I no longer get concession tickets so it was better for me to get a MyMulti day pass for $21.00 than to buy all my tickets separately. Adult return to Manly via Ferry is $14.00. So steep.





Don’t be like my friend and I, be prepared! We didn’t have thongs or towels or anything. So when we went to splash our feet in the water the bottom of our pants were wet and we were struggling to remove the sand from our feet. Taps, where were you?

We took the 5:15pm ferry back to Circular Quay and got to see the sky change from sunset to night.



Places that I’ve eaten at recently:

Lemongrass Takrai (86 Union Street, Pyrmont)

Reasonably priced, delicious Thai food. Friendly service. They do takeaway. Loved their yellow curry with beef.

Adriano Zumbo at The Star

First time I went to The Star and first time I’ve had Adriano Zumbo macaroons. I got salted popcorn butter and peach iced tea. I can’t believe that the salted popcorn butter tasted so much like popcorn and went so well with the cream. Was so good.

Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant (3/51 – 53 Dixon St, Haymarket)

Lots of Tsingtao beer was had. My mouth hurt so much when I ate the food from the chilli side. Ate so much. I think my digestive system had some trouble handling all of that food! Going to the toilet was ... yeah XD

Fishouse, Bondi Beach

Fish and chips and potato scallops and deep-fried Mars bar. They were sold out of Pluto Pups though! I wanted them so badly. XD



Deep-fried Mars bar. Very very gooey chocolate. Interesting to try. I probably couldn’t eat a whole one. Just too rich! Wonder if a deep-fried Snickers bar would taste better?


That's been my past month and a bit. I've just enrolled on an online course about journalism to keep me occupied and my brain moving while I look for a job/work experience. I've always wanted to do something in that area but it never happened. And I've been watching The Newsroom too much and yeah. I've enrolled in one unit for the forthcoming online semester about writing. So that should be fun. Maybe you'll see some marked improvement in my writing style in this blog!

And you guys, cannot believe it's August already!