We recently had four nights away in Sydney. It was very warm and humid and the city seemed especially noisy this time.  Normally it is one of my favourite cities to visit, but lately I’ve noticed I am gravitating more and more toward serene destinations.  However, the concert tickets I gave my husband for his birthday in November required us to go to Sydney if we wanted to see Celtic Woman. And in case I forget to say this, it was worth it.  We thoroughly enjoyed the concert, and several other cultural events.

Our hotel was the Holiday Inn right across the road from the Entertainment Centre, but more importantly, located in Chinatown.  Do I hear the sound of woks at work?  Oh yes, I think I do!!  Ever since leaving Darwin we seem forever in search of good Asian and Indian food.  We’ve eaten in Chinatown many times over the years but we still managed a couple of delicious new experiences this time.

Yum Cha

For me the highlight was the Vietnamese cold noodles with marinated pork, vegetable and coconut sauce.  It was fresh and so delicious I cannot say enough about it.  It was in a Food Court in the lower, and not very attractive, level of a building in the main part of Chinatown.  It was the cleanest stall in the place and the lovely Vietnamese woman was very demonstrative in showing me exactly how I must mix up the ingredients so that everything was covered with the coconut sauce when I ate it.  She was right, it was SO good.  Mekong Eating House was the name of it. Highly recommended.

We also ate at Baba Laksa House in the beautiful art deco Grace Hotel, Emperor’s Restaurant for Yum cha, and nearby Emperor’s Cream Puffs-hole-in-the-wall-no-photos-allowed!

Shhh, the machine that makes these babies is a secret!! They smelled as heavenly as you can imagine a tiny, fresh donut filled with custard to be. Since they were not gluten free, Don sacrificed himself for the cause, eating them while I photographed. Brave lad.

Taking a break from Chinatown, we also ate dinner one evening at Luke Mangan’s Glass Brasserie, always inventive and delicious.  Loved Luke’s own rosé wine, couldn’t resist taking a couple of photos, though it is a rather classier restaurant and I probably shouldn’t have.  I did see a couple of others taking photos, and I presume Luke won’t mind the promotional plug!!

Here’s a funny thing… Sydney was hotter than Alice Springs while we were away, and in the summer, that almost never happens.  The remnants of a cyclone in the form of a low pressure system travelled south west of Alice and brought heavy cloud and some much needed rain.  What a wonderful welcome home.  The garden has breathed a deep sigh of relief and poured out its appreciation in the form of green and pink and all things crawling and buzzing!  It’s been a ‘cicada summer’ for us and they are nearly deafening at the moment.  But for all of you who are in the depths of winter’s icy grip, or suffering record breaking heat waves, enjoy these for a moment… this little lady (coccinella monticola – as best I can identify) was crawling across the rug in the house so I carefully transferred her to the outer kingdom and she returned the favour by balancing delicately for me.  Is there anything that says summer more than a lady bug on bright green basil?

Perhaps a honey bee in the same basil?

It’s lovely to go away, but wonderful to come home.

Have a delicious day.

-Ardys