Hanging out in Sydney

What makes a place feel more and more like home is when you get to know the peeps. Sydney has always been a familiar destination, what with the kangaroo’s family and friends. But more recently, I’ve forged my own friendships in the land Down Under, and it’s been nice catching up with them in person, rather than on MSN Messenger.

So I got to know Jean through the kangaroo from his time in Melbourne, but in the last few years, we were invited to her wedding in Oz, met up for drinkies in Singapore and munched on yakitori in Tokyo.

Then I got to know her cousin Mindy who lives in Sydney whom I met in Melbourne and Singapore. Both of these gals actually shared a lot about their relocation issues and experiences with me, which made me feel a lot better about the tough times when I first moved to Tokyo. I used to think it’s hard to form friendships in adulthood but I think relocation brings out this necessity and it’s entirely possible to meet people outside your usual circle of pals.

The first night was at a Mediterranean tapas joint in the city, followed by decadent desserts at Café Otto on Glebe Point Road. My pictures were awful so I am not putting them up. Still, I would tempt you to try their crème brulee and chocolate mud pie cake with vanilla ice-cream. This café bar is a laid back joint with a roaring furnace in the middle to keep the autumn chill at bay. It can be a little noisy but I thought it gave the place an uplifting buzz. I was surprised to find out that cafes that don’t serve alcohol close at 5pm because there is no point in competing with pubs that do.

The only other evening I didn’t have kangaroo family related events was on Thursday when the bucks’ night (or bachelor’s party in Singaporean speak) took place. Mindy and her boyfriend Marty whisked me off to Paddington for some late-night shopping. I’ve never been to this neighbourhood and I would recommend this if you want more chic boutiques to browse, as opposed to standard malls like Westfield. By the time 8pm rolled around, the stores were closing their shutters so we hopped into Marty’s car to go for some Italian in Glebe.

Deep fried black truffles with other crunchy bits…a perfect antidote to starving tums…

A perennial winner….a caprese salad. I love how fresh the herbs are in this country! I refuse to spend a fortune on these in Tokyo so I tend to buy dried bottled ones.

Marty had juicy rabbit and beet root as his main….Game meat is always so deliciously tender…

Mindy had the veal ragu which was hearty and savoury…We kept stealing bites of her meal…

The seafood marinara I ordered was tasty but the tomato sauce was a little on the acidic side. The clams and mussels were absolutely plump and super fresh. I would advise girls to only order entrée sizes in Australia when it comes to pasta, my main course was a mountain of spaghetti I simply couldn’t conquer.

M&M… I wonder if anyone calls them that?

It was a fun night and I hope to see all these peeps again when I return in December. Right now I am wrapping up work in the Sydney office and thinking about food as I am waiting for the kangaroo to finish a conference call.

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