The Not-So-Wild West

I want to live here - in a secondhand furniture shop along Parramatta Road

We've lived in Sydney, New South Wales for five years now and are quite ashamed to say that we've not really travelled deep-west from the city.

Our annual road trips have taken us down south twice, up north once and down from the north (Brisbane) on a separate occasion, but we never explored the inland west. The furthest we've been was down Parramatta Road to go see some bands at the Annandale Hotel or to go scrounging for old things in secondhand shops.

I also want to live in a big house just so I can fit these old seats and organ from a demolished theare in the living room

Our city-dwelling Aussie pals often tell us that the west is "bogan" (also "westie", or "redneck" to those who don't speak Australian) land. They say that there's nothing to see there except suburban sprawl and filled us with fear and dread of the inhabitants.

On Sunday, after our regular (but unfruitful) hunt for the elusive chairs, we decided to drive further down Parramatta Road to Parramatta, a western suburb of Sydney. For "famous" food, of course.

Map from here

I don't know if it's just us Singaporeans but if we hear about good food, we'd go to great lengths just to taste it and we've recently been urged by someone to go try Temasek Restaurant's highly rated Singapore and Malaysian cuisine...you can take the girl away from the hawkers' stalls but you can't take the hawkers' stalls out of the girl...or something to that effect.

After trundling down the long, some parts badly-paved, road (we didn't use the faster highway because we wanted to take the "scenic" route), this was what greeted us as we turned into Parramatta, the suburb,...

...a mini CBD!

I was expecting narrow one-lane streets lined with low-rises! And rough and scary "natives". Our Aussie pals lied.

We easily found Temasek in a tiny alley way behind those tall buildings.

The boyfriend was very very happy with his Hainanese Chicken Rice. They've got the condiments right - dark sticky soy and a dollop of minced ginger in the tangy homemade chilli sauce. And the chicken was smooth and succulent and not too fatty.

My Prawn Laksa was alright. I've had better but it's hard to find proper Singapore-style laksa in Sydney where most places flog noodles in a lame curry broth as that thick coconut-y and dried shrimp-y dish so I wolfed it down.

I couldn't resist ordering the Kicap Manis Sotong (Sweet Soy Sauce Squid). I love the taste of the sweet Indonesian soy! And the squids didn't disappoint - deep-fried with a light salt-and-pepper batter and then stir-fried in that tasty sauce with bits of garlic, chili and eschalots. We had to take half of it home because the serving size of everything was so big and our stomachs weren't big enough to contain all.

The meal was sure worth the drive and we're already planning our next visit (we have to call in advance if we want to eat some of the very special '"specials") to slowly work our way down the menu. Nyum nyum.

Temasek Restaurant

The Roxy Arcade

71 George Street

Parramatta

NSW

Phone: (02) 9633 9926

Thank You For The Music, Sir Richard

Singlet - Gap, Jumpsuit - The Heirloom by Pani, Shoes - Campana Zig Zag by Melissa

The boyfriend and I went to our third V-Festival yesterday. There wasn't a broken-up-and-then-reformed I-have-to-see-before-I-die band from my younger days on the line-up this year but we had a great day-out all the same.

Refreshments - my once-a-year intake of pink alcopops

We said we were too old for big festivals after the first V two years ago where the long queues for everything (entry...drinks...toilet...) made us grumpier than we were for our age. We much prefer the smaller ones and the intimate side shows that the bands we like play at cosier venues but we somehow kept going back.

Seeing a few bands with just one ticket, with the option of going to their side shows on a different date if we want more of them, was a huge draw, of course. The problem with the long lines, the organisers have quite effectively tackled since receiving a huge number of complaints after the first year.

Uncool band next to the boyfriend's cool Michael Young I borrowed for the day

This year, they did something which we think was pretty sweet, something that they didn't really need to do but did anyway - they listened to yet more complaints from the punters (oh, how I hate that word!) and brought forward the playing times of the bands, the day before, on one stage so the last band, The Human League, didn't play concurrently with the headlining act, The Killers, over at the main stage. Happy ending for everyone but we would have been at The Human League if we had to choose.

Anyway, for those who are interested (Hello, Ben!), here's what I scribbled on my programme...

the dø - "Ended set early...bad sound"

It's a shame, really. They were their cute selves before the "technical difficulties". A band that we've wanted to see since this. Might go see them this week at their side show to see Olivia in more of her pretty wardrobe!

Elbow - "Music for grown-ups driving to work"

I had no idea who they were...the boyfriend said they just won some major Brit music award...we had time to kill before the next band on our list performed. Safe and thus, boring. You'll like them if you like music that's a tiny touch better than those they play in malls and elevators. We left after the first song...we did give them a chance.

M83 - "Good cheesy drumrolls at the start...du-du-dududu...hooked!"

The boyfriend was away buying alcoholic beverages when they started and was quite surprised to see me enjoying the music when he got back. He said he's played them at home and I've told him not to play them anymore when I'm around. I really don't remember but we listen to so much stuff at home that I can't keep track (maybe we have to start following the example set by the meticulous One Album A Day!).

Reminded me of My Bloody Valentine - another one of those I-have-to-see-before-I-die bands.

Bored while waiting...the boyfriend didn't fall over. Damn!

Madness - "...madness!!! Sharp suits!"

Yup, the crowd went crazy on the first note! Loads of happy jumping-around, us included. Our first taste of music from the 80s for the day. Sad we had to leave mid-set for...

The Kills - "Rogue-y Mr Moss...Nice cardi...Full-fat sound for a two-piece."

We like two-piece noise-mongers. It's a bonus if they're candy to the eye.

Sad story: We were looking at our programme before the The Kills started playing when this really earnest-looking guy came up to us and asked if we were waiting for M83 to start. Fuck, we didn't know what to say to him knowing full well how we would have felt if we had missed a band that we wanted to see.

He obviously didn't know about about the changes in the schedule at the yellow stage - we knew because we were fortunately on the festival's mailing list and heard only on the night before after the organisers pandered to the whinges of the ticket-buying public. The new playing times were plastered everywhere at the bars on-site but I guess that guy doesn't drink, judging from the bottle of water sticking out from his pocket.

The look on his face really broke my heart especially after he said, "But they are the only reason why I'm here.". We hope he's got tickets to the band's side show this week. Poor guy.

Kaiser Chiefs - "Hmmm...Surprised people left at 7.15pm sharp for The Human League."

"Hmmm..." because if I had a chance to see them "live" right after their first album, I would have been very excited. They really wowwed me then but the refreshing-ness got lost along the way. We were at their stage last night because they were an in-between-bands filler.

And the people leaving, they weren't leaving for The Human League, we realised as we were walking over to their stage. They were going to watch the irritatingly whiney Snow Patrol on the neighbouring stage. Bah!

The Human League - "Phil Oakey as Ming the Merciless!"

Our second taste of music from our teens! Happy days! It's like one of those Don't Look Back concerts where bands play an album of theirs in its entirety - they played Dare and of course everyone in the crowd was waiting for that one song!

The Killers - "......."

We were happy to go after The Human League but the main stage where The Killers were playing was on our way out so we stopped for bit. Definitely the reason why most of the kids were there. Again, "hmmm..." for me like the Kaiser Chiefs. We left after the third number. I needed food!

He'd better!...my favourite of all the boyfriend's t-shirts (it says "I Y Junk Food" on the reverse)

Dotty About Dots

Dots Obssession - New Century, 2000 at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

How can anyone not love Yayoi Kusama's polka-dotted art, both the happy and the dark?

Already a long-time lover of dots on everything, I fell hard when I first discovered the Japanese artist's works.

Her obsessive love for dots was the result of her, well, dottiness - she's had hallucinations since she was a child and she would see dots and circles which she started translating into drawings. She has said very often that without her art, she would have died long ago.

She voluntarily checked herself into a mental hospital in Tokyo, after living and working in America for fifteen years, in 1973 where she still lives today, with her studio located just down the street.

Looking hot in her late 70s(!) in one of her signature wigs!

This evening, we saw Yayoi Kusama - I Adore Myself, a film tracing a year-and-a-half of the life of the lovably-eccentric artist while she was creating her Love-Forever series of fifty paintings from 2006 to 2007. It was one of two special screenings held in conjunction with her Mirrored Years exhibition currently being shown at The Museum of Contemporary Art.

Within one of her installation pieces in 1965

I've read quite a bit about her but seeing her on the big screen, still going about doing her thing at 77 years of age was...at risk of sounding like a contestant on a reality TV show, life-affirming. She just turned 80 a few days ago on March 22 and if I live that long, I hope I'd be as feisty and loopily-sane as she is.





















V-neck T - Petit Bateau, Pleated Circle Skirt - Tina Kalivas' "Spy" Collection (love the huge detachable pockets!), Shoes - Night by Melissa, Necklace - The Empress Dowager's New Jewels

I brought some dots (around the the neck) and a circle (the skirt) to the movie.

Simple Pleasures From Last Night

Dinner: Homemade pesto in pasta and chargrilled mushrooms

Post-dinner TV-watching snack: Fresh-out-of-oven peanut butter and chocolate chip oatmeal biscuits dunked in milk

Funky Shoes On A Spunky Girl

I love all my plastic shoes by Melissa.

I love fashion but I'm not a model-watcher. However, I would pick Agyness Deyn if I have to name a favourite out of the current crop of samey-samey-looking girls whose names I don't even know.

I think Melissa has done well, picking her to wear their shoes in their new magazine, Plastic Dreams - she is quirky, like the shoes.

Meanwhile, my lust for new Melissa's to add to my collection continues with...

















...the Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa Three Straps...

















...and the latest design for Melissa by the Campana brothers made using 30% recycled material - bringing the eco-conscious Brazilian footwear company another step closer to its "sustainable dreams".

Adoption Day

New pals for the gang!

After a visit to my lovely dentist at his spanking new surgery today, I popped into a vintage clothing store across the road from him, one that I've been meaning to go to but have forgotten because it's not on my usual "trawling" route.

It was meant to be a speedy dash in-and-out (half-written resume for a potential job waiting to be finished at home) but as I was paying for my quick grabs - a 70s woven jute belt and a beautiful vintage slip in emerald green - I spotted a group of three swans in the display cabinet under the counter.

I asked about them and the friendly shop owner pointed me to this drawer...

...and told me the animals' story.

He was at an old dude's house to pick up some of the man's vintage threads for the shop when the old guy pulled out this huge suitcase filled with the toys and asked if the shop owner wanted them too.

Of course he wanted them! Them vinyl cuties are half-a-century-old yet in mint condition!

The old guy used to run a fairground "shooting gallery" stall in the 50s. You know, where you win the toy that you hit? He had a toy company, Morrison Toymakers, in Melbourne make hundreds of them just for him, then decided that he didn't want to work the funfair circuit anymore and was left with the toys. How sweet of him to have kept them for all these years!

Choosing those that I finally took home was a hard task because all of them had their own raw and unique quirks. I wanted to take all of them home except for the fishes with "reptile skin" vinyl for scales! My quick peek turned out to be quite a long visit but it was all worth it (the resume is nearly done).

I love shopping in vintage stores where the owners are the buyers and sales assistants as well! A good back-story or two about the wares is always guaranteed!

"Lelong! Lelong!"

Back in the good old days in Singapore, when you hear shopkeepers shout that out loud at regular intervals from the front of their stores, you know they are having a massive sale.

But like all Singlish (Singapore-English) words, "lelong" is actually adapted from (or a bastardised version of) the Malay word which actually means "to be auctioned off", not "sale".

Anyway, the shoes that I mentioned a few days ago are ready to be "lelong-ed" (in its original meaning) on Ebay.

These are those that I can bear to part with at the moment. Clothes and bags will follow soon so do check in from time to time if you want to give a good home to my pre-loved babies.

Start shopping here.

A 22-Year-Old Skirt

Skirt - Carli Gry, V-Neck T-shirt - Petit Bateau, Sash - Vintage Balmain scarf, Bag - "The Ultimate" by Slow and Steady Wins The Race, Shoes - Ras, Bow Necklace - Love by Geneine Honey, Vintage Men's Watch - Orient

Some good does come from being a little squirrel who loves to hoard.

I bought it in the 80s when I was 16. An adult's size "oo1" - the smallest available. It didn't fit properly, hanging off my skinny teenage hips, but I had to have it. I was in love with the happy colourful flowers and that flouncy shape, hoping I'll grow into it one day.

Of course it was soon forgotten about along with many other things until it was unearthed last year when I went home to Singapore for a holiday - in mint condition and now a perfect fit.

Capelet- Salvation Army Thrift Store (in case the evening got balmy)

I wore it to watch Confessions of a Shopaholic yesterday with Kiki. The film did make me feel guilty and more resolved to time my next visit home to Singapore to coincide with at least one fashion flea market so I can find my personal "vintage" pieces good homes.

Pawning My Jewels And Selling My Dowry

Pink Tourmaline Dream

The Jewels
I started making these, The Empress Dowager's New Jewels, six weeks ago when I first conferred upon myself lady-of-leisure status (yes, everyone says it's a bad time to quit my job but I don't believe in dragging myself to work daily at a place where I wasn't happy at anymore).

After giving my first few pieces away to pals (my "guinea pigs" and honest critics) and keeping a couple for myself, I now have pieces to sell.

Dewdrops Of Rubies

The are my cheeky interpretation of old-school over-the-top drippy-drapey gem-studded heirloom jewellery, at a minute fraction of the cost of the real deal and you don't need to pay a hefty sum in insurance premium just to wear them out.

If they are your kind of thing, the shop is now open for business. I hope to see you there!

Leather Oxfords and Esmeralda Loverobots by Melissa

The Dowry
My mom says that I've got so much clothes, shoes, bags and what-nots that she doesn't have to worry about providing me with a grand dowry should I decide to get married one day.

I hate to agree with her but after doing my change-of-season closet clean-out over the past week, I have to whisper a meek "Yesh, Mom, I am a hoarder of the worse kind.".

I've got a huge bag of "randoms" to donate to the Salvation Army but there are also stuff that are brand new and have not been used (like these two pairs of shoes) so Ebay, here I come with my annual "shop my closet" sale!

I think I'm going to start with shoes (I do have too many and they do take up the most space!) followed by clothes (vintage and new-ish) and maybe some bags so again, if they are your kind of thing, watch this space for updates. Soon...I'm off to photograph them now!

Unveiling Frida

Frida Singlet - a shop in Paddington , Twisted Singlet - a Country Road trapeze top that I twisted before I put it on, Farmer's Pants - Gorman, Shoes - Campana Zig Zag by Melissa, Jute Bag - freebie from a specialty doorknob shop, Necklace - a sex shop, Watch - Men's Casio G-shock

I rediscovered this Frida Kahlo top today while doing a slow change-of-season closet reshuffle (slow because the wishy-washy weather has made me indecisive too). I bought it when we first moved here five years ago and its sheer softness made it one of my favourite things that summer.

It's meant to be autumn now but we are enjoying yet another beautiful breezy sunny day, a perfect day to unveil Frida like one of her paintings.

What You Get From Watching Too Much TV

Pussybow Blouse - French Connection, Madras Checked Shorts - Lacoste, Shoes - Conny-wonnies, Woven-Plastic Bag - Accessorize, Vintage Men's Watch - Orient

We watched the first season of Mad Men, in full, in one sitting on Saturday.

I wanted to do a casual Betty Draper, you know, pretty blouse, plaid capris, cute flats and alice band in hair, to the produce market on Sunday but my old pair of Miki Mialy with their swingy ruffled "trumpet" hems that I pulled out from six years of hanging in the closet are now one size too small for me. Bah. I wore Don Draper's "swimming trunks" and sneakers instead.

Oh, and if you're a smoker, don't watch all thirteen episodes in one go. There's someone smoking in almost every frame and that will just make you want to light up when you know you shouldn't. And I thought Winona Ryder and her pals in Reality Bites were bad.

On Our Way To An Early Coronary

Last night, we cracked open the smooth milky-white lump of Vanella's burrata we bought at the Food Festival on Friday.

We ate it (yes, the whole 200g of creamy heart-attack-inducing goodness of it because it doesn't keep well after the outer layer is broken) in a simple salad of juicy vine-ripened tomatoes, shreds of fragrant basil with a splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and a crack of black pepper and a good pinch of salt flakes.

Coincidentally, just before bed, I read Tamasin Day-Lewis' chapter on her visit to Puglia in Italy, where the cheese was first made, in her book Where Shall We Go For Dinner?

Her description of it was spot-on - "...that divine bauble of buffalo mozzarella enclosing a flood of cream that bursts dam-like onto the tongue in a rich, lactic lake...".

But the one she had would have been way tastier (not that Vanella's was not!) because it was made from unpasteurised milk which cheesemakers in Australia are not allowed to use except for a few rare cases.

Vanella Cheeses are available at Norton Street Grocers in Sydney. You can write to them for a list of stockists in other states.

Poignant Sweetness

By a poet in our neighbourhood.

Made me think of this.

Degustation In The Park - Taste Of Sydney Food Festival

Display of tulips, pomegranates and figs at Ottoman's stall

The boyfriend and I got home not too long ago from two hours of non-stop eating, drinking and fine food-and-wine tasting at the Taste of Sydney Food Festival at the ever-so-beautiful Centennial Park.

I'm hastily posting this in an alcohol-induced haze for food-loving Sydney-dwelling readers (hello!) who might not have received the memo - there are only two more days, tomorrow and Sunday, left of the four-day scrumptious feast fest featuring 15 of Sydney's top restaurants, each presenting three of their signature dishes! If you love good food and wine, you'd knock yourself, hard, if you miss this.

Alright, the "deets" (a word I would hesitate to use if I was sober)...
~ Tickets - you can get them at the door or online here. We're glad we got ours way beforehand - we thought going on a Friday afternoon (when everyone else is at work) for the lunch session would mean less of a queue for everything but we were wrong.
~ Crowns - their posh word for coupons. The restaurants only except these. We got 90 crowns when we ordered our tickets (30 each with our premium tickets and an extra 30 because we are gluttons). If you run out (we did and bought 60 more), there are crown-selling booths on site.

Once you get in, you'll need the menu. Like at a music festival, you'll want to plot your method of attack. We suggest eating your top choices and then work your way down to less attractive dishes - your stomach will thank you.

The fun of the whole event is creating your own degustation menu with food from all the restaurants.

Here's a sample of what we ate that I remembered to photograph.

The boyfriend's Saddle of Suckling Pig with Crackling and Baby Garden Peas from Restaurant Balzac - his dish-of-the-day which he ate most of while I was waiting for...

...the Salmon Dolma at Ottoman Cuisine. This "salmon, cray and prawn wrapped in vine-leaves, lightly battered, served with piquant sauce" number is my favourite of the day.

A Mojito and Ping Pong (lychees and passionfruit muddled then shaken with 42 Below Passionfruit Vodka, lychee and lime juice) from the famous Longrain Cocktail Bar.

Pastrami of Kingfish with Smoked Oysters and a Cucumber and Apple Salad from Danks Street Depot. It's been sitting on the counter for too long so make sure you ask for a freshly-made one.

Ham steamed in Hay also from Danks Street Depot. I don't eat porky-pigs but the boyfriend said it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious with a subtle hint of grass.

Moussaka of Eggplant, Sea Scallop and Taramasalata from Civic Dining. Smoky grilled eggplant and gigantic and succulent scallop...more-ish!

Gundooee organic grassfed Wagyu Beef Burger from Becasse/Etch/Plan B. Easily the most popular thing at the festival - they sold 550 of them last night.

Sweet Corn Soup with Sherry Chantilly and Basil also from the Becasse/Etch/Plan B stall. The sherry-flavoured whipped cream was the star!

Green Curry Chicken with Thai Basil, Apple Eggplants and Kanom Jin Noodles from Sailors Thai. Belonged to the two lovely ladies who were sharing a table with us - they kindly asked if I wanted to photograph it too. Tee hee hee! They loved the curry.

Time for dessert, you ask? I was very curious about a few of the desserts on offer but I really couldn't eat anymore and we swapped the coupons we saved for dessert for some Chandon Sparkling Rosé...

...which we drank while walking around the Gourmet Producers Market, tasting wine and food, and planning my dream kitchen.





















I want this sunshiney-yellow AGA cooker, a SMEG retro fridge and dishwashing machine in baby blue!

And no big feast is complete without a doggie-bag to take home...

It surprises a lot of people but we love cheese, even the stinky ones, despite being Asians.

We love a good Burrata made from buffalo's milk (the one on the bottom left). We got one from the nice gentleman at the Vanella Cheese stall who said they export to one of our favourite Italian restaurants in Singapore!

The rest are from Paesanella - a buffalo ricotta (sweeter and creamier from those made from cow's milk), my favourite made-in-Australia mascarpone and the to-die-for stracchino.

There were also other activities like this, this and this but we chose to stuff our face instead.





















Shirt - Litmus (a cute little shirt shop in Bugis Juncton, Singapore), Chambray Pinafore - Insight, Shoes - Night by Melissa, Bag - Orla Kiely for Tate Modern, Vintage Watch - Citizen

And here's me channelling a female Cletus Spuckler from The Simpsons for a roll in the hay in the park. Thought I'd add a bit of fashion since the last few posts have been so food-centric.

Now, go book your tickets! Remember, only two days of dirty filthy food porn left!