Saturday night at Manly wharf

As promised, I went to film Nic sing at the wharf tonight. I was a bit late but I asked him yesterday not to play Black & Gold until I come out so it was all good :) I just made it to his last songs as his amp battery was dying, and I, with my stupid habit of saving billions of photos on my memory card, only had 2 minutes of recording time left, so he said he would do a very quick version. Except for a few tiny off moments (stupid battery!), it was perfect.

I've been going to Nic's wharf "gigs" since Polly and I first moved into our apartment. I think we went groceries shopping one evening and I just didn't want to go home when I heard him sing. He has this amazingly unique voice, and knows how to add a touch of both melancholy and sexiness to the songs he plays. Plus he plays many of my favourites - with a little twist, so that sometimes you would have to try to figure out what song it is.
Make sure you catch him some time at Manly wharf or Circular Quay, and request for All You Need Is Love or Toxic. And tell him that I sent you. ;)

Posh talk

I have a huge list of places I'd like to check out around the city, but without any specific reasons/occasions to go out I usually find my bum sitting around at home rather than anywhere else. But then something comes up and you end up at places you never really thought of going to... yet.

Mission: To go to Nic Henstridge's big gig

Location: Zeta Bar @ Hilton Hotel

Date and time: Friday 3rd of September, 6pm

Accomplice: Beautiful Sanam from work

We couldn't hear much of Nic's singing as there was no door between the bar and the balcony, and they were playing house inside - the music was nice though, but both at the same time just didn't work out. The place however is really cool: high ceilings, 2 bars with hot bartenders, sexy private booths with curtains and a funky fireplace. The combination of glass, white and dark coloured walls, a mirrored specials board and autumn leaves on the floor gives Zeta a sophisticated but not overdone look. Very posh indeed, but not overwhelming or intimidating like some other high end bars where you always feel like you're not dressed up enough. As in drinks - the bartenders mixed up some heavenly concoctions from an amazing cocktail list; everything sounded yum, looked yum, and definitely was.

My Passionfruit and Almond Rocks. My pampered soul is already begging for more.

Sanam's Rockmelon and Pistachio cocktail, with pistachio sorbet.

The cocktails were pure awesomeness, and the place is perfect for a fancy but relaxed night out; if you just received your paycheck and want to indulge yourself, you know where to go.


After Nic finished his "gig", Sanam and I went to Crystal Bar. (We wanted to go somewhere more "affordable"; Crystal wasn't exactly the case, but well.) She went to their Boudoir show that they have every Saturday night and loved it, so I wanted to see what that place looked like too. Located in the basement of the GPO building, Crystal is this vintage-y bar with stone walls, heavy curtains, large mirrors, private booths and dark red-pinkish lighting. The crystal wall behind the bar was hot pink, and the drinks that the bartender mixed up for us were pretty hot too. He offered to prepare something to our preferences as the menu was getting changed, and pampered me with this nutty (Frangelico), fruity (strawberry and raspberry) improvisation. It was named either Nicki Nutcracker or Knick Knack after me - I forgot which one got chosen. :)

The night ended a little less posh but not with less fun with me meeting up with Polly and her boyfriend Sakhil, who just came back from the States after a 6-week vacation. We all were in such good mood and spent the rest of the night looking for the place to party. After several locations and drinks we decided to go back home - there's nothing better than to chill at our place in Manly.

Love is in the air.

And the stars don't even matter

This song gives me this easy breezy feel, like when you're going for a drive late in the afternoon with all your windows down, and the wind is blowing into your face while you're recalling fun times with fun people. Not that I can drive ;) but sitting in the back would do it too.

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

I found some awesome covers, too.










Another crazy cover of this song would be by Nic Henstridge, my favourite "street artist" (and soon to be radio artist) I love catching at the wharf on a Saturday night. Haven't seen him for a while though - gotta film him perform with Ben's bloggie some time.

I wanna be next to you... Black and gold.

Food and Fashion

Well it was the other way around (as in going to see fashion first and then have food), but Fashion and Food sounds lame.

So the other day Polina and I went to the Powerhouse Museum because there were quite a few fashion exhibitions, and like every other girl that's what we prefer to see at a museum. There was one with a few very unique objects, like the installation of the Opera House you can see above, and this wonderful set of drawers.

I'm gonna fix up something similar for my own place... some time in the far future.

Also there was this "Frock Stars" exhibition, which detailed everything that made up Sydney Fashion Week - from entry passes to goodie bags to runway commentators, to whatever went on behind the scences: after parties, design studios etc. Literally, only the people were missing.

Another amazing exhibition was "Creating the Look: Benini and Fashion Photography". Honestly I had no idea who they were, but the Benini couple were pretty damn gifted. The pictures boasted with vividness and inspiration - they just made me want to run around all day with my camera again.

The weather was lovely so we decided to end the day in the city with a fabulous meal. The first time Polly and I went out together was back by the end of term one, and we were just walking around in Sydney exploring things (I know, it sounds really sad). We got kind of lost in the Rocks, and fell in love with the Nurses Walk. To celebrate our friendship ;) we went there for a late lunch at Vintage Cafe.

It's a cute, cosy little cafe with the regular selection of cafe food you'd expect. We heard that at night it would turn into a tapas bar with live music - sexy... We were quite full after Polly's Caesar salad already so we couldn't enjoy our mains to the full, but we'll definitely be back to sit outdoors for a glass of sangria.

Polly's meat balls

My barramundi in lemon butter and baby spinach

We'll be back painting the town red again. Very soon.

Quickies

At work, my department gets a "taste panel" - because we're phone operators and take room service orders, we get to eat one or two dishes every few shifts so we know what we're selling. My absolute favourite is the Chicken Avocado Sandwich: crispy toast with grilled chicken breast, avocado, shredded lettuce in mayonnaise, and - wait for it! - Brie cheese. It was so good that I had to make it at home for Polly and me. FYI: it's awesome hangover food too - quick, easy and really filling. It's the kind of sandwich that is floppy and falls apart every bite you take. But it's heaven.

In love with the sandwich (cuz there's no faster way to have a proper meal), I think I made a second one just one or two days after.

I call this the Healthy Beef Pattie Sandwich. I love mixing mince beef with lots of garlic and onion, bread crumbs, egg and paprika and store it in the freezer for occasional patties or meat balls. Here with thick slices of tomato, lettuce mix, melted cheddar cheese and a thin layer of mayo... yuuum.

Other sandwiches Polly and I love:

- Crispy sunny side up egg with cheese and sweet chilli sauce

- Peanut butter jelly

I guess we don't need pictures for those ones.