june in huronia

The past few weeks we had the chance to enjoy an anticipated summer by Lake Huron, courtesy of Jim. This included a number of little excursions, which took us up to Quebec and down to Stratford (ON).

As if often happens when the sun is shining, there some kind of uncontrolled tendency to drink more than necessary. Somehow I guess it's a relaxing way to enjoy the natural surroundings and relax into good conversations.

There seems to be a fixation when I travel. I usually end up looking for alcoholic beverages, coffee beans and chocolate. Maybe I get bored too easily.

lunch with john

A week after our day in Gaia with the Joper team, we opened the 25th anniversary bottle of Cabriz red wine I got in Matosinhos, after our immersion into the world of coffee roasting, and roasters.

good saturday

After a quick visit to Carral City, we made it home with a big bird, it was a so-called chicken.

I finished bottling the home made patxaran we got in Atxondo last Tuesday, which had a strikingly vibrant sloe colour.

good wednesday

After a morning trip to Bermeo, we drove down to Larrabetzu for lunch.

good tuesday

Celebrating the arrival of this brand new spring, we drove our pelvises to Atxondo. After a few hours on the road, rolling through Asturies and Cantabria we reached Axpe valley.

Another remarkable meal was ahead of us, as always in this captivating village, where donkeys seem to be the stars.

sweet in syd city

Desert was in the picture through most of our January stay down under.

The quintessential sweet treat for me in Surry Hills is the ginger tart, whichwe had to try not too long after we landed.

Baklava was part of our little excursion to Canterbury, and it was all worth it. But the best one actually came from the Saturday market at Carriageworks.

If there is a fruit, for us it's passion fruit, with permission of mangos, if they are really good.

black star glory

It's been a few years since I first heard great things about this pastry shop in Newtown. It wasn't anyone who told me about it. The man who makes the best chocolates I had for many years, right on William Street, was the source.

Right on Australia Street, in front of the court house, there is small shop with a colourful selection of baked goods. Their coffee is not on the same league, which is a pity, but the experience is still worth the visit.

petershaming

The unavoidable noise of planes flying over the low houses gives your time in Petersham a quite distinctive soundtrack. 

Our days in the hood were partially inspired by a few middle Eastern flavours. So, we drove to Canterbury to stock on pita and saj.

Eggplant had to be part of our incursions, and it was a remarkable idea.

I'm not sure where or why, but I got some sort of fixation about this butter churned by Pepe Saya in Tempe.

Hummus 

patxaran down under

Unexpectedly they didn't have patxaran at Firedoor, but we found it just a few blocks away at Nomad. 

soh dinner

Back in Syd City our dear friend Mr. Phen decided a little dinner in the Sydney O House could be an interesting idea and, somehow, it was.

From the selection coming our way, I think the yabbies were my highlight. 

potts pointed

Earlier this week we decided to have dinner at Lau's relative shop here in Syd City: Fei Jai, Cantonese Eatery. 

We started slowly, but with enough impetus.

I pretty much didn't remember my last visit to this tiny spot.

lamington of the year

Away from my original plans, yesterday I came back home with a lamington from the Carriageworks market. It was a present from the one and only phenomenal Fenn.

From the outside it looked like any other lamington, but the inside was far more irresistible. Apparently it was made with pannacotta, which avoided the dryness sometimes drives the digestive process.

It wasn't thick as I remember. By the contrary it was light and tasteful, while not too sweet. The guys at Flour and Stone in Woollomooloo really did an admirable job.

saturday market

This morning we went to the market at Carriageworks, which turned out to be a fantastic idea.

This Bolivian fruit known as Achacha (Achachairú, Garcinia humilis) was a fabulous discovery.

whole lotta coffee

Oz is the place to enjoy great coffee. We know it, so we try to benefit from it.

These first two weeks of 2016 have taken us to a few different place, some old and some new.

really f**kin hot

Today was one of those days when we had a little bit of everything. After a pleasurable visit to Bronte beach, we apparently reached 40C, and not much later than 3pm a beautiful storm unloaded in Syd City.

It was the perfect situation to enjoy a few G&Ts. Luckily we were ready for such circumstance to take place, so we did not hesitate.

another syd summer

Nothing better than starting the new year under the sun, in the middle of a warm summer. That's the beauty of being down under at this time of the year.

The liquid list of a good summer celebration is crucial. So, even if certain limitations contained most efforts, we tried to follow a balanced approach.

The unavoidable Albariño by Pedralonga for any reasonable summer travelled with us, all the way through our Turkish nightmare. As expected, it was a delight. I took the risk of trying something I knew nothing about. In the shop I saw five different options from the same winery, again from SA. A Grenache from the Fugazi Vineyard, which I guess was far too unusual for our throats.

As a result of a previous conversation with a local Victorian, we decided to try a co-fermented, skinsy tangy wine from Italian varietals, the Heathcote Red from the well-known Chalmers vineyard: Nero d'Avola, Chardonnay, Negroamaro and a little Riesling.

Our only visit to the Five Ways wine community was influenced by an almost inexistent budget. However, both Victorian acquisitions made the investment worth every dollar.

Firedoor was the only restaurant I was looking forward, given the connection to our all time favourite in Atxondo. There we tried this unknown Pinot Noir, with a Tintinesque label: Googmorning Tom by Patrick Sullivan in Ellinbank (VIC).

We brought a few bubbles, which had to be Cava, and worked perfectly well for our early summer domestic holiday. It took me a while, but this month of January was my basic introduction to the Ruggabellus creations in SA. Their Archaeus, predominantly Syrah, was an incentive after my first bottle of Sallio.

Due to our host's preferences and, again, our limited budget, I believe we had more rosés this trip than probably during the previous ten years. This one from Geelong had a beautiful colour, but it was not my top one.

A 2008 Colet-Navazos we also got at Five Ways during my last visit, back in 2014, was waiting for us. I think the time gone by had a positive impact. At least it was the first time I liked their Extra Brut so much.

Our last sip came from a rather poor wine list on Crown Street. Another Italian varietal: a Fiano from McLaren Vale. I must say it went well with our dinner.