A satisfying trip... (Part 1)

WARNING: LONG ENTRY

Went to Sydney over the last 4 days. Let me count... Okay, it's at least my eighth time there (and that's not including the times I enter/exit aussie land). Hence, I had no expectations of that place. Instead, I made preparations to make sure it's not "Just another Sydney trip".

First on the itinerary was to hang out with Jiaqi. I've not met her like since... err... before I left for 岡山 (Okayama)? Yes. That time I was still wooing Florence. Ha. Time really flies huh... So yes, I caught up with Jiaqi after my long-awaited and well-deserved haircut. For those who are interested, haircut was done at DJ's on Sussex Street. The staff are all Asian and the Shanghainese girl who washed my hair was really cute! Okay.

Back to the topic.. So Jiaqi brought us to this Korean BBQ restaurant on Pitt Street called, O Bal Tan.

Yep, this is the treasure that's situated at a back alley on Pitt Street.

You see, Eugene wanted to go to Seoul-Ria for Korean BBQ initially and I violently objected against it because not only that's part of my "usual Sydney routine" but also because I've been warned by my Korean friends not to go there (for reasons that are too lengthly to be elaborated here). Jiaqi's bf's Korean and she also didn't agree to us going to Seoul-Ria for a variety of reasons. ANYWAY... Jiaqi brought up to O Bal Tan and I must say it's the best Korean BBQ I've been to so far. I've been to the one which Bae Yong-joon went (as told to me by my Korean friend) and I think it pales in comparison to O Bal Tan. The winning factor, O Bal Tan's use of conventional charcoal instead of using a electric plate. Heck, not even the ones I went to in Dempsey or Seoul used charcoal. Plus, the portion was huge, the seasoning for the meat were thorough and the ambience felt very authentic. Enough said. I like! Unfortunately I don't have the photos of the dinner right now... And I just remembered... "JIAQI, WE FORGOT TO TAKE PICHER AGAIN!"

The next day was dedicated to my lovely kids from 学芸館 (Gakugeikan). Morning was spent having authentic Hong Kong breakfast with Kathryn and Yu Ying at Superbowl. Thereafter, Kathryn and I hung out a bit before heading to meet up with Nana, George and 大樹さん (Daiki). Daiki's a exchange student from Osaka and currently doing Year 11 (高校二年生) at Gosford Highs School. He's currently staying with a vegetarian host
family and have since lost 7-9 kg. And he's a rugby player some more! So poor thing right? So in an effort to beef him up, Nana brought us to this ramen place near Paddy's market. I can't remember the name of the place but it was staffed by Japanese waitresses. Damn authentic can? The portion was huge and everything was reasonably priced.

My ラーメン, 海鮮丼 (ramen, kaisen-don) meal.

Nana's オムリース (Omu Rice).

Back to Daiki, it was later in the evening that we realized that we have an important thing in common - we both like 相武紗季 (Aibu Saki)! Hahaha... It was such a funny incident. We were taking プリクラ (neo-prints) and he pointed to this ah-lian looking girl on some poster and asked if I that kind of girl...

D: Do you like this kind of girl?
Me: No. Do you?
D: No.
Me: But I like Aibu Saki.
D: *Enthusiastically* Me too!
*Hugs*
Me: Hahaha...

That brotherly hug was the foundation of our friendship, which was built on the love for 相武紗季. It's just so funny. Unfortunately he couldn't join us for dinner though. Dinner was at Patty's grandma's restaurant in North Sydney. I can't exactly remember the name of the restaurant but I knew we took a train to St Leonard's and walked to Crowsnest. Crowsnest is quite an amazing place. There's plenty of stuff to eat. I remember Rus' uncle brought us there for Chinese food before and Patty's grandma's Vietnamese restaurant is not bad so I'm guessing there's quite a bit of good food there. It's a bit like Serangoon Gardens or Holland Village or Siglap, where there's a cluster of various food outlets. After dinner, we proceeded to have Gelato at Bravo Trattoria and Gelato Bar Restaurant. One thing I learnt there, if you're getting the 16 scoops set, be sure to choose it yourself if not there's bound to be some yucky flavors.

From left: Daniel, Samuel, me, Nana, Natalie (Patty's cousin) & Patty!

From left: Kanako, Hayato and me! (Both of them are from 学芸館.)

The kids had to catch their transport back so kathryn and I went back to the city and accompanied Yu Ying to return her DVD and, have dinner! It was roughly 10pm by then. Poor Yu Ying was alone all day and didn't have anybody to accompany her for a meal. Because of the time, we didn't have many choices left so Yu Ying had to settle for Superbowl (again). She had e-fu noodles while Kathryn and I shared a bowl of Wonton soup. I'm telling you, don't see her small small one, that girl can really eat man! The night ended with a KTV session at my usual K Square. We sang till 3am and gosh, we were so drained. But at the very least, I think we all had fun. I did, 'cos it was such an eventful day!

Next post, Day 3 & 4...