Label Lust: Lancome Absolu Voyage

There's a first time for everything.

Last weekend it was the first time that I bought something from the Duty Free trolley on an air plane.

I've been lusting after an all-in-one make-up palette for a while, but I could never justify the cost, since I probably own enough individual make-up items to last for a lifetime. But when I saw this adorable Lancôme travel make-up set, I decided that I had to have it.

I'm travelling a lot these days and I haven't quite decided yet whether I like it or not. Fact is I get to see the world and stay in fantastic hotels (yay!), but it also means long flights, jet-lag and being away from home a lot (nay!).

So the least I can do, is to make myself as comfortable as possible when travelling. Having neat travel luggage and not having to scramble around for stuff is certainly one of the factors.

This make-up set comes with all you need: eye shadow, concealer, powder, lipstick, eyeliner, lipliner, mascara and brushes. A perfect little travel companion and my new best friend!

Fancy Eats: Yama Cafe

Fancy Fish and Chips - in a Shopping Centre - Japanese Style. It sounds like a triple contradiction, but it's actually not that unusual for Sydney.

Firstly, if anyone knows how to make pub grub fancy, it's the Australians. I've seen them elevate simple bread and olive oil to unknown heights, so imagine what they can do with ingredients like fresh fish and a deep fryer.

Secondly, people here seem to love eating in shopping centres and food courts. The food court in Westfield for example is simply amazing in terms of choice and quality.

Thirdly - everything seems to be 'fusion' here anyway. I haven't had anything truly Australian in the three weeks that I've been here.

Yama Cafe is a little gem on the third floor of the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) Shopping Mall - one of the very few "old" buildings in Sydney. I think the QVB looks a little bit like St. Pancras station - in a good way though.

Yama sells Japanese Fusion cuisine - a bit like a posh Wagamama - and they have an remarkable selection of Japanese teas. I went there with some colleagues a while back and I had the Green Tea Fish and Chips and a Cherry Blossom tea.

Very yummy, but the prime location comes at a price. Altogether, the meal was about 25 AUD per head.

Yama
455 George St,
Sydney NSW 2000

Wishing Tree

There's a school of thought which says that your wishes are more likely to become reality if you make them explicit.

Some people think it's the "universe" which will work its magic once a wish has been voiced. Others attribute it to a God or some other higher being.

Likelihood is that once people visualise what they really want in life, they focus on it more and are willing to make it happen. After all, most things are within our control. Health, beauty, success - there are very few things in life which are entirely up to fate.

I posted this little note onto a "wishing tree" in Beijing last week (at least I think it was a wishing tree...) There wasn't much space on the piece of paper, so I kept it fairly generic, but if I had to add more specific wishes to it, it would be:

- more free time to enjoy the simple things in life
- more certainty about the future
- find a place to call my home

Seeing those goals in black and white now really makes them more manageable. Let's get going!

Lost In Translation

"Not all those who wander are lost." I've always liked this quote from Lord of the Rings.

However, I admit that I am feeling slightly lost these days. I've just moved from London to Australia and started a new job in a new role.

The last two months have taken me to Germany, France, India, Vietnam, Singapore and China - either for business or pleasure.

It's been an adjustment effort. Whilst hotel rooms around the world may look the same, the world outside of the hotel does not.

People speak languages I don't understand and the signs are in characters I can't read. I've got a box full of foreign currency at home.

I flew all the way from Australia to China to spend one day in Beijing and one day in Dalian. It sounds crazy? Not in this brave new world!

Now I'm in Shanghai. Did you know that you won't find the name Shanghai at the airport? It is referred to as Pudong instead. Well, I didn't - and I spent ages looking for my flight, starting to doubt myself and the world.

The below pictures were taken in Beijing. I don't think the locals actually eat bugs, starfish or scorpions. But then again, who knows?

Chinese New Year in Sydney

The short story is: I missed the parade, because I was working on the Sunday afternoon to finish a presentation.

BUT, leading up to the actual main celebration, there was already a great vibe in the city.

Individual lion dance troops were blessing the shops and houses in Chinatown and volunteers were distributing red packets to the children.

The sound and smell of firecrackers was everywhere and the streets were littered with red paper bits from the crackers.

I can't believe that another year has gone by. I can still remember last year's celebration. My and I were in Paris and it was so so cold. The only way to keep warm was to hop from one cafe to another. In the evening we went to see a show at the Moulin Rouge - the picture I bought there as a souvenir is now on a container ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

We'll see what this year will bring. There are 365 days to make it truly amazing.

Cheap Eats: Pho Pasteur

There's certainly no shortage of Vietnamese Restaurants in Sydney. There's one in every Shopping Centre and even the office canteen sells Summer Rolls for lunch.

So is Pho Pasteur THE best Pho place in central Sydney? Possibly. It's certainly good and it's got a very authentic vibe to it. I had the Pho Dac Biet - which just means "special" Pho, so you never quite know what you're going to get.

Mine had lots of different types of meat in it - no blood jelly, thanks God - but something that looked like tripe and other unidentified bits. It was served with a generous helping of sprouts and herbs, but unfortunately not enough lemon. The best Pho places in my opinion come with unlimited helpings of lemon wedges plus extra fish sauce at the table.

The restaurant was quite crowded for that time of the day and I was squashed into a corner with the door behind me. But interestingly, I didn't see that many Westerners in the restaurant. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know.

A mid-size portion of Pho was 9 Dollars - green tea was complementary.

Pho Pasteur
709 George St
Haymarket NSW 2000

Cheap Eats: Cho Dumpling King

As you may have noticed, I have been eating out a lot since I arrived in Sydney. This is for multiple reasons:

1. Groceries are very expensive, so often it's cheaper to eat in a restaurant than to cook at home.
2. I've been working long hours, so having a yummy dinner is often my reward for a hard day's work.
3. I'm new to the city and it's a great way of exploring my surroundings.
4. The food here is just really really good.

And eating out doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, I've made it my challenge to spend no more than 10 Dollars per meal.

Cho Dumpling King in Chinatown fits this bill perfectly. It's a tiny little Taiwanese restaurant with no more than 10 tables or so. There's always a large queue outside, but the service is fast and efficient, so the waiting time shouldn't be longer than 10 minutes.

A set meal comes at 9 AUD and for 1 AUD extra you can get a glass of freshly made Lemon Ice Tea. I had the Chilly Fish Bento Box and it was large enough to feed two people - overall fantastic value. Alternatively, you can pick from the little dishes in the window and share them Tapas style.

Go there hungry!

Cho Dumpling King
Prince Centre, Shop 6, 8 Quay St
Haymarket 2000

Cheap Eats: Menya Mappen

I'm in love! With this Japanese Noodle Bar called Menya Mappen. I don't think I've ever come across such a perfect little eatery.

Menya Mappen is a funky little self-service canteen where customer can pick their noodles, the soup base and any toppings they want. I had the Bukkake Ontama with Soba noodles, pickled mushrooms, seaweed and a huge prawn tempura.

The broth was salty and thick as it should be and the egg yolk just melted over the noodles. I had to stop myself from licking the bowl after I had finished.

And the value is truly amazing - the basic soup starts at 3.90 AUD and even with all the extra toppings, my portion was less than 10 AUD. Water comes free with the meal, so no need to buy any drinks.

The only downside is that there aren't many tables - so be prepared to share yours with total strangers.

http://www.mappen.com.au/shop/sydney-cbd/

Menya Mappen
CBD
Shop 11, 537-551 George Street
Sydney

China Town Night Market

Sydney has around 4 million citizens, which is about half the size of London. I guess they must be counting the outer outer outskirts too, because Sydney really doesn't feel that big.

The streets and shops are mostly empty and even the popular tourist spots don't feel that crowded.

The one place which has the vibe and the energy of a major city though is China Town. Luckily, it is just down the road from my flat and it's bustling day and night. There's always something new to discover - quirky shops, food stalls, restaurants... And more often than not I'm happy just to people watch.

On a Friday night, China Town transforms itself into a huge open air market place, selling clothes, souvenirs and most importantly food - chicken satay on skewers, dim sum in takeaway boxes, seafood, roast duck and also more unusual choices like chicken feet and duck head. In the background, there is the sound of buskers, restaurant owners advertising their fare and people laughing and chatting.

On my visit last Friday, I bought the most amazing (and probably at the same time revolting) snack ever. Potato twirls wrapped around a sausage on a skewer, deep fried and sprinkled with cheese powder and barbecue sauce. If this doesn't make your heart jump and your arteries clog, then I don't know what.

Be sure to try it if you get the chance!

Sydney Fish Market

I've been seafood deprived for most of my life.

Prawns, crabs, lobster and shellfish are not easy to come by in Northern and Central Europe, so the only times I've really been able to indulge in seafood was on holiday - usually in a warm and sunny country.

Unsurprisingly, in my mind, eating seafood and happiness are inextricably interlinked. Grilled fish equals holiday. Scallops equal fancy holiday. Crabs equal beach nearby.

Often, just the taste of a fresh oyster - even if consumed in rainy London - brings back memories of the sun, the sea and the sand.

Here in Sydney, fish and shellfish is abundant - it's sold in supermarkets, street food stalls, restaurants and most importantly at Sydney's magnificent Fish Market.

I went there on a Saturday afternoon for a stroll and in search of a yummy affordable lunch. The market is just across the harbour from where I live and it is one of the largest fish markets in the world.

The variety is simply stunning. I never realised how many different types of prawns, crabs, lobster and oysters there are. And it's cheap too. Six oysters at Borough Market or at the St. Pancras Oyster Bar in London would typically cost 15 GBP or roughly 22 AUD. Here it's less than 10 AUD.

The market specialises on fresh produce, but there are also lots of cafes and eateries which sell grilled fish, seafood platters, sushi and sashimi. The target audience seems to be Chinese people who order piles and piles of seafood to share with much enjoyment, noise and mess.

I had a seafood platter with lobster, fresh oysters and cooked king prawns for lunch. It was served on a plastic tray with plastic cutlery. Fine dining this was not, but the value was amazing: 25 AUD for the food - and the stunning views over the harbour were for free.

Cheap Eats: The Emperor's Cream Puff

This is a follow-up to my previous post about the outrageously decadent dinner.

Not everything in Sydney is expensive. This little 'hole in the wall' in Chinatown for example sells the most delicious cream puffs at 30c a piece or 4 for a dollar. It's called "The Emperor's Cream Puff" and there's always a huge queue outside of the stall at any time of the day.

Inside, the place looks like a factory, churning out one batch of puffs after another. The owner doesn't ask you how many puffs you would like. They look at your change and give you whatever this will buy.

Subsequently, most people get huge takeaway boxes that would feed entire families. The dough is fresh and soft and the custard filling is hot and deliciously addictive.

Check it out if you happen to be in Chinatown.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/1549042/restaurant/Sydney/Chinatown/Emperors-Garden-Cake-Bakery-Haymarket