Tag: Australia

Panama House

A few weeks back it was my birthday, and there’s nothing that young females living in Sydney love more than a good boozy brunch to celebrate their birthdays. Most people will know the basic ones you can go to (The Winery, Darlo Country Club, etc.) but my sisters messaged me asking if I wanted to go to Panama House for my bday, which is one I hadn’t heard of. My main thought about this place is that they should be much more popular and well-known then they are. With a view of Bondi Beach and the blue ocean that accompanies it, and a $30 bottomless menu covering food, tea and coffee this place has everything you need for a great morning. For the price of $50, you can also add on bottomless drinks for 2 hours including mimosas and bellinis.

Even though it was winter, I was grateful for the outside seats, as the patio area has the view and a much better vibe on a sunny day, and with heaters and blankets provided, the winter chill wasn’t too bad.

Panama House’s focus is on Latin American food, which isn’t exactly synonymous with brunch, which might be why it hasn’t kicked off yet. The bottomless menu had 7 courses which you had to work through before you could start ordering more. You had enchiladas, croquettes, and then the more exotic dishes like chilli baked beans with a fried egg on top. The food was delicious, albeit a little unusual for a brunch, and definitely had a kick to it to warm you up in the winter weather.

The catch with the bottomless menu (because you know there always is a catch with something like this) is that the food is extremely slow coming out. We hadn’t had breakfast before going and had an 11 o’clock sitting so we were definitely hungry by the time we got there, and after we arrived we waited twenty minutes for the first dish, which is fine. The next dish, however, took another 40 minutes to come out and when it did, it was a very small dish. By this time, there was some definite ‘hanger’ rippling throughout the group. One can only assume that this is done to limit how much time at the end you have to order more rounds off the menu. Luckily, by the time you got through all the dishes, you were pretty full anyway so we only ordered one more round of one dish, but the slow start at the beginning was frustrating.

The good thing about a place like this with bottomless offerings, is that they didn’t make everyone opt into everything. Only two of us decided to go for bottomless drinks, whilst the rest opted out and that was fine. The service of drinks was great too, in that we just got given a bottle of champagne and juice and could serve ourselves, and the refills on these was very quick too. So if your aim was to go and get super drunk at a brunch, that was very do-able here!

All in all, it was a pretty good experience, although their food service could have been quicker, and they didn’t do split bills.

I give Panama House in Bondi 8 out of 10 for a boozy weekend brunch!

Pizza Autentico

One thing that has always made me a little sad in Australia is our lack of all-you-can-eat experiences. One of the great things about places like the UK and the Canada is their all-you-can-eat Indian and sushi respectively. Well finally, all my prayers have been answered and Australia, and in particular, Sydney, has finally started jumping on the all-you-can-eat and drink meal deals. My boyfriend and I have noticed heaps of these deals popping up recently, and when we saw one for $50 all you can eat pizza and pasta and all you can drink wine and beer, we knew we had to try, even if it was on a week night.

Enter Pizza Autentico. I don’t think this is a new deal for Pizza Autentico, because they seemed to have themselves set up well already, maybe it’s finally just something we are hearing about some more.

Pizza Autentico is a tiny little establishment in the heart of Surry Hills. Unless you went looking for it, you probably would never stumble across it. If you’re in a small group, you get put on the communal table on the ground floor, a big slab of granite which can seat probably around 20 people. There is a waitress that walks around with various bowls and plates of pizza and pasta, offering you some with each lap and then you simply say yes I want to try, or no I will skip this one out (you never say no) and they give you some to try. As for the drinks, I was drinking red wine which was brought out to me in a big carafe, and my boyfriend was well stocked with beer the whole night.

The reason I like this deal is that they don’t limit you to just one type of meal in the hopes that you will get bored and stop eating, I don’t think we saw the same meal twice in the whole 2 hours we were there. To be fair, the majority of the meals brought around were pizza but you had a wide range from your classic Margarita to your sausage and potato. You could taste the freshness of the dough and ingredients though, so I wasn’t complaining about all the pizza.

The pastas were the real winners though. I am salivating right now just thinking about their four cheese gnocchi. Eating that gnocchi was like biting into little pillows soaked in cheese. It was certainly rich, which is why a small amount was perfect, but the taste was sensational. My other favourite was a chilli penne, with just the right amount of kick, balanced with a tomato sauce.

Often with all you can eat deals, the staff do their best to make your life difficult, or to slow your orders, which don’t get me wrong, it makes sense, but it is rather annoying as a customer. Not at Pizza Autentico. Here, the staff were friendly, helpful, and making sure you were always topped up with food and drinks. They even come and do the courtesy call to let you know when your time is up.

All in all, I cannot recommend this place enough. I think it is potentially my favourite place in all of Sydney, and my boyfriend and I have made the pledge that all our celebrations and nice dinners will be there from now on. If you live in Sydney this place is an absolute must.

I give Pizza Autentico 5 out of 5 stars, I can’t see how anything could top that!

Turia Pitt

It seems only fitting to kick off a new category of writing with the person who inspired me to start it, Turia Pitt.

I have just finished Turia Pitt’s second book, ‘Unmasked’. Reading it is an experience, it’s like attending a self-help seminar or working with a life coach. Turia shares her story, which if you’re unfamiliar with it then please keep on reading, and the whole time, it makes the reader feel like they should be doing more, pushing more, achieving more, and forever working on new goals. When I started to get towards the end of the book, I got myself in a panic, thinking, I don’t have any goals, there’s nothing I really want to achieve. What am I doing with my life?! It was at that point I realised I had to sit down, and work through what I want to achieve out of this world.

I jumped into a hot shower, the place where all of life’s problems can be solved, and I had a think. At first I thought, I want to own my own house one day- that’s a good goal, before realising that was such a superficial goal, and one that if I really thought about it, I didn’t want to achieve anyway.

Then it hit me, the goal I have always wanted to achieve since I was a young girl, I want to write a book. It seems outlandish and far-fetched, but I want to write one; even if noone ever reads it. From here, I started thinking about what I could do to start towards this goal, and I realised that I needed to write more, and an area that I really want to write about is inspirational women. Since joining the professional work force a couple of years ago, I have really been seeking out the inspiration and guidance of women who have achieved great things with their life, and so I want to be able to share the people who have had a profound impact on me with the world. Some may be people you have heard of, others maybe not. The thing in common will be that they will all be inspirational.

Which brings me back to Turia. Since she was the one who prompted my kick into action with this, it is only fair that she be the first topic. So I bring to you, a short introduction into the wonderful life of Turia Pitt (as described in her book).

Turia Pitt is basically a household name now in Australia. Say her name and people will normally be able to tell you a few basic things about her. At her core, Turia is a fighter and a pusher, someone who stubbornly goes against the norm and forges her own path, and she has been this person since before the life changing moment when she got stuck in a bushfire. She was caught in a bushfire whilst trying to complete an ultramarathon (a 100km run) so I think that tells you everything you need to know about the person she has always been. She has always loved challenges and hard work, and seems to enjoy the challenges that most of us feel exhausted even thinking about.

The truly inspirational part about Turia isn;t how she has fought her way back to great health, or gone on to complete two Ironmans when she was told she might never walk again, but it’s that throughout all that she has been through, she has retained her compassion and her care for others, and her biggest goals these days all seem to be about the happiness of others; by raising money for charity, by working with others to achieve their dreams, or even just by organising trips where people can go and challenge themselves with her.

Whilst reading Turia’s book, one thing that struck me is that I thought, if I knew Turia before the fire, I wonder if we would have been friends. That intense personality and competitive nature would probably have put me off, and I am not sure that I would have gotten along with her, but I realised throughout the book that the tough exterior doesn’t mean she doesn’t have compassion, and care and a fun loving nature too.

Turia has accomplished more than most people ever will, and she has done it after her life was changed forever. She is an inspiration to anyone who has been told they can’t achieve something, or even just anyone who is feeling a little lost and not sure what they can achieve. Her story has given me a kick up the butt when I really needed it, and for that I will be grateful.

I hope that Turia is just the first out of a long list of inspirational women that I hope to share with you, and I hope that Turia’s story gives you a kick on the butt to start achieving your goals, just like it did for me!

The Lost Symbol

Starting full time work again has really slowed down both my reading and my blog writing. Luckily I had some spare time this weekend and I was able to finish the book I have been slowly working on for a few weeks now. I was a little suprised. Normally I get so caught up in Dan Brown books that even if I am busy I somehow devour them quickly, this one was a little different though.

I am a huge Dan Brown fan, and I think Inferno was one of the most fantastic, thought-provoking books I have ever read (the movie butchered it, if you haven’t read the book then do it now). I was excited to jump into another mystery of Robert Langdon, and learn more about the world, art and history on the way. I was a little let down by this book if I am honest. It just didn’t grip me, or make me want to tear into the book. By the last 100 pages I was hooked and ready to finish, but the 400 pages before that were a little slow.

The setting of this book, Washington DC was the perfect choice, and I never realised how much symbology and meaning surrounded the city’s design. It has inspired me to want to go to Washington DC soon.  If the storyline was a little simpler or more accessible, I think the book would be enthralling. I don’t know whether it is because I am less familiar with Masonry or the layout of Washington DC that I couldn’t get sucked in, or whether this storyline was just a little too chaotic for everyone. Maybe it’s because Masonry is not as widespread or important in Australia so it didn’t have as much meaning for me, or maybe there were just too many important characters spiralling into chaos to follow. Maybe the problem was also that I guessed the big plot twist at the end in the first 100 pages. It’s hard to say what the reason was.

What I can say is that it was interesting, and it certainly made me question a lot of what we know accept as commonplace (recognising the fact that Dan Brown’s books are pieces of fiction and not fact). It was still an interesting read, and you can never go wrong with a Dan Brown book, but it certainly wasn’t his best work.

Overall, I have to give it a 3 out of 5. I am hoping his others are much more like Inferno and Da Vinci Code so I can reignite my love of Dan Brown.

Filicudi- the romantic italian

Valentines Day, the infamous day that sends boyfriends and husbands scurrying to the florists, and single people trying to fill their time with anything to prove that they are ok with being alone. It’s a night love by some, and hated by a lot more. Now, I have to admit, I went out for dinner on Valentines Day, but not for the reason that everyone would expect.

My boyfriend and I have been dating for 6 months now, and so this would be our first Valentines Day. He warned me early, he was not a Valentines Day fan, and since I am not that fussed on over the top romantic gestures, we decided we would skip it, and not celebrate it. The difficulty is, his birthday falls on the 15th of February, and because of the kind-hearted person he is, my boyfriend was spending his birthday doing a charity climb to help a child with Cerebral Palsy and his family climb Mt Kosciuszko on this day so we couldn’t celebrate together on the day, so our only option was to celebrate the night before on Valentines Day.

I must admit that part of me kind of hoped my boyfriend would suprise me, but he is a man of his word and there was no suprise. On thinking about it all though, a nice dinner is all I need. Anyway, we did indeed go for a very lovely dinner at a nice little authentic italian restaurant in Five Dock called Filicudi. The place catches your heart from the moment you step into the cosy little restaurant, with empty bottles hanging from the roof (a bit of a hazard for those tall ones like my boyfriend), the walls covered with newspaper clippings and eclectic paintings and artworks, and cosy little tables of two everywhere.

It was recommended to us, and so we were looking forward to checking it out. We booked a few weeks in advance, luckily, because it was packed and people were rolling in and out all night, some even getting turned away at the door. The only drawback of this setup, was we had a couple sitting right next to us, only about 40cm away. This wouldn’t normally be so bad but this couple was probably on their 2nd ever date, and I don’t think they were quite yet 18 so their conversation as Annoying. As. Hell. I am sure on any other night this wouldn’t be a problem, but listening to these young guys call Calvin Harris the best musician of our lifetime really didn’t set the scene well.

Luckily, I realised that cocktails were so cheap, so before long I was sipping on a $12 Aperol Spritz. We decided what we wanted pretty quickly; pasta for me, pizza for my bf, and some garlic bread as well. Carbs on carbs. I went for the Diavola pasta; penne with mushroom, chilli and a creamy tomato sauce. My bf went for the classic Meatlovers pizza.

We had barely ordered before our garlic bread was out. As far as garlic bread goes, it was pretty good but it was a little too soggy in places, and a little too oily. Certainly not the best I have ever had, but pretty good nonetheless. It was at this point that my bf realised that the back kitchen in charge of everything that wasn’t pizza was literally being run by Nonnas (the pizza oven was in the front run being run by some middle age men). The Nonnas were dishing up the pastas, breads and mains. You know it’s an authentic meal then.

It wasn’t long at all before our mains were out as well. Now, my pasta sounded pretty basic but the taste of it was anything but basic. The kick of the chilli is the first thing that grabs you, but before long the smoothness of the homemade penne catches up. It was delicious, and my whole plate was gobbled down in a minute. I have never enjoyed pasta quite this much, and whilst I put a sprinkling of parmesan on it, it didn’t even need it. The pasta stood up on its own. I nearly had to lick my bowl clean at the end, the sauce was so good.

I also got to taste a little bit of my boyfriends pizza, and I am not normally a meatlovers pizza fan, but this pizza was delicious. The base was solid and tasty, but didn’t have a strong enough flavour to drown out the actual toppings of the pizza. The tomato sauce was garlicky and full of flavour, and the meat added even more taste explosions to your mouth. It wasn’t long before the pizza had disappeared too.

So over the course of the dinner, we had a large pizza, a main size pasta, garlic bread, a cocktail, and two beers. Now we were expecting a pretty decent bill to come out, but were shocked when the bill was just $80. Yes, $80 for the best authentic Italian I have had outside of Italy including drinks. The bill was even accompanied by a love heart shaped chocolate. It was a little touch but it rounded out the night perfectly.

We decided on leaving that this was going to become our go to place whenever we had something big to celebrate. It was an intimate enough setting that had good atmosphere, great service and delicious and authentic food. I would 100% recommend everyone to check it out, even if it is in the obscure neighbourhood of Five Dock.

I give Filicudi 5 out of 5.

Don Taco @ Redfern Social Club

I was lucky enough over my long weekend here in Australia to attend the newly opened Don Taco. This little kitchen is found at Redfern Surf Club, which for anyone unfamiliar with Sydney is ironic because Redfern’s inner west location is anything but close to the beach. Redfern Surf Club is as ironic as you would think when you get inside, with a very grungy hipster vibe, including an old-school set tv, fairy lights, and even a stuffed bin chicken (commonly known outside of Australia as an ibis). It’s hard to even find this place, as the outside of the building has some old upside down ‘Grill King’ home, which I assume suggests its historic roots.

This location is where the boys from Ume burger, a Japanese burger restaurant in Sydney, have opened up their next adventure, Don Taco. Opening just last Friday, they are very much in their early days of operation. Redfern Surf Club is a very fitting home for the restaurant serving up fusion Japanese and Tex-Mex food, as it’s all kind of a jumble, but somehow it all fits together.

It’s a pretty limited menu, but what is there packs a punch. We each got the Taco bowls (one with beef and one with 3 bean chilli), which was basically if sushi met a burrito bowl. The dish felt mostly Mexican, but with the addition of sushi rice and some Japanese flavourings, but was delicious, and suprisingly filling for the bargain amount of $12. We also got a share of beef and chilli tacos. The beef was the star for the tacos, and was pretty much the taco bowl but with a soft shell taco instead of rice. It was also good, but the Japanese flavours didn’t really come through.

As for Redfern Social Club itself. It is a place that is hard to categorise, and don’t be honest I don’t think they want to be categorised. You walk in and you are met with a wide audience of patrons, from large groups having a Sunday arvo sesh, to older families, to women meeting up for a drink, to a few couples who were probably just there for the food (like us). One thing that really suprised me was most people were sitting up at the bar, voluntarily. I find that the bar is often the last place everyone wants to sit, but there was plenty of chairs available and the patrons still chose to sit there, which lets you see the friendly vibes they are serving up there. The drinks were decently priced and great too. There are only a couple of tap beers, but a wide range of craft and normal beers as well. I tried a Sourpuss beer, as well as the Local Grifter Pale Ale, whilst my boyfriend tried the other tap beers. Our favourite was the on tap Cucumber kolsch by C-Brook. It was so different, and yet so delicious and refreshing. I am just kicking myself that I didn’t try one of their instagram-worth cocktails, but I know that we will be back there again because we loved the place.

Good location with good vibes, fantastic staff, good drinks at affordable prices, and delicious food. The only thing that could make this place better is if they offered a trivia night.

I give Don Taco and Redfern Social Club 8/10.

The (not so) long debate about Australia Day

For everyone in Australia, we are fast approaching the most tension-fuelled day of the year, Australia Day. Whilst in many countries around the world, there are days of Independence, and days to celebrate their country which everyone enjoys, in Australia our day is always filed with controversy.

The reason for the controversy comes from the date, January 26. The day that the First Fleet arrived in Australia and changed the lives of the native people on the land forever. This is the day that we choose to celebrate every year, not the day that we became our own country, but the day that the first white man settled on the land. What followed this day was mass genocide of the indigenous people, the effects which are still being felt today.

I am not an indigenous person, so I admit, I am not the most educated of people about the impacts that white settlement has had on their culture. For years I celebrated Australia Day in ignorance, without realising that this day was a problem for so many. I have to be thankful to the people that are finally speaking up, who are raising their voices, because without them I would have no idea of the day’s impact on them.

Now that people are becoming aware of the issues, though, the tide is turning. More and more people are calling to #changethedate. There is basically one demographic that is choosing to resist this, and they are the most powerful. Yes, you guessed it, it is the white man. The white man who feels threatened for anyone ever thinking that one of his kind might have done the wrong thing. They feel scared to admit that another white man could ever make a mistake, or make a bad decision, so they continue to bury their head in the sand. Don’t get me wrong, not all white men are like this, just mainly the ones in power in our country, particularly some of our politicians.

We always make a big deal about our ‘multiculturalism’ and I grew up believing in that. Believing that as an Australian we are a diverse community, not realising the irony that in my small country town, everyone was either white or indigenous, and our indigenous people for the most part were doing it pretty rough. We had no multiculturalism, but yet I believed the messaging around me. As a kid you don’t know any different, and you listen to what the adults are telling you. You think that Australia Day is an important day and we have to stick with it, without realising there could be another way. I only hope that now as an adult, I can educate other kids as to what the right way is, and hopefully others around me can do the same.

All hope is not lost though, plenty of people are making positive changes. For instance, Triple J (the Australian radio station) now holds their annual ‘Hottest 100’ on another day, the annual lamb ad that often raises eyebrows for its controversy this year took its turn calling for us to change the day, and even at a local level there are many indigenous groups trying to hold events to remember the time before the First Fleet landed and celebrate indigenous culture, such as Enoch being held at Barangaroo Reserve this year on the 25th of January.

We have come such a long way, but there is still so much further to go. We need to find a way to make Australia Day a day that we can all celebrate, instead of one that just white men can celebrate. We need to educate our children so that they are aware, and they can make better decisions. Finally, we all need to stand up for what is right and best for everyone. Instead of saying not our problem, we should stand with our indigenous friends and call for change until finally, we #changethedate.