Baroque - The red current, chocolate and passion fruit macaroons are every bit as wonderful as they look. The owner, Oliver, was kind enough to bring out one of each flavor for myself, Anya & Steph, followed by dancing & impromptu singing with the waitstaff after the restaurant cleared out. It was a wonderful night!
Sunday Explorations... I went wandering again.
Chinatown
I had been to Chinatown before, but I woke up in the morning after the long night of dancing with an undeniable desire for Chinese buns. (If you ask my Irish roommate, he will tell you the 'Chinese bun' was the first official inside joke of our cohabitation, and an eternal source of entertainment at my expense. He was sleeping on the couch. I didn't realize this and came into the apartment offering him a coconut bun enthusiastically after my first exploration of Chinatown a few weeks ago. I've never seen a more confused, feigned kindness, & biting of the sharply honest Irish tongue than that moment. For all your information, the Irish do not like Coconut buns, especially not after a nap. In my defense, he'd not eaten yet and I was trying to be nice.) Digression notwithstanding, I made my way in the gentle Pacific drizzle to Chinatown and calmed the pangs in my stomach with Chinese buns. I decided to try a snooty looking bun & desert bakery, and compared to the rougher, less pristine bakery (Emperor's Garden Cake & Bakery) a few storefronts down, it didn't hold a sesame seed on a barbecue pork bun.
The Good Bakery :-)
I got a curry meat bun (Mistake! The color should have been hint enough), a BBQ pork bun (a staple), and a scallion & bacon bun. The curry bun was a throw away, but the other two were just what the little Asian inside of me had ordered. The highlight of the gaunt was a surprise discovery of the Emperor puffs. As I return to the good bakery after munching on lunch, I noticed people starting to line up under an illuminated sign with little dough balls on them. When I noticed the sign reading '$1 for 4 or a sample 1 for $.30' I decided to join the line with no knowledge of what I was hoping to gain in exchange for my patience. I waited, took a few steps forward, waited, played with my camera settings, shot a few pictures, waited and noticed that inside this small window was a large machine operating in ritual mechanical harmony, squirting perfectly measured quantities of liquid into molds, licking them with heat, and then offering them via conveyor belt to a large flat holding surface. Moments after seeing the machine, I smelled a subtle odor of freshly baked custard, began to salivate & experienced the magic of the Emperor's puffs. I got 4 for a dollar as instructed by the sign; instincts had taken over at this point and I was obeying blindly. As the woman manning the machine handed me the small paper bag of Emperor puff, I felt the warmth of the 4 cream pastries steal the rain's chill from my hands. I reached in the bag, nimbly nibbled on a puff, and tasted the wonderful goodness of fresh made pastries. Wondering where the custard came in, I gently tore open the Puff and met a small, steaming pocket of pastry cream. Heaven lasted about 4 minutes, a minute per puff, and then I came back to earth and photographed the poor pilgrims waiting for their own puff experience.
Lines.
Grrrrrrrrr........ The Queen Victoria Building - This building was designed by George McRae and completed in 1898, replacing the original Sydney markets on the site. Originally, a concert hall, coffee shops, offices, showrooms, warehouses and a wide variety of tradespeople, such as tailors, mercers, hairdressers and florists, were housed here, now it boasts to be the center of Sydney fashion & shopping. Its a pretty building and I personally really liked the dome.
The Rocks Market - Every Saturday and Sunday, the area right under the Harbour bridge, coined 'The Rocks' has a sensational little market with stands from local artists, food connoisseurs, designers and other craftsman. I made a point to walk around and scope out the possible Christmas presents. My favorite by far were the preserved Hibuscus flowers that you could serve in Champagne & then eat, the kangaroo balls (not kidding!), the hot sauce so hot that it made its way into the Guinness book of world records, and the below bead.
Shopping
Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
I went to the Primavera 2010 exhibit, which annually showcases Australian artists 35 years of age and under. I liked it and feel like since it was an art museum that I should have more flowery, artistic even words to describe it. But, I don't. I just liked it.
After I made it back home to the Goldsbourgh, I gchated with my dearest friend Stefano and went out with Alex for pizza at his beloved Hugo's. All in all, a fantastic day.
