This morning on the train, my thoughts and creative juices were flowing as I gazed out the window... without pen and paper, I resorted to storing the following collection of thoughts temporarily in the sms function of my mobile phone...
(I'm thinking about) romance in the midst of a lack thereof. Think freely. Feel deeply. Vain imaginations? Or are these flutters of the heart a premonition of the things that will come to fruition?
Love has to be much more than the casual exchange and superficial interactions that you hear about. Fling. Flang. Flung. What difference does it make?
Love demands affection and intimacy. It demands depth.
Love is like a beautiful vase on display. Some think it's too much, and find themselves imitations to suffice. Another may admire from afar - "it's just not my thing" - perhaps in fear of disappointment? Others touch the vase, but are not willing to pay the price for it to have as their own.
I don't like vases. But I do like the analogy. And I do like the idea of love. Love that gives and cares and upholds and nurtures. And what about romance? Yes from time to time my heart flutters, but perhaps I'm a commitment-phobe.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Serendipity + music
Today, I had an experiment with Destiny... sort of like Serendipity - to see whether I have any "yun" (Chinese word for fate/destiny) with a certain someone...
While I sat and wrote in my journal, I thought - it doesn't matter whether this person turns up or not.. because I'm happy. My contentment is in God, and His current portion for me. He has and is pouring my cup to overflow with beautiful friendships, great experiences, and lots and lots of fun.
Yesterday, I went to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO)'s Master series concert "The Slender Thread" at the Hamer Hall. Oleg Caetani was meant to conduct, but for some reason the MSO's new Principal Guest Conductor, Tadaaki Otaka (renowned Japanese conductor) stepped in to conduct this concert instead.
First piece was Brahm's "Song of Destiny" - an emotional piece about the serenity of heaven and the toil of human kind (denoted by a 'tumbling down to earth' section). This piece was performed by the MSO orchestra and MSO chorus. My eyes welled up with tears as I read the notes in the program about that piece. I even commented to my friend "I'm so excited I want to cry.".... But unfortunately, the 'heaven' part lacked the emotion/heart-stirring beauty I was expecting. The 'tumbling down to earth' part was more exciting, but admittedly, I was disappointed - the chemistry I had previously seen between Oleg and the orchestra (and even with the Chorus) was not there that afternoon with Otaka and the orchestra. I guess they just need time to bond.
Second piece, Wagner's "The Valkyrie: Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music"which depicts the sorrow and heart-brokenness of the god Wotan. It was performed by the orchestra with John Wegner (bass-baritone) as Wotan. Dramatic, captivating - I had seen John Wegner perform Wagner before (in fact, it was the concert I went to with Stu to celebrate his bday over a year ago - "The Flying Dutchman") - it was exactly what one would expect of John Wegner, and of course, from Richard Wagner.
The third piece - Brahm's "Symphony No 2" - one of his most renowned. It's an audience-friendly piece that would appeal to a larger crowd.
Li and Mike were there also, and I learnt from them the meaning of Allegro non troppo (first movement) - fast but not too fast. Apparently an old lady had gone up to Li during the interval, and, thinking she was a music student, had inquired the meaning of "non-troppo". By the way, yes Li did look like a music student that day. And Mike confirmed that it means "not too much" - i.e. allegro (fast) non troppo means "fast but not too fast" on the internet via his mobile. haha.
The four movements of this symphony were pleasing to the ears - my favourite being the second and fourth movements. The second movement was Adagio non troppo - melodic, romantic - a great symphonic piece. The fourth movement was triumphant and at this point I thought "ah ha! THAT's the MSO that I came to see!" The orchestra was in their element, playing with the vigour and intensity which I love to see and hear. I was so happy and fully engaged. (At this point, I looked over and my companion for the afternoon had nodded off....) All of it made me smile.
And we had amazing seats - they were a bit of an experiment on my part as the lady at the ticketbox had recommended them - Box A seats 5 & 6. The Box is not always open; but it offers great views just above and to the side of the orchestra and chorus. I had wanted to see Oleg's facial expressions while conducting. But I must say, Otaka, although more mild when it comes to facial expressions, was still good to watch in his kindly Japanese old gentleman kind of way. Yes, I am now indeed addicted to the Box seats, as Rosemary (the Arts Centre ticketbox lady) had forewarned.
After the concert, I made a brief stop at BBB for a coffee, and then went to purchase myself an early bday pressie - something feminine and pretty. I am a firm believer that every girl should invest in beautiful intimate apparel. It's part of the whole concept of "Beauty from within" - both figuratively (i.e. morally, sensually, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually) and in actuality (physically).
In the evening, I went to a soiree at my friend's house where his men's chorale performed. They sang in a capella over four brackets - folk songs, French, Latin, more contemporary songs... They looked like they were having heaps of fun performing, which made it fun for the audience as well.
They performed a song called "And so it goes" by Billy Joel, which had lyrics about a room in one's heart which captured my attention.
In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break
And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
Watching the choir perform reminded me of my old choir days. How I long to sing and perform again....
And it was with this that I signed off on my journal. My experiment with Destiny did not work and who I thought would appear did not do so. So I guess it's meant to be.
I felt deliriously happy the rest of the day anyway.
While I sat and wrote in my journal, I thought - it doesn't matter whether this person turns up or not.. because I'm happy. My contentment is in God, and His current portion for me. He has and is pouring my cup to overflow with beautiful friendships, great experiences, and lots and lots of fun.
Yesterday, I went to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO)'s Master series concert "The Slender Thread" at the Hamer Hall. Oleg Caetani was meant to conduct, but for some reason the MSO's new Principal Guest Conductor, Tadaaki Otaka (renowned Japanese conductor) stepped in to conduct this concert instead.
First piece was Brahm's "Song of Destiny" - an emotional piece about the serenity of heaven and the toil of human kind (denoted by a 'tumbling down to earth' section). This piece was performed by the MSO orchestra and MSO chorus. My eyes welled up with tears as I read the notes in the program about that piece. I even commented to my friend "I'm so excited I want to cry.".... But unfortunately, the 'heaven' part lacked the emotion/heart-stirring beauty I was expecting. The 'tumbling down to earth' part was more exciting, but admittedly, I was disappointed - the chemistry I had previously seen between Oleg and the orchestra (and even with the Chorus) was not there that afternoon with Otaka and the orchestra. I guess they just need time to bond.
Second piece, Wagner's "The Valkyrie: Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music"which depicts the sorrow and heart-brokenness of the god Wotan. It was performed by the orchestra with John Wegner (bass-baritone) as Wotan. Dramatic, captivating - I had seen John Wegner perform Wagner before (in fact, it was the concert I went to with Stu to celebrate his bday over a year ago - "The Flying Dutchman") - it was exactly what one would expect of John Wegner, and of course, from Richard Wagner.
The third piece - Brahm's "Symphony No 2" - one of his most renowned. It's an audience-friendly piece that would appeal to a larger crowd.
Li and Mike were there also, and I learnt from them the meaning of Allegro non troppo (first movement) - fast but not too fast. Apparently an old lady had gone up to Li during the interval, and, thinking she was a music student, had inquired the meaning of "non-troppo". By the way, yes Li did look like a music student that day. And Mike confirmed that it means "not too much" - i.e. allegro (fast) non troppo means "fast but not too fast" on the internet via his mobile. haha.
The four movements of this symphony were pleasing to the ears - my favourite being the second and fourth movements. The second movement was Adagio non troppo - melodic, romantic - a great symphonic piece. The fourth movement was triumphant and at this point I thought "ah ha! THAT's the MSO that I came to see!" The orchestra was in their element, playing with the vigour and intensity which I love to see and hear. I was so happy and fully engaged. (At this point, I looked over and my companion for the afternoon had nodded off....) All of it made me smile.
And we had amazing seats - they were a bit of an experiment on my part as the lady at the ticketbox had recommended them - Box A seats 5 & 6. The Box is not always open; but it offers great views just above and to the side of the orchestra and chorus. I had wanted to see Oleg's facial expressions while conducting. But I must say, Otaka, although more mild when it comes to facial expressions, was still good to watch in his kindly Japanese old gentleman kind of way. Yes, I am now indeed addicted to the Box seats, as Rosemary (the Arts Centre ticketbox lady) had forewarned.
After the concert, I made a brief stop at BBB for a coffee, and then went to purchase myself an early bday pressie - something feminine and pretty. I am a firm believer that every girl should invest in beautiful intimate apparel. It's part of the whole concept of "Beauty from within" - both figuratively (i.e. morally, sensually, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually) and in actuality (physically).
In the evening, I went to a soiree at my friend's house where his men's chorale performed. They sang in a capella over four brackets - folk songs, French, Latin, more contemporary songs... They looked like they were having heaps of fun performing, which made it fun for the audience as well.
They performed a song called "And so it goes" by Billy Joel, which had lyrics about a room in one's heart which captured my attention.
In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break
And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
Watching the choir perform reminded me of my old choir days. How I long to sing and perform again....
And it was with this that I signed off on my journal. My experiment with Destiny did not work and who I thought would appear did not do so. So I guess it's meant to be.
I felt deliriously happy the rest of the day anyway.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A cause for nostalgia
Today I went to the Mt Dandenong festival where a band called Jaspora was playing (one of my friend knows the members of the band and had raved on about how good their reggae/soca music is ("you won't stop dancing" - she promised)... The weather was pretty moody, with alternating periods of sunshine and pouring rain. There was a power failure so the gig didn't kick off until pretty late... While waiting for the set up, I found my mind wandering...
I was in a place that held significant memories for me. It was a place that marked the end of something which went too deep too quickly, a relationship which never came to fruition, and a goodbye to a person that I still really care for but has moved on from my life. I know it all happened for the best, but on this day, in this place, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and a pang of sadness, as I continued to remember... Sassafras Village Green, Ripe, Sky High...
It seems that my mind naturally associates places with memories, and the curse is such that I can never go back to a place without remembering the significant memories (whether happy or hurtful).
Lately I've caught myself doing this a lot - I'll walk past a particular restaurant, remember the certain occasion that I had gone there for, and think to myself: "well, I screwed that one up". Then I walked past a particular theatre, remembered the humour of a certain situation, and thought: "yep, I screwed that one up too". Funnily, it's often with a smile that I make such an observation to myself. Bad timing, misread signals, mismatched expectations, unsuredness, not knowing what ones wants, self-centredness ... In hindsight, such "screw ups" may often be blessings in disguise. Who knows. The best may be yet to come.
I was in a place that held significant memories for me. It was a place that marked the end of something which went too deep too quickly, a relationship which never came to fruition, and a goodbye to a person that I still really care for but has moved on from my life. I know it all happened for the best, but on this day, in this place, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and a pang of sadness, as I continued to remember... Sassafras Village Green, Ripe, Sky High...
It seems that my mind naturally associates places with memories, and the curse is such that I can never go back to a place without remembering the significant memories (whether happy or hurtful).
Lately I've caught myself doing this a lot - I'll walk past a particular restaurant, remember the certain occasion that I had gone there for, and think to myself: "well, I screwed that one up". Then I walked past a particular theatre, remembered the humour of a certain situation, and thought: "yep, I screwed that one up too". Funnily, it's often with a smile that I make such an observation to myself. Bad timing, misread signals, mismatched expectations, unsuredness, not knowing what ones wants, self-centredness ... In hindsight, such "screw ups" may often be blessings in disguise. Who knows. The best may be yet to come.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Melbourne Izakaya fever - an evening @ Izakaya Den
After a great time at an event run by the Hive (www.thehive.org.au) last night where the founder of Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler, was speaking (he signed my Central Asia lonely planet book!!), I went to check out Izakaya Den - a relatively new addition to the Izakaya scene in Melbourne.
A short prelude
When explaining the concept of "Izakaya", I usually describe it as: a japanese "pub" style venue where you can have sake/drinks with your friends and colleagues (very popular with business men in Japan) and order lots of small plates to share (similar to Spanish tapas). The usual orders may include chicken skewers (yakitori), bite-sized seafood delights (e.g. squid, baby octopus), agedashi tofu, beef tataki (slices of slightly seared beef), sushi/sashmi, small serving of tempura or lightly battered vegetables, etc. Beverage-wise may include beer, sake, umeshu (japanese plum (ume) liquor), shochu (distilled from barley, sweet potato or rice).... My favourite is chuhai - which is pretty much like a cocktail - shochu and carbonated water with lemon/grape/apple/etc flavours.
As I had studied Japanese throughout high school and uni, I had known about the concept of Izakaya, and have also been to a variety of Izakayas in Japan (a must-try experience for every visitor to Japan!)
Up to a few years ago, I was only aware of a handful of Izakayas in Melbourne - my favourite being Izakaya Chuji on Lonsdale St (I love their yukke - i.e. raw beef with egg dish - it's addictively delicious!) This year, I discovered that Izakaya Hachibei had replaced Korean bbq restaurant Kimchi Grandma on Bourke St across from my gym. Hachibei is a convenient and reasonable venue when I am looking for a bit of izakaya love - my favourite being their ox tongue specials dish. Approximately $30-40 will give you a hearty meal there. (By the way, for office people looking for a cheap-ish authentic Japanese place for lunch - Izakaya Hachibei do really reasonably priced lunches - e.g. ladies lunch for $10-$12 which will get a mini don or mini chirashi sushi with a mini bowl of udon; guys can feel free to choose what they want in their $10 bento box lunch sets.) I also went to Shogun Izakaya the other night, an izakaya which prides itself for its yakitori / other grilled skewer dishes. It's a place that attracts diverse crowds - students, Japanese, Aussies, other cultures. Reasonably priced (we spent less than $25pp for the meal), the food is tasty enough but nothing out of the box to report.
So yes, the concept of Izakayas is apparently hitting up a storm in Melbourne - see recent article in the Epicure.
Izakaya Den
The facts:
A long and narrow dining room with high-ceiling; mainly black, brown and grey colour scheme (if i remember correctly). Huge mirror at one end which lengthens and "opens up" the space. If you are dining with one or two other friends, the long counter where you can see the kitchen in action would be great fun. Otherwise, there's tall square tables with high seats which would be ideal for an intimate dinner for 3-4.
My friend describes it as "very New York".
The food:
There were two of us last night, and our choices for the evening were as follows:
We didn't try any of the huge variety of sake and imported beverages this time, since we both had work to do that night, but definitely will be wanting to try some sake next time (which appears to be served in science laboratory like glassware from what I saw on other tables).
The service:
Professional, efficient, polite staff. No complaints at all.
Value for money: Servings are modest, but typical of izakayas anyway. Expect to spend at least $40-50 for a decent meal (excluding drinks).
The verdict: Being an obsessive Japan and Japanese food fan, I am a little biased. But this place doesn't remind me of Japan. It reminds me of, well, Melbourne. Yes, it has very heavy Japanese slants, and great elements of a Japanese izakaya, but it's very much a fusion venue at its heart. A great new concept. Hip with an air of understated sophistication. The food is great. Another place to pop on my regulars list.
Food 7.5/10
Ambience 7.5/10
Service 7.5/10
Total: 22.5/30
A short prelude
When explaining the concept of "Izakaya", I usually describe it as: a japanese "pub" style venue where you can have sake/drinks with your friends and colleagues (very popular with business men in Japan) and order lots of small plates to share (similar to Spanish tapas). The usual orders may include chicken skewers (yakitori), bite-sized seafood delights (e.g. squid, baby octopus), agedashi tofu, beef tataki (slices of slightly seared beef), sushi/sashmi, small serving of tempura or lightly battered vegetables, etc. Beverage-wise may include beer, sake, umeshu (japanese plum (ume) liquor), shochu (distilled from barley, sweet potato or rice).... My favourite is chuhai - which is pretty much like a cocktail - shochu and carbonated water with lemon/grape/apple/etc flavours.
As I had studied Japanese throughout high school and uni, I had known about the concept of Izakaya, and have also been to a variety of Izakayas in Japan (a must-try experience for every visitor to Japan!)
Up to a few years ago, I was only aware of a handful of Izakayas in Melbourne - my favourite being Izakaya Chuji on Lonsdale St (I love their yukke - i.e. raw beef with egg dish - it's addictively delicious!) This year, I discovered that Izakaya Hachibei had replaced Korean bbq restaurant Kimchi Grandma on Bourke St across from my gym. Hachibei is a convenient and reasonable venue when I am looking for a bit of izakaya love - my favourite being their ox tongue specials dish. Approximately $30-40 will give you a hearty meal there. (By the way, for office people looking for a cheap-ish authentic Japanese place for lunch - Izakaya Hachibei do really reasonably priced lunches - e.g. ladies lunch for $10-$12 which will get a mini don or mini chirashi sushi with a mini bowl of udon; guys can feel free to choose what they want in their $10 bento box lunch sets.) I also went to Shogun Izakaya the other night, an izakaya which prides itself for its yakitori / other grilled skewer dishes. It's a place that attracts diverse crowds - students, Japanese, Aussies, other cultures. Reasonably priced (we spent less than $25pp for the meal), the food is tasty enough but nothing out of the box to report.
So yes, the concept of Izakayas is apparently hitting up a storm in Melbourne - see recent article in the Epicure.
Izakaya Den
The facts:
- Located in the basement, entrance next to the Postal cafe on Russell St, near the corner of Little Collins St.
- Run by the people from Verge (great fusion food venue on Flinders Lane) - we saw Simon Denton running the show with expert professionalism; and my friend also introduced me to Taka, who apparently is a partner in the business and used to work at Verge
A long and narrow dining room with high-ceiling; mainly black, brown and grey colour scheme (if i remember correctly). Huge mirror at one end which lengthens and "opens up" the space. If you are dining with one or two other friends, the long counter where you can see the kitchen in action would be great fun. Otherwise, there's tall square tables with high seats which would be ideal for an intimate dinner for 3-4.
My friend describes it as "very New York".
The food:
There were two of us last night, and our choices for the evening were as follows:
- Miso soup to start: I was pleasantly surprised with the big piece of crab claw that came inside the soup bowl. The soup was hearty and flavoursome - it's a totally different level from the $3 msg-flavoured miso soup you would get from some other places.
- Deep fried lamb cutlets with red miso sauce on very crispy lettuce: delicious, but the meat was slightly too fatty for my liking.
- Ox tongue with finely-chopped shallots/sesame/garlic dressing: very tasty - ox tongue slices cooked to the right level of tenderness vs chewiness, carefully balanced by the freshness of the dressing
- Pork belly kushi-yaki (i.e. pork belly skewers): large wedges of pork belly meat, nicely salted, succulent
- Lightly seared tuna tataki highlighted by an alternate of horseradish cream and a tangy sauce (i can't work out what's in the tangy orange colored sauce, but it reminds me of the special recipe sauce which J-Cafe places in its spicy salmon sushi burgers...)
We didn't try any of the huge variety of sake and imported beverages this time, since we both had work to do that night, but definitely will be wanting to try some sake next time (which appears to be served in science laboratory like glassware from what I saw on other tables).
The service:
Professional, efficient, polite staff. No complaints at all.
Value for money: Servings are modest, but typical of izakayas anyway. Expect to spend at least $40-50 for a decent meal (excluding drinks).
The verdict: Being an obsessive Japan and Japanese food fan, I am a little biased. But this place doesn't remind me of Japan. It reminds me of, well, Melbourne. Yes, it has very heavy Japanese slants, and great elements of a Japanese izakaya, but it's very much a fusion venue at its heart. A great new concept. Hip with an air of understated sophistication. The food is great. Another place to pop on my regulars list.
Food 7.5/10
Ambience 7.5/10
Service 7.5/10
Total: 22.5/30
Sunday, November 22, 2009
A weekend of unplanned activities + checking out Proud Mary's @ Oxford St, Collingwood
It's really rare for (a control freak like) me to not have concrete plans for the weekend, and in fact, this weekend I really had nothing penciled in the diary at all. So it was a perfect setting to go for a lazy brunch by myself and check out a new specialty coffee venue recommended by fellow blogger Jason - Proud Mary's (172 Oxford Street, Collingwood), a new specialty coffee venue that's been getting rad reviews all over town.
Before I launch into my comments I must note as a big plus that there's lots of free parking around the area (since ticketed parking is until 12:30pm on Saturdays, and does not apply on Sundays - I arrived after 1pm on Saturday 20 November).
Venue: open, laid back; (at this point, i gotta say I hate drawing comparisons because every coffee venue is unique and is its own - i.e. just like every person is unique and is their own person - but, for illustrative purposes only (haha)) PM's does not have the European/funky/trendy vibe of, say, St Ali, or the quirkiness of a venue like the Outpost; BUT what i like about PM's is that it is more accessible - by that I mean it would appeal to a larger, more diverse crowd. Wide spaces, communal big tables as well as smaller ones, and some bench/counter with stools spots where you can observe the superb coffee making OR sit by the window and people watch/daydream (i chose the latter on this slightly mucky weathered Saturday afternoon).
I glanced up and (unexpectedly) saw an old friend from uni who pointed out the mega coffee machine (custom-made six group Synesso) - admittedly I know zilch about coffee machines, I was just there for the coffee. But yes, this custom-made mega machine is a huge deal - go check it out!
Coffee is very good. Appearance of my soy latte was pretty much perfect (by my books). Whilst places like St Ali/Outpost serve a more creamy soy latte (which i refer to as dreamy coffee heaven), PM's is stronger, and, (hear me on this) with greater depth. It really does have this richness and depth about it. They use Five Senses, which I have not been a huge fan of in the past - but here, they do Five Senses very well. I ended up having a second soy latte (I think it's a good idea to have more than one coffee when reviewing, in order to check consistency). Second soy latte was equally strong and satisfying. Tick for consistency (for now anyway)!
Food-wise I had a "Scrambled Mary" - grilled haloumi cheese, chorizo, spiced red pepper salsa with scrambled eggs on thick seeded toast. It was soooooooo yummy!!!
Scrambled eggs were slightly watery/mushy, but the haloumi and chorizo was very tasty!
Great coffee + great food is, of course, a winning combination for success. The staff seem to be still learning to handle the busyness and constant stream of people coming in. So for that, I gotta say there's room for improvement (although the guys & girls are friendly enough). Give them a bit more time, and PM's is bound to be one of the coffee faves in town.
Verdict: 8.5/10 - it doesn't take me to dreamy coffee heaven, but it does take me to this other place of equal satisfaction ( i just don't have a description for it yet)
On leaving PM's, I saw that parked next to my little Nissan Micra was an Alfa Romeo on one side, and a Chrysler on the other. There were people there for the auctions about the place. Lots of warehouse converted into apartments in the area for sale - apparently the one across the road from PM's sold for 980k. Hmm, wouldn't it be nice to own one some day - I think warehouse converted studio apartments are funky and have character. :)
For the rest of my Saturday, I :
- drove to the city;
- went to the gym for a quick workout;
- stumbled upon a small textiles design exhibition @ QV which showcases the work of rmit students in the relevant course;
- watched a bit of breakdancing on show outside State Library, then went inside to the foyer to check out what Alain De Botton books Readings bookstore stocks;
- went to Borders but couldn't find any of the books I wanted so I ended up browsing through the Lonely Planet Asia book and browsed through the countries I may visit on my Silk Road trip next year;
- bought Euphoria eau de parfum (I fell in love with the guy's one first - by the way, Euphoria men and the new Zegna men's fragrance are officially my faves);
- caught up with my best friend Ru at a Japanese izakaya which is famous for yakitori (hmm.. not that impressed);
- Ru and I watched Twilight New Moon @ 9:30pm Hoyts on Xtreme screen (which left me heartbroken for Jacob although I have always liked Edward more (poor jacob!) - no I am not a Twilight book fan - I refuse to read the books to avoid getting addicted to them like everyone else).
Before I launch into my comments I must note as a big plus that there's lots of free parking around the area (since ticketed parking is until 12:30pm on Saturdays, and does not apply on Sundays - I arrived after 1pm on Saturday 20 November).
Venue: open, laid back; (at this point, i gotta say I hate drawing comparisons because every coffee venue is unique and is its own - i.e. just like every person is unique and is their own person - but, for illustrative purposes only (haha)) PM's does not have the European/funky/trendy vibe of, say, St Ali, or the quirkiness of a venue like the Outpost; BUT what i like about PM's is that it is more accessible - by that I mean it would appeal to a larger, more diverse crowd. Wide spaces, communal big tables as well as smaller ones, and some bench/counter with stools spots where you can observe the superb coffee making OR sit by the window and people watch/daydream (i chose the latter on this slightly mucky weathered Saturday afternoon).
I glanced up and (unexpectedly) saw an old friend from uni who pointed out the mega coffee machine (custom-made six group Synesso) - admittedly I know zilch about coffee machines, I was just there for the coffee. But yes, this custom-made mega machine is a huge deal - go check it out!
Coffee is very good. Appearance of my soy latte was pretty much perfect (by my books). Whilst places like St Ali/Outpost serve a more creamy soy latte (which i refer to as dreamy coffee heaven), PM's is stronger, and, (hear me on this) with greater depth. It really does have this richness and depth about it. They use Five Senses, which I have not been a huge fan of in the past - but here, they do Five Senses very well. I ended up having a second soy latte (I think it's a good idea to have more than one coffee when reviewing, in order to check consistency). Second soy latte was equally strong and satisfying. Tick for consistency (for now anyway)!
Food-wise I had a "Scrambled Mary" - grilled haloumi cheese, chorizo, spiced red pepper salsa with scrambled eggs on thick seeded toast. It was soooooooo yummy!!!
Scrambled eggs were slightly watery/mushy, but the haloumi and chorizo was very tasty!
Great coffee + great food is, of course, a winning combination for success. The staff seem to be still learning to handle the busyness and constant stream of people coming in. So for that, I gotta say there's room for improvement (although the guys & girls are friendly enough). Give them a bit more time, and PM's is bound to be one of the coffee faves in town.
Verdict: 8.5/10 - it doesn't take me to dreamy coffee heaven, but it does take me to this other place of equal satisfaction ( i just don't have a description for it yet)
On leaving PM's, I saw that parked next to my little Nissan Micra was an Alfa Romeo on one side, and a Chrysler on the other. There were people there for the auctions about the place. Lots of warehouse converted into apartments in the area for sale - apparently the one across the road from PM's sold for 980k. Hmm, wouldn't it be nice to own one some day - I think warehouse converted studio apartments are funky and have character. :)
For the rest of my Saturday, I :
- drove to the city;
- went to the gym for a quick workout;
- stumbled upon a small textiles design exhibition @ QV which showcases the work of rmit students in the relevant course;
- watched a bit of breakdancing on show outside State Library, then went inside to the foyer to check out what Alain De Botton books Readings bookstore stocks;
- went to Borders but couldn't find any of the books I wanted so I ended up browsing through the Lonely Planet Asia book and browsed through the countries I may visit on my Silk Road trip next year;
- bought Euphoria eau de parfum (I fell in love with the guy's one first - by the way, Euphoria men and the new Zegna men's fragrance are officially my faves);
- caught up with my best friend Ru at a Japanese izakaya which is famous for yakitori (hmm.. not that impressed);
- Ru and I watched Twilight New Moon @ 9:30pm Hoyts on Xtreme screen (which left me heartbroken for Jacob although I have always liked Edward more (poor jacob!) - no I am not a Twilight book fan - I refuse to read the books to avoid getting addicted to them like everyone else).
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