AGWA Yacht Club boat party & dinner/ singing at Mizuya

Idea: spend all day on a boat soaking up good music, then have a Japanese eating and Karaoke fest

It was sunny. It was hot. There was a nice slight breeze out on the water. I made sure to get enough sleep the night before. Yup, I was ready to board the AGWA Yacht Club boat. The MARTIN BUTTRICH JAZZANOVA AGWA YACHT CLUB 008 to be precise. Not much can beat a day out in the sun, dancing, soaking up some good music, all with amazing views of the harbour. For some reason, every time I go one one of these boat parties (this was my third one), we all suddenly turn into tourists, "look bridge, we're going under THE bridge!" "Such a beautiful city to live in" etc. etc. You can't flaw the view, especially when the sun sets over the harbour. The vibe was right, the crowd was the perfect crowd, no Big Day Out boofheads on board with racist tattoos, or girls in skimpy bikinis and not much else. It was also, might I add, quite a good looking crowd. Hmm...

We stayed on the upper deck for almost the whole time (it went from 2-8pm). There were good djs up there, and the views were amazing. Our VIP wristbands also helped us to skip the lines to get up there. The maximum capacity rule on the top deck is always quite annoying, as the toilets are on the lower two levels. But rules are rules.

The Burger Phone made another appearance, the AGWA Slushy cocktail was by far the best and we all had leafy leis. We only checked out the lower level on the way out, which is where the main acts were. But I had to keep an eye on the time. I had one of my besties birthday parties to get to, and I didn't want to be too late. I passed the Town Hall on my way, which was all lit up pwerty for Christmas.

 

I made my way from the King Street Wharf to Mizuya Japanese Restaurant on George Street. It's one of the largest Izakaya style restaurants in Australia. Now, Mizuya is one of those places that my Japanese food obsessed friends and I go to all the time. This is for 3 main reasons. 1: they have touch screens, which are fun and make your food magically appear on your table before you know it. It's also a little easy to get carried away with, but in a good way. 2: The booth tables. And 3: the chili and garlic edamame. It is AMAZING! Everyone has to try it. Even if you go to Mizuya just for some Japanese beer and the edamame, it's a must. (Sorry, we ate it far too fast for a photo!)

I'm not sure if I can remember everything that we ordered, so here's what I remember. (We did have the entire table covered in food the whole time as we stuffed our faces). We had tofu agedashi, which was cooked to perfection, with just a nice light batter. We tried out some things from the kushiage section of the menu. This pretty much means deep fried. We chose the deep fried camambert. Good in small doses. But it must be lethal if you have too much. Instant heart attack. So bad, but so good at the same time. The gyoza are also up there on my list of favourites, with a really nice touch of ginger in them.

We had some noodles, which were a bit too greasy for my liking that had chicken and vegetables I think in it. But it really wasn't that memorable. The salmon sahimi was however, very tasty and fresh.

The cocktails unfortunately weren't my type of cocktails. They were all very sweet, especially the Love Hotel, which I just had to try about because of it's name. I think I'll stick to Japanese beer next time. Unless you're a teenage girl, you're probably not going to like the cocktails I'm afraid.

We also did the Shabu Shabu thing, and unlike Ju Ju's, the water wasn't vinegary, which was a relief. We cooked udon noodles, veggies and beef in it and we all ate as much as we could, until we thought that we might explode.

Being suitable stuffed, we decided it was time for Karaoke! This Karaoke is in a seperate room, so that you can have full privacy to belt out whatever your heart desires (that your friends allow). You can also order drinks and food in your karaoke room, doing dinner in the restaurant, or in the karaoke room. We decided to try out both that night. I would recommend booking if you're interesting in doing karaoke on a Friday or Saturday night, as it gets extremely busy in there.You can search for songs via the title of the song or the name of the artist in your room. And although I wasn't programming them in, it's one of the few karaoke places I've been to in Sydney where we didn't spend the whole night trying to work out how to program a song. We were able to start cranking out New York New York by Alicia Keys, quite a few ballads and some song by the Backstreet Boys (see below images...) Yes, we went there! Backsteet Boys.

After our night there, I would recommend Mizuya. Just don't bother with going to their website, it's kind of just a pdf. Either ring, or just turn up for dinner. We had so much fun singing and eating, even if we all pretty much lost our voices and the cocktails weren't the best. Also I love the random horse lamp. Next up for the night, I was off to a party in Newtown. I know, big night!

 

Sugarmill's 2nd Birthday, followed by lots of eating and drinking

Original idea: Attend Sugarmills' Birthday Party and get our cabana on. Idea that we ended up doing: Eat and drink our way through Kings Cross/ Darlo...

So, we were going to just check out the Sugarmill’s 2^nd Birthday cabana style party in Kings Cross. But it started with some vino at my friend’s house and some humus with carrot sticks and pita bread (as you do). Then we got our cabana on at Sugarmill. There were leis aplenty, quite a few captains, and some fab tacky anchors and other shrapnel. Sailor hats, nautical stripes, bright colours and bikinis were surrounding us. Of course there were also lots of blue and white balloons and a giant birthday cake. We were entertained by some random girls with grass skirts (read: plastic) and coconut bras doing some very “authentic” Hawaiian moves. There was Jamaican music. We missed out on the free Pina Colada, but enjoyed cheapo drinks and some free fish and chips in little containers. The perfect start to a night out, even if it's not a place that I frequent on a normal night. I’ll never say no to a free or very cheap drinks!

Next we headed to Time to Vino in its new location, near the Piano Room. From the second that we walked in, it was the perfect mood. The right light levels, cosy tables (although we opted for the bar seats), and some vino books scattered around. This would be the perfect date location. We had a look at the menu, and seeing as we were grazing all night, chose the last option of cheese on the menu, with our waiter’s help, served with sun ripened sultanas and lavosh. 

To call the cheese amazing would be an undersight. It was heaven. It disappeared very fast. For wine, we had the Sangiovese from Chianti with our cheese and soaked up the atmosphere. We easily could have spent the whole night here. Only after we had paid our bill and started to make moves did we realise that we hadn’t even seen the full menu. We both gasped. Our eyes soaked in the menu. My stomach began to get excited. Another time, another time, I kept telling it. The sundaes on the menu (all with some type of alcohol) the waiter told us were to die for. We decided to believe him. They looked great. We were told that you wouldn’t want to share them, and that it was a nice bit of alone time to have with your sundae. We had amazing service all night, great cheese and fab wine. Time to Vino is one of those few bars that just gets it right. It will be on my regulars list from now on. And I am going back to try out the rest of the food. And one of those sundaes. Hmmm…

We decided to keep walking in the direction away from the Harbour, and ended up at Mad Pizza. I’ve been here before, and it’s hard to resist. Again, we go for the bar stools, ending up with a charmingly (most of the time) bizarre English man telling us his life's story. We needed some wine to help us through his strange stories, so we ordered some Malbec. I love the quirky decorations in Mad Pizza, and I prefer this one, which is a bit bigger than the one down the road on William Street. 

I quite like Frank (in above piccy), the deer on the wall that overlooks us as we drink the night away. The shutters that open to reveal a dj are also a nice touch, with things written on the walls and some plants here and there. Our stomachs were starting to growl by this point, so we ordered the Alamfi pizza to share, as our new "friend" continued his story about his search for love.

The prawns were cooked perfectly, the soft, white cheese was delicious, and the chilli flakes just the right amount of hotness for me. I love how the pizzas come out on their own little stands, allowing more table (or in our case), bench space. The thin crust was also exactly how I like it. The stories flowed, the wine flowed and the pizza was gobbled up very fast. I was too scared to try the organic wine: "voice of the people," but maybe next time I will be brave enough. I also had, perhaps, by this point, had enough vino. A point proven by the mild hangover I had this morning.

Next door, my friend insisted that we get some Wow Cow into us. We choose the Volcano to share, which had frozen coffee yoghurt on the side, crushed Tim Tams, and some pancakey, chocolately richness with chocolatly hot sauce all over it. By this point, I was struggling and had to let my friend do most of the eating. My desert stomach just isn’t as large as my savoury stomach I’m afraid. And I thought that I might actually have exploded. Which could have been messy. Wow Cow, just like Mad Pizza, were both packed. You can tell that the locals love them both. I quite like the upside cow too...

We decided that we had eaten and drunk enough, being a bit tipsy and extremely full, and decided to call it a night. We had done a kind of progressive dinner and drinking session in Kings Cross/ Darlinghurst and we had done all that we could do. It was a school night after all and there was a long ferry ride ahead of me to get home.

Dinner & Karaoke @ Ju Ju

Idea: Karaoke and dinner somewhere interesting @ Ju Ju in Kings Cross

"Goody and delicious" - Ju Ju. Who could possible hate that slogan?

My friends assure me that normally the staff at Ju Ju aren’t as stressed as they were when we went last Saturday night. We literally had to grab someone to serve us, but every restaurant has an off night. We had shabu shabu, the salmon roll  from the specials list, one of the combination udon and various other bits and pieces, considering there were quite a few of us.


I think that Shabu Shabu and drinking alcohol needs to have a warning, as I ended up with a burning hot noodle flung onto my leg, and someone else managed to get tofu, meat and veggies all over the floor (getting smooshed into our toes). However, for the more coordinated, I’m sure this wouldn’t be an issue. The vinegar water that the Shabu Shabu was being cooked in was a bit too vinegary for my liking. The salmon roll however, was amazing, and the udon noodles with the combination of (I'm not really sure exactly what, but I could tell that there was a tempura prawn in it) was also really good. The yaki gyoza and agedashi tofu are always favourites of mine and at Ju Ju this was no exception. Especially considering how fast they disappeared. Everyone looked like they were enjoying their food, although by the time the food came, they may have just about eaten anything.

There was plenty of Japanese beer flowing, as well as some vino, so that by the time karaoke begun, we were in quite a good mood. This is not the type of karaoke for those who are a bit shy, as they aren't private karaoke booths. There’s just one microphone and everyone gets to hear your lovely singing. The tables are sunk into the floor, with edges to them, so there’s privacy while you dine. This is strictly a no shoes zone, so watch out or they’ll chase after you with the intention of bearing those tootsies to the outside world. Lots of food later (when it finally arrived), beverages and a bit of singing, we decided to head out. The good thing is that Ju Ju’s is in the heart of the Cross, so there are plenty of options to head out to afterwards.

So, despite the lack of service, I would still recommend Ju Ju. I love a good Japanese style Tavern. What I wouldn’t recommend is a big night out after this (after spending all day at the beach), and going straight out on a bushwalk in Terry Hills in 31 degree heat the next day, with barely any sleep (as the hangover effect is just starting to kick in).  But that's self induced, so I can't complain about that! All in all, a pretty great weekend! As the coasters at Ju Ju says, "always around you" ... I think that's a good thing?

Strangers Project 2. Who the hell are you?

Strangers Project 2. Who the hell are you? @ atyp last night and tonight at 7pm

Idea: go check out an experimental piece of theatre, creative development, warehouse production or work in progress. If my experience last night was anything to go by, you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

Wednesday night, a theatre company's launch party for 2011, last night Miss Feathers was off to see a play. It's been a busy week! The Strangers Project 2. Who the hell are you? is a creative development piece performed by teenagers at atyp. This is an international script writing and performance project, which is a taste of what will come in 2011 when they have finalised their piece.

You could tell that these teenagers had devised this piece themselves, with collaboration with other teenagers in other countries. There were many mentions of facebook, as it was one if the main tools, alongside skype, that they used to communicate with the other theatre companies and to devise their work. Lots of mentions of relationship status updates of "it's complicated," the process of accepting and ignoring friend requests and relationship breakdowns all online. CCTV was one of the themes that kept coming up from the theatre group in Wales, so the Sydney group decided to include a piece about that and the idea of Big Brother. There was a poem/ song about McDonalds and there were a few songs that they sung about the notion of strangers, connecting with one another and communication.

If they manage to get funding this will turn into a full scale production in 2011. Here's hoping to that! The impromptu Q & A last night was great, as we got to hear all about the creative processes behind it. We found out that some pieces of dialogue were straight from the strangers2 facebook page that they've all been chatting on. Such an interesting and relevant piece of theatre. If you get the chance, check it out tonight!

The Arias

Idea: Attend an event on a comp ticket. The Arias @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sunday 7th November, 2010

Better being in the crowd, or watched on tv? Tv for sure! Well, this is one blog entry that Miss Feathers doesn't have many positive things to say about. At least it didn't rain. At least I had my friends with me. At least it was close to my ferry ride home. At least they had an amazing lighting display. At least I didn't faint from being penned in (although it was  close call). At least... At least... hmmm ok, I think I've run out of positive things to say. Well, it's going downhill from here.

So here's the real lowdown. The Arias is not made for the crowd that is smooshed into viewing areas. A band that I love (Blue Juice, who I've seen perform amazingly dozens of times) were forced to perform a terrible, terrible set. The music levels were all wrong, their mics didn't work for quite some time, and when it did, it was just all wrong. The techies responsible for all of the performances up until Powderfinger should be shot. Really. The performers looked embarrassed. The crowd looked embarrassed. It was just all so wrong. Did they do a run through before the event? It didn't look like it. Only the larger acts appeared to have had a tech run. And by then the audience wasn't really up for it. For something like the Arias, I expected better. It appeared to be amateurs hour. They clearly had spent all of the rehearsal time getting the amazing lights to work and camera angles to pan from. Because, from the screen, it looked pretty good. But when you took a look around you, it was another story.


There was no alcohol sold (only the VIPs got some). Not that I'm an alcoholic, or that my social activities have to involve the consumption of alcohol, it just didn't have much of a party vibe. There just wasn't a vibe. Except for the 4 teenage girls squealing every time a camera came near them who attempted to destroy our eardrums (wow, I'm really sounding like I need a good cup of tea and a crossword right now).


The Sydney Harbour Forecourt always looks amazing on film, but it just wasn't the right venue. We had to stand the whole time, in our little pen. Some of the hosts, were, well... interesting. No one really knew what was going on. Powderfinger even accepted an award whilst at the bar, wondering, "what's that for?" The audience couldn't even see the awards being presented, and sometimes the camera crew didn't even know where to film. It was all very haphazard, especially if you think about how much it would have all cost. I just expected better.

I love a comp ticket, and I have no complaints whatsoever about that. I also love trying new things and going to different things. I feel that I can tick this box (and most likely not need to do it again). I just wonder how they got it so very very wrong? Well, that's my whinge, I promise to not make a habit of it!

Bluejuice

Powderfinger

Grasshopper!

Dinner in the kitchen @ Grasshopper open Monday – Friday lunch and dinner

Myself, plus one decided to brave the weather (I don’t think the sky got the memo that’s it’s November!) and headed out in search of a dodgy laneway. Temperance Lane to be precise. Yes, located between the R M Williams and Oakley stores on George Street is Grasshopper, a Melbourne style laneway bar that is one of Sydney’s bars of the moment.

Split into two sections, the bar and the restaurant, the only way of finding Grasshopper is by knowing where you’re going. You’re not really going to stumble across it accidentally. This adds to the appeal of Grasshopper, which has such a great vibe and is so different from other drinking holes in the heart of the city. Trashy bars or dingy pubs anyone? Not for this blogger. 

We decided to try out the bar section first, which by just a bit after 6pm when we arrive, was already completely packed. Not busy. But packed. You can tell that word of mouth spreads fast about new bars in Sydney. Although both the food menu and wine menu (by the glass) is quite limited, you can tell that they have carefully selected everything that appears on it. They also serve only one type of beer: Peroni. If you are a beer drinker and Peroni isn’t your thing, I might suggest heading elsewhere for an after work drink. We grabbed our glasses of wine, managed to quickly snap up a perch on a 70s style armchair and stool beneath a funky lampshade, and settled in to our black and white kung fu wall papered surrounds. 

Having only opened this year, Grasshopper has some great quirky touches like serving table water and cocktails in jam jars. There are old records as coasters, book-like menus and playing cards as business cards. These all combine to make Grasshopper an interesting drinking venue. Finally Sydney is getting some places with some character!

After our wine, we decide to head on up to the restaurant area. I was excited by the idea of the eating area that is essentially a large slab of stone on which you’re seated on one side, with the kitchen on the other. It’s an open kitchen, so we can happily chat away to the Head chef Richard Duff as we eat. We can see absolutely everything going on in the kitchen. I'm not sure how the chefs feel about being so watched. Richard explains every meal that we’ve been served, sometimes handing the meals straight to us, answering our questions, of um… “what’s that?” I’ve never eaten in such close proximity to the chef that has made my food before. We got to watch our soufflé rise in the oven, our herbs being expertly cut and the tempers sometimes rising in the kitchen (in a controlled way). I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun. You can't get this on tv. We were part of the action. It’s such a small kitchen (as the entire place is tiny), but so smoothly run.

The menu... hmm. I want it all!

From the specials board we ordered the grilled asparagus, balsamic vinegar reduction with parmasan cheese so share. The asparagus was amazingly grilled to perfection and served in such a simple but delicious way. 

Grilled asparagus with balsamic reduction and shaved parmasan

For my main I ordered the salmon with peas and broad beans, which was grilled and lightly smoked. This was perfection. The right sized portion, plated well and the Salmon wasn’t too overpowered by the other flavours on my plate. You were left with the feeling of having just eaten food that was not only tasty, but also good for you. This doesn't happen often in restaurants. It was just all so fresh.

Grilled salmon with peas

Plus one had the Steak au Poivre. Again: cooked perfectly. It was an extremely tender pepper crusted steak. The side of a hashbrowns with bone marrow in it (as strange as it sounds) was also extremely delicious. This side being one of our “what’s this” questions, which our chef was only too happy to answer. 

Steak au Poivre

It’s quite lucky that we didn’t have anything negative to say, as I feel that it wouldn’t have gone down too well (even if it had been whispered between the two of us, as I think he may have heard!) Our position also lead us to food envy, as every plate that zoomed past our noses had us perving on it. A habit of mine that I really must give up, but all the meals looked amazing. I just couldn't help myself. The prawn cocktail (quite different to how it sounds) is on my list for the next visit. Watching those prawns being grilled and then garnished had me drooling. We also watched quite a few of the raspberry soufflé’s rise in front of our eyes from inside the oven and then walk past our noses. We just had to have one of these. The soufflé, also from the specials board, was light and fluffy, as they should be, and had a great fresh raspberry coulee to serve with it. We demolished it in what felt like seconds.

Before the top is taken off

After the top has been taken off and the raspberry coulee has been poured on.

Is Grasshopper a place I would visit again? For sure! Miss Feathers is already planning her return visit. It didn't win best small bar this year for nothing! Richard told us that we just had to try the cheese plate on our next visit, as he began cutting them up, and I wouldn't want to make the chef angry!