Brisbane, Byron Bay, Cairns (Part 1)

Byron Bay

 I thought I would have more time to update but it was actually the opposite.  We would wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, and be out the door at around 9.  We would tour around town and wouldn't be back until 5 or 6 that night.  By then I was so beat.  Not to mention we would take a break, but by 8pm, we'd be out the door again for dinner.  But here's a little snippet of my trip.

Sydney- Brisbane   

We only spent one night in Brisbane, so we didn't see very much.  It's a beautiful city, close to the water with lots of restaurants.  It was raining when we arrived, and really humid.  It felt weird carrying an umbrella wearing a t- shirt.

Day Trip to Manly

I thought not working would allow me to have more time to write more posts, but it was really the opposite.  Jeremie's dad finally arrived into town and it was five solid days of showing him around Sydney, and restaurant tours.  We had a rough idea of the area we wanted to show him and had a restaurant (lunch and dinner) in mind.  We ate everywhere from Rockpool, Tetsuya, Cafe Sopra, Pilu, Billy Kwong, and Flying Fish.  There were two dinners I had to sit out because of all the dining out and wine, it became too much.  I missed out a dinner at Marque and Quay. 

Stewy Ratatouille

I can't stop raving about this ratatouille.  You can do so many things with it.  It's probably my go to dinner when I can't decide what to make for dinner.  I've made it so many times now and keep coming up with new ways to use up the leftovers.

I'm sure there are many versions of ratatouille.  This one is almost like a stew.  The vegetables get cooked down in it's own juices with tomatoes until it's nice and thick.  I like to add a few anchovies to bump up the flavour and fold in roasted garlic cloves at the end.  I started adding the roasted garlic when I had ratatouille at a comfort food restaurant in Vancouver called Burgoo.  They do a stewy version as well and serve it with crumbled goat cheese and toasted bread crumbs on top.

Ringing In The New Year From Down Under

New Years 2012 would have to go down as one of the most memorable moments of my life.  I had to work, but just being able to celebrate it in Sydney, Australia is just exciting as it is. 

I wasn't with family, friends, or Jeremie. He also ended up working.  I was with my second family.  The chefs at Flying Fish I see so much at times have now become my family. 

Flying Fish is located in Pyrmont, across the water from Circular Quay and over looks the Harbour Bridge.  It is situated in the perfect spot to watch the fireworks.