Potters Brewery

Entrance to the pub

It was around 3pm in the afternoon when we arrived, which coincidentally meant the pub was rather empty. I guess the scene would change come night time. Walking into the pub, the first thing that came to mind was the strong smell of hops! Yes, it was unmistakable and it was pungent. I couldn’t decide if I liked or hated it. We walked over to the bar and asked about the brewery tour and beer tasting as shown on the entrance. It turned out that the brewery tour was only held during specific hours so we missed the chance, but we could still opt for the beer tasting at $10 for a selection of 4 beers.

The pub

Brewery area

Brewery Chart

The Hunter Beer Co. is a microbrewery that brews several award winning flavourful beers – from its award-winning Kolsch and to the easy drinking German Ale. Even though we didn’t go for the brewery tour, there were plenty of information around the pub that described the brewery process and the different ingredients used.

Information about beer and taste

Beer ingredients

The bartender told us there were 10 different types of beer to choose from, and we had to pick 4. It was not easy since we didn’t know which were good and which were not. We were given some recommendations though, and decided that we must try the award-winning Hunter Kolsch. We also picked a Pale Ale and a Hunter Witbier in the mix.

Ten types of beer to choose from

The different beer logos

Our choice of 4 beers

Hunter Beer Co. coaster

Of the 4 beers we had, I remember that both of us unanimously agreed that the Hunter Kolsch was the best of all. It was not too light or hoppy, and had a refreshing aftertaste which was perfect to drink in the afternoon. We didn’t quite enjoy the pale ale, which turned out to be rather bitter for us. The Witbier was somewhere in the middle, but we still preferred the Kolsch above all. We wished that we had ordered more of that!

Kolsch – A refreshing easy drinking ale with flavour, perfect for summer drinking. Pale golden colour with light honey-biscuit malt character, subtle passion fruit and pineapple flavour is delicately balanced with a restrained bitterness and drying finish.

Saucer enjoying his beer

Award-winning Hunter Kolsch

Beer barrels outside the brewery

After drinking our beers, we took some time to walk around the Potters Brewery surroundings – partly to let the alcohol subside, and partly to take in the gorgeous decor. The surrounding grounds were massive and had plenty of greenery for us to lie down and enjoy the blue sky and nice weather. Coincidentally, Potters is also a hotel so if you’re looking to visit Hunter Valley, you could choose to stay here right next to the brewery and have freshly brewed beer any time you want!

Potters Brewery

Potters Brewery, Hunter Valley

Hunter Beer Co. @ Potters Hotel Brewery Resort 
Wine Country Drive,
Nulkaba NSW 2325
Australia
Tel No: +(612) 4991 7922
Opening hours: Open 7 days 10am – 5pm
Email: info@pottershbr.com.au
Website: www.hunterbeer.com.au

Year of Snake

The Chinese New Year markets were held in Belmore Park near Central Station this year, but since we parked near Chinatown, we took a walk down Dixon Street first. There were a couple of lion dances along the way but we were always too far to capture photos of them. Saucer managed to snap a picture of the dragon dance though, which was moving along Dixon Street during lunch.

Dragon dance in Dixon Street

We had our lunch at Dixon House, a food court hidden in the basement level along Dixon Street that houses a wide variety of Asian and Chinese stalls. We’d passed by the entrance to the food court a couple of times before and always thought it looked dodgy but we were wrong. We decided to go down the stairs that day and boy, were we amazed! It was crowded and had an atmosphere not unlike that of Jalan Alor or Petaling Street, except that it was under cover. There were stalls selling noodles, dumplings, Japanese food, Malay food, Chinese fried dishes, Sichuan food and sugar cane drinks too! And best of all, the prices were relatively cheap compared to the ones you find in shopping mall food courts. There was a stall selling noodles for $7 and tray of dumplings for around the same price. We decided to go for Sichuan food that day, and ordered 2 spicy dishes of fish and prawns.

Sichuan Steamed Fish with chilli (AUD$11.80)

Sichuan Sizzling King Prawns (AUD$12.80)

Each dish came in a huge portion plus a plate of rice. We had a whole steamed fish for less than $12, definitely well worth the price. The prawns were amazingly fresh and succulent too, and didn’t put a hole in our pocket. Overall, it was a nice place for a satisfying lunch without the fancy environment but definitely friendly to the wallet.

Crowd at Belmore Park

After the filling lunch, we took a walk towards Belmore Park located about 5 minutes walk away. From afar, we could already spot the huge crowd heading towards the park as well as a big group inside of it. There was apparently some kind of a performance on stage by the Koreans. The stage was always occupied with shows, choirs or even cooking programs showing Chinese dishes. It was quite interesting to just sit down and enjoy the atmosphere together with all the other Chinese from around the world in Sydney.

Koreans performing on stage

Audience enjoying a cooking program

Huge crowd at the Chinese New Year Markets

As with all markets, there’s bound to be food involved. There were several rows of food stalls with brisk business, as well as booths selling Asian food items such as the Ayam Brand stall. The staff at the Ayam Brand counter was also passing out fortune cookies to passers-by, and mine said that I would be successful in my work. Let’s hope that’s true!

Passing out fortune cookies

My fortune cookie

My little fortune message

One of the stalls getting a lot of attention was the Golden Crown Chinese Restaurant, because there was a chef demonstrating the making of la mian/noodles at the booth.

Chef making la mian/noodles

Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant

Row of food stalls

Gong Xi Fa Cai from witch and Saucer!

Apart from food stalls, there were also activities for kids. There was a trampoline station where kids were bound to poles and allowed to jump high up under the supervision of adults. And there was also a booth to shoot targets with big soft toys as rewards.

Trampoline for the kids

More stalls

But what caught our attention was the booth with a deity in it. They claimed that it was the God of Fortune (Choy Sun) and asked everyone who passed by to make a wish. We were given a joss stick each and queued up to make a wish like everyone else.

Praying to the God of Fortune (Choy Sun)

On the way out of the park, we were lucky to spot the Nestea booth giving out free drinks. We had already walked for a fair bit then and the cool lemon tea drinks came at the right time. Best of all, the queue wasn’t even that long and everyone moved in an orderly fashion so there was no need to rush.

Nestea giving out free drinks

By the time we finished walking around Belmore Park, it was almost 5pm and the sky was starting to get gloomy with the promise of drizzle coming through. We made the decision to walk back to our car before it started pouring. It was not much for a Chinese New Year celebration but the fact that we had it away from home in a foreign country made us feel at home in a way. For the rest of you who did not celebrate Chinese New Year at home, just remember that your loved ones were thinking of you when they tossed the yee sang or when they had reunion dinner. Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy Chinese New Year 2013!

Chinese New Year Markets at Belmore Park, Sydney

Speaking of CNY, we can almost never get away from CNY goodies. By goodies, I mean food, really. For me, one of the must-haves during CNY is Yee Sang, or raw fish salad if you must. To be honest, I don’t really love yee sang very much, but I do enjoy the process of mixing it around while chanting wishes and seeing everyone’s happy faces at the same time. The resulting product is not really that important to me, even though it’s a plus if it does taste good. For the past few years, we had had the pleasure of having Yee Sang for at least 5 to 7 days in a row at home. My parents would usually buy the first packet of yee sang for the first day, followed by my aunt and uncle on the second and finally the children take turns on the subsequent days. Of course, this tradition is still in place thanks to my grandparents who never fail to cook up a feast every day during the festival and making sure everyone comes back home to celebrate.

Another delicacy I love during CNY is Nian Gao or Sticky Cake. Believe it or not, I used to hate nian gao when I was young, thinking it smelled funny and was too gooey for my liking. My grandma, knowing that we, the children, didn’t like eating gooey and sticky stuff, improvised by making nian gao fritters. She used to fry them on its own, or sandwiched in between tapioca and taro slices, until they had crispy golden skin. Needless to say, they quickly became a hit and always disappeared faster than she could fry them!

Last but not least, who could forget about the CNY candies and cookies that are always abundant on the cookies tray? I used to have the task of distributing different cookies and sweets on different compartments of the tray, and never failed to steal a piece or two in the process. My favourite, without a doubt, is the peanut candies, which is really peanuts coated with caramel. They’re sweet, but I could go on and on eating them and end up getting a sore throat afterwards but I’d still do it all over again.

After enjoying these CNY goodies, does it make you wonder sometimes, how did they all come about? Why did we have tradition like this and whether they mean anything? Thanks to our elders, age-old Chinese New Year traditions are practised till this day. So let’s help keep them alive.

More Grandfather goodness here www.youtube.com/user/maxis.
If you have a funny yeh yeh story to tell, share yours on http://facebook.com/maxis or Twitter using #yehyehstories.

So if you’re curious on how I did this leap of faith, do view and share my story while lending a helping hand to the needy. Check out my story at www.projectlisten.com.my/MeiYee_story.php and many other awesome stories here: www.projectlisten.com.my.

Wyndham Estate

Cellar door

George Wyndham became the father of Australian Shiraz after planting Australia’s first commercial Shiraz vineyard in 1830. His innovative spirit is a proud legacy that endures to this day at Wyndham Estate.

 Landscape at Wyndham Estate

Inside the cellar door

Once we were inside in the cellar door, we were greeted with barrels and barrels of wine around us, particularly the Bin 555 Shiraz. We were delighted! Since we were a little late, we were the only ones there, which meant getting full attention from the sommelier. She was a bubbly lady who was very excited to show us some of Wyndham’s best wines.

Club 555 barrels

Tasting bar

Wine list

We tried our favorite 555 and found that there’s even a sparkling version of it! We loved both of them and bought them back. At $16 a bottle, it’s also pretty reasonably priced. There’s a reason why George Wyndham is known as the father of Australian Shiraz indeed.

Wyndham Estate cellar

Wyndham Estate vineyard

That was the last winery we visited on Day 1 at Hunter Valley. We spent some time walking off the alcohol that we consumed that afternoon and admiring the vineyard outside the cellar door until it was time to drive back to our hotel. It had been a great first day at Hunter Valley and we’re going to be back for a couple more wineries the next day!

 Wyndham Estate, Hunter Valley

Wyndham Estate
700 Dalwood Road – Dalwood, NSW 2335
Ph: (+61) 2 4938 3444
Fax: (+612) 4938 3555
Tasting Hours: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Website: www.wyndhamestate.com 

Tyrrell’s Wines at Hunter Valley

Established in 1858 by English immigrant Edward Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s Wines is one of Australia’s pre-eminent family owned wine companies with vineyards extending from their historic home in the Hunter Valley to the Limestone Coast (SA) and Heathcote (VIC).

Tyrrell’s vineyard

The cellar door was pretty busy that afternoon, and there was no spot available at the tasting bar. While waiting, we were entertained by the educational information on wine cycle across the four seasons, shown on the black board near the entrance. It certainly looks like maintaining a vineyard requires a lot of work! There’s plenty to during each season, not to mention that the quality of grapes would be subject to different weather changes as well.

Wine cycle

Wines at Tyrrell’s

Soon, a spot was freed up and we made our way to the tasting bar. The wine list was pretty extensive, ranging from sparkling, reds, whites and dessert wines. As usual, we asked for recommendations from the sommelier, and the first wine that was introduced to us was the Arabella Rose. It was light pink in colour and had a nice fruity smell. We also tried some of the sweeter white wines, and found our favourite!

Wine for tasting

Wine list

Rose

Thanks to the voucher booklet that we got from Harrigan’s Irish Pub, we were given 20% discount of any wine purchase from Tyrrell’s. We ended up purchasing the Riesling, which was really nice to drink and really fruity. After discount, it cost us less than $10 for the bottle. Pretty decent, I’d say!

Crowd at the tasting bar

Taking a rest before the next winery

After we’re done with the wine-tasting, we took a walk outside and absorbed the breath-taking view of the vineyard. The sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining bright, it was the perfect day for a walk outdoors. There were benches near the vineyard for patrons to take a rest if they think they’ve had too much of wine. We just took the opportunity to soak in the atmosphere before moving on to the next winery on our list!

Grape trees in spring

Tyrrell’s Wines at Polkolbin, Hunter Valley

Tyrrell’s Wines
1838 Broke Road
Pokolbin NSW 2320 Australia
Tel No: (02) 4993 7000
Email: cellardoor@tyrrells.com.au
Opening Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm (Monday to Saturday) 10:00am – 4:00pm (Sunday)
Closed on: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day,  New Years Eve, New Years Day & Good Friday
Website: www.tyrrells.com.au

 Road in Polkolbin, Hunter Valley

Tower Estate Winery, Hunter Valley

We were there in the afternoon and saw that the place was relatively quiet with just a couple of other wine-tasters. It’s either to do with the fact that this brand was relatively new or that it’s expensive. Well, we were about to find out when we approached the tasting bar.

Tasting bar at Tower Estate winery

Nice area to enjoy wine

Saucer at the tasting bar

As expected, the wines at Tower Estate were slightly above average with cellar door prices starting from AUD22 onwards. We requested for something sweet and the sommelier presented us with their award-winning Moscato, which we loved instantly! It was not overly sweet but really smooth and easy to drink. We couldn’t stop ourselves from buying a bottle back home.

Wine list at Tower Estate Winery

Trying out the red wine

 Collection of Tower Estate wines

Of course, there were many other types of wines available for tasting, but we decided to just try the ones that we really liked so that we would stay sober for our next wineries. The trick to that is drinking in small sips, enough to get the taste, and clear the palate after every 2 or 3 types of wine tried with water. We found that we were sober and clear even after visiting 6 wineries at the end of the day, which was quite a feat.

“You only have so many bottles in your life, never drink a bad one”

Tower Estate Wines, Hunter Valley

Tower Estate Wines
Cnr Halls and Broke Rd
Pokolbin, Hunter Valley,
NSW, Australia 2320
Tel No: +61 (0)2 4998 7989
Fax No: +61 (0)2 4998 7919
Email: sales@towerestate.com
Cellar Door Hours: 10am – 5pm daily (except Christmas day)
Website: www.towerestate.com

Pepper Tree Wines

Landscape of Pepper Tree Wines

Path to the cellar door

I absolutely loved the landscape of Pepper Tree Wines – everything looked so green and tidy. The trimmed lawn, the clean pathways, the handwritten signboard, all just added charm to the beautiful place. The cellar door was really just a building in the midst of the green landscape, filled with bottles and bottles of wines for sale and for tasting.

The Cellar

Saucer walking towards the cellar door

Welcome to Pepper Tree Wines

Bottles of wine

Cellar Door

The process of wine-tasting is actually quite straightforward. Once you’re inside, look out for a vacant spot at the tasting bar. The spots are usually marked with a wine list and occasionally, empty wine glasses. If there are no vacant spots available, just wait nearby, because a tasting session usually lasts around 10-15 minutes. We managed to find a spot just after a few minutes of entering, and took a look at the list of wines available.

Look for a vacant spot at the tasting bar

Wine List

 As shown from the list, the wines here cost from $22 onwards, which to me, is above average. The sommelier would give us a few moments to glance through the list and ask us which wine we would like to try. If you know what you’re looking for, feel free to talk to the sommelier to get good recommendations. For example, we were after something sweet and not too dry, preferably red. So we were given some recommendations on which wines would suit us. But if you are totally clueless about wine, not to worry! Just ask the sommelier for recommendations and proceed from there. Usually a tasting session would start with white wines before moving on to reds. A small amount of wine would be poured into the wine glass for you to sip, and if you like it, feel free to finish it. But if you don’t, there is always a dump bucket next to you for you to toss the remainder of your wine away. Also, don’t be afraid to tell the sommelier what you think of the wine, whether you like it or not, so that he knows your preference and can recommend something that you would like.

Pepper Tree red wine

Even though we were looking for red wines, we realized that Hunter Valley wineries are more famous for white wines than reds. Thanks to our helpful sommelier, we were introduced to a very refreshing and fruity Semillon from Pepper Tree Wines, which we enjoyed tremendously. In fact, it was the only wine that we liked during the tasting that we decided to purchase a bottle of it back.

Cellar Door sales

Our bottle of Semillon

Flowers outside the cellar

Towards the car park

When I talked about our wine tasting experience in Hunter Valley, the most common question that I got asked was whether we needed to pay for tasting wine. And the answer is, No. Well, at least for the 10 or so wineries that we went to, we were not charged anything for tasting. Also, there is no obligation to purchase a bottle if you don’t like it. You only need to buy what you absolutely like and feel comfortable with. For the rest of it, have fun! But remember not to drink and drive. More wine adventures to come next!

The vineyard

Pepper Tree Wines
86 Halls Road
POLKOLBIN, NSW 2320
Australia
Tel. No: +61 2 4909 7100
Fax No: +61 2 4998 7746
E-mail: ptwinery@peppertreewines.com.au
Cellar Door Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday
9.00 am – 5.00 pm
Weekends & Public Holidays
9.30 am – 5.00 pm
Website: www.peppertreewines.com.au

Cute Ribs and Rumps shaker

James Squire beer ($7.95)

To start with, Saucer had a bottle of James Squire Amber ale, which was pretty smooth and easy to drink, especially when chilled. We ordered an Entree Platter for Two to share for starters, which came with Farmers sausage (Boerewors), buffalo wings with tangy BBQ relish and calamari with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. The sausages were served on top of a bed of polenta with a somewhat spicy and sour sauce, which was pretty moreish. I found it strange that I would be attracted to the polenta and sauce the most when there were so many other interesting dishes on the plate. The calamari was juicy and flavourful, but I’d prefer them to be more crispy and less soggy. The tangy buffalo wings were nice as an appetizer and got us ready for the next dish.

Entree Platter for Two ($29.95)

Sausages and the delicious sauce

Buffalo wings

Of course, when we’re at a restaurant called Ribs and Rumps, we could not resist from trying their signature dishes. We had the Ribs and Rumps Combo of pork ribs, lamb ribs and a 220g of rump steak, done medium rare. Now usually the combo would be served with chips, but Saucer being the health-conscious one, requested for it to be served with baked potatoes instead. I didn’t care much for the potatoes, when the star attraction was calling out to me. Ribs! I absolutely loved the pork ribs here. They were grilled to a nice charred finish without drying the meat. And the sweet and sticky sauce was out of the world. I could go on and on licking the sauce and not get tired of it. Most importantly, the meat was tender and flavourful, just like how the perfect rib should be.

Ribs and Rumps Combo ($46.95)

I enjoyed the lamb ribs as well, with the slight and subtle gamey flavour that was not overpowering. The rump steak was cooked perfectly medium rare, with enough heat that gave it a nice charred skin that we both enjoyed. It was very juicy and moist, but not overly bloody. If only all steak houses could cook the steak just right.

Medium rare steak

Saucer licking his rib clean

Look at the cute bib

Overall we had an enjoyable dinner during my birthday, and the portions were so huge that we couldn’t finish them off. The staff was accommodating enough to help us take away some of the leftover food, which we ended up eating for lunch. Now that we’ve tried the pork and lamb ribs, perhaps we would go with beef ribs next! (Who am I kidding? I still love pork ribs the most!)

Ribs and rumps serviette

Ribs and Rumps North Ryde

Ribs and Rumps
11 Talavera Road
North Ryde
NSW Australia.
Tel No.: +612 9805 1199
Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs (12 – 3pm & 6 – 10pm), Fri – Sun (12 – 3pm & 5.30 – 10pm)
Website: ribsandrumps.com

After dinner, we went home and had a mini celebration with a fruit cake that Saucer bought. And since there was no candle, he used an iPhone app as one! It was so cute! The candle would really go off when I blew into it. If you have an iPhone, you should search for the app and try it out. Thank you dear for planning a sweet and nice dinner celebration for my birthday!

Fake Candle on the cake

Happy birthday to me

Free ferry to Cockatoo Island

Leaving the Sydney Opera House

On the ferry

Goodbye Circular Quay

Leaving behind Sydney Harbour Bridge

The famous Sydney skyline

Within 20 minutes, our ferry docked on what seemed to be a deserted island and all of us alighted.

Cockatoo Island is a World-Heritage-listed island in the middle of Sydney Harbour. Retaining all its character from decades of human endeavour by convicts and shipbuilders alike, Cockatoo Island is open to the public daily, offering major events, exhibitions, tours, venue hire, accommodation including the world’s first urban waterfront campground, a waterfront bar (The Island Bar) and licensed kiosk (The Canteen).

Aerial view of the Cockatoo Island (courtesy of www.bos18.com)

The whole island looked like an abandoned industrial site with big factories and vast open areas – perfect location for art display indeed! Since we arrived at 4.30pm, we only had half an hour to tour before the exhibition closed at 5pm. It was quite an amazing feeling to look at art with such a non-traditional way. To most people, art would mean a piece of drawing on a canvas but the display here was nothing of that sort. We saw huge models of machinery made from polystyrene, moving shadows with mysterious music in the background, blinking lights, water-fog, you name it! It was really a clever play of not only the sight, but the hearing and touch of human senses as well. Some of the art pieces that we saw and brief description of them are shown below, with extracts taken from www.bos18.com.

Domesticated Turf, 2012 by Cal Lane (Picture from www.bos18.com)

Cal Lane’s ‘industrial doilies’ play upon juxtaposition by transforming industrial objects such as spades, wheelbarrows, oil drums and car doors. The works highlight an unexpected relationship between the delicate and domestic patterns of lace, carved into an expanse of steel to illustrate a comparison and contrast of materials and ideas that compliment and clash with one another.

In the dark

Gravitas Lite, 2012 by Peter Robinson (Picture from www.bos18.com)

Peter Robinson employs polystyrene to investigate the gallery as site. Scale is manipulated, presenting contradictions in weight and strength which often have the effect of destabilising the viewer’s sense of perception. The works are often massive and require teams of people working together to physically structure the work and solve problems, creating a sense of community.

They’re made from polystyrene!

The River, 2012 by Monika Grzymala &  Euraba Artists and Papermakers (Picture from www.bos18.com)

Monika Grzymala’s architectural interventions are site specific, temporary, often ephemeral installations, based on the language of the line as mental and physical perception. Within a representation of relations of the human body to the environment, she uses with a wide array of materials, including handmade Washi paper, adhesive tapes, lead wire, confetti, leaves and other linear objects found in the surrounding landscape.

All made from paper

Source, 2012 by Ed Pien with Tanya Tagaq (Picture from www.bos18.com)

Source (2012) is a site-specific installation for Cockatoo Island and explores the symbolic, mythological and political ramifications of water. To conceptually develop Source, I researched mythologies and folklore pertaining to water recounted by elders from various cultures. From these narratives, a hybridised story was created, focussing on the commonalities and differences between peoples and cultures. The political ramifications of water also inform the work, in particular, the lack of accessible clean water experienced by many First Nations’ communities.

Looking inside the hole (Picture from www.bos18.com)

Source 2012

Using drawing, paper-cuts, installation, sound and video work, he explores curiosity, wonder and enchantment while celebrating diverse ways of being in the world. Participants enter his work to engage and explore its labyrinthine interior.

Spot a prawn!

Before we knew it, our time was up! Someone came to usher us out and we left with a feeling of awe at how very advanced and modern art has evolved. If you have not been to an art festival this scale before, you should give this a try. After all, it’s free!

18th Biennale of Sydney at Cockatoo Island
Date: 27 June to 16 September 2012
Getting there: Free ferry from Wharf 6, Circular Quay (outside MCA) and Pier 2/3
Opening hours: Open daily 10 am–5 pm
Entry: Free
Website: www.bos18.com/cockatoo