Sydney, day 1...

We were awake off and on throughout the night for 14 plus hours. After a long drive to Portland from Seattle, then a flight to Santa Ana and then to L.A. and on to Sydney, we finally reached our destination with some tiresome, but excited minds. We were in Australia! It's 6:32am, warm and sunny, the warmth beaming down on us, we ventured outwards to the city to check it out. After some snooping around at the harborside shops, we settled upon a basic "tourista trap" called Nicks. Not very soigne, but doable. Your basic place that is meant for those that are here for a few days and never for the locals. Oh well. After hitting some shops and figuring out what we wanted to do, we were directed to the local Hardrock Cafe, as we always enjoy picking up propaganda, paraphernelia and marketing pieces to help in the supporting of the hella-rich CEO's and VP's to make their billions. Oh well. On our way there, we stumbled upon a great little area that was just full of little specialty niche, and full of personality eateries that seemed just flat out cool. Literally, they were door-to-door! Place upon place. I decided to settle upon a place that was duibbed as "Sydney's Most Imaginative" Restaurant. My kids were not really having any part of it. I wanted to just have some tastes of some local foods that could help me understand what Syndey and the land down under was about. The Place is called Voiaj, pronounced voy-age. Chicy, yet very Middle easter meets the "bong shop" or Buddahist Lounge! Ok. The table was set ina very "artsy" fashion almost like that of a thrift shop or flea market gathering. There was olive oil and Dukka on the table, a blend of Middle eastern spices of Almond, Macadamia, Mint, Sesame, Anise and herbs in which to smear the sesame bread into after dunking it into the olive oil. Tasty! We then had a chilled soup of Fijian Mango with Cucumber, Yogurt and Chilies, which had a rich and deep flavored nuance to it. It needed salt, which it's share was given to to my next dishes. Ouch! Next came a series of tastes from Middle Eastern, Northern African and/or Asian decsent. Grilled Balmain "Bugs", or little lobsters, which was served with a baby Bethonga Watermelon, Fennel Puree and Avocado Oil. It was very salty. So much so that it became hard to finish. Tasty, but ease up already. The meat was firm witha bit of a tooth. Could have been a bit less done for me, but good. Had to try the Sesame crusted Crocodile, with Ivory Coast Tropical Fruit Sauce, actually a salsa/relish kind of concotion. Very fitting for the croc, as it was a bit mild and needed the fruity and acidic accompaniment. Fried was fine, but perhaps a more interesting method could have been appropriate? I also had an order of New Zealand Wild Boar Terrine brought out, with a Whiskey "kick", wrapped in pancetta, nice and fine. Terrine was done well. Very moist and flavorful. It was embellished with a spicy Chili Relish, crisp Taro Chips and a overly sweet Apple Sorbet. Not sure wher that came from, but I give it to them to try. Next was the Egyptian Dukka crumbled Goat Cheese, which went very well with the cheese, but again, someone's hand in the salt was way to heavy. Maybe that hooka on the next table was not just a prop! The dish was served with fried Zucchini Blossoms, Beets, Oranges and Arugula. A very nice salad in and of itself. I noticed that the frist courses, called entrees are like our appetiozers in the US. The Entrees are called Main Courses. Oh well...no worries. I was eyeing a superb looking tagine of Lamb at the next table, but I had to call it a night as I was too full. I am planning on comeing back as it looked so succulent. We walked across the street on our way back to the hotel only to find another place that I am already anxious to try for lunch tomorrow. Stay tuned for day 2.