Wildfire

Voices soften for a moment at Wildfire as cultured conversationalists are distracted by the sky ablaze with the colours of the sunset. Wildfire has front-row seats to the performance with the Opera House taking centre stage and the water infront dancing with reflections of pink and blue. Here, where a dreamily soft sea breeze floats past the restaurant’s Ember bar, we sip on signature Pushka cocktails of Mediterranean honey vodka and ginger liqueur spliced with lemon juice. Sauntering over to our table we take our seats below the endlessly high ceilings and soft golden glow of the dramatic lighting that is subtly reminiscent of fireworks.

Suited waiters glide purposely through the restaurant with artistically presented dishes, proud of the cuisine they know so well. They make friendly recommendations before the sommelier arrives to suggest drops from the wine list that in 2009 was named the best by Gourmet Traveller’s readers. A small congregation unites their glasses to toast one member’s return from a long overseas trip, as dinner is coloured by the shimmering gold reflection of the Opera House, now set aglow from the city lights across the blackness of the water.

Our entrée of ocean trout pieces draped over goat’s curd ‘cannelloni’ is presented on colourful swipes of sauces and surrounded by delicate beads of salmon roe. Cucumber sorbet cleverly harmonises the elements of taste and temperature with the oceanic characters of the dish. Executive chef Luke Stempsys strives to incorporate unusual cuts of meats with the churrasco grill, some having been lovingly marinated for five days. Waiters roam the restaurant with large skewers of the grilled meats pulled straight from the flame and triumphantly carved at the table. Each is meltingly tender, the spices forming a crust pungent with flavour. Delicately sweet sorbets for dessert are finished with the bright notes of freeze-dried mandarin and the last sips of the restaurant's signature Indigo Pinto Gris.

Through meticulously catering to even the finest details with specialised bakers, butchers, pastry chefs and an award-winning sommeliers, Wildfire exudes effortless expertise within the boast-worthy setting that makes each experience a wistful memory.

Neutral Bay Bar & Dining

There is a quirky character to Neutral Bay Bar and Dining that makes you feel you have taken a step back in time to a 1940s New York diner with the subtle retro style of the slick interior. Waitresses in chic tailored dresses, pearls and styled up-do’s liaise between the nostalgic, tall booths that line the restaurant. Eco design edge echoes through the timber features and the vines that crawl across the wall in an eye-catching artwork. The booths give jovial groups a feeling of privacy as if they are chatting in the comfort of their own apartments. Huddled together, they giggle as they fill thier glasses with Yarra Valley Mayer Bloody Hill chardonnay and unite them in a toast.

The relaxed atmosphere allows diners to enjoy the food of fine dining quality as waiters happily bring extra plates for parties to share their meals, divvying up organic meats and bountiful vegetable dishes. Half way through their meals, a couple exchange their grilled Snowy River trout and Coorong Angus scotch fillets with each other to enjoy both choices, while curious fingers of a group of women pick at the salumi board of prosciutto, salumi conte, and capicollo.

The kitchen is open to admire the chefs’ expertise and allows floating scents to entice appetites. The environmental focus is carried through the menu of organic and sustainable ingredients that are accentuated with long and slow cooking. Charcoal and organic wood burn in the pit grill, emphasising the earthy characters of the toasted meats. The extensive wine list is unpretentious and supports boutique and innovative wineries. Organic and biodynamic drops pepper the list and complement executive chef Alex Kearns’ cuisine concept. The old-school booths of art deco décor, and the organically harmonising flavours of the menu contribute to the contagious charisma, life, and quirky personality of Neutral Bay Bar and Dining that is sure to become a fond friend of Sydney diners.

District Dining

District Dining is brimming with corporates so relaxed, they could be in their own dining room. Except this one happens to be catered by award-winning chef Warren Turnbull of Assiette fame, and its bar is abundant with brilliant boutique wines and international beers. Turnbull casualises his fine dining talents and serves a more relaxed, after-hours atmosphere at this new venture.

District Dining sits amongst the spiderweb of streets in Surry Hills, its metropolitan surroundings characterised by the grey shades of the city concrete, and the constant coming and going of trains in the distance. The urban jungle buzzes below, as the restaurant overlooks the corner of Randle and Chalmers Streets. Green-tinted light peeps through trees outside and softly reflects into the restaurant, brightening its cool and moody tones.

International influences weave through the menu from French-cooking techniques to exotic Middle Eastern spices. Some dishes keep Turnbull’s fine dining presentation with informal yet calculated garnishes, such as the honey-bound walnuts over spiced pumpkin and marinated fetta, whilst others like the cluster of crispy school prawns with lime mayo are presented casually on wooden boards. The eclectic menu offers share-plates and larger dishes making it perfect for indecisive diners and relaxed gatherings. A quick snack may start with a glass or two of wine shared over crispy quail eggs with anchovy mayonnaise and tarragon; and soft slices of veal tongue arranged over aromatic salsa verde; the flavours cut by pickled turnip and rounded by almonds.

When a glass leads into a bottle, curious eyes ponder over mains such as lamb shoulder; gently falling apart; the rich meat accentuated by the flavours of cumin and sweet, honey-glazed baby carrots. For dessert, a cluster of meringue pieces is sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries and slices of fresh strawberries and cloaked with a billowing layer of glossy vanilla cream - mouthfuls of the softly crunchy meringue dissolve amongst the cool cream, finishing with tiny burst of sweetness from the raspberry seeds.

District Dining contrasts between inner-city style and a casual character that is sure to have the corporate crowd leaving work early for their soon-to-be second home.

Berta Restaurant & Bar

Berta is to restaurants what the dapper suited man is to gentlemen – made of masculinity and refined style. Hidden amongst Alberta Street’s grey shades of tarmac and concrete, Berta is a culinary cocoon lined with natural elements of wooden floorboards, brown leather banquettes and marble-top tables stitched together with brass features. Large jars of pickled vegetables whose fate will later take them to the antipasti platter line the shelf above the theatrical open kitchen. Two huge glass windows open the restaurant onto a view of a cement wall webbed with cracks, while a tiny carpark framed by tangled razor wire can be seen to one corner. This concrete ‘artwork’ seems to chide at restaurants that boast glittering skylines as their strongest asset – who needs a view when you have Sunday-style roasted lamb, slow cooked for 36 hours? The slices flecked with parsley are layered atop creamy cauliflower puree and surrounded by a moat of jus, rich with rosemary and the meat’s flavours. The deeply roasted meats and full-bodied reds make it nearly appropriate to pull out a cigar.

The menu changes daily, the selection scrawled across a large blackboard that faces the lengthy wine list on the opposite wall. On this late lunch date a group of gentlemen laugh together and toast a Friday corporate gathering that will run well past office hours – the menu of share plates and glorious mains, the perfect excuse. They debate and solve the woes of the world as their table is graced with bountiful wooden charcuterie platters featuring slabs of cheese and rippling layers of cold meats. They later enjoy ravioli bound with roast-garlic ricotta, bejewelled with peas and ribboned with mint, and pick at a mound of crisp squid which swipes up house-made aioli.

Berta is where you go when you’re sick of stuffy fine dining and you want to enjoy dishes rich in classic and comforting flavours. The exposed brass pipes and concrete view make Berta seductively rough around the edges, which is all part of the masculine charm.

The Wine Library

If the wine at Woollahra’s Wine Library told its own story, you could sit by the bar and enjoy a tale of rocky glens, dramatic mountains, hot summer storms and frost crusted vines; of winemakers in India and growers in Barcelona. Each of the 400 wines has been carefully selected like the books of a personal library and the catalogue explains the story of seasons behind each vineyard or winemaker.

The Wine Library is a cocoon enjoyed by the unique personalities here for the boutique drops and casual-cool atmosphere. Glossy bottles line the shelves of the bar like volumes ordered by author, shining with an orange-gleam from the backlight of the bar. The syncopated jazz tunes that flow through the restaurant are punctuated by the chinks of glasses toasting the weekend’s beginning. Afternoon snacks and pre-dinner drinks are spent here as charcuterie plates are presented between elbows that rest gracefully on the generous zinc bar. The bar leads past the clear charcuterie coolroom to the low-lit dining room and the secluded outdoor oasis that beckons diners to a quiet escape of slate tiles and dappled sunlight.

Woollahra and Paddington residents drift in and out of the bar coming for an afternoon aperitif. Some order a drop that is the perfect equivalent of their identity while others dabble with alternate characters. The wine list, like a library, harbours creations from around the world. A glass of 2009 Granbazan ‘Etiqueta Ambar’ could be the equivalent of a travel novel. Its albarino grapes drawn from the coast-hugging region of Spain’s Rias Biaxas whisper dry and crisp oceanic characters, and this afternoon are enjoyed by a group of young women for after-work drinks. They’re served plates of cluttered cabernet and vinegar oysters; grappa cured ocean trout; and pork and veal meatballs dusted with parmesan and sitting in thick tomato-based sauce. The dusty old hardcover from a past century – 1989 Domaine Leroy ‘les Beaux Monts’ is shared by some old friends who’ve come to catch up on a year lost to the business of life. The Glenguin Estate’s 2007 Stoneybroke Shiraz has a smooth body with a flirtatious spice making it alike an old love story, and ordered by a pair perhaps starting their own as they toast their first date. A group of gentlemen settle down to the dark wooden tables of the dining room to explore the seasons’ influences on a region by trying a glass from each vintage - like working their way through a series. At the Wine Library, ‘quick afternoon drinks’ will meld into shared dishes and orders for a second bottle, before conceding to make a night with dessert in favour of prior plans.

Edwina Storie, October 2010

The Hideout

There is a new place to escape the afternoon bore where you can relax by the wine racks and cool gray walls of the Hideout. Red light glows from the fluorescent key holes in the top corner of the restaurant making us wish we could lock this place away to be kept as our own little secret. The open bar creates a chatty atmosphere like the casual kitchen-conversation of a dinner party. Curious Paddington residents walk in and stand in front of the huge black board wine menu, pointing to and discussing possible choices of the mostly patriotic selection. Seating and tables are shuffled around as diners come and go, some standing around the open bar while others spill the chilled atmosphere out onto the path of Five Ways.

On this late spring afternoon, fingers gracefully hold glasses of 2009 Hesketh ‘Scissor Hands’ riesling while others move onto the stronger body of the 2008 La Linea Tempranillo. Black-clad waiters slide an old wooden ladder along the restaurant to reach for a diner’s favourite drop as they walk up the stairs to lounge onto the low couches. A flirting couple at the window bench top-up their glasses with the equally flirtatious 2009 Amisfield Saignee rosé. Presented with a cheese plate featuring glossy bowls of goat’s milk fetta and billowy pillows of bocconcini, they swipe the slices of toasted almond biscotti and fruit spelt with fig paste, before layering on cuts of the brie slab. Friends who have unexpectedly bumped into each other turn their casual rendezvous into a group catch-up and eye-off the cheese platter before ordering one themselves.

Our glasses are topped up with a second serving of the 2008 Woodgate Reserve pinot noir as ‘quick pre-drinks’ turn into cured meat plates and changed plans. The Hideout fills up with locals happy for a fresh change to their favourite Friday hangout, although shortly, it may become the new one.

Edwina Storie, October 2010

Garden Brasserie - Neautral Bay

The Garden Brasserie is overgrown with effortless cool and unique style. This Neutral Bay restaurant serves modern Australian cuisine with fruity cocktails beside a glorious indoor garden.

If the garden of Eden served cocktails, its bar would be the Garden Brasserie and the forbidden fruit would be the Kyoto gardens martini. The Garden Brasserie is overgrown with effortless cool and unique style. The vertical garden which crawls up to the ceiling must inject extra oxygen and zest into the air because everything has a touch of flirtation. Split into overlapping levels, the ‘treehouse cocktail lounge’ overlooks the ‘patio’ restaurant below. The decor is a botanical concoction of natural elements such as mahogany tables and marble floors, with retro features such as the Astroturf which lines the staircase. The patio on the bottom floor bathes in natural light that filters through the glass shopfront. As you sit among the shrubbery the restaurant has an ambience alike an English summer day. As the sun sets, the birdcage enclosed lights dimly illuminate the restaurant of casual crowds who sip on smoky margaritas.

Guests don’t come here just for the detoxifying décor of the garden wall (although it is reason enough). The food carries the same earthy characters with meats complimented by delicate sauces and spiced vegetables. Start with dinner downstairs beside the glorious overgrowth. The tiger prawn risotto infused with saffron is mixed with green pea and purple basil, and is a creamy yet light starter. For main, the flavours of the roast duck breast are balanced with spinach, cherries for a subtle sweetness, and a quince tarte tatin. The well considered wine selection features worldwide and local representation. Once you have finished the last sip of your chosen bottle, climb upstairs to the treehouse cocktail lounge. Recline on the olive and mahogany French armchairs and share the restaurant's signature garden lemon tart with good company. This restaurant's botanical character will leave you feeling refreshed, and perhaps even a little sinful if you try the Kyoto gardens martini.

Edwina Storie, August 2010

... At Perry Lane

Perry Lane café, hidden behind Oxford Street, is the daytime equivalent of the perfect date-space and is made of urban cool without the ego. Smooth coffee, inspiring artwork and organic-edged dishes make it a café kept to a secret by its Paddington following. Lose your thoughts ...At Perry Lane.

…At Perry Lane is where you take last night’s date for this morning’s breakfast. It is also where you spend the day ‘working from home’ or where you take your best friend in between the hunt for vintage treasures. Muted purple walls enclose the private hideaway keeping it to a whispered secret of creatives, cappuccino connoisseurs, bookworms and young couples. A black beaded chandelier set with melted candles hangs high above the heads of the guests, and the green and pink colours of the bougainvillea tumble down from the retractable roof, scattering sunlight across the tiles. A melodic cocktail of retro lounge and jazz tunes drifts between the three split levels and makes every moment feel like a Sunday morning. Organic-edge dishes, quirky quotes, and offbeat artworks characterise the café tucked behind the limelight of Oxford Street. The tiny door down the laneway opens only on Fridays and weekends as the eager loyal following sometimes even cues up the alley when it reaches its capacity.

Today, as the fuchsia pink flowers brighten in the spring sunlight, a Paddington mother pleasantly sits enthralled in the pages of her book. Her puffy black poodle sits politely beside her feet as he is served a pup-a-cino and plate of liver flakes. Two runners satisfy a hunger from their Sunday morning slog with soy lattes and organic maple-nut wood-fired granola. Poached pink lady apple and raisins stream sweetness through the dollop of yoghurt that tops the oats. A mother and daughter duo on a break from a day’s shopping share a meze plate. They spread thick crusts of fresh bread with hommus and tzatziki, then adding prosciutto, roasted red capsicum, grilled halloumi and sundried tomatoes as they discuss the day’s purchases. Natural light streams through the skylight of the upstairs studio where guests sit among and the creations of a local artist while they sip on herbal tea.

Our Moroccan poached eggs are presented on a bountiful bed of wilted spinach, red cumin lentils and tomato relish that tops a thick cut of toasted rye sourdough. The plate of the ‘Vegetarians do it Better’ breakfast is a palette of poached eggs and grilled tomato with slices of avocado, roasted capsicum and balsamic mushrooms served beside toasted sourdough and rocket salad. The only remains of the breakfast are ribbons of yolk swiped across the plate and crumbs along the Sunday paper. The multiplicities of wonderful personalities who come here are as brilliant and interesting as the as the café itself.

Coffee Bay - East Coast South Africa

Tucked away from the bore of the well trodden path and see-sawing on the edge of secrecy sits a three point stretch on the East Coast of South Africa where the rural African countryside collides with the beachside sands. Dividing the rolling hills and the Atlantic Ocean are steep rocky cliff faces dropping into jungle-like shrubbery and fading into pebbled beach.

Here lies the Transkei, a small state negated for the Xhosan people during apartheid which has surprisingly managed to avoid the mass tourism disease and retain its welcoming vibe. The Transkei is home to the trio Port St Johns, Coffee Bay and Mpande which sit together quietly on the Wild Coast, enjoying simplicity, silence, and the rhythm of the waves.

Kept as a traveler’s secret and in a tourist's oblivion, the Transkei’s gem is Coffee Bay. Its degraded road of potholes and roaming animals prevents pompous sports cars and any preconceived notions of souring its natural beauty.

Spitpress

Being a freelance writer (or trying to be whilst composing a thesis) I am constantly keeping track of what’s going on in the print journalism industry as I watch the rise of digital magazines. When each new media has been established there has been concern that it will be the death of the last; the radio of the newspaper, the television of the radio, the Internet of everything! In the past, each medium has managed to find its niche, and I am hoping the newspaper and magazine industry will manage to do this yet again. However, I am discouraged with the constant folding of publications such as TIME South Pacific which is now replaced by the distribution of the American issue through Australia. TIME editor Richard Stengel this month herald the iPad as the "new reading experience" to "showcase the very best in journalism". It could indeed be the possible savior of journalism because it will ‘revolutionize’ the ways in which we receive and consume our news and print. Stengel reveals that they are racing to design a format for the TIME iPad edition which will delivere the entire magazine in digital to your latest apple gadget for a paid subscription. I suspect it might be in a similar format to the digital magazine PagesDigital, and Groupie, with many links and interactive advertisements. Either way, I eagerly await it..

That said, it is because of this rise of the digital publication this that I highly encourage a new (tagible!) publication I found at uni the other day. It's not just another niche or health magazine banking on lifestyle trends, but something useful to the community that supports freelance creatives (like me!). Introducing Spitpress. Spitpress is a ‘creative newspaper’ distributed bimonthly for free throughout Sydney. Not only is it starting in a period when the newspaper industry is less than stable, but when the digital magazines are stealing our short attentions spans. However, even from its first issue you can tell it is a brilliant text full of the vibrancy of the young Sydney creative community, and it is filling a gap in the industry that truly is needed!

A Monologue of a Voluntourist

I am in the business of buying my own self enlightenment. I am the tourist who goes in search of the bigger picture, takes photos of cultural symbols to put on facebook, and finds ways of working my journey into every conversation. I am the target audience for the marketers of volunteer tourism brochures because I feel as though my soul is incomplete, and they are selling the missing piece. They are selling the journey which will lift the guilt of my consumerism, allow me to grow spiritually, and gain cultural capital all in one trip. I am a voluntourist.

I had finished my degree with “the world is my oyster” attitude but had a lot more learning to do. I wanted to shock my system, see the world, and come back with a new understanding. I needed to do something bigger than getting drunk in another city. It had to be something major, somewhere as far from home as I could get, where another country felt like another world.

Africa it was.

The Weight of Gold & the Guilt of Prosperity

I am a glass-half-full kind of person, as I believe most people are. When a door of opportunity closes I check if the windows are unlocked. If an unfavorable event occurs I try my hardest to interpret the Universe's lesson from it, no matter how angry I am at fate. However, there are some positives I cannot seem to accept, and some people whose happiness I cannot be convinced of - no matter how many times I am reassured.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the people of the poorest communities, “though knowing they have nothing, are so content and happy”. And whilst I know I should believe, whilst I see the photos of ragged children with blinding smiles I cant help but think that they would be happier without the necessity to beg, a roof over their head, and a certain future. And I know my presence with my shiny camera hiding half my face only rings this home to them.

I have volunteered with these children whose innocence is universal, and whose spirit is captivating. I have been privileged enough to work in the simple schools and the township squalor that reaches so far from my home of governmental support and award wages that are equal to upper class earnings in other countries. And I'm aware that my presence demonstrates their underprivileged position even more. They know from my language that I come from a lucky country. One they were not lucky enough to be born into.



On the bus one foggy morning into Sydney city, I noticed a woman reading a brochure on an i-to-i Volunteer Project. I am currently writing a thesis on Volunteer Tourism and so couldn't help but ask her about it. I asked her what made her want to take a volunteer holiday and she explained that in her recent trip to Thailand she visited a school and both the people and children had this same happiness I hear so much about. I couldn't help but notice the spiteful sting of pessimism inside me, before scolding myself for being so cynical.

I open the brochures selling self-enlightenment through volunteer holidays and highlighted quotes of past volunteers advertise “The optimism of people who, compared to many here, have very little yet believe in so much – and have the courage to realise their dreams against all odds.” I know we have seen this gracious happiness that illuminates from a simple life, and that a life without the woes of consumerism is one free of shallow worries. But I cannot help but wonder if this idea that those less fortunate are happy with the little they have is just an excuse to alleviate the guilt of the much more that we do.




I know this idea probably doesnt sit well with a few people. Let me know what you think - if you agree or disagree?

There may be a million more days to come, but I'm happy to have one of them in somebody's cyberverse...

You have to aim high right? And to combine the things I love most; writing, traveling, learning would be the dream I know I share with so many others. But in my baby steps to achieving this I have joined the amazing site Matador Travel where I can read the scripts of lives so accomplished and yet still so curious. And to my absolute honor today when logging in I noticed my own smile gleaming back at me today, as traveler of the day! It may not be much, but in my eyes, every baby step is a step forward...

see more at
http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/edwina-storie
http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/australia/edwina+storie/travel-blog

The Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, Australia - A Royal Promenade of History & Culture

Boasting the most extravagant of Sydney’s old English charm, The Queen Victoria Building sits smugly on an entire block of the Sydney city. Bound by George, Market, York and Druitt Streets, and sitting in high-Victorian fashion, the regal building is crowned in copper domes and dressed in golden sandstone. Affectionately known as the QVB by Sydney siders, it is guarded by a glorious statue of Queen Victoria herself throned at the entrance, looking somewhat disapprovingly out over Sydney’s new metropolitan style.

Erected in 1898 as a mark of honor of the Queens jubilee, The QVB’s construction brought relief during the Great Depression, giving craftsmen a step out of unemployment (a somewhat grander version of Peter Garret's Insulation Scheme). Over the span of its life, it has hosted a library, a concert hall, shops fronts and offices. The fortress’ charming columns and stained glass arch windows are lucky to still be standing as the city council seriously entertained the thought of replacing it with a parking lot! Yet in 1982 it was restored and leased on a 99 year agreement by the Malyasian firm Ipoh Garden Berhad, and continues to retain its former glory. Its original spiraled cast iron stair cases run up into the ceiling and the crafted railings still stand, framing the voids of the top three floors. However, there are a few modern features such as elevators and contemporary bathrooms bringing the building into the Twenty-first Century.

New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2010 - Strutting in Sleet

The heat on the runway is just cooling down, and the models can finally eat again, New York Fashion Week has come to a close for yet another season. The Fall/Winter 2010/11 parades started off like no other with the death of designer Alexander McQueen on the opening day. On February 11th the dark mood that hung over the site was cast not only from the winter clouds, but the shock of the fashion industry at the loss of a legend. The garments seemed to followed suit with night time colors proving vogue across all catwalks, and black once again was named the new black!

Yet as in every business the show must go on, and each designer’s collection told of a unique tale which materialized on the runway. Marc Jacobs lamented for “the sense of coming home after a long and dangerous adventure”. Models ‘returning’ in their best showcased grey tailored suits and romantic wistful dresses.

Marc Jacobs




Vera Wang’s seasoned style spoke the language of Film Noir, sewing together danger and elegance in sequins and fur. Favoring black ‘the color of deviance’ her muse was the good girl who owns a hidden mystery.

Vera Wang



The trend in dark tones encouraged ‘an exploration of black’, with pieces highlighting new textures and styles rather than making a spectacle of color. New York's influence will fall upon the streets next Autumn in the forms of midnight moods. The clean lines of tailored tweeds and velvets featuring rippling furs will bring sharp shapes and a strong strut into the winter cold. Bold lines and embellished nightmare hues will stand out on the icy streets, rather than wrapping women up in layers of bulging fabric. The favorite color, and easily wearable styles that compliment all figures will make a runway of every pavement and will make you want winter to linger a little longer next season.