Mother Nature finally decided to have her say with my trip to Sydney and the tease of rain I experienced previously now became a deluge. With that in mind, I opted for a quick meal of good ol’ comfort food with an Aussie twist. I had heard good things about a place only a few blocks from me called Crazy Dog.

Supposedly the thing to get was the lamb dog, which was then recommended to me to get the Honey Dog topping, which was crispy onions, caramelized onion and honey mustard. It was indeed a good choice. The dog itself tasted like biting into a gyro and the onions 2 ways were great counterweights to the richness of the lamb sausage, with the tangy honey mustard pulling it all together. I would definitely be a regular if I lived in Sydney.

It really started to come down so I retreated back to the hotel to let it blow over and get ready to meet up with my local friend Nicolle at the Opera Bar. It was still raining a bit when I left for the venue but shortly after meeting up with Nicole, it started pouring. Patrons who had opted for outside seating soon regretted it and fled the scene. We continued to search out for a seat and finally found one in a different section of the bar but with great view of the harbor.

We shared a few items – steamed pork and veggie dumplings as well as a brown rice poke bowl with salmon. Again, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and also enjoyed an excellent margarita as we waited for the rain to stop. It finally did so we walked back to Central Quay for another cocktail with a different view of the area. This time I opted for a mojito (that large pink drink was Nicole’s spritzer) which after I gave it a proper muddling, was quite refreshing. Nicole had been up since the crack of dawn so we said our goodbyes. She suggested that I take the ferry over to Manly the next day, which sounded good to me.

I woke up to much better weather so the Manly trip seemed like a great idea. I made my way back to Central Quay and got in line for the next ferry. There was a surly harbor master who kept trying to split up the large crowd into two different sections. I asked him what the difference was and he gruffly replied “all going to the same place, mate.” I noticed though as the ferry pulled up that by opting for the second area, I actually had a direct shot for a coveted seat outside on starboard side. This gave me a perfect spot to take a bunch of pics as we left the harbor and cruised right by the Sydney Opera House.

After we left the immediate area, the ferry kicked into overdrive, going way faster than I was expecting. I counted at least 100 sailboats of various sizes as we sped along through the harbor.

A mere 20 minutes later, we arrived at Manly Wharf, where I had made a reservation as a German place that looked good, overlooking the nearby cove. A pretzel was a must, of course and the dark German dunkel with chicken schnitzel, fries in a mushroom sauce was way better than expected.

After finishing my meal, I needed to walk it off so I took the path down the cove and up some stairs to a pathway that overlooked the cove. It was filled with Saturday picnickers and explorers, some fishing, some hikers and cyclists. It was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the CBD, and I enjoyed the tranquility. Alas, no tiny penguins were spotted.

As I walked back to the wharf I noticed an esplanade – called the Corso – so decided to check that out. I was surprised to find on the other end a pretty massive beach with surfers catching smallish waves and a sprawling coast line. I ambled down the path and enjoyed the cool breezes while tuning out the usual tourist beach crap like getting a picture taken with a very pissed off parrot.

It was now getting towards late afternoon and figured I would try to beat the masses to the next ferry. That turned out to be a mixed bag as I did get a seat but there were none with views so no pictures from the return route, dear readers. Another 20 minutes later, we pulled up to Central Quay and I made the short walk back to my hotel. My original plans to meet up with Nicole again unfortunately had to change to do a family emergency. That though would give me the chance to explore a bit of the Sydney cocktail scene, with a couple of different options on the docket. More on that and what I expected to be a lazy Sunday, tomorrow.

Knowing that I was having more refined dining for dinner, I decided to do something quick and casual for lunch. The waterfront was filled with cafes touting various lunch specials but one caught my eye with a $20 chicken parm meal with a beer – sold. The rain had stopped with the sun starting to peek through so I opted to sit outside and do some prime people watching.

Not expecting much given the price, I was pleasantly surprised how good it was – the basil leaves mixed in with the sauce was a nice touch – and ditto the full pint was of a very tasty local dark ale. Now refueled, I decided to continue exploring the harbor – Darling Harbour to be precise.

The harbor was filled with a mix of workers on their lunch break; tourists milling about; and joggers who pushed their way through any gaps they could on the path. The weather was definitely nicer now so that made me want to continue my journey past the harbor into the section known as Bangaroo.

At the end was a very nice preserve and park, filled with trails and nature paths which I’m sure are filled with people during nice weather. I continued past the park to the wharf, which had become a center point for the tech scene in Sydney as well as whatever this was.

As I came around the corner, there was the Sydney Bridge, now probably best known for the Sydney Bridge Walk, which was something I had zero desire to do but from the ground, it was an impressive bridge.

In the distance, I could see probably the most famous landmark of the city, the Sydney Opera House. As I continued along the waterfront, it came into better focus.

I had heard about an area called The Rocks, so I was curious to see what exactly it looked like. Essentially the birthplace of modern Sydney, it had now been transformed into a posh market and shopping area with still a bit of its roots in the various alleys (called laneways) as well as supposedly the city’s oldest pub.

After 7 miles and many, many steps in the ol Health app on my iPhone, I was beat so I headed back to the hotel for some rest. In what seemed like only a few minutes later, it was dinner time. The Bar Liberty folks had recommended a fellow wine bar in a nearby part of town called Surry Hills. Giving my feet a rest, I opted for an Uber to get to my destination – Bar Copains.

Comprised of only a handful of tables, I took a seat at the bar, next to a couple who were trying almost every dish on the menu for her birthday – my kind of people. I was curious about the Australian prosecco so I ordered that along with a local scallop with Cafe du Paris butter (basically an herbed compound butter.

I’m usually not a fan of prosecco but this was a nice version of it – light and crisp with a surprising amount of flavor. It paired very nicely with the small but very tasty scallop.

I chatted with the owner about how I had been relatively disappointed with the Australian pinot noirs so he suggested I try one they were featuring, which was a bit more robust. For my main course, I chose the pappardelle with lamb ragu and rosemary, which the couple at the bar noted was a highlight for them so far. The wine was a marked improvement and indeed was a lot more robust than the previous ones I had tried. It complemented the very rich and delicious lamb ragu in the pappardelle – a great dish. So good in fact I forgot to take a pic of it until about half way done. Whoops.

I opted not to get a third glass, even though Australian liquor rules mean the pours are smaller than in the States. I decided to test out the metro system, which turned out to be very quick and simple trip back to my hotel. Tomorrow I’d be going a bit off script letting my local friend take the wheel for a change. That means blogging over the next couple of days will be a bit more sparse than usual but we’ll see how it all unfolds.

When I travel abroad I tend to eschew from most truly touristy things but everyone once and awhile I can’t resist. The Sydney WILD Life exhibit where I could meet a koala was one of them. It didn’t hurt that was also a mere 10 minute walk from my hotel. There was a light drizzle as I left the hotel which quickly started to turn into actual rain. While I knew it was a pretty short trip, I also didn’t know how long it would continue so I bought a cheap umbrella at a local quick mart. The rain soon picked up even more making me glad I made that decision.

It was still raining when I got there but fortunately most of the exhibits were indoors. The good news was that the rain seemed to have kept the masses away as I made my way through a series of ramps that on a busy day I’m sure would be rammed with people. When I finally got to the top, there was a small outdoor area where 2 Tasmanian devils were huddled up to escape the rain and this rather impressive Souther Cassowary, which didn’t seem pleased about being wet.

Next up was a nocturnal creatures section with one of my favorite little guys I met – the bilby. Unlike the snoozing devils, the bilby was constantly hopping around and even going up to the glass to inspect what was going on there. Adorable.

Next to the bilby, was a large tank and enclosure for their platypuses. I was surprised how small they were but also just how damn fast they were in the water, which made trying to snap a pic of them challenging. The Japanese tourist with an impressive camera set up even gave up trying to get a great shot. This is the best I could do.

The next major section had all number of reptiles, small to enormous. It was feeing time for the bearded lizards so I watched them nibble away and also saw some geckos, other lizards and a very large python. They also had a new section for their fresh water crocodiles with two impressive ones chilling on a rocky shoreline.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Aussie zoo without two of their most well-known residents – kangaroos and wallabies. The pack of kangaroos were mostly just chilling in their area and getting some snacks – not a ton of hopping around at that moment. The wallabies had their own rocky enclave and were a lot more active, tons of hopping around on the various rock shelves, including the one pictured above who had hopped up there to relax for a bit. Oh and the final little guy is called a Numbat.

Finally, it was time for my closeup with Jasper the koala. I had paid extra to be able to spend 10 minutes with him and his keeper, including a picture. And uh, well, Jasper wasn’t quite up for that. Koalas sleep up to 20 hours per day, including during my visit with him. It was interesting though being able to see up close how slowly he was breathing (koalas have one of the slowest resting heart rates for mammals. I tried to kill time by asking a ton of questions about koalas. I’m now pretty much an expert so feel free to ask me anything about them. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be and soon I said my goodbyes to the snoozing Jasper.

Also snoozing was Ringo the wombat, although I did get to see him briefly in the Wallaby section rummaging about before retreating to his cave, where he was catching some Zzzs. The pictures don’t really connote just how big he was – like a large dog.

No longer raining, I did a quick stroll through the kangaroo area where now there was a whole pack enjoying the sun which was just starting to peek out. On the way out, I noticed a strange creature that actively crossing tree branches upside down. This was a glider although it wasn’t high enough for him to take off. He instead went over to the feeder for a snack. And speaking of, it was my own feeding time so I said my final goodbyes to this fascinating assortment of critters and walked back to the harbor to grab some lunch. More of that in part 2 of my epic day in Sydney, coming soon.

My time in Melbourne had come to an end, and it was time once again to get on a big silver bird to whisk me away to Sydney. Fortunately, this was a quick 1 hour flight. It turned out that the entire professional rugby team, the Melbourne Storm was on the same flight as me. I ended up sitting next to their massive Prop whose one thigh was as large as both of mine. I had paid for an exit row and needed every inch of it as it was tight quarters, especially with my giant seat mate.

The flight was fairly calm (nothing like my previous legs) and soon enough, we were landing at the Sydney airport. After grabbing my bag, I headed downstairs to the train that went into the CBD and very close to where I was staying. It was a double decker train and the bottom level was empty so I was able grab a seat both for myself and enough space for my bags. The train was quick and a mere 15 minutes later I was at the Wynward Station, my stop.

While Sydney has a similar transit card to the myki (the Opal) it was also connected via Apple Pay so all I had to do is tap my phone to be charged and exit the station – very cool. I dragged my bags up a small hill and landed at my destination – The Amora Jamison Hotel. Normally when I travel internationally I prefer to stay in Airbnbs unless the options aren’t great. This was the case in Sydney. Plus, in this case, I had found a really good deal. The location was also great, being right in the heart of the CBD. Plus, the room and view were pretty sweet.

Funny enough, my next destination was the yellow building to the far left, which given my overall state of wear and tear, was just about as far as I was eager to venture out. The Shell House had been recently restored to become a multi-level dining destination. While the various options all looked intriguing, the Sky Bar was the winner for me.

Located 14 floors up, the chic and stylish Sky Bar featured a wrap around room with nice views of the various office buildings that surround the CBD. I had made a reservation and requested a table versus a bar seat, wanting something a bit more comfortable. They gave me a great spot looking out both at the main part of the bar and the patio area which was full of the after work crowd.

This seemed like the kind of place to get a strong cocktail and chill so I did just that, choosing The Made Man – Rittenhouse 100 Rye, Wild Turkey Rye, Cherry Heering, Chartreuse and Fernet Branca, This was DANGEROUS. The various alcohols had essentially tempered their initial kicks into a smooth, potent combination. I made sure to drink it very, very slowly. I had heard about their burger being the thing to get and soon was presented with this slightly strange (but delicious) Wagyu cheeseburger with pickles and caramelized onions. As the picture indicates, the actual burger was buried under the melted cheese but was nice and juicy.

As night fell, the bar shifted to a more lively pace, now bustling with more of the date/out for a night on the town vibe. I had initially wanted to try one of the Cuban rums on the menu but after some research, the ones I didn’t know from the list didn’t have high marks. However, they did have my favorite Japanese whiskey, Nikka Miyagikyo so I splurged for that instead. After a couple of hours, I had my fill and didn’t want to keep the table too long for others. Tomorrow, I had a date with a koala and other Aussie critters along with exploring my new ‘hood so I made the quick walk back to the hotel and dived into my massive king bed to get some much needed sleep.

The foul weather that had been threatening for a couple of days finally came to fruition. The good news was that I didn’t really plan to do much in the afternoon anyway. This also gave me a chance to go check out the Malaysian street food court that was literally next door to where I was staying. There were 3 different stands in the complex but the skewer one seems the most intriguing. I had to choose the raw meat and veggie skewers, which they would then cook for me.

It was nothing fancy but that was kind of the point. I wanted something fast and cheap so mission accomplished. As I waited for the rain to at least subside a bit, I busied myself doing some laundry. Finally, it was only drizzling so I walked down the few blocks back to the Melbourne Central Mall and the Shot Tower.

About 21 years ago, my dad had visited my brother when he was based in Melbourne for a few months as part of his MBA program. He had given me as a gift a wallet from a famous Australian Outback outfitter, RM Williams. I still had the wallet all of these years later but it was on its last legs. My dad also had a belt that was also needing to be replaced so I do so for both (happy bday, Dad.)

The store also had a small museum about the history of the Shot Tower, which provided bullets for the Australian military until it was shut down in the early 1960s. The metal was melted at the top of the tower and poured through a cylinder, which make them form into droplets – like molten rain, which would eventually cool into bullets.

After the usual rest/relaxation, I headed out for my final dinner in Melbourne at Gerald’s Place. Multiple people after I told them I was going there told me I had to do the We Cook U Eat tasting menu. The catch was I had to actually phone them to do the booking – no emails or online. I initially didn’t get through and after another couple of failed attempts, I left a message. A few minutes later, Gerald himself called me back. He asked about anything I didn’t want to eat and said no garlic but anything else would be great.

Part of their raison d’etre was Gerald’s extensive wine collection, which thanks to the magic of Coravin, was almost entirely available by the glass. There was also a list of about 50 by the glass that had been picked to go with tonight’s menu, which was written on a sheet of butcher paper attached at the bar. With that in mind, I decided to stick with their picks, first up a local Pet Nat (here’s a good explainer) Appropriately name “A Hot Mess” – it was very fruit forward and quite different than most sparkling wines.

Soon, I was presented with an assorted of cold dishes – house made anchovies, a local variation of salami with banana peppers, some house made pickled veggies and some local oysters with a mignonette. Oysters and anchovies never really favorites of mine but I trusted they would be good here and indeed they were, especially the excellent anchovies. A great way to start the meal.

Next up was a bowl of local peppers, similar to shishitos, both in look and the fact that there are a few really hot ones “like a roulette”. Apparently, it wasn’t my night as I had 4 of them. My server winced and offered me a glass of milk, which I readily accepted. The hot ones aside, the charred peppers were delicious with a great take on salsa verde that added some acid to the mix.

I had spotted on the menu the smoked trout, hoping that would be one of the courses, and indeed it was. The smoked trout was perfectly prepared alongside oddly enough, the exact confit of local potatoes I had at Bar Liberty (although without that sauce). A definitely highlight of the meal.

After selecting a recommended local Cabernet, my final savory course arrived, the classic porterhouse steak with green peppercorn sauce. I’m usually not a fan of that sauce because a lot of times they use way too many peppercorns, which blows out the other ingredients. This version was perfect, and the steak had a fantastic crust. I ate every last bite.

While on this course, a man at the bar motioned me over, insisting I get out of the “Valentine’s set up” of the table I had under the stairwell and join him at the bar. It turned out he was a Freudian psychiatrist with an office across the street. One of their oldest regulars (he had known Gerald for over 20 years), we had a free ranging conversation from Freudian and Jungian principles, to the difference of Australian and American psychosis (not as much as you’d think)

By this point, we were the only 2 customers left and some of the staff joined the bar for a night cap. One was an English major so the discussion turned to the difference between the word construction of Joyce vs. Hemingway and how patois is so important to understanding writers like Joyce and Faulkner – you know, typical Tuesday bar talk.

During this time, I received my final course – Earl Grey ice cream in a chocolate dipped cone with a ginger toffee biscuit. I hadn’t eaten a ice cream cone (almost always get a cup) but again, knew to just trust the way they intended it. I was concerned the tea flavor would be too pronounced but turned out not to be the case at, and the cone was crunchy and full of rich chocolate flavor. The cookie was also excellent – the spicy ginger mixed with the sweet toffee made for a great combination.

The doctor soon said his goodbyes, and not wanting to keep anyone from getting home, I did the same. It was a truly memorable dining experience and one I’ll think fondly of for years to come. My only regret was how much I know my dad would have loved it as well. It would have made it even more special but I looked forward to telling him all about it soon.

After having dim sum yesterday in a modern setting, today it was time to do the same in the Melbourne institution, Flower Drum. One of the tricks that I’ve used for years when traveling is to do lunch at the really famous (and usually, really expensive) spots as it’s easier to book and typically much cheaper. Flower Drum was no exception based on what I saw with the menus on line. Unlike the graffiti alleyway entrance of Lee Ho Fook, this was much more traditional, both outside and in.

After being greeted by the host (no free beer though alas), I was confronted with the massive menu, which seemed to have an endless number of options. Not entirely sure how to tackle it, I decided to start simple with a scallop siu mai and what I had heard was one of their specialities – braised lamb spring rolls with lamb gravy.

The siu mai had a generous amount of scallops with a nice chewy wrapping – simple but good. The lamb spring rolls, however, were another level entirely. The unctuous, tender lamb meat was mixed with some bean sprouts and the light fried wrapped was ultra crispy. But it was the lamb gravy dip, rich and deep with flavor, that really made it otherworldly. Outstanding.

Next up were the Duck wontons with tangerine peel in roast duck reduction.

The wontons were full of the roasted duck with some herbs to break up the richness. The star though was the duck reduction, which I ended up finishing off as a soup. Delicious.

Last up, I ordered one of their specialities, which caught my server off guard because it actually wasn’t on the menu. He explained it would take a little while to make which I said was fine.

Behold! The Potato Pear – Fried pear shaped potato croquette with chicken, quail, duck liver sausage, asparagus, mushrooms and water chestnuts. The best way to describe this is it was like eating a mini meat pie but with potatoes instead of a flaky crust. It was pretty damn great and very filling so I was glad I had decided to make it my final course.

Needing to walk off that last dish, I noticed that about a mile away was the famous Lune bakery, world renown for the only thing they make – croissants. I had heard they usually sell out by noon but decided to risk it even though it was soon their closing time of 2pm. As I figured, they were indeed completely sold out so alas no pics/reviews for you, dear readers.

I had passed by the sign above walking up to Lune and in the now slightly rainy weather, it seemed like a good time for some tasters. James Squire proudly proclaimed to be the first microbrewery in Melbourne. The beers weren’t quite at the level of the Collingwood ones but the English brown ale and especially the smoked porter were a nice way to wait for the rain to subside a bit.

After some blogging (yes, my work is never done), rest and giving my barking dogs some relief, I was soon back in an Uber to check out a new wine bar in Fitzroy that had been getting a good reputation. The Napier Quarter owner had also suggested it to me so off to Bar Liberty!

They had initially set me up at the bar but I asked if I could get a table instead, which turned out to be in the smaller back room.

The server suggested a Cab Franc, which I really didn’t care for and quickly replaced it with this much better option that was similar to the first glass I had at Napier Quarter – light and very refreshing.

I decided to again just try a few smaller dishes, looking for things I hadn’t had yet but were Australian influenced. In this case, pierogi of smoked eel and lamb tongue with an apple and garum glaze. Both were quite tasty and a nice way to start.

I switched to something a bit heavier for my second glass – a local Sangiovese blend as I selected another couple of dishes. First up was Heirloom Zucchini, Mead Vinegar, Lovage and Buckwheat. Basically a zucchini salad with the sharp acidic vinegar to add flavor. Last up I needed some starch so I went with confit local potatoes with preserved lemon and mustard. The chunky bits in the picture were the chopped on preserved lemons, which went great with rich potatoes and tangy mustard.

I was pretty full so after chatting with the chef about some Sydney recommendations, I said my goodbyes and made my way back home. Tomorrow was the homestretch of my time in Melbourne with a bit of shopping and a final epic meal.

After some much needed sleep, it was time for a day where I planned to do as the locals do on a typical Sunday afternoon. First up, brunch at the new school dim sum restaurant, Lee Ho Fook. As it turned out, the restaurant was in walking distance and with the temperature finally cooling down, it was a very pleasant stroll about a mile away.

I had heard the thing to do was to get the Yum Cha tasting menu, which looked great to me. It was located in an old industrial building with exposed brick walls and minimalist decor. Unlike most Chinese dim sum spots, the music was alternative rock and even electronica at times. Yum Cha is a traditional Cantonese brunch but in this case with some modern techniques thrown in for good measure.

The meal started with a complimentary beer, which they give to solo travelers to the restaurant – a very nice and welcomed touch – and the beer was excellent too. The server explained that there would be 3 different courses – Dim Sum, a main course and dessert.

The dim sum course was excellent with both some familiar standbys like siu mai and prawn dumplings, as well as some things I had never had like sesame shrimp toast (my personal favorite) and a BBQ beef pastry. In my case, given my garlic issue, they had to swap out one of them for green pea shoot with cashew cream and chili powder, which I actually probably preferred to another shrimp dumpling. The main course had a ton of roasted duck and the noodles were perfectly cooked. The final course was basically a caffeinated flan, which given my usual aversion to caffeine had quite the kick. I was initially thinking there would be more food but after the dessert, I was quite sated.

The alley where the restaurant was located had a ton of very cool street art and was next to another alley which turned out to be a tribute to the great rock band AC/DC.

Since it was nice out, I decided to keep walking and go down to the Yarra River and surrounding park.

After being stymied several times trying to use the free tram system in the CBD, I finally found a route that would get me, more or less, home without paying extra, which required a card called a myki, which I didn’t have.

I had reach they would indicate on the PA the last stop of the free zone, so I hopped on and listened for that. Knowing I had 4 stops to get back to my ‘hood, it seemed like I could get close if not almost exactly there. The PA did indeed say we were in the free zone so I waited for the warning for me to bail. Unfortunately, the announcement came after we had left what turned out to be the last free stop, d’oh! Having read about the pretty hefty fines, I knew I had to get off ASAP and bolted at the next stop like the scofflaw I had become. Oh well.

As I was walking back, I realized I finally had a good angle of the 70 story building I was staying in here. One tricky thing about being in such a tall building is having to add in extra time to wait for one of the four elevators, which could range from no time at all to up to 15 minutes depending on the time of day.

After some blogging (again, you’re welcome) and a bit of rest, I headed out back to Fitzroy for a highly recommended local wine bar, Napier Quarter.

This was exactly the type of wine bar I love. Intimate, cozy and an extensive local wine list. When I asked about the wines by the glass, the owner paused and replied “that is a constant and ongoing discussion we will have now.” Great answer.

Having had a Yarra Valley Pinot noir last night, I wanted to try some more local options. He recommended a new experimental blend of the 2 main Pinots – noir and gris. He caught my apprehension but told me to trust him. Interestingly enough, it was only 10% ABV. He was right – bright and very refreshing at a perfect temperature.

My original plan was to have a glass here and then go to another restaurant for dinner. However, I was so enjoying my experience, I called an audible and would eat here too. Plus, they only had one more of the John Dory dish that seemed like the light dinner I really needed at this point. While I was waiting for that, the owner suggested I try the cellar temperature grenache, from a vineyard only a couple of hours away. It had a bit more body than the previous but still relatively light that would pair nicely with the fish.

The John Dory had a tremendously crispy skin and the salsa of fresh anchovies and vine tomatoes was a nice complement – simple but delicious. It was only just after 8PM by this point so I decided to take another stroll down Fitzroy, passing some of the places I had seen on Saturday and even some sort of Latin American festival.

I had read about a place that was one of the first bars in the area as it became a hot spot – Blackcat. As soon as I entered, with the bossa nova beats and the large comfy couches, I knew I was in the right place.

It was like something out of central casting for a hipster bar. The tip jar at the bar said “Let Us Eat Cake too” The bartender could not have looked more bored serving me and charged me for the regular Havana Club instead of the Especial. There were about 4 different language being spoken. The guy across from me was drawing sketches. And the DJ was literally reading a book while spinning.

At one point, a shaggy haired fellow just enthusiastically went over to the DJ to express his love for the current track and how he had just started collecting. The DJ with the wispy mustache was finally engaged and explained about how he secured this limited vinyl edition, suggestion other records to pick up. I sipped my delicious rum (seriously, can we stop with the embargoes and let me sip this liquid gold at home??) as the rain started to come down outside. The DJ bailed soon after, and I took that as my cue to leave as well. It was now pouring outside, which had brought down the temperature considerably. Nature’s way of telling me my night was done and who was I to argue with that?

After a much needed respite, I was back on the streets of Melbourne, which were now teeming with Saturday patrons. The restaurant was in walking distance so made my way down the very crowded Elizabeth St and after several false starts due to Google Maps insisting I could apparently break through walls, I arrived at my destination, Serai Kitchen.

The restaurant had just received several Best New Restaurant honors, and I was very intrigued by the concept of Filipino style food but with Australian ingredients.

I took my seat along a bar which faced the open kitchen – my favorite when dining alone. There a very tight knit group were in the thick of dinner service. The young chef had on something I had never seen before in a restaurant – a Go Pro camera attached to a Yankees ball cap. One of the servers explained he was wearing it to record their Sat dinner service and see where it could be improved.

I had initially thought of having a couple of dishes but after that they explained the Feed Me Chefs option, it was a no-brainer to do that. Plus it was my first real vacation in over 3 years, and I deserved it, dammit! There was, however, my usual garlic challenge to overcome. After speaking with the chef, they said they could make some adjustments except for a couple of the sauces. I agreed that would be fine and off I went!

The amuse was ‘Selat lumpia’, organic pineapple, spiced coconut, smoked caviar. While the flavors were delicious, they were overpowered by the massive blast of chilis that now exploded in my mouth. The current server (they rotated between courses) saw me struggling and asked what was wrong. I politely asked to turn down the heat a bit. She agreed it was a bit too spicy.

The first course had a much simpler (but delicious) profile – ‘Kinilaw’ cured kingfish crudo with limes. Very fresh and lightly seasoned to keep with the raw preparation.

Next was one of the highlights of the meal – ‘Kare kare’, hash brown, peanut sauce, herbs, salted duck egg. The chef served me this one and explained that kare kare is traditionally a pork stew but he decided to use those flavors into a hash brown dish. The perfectly crisp hash browns were augmented by the really fantastic peanut sauce. Delicious.

While I waited for the next course, I noticed how quiet the kitchen was. The expediter calmly called out the latest ticket and the small teams went to work. Even the chef was noticeably silent for the most part. I could tell it was an extremely efficient kitchen.

The third course was in keeping with the concept of local product with Filipino techniques – Port Lincoln calamari, smoked ‘longanissa nduja’ dressing. Longanissa is a typical Filipino sausage that in this case had been kept out of its casing and added some Calabrian chilis to make it into a ragu. The heat was definitely back with this one but wasn’t overwhelming like the amuse. The wood fired squid was tender and smoky. Another winner.

The fourth course was by far my favorite – Savoy cabbage “tocino”. Tocino is usually a roasted pork dish with a sticky BBQ sauce but in this case substituting fire roasted cabbage. As you can see, it sure as hell looks like a BBQ pork dish – and even tasted a lot like it. Mind blown.

I think wisely knowing it would be hard to top that, the next dish was a lot simpler – Gippsland lamb ribs, sticky ‘adobo’ sauce. At last some actual Australian lamb! The rib was nice and smoky from wood fire, and the sauce added some nice sweet and sour notes.

The sixth and final course is why I was there – ‘Lechon’ western plains free-range pork belly, smoky pineapple ‘palapa’. Filipino lechón is known for being some of the best pork around with its signature ultra crispy skin. This version lived up to that and then some. The skin was both very crispy and bursting with flavor from the lacquered shell. The pork belly had real texture and depth so it, and the drippings added some sweet notes that paired really well with the pineapple relish, which thankfully wasn’t as chili forward as the amuse. It was served with some steamed jasmine rice which I initially ignored but after a quick taste understood why it was there. Made into more a sticky rice consistency, it helped sop up the accumulated juices from the pork. Simply outstanding.

Dessert wasn’t included which was actually fine because I was beyond full anyway. I watched as they turned over the kitchen and put away everything. The chef scrubbed down the counters himself and then offered a large bag of Hungry Jack burgers and fries to the delighted staff. I paid my bill (an absurd value of $70 for that feast plus a glass of Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and “bottomless” bottles of sparkling water, and I said my final goodbyes. Truly a special meal.

The night wasn’t quite over though as I hopped into an Uber across the river to the Crown Casino to meet up with an old friend. When I arrived, I wasn’t quite prepared for the extremely different environment I was now in as I made my way through the maddening crowd and the constant noises of the casino floor. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to the Atrium lounge where the Mad Dog himself, Mark Tabberner spotted me from behind the decks and gave me one of his bone crushing bear hugs that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

He had a job to do so as he went back to it, I scanned the revelers in various states of intoxication. It’s funny how regardless of where one goes in the world, casinos attract a certain… clientele, especially during the witching hours.

I bopped along to Mark’s very energetic set of classics and house remixes of pop tunes and enjoyed the people watching – which ranged from an alarmingly late stage pregnant woman dancing perhaps a bit too strenuously to packs of younger men on the prowl to what seemed like at least 2 wedding party groups drinking the night away. Sorry, dear readers given casinos rules about photos, you’ll just have to picture it in your mind’s eye.

At around 1am, my aching body made it clear it was time to head home. I said my goodbyes and one last bear hug to make my escape from the scene. Uber prices were still in premium modes so I grabbed a cab and soon collapsed into a deep sleep. Tomorrow appeared to be the best weather yet and of course, more great food.

I had read about the burgeoning beer scene in Melbourne and after some research, found a great option to check it out – The Collingwood Beer Trail. For $20, I would get 3 tasters for 4 different breweries, each of which focused on a different style of beer. Collingwood is an industrial area slowly being gentrified and being taken over by local breweries. The first stop, where I picked up my ticket, was Fixation Brewery.

Known as the brewery that brought West Coast IPA(WCIPA) to Melbourne, it was located in a bright warehouse space which had been overrun today with 3 different Bucks (bachelor) parties (more on one of those later.)

Before the beer, I had my first toastie – in this case, a smash cheese burger with mustard – which definitely was a good choice to sop up all of the beer I was about to imbibe. Ah yes, the beer. Since they focus on IPAs, I chose 3 of their more balanced (not bitter) options.

Sun Ray – Session Hazy IPA (HIPA)

Fixation IPA – WCIPA and the only beer they brewed their first 2 years.

Fuzz Club – Peach & Apricot infused HIPA and the best of the lot.

Next up was Molly Rose, which was a very small brewery that focuses mostly on Farmhouse Ales and Sours. Since I’m not really much of a sour drinker, I went with 2 of their farmhouse ales and their version of an Aussie lager.

When Life Gives You Lemons – Hazy Lemon Ale

Grapefruit Shimmy – Grapefruit Farm Ale

Lager #3 – Aussie lager

All 3 were light and very refreshing – really quality beers. As I was sampling, I notice this guy with devil wings who has handcuffed to another dude. I assumed and turned out to be correct, that this was part of one of the Bucks parties I had seen at Fixation. The groom was the one with the wings and various members of the party rotated being handcuffed to him to make sure they didn’t lose him – smart idea. They had already been to the next stop I was heading to so I wished them luck and continued down the trail to The Mill.

The Mill didn’t really have a focus, more just whatever the brewer wanted to do at any given moment. I opted for 3 different styles.

Oisihi – a brand new rice lager he had released last week
Dark Lord – a black IPA with 6.66% ABV
Feathered Serpent – Mexican chile stout

The first 2 were very nice, the last one eh not so much. In order to make it extra spicy they had dumped an entire bottle of an extreme hot sauce, which ended up making my mouth and lips catch on fire – no gracias. Fortunately, the server took pity on my and gave me their new Rose sour instead, which was very tasty.

After threatening all day, the rain finally started falling. I asked the server how far the final stop was and he said “oh you’re going to get drenched, mate.” Great. But given the area, seemed like Ubers would be hard to come by, and it really wasn’t that far – what’s a mile anyway? Well, when you have 10 different styles of beer in your belly and rain coming down – longer than you think. Still, I took this as a sign for me to press on.

I eventually arrived as the last spot – The Stomping Ground Brewery and Beer Hall, which was about 10x the size of the previous stops.

For my last 3 tasters, I chose some darker beers given the turn in the weather.

Bearbrass – nitro milk stout
Tropical Coconut Stout – self explanatory
Bunker Porter – a Baltic porter

All of these really paled in comparison to the previous stops but were still OK. The Bunker Porter was the best of the three by far, so I saved that one for last.

After over 3 hours of tasting beers, I was ready to head back to my place to rest up. Later I was going to what would probably be one of the highlight meals of my trip plus meeting up with an old friend at his DJ gig. To be continued…

I woke up with a surprising amount of energy but given it was going to be up to 92, I decided to tread carefully with my plans for the day. I had initially walked by the Melbourne Central mall when dropping off my luggage. I had noticed a “sushi train” style restaurant, which seemed like the ideal spot.

Sushi Jiro had been highly recommended and I quickly understood why as this was far from most of the sushi train restaurants (well at least outside of Japan) in that it look actually really good. I could either select from the plates that went by or I could order from the pad in front of me. If it was something already on the train, they just counted it up with whatever plates I took. Otherwise, they would simply just charge it to my tab.

Everything was incredibly fresh with the salmon belly with Japanese scallop and salmon roe nigiri (black plate) and the lobster inari (the gold plate) particular highlights. I took it as a good sign I was one of the few gaijin there. Considering the quality of the fish, it was a very reasonable $30 for 7 plates plus an Asahi Dark ale.

Sushi Jiro was part of the larger area that they called Ella (LaTrobe and Elizabeth Street) which had several cool shops around it – from a bottle shop to a large variety of food options.

Not really wanting to brave the heat quite yet, I continued to wander into the actual mall, which seemed pretty conventional until I got to the center.

The entire thing had been built around the massive Shot Tower, which dates back to the early 20th century, named as such because it was where they made bullets for the Australian army during the wars. Not exactly your typical mall centerpiece!

Knowing this trip is a marathon, not a sprint. I headed back to my place to relax (and write the blog post you read yesterday) That proved to be a wise decision and soon enough it was time to head back out, to a hipper part of town known as Fitzroy. Google Maps told me that it was about a 25 min walk, which sounded doable until I discovered it was mostly uphill. Given it was still about 85 out, I decided to not continue on foot and grabbed a quick Uber to my destination – Poodle Bar.

Poodle Bar was part of the new wave of hot spots that had opened up in this gentrified part of the city. Known for its cocktails and interesting take on bar food, I took at a seat at the marble bar and ordered what my bartender, Katie, recommended – Spring Has Sprung – Kettle One, Elderflower, pear, coriander and EVOO – on the top. It was very refreshing and a great choice to start the evening.

The menu had some very untraditional items so I decided to try some of those.

From the top left – wood roasted skewer of duck heart wrapped in guanciale in a tamarind glaze. I’m not exactly a fan of duck heart but fortunately the smoky guanciale was the dominant flavor and the glaze was superb. Next was the smoked eel vol au vent – basically a puff pastry. It always amuses me how pretty much all smoked spreads like this or trout or mackerel, etc all pretty much taste the same. Fortunately, I happen to like that taste so this was delicious. I had read their hand cut duck fat fries were a must so I ordered those alongside my final dish – heirloom tomatoes in a saffron sauce with pancetta bits. I had a feeling they might be great mixed together and I was right. The acidic tomatoes acted as basically a fancy ketchup for the fries with the bacon bits adding another nice crunchy element. I could have stayed for another cocktail but decided instead to keep walking down the main drag and see what else was there.