Black Belts, Birthdays, Seaplanes And House SalesMr and Mrs Romance

May always seems to be one of those months with lots in it, but also lots of adulting stuff too. Just as winter starts to really elbow its way in, all kinds of non-fun stuff seems to raise its head.

You know the kind of thing I mean. Car stuff, house stuff, family stuff…

Having said that, May has been a lot of fun too, and that’s one of the reasons we do this regular wrap post; so we can look back at the month and realise it’s not all been bad nor boring.

We’ve had wine experiences in seaplane airport lounges, whiskey judging in underground bars, comedy festivals, distillery tours and even a major jujitsu milestone. And my birthday, but more about that in a minute.

We hope you enjoy this Flavour of The Month!

Jim & Christina xx

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Before we get started on May, I just wanted to hop back to April for a second and share with you this photo I took in Thailand on Anzac Day when we were at Hellfire Pass.

We’ve got a whole story coming up on this whole fascinating story, but this photo is more about who Christina is with. Standing on her right (our left!) is none other than Dr Angela Macdonald, the Australian Ambassador to Thailand.

It made me realise that Christina has a thing for women in prominent positions… as the next photo proves!

This is from the Instagram of the Australian Governor General Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn at the Australian Ballet in the Opera House last month. Guess who’s there – look closely at the far righthand side of the crowd!

Christina, I think you might have a problem!

We’ve recently been contracted by the Inner West Council here in Sydney to create some content around the new Inner West Distillery Trail.

It’s a bit like the Inner West Ale Trail, which is an ever-growing map through some of the suburbs of the district via the many craft beer houses. As part of the job, we’ve ‘had to’ visit nine of these distilleries and shoot video for them.

Located in Rozelle, Lilyfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville, these little distilleries are producing some superb spirits. This trail is going to be awesome! Watch this space for more!

This evening is a bitter-sweet event. We’re at our mate Nim’s family home for his dad’s farewell party. Kumar passed away last month and – as Sri Lankan tradition demands – a month after the funeral is a celebration of the person’s life.

Nim and his folks know really how to throw a shindig. I’m certain Kumar would have approved.

Today is Mother’s Day, so we’re at the Enmore Theatre (ironically in Newtown) to see a family favourite. Bob Downe, a caberet comedian who’s been going forever and is one of Australia’s comic darlings, is playing here as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival, so everyone has come out to see the show.

Known as the the Prince of Polyester, Bob Downe doesn’t take himself too seriously and is very funny. It’s a good show though as it’s part of the festival, it’s only an hour. Some of the group are disappointed that it isn’t longer. I think it’s just right.

Discussions over such a polemic call carry on over a few beers in the pub down the road.

Today is the day after my birthday! Yes, thank you. My mates and I are out for dinner, but on our way, we pop into a local institution. The Unity Hall Hotel – or ‘the Untidy’ as locals call it – has been around for a very long time. In fact, the Labor Party was started here in 1891.

The Untidy is going through some pretty serious renovations at the moment. I mean, the ceiling’s gone! But I quite like it like this. It has an appropriately cathedral-esque quality.

But it’s not the Unity Hall that’s our final destination. We’ve come out to Glebe to Tommy’s Beer Cafe. This Czech-Slovak bar has all the good stuff you’d find in Prague or Bratislava – great beers, hearty, filling food and a fun, wholesome vibe.

This, however, may be a step too far. It’s called the Czech Cut and is a 50/50 beer made with blonde and dark lager. Somehow, the bartender has made the dark beer sit on top in a distinct layer. I’ve got to say, it’s pretty weird.

We drink it nonetheless.

This evening, Christina and I are out at the newly renovated and recently purchased Sydney Seaplane Lounge. We were here a while ago for a scenic flight (check out our video here), but since then, the new owner – one Dr Jerry Schwartz – has transformed the restaurant.

Not only does this place look and feel so much better, Jerry has decided to throw regular wine evenings here too.

Planned to be a once-a-month thing, wineries will hold an evening of tastings and matching meals to their vino here. Tonight, Tyrrell’s one of the oldest wineries in Australia, are here with the goods.

Having a lot of business in the Hunter Valley, Jerry has chosen well with Tyrrell’s. Their wines are outstanding and their expert is entertaining and so knowledgeable.

As for the food, Head Chef Natali Mikailoglu has done an excellent job. Sydney rock oysters and tiger prawns from the Sunshine Coast are perfect for Tyrrell’s whites, but the swordfish steak has a reputation only comparable to the Vat 47 Chardonnay. Make sure you keep an ear to the ground for the next wine event here.

Fun fact: this restaurant has to be called Sydney Seaplanes Lounge (and before that Empire Lounge) because it’s an actual airport lounge, not just a restaurant. You can catch a plane from here, therefore you must call it a ‘lounge’.

Today is an auspicious day in the calendar worth making a note of for next year: 22nd May is International Chardonnay Day!

We’ve worked with the Scarborough Wines family – the best in the business – for many years now and their Chardonnay is not only our go-to, it’s what we recommend to everyone else too. We’ve become quite evangelical actually.

We were sent their full range of Chardonnay to celebrate the big day (and to wax further lyrical about the variety) so here we go!

Scarborough have four different ways of presenting their Chardonnay.

1. Offshoot Chardonnay. This is a light, bright wine with only a touch of oak at the end. An easy-drinking, refreshing drop that goes well with seafood and spice.
2. Yellow Label Chardonnay (top left). A rich, deep wine that epitomises what Scarborough do with this grape. Plenty of texture and fruitiness, this finishes with a bit more butter and oak. Perfect for seafood bouillabaise or moulle frites.
3. The Obsessive Chardonnay (top right). This small-batch wine is the true expression of the Scarborough family’s obsession with the varietal and with Hunter Valley soils. Complex yet balanced, this is loaded with oak and stoned fruit, but with a bright citrus vein running all the way through it keeping it fresh and dry. Good on its own or with any food – from barbecue and roasts to seafood platters.
4. Keepers of The Flame Chardonnay (bottom right). This is the best of the best and a sign of how the winery is evolving. Elegant with a wonderful creamy texture and astounding length, the acidity and floral notes of this wine tell the story of the best grapes from the best block on the vineyard. Only free-flowing grape juice was used and moved into two puncheons and five barriques of French oak for 10 months. This is a remarkable wine.

Since Ian ‘Scarby’ Scarborough passed the reins of head winemaker to his son Jerome, the family has been working on what the winery will look like in the future. Keepers of The Flame is not only the pinnacle of Scarborough Wines’ Chardonnay expression, it’s also the sign of things to come.

This evening, I’m meeting up with a couple of mates – Anton and Paul – for a belated joint birthday catch-up. Paul’s birthday was in April, and mine and Anton’s are a day apart. We’ve come out to Marrickville to the Factory Theatre, which is another venue for the Sydney Comedy Festival.

Tonight though, it’s not Bob Downe who’s performing; it’s our mate Woody! AKA Sean Woodland, Woody’s been on the circuit for quite a while now, but for whatever reason, it’s the first time I’ve seen him do his thing. Tell you what, he’s very funny!

But even though he’s a mate, when we’re sat right on the front row dead in line with the mic, our nerves are on edge. No one wants to cop it off a comedian.

Thankfully, Woody is gentle with us and we come out unscathed. It turns out, having his mates sitting at the front staring at him made Woody just as nervous as we were!

Today, after what feels like months of constant rain, the downpour looks like quitting. In a final salvo and a salute to the sun, the rain puts on a real show!

Now hopefully all the football pitches and golf courses dry out in time for us to get back out there!

It’s right on lunchtime and I’m in the city for a whiskey judging session. But I’m being smart about it: I’ve taken advantage of being in town and have come to an old favourite for a bite to eat and to line my stomach.

I used to work close to Town Hall years ago and this place in a little food court under the Woolworths at Town Hall Station. The food court is pretty austere and unglamorous, but the food – all Asian options – is awesome.

My favourite is the Hainanese chicken rice from a little Malaysian joint called Sayong Curry & Laksa. I have no idea if their curry or laksa is any good because I always order the chicken rice.

For about $15, you get chilled poached chicken (breast or leg) covered in a delicious soy dressing, a bowl of savoury rice cooked in chicken broth and a bowl of broth too. You can ask for chilli and hot sambal too, which I always do.

After lunch, I head to the very cool Jolene’s on York Street. This slick subterranean cocktail bar takes its inspiration from Nashville, Tennessee. It has regular live bands playing country and blues, and has an astounding selection of North American whiskey on its shelves.

With all this in mind, I don’t think there’s a more appropriate venue for the tasting I’m here for.

Today I’m blind-tasting whiskeys from North America for industry magazine The Shout, who produce the Trade Buyer’s Guide.

Together with a host of other judges, I’m tasting a selection of over 70 whiskeys – and not just bourbon. There’s rye, single malt, Tennessee, liqueurs and even some mixed grain whiskey in this group. A tough job, but someone’s got to do it, right?

It’s a big day for the family. We’re selling Christina’s family home! Her mum, who’s lived here for over 50 years, has decided it’s time to downsize and needs a bit more help. So today is our first open house.

Thankfully the rain has completely stopped and there’s a steady stream of interested parties heading in as we drive past. Fingers crossed it’s a good outcome.

[Edit: we had a buyer meet our asking price from the first open home!]

This evening, Christina and I are at our lovely friends’ house for dinner. Still using the excuse of my birthday!

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal or a boring time with these guys and tonight’s no different. In fact, this could be one of the best – the three of them take it in turns to cook a lovely three-course meal.

Rickie sets the bar with an excellent Thai laab, then Pete kicks in with a perfectly cooked steak and grilled veggies. But it’s their daughter Jessica who blows it all out of the water with her first ever apple pie. She even made the pastry from scratch!

I even get a birthday present from them: a ‘cigar glass’. This whisky glass has a clip on the side that can hold your cigar freeing up your hands to eat, pour more whisky or gesticulate wildly. As you can see, I’m very impressed!

Today is a very important day. Christina is grading for her 1st dan black belt in Japanese jujitsu! How amazing is that?!

She’s been training so hard for over three years to get to this point and now all she has to do is 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, display techniques from the lowest belt all the way up to her current red belt, 500 left-right combo punches on an impact pad, fight five black belts one after another in three-minute rounds each, be thrown 100 times and break five wooden boards with various kicks, chops and elbows.

Piece of cake.

[Edit: she bloody nailed it – though she’s entirely bruised now!]

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Flavour of May.

Cheers

Jim & Christina xx