Lamb Cutlets with Mint Gremolata

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1½ tablespoons lemon rind (white pith removed), cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 French-trimmed lamb cutlets
• 2 carrots
• 2 zucchini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

To make the gremolata, finely chop the mint, parsley, garlic and lemon strips, then combine well.

Heat a chargrill pan or barbeque plate to very hot. Lightly brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook the cutlets over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking. Remove the cutlets and cover to keep warm.

Trim the ends from the carrots and zucchini and peel the vegetables lengthways into ribbons. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and toss over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until sautéed but tender.

Divide the cutlets among the service plates, sprinkle the cutlets with the gremolata and drizzle with the lemon juice. Serve with the vegetable ribbons.

Chargrilled Jumbo Prawns

Ingredients:

• 8 large raw king prawns (800g)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• mixed lettuce leaves, to serve

Remove the heads from the prawns, and using a sharp knife, cut through the centre of the prawns lengthways to form two halves, leaving the tails and shells intact.

Place the olive oil, 2 chopped garlic cloves, sweet chili sauce and lime juice in a large bowl, and mix together well. Add the prawns, toss to coat, and marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat a barbecue or chargrill plate until hot. Drain the prawns and cook cut-side down first, brushing with the marinade, for 1-2 minutes each side, or until cooked. Divide the lettuce among four serving plates, place the prawns on top. Season and serve.

Half a Ratatouille, a Hotdog, and Small Fried Rice

After playing an hour of badminton at Olympic Park, GF and I rushed to Burwood to attend a free viewing of Ratatouille as part of the Burwood Spring Celebration. It started around 7pm, so we caught only about half of the movie. We each had a hotdog for dinner. Still feeling a bit hungry after the movie, we went to Canton Noodle House, where I ordered a small fried rice, and GF had a bubble drink.

Albert and the Real Girl at Hurricane Grill

Quite a busy day today. Started off the morning playing an hour's worth of badminton. Went to the airport to pick up Dad. Then to Don Heng King Crab Century at Wests Ashfield Leagues for dimsum. Finished off pretty quick because I had to be at Hurstville for the showing of Lars and the Real Girl with GF.

A touching story about a lonely, introverted young man (Ryan Gosling) having difficulties interacting with other people. One day, he orders a sex doll from the Internet and treats Bianca as if she's for real. Not knowing how to handles his delusion, his brother Gus and sister-in-law gets the whole town to play along. As days go by, Lars gets to interact with more and more people as he has to drive Bianca to the hospital, to the church, etc. Later on, Bianca falls ill and eventually passes away. In the last scene of the movie, we see Lars standing over Bianca's grave. His officemate Margo (who has a long-time crush on him) comes over to offer her condolences. Lars asks if she wants to take a walk with him, and off they go. Four stars from me.

Back at Mortlake, I accompanied GF to Mass, then off to Hurricane Grill at Harbourside to celebrate her birthday. So full!

Friday Night Dooleys

After our Friday night badminton, GF and I drove by London Road to look at this cheap house for sale. No wonder it's a bargain - right beside the property is a distribution substation. Bah!

Anyway, since we're already in the area, we had dinner at Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club. The bistro is a really nice place to hang around in - live entertainment, bright lighting, not too noisy, comfortable seats. Took about an hour before we got our food though.

Dinner with GY

Apparently, I have a high school classmate who's been in Sydney for four years now. Through the wonders of Facebook, we got in contact and arranged to meet up in Darling Harbour for dinner.

Tonight is the last of Darling Harbour's Feast and Fireworks, so we (I and GF, he and Linda) were treated to a long, magnificent fireworks show while having a nice dinner at Narita.

Moon Festival in the Chinese Garden

In celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival (a.k.a. Mooncake Festival), the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour is staging a lights and sound show telling the story of how Chang'e ended up on the moon and became the Moon Goddess. Tickets cost $10 for adults with children under 12 free.

GF and I met up after work and got to the Chinese Garden around 6:30pm, which gives us half an hour before the show commences. The Garden is not as big as I imagined. Some rock formations, a few trees and shrubs, a big pond, a few pavilions and connecting walkways. We found a nice vantage point, but come showtime, people starting sitting just about anywhere they want, so our view was a bit compromised. Prior to the show, there was a lion dance performance, with the lions meandering through the audience.

The voiceover was a bit blurred, but based on the actions of the costumed actors, this is how I understood the story. There's the emperor, his wife and his daughter Chang'e. At that time, there were nine suns in the sky, which is not an ideal situation. Along came Houyi the archer, who shot down the suns, obviously leaving one. Out of gratitude, the emperor gave him Chang'e as his wife. The emperor also gave Houyi a pill that gives eternal life. One day, while frolicking in the gardens, Chang'e found the pill hidden in the rocks. Curious, she ate the pill. It made her lighter than air, and she floated up into the heavens, where she eventually settled on the moon. As a finale, the audience is treated to a big white floating balloon representing the moon and fires and pyrotechnics lighting up the sky. After the show, everyone was given a small mooncake to sample.

Dinner is seafood combination chow mien and pork ribs Pekinese style and rice at Super Bowl.

Canon Photo5 Competition

Was browsing Gizmodo (Australia) and noticed this article about an open registration to Canon's Photo5 competition. First time I heard of this photography competition. Apparently, it only started last year.

Once you register, Canon will send you a box with 5 mystery items. Take a picture of each of the five items in the most creative way possible, and upload them to the competition website. Up for grabs are $50,000 worth of EOS products. Competition is open to both amateurs and professionals.

Gentlemen, start your cameras!

Swatch Twin Phone (Blue Moon)

I'm such a sucker for things Swatch. I'm already sold on the watches. When I found out that they also made a line of telephones in the 1980's, I just gotta have one. And so I did.

The phone itself is shaped like a bean. You pick up the phone from its base and you'll see a 10-digit LCD display, then the numeric keypad. The interesting thing is, if you pick up the base, it becomes a second handset. So you can actually have three parties on the same conversation. Apart from that, you also get:

• call duration timer
• one-touch mute, redial, and flash functions
• 3 direct-dial keys
• 10 speed-dial memory keys

Swatch Black Balance

Another Swatch to add to my collection. I really have to stop this eBay thing. It's Swatch Black Balance (YLS150G) from the 2007 Irony Medium Fall Winter collection. Can't really remember how much I paid for this, but definitely cheaper than the EUR 83.93 quoted by Squiggly.

Additional info:
Polished steel surfaces shimmer under a moonlit sky. The bracelet of this striking Irony Medium features a central column of convex glossy black steel links framed by rows of links in polished steel. The polished steel case has one transparent white crystal on either side beneath the unmarked glossy black bezel. Silver applique Arabic numerals at all hours grace an otherwise unmarked sun-brushed silver dial. Slim reflective metal and black hour and minute hands and a needle-thin metal seconds hand mark the time.

The First Emperor

Managed to score some free tickets to the screening of the world premiere of Tan Dun's The First Emperor at Hayden Orpheum. The Orpheum is set to screen the Metropolitan Opera's 2008/2009 season productions in HD.

GF dropped by to pick me up from the office, then we went to Cremorne. The sandwiches she brought along didn't do the trick, so we had a quick dinner at the Chinese restaurant beside the theatre.

This is the first time I've been to Orpheum. The Art Deco interior of the theatre is quite nice. The First Emperor is not. Even the famous Placido Domingo can't save it. The costumes and sets are lavish, but that does not a good opera make. The storyline is pretty dull, the music is awfully boring, and the lines are just plain silly. What do you expect - the libretto is written (in English) by Tan Dun himself. The same Tan Dun who composed the music for this opera (and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The equally famous Zhang Yimou directs.

It was so bad, I spotted a few people leaving in a matter of minutes. GF and I were a bit more discreet. We left after Act 1. Back in Burwood, we had another dinner at the Canton Noodle House.

Agnes' Winter Wedding

Took a leave from work just to attend Michael and Agnes' wedding. Turns out it's still for 1pm at Leichardt. GF forgot to tell me that fact. Had a little tuna pasta at GF's house for lunch. Had been cold and raining all day. The wedding ceremony was short and simple. After the wedding, everyone lined up in a queue to wish the new couple well.

Passed the time at GF's house, then went to Villa Rosa around 6pm for the wedding reception. Some cocktails, then a four-course dinner. The host for the night was hilarious and kept everyone entertained. Later, everyone formed a huge circle, while the bride and groom walked around to say thanks. That took a bit of time because the couple was talking to each and every person. The band tried to liven things up with songs, but had to stop eventually because you can only repeat a song so many time. Got home after midnight already.

City2Surf 2008

This is my 5th City2Surf in a row, and possibly my last. For one, I'm not getting any younger, and that 14 kilometers seem to take longer and harder to complete. Two, I don't think GF is joining me in any of these runs. I might just take a leisurely stroll next year.

The innovation in this year's City2Surf is the introduction of a personal timing chip, which I reckon should be there long time ago. With this timing chip, which you attach to your running shoes, you can get your personal time accurate down to the second. As you cross the (magnetic?) starting line, the chip ID and time is recorded, and the same thing happens again as you finish.

This year, I was 36867th over the line with a time of 99:51 minutes. Not bad at all.

GF didn't join the race, but she drove down to Bondi Beach to pick me up. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to park. And given that she had no idea what time I'll finish, she had been circling the area for about an hour. In the end, she had to park at a driveway along Sandridge Street, and I had to limp all the way from Bondi Beach to meet her.

Back at Westfield Bondi Junction, we had a nice quiet lunch at Barnoodle.

Belated Birthday Dinner for GF's Mom

GF's Mom had her belated birthday party at the Regal Restaurant in the city (corner of Liverpool-Sussex).

Gave her a Beijing Olympics pen/stylus/LED light/laser pointer as gift, which BHP Biliton sent me.

Bankstown Bites and Idiocracy

I reckon the food tours that is a major part of Bankstown Bites was quite successful last year 'coz they're bringing them back again this year. Aside from queuing up on the day to register, you can sign up online. I can tell you the online spots filled up very quickly because I didn't get any.

My sister was at Bankstown early and reserved two spots for GF and me. At the last minute, GF's mom decided to join us. We got there late, so I asked my sister to give away our places. Not really much to see, mostly food stalls. We had bacon and eggs crepes, strawberry crepes, chocolate churros, and waffle dogs for take-away.

Back home, I watched Idiocracy. Plot is pretty simple, but the production is very slick and polished. Movie is about the world getting dumber and dumber. What with most scientific research devoted to p3nis enlargement and combating hair loss. After 500 years of reverse Darwinism, the dumb rule the world. Corporal Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) wake up from a military hibernation experiment gone wrong to discover that they're the smartest people around. They find out that water has been replaced by an energy drink called "Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator", and the only water you can find is in toilets. No wonder all the plants died out, causing a food shortage. With his superiour intelligence, Joe solved this problem and later became the President of America.

Papal Boatacade

There were rumours swirling about that the papal boatacade will pass by our Pyrmont office waterfront on his way to Barangaroo for the official Papal Welcome Ceremony. Last week, we saw a big group of police patrol boats doing a drive-by. Same thing this morning. Around 3pm, we went up to the building rooftop, which gives us a good view of the Pyrmont waterfront, the Sydney Harbour, and a small portion of Barangaroo. A lot of police and media helicopters are hovering about, adding to our excitement. Didn't last long though. No ships passed by our area. Apparently, MV Sydney 2000 took a different route and had since landed at Barangaroo. Bah!

GF was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Pope in the popemobile as drove into St. Mary's Cathedral House after touring the city centre. Dinner is at Star City's Trophies Bar (for me and GF, not the Pope).

St. Mary's Cathedral Visit

GF is volunteering at St. Mary's Cathedral today. Went to Hyde Park after work to see what it's like. There's a celebratory mood in the air - lots of happy people about, singing, dancing, taking pictures, just milling about. There's a huge tent selling WYD souvenirs and merchandise. Telstra has another big booth promoting their services. Didn't see GF come out of the cathedral for half an hour. Turns out she's already on her way to Pyrmont. Had to double back.

Since we're already here, we decided to go in St. Mary's and take a look. Everybody else seem to have the same idea. There was a long long queue and people making singit made it even longer. I would've done the same thing if GF is not with me. Took us about an hour of standing in the cold before we got in because the organizers are controlling the number of people inside the church. Pretty much the same, except for the relic of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, which is on display.

Dinner is McDonald's at the Mid City Centre food court. As a volunteer, GF got a McDonald's VIP card. Can't remember if we made use of it or not.

Feast of St. Benedict

Quite a busy day today. Spent the afternoon checking out second-hand CR-Vs with my brother. Then went to Auburn to check out Mirvac's Ashgrove homes.

Later in the afternoon, GF and I drove around UNSW looking for the Women's College. A few days ago, GF befriended some Filipino nuns who are in town for the World Youth Day 2008. They must be in desparate need for Filipino food because they made a special request to GF. So here we are, delivering pancit to their residence. Back in Broadway, we were looking for a church to go to Mass to, but can't find any. Little did we know that right across the street is St. Benedict's Church. In celebration of the Patronal Feast of St. Benedict, classical music and chorale music was being played and performed by Coro Innominata and St Benedict's Choir. It was a cold, windy night, and since the church hall was packed, GF and I had to stand at the doorway until the end of the service.

For dinner, we had hot noodle soup at Broadway Shopping Centre.

Three Movies and a Cake

With the Foxtel IQ box almost at full capacity, we hunkered down today and made a decision to watch some movies.

First up is Fruit Chan's 2004 movie Dumplings (Gaau ji). The movie is an ode to the (cosmetic) wonders of cannibalism, specifially human fetuses. Given the Chinese' penchant of eating almost anything, this could be true. Ah, to be young forever. If in doubt, check Snopes.

Next, we watched another Chinese movie called The Wild, Wild Rose (a.k.a. Ye mei gui zhi lian) - a Chinese adaptation of George Bizet's Carmen. A close look at the movie info puts the release year at 1960, so no surprise that the film is still in black-and-white. Main character is a nightclub singer by the name of Deng Sijia. The male protagonist is an English major turned pianist called Hanhua. On a bet, the singer successfully seduces the pianist away from his loyal fiance. As you all know, nothing good ever comes out of that for everyone.

Around 10pm, we started watching No Man's Land. Movie is about a Bosniak and a Bosnian Serb caught in a trench in the middle of the 1993 Bosnian war. Obviously, these two soldiers don't get along well. At the end of the movie, they kill each other off. And a third guy lying on top of a land mine is left for dead by the UN.

For dessert, I baked a gluten-free chocolate cake with the chocolate frosting on top.