Winter [again]

Palm Beach, NSW

When you think of winter, the words blue sky and beach certainly don't come to mind... We have had the best (read: sunny and warm) winter this year. Thus is life in Australia...

It's May!

To all of you who were in any level concerned that I wasn't blogging much lately, you are so sweet. When even my brother asks me why I haven't been blogging, it means it's been too long.

Nothing wrong happened and I am healthy and well. It has been a wonderful month at my new job and I like it more and more each day. I work with great people, the job is fun and interesting, and it makes me feel useful and needed. Life is great.

M is doing well too, he got a haircut and he looks so handsome!!! I have been telling him for months to get it done and I'm happy to announce that he will never look back again :) 

So back to my promise... here's a couple of beers we tasted this month...

The brewery: Matilda Bay (Victoria)

The beer: Dog Bolter Dark Lager

Appearance: dark brown, however not really cloudy. Little to no head after pouring.

Aroma: Molasses, roasted coffee, very mild.

On the palate: As expected with most dark ales, a thick malty flavour, with a touch of sweetness similar to molasses. However it is not overpowering and a great addition to any warm meal of red meat or spicy food.

The brewery: Matilda Bay (Victoria)

The beer: Bohemian Pilsner

Appearance: Pale gold and clear (after a few seconds of settling). Lovely head retention.

Aroma: Very mild scent of hops.

On the palate: A classic Czech style lager, crisp and refreshing. A firm and pleasant aftertaste reminiscent of sourdough bread. A classic, in every sense of the word.

The brewery: McLaren Vale Beer Company (South Australia)

The beer: Vale Ale Pale Ale

Appearance: Pale and unfiltered (ie. cloudy), fine and dense head.

Aroma: Mild, of wheat or bread.

On the palate: Spicy and hoppy. Medium bitterness with a touch of fruity sweetness. Caramel-like aftertaste.







We've been cooking up some other amazing things around here lately and I hope I get to share some soon...

Australia's finest

I am a beer fan.

Always have been since that first chilly can of cheap watery beer. Not really, not then at least.

I *am* a huge fan of beer, and our love affair started when I moved to Boulder, Colorado to attend graduate school. The United States is the country with the largest number of breweries in the world, and did you know the state of Colorado has the largest number of breweries per capita? It is therefore little coincidence that the Great American Beer Festival takes place every year in Denver, featuring over 400 different breweries, over 2,000 different beers and hosts almost 50,000 beer lovers in one long, magical, beer heaven weekend.

I did attend the festival and I will leave those embarrassing stories for another occasion, my point here is I loved beer ever since and I love to drink my way to variety and look forward to the surprise of opening a new brew every time. 

Recently I was gifted with The Beer Lovers Guide to Australia, which I quickly devoured and learned (in general) about the history of beer, how it's crafted and how it can be served and enjoyed. The book also features a long list of Australian craft beers and micro-brews which in turn inspired me to go out and taste them!

So I give you...

20 OF AUSTRALIA'S FINEST BEERS

Randomly selected by me ;) 

I plan on enjoying each one of these over the next few weeks and sharing my tasting notes right here on Bongaloo, so stay tuned and don't blog and drive.

Bugs

I ate soup today that had a bug in it.

I spotted it right at the beginning of my meal and somehow convinced myself that it was a baby shrimp (I was eating Tom Yum). So I pushed it aside and ate away. Upon further examination I realized it was not a baby shrimp, but a small creature with an exoskeleton.

I don't know what it was, if the fact that I was really hungry, or that the soup was tasty, or the fact that maybe I just didn't think it would kill me, but I ate away and finished the soup without complaint. And no, I had never seen that bug before so I am not sure what it was.

I have been thinking about this a lot, and the truth is, I don't know what that makes me.

....

In other bug news, remember this post?

Check out the laundry I had just brought from outside:

Now look closer...

That my friends is a young male yellow flower spider (I'm no expert but it is a good guess, females have bigger abdomes me thinks). It was actually really cute and I was trying to gently get it on a stick so I could release it outside. I'm sad to report that he didn't survive the transition.

We also have one of these in the backyard and I am just boggled at how clever that spider is, with its little leaf protecting it.

I used to hate bugs, but now I am slowly making my peace with them...

Pros of living in Sydney #47

The most amazing cabbies.

Ok, for the most part they are a hit or a miss. But when they are a hit, oh man.

My last taxi conversation with the driver ended up in exchanging emails and him offering me a job selling his imported goods (from www.madeinchina.com and www.indiamart.com, among others, mind you) on Sydney markets. He said we'd go half and half on the profits.

Lucky me.

Cons of living in Australia #54

Most pople dry their laundry outside (so do we) and hence sometimes you will end up with bugs in your clothes :-S

Australian English Dictionary

Sometimes I have a hard time understanding the thick Aussie accent. In young people it is very mild, exotic and pleasant. In the older generation it is thick, mumbled and completely unintelligible by the likes of me. So much in fact that yesterday when a plumber came to make a few repairs to our house, he mumbled something or other about the bathroom. Of course the bathroom needed a few fixes and I nodded, smiled, and followed him there. Suddenly he tries to shut the door to find that I am on the way, gives me the look and raises his big old eye brows. The guy simply wanted to go to the bathroom and surely he thought I was a creep. End of story.

To make matters worse, it is not just the accent that is distinct, but also English words can have different meanings. I am compiling an ever growing list of Aussie standards in case you ever come visit, or hear me say something strange. Here is my version of Australian to English translations:

Bikey: Is a motorcycle gang member.
Boot: The trunk of the car.
Bottle shop: Is a liquor store.
Brekky/Brekkie: Breakfast.
Capsicum: This is what they call bell peppers.
Chemist: This is a pharmacy, i.e. "I'm going to the chemist for some medicine."
Dry cleaners: This could be the dry cleaners, or it could also be a bar where you go "pick up a suit". Get it?
Hotel: It can be an actual hotel, or it could be just a bar. It turns out that according to New South Wales liquor laws, it is easier to obtain a liquor license if you declare your business as a hotel instead of a bar.
Hungry Jack's: The Australian name for the chain Burger King.
G'day: means hello :-)
Jumper: Is a sweater.
News agency: A stand or store that sells newspapers, bus tickets, etc.
Note: That's a bill i.e. "Do you have any five dollar notes?"
Petrol: Is gasoline!
Removalists: Those are the movers.
Servillete: Some places around here use this French word instead of the good ol' "napkin".
Singlet: Is a wife beater, the clothing garment, not the domestically violent man.
Take away: The Australian version of "to-go" i.e. "I will have a large burger and fries for take-away."
Unit: Another word for an apartment.