Street Fashion Sydney: Review

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Saturday, March 16, 2019

Seafood Diner in Monterosso al Mar at Trattoria Da Oscar

One of the curious things about travel by train and, choosing a hotel just out of town; up a steep hillside with an impressive view - of the beautiful bays of Cinque Terre. Is you do manage to meet and converse with your fellow guests; chatting away as you shuttle up and down the switchbacks of the hillside in the courtesy mini bus. The little van that takes you down to the beach or back up to that glorious view. It was on one of these return trips to the hotel that David and Margaret, who just so happened to be from Sydney too.. kindly recommended to us a seafood restaurant called Oscars, that they had tried the night before and thought was just fabulous! So Vivienne and I decided to give it a shot the very next evening. The mini bus drops us at the start of the beach on Via Fegina opposite, Ristorante Miky, but that's another culinary story yet to be told. continues below..

Umbrellas folded for the night, Monterosso al Mar, Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo by Kent Johnson

Now as compact as Monterosso is, there is the new town (not that new) and there is the medieval old town on the other side of the rocky promontory. A distance of perhaps a kilometre and half of pleasant beach front promenade. Trattoria Da Oscar is in the old town, through the tunnel under the hill, of rock. Past the fishing boats, across the square skirting churches in bold marble stripes, watched over by a Madonna, by a peloton of bicycles and up a bendy narrow street. Yes there were some wrong turns and directions asked, but at last we found Oscars!

A small Madonna in a wall niche, old town, Monterosso al Mar, Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo by Kent Johnson

a peloton of bicycles, old town, Monterosso al Mare. Photograph by Kent Johnson

Looking in from the street at Trattoria de Oscar, Monterosso, Cinque Terre. Photograph by Kent Johnson

And we found it reassuringly busy, all the tables taken outside, though still with room for the two of us inside, away from the chatter of the American accents.. The next night we had a booking for a multi course extravaganza at Ristorante Miky. So for diner at Oscar's we decided on a simple menu. We would start with fried sardines followed by the dish of the day, scampi gnocchi. All accompanied by a bottle of Prosecco, why not!

Chef at work - Trattoria de Oscar Monterosso al Mare. Photograph by Kent Johnson

How was it? We loved our sardines, fresh and tasty and they didn't last long. Next came our scampi gnocchi, which we had discovered was to be the last serving of the special that day. The sauce was a rich, intense tomato driven infusion with a hint of spice, a little chilli? Garlic and olive oil. And it was divine, easily coating the light fluffy gnocchi and the all important scampi! We polished it all off as you can see below, leaving just the pan, and the spoon. I not only relished our shared meal, I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. The immediacy of the experience and the quality of food and service. It was an authentic food and travel experience to remember. I hope you enjoy my black and white pictures of our meal. (I actually turned to camera to B&W to take them) Why black and white? because I feel it lends itself to the immediacy, the directness of flavors the meal, the clarity of it all which sometimes colour diffuses. More at the end - and click on the pictures to view them large.

A serving of sardines at Trattoria Da Oscar. Photograph by Kent Johnson

Sardines on the plate, knife and fork, at Trattoria Da Oscar. Photograph by Kent Johnson

The ancient arched stone roof at Oscar's. Photograph by Kent Johnson

Serving from our pan of scampi gnocchi at Trattoria Da Oscar Monterosso al Mar. Photo by Kent Johnson

Scampi gnocchi at Trattoria Da Oscar Monterosso al Mar. Photo by Kent Johnson

Just the shells remain, scampi gnocchi at Trattoria Da Oscar Monterosso al Mar. Photo by Kent Johnson

The empty pan, all gone! Scampi gnocchi at Trattoria Da Oscar Monterosso al Mar. Photo by Kent Johnson

Oscar and a mural of Oscar! Trattoria Da Oscar Monterosso al Mar. Photo by Kent Johnson

The boat harbour at twilight, Monterosso al Mar, Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo by Kent Johnson

After that, it was another pleasurable stroll back along the waterfront to the new town and a short wait for the mini bus to deliver us back up the hill to our hotel. Diner at Trattoria Da Oscar; highly recommended.

Special thanks to White Caviar Life for making this story possible.

Telling Stories in Pictures all over..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

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Friday, March 31, 2017

Clouds Oceans and Diagonal Lines - Art in Sydney this Week.

I mean really what are the chances of seeing two shows, two consecutive nights; both painting and both dealing with the elements of nature, both within a square boundary and both with visually compelling diagonal lines as integral to the compositions?

Adrian McDonald, AHAB:Reading Moby Dick.

I would have said zero chance at all so it looks like I will need to update my art actuarial table for a start. The first show was Adrian McDonald's show AHAB:Reading Moby Dick, and while I was ready for the lines in Adrian's work I was not really expecting the series of grey scale abstractions that are the ground.. or ocean (or whale skin) that the two crossing lines rest upon. Though complex pattern is a kind of leitmotif in much of McDonald's works and one of the great joys when viewing them, I wasn't really expecting a combination quite like this. The following night I found myself at China Heights gallery for Pushing Past by Brooklyn Whelan, his first Sydney solo since Heavy Weather in late 2015. This show quite shocked me though in a positive way. This time it was the addition of a very bold and straight diagonal line punching right through the familiar Whelan cloudscape.

Portrait of Brooklyn Whelan by Kent Johnson at China Height gallery for Pushing Past.

While I am aware that the similarities between the shows are somewhat superficial, it is curious to come across two artists working from very different art backgrounds finding similar resolution, and my finding them one night after the next. So "do yourself a favour;" go check them out; meditative and beautiful to look at. Water, cloud, lines and very tight palettes.
Pushing Past is on this weekend only at China Heights Gallery 12 - 5.
AHAB:Reading Moby Dick 30 March 25 April 2017 at Crawford Gallery.

AHAB:Reading Moby Dick - (apologies for the poor image quality).

“Between black and white, there is an ocean of grey” Adrian McDonald AHAB:Reading Moby Dick.
http://www.brooklynwhelan.com/
http://www.crawfordgallery.com.au/

Telling Stories in Pictures all over Sydney..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

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Thursday, February 16, 2017

You had me at Dumplings - The Art of Asian Food at Zoo Family Restaurant.

Well I think this is actually my first restaurant/food review ever, in 10 years! But then it does not say Street Food Sydney it says Fashion. That said good food is always in fashion and good food is exactly what you will find at the Zoo Family restaurant, tucked in amongst the explosion of residential tower blocks that have sprung up in Waterloo. It's quite near that warehouse venue that used to be Doug up on Bourke, the recent home of the Other Art Fair, yes less than a 10 minuet walk from Danks Street. So all my art friends should now have a bit of an idea where we are. So on with the food, lets get started.

Peking Duck Pancakes at Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

I love dumplings and I wish I could have three types and styles of dumplings every time I had dinner or (in this case) lunch. And I wish they were as tasty and as artfully presented too. We had steamed Xiao Long Bao, that's one pined by my chop sticks, the fried dumplings, and Shanghai Pork Wonton in Special Chilli Sauce, they were all delicious as was the large sharing bowl of Chongqing Spicy Noodles a Szechuan delight. Spice, chilli, flavour, check two three! Vivienne my Taiwan born partner and I were discussing the chilli factor with our host after the meal. We would have liked a little more heat, but then we eat chilli nearly every day so we are very used to it. The flavours are great but if you love heat perhaps let the kitchen know. Of course we started our Zoo Family journey with Peking Duck Pancakes, terrific, as good as ever.

Szechuan Chongqing Spicy Noodles at Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

Vivienne was very impressed with the authenticity of the flavours and the quality across the board, including the crab. The crab is served with gloves, a section of instruments to crack shells and extract the meat with; and I find all this a huge chore. So after a few easy bits and bites I relinquished any extra share. The crab eaters were however unanimous in their praise of the Singapore Mud Crab with Salted Egg Yolk coating. Well done you I say! We finished our culinary outing with sesame cakes, red bean and pumpkin filling, a lovely light way to end the meal. Highly recommend!

Serving of Chongqing Spicy Noodles at Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

Shanghai Pork Wonton in Special Chilli Sauce.

Tasty an fried dumplings and dark dipping sauce. Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

Our hosts serving the mud crab. Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

A speciality of the house, Singapore Mud Crab with Salted Egg Yolk at Zoo Family Restaurant.

Kai gloves up to take on the crab as Jill photographs the dish. Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

Mixed pork and vegetables with chilli. Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

We were all pretty full by now so most of this dish went home with us - maybe even better the next day!

Sesame cakes with red bean and pumpkin filling for desert. Zoo Family restaurant. Food photography by Kent Johnson.

Thank you to the Zoo Family Restaurant.
21 Archibald Ave, Waterloo NSW 2017, (02) 8937 3026, Open Lunch 11:30am-3:00pm, Dinner 5:30pm-9:30pm. www.facebook.com/ZooFamilyWaterloo/

Full disclosure, Street Fashion Sydney was a blogger guest and did not pay for this meal and was not paid for this review.

Telling Stories in Pictures all over Sydney..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp.

#PartyUp indeed. Street Fashion Sydney had the privilege of attending the Ultimate Ears, BOOM 2 2016 launch at Carriageworks in Sydney. And it certainly was a cracker of a party. First shot as you scroll down you just can see the countdown to the launch projected on the left; the curtains opening to a massive industrial space, illuminated 'robots' drawing back the curtain on a colour and sound filled spectacle, in we all go... And I am wondering, how will they showcase, 'illuminate' a small 18 cm personal speaker?

So we had a great light show, including projections some light and flame performances, cool DJs spinning tunes; then about 30 or 40 minuets into the night, the head of UE/Ultimate Ears made the totally bold announcement that they were going to switch from the great sounding music PA.. and go to the 100 linked, BOOM 2 and Mega BOOM speaker cross boom above our heads; cue - light up the boom - and as you can see from the size of that space it was a huge call for tiny speakers! How did it go? Well a LOT better than I expected. The music filled the room, loud - distortion free, it did BOOM that's for sure, it was pretty damn impressive. Now it was not as clear as the 'real' PA - but it was quite amazing, and these small speakers are not really meant to power such a ginormous party space but they did. At the end of the night I was gifted a BOOM 2 and have been testing/using it for a few days now - so keep scrolling down for my REVIEW below towards the end of the pictures. Do I know what I am writing about when it comes to audio? Well for a few years I ran an online-retail called Vintage Audio .Com .Au (now disbanded) and we did pretty well & were pretty well known and respected, so I will be giving it my VA equipment review best. The old site is down but if you are interested the old VA blog is still online, here, http://vintageaudioaustralia.com.au/2006/my-cd-player-or-my-amp.html

Electric light robots - UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

The music crowd and the boom overhead, UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Detail of the boom of 100 UE Boom 2s, Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

The 100 Mega Boom & Boom 2 - Cross Boom - It worked!

People partying to the BOOM 2 sound system. UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Fire dancer, UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Wall projections guests and fire dancer, UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Vivienne Shui and Joshua Heath UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

White tee's at the bar - UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Light robot stilt walkers and Vanessa Christopher and Vivienne. UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Room and light show filled with people. UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Video team - UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

A group with green party wigs, UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Guys, pink party wigs and a selfie. UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Party wigs and Glasses - Best after a few drinks.. -

Blue and green wigs, selfie time! UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Outside the 'party tent' young women in white and denim. UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

Kent with his UE Boom 2 at the Launch, Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp Street Fashion Sydney.

Me and my BOOM 2 - Review below - Pic by vivalaViv.

Open pack shot of UE BOOM 2 - Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

So what is a BOOM 2, what does it do and do you need one? Lets start with what it is.
The BOOM 2 is a small 18 cm tall 6.7 cm diameter portable, waterproof (for 30 min to 1 meter) wireless/Bluetooth active/self-powered speaker. What that means is it's a speaker with a built in amplifier so all you need to do is supply the source-music via your phone or tablet or device-with-Bluetooth connection. Being waterproof it is basically a take anywhere sound source, a 'boom box' without the size. Power is supplied via Li-Ion battery, up to 15 hours per charge is claimed; this would no doubt depend on how hard you run your sound.

I have been testing my Boom 2 in a small but not tiny studio apartment; first music was early 80s classics on YouTube - Psychedelic Furs, Blondie, Talk Talk, Thomas Dolby, which all sounded somewhat better than I remember hearing them when they first came out.. well TV's didn't have very good sound back then anyway. So even though YouTube is a compressed sound format, the Boom 2 had the music sounding pretty good. I then went for Diana Krall Live in Paris which was my key 'test CD' for most Vintage Audio systems I reviewed. The great thing about this album is I know were systems excel or fall down. Now there is no way a small single speaker is going to reproduce a full stereo sound stage; and I certainly don't expect it too. What I would like if I can get it is rich sound, a feeling for the base, clarity, sibilance on cymbals and high percussive notes, no distortion, fast dynamic response. The BOOM 2 delivers, it delivers surprisingly good sound regardless of it's size.

As I sit here typing this review, I have gone over to full uncompressed music files, Roy Hargrove Crisol Habana, all Cuban brass, percussion and piano and the best thing I can possibly say about the sound is that I am forgetting what it is coming out of, where it is coming from; I am just enjoying the music. For some more contemporary bass heavy tunes I went with Angie Stone's Mahogany Soul, which sounded, great, with full rich sound.

But wait there's more! There's an App for the BOOM 2 too.. of course there is and it's pretty useful as well. There is a 5 Band EQ (I knocked the treble back one notch) and if you have more than one Boom speaker you can set the system up for true stereo sound - now that would be interesting to try; OR if you and your friends have more Booms you can hook them up together to spread the sound, increase, the output, which is essentially what was shown to us at the lunch event with 100 hooked up playing together and that was a LOT of sound.

So should you buy one? Well I think I will be taking mine along on small studio shoots in the future, at least I can be sure of the sound quality and how it works. In fact great for taking on any jobs where you want some music & if you use the phone/App it can double up as a speaker phone too, which caught me by surprise yesterday. I have even seen someone working on their motorbike out in the street (before the launch) and thought that's better than boom boxes used to be! So if you like portable sound, I can recommend the BOOM 2. Would I choose to go BOOM 2 over my stereo, no it's a completely different scenario each with benefits of their own, but it's turning into a great second sound source, to enjoy listening too, with pleasure.

Pack shot of the UE Boom 2. photographed by Kent Johnson for Street Fashion Sydney.

http://www.ultimateears.com/en-au/ueboom2
#PARTYUP #MakeMusicSocial

Telling Stories in Pictures all over Sydney..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863