I have been going to yum cha at East Ocean in Sydney's Chinatown for over 20 years. I can't remember when I started going but I can't remember not going. The place is part of our family's history. Both of my children had their first yum cha experience there, only months after joining our family.
We go to other yum cha restaurants as well. The Rhodes Phoenix, near our current home, being a new and surprising favourite. But East Ocean has always been the special place.
Yesterday was the last time I will ever eat at East Ocean. It was a sad day and an end of era.
When mum, Jules and I arrived there yesterday something wasn't right. It took longer than necessary to realise what the problem was.
The trolleys were gone.
A colourful printed menu and order sheets lay on our table. I couldn't believe it. It was horrible. Mum argued that the food was the same, better. But no it wasn't and the atmosphere was different, wrong, broken.
To me yum cha isn't just the food. Sure I love the variety of dumplings, the deep fried wonders, the crispy green steamed Chinese brocolli, the just warm egg tarts. But for me yum cha is a feeling and the trolleys are part of that feeling. The anticipation as each trolley nears: what will this one hold, an old favourite or a new surprise? The hum and buzz of the restaurant, the rattle of the trolley wheels. It's a package, an experience.
Without the trolleys the restaurant is unnaturally quiet. Flustered waiters rush from table to table, dealing with confused customers, carrying cooling bamboo baskets and plates.
I walked down the steep stairs, back onto Sussex Street, with a heavy heart. It would be the last time I visited this place which had been such a big part of my story for so many years.
Good bye East Ocean.
Showing posts with label Yum Cha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yum Cha. Show all posts
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
So a little bit of catching up. My sis Jules came over from London for a Christmas/New Year holiday visit. It's so good to be with her. So easy and fun. I was a little scared to think about her visit before she came because it was a little painful thinking about her going back so soon. I'm happy for her adventure but I miss her little I don't even have the words to describe.
We had some fun together. Our best days are spent shopping and yum cha-ing. There's nothing I enjoy more. We had such a day and, apart from the silliness of Vicky Christina Barcelona, it was fantastic.
We went to a place called Din Tai Fung which had long been on our "must do" list. It's a Chinese restaurant which specialises in these dumplings which contain meat and soup. They are interesting little morsels but overall I would say I don't need to go back anytime soon. Yum cha at one of our usual haunts such as East Ocean is a much better idea.
What was special about this place was that they brought out a little cot for our handbags. Yes, you read correctly. A little mini-cot was brought out and placed next to our table and our bags were picked up off the floor and deposited in this little bag bed. Better still they then brought a little white blanket and covered our bags with it to add to the overall cot effect. Too cute!
We had some fun together. Our best days are spent shopping and yum cha-ing. There's nothing I enjoy more. We had such a day and, apart from the silliness of Vicky Christina Barcelona, it was fantastic.
We went to a place called Din Tai Fung which had long been on our "must do" list. It's a Chinese restaurant which specialises in these dumplings which contain meat and soup. They are interesting little morsels but overall I would say I don't need to go back anytime soon. Yum cha at one of our usual haunts such as East Ocean is a much better idea.
What was special about this place was that they brought out a little cot for our handbags. Yes, you read correctly. A little mini-cot was brought out and placed next to our table and our bags were picked up off the floor and deposited in this little bag bed. Better still they then brought a little white blanket and covered our bags with it to add to the overall cot effect. Too cute!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Our Anniversary Weekend:
The Good
* Getting picked up in a private car from Melbourne Airport by my dear husband and a uniformed chauffer named Theo.
* The hotel. The Melbourne Grand Hyatt is great and being on the executive floors makes it even better. Not that the rooms are any better but you get to use the Executive Lounge on Level 31 which is where you go for breakfast away from the unwashed masses (not sure how many of the unwashed masses stay the Grand Hyatt) and where you go for drinkies and canapes after 5:30 pm. Wonderful service, great views and complimentary (almost up there with SALE in my vocabulary hierachy) food and drink. Bring it on!
* The tennis. The Men's Final on Sunday night was amazing. The atmosphere was electric and most of the crowd was on the side of super cute Frenchie Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Second = WINNER in my book, sweetie). Who wouldn't love a face like this:
(I tought him everything I know about tennis... luckily he ignored that and learnt to play properly!)
* The food. We got lucky with our eating out (I guess a bit of internet research didn't hurt). Saturday night dinner at Gingerboy in the city. Really fabulous food, great cocktails (my Gingerboy Iced Tea was superb) and a very funky atmosphere with just right service. Sunday yum cha at Red Emperor. Wow this sucks! How can my new favourite yum cha place be in Melbourne? That's just not right. But this place is very very good. The garlic prawn dumplings are the best I've ever had. Both highly recommended.
* The movie (yes, we managed to squeeze in a 2 hour + movie between the Women's Final and dinner on Saturday evening). No Country for Old Men was vintage Coen Borthers. I was annoyed by the non-ending but got used to it after a bit of perculating through the grey cell department. It's not Raising Arizona but it's damn fine as it is.
* The friends. Got to see Big Jay's brother T, his wife A and their little fella A. They are always good fun and good value. Love you guys! Also enjoyed yum cha with two other families we know through our Guatemalan-born children. While we don't see them often it's always great fun when we do (and then there's email for the in-between years).
The Bad
* The food at the Australian Open. Are you havin' a larf? Is he havin' a larf? Someone's having a fucking laugh, that's for sure. There is a conspiracy going on in this country and it involves sporting venues, food outlets and stealing money from a captive audience. Never mind committees investigating petrol price fixing and whether or not supermarkets are fucking us over on a daily basis (they are!). What about an investigation into the price and quality of food at sporting venues? Where do you stand on that KRudd?
* People are rude. Do I need to go on? Well, OK. They push in, yell out and generally behave in ways guaranteed to piss off all those around them. Hey, guess what? Acting like you are the only person who matters is not cool!
The Ugly
* The heat. Saturday's afternoon match was almost unbearable. If the Women's Final had gone to three sets I would have had to leave. While our seats were great view-wise, they were horrific heat-wise. I really felt like the ant under the proverbial magnifying glass. I don't recall being so hot and uncomfortable.
* The three pissed cows. The three seats on our left were occupied by a trio of 50-something women who loved their tennis (had been at the Open for the last 10 years) and equally loved their cheap vino. They arrived tipsy and quickly got fully blotto. Each to their own, I say, but when you're so pissed you ask me the same question 20 times ("is it SONGA and T-SONGA?" and "look, there's Sting") and slur in my face with your alcohol soaked breath, then I start to get the urge to smash your stupid drunk head on the concrete steps over and over until YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!
The Good
* Getting picked up in a private car from Melbourne Airport by my dear husband and a uniformed chauffer named Theo.
* The hotel. The Melbourne Grand Hyatt is great and being on the executive floors makes it even better. Not that the rooms are any better but you get to use the Executive Lounge on Level 31 which is where you go for breakfast away from the unwashed masses (not sure how many of the unwashed masses stay the Grand Hyatt) and where you go for drinkies and canapes after 5:30 pm. Wonderful service, great views and complimentary (almost up there with SALE in my vocabulary hierachy) food and drink. Bring it on!
* The tennis. The Men's Final on Sunday night was amazing. The atmosphere was electric and most of the crowd was on the side of super cute Frenchie Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Second = WINNER in my book, sweetie). Who wouldn't love a face like this:
(I tought him everything I know about tennis... luckily he ignored that and learnt to play properly!)
* The food. We got lucky with our eating out (I guess a bit of internet research didn't hurt). Saturday night dinner at Gingerboy in the city. Really fabulous food, great cocktails (my Gingerboy Iced Tea was superb) and a very funky atmosphere with just right service. Sunday yum cha at Red Emperor. Wow this sucks! How can my new favourite yum cha place be in Melbourne? That's just not right. But this place is very very good. The garlic prawn dumplings are the best I've ever had. Both highly recommended.
* The movie (yes, we managed to squeeze in a 2 hour + movie between the Women's Final and dinner on Saturday evening). No Country for Old Men was vintage Coen Borthers. I was annoyed by the non-ending but got used to it after a bit of perculating through the grey cell department. It's not Raising Arizona but it's damn fine as it is.
* The friends. Got to see Big Jay's brother T, his wife A and their little fella A. They are always good fun and good value. Love you guys! Also enjoyed yum cha with two other families we know through our Guatemalan-born children. While we don't see them often it's always great fun when we do (and then there's email for the in-between years).
The Bad
* The food at the Australian Open. Are you havin' a larf? Is he havin' a larf? Someone's having a fucking laugh, that's for sure. There is a conspiracy going on in this country and it involves sporting venues, food outlets and stealing money from a captive audience. Never mind committees investigating petrol price fixing and whether or not supermarkets are fucking us over on a daily basis (they are!). What about an investigation into the price and quality of food at sporting venues? Where do you stand on that KRudd?
* People are rude. Do I need to go on? Well, OK. They push in, yell out and generally behave in ways guaranteed to piss off all those around them. Hey, guess what? Acting like you are the only person who matters is not cool!
The Ugly
* The heat. Saturday's afternoon match was almost unbearable. If the Women's Final had gone to three sets I would have had to leave. While our seats were great view-wise, they were horrific heat-wise. I really felt like the ant under the proverbial magnifying glass. I don't recall being so hot and uncomfortable.
* The three pissed cows. The three seats on our left were occupied by a trio of 50-something women who loved their tennis (had been at the Open for the last 10 years) and equally loved their cheap vino. They arrived tipsy and quickly got fully blotto. Each to their own, I say, but when you're so pissed you ask me the same question 20 times ("is it SONGA and T-SONGA?" and "look, there's Sting") and slur in my face with your alcohol soaked breath, then I start to get the urge to smash your stupid drunk head on the concrete steps over and over until YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
I've been immersed in life this week. A synposis may be in order:
* Will started Term 2 at school. It was very much needed as his behaviour gradually became worse and worse as the holidays continued, another week and one of us may have ended up with an AVO. He is happy and back to usual self.
* We had a date night on Tuesday night. We had a slightly above average dinner at an Italian cafe at North Ryde. I always worry about any eatery where all the meat groups (chicken, steak, veal) come with the same variety of sauces; I envisage giant vats of green peppercorn sauce being slopped onto trays of pre-cooked chicken breast fillets. We were going to see Sunshine after dinner but there was only a late session available, leaving over an hour to wait after dinner was finished. Being old fogeys we voted to head home and watch a movie on Foxtel Box Office. Armed with some now untrustworthy recommendations and our own love of Will Ferrell we settled in for Talladega Nights. Whoa, baby! What a crock of unwatchable rubbish. Really, if you liked this film you have either had a lobotomy or you need one.
* Wednesday (Anzac Day) we collected the kiddos from the respective grandparents (wouldn't subject any one grandparent to a double dose) and headed into town for yum cha. A public holiday yum cha at East Ocean is one of life's wonderful pleasures, especially when you arrive at the magic 11:00 am time frame... just when the room is filling up but just before the masses start queuing up along the stairs, pathetically and hopefully staring at the yum cha-ers in the hope they'll vacate their tables sooner rather than later. I also love watching my little munchkins enjoy their yum cha goodies, tucking into their prawn gow gees, munching their salt and pepper calamari and waiting expectantly for the only way to end yum cha (if you are 2 and 8 years old)... a big bowl of multi-coloured jelly cubes.
* After yum cha I dropped my family at home and popped up to Hornsby for a spot of unencumbered shopping. A pair of red loafers, a GORGEOUS black coat and a summer top (on sale) later I was feeling very pleased with myself.
* A pleasant day was finished with a visit to my friend A's house (in fact, our old house) who hosted a birthday afternoon tea for our mutual friend J. I love a cheese plate and a gossip with good friends.
* Saturday afternoon Will went to a bowling birthday party, much like the one he will himself host next Saturday. It was really fun (for him and me). They actually run quite smoothly once all the kids are shoed-up and allocated their lanes.
* We were going to go to the Swans' game at the SCG last night but the late finishing birthday party, combined with the on/off rain pushed us into the lazy option of watching at home. What a shame! The rain cleared and the Swans had a ripper of a game, i.e. THEY WON!!! Woo hoo!
* Today we joined some of our adoptive family friends and had a wonderful lunch at a Colombian restaurant. The food was yum - I love the empanadas and the crunchy little pork thingies (so BAD but so GOOD!!). I always feel a bit bad because the kids go mental when they're together, they run around and cause absolute havoc at the restaurant... which is OK when we have the whole place to ourselves (like last time) but not so good when there are other diners trying to eat a reasonably peaceful meal amongst a hoard of screaming, rumbling, tumbling kiddos. I managed to get everyone out of the restaurant and across the road to the little park before things got too out of control. A fun day had by all.
If you're still awake that was a snapshot of my life-lived-on-the-edge. Are you jealous?
* Will started Term 2 at school. It was very much needed as his behaviour gradually became worse and worse as the holidays continued, another week and one of us may have ended up with an AVO. He is happy and back to usual self.
* We had a date night on Tuesday night. We had a slightly above average dinner at an Italian cafe at North Ryde. I always worry about any eatery where all the meat groups (chicken, steak, veal) come with the same variety of sauces; I envisage giant vats of green peppercorn sauce being slopped onto trays of pre-cooked chicken breast fillets. We were going to see Sunshine after dinner but there was only a late session available, leaving over an hour to wait after dinner was finished. Being old fogeys we voted to head home and watch a movie on Foxtel Box Office. Armed with some now untrustworthy recommendations and our own love of Will Ferrell we settled in for Talladega Nights. Whoa, baby! What a crock of unwatchable rubbish. Really, if you liked this film you have either had a lobotomy or you need one.
* Wednesday (Anzac Day) we collected the kiddos from the respective grandparents (wouldn't subject any one grandparent to a double dose) and headed into town for yum cha. A public holiday yum cha at East Ocean is one of life's wonderful pleasures, especially when you arrive at the magic 11:00 am time frame... just when the room is filling up but just before the masses start queuing up along the stairs, pathetically and hopefully staring at the yum cha-ers in the hope they'll vacate their tables sooner rather than later. I also love watching my little munchkins enjoy their yum cha goodies, tucking into their prawn gow gees, munching their salt and pepper calamari and waiting expectantly for the only way to end yum cha (if you are 2 and 8 years old)... a big bowl of multi-coloured jelly cubes.
* After yum cha I dropped my family at home and popped up to Hornsby for a spot of unencumbered shopping. A pair of red loafers, a GORGEOUS black coat and a summer top (on sale) later I was feeling very pleased with myself.
* A pleasant day was finished with a visit to my friend A's house (in fact, our old house) who hosted a birthday afternoon tea for our mutual friend J. I love a cheese plate and a gossip with good friends.
* Saturday afternoon Will went to a bowling birthday party, much like the one he will himself host next Saturday. It was really fun (for him and me). They actually run quite smoothly once all the kids are shoed-up and allocated their lanes.
* We were going to go to the Swans' game at the SCG last night but the late finishing birthday party, combined with the on/off rain pushed us into the lazy option of watching at home. What a shame! The rain cleared and the Swans had a ripper of a game, i.e. THEY WON!!! Woo hoo!
* Today we joined some of our adoptive family friends and had a wonderful lunch at a Colombian restaurant. The food was yum - I love the empanadas and the crunchy little pork thingies (so BAD but so GOOD!!). I always feel a bit bad because the kids go mental when they're together, they run around and cause absolute havoc at the restaurant... which is OK when we have the whole place to ourselves (like last time) but not so good when there are other diners trying to eat a reasonably peaceful meal amongst a hoard of screaming, rumbling, tumbling kiddos. I managed to get everyone out of the restaurant and across the road to the little park before things got too out of control. A fun day had by all.
If you're still awake that was a snapshot of my life-lived-on-the-edge. Are you jealous?
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Short and sweet:
Weekend is almost over.
Billy Thorpe tribute on the tv (as usual with such things I am totally emotionless except for sudden, unexpected and random bursts of teariness here and there).
Bush dance at the school was fun on Friday night. Reward of parenthood: watching your children dance to a bushband, totally enjoying themselves, on a warm late summer evening, while you chow down on a really yummy steak roll.
Saturday went by too fast. Usual swimming/shopping morning. Big Jay's relatives over for BBQ lunch. Children asleep early-ish. Enjoyable adult evening.
Saturday night/Sunday morning. Marianna awake at 1:30 am. Screaming. Bring her to our bed and she's wide awake and very cheery. Wants to chat and sing and clap. NO, Marianna, NOT AT 2:00 am!!! Back to her bed. More screaming! Back to our bed. More cheeriness. Yikes! Back to her bed and by now I don't care about anything. It's 3:30 am and I'm exhausted, nerves raw. Finally we are all back asleep. Miraculously Will sleeps through all this middle-of-the-night chaos. Jay get's up very early to play golf. I sleep in until 7:30 am. Bliss!
Jay takes kids to the beach this morning. I go for yum cha and shopping with dear sis. Nothing better in my books. Yum cha is rather average today (JB finds a hair in the pork ribs, waiter stares at it intently and does nothing, Chinese restaurants are not known for their customer-is-always-right attitudes). Then we wait an eon for service at the Myer shoe department. After all the waiting the shoes I want have a funny glich in the print and they don't have another pair in that size. Dear JB offers to pick up a pair from WBJ (other side of Sydney) later this afternoon. Try on some clothes. JB gets a few ultra bargains (love those 50% off the already reduced price stands) for her European summer jaunt and I get some FULL PRICED (sheesh!) winter essentials.
I guess it wasn't that short and not very sweet after all.
Weekend is almost over.
Billy Thorpe tribute on the tv (as usual with such things I am totally emotionless except for sudden, unexpected and random bursts of teariness here and there).
Bush dance at the school was fun on Friday night. Reward of parenthood: watching your children dance to a bushband, totally enjoying themselves, on a warm late summer evening, while you chow down on a really yummy steak roll.
Saturday went by too fast. Usual swimming/shopping morning. Big Jay's relatives over for BBQ lunch. Children asleep early-ish. Enjoyable adult evening.
Saturday night/Sunday morning. Marianna awake at 1:30 am. Screaming. Bring her to our bed and she's wide awake and very cheery. Wants to chat and sing and clap. NO, Marianna, NOT AT 2:00 am!!! Back to her bed. More screaming! Back to our bed. More cheeriness. Yikes! Back to her bed and by now I don't care about anything. It's 3:30 am and I'm exhausted, nerves raw. Finally we are all back asleep. Miraculously Will sleeps through all this middle-of-the-night chaos. Jay get's up very early to play golf. I sleep in until 7:30 am. Bliss!
Jay takes kids to the beach this morning. I go for yum cha and shopping with dear sis. Nothing better in my books. Yum cha is rather average today (JB finds a hair in the pork ribs, waiter stares at it intently and does nothing, Chinese restaurants are not known for their customer-is-always-right attitudes). Then we wait an eon for service at the Myer shoe department. After all the waiting the shoes I want have a funny glich in the print and they don't have another pair in that size. Dear JB offers to pick up a pair from WBJ (other side of Sydney) later this afternoon. Try on some clothes. JB gets a few ultra bargains (love those 50% off the already reduced price stands) for her European summer jaunt and I get some FULL PRICED (sheesh!) winter essentials.
I guess it wasn't that short and not very sweet after all.
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