Flatmates

I live in a house with 9 other people and all of them are from different countries!  It is really cool talking to them.  Most of them are here to learn English.  I don't usually see any of them much during the week but the weekends they are all here drinking and having a blast so when I get home I get to talk with them.  One weekend night I got home from work and they all were about to go out to the clubs and they all encouraged me to join them (even though I had to work in the morning).  Wow!  The night life here in Sydney is crazy! 

The Girls

At the train station

At a bar

Pilar and me

Caro and me

Vincent, Paul Qui and me

Waiting on the bus to go home
 

 This was actually the second time I went out with them.  The first time was for Caro's birthday...

Mamoun and me he is from Algeria

Alejandra and me she is from Columbia

Pilar, Alejandra and me

Vincent (French) Marc (Spain) and Me
 

We went to Kings Cross and that is the part of town that is the main strip for clubs.  After being there that night I know I am over the club scene.  I like bars better.  Pilar, Alejandra and Caro are all from Columbia and they all three share a room in the house.  Vincent is from France and he has a private room.  Paul is from France and Marc is from Spain and the two of them share a room.  The other flatmates did not come out with us on either night.  Mamoun is friends with all the flatmates he lives in Bondi.  This house is crazy and loud but it is a lot of fun.  This definitely an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. 

Sunday Nights

Cala Luna is closed on Mondays so all of us Chefs have this wonderful day off.  On Sunday nights after work we usually go out for a beer and just relax from a long hectic week.  This has been a great bonding time for me to get to know the Chefs outside the kitchen as well as able to actually have a conversation.  These guys are lot of fun to hang with.  Here are a few pictures from some of our Sunday Night Adventures:

This is how the night usually starts: beers and shots of Tequila

Davide and me

Chef Alessandro, Davide and me after a few

us three again and the guy in the white shirt I don't remember his name but he is french. 

Alessandro and me (he use to work at Cala Luna but hated it too and left.  He is one of Davide's flatmates and best friends
 

Chef Alessandro and me

What a night
 

After we drink a bit we do get hungry so luckily this place has a dumpling bar downstairs.  Johnny Wongs!  Yummy dumplings

 

I do enjoy my Sunday nights out.  This first time we went out I did not have my camera.  There is another Chef that came out the first night but he hasn't since.  His name is Anthony.  Chef Alessandro, Davide and Alessandro are all from Italy and Anthony is from Ireland.  It is pretty cool meeting people from all over the world.

Depression OVER

Yes my friends it has finally happened!  My depression is OVER!  YAY!!  It was getting really bad there for awhile.  My attitude and look on life has changed so much since my last post.  I have been keeping very busy over the past month and now I am going to share all the adventures I have had thus far. 
Firstly, work is getting better.  I have really been bonding with the other Chefs so that has helped. (More on that in another post).  I have changed my attitude on what I am actually doing at work and instead of resisting I have opened my mind and took on the challenge.  I am actually working as a Chef de partie, which means:   A chef de partie, also known as a "station chef" or "line cook",^[2] is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with "first cook", then "second cook", and so on as needed.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef)  I am working the entree section at Cala Luna and one cool thing is as we get new chefs I am training them in "my" section.  I have come along way since my first day at Cala Luna seriously 2 months ago!  Here are some of the dishes I make

Sformatino di Melanzane
Eggplant Sformatino, Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomato Coulis

Saltimbocca di Quaglia
Quail, Guanciale, Beetroot, Polenta & Olive Jus

Carpaccio di Manzo
Pasture Fed Beef Carpaccio, Walnut, Pesto & Testun Di Barolo

Carpaccio di Tonno
Yellow Fin Tuna, Balsoy Citrus & Capers

Gamberi
Yamba River Prawns, Avocado, Tomato & Chilli
 

this dish is not on the menu online so you don't get the fancy Italian name for it and description.  This this the Sea food plate.  One prawn, scampi, deep fried oysters, scallops and a piece of fish depending what the fish of the day is.

There are more plates I just have not been able to photograph them yet. Some of these pictures were taken in a hurry because it was during service.  I know what you are thinking, are you not on a pasty externship?  Well I also get to do some pastry as well.  Here are a few photos I have been able to take:

Millefoglie allo Yogurt
Phillo Millefoglie w/ Yogurt Mousse, Raspberry & Berries Compote

Torta al Cioccolato
Chocolate Tart w/ Chocolate Macaroon Disk, Cashews, Caramel & Chocolate Gelato

Cannolo al Torrole
Sesame Seed Cannoli stuffed w/ Nougart & served w/ Coffee Anglaze & Chocolate
Crumbs
This plate was request for a Happy Birthday message so I got to play with Chocolate too!

Crostata con Crema al Lime
Cream Lime Tart w/ Pineapple & Mango Gelato

I am for sure learning a lot.  More than I thought I would. This is crazy, hard and very hectic, but you know it is growing on me.  

Soul Searching

I have always wanted to travel and see the World.  I wanted to live in a huge city and walk everywhere.  I wanted to live in far away places and see exotic things.  Here I am "living the dream".

 I moved to Portland Oregon-large city, walked everywhere, saw some interesting things.

Side note the pictures of Portland and Sydney are not mind, I found them online

 Now I am living in Sydney Australia- seeing another World, walking everywhere, being amazing at how beautiful different cultures really are. So if I am living the dream then:
Why am I sad?
Why is this not really what I want?
What is wrong with me?

These are the questions I got to thinking about, then I realized...
I am NOT sad, I am missing family and friends
Sure this is not what I want but it took me coming here to figure that out. 
Nothing is WRONG with me, I am soul searching!

Sitting back looking out into the city drinking tea (that is what they do around here is drink hot tea) and thinking long and hard about what it is I really want.  Or maybe I should I say what I want next. 
Maybe it is because I am getting older or maybe it is because my mind is always wondering, whatever it is my next plan of action is slowly coming together. 
Now I know it will be a few years before I can open up my own shop, but in the mean time I want to live in a medium size city (Sydney is too big for me, so that means New York is out), a full time job in a bakery or pastry shop, have a one bedroom apartment with decent sized kitchen to practice my baking (so I will need volunteers to take the tasty treats from me), a space for me to work with my photographs, and be able to go on hikes for great photo opportunities.  Maybe that is a lot I don't really know. 

I am going to research cities in the USA and find one that suits my fancy for these needs.  Depending where it is I will probably invest in a Vespa for getting around, more than likely this new destination will not be as walkable as Portland was.

 
I will find a baker/ Pastry Chef job and that, my friends, is my ticket to the next adventure. 

The Market and Chinatown

This week I went to the Hay Market and to Chinatown.  Market City (Hay Market) is a underground huge market that feels like a flea market but it new stuff they are selling and not too many hand crafted projects.  This place was huge! 

Plus it is right there in Chinatown! 

I didn't really buy a lot just a few gifts.  Everything is WAY cheaper there too.  I will go back before I leave Sydney.  It is only open Wednesday through Sunday.  I went on a Thursday and it was still really busy!  I can only imagine how busy Saturdays and Sundays are. 
It seems like around here people don't work Saturdays or Sundays.  A lot of businesses are closed and even some train stations are not open.  Heck in Bondi Junction everything closes at 6 PM during the week and your lucky if any of those places are open on the weekends.  OK the malls are open but that is about it. 

Exploring

On a more positive note recently I have been able to explore the city a little more.  I live in the community Bondi Junction.  Sydney is HUGE so it is split up into communities just so it is easier for a cab to get you home or for you to get mail from a loved one ect.  Bondi Junction is an interesting community.  I am about a half mile to main train and bus stop, 2 huge malls, movie theatre, coffee shops, and anything else you would need is all within walking distance from my house.  Which I like!  A lot of the buildings here have that old feel to them. 

One night all the outlets in the house were not working and my laptop had died.  I wanted to at least charge it somewhere so I could chat with my family.  They have Internet places here but not free Wifi.  These are the prices to use the Internet... 

The other day I went to Bondi Beach and walked around when the sun started going down.  It was beautiful.

The moon started rising





Bondi beach is not very big which was actually very nice to see.  Not a lot going on there, I thought that was cool.