My trip to visit Sam in Australia was a blast and I can't thank her enough for letting me come stay with her! It turned out to be the perfect time of year to visit because we had great weather and it wasn't the peak of tourist season. Plus her place was right on Bondi Beach so it was an awesome location.
On my first morning run along the Bondi Beach boardwalk
Bondi
Still Bondi…. hard to stop taking pictures it was so pretty
Watching the sunset on "the hill" in Bondi
Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge
Closeup of the Opera House
Visiting Sam at the office!
Best parts about the Google office: tire swing in the lobby, razor scooters to get from
building to building, a pool table, awesome snack/coffee bar, across the
street from a casino, and the best salad bar I've ever come across.
Thumbs up, Google!
We all know how much I love casinos so you can imagine how much time I spent here...
Another favorite spot in the city: The Sydney Fish Market!
The freshest and cheapest sashimi I've ever had. Amazing!
Apparently Australians are jumping on the speakeasy hipster trend too!
Baxter Inn
Awesome view of the city at sunset from a friend's rooftop
Bondi farmer's market
On the ferry heading to Manly for surf school!
Manly
Pre-surfing lunch of champions: Pumpkin, bacon, and spinach risotto! YUM!
Suited up and ready for our lesson!
Success! We survived!
hike around Manly
Picking out some snacks for the ferry ride back to Sydney
Night Noodle Market!!
I quickly learned that Sydney is an Asian food mecca and I had some of the
best Asian food I've ever tried before.
This was such an awesome event because they had about 25 of the best Asian restaurants
in the city come to the festival and serve a few dishes from their menus.
We tried 5-6 different restaurants; everything was
delicious and it was such a festive environment.
Another highlight was meeting a new friend from Madagascar!
So many dumplings!
Dumplings, steamed buns, and scallion pancakes
Din Tai Fung!
This guy was amazing
The finished product
Dinner in Bondi at The Hill
The best Mussaka I've ever had and a nice Greek salad
Roasted baby carrots, beets, goat cheese, and quinoa
On a walk through Paddington (my second favorite neighborhood after Bondi)
Darling Haurbor at night
So great to see Seafarer friends in Sydney!! Maria and Danielle took me to Pancakes on the Rocks and gave me the royal Aussie treatment!
Mr. Wong's for lunch!
I loved this lunch because I felt like I was sitting in the middle of the kitchen and it was 1:45pm on a weekday so there was hardly anyone there. I was able to talk with the line cooks throughout the whole meal and I ended up staying till almost 4pm.
Front row seat to see all the action
Steamed BBQ pork buns (the bun was super fluffy and the BBQ filling was
salty, rich, and delicious- great combo!)
Scallop and shrimp shumai topped with tobiko (these were super light, the wrapper had a great texture, and the filling was very tasty and had a great consistency. The tobiko added a great pop and change in consistency)
Stir fried Shanghai noodles with crabmeat, leek, XO sauce, and tobiko.
The line cook at the station near my seat told me this dutch oven was the owner's pride and joy. They are known for their peking duck.
Peking duck spring rolls- AMAZING!!
The entire meal was incredible and it had the perfect ending with this fried ice cream dessert! The prep cook explained that they made it by taking a large ball of ice cream, rolling it in a panko and coconut mixture, frying it, and then putting it in a pool of caramel sauce. I was so full from lunch but I think I could have eaten a second one of these they were so good! I am now on a mission to find anywhere here in the States that can replicate this.
Please report back if you find somewhere that does! :)
Windy day at Bondi
Trivia night at one of Sam's neighborhood bars
Another gorgeous day in Sydney!
Gozleme- Turkish version of a crepe!
Darling Harbour
Fish flakes on the top of my sushi. They were still moving….
The alleyway in front of Mr. Wong's. It reminded me of something out of Harry Potter.
Fish and chips dinner and my last night in Sydney.
Sam, thanks for being such a great host and for showing me all of the wonderful parts of Sydney! I am jealous that you're still there enjoying the cheap sushi, great Asian food, and perfect surfing conditions. Until next time, Oz….
Wow! 'Nuff said!
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