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Fri 23 July

5-course meal and dessert by Chef Byron

Tonight I had a small "post-French students reunion" dinner with Melody and Byron (and J) at Byron's place in Kensington. It was also a farewell dinner for B as he was only two weeks away from a 2-year stint in Paris studying at Le Cordon Bleu, the famous culinary school.

It was fascinating to see B cooking - the kitchen was filled with pots and pans and dishes and bowls, but it was all under control (with all of us helping out on the easy bits) and the results said it all.

Dinner was delicious! We started with dumplings in soup, followed by raw beef salad ("yook-hwe" in Korean), then roast duck and finally beef steaks in a creamy mushroom and onion sauce with rice, with oysters throughout the meal. Dessert was a very professional looking and yummy tiramisu style cake, also made by Byron. To top it off, Mel had bought some tasty pastries from a shop in Surry Hills which we also enjoyed.

The conversation was good fun, and we were entertained with plenty of Korean pop songs and music videos throughout the evening. I was so happy to be seeing my French-class uni friends again - when I think about it, it's probably been close to 12 months since I'd seen them last, if not longer.

Sat 24 July

Lebanese banquet at Al Aseel

J and I had a pleasantly long walk to Al Aseel in Surry Hills for a dinner with Dave and Rebecca. It was my first time meeting them, and as far as my memory goes it was also the first time I'd been to a Lebanese restaurant. Funnily enough we also bumped into Byron on the way, who was running late to a karaoke date with friends. We were running late too, so we said a quick hello and parted ways.

The food was great - we had all kinds of dips, meats, felafels and salads. I don't remember any of the names, but the tabouleh and fattoush salads were quite tasty. There was so much on the table that even with a combined effort we weren't able to finish all the dishes. We definitely gave it a good try though - I knew there was a reason I didn't want to wear a belt tonight!

It was a night of good food and good company, just like Friday night, but different. There was even a belly dancer performing throughout the restaurant!

After dinner I also had a chance to meet Dani at the Sanctuary Hotel... well almost. There was a huge queue outside and of course there was no way I'd be getting into the venue. Sadly they wouldn't let out Dani either, so we had a phone conversation whilst waving and laughing at each other through the glass wall. Shortly after we'd started chatting on the phone, a bouncer rudely told us to line up or keep moving, so I waved goodbye to Dani while still being on the phone. That was a strange feeling, but despite the distance it was great to see her again.

Sun 25 July

Glorious dumplings and desserts at Din Tai Fung

Friday was a dinner with my friends, Saturday was a dinner with his friends, and tonight was a dinner with unknown friends. By this, I mean that we were seated at a round table with various other customers because the restaurant was so busy.

The walk in the rain was worth it. J and I had dumplings, a spicy wonton noodle soup and tasty hot desserts to finish off what had strangely become a very food-focused weekend. (To backtrack a little, we'd also had lunch at Baia earlier today where we sat outside and did a bit of seagull-, toddler- and people-spotting.)

The golden taro bread was as good as I remembered it. I feel lucky to have been to Din Tai Fung twice in the space of a couple of months. Maybe it's because of the constantly long queues, or maybe it's the efficient service of the bustling waiters and waitresses, but it feels like a special treat to be at the restaurant.