{Travelicious Bits} Which kind of photographer are you?

My mummy is definitely a Jazz Hand-Hahha and it just crack me up always!

{ Sydney Bits } ✈ Sydney's Major Economic Activity Coal Mining

as part of the Blue Mountain tour package, we visited the Katoomba Coal Mine 1878 n the Blue Mountain National Park. Mining is a dangerous profession as you can imagine,  fire + cave + long hours. 

we were told by the tour guide that the export of coal to fuel China's rapid economic progress also helps them to tide over the recent economical crisis 2007-2012, or rather economical crisis did not hit Australia due to the burgeoning coal demand from China *stats at the end. 

because of the huge demand  + shortage of  miners,  even young fit female miners are enticed to join the mining workforce.  heehee real coal in my hands!

generally, a miner could pocket AUS$3000 for 3 days of  work. so there's a pool of manpower who is referred as 'Fly-In Fly-Out' - fly into Australia and work over the weekend and fly back to their country and fly back in the next week on a cycle 

here, you can take a peep into the grotto.

mining tools on display

now I know why this isolated country has a strong economy despite the lack of a strategic trading port or sort - the bloodline of the economy lies in the bountiful coal :D

*China-->Australia  FDI 2004-2010: $6.97 billion source

China is Australia’s top trading partner. Chinese appetite for the country’s natural resources has made Australia one of the biggest recipients of Chinese foreign investment.

China’s FDI in Australia increased significantly after 2007. Net FDI from China doubled from $531.6 million in 2007 to $1.9 billion in 2008. Despite the global financial crisis, Australia saw another $2.4 billion in FDI from China in 2009. That same year, the Australia government changed its investment rules to limit Chinese investments in local mining companies, according to confidential U.S. embassy cables leaked by Wikileaks. The move came after China’s state-owned Chinalco was denied an 18 percent acquisition in mining giant Rio Tinto for $19.5 billion.

{Travelicious bits} Photograpghy Cheat Sheet!

{ Sydney Bits } ✈ Sydney Supermarket Self Check-outs

{ Sydney Bits } ✈ My Sydney Fav Bites / Grill'd Burger /Coles Potato Chips/ Queensland Prawns / Blackbird Cafe Pizza and Kangaroo Meat/ Handmade Yogurt

so Im gonna give a special Shoutout to my Fav top 3 bites!

#1 Grill'd Burger AUS$8.90-14.90 

so AWESOME that it deserves a collage✌ 

If LA has got in-n-out burger, Sydney has got Grill'd Burger! The meat patty is so satisfying, juicy and tender that even takeaway taste superb.Combine with generous amount of fresh and rich veggies like avocado, rocket, onion and more makes this the IT BURGER. luv luv the onions, yum! even the burp taste yum seriously! heehee.

Lotsa choices here including Veggie Burgers and they have cute names that makes you drool and feel more powerful like Almighty/ Summer Sunset/ Baa Baa Lamb! My fav has gotta be the BEEF & LAMB! awww MEAT-grass fed!! and i cant get enough of Summer Sunset-Grilled grass fed lean beef, avocado, crispy trim bacon, golden pineapple, salad, relish & herbed mayo copied from their online menu here. I thought its like the Hawaiian for pizza, really hard to resist the playful refreshing fruity flavor to it esp with avocado + golden pineapple. could totally picture myself in an ombre beach dress playing ukulele in a hammock between two tall coconut trees.

AWW!! besides the plethora of meat/flavour choices, we get to choose from 2 kinds of bun for the burger. 1) Traiditonal wholemeal burger bun with roasted sesame seed or 2) PANINI- the one im holding in the collage and this is LOVE . The burgers are as big as my face, too big to eat in glam so i requested them to in halves.

Anyway I have to share how we got into eating here as it was quite a magical experience! So we touched down on 25/7, checked in at darling habour and when the sky turned dark we found ourselves so hungry and desperate for heavy eats. We went to the STAR as we were told there are marvellous eating options but nothing impressive caught our attention and so we head back to Sheraton Fourpoints thinking we will try our luck on the way back and see if there's anything!

and lucky us, we spotted Grill'd burger and gambled that it must be a good choice because its burger, and we were craving for substantial feeds spelt M.E.A.T! The decor was really inviting, its casual, fun and upbeat with young crowd and there were red balloons at the entrance. Seems like there's a party going on and sure it was. Their 2nd Birthday and burgers that  night was 1-for -1 til 2Aug! Tourist luck, at McDonald's price we get premium burgers. getting hungry as i typed this even now! and so with the promo, we ordered 2 for dine in and 2 for takeaway as supper back in the hotel! We had Simply Grill'd, Baa Baa Lamb, Cripsy Bacon and Cheese and Back Bar Steak Sandwhich and we came back for more before the night of our departure for Summer Sunset, Goat Cheese and Hummus, Almighty and Tuscan delight- a chicken burger that was recommend for spicy lovers but I didnt like it as much as the beef ones.

Verdict: Simply Grill'd for a classic no frills Beef Burger / Summer Sunset for the bohemian you / Back Bar Steak Sandwhich if you are feeling to slurge a lil / Baa Baa Lamb for the non spicy flavourful lamb taste with richness of avocado!


#2 Black Bird Cafe Indiana Pizza AUS$24.90
tandoori chicken, shallots, onions, capsicum topped w. cucumber yoghurt pasted from their menu here.  I fall in love with adding cucumber to yogurt, as a dip  such blissful taste! This pizza is really awesome, the thin pan crust, yummmy indian/mexican flavours and to die for dip! omg, im so glad we ordered this :D It's hard to miss this if you are at Black Bird as this is their must-try pizza, highly recommended by staff too.


#3 Seafood @ Sydney Fish Market & Four Points by Sheraton Seafood Buffet
FIND SOMETIME TO VISIT THE SYDNEY FISH MARKET or GO FOR A SEAFOOD BUFFET. BOTTOMLINE Y'GOTTA GET YA HANDS ON THE SEAFOOD WHEN Y'ALL IN SYDNEY!FOR SEADFOOD LOVERS, DON'T MISS THESE!!!

#3.1 QUEENSLAND LARGE KING PRAWNS De Costi Seafood AUS$23.99/kg

many seafood mongers at Sydney Fish Market, but get the freshest Queensland Prawns here! 

De Costi has got the widest selection of prawns with a Prawn Bar, and all of them look so fresh!

this is biggest-  Extra Large Queensland Tiger Prawn

but the Large ones are good enough! I brought some back to Singapore on the last day and they still taste so heavenly after 8 hours of flight.  It's so fresh that you cant imagine til you eat it!! Succulent sweetness of the prawn with the taste of the carefree blue ocean, so good on its own. This raises the bar a notch too high that even the prawns served in Singapore 5 star hotels pales in every shades, haha!

and next, the usual suspect! 

#3.2 ROCK OYSTER Christie's Seafood AUS$13-14/dozen

I got mine from Christie's Seafood as there are dining area so we can sit and savour. There are a few selection for the oyster, I cant remember the name of the ones I got but its the ones displayed in the middle AUS$13-14.  hmm Im still in the midst of sorting out the photos, I believe I took the photos of the oysters selection at Christie- will post it when I finds it.  If you're not sure what to get,don't be shy to ask for help :)

Here's the Christie Staff shucking the Oysters

or You can get Oysters from De Costi, but there are no dining area here. 

the oyster selection over at De Costi

I will do a separate post on the Sydney Fish Market but Im gonna post 2 more seafood recommendation at Christie's Seafood.

#3.3 SASHIMI

Get all 3 kinds - Salmon. King Swordtail Fish , Yellow Fin Tuna 

#3.4 ALASKA CRAB

this is a dream come true for Crab lovers, affordable and fresh!

 #3.5  SEAFOOD BUFFET Four Points Sheraton Hotel AUS$45/pax

more pictures coming soon!

{ Sydney Bits } ✈ Sydney Aussie Slang

I guess most of us are familiar with no worries / mate / g'day but I was puzzled when I got a "see ya later" from the cashier/salesperson upon my purchase.

Cashier: Thank you very much .See ya later! (big smiles)

Me: thank you! ( big smile back + huh did we agree to meet later?later..??Hahha are we friends now...???walk out still puzzled )

Seriously I thought we did have an agreement which I may not be aware. In any case, it's just my ignorant wish and truth to be told it actually meant See You Again/Around kinda thing. It sure provided solidarity for a moment. Aussies are really very positive people as also reflected in their slang.

A pleasant culture shock Haha!

{Sydney Bits } ✈ Sydney Trading Hours

So I found out that in Sydney, opening/trading hours differ daily and usually shops close later on Thursdays because Thurs is paycheck day!

Haigh's Chocolate trading hours below for a gist.