Sydney Day 4

Today we take the train to Chatswood for lunch. When we lived across the street in Chatswood, every Thursday evening we dined at various stalls of the street market. The market now operates from 9a to 9p, Thursday through Saturday. Two trains deliver us to Chatswood.

Each of us picks a different cuisine and stall for lunch.

Dinner in the concierge lounge again.

Sydney Day 3

It is raining. We take two trams to the Sydney Fish Market to have lunch. It is overrun with Asian locals and tourists.

We last visited here in 2007 and had a very good lunch. Lunch is disappointing. Baby octopus is chewy, fried selections similar. These are whole baby octopus.

After lunch we tour the market.

Giant crabs.

The rain suspends plans for further exploring and we retreat to the concierge lounge for dinner.

Sydney Day 2

Pam and Randy arrive at the hotel in the morning. Fortunately, Randy's Marriott status gives him access to the concierge lounge. They join us for breakfast.

They decide to take a familiarization walk about. Only minutes in Oz and already speaking Aussie!

You can pay a lot for harbor cruise or you can take the public ferry to Manley and see the same stuff. The ferries depart from Circular Quay (key). The walk from the hotel is two blocks.

The first point of interest is the naval base. HMAS Sydney (DDG 42), one of the Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD) that CJ helped design is in port along with their two amphibious assault carriers.

We have fantastic weather for the cruise.

In Manley, Randy discovers a brew pub.

The highlight of the return trip are good views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

By chance, we get a good picture of the 'tall ship' we'll be on later in the visit.

A return to the concierge lounge for happy hour serves as a free dinner with drinks.

Sydney Day 1

We are off to Sydney to rendezvous with Carol's sister Pam and husband Randy. We have a good room with a view of Sydney's famous opera house, Sydney harbour, and the roofs of interesting condo buildings.

Our first evening, we dine at a French restaurant and are surprised to be able to enjoy a jazz trio.

Singapore Day 4 - Surprise Program Addition

Brekkie at the Rise buffet has always been a highlight of a stay at the Marina Bay Sands. CJ is into turning ordinary chicken soup into a killer Thai breakfast. How often do you see a red broth chicken soup? His concoction is not for the faint of heart or any other body part.

Rise has a magnificent international buffet.

CJ has discovered he can attend the sake festival by purchasing tickets at the door.

CJ is standing in line waiting for a tasting position to open when someone taps him on the back. Who could possibly know CJ in Singapore? 

It is Sammy, the sommelier from Wakuda!

Uber doesn't work in Singapore. They have something similar called Grab. Unable to hail a taxi, CJ uses Grab for the first time to return to MBS.

This evening dinner is the buffet at Rise. We were called to it by the stand of Boston lobsters and opened lobster claws on display our first afternoon. Disappointment sets in from the beginning. Although the food displays are magnificent, the seafood is overcooked with much of it tough to eat. On arrival there are no Boston lobsters. We are done when they arrive. We try one and are disappointed.

This evening, we join James (the bartender) and Miyabi (the female sake sommelier) at Wakuda for after dinner drinks. Front and center in their bar are two tequilas. We have both at home: Don Julio 1942 anejo and Classe Azul reposado.

 

Singapore Day 6

Gardens By The Bay is the beautiful area adjacent to Marina Bay Sands. Our room looks down on the 130-acre Bay South Garden. The MBS casino, shops, restaurant, and entertainment complex is separated from the hotel by a road. There is a sky bridge and underground passages between the two. Likewise, the hotel is separated from GBTB by the terminus of the airport road. There is a sky bridge from the sixth floor of the hotel to GBTB.

We walked into the gardens over the skybridge.

We descend to garden level where the lake complex begins.

We take a short shuttle ride to the conservatory complex where the two large pavilions (Flower Dome and Cloud Forrest) are located.

There are good views of MBS from the gardens.

Dinner this evening is a two Michelin starred Wagu Ghin. We share five al la carte selections. The first two are a lobster roll with shaved black truffle and sea urchin over rice.

This is a Tartare of Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Hokkaido Scallop and Oscietra Caviar. We nominate it the best single morsel we've ever eaten! It doesn't look like much but WOW!

This is the restaurant's signature dish. It is Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Caviar. You mix it up and dive into what little there is. It's incredible but not as good as the one above.

CJ wondered what the men at the Tokyo tuna market were assessing in their 5am pre-auction assessments. After all, isn't tuna just tuna. Now he knows. This is the best tuna sashimi we've ever had by a country mile. There is no second place!

We pass by Wakuda to say goodbye to the friends we've made. Sammy Boy shows CJ the sake cellar. CJ comes out more impressed by the quality of wines. La Tache and Grand Echexeux from DRC tops the list. They even have three different bottles from that top producer we enjoyed outside of Tokyo.

This is our going away photo. James and Mia on the left, Sammy Boy on the right.

See you in Fiji in September!