RTW Adventures of J&M

Manly Fish Market Cafe

25 South Steyne

Manly, NSW, Australia

Under the "non seafood" category on their menu board there's only one choice: some kind of chicken burger which they may have purposely made sound unappetizing. This is a sure sign that everyone comes here for seafood, especially the fish of which there were 10+ different catch of the day varieties.

Since it was raining outside, we decided to prolong lunch by ordering an appetizer (or, entree as they call it in Australia). The salt and pepper squid was extremely tender and not at all chewy. It was served with a sauce which I can only describe as a hybrid of sweet and sour and chipotle sauces.

J's main [course] of fish and chips was absolutely superb! The batter was fresh, light and crispy while the fish meat was tender, hot and juicy. I don't think I've ever had fish and chips quite like it! My grilled blue cod (one of the catches of the day) was also extremely good. It was simply seasoned, but cooked perfectly with the meat flaking off at the touch of the fork. Both mains were served with a fresh field of greens salad and very nicely fried chips.

When I come back to Sydney I will definitely be visiting this restaurant again. Yes, it's no longer a matter of "if", but "when." =)

1. Salt and pepper squid

2. Fish & chips

3. Grilled blue cod

Throw out the pop tarts and frozen waffles. The Australians are serious about their breakfast. It seems like everywhere we walk we come across cafes filled with customers sipping their expresso drinks and eating delicious-looking plates of food. Though we normally save our meal out for lunch, we couldn't resist partaking in this aspect of Australian culture. After having brunch at two different eating establishments, we decided that either of these two cafes easily tops the best Seattle brunch spots, such as Coast Kitchen, 5 Spot or Portage Bay Cafe. Those of you back in the States who lives for weekend brunch will looooove Sydney!

1. Asparagus & Fried Egg with prosciutto, parmesean and crostini

2. Baked Egg with spinach, smoked tomato and red pepper, parmesean and toasted turkish

3. Vanilla French Toast with a vanilla anglaise, grilled bananas, ham, maple syrup and an extra side of bacon.

4. Vegan breakfast with a poached egg

El Cuartito

Talcahuano 937

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Apparently, pizza is a local specialty in Buenos Aires. J and I did not know that until we started doing restaurant searches online.

When you enter El Cuartito don't let the interior intimidate you. We were so intimidated that we almost walked out. The restaurant is separated into three sections. The kitchen just happens to be the middle section, where customers walk in, with two rooms of tables on either side. There are no hosts or hostesses. Just grab a seat in either the left or right section and a waiter will be with you. During the lunch rush the waiters here work hard so it may be awhile before they get to you. However, J and I still found them polite and patient.

The first time we ate here we ate a notoriously memorable pizza - the anchovies were so salty that I could only stomach one slice. In the meanwhile, I was admiring the white fluffy pizza that everyone else seemed to be ordering. From a distance it seriously looked like banana cream or lemon meringue pie. On the way out, J asked the waiter what that pizza was. Fugazetta, we were told. We had to come back.

And, so we did go back when J's parents came to town. This was the 3rd and final restaurant we ate at a second time and we got straight to the point. A small fugazetta for 4 people was just enough and it was amazing! It's a white pizza of onions and three types of cheese - provolone, mozzarella and reggiano. This is something that I'll be trying to replicate when I get back to the States. 

La Brigada
Estados Unidos 465 (San Telmo)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
(multiple locations)

J and I went here twice. Once by ourselves at the beginning of our two week stay in Buenos Aires and once at the end of our stay with J's parents. In between we sampled many of Buenos Aires most recommended and popular "parillas" including La Cabrera and El Mirasol, which we didn't think were as good. I'd have to say our first time was much better because during our second visit we made the mistake of ordering a variety of cuts, hence magnifying the fact that some cuts are inferior to others.

Here are two quotes from J during our first visit to La Brigada:

J after his first bite of Bife de Chorizo (Sirloin Steak): "We're screeewed!"

J after his last bite of Bife de Chorizo: "I feel like I should go lift weights now."

We are screwed. We'd might as well turn vegetarian because we'll never eat steaks as good as those in Argentina ever again!

1. La Brigada storefront - if we  weren't looking for it, we would've thought it looked too sketch to go in.

2. Inside the restaurant

3. Bife de Chorizo, a punto (medium)

4. The bill (top to bottom) - 2X table fee, 2X bottles of local beer, 1X bottle of water, 1X garlic fries, 2X best steaks we've ever had in our entire lives = 35 USD

Dim sum at Asia Palace. I woke up today and wanted dim sum. It's kinda nutty, if you think about it - we'll be in Boston in less than 4 days. However, J humored me. After consulting Chowhound, I led the two of us over to the Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement. I put my confidence on a thread that had a huge side discussion on where to get some sort of Asian black beans that no one seemed to be able to find. (When I looked for Beef Noodle Soup in Vancouver, I trusted the thread that had a heated discussion on which of two eating establishments served the best hand-made noodle with the soup.) Unfortunately, it was somewhat of a pricey (by Chinese standards) dud. The Su Mai and Fried Turnip Cake were merely acceptable and but the Shrimp Chang-Fen and BBQ Pork Buns were definitely sub-par.

Opera at Palais Garnier. After lunch, I wanted to go to the Louvre and Champ Elysees areas. I haven't seen the Tuileries Garden and wanted to window shop the famous street on the last weekend day before Christmas. Our walk from the metro to my targeted area led us by the famed "rich man's" opera house - the Palais Garnier. At first, J just wanted to snap pictures from afar, but we spontaneously decided to buy some cheap tickets from a scalper. The opera was Fidelio and the start time was 15 minutes ago. Our seats were pretty bad and I learned that I find watching the orchestra more interesting than watching the stage performance (the conductor was so intense that I thought he was going  to have a heart attack), but it was a pretty awesome experience. For example, the French are so serious about having no interruptions after the show has started that we were asked to stand for the remainder of the 1st act (1 hr 35 min) in the back of our section. In fact, doors to the seat box can only be opened from the hallway by the ushers with a special key! In Act 2 we found that standing wasn't so bad because there were so many bad seats in the balcony section that a large percentage of the ticket holders opted to stand through the performance, even if it was at the expense of other patrons behind them! In contrast to the poor stage visibility, the sound was absolutely amazing. We could hear every single word so clearly! On our way out after the opera, we picked up a performance schedule for the Palais Garnier and was surprised to find out that we just attended the final performance of Fidelio! The continuous clapping, hugging of the cast and crew on stage and three curtain calls suddenly all made sense!

Dessert at Laduree. I knew of this place only as "the shop where that Frenchman we met at lunch recommended to get the best macarons in Paris." I didn't know of its name until we got there (J knew but never mentioned the name) and realized that it's the same place our friend Kelly told us to go just yesterday! The place was a mad house for take-away so we opted to sit in their cafe. We enjoyed 3 types of macarons, a cafe creme (close to a latte) and a pot of tea (J was actually trying to order cold milk, but got tea instead). The macarons were heavenly. A little sweet, but it melts in your mouth. For the next hour we nibbled on these delicate and absurdly expensive desserts, sipped our hot beverages, and exchanged ideas on what we thought was the storyline of the opera. You see, the entire thing was sung in German and subtitled in French. We had to make up a story in our heads based on the minimal physical movements of the performers,  the emotions of their singing and whatever French words that look English or have recognizable Latin roots. We got the main idea - a tyrannical warden who has it in for a certain prisoner who's lover has disguised herself to get into prison to help her prisoner lover escape.

Dinner at Quick Burger. After our stop at Laduree, we continued to the Champ Elysees via Place de la Concorde. The entire avenue was flooded with Christmas shoppers. Our stroll brought us past a Quick Burger, a fast food joint that J's been wanting to try since we first saw it in Barcelona. Since we only have 3 days left in Paris we decided to eat dinner there. J had their VIB (very important burger) burger meal, and I got 5 fried chicken wings. Tasty, but McDonald's is still my preferred fast food restaurant. J's curiosity was finally satisfied.

As we headed home on the metro, I realized that today had the makings of a pretty romantic date! Well, at least the middle part of it. A date in Paris! Who gets to do that?! =)

1. Asia Palace place setting
2. Palais Garnier
3. Foyer of the Palais Garnier from ground level
4. Foyer of the Palais Garnier from the 2nd floor
5. The door to our seat box. Notice the lack of a door handle.
6. Stage and orchestra pit
7. Center balcony - all good views
8. Side balcony opposite our seats. You can see that each seat box is comprised of 6 seats arranged in 2 x 3 row configuration. 1st row are the only decent seats.
9. The view from our seats
10. Laduree storefront
11. The ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde
12. Christmas shoppers on the Champ Elysees.
13. Our meal at Quick Burger.

Current Location: Paris, France