I remember the first time I tried a Chinese banquet. The first two courses came out and I was hungry so I ate my fill with both of these courses foolishly ignoring the fact that people were only trying one or two pieces of the dish. I filled up before long and then regretted my eagerness to consume when eight other courses came out in quick succession afterwards. Thus was my lesson learnt in Chinese banquets – brace yourself for an onslaught of dishes!

Tonight’s would be no exception. It was a Chinese New Year buffet organised by my uncle and his girlfriend. It was at the Souths Juniors Club in Maroubra-my uncle and father have long ago given up on competing for parking in Chinatown. As Chinese are very superstitious people, the number of 10 guests wasn’t lost on everyone and many agreed that 10 was a good number for 10 courses. We’d be dining from their Chinese New year pre-set banquet.

Prawns and Scallops

When everyone arrived, five dishes landed on the table almost instantly. One of my favourite dishes was the simple stir fried prawns and scallops with a light ginger sauce. The scallops and prawns are that wonderful soft consistency and I resist the urge to go for seconds as it’s not a huge plate and is quickly gone.

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Tetsuya Wakuda

I do have a few dreams left and many of them involve eating at spectacular restaurants around the world. One of them is located here in Sydney and it’s one that I haven’t visited in over seven years as the last time was for my 30th birthday. So I was very happy to be invited to attend a Electrolux Masterclass with Tetsuya Wakuda at his world famous restaurant Tetsuya’s. Only twelve classes are held a year and needless to say, spots are very much limited to a lucky few.  Tetsuya would be showing us how to cook some dishes and talking to us about how he likes to cook and answering any questions that we had for him. To top it all off, we’d be sitting down to one of his famous degustations, an epic 10 courses that no soul in their right mind would ever pass up. And the best part? One of you Dear Readers, have a chance to win a spot at a Masterclass including, flights, accomodation and transfers! Yes the Electrolux Tetsuya Masterclass is a “money can’t buy” event and tickets to it are not available to the general public so the only way to get to attend one is through invite only-or of course a competition like this.

The evening started with a chauffered car pick up. The driver opens the door for me (don’t you just love that?) and I get into the car and we pick up Christie and Peter on the way. We arrive along with the other bloggers invited and enter the upstairs newly fitted kitchens. We mingle with some champagne while Tetsuya and his staff are busy prepping for the evening’s class. After a short time we are ushered into the new kitchen, a stunning marble topped island with knee pad activated sinks, a sleek fridge and a shiny induction cooktop. And this would be this kitchen’s maiden voyage!

His first tip after welcoming us and confessing his nervousness is about induction saucepans. People are apparently put off from buying induction cooktops thinking that they will need to buy new saucepans but he tells us that if you place a magnet on the base of a pan and it sticks, it will be induction cooktop safe and he also mentions that 80-90% of pots made today are induction suitable.

Tetsuya and Christie

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The Kiama Blowhole

Dear Reader, I must tell you that once upon a time I almost failed year 12 Geography because I refused to go camping. For someone with hand washing O.C.D., the idea of camping is unacceptable to my fragile being. I know it won’t kill me but it would have been a miserable few days and even the threat of failing Geography didn’t stop me from opting out. Mr NQN has tried many times to convince me to go camping to no avail. It was only when I given the option of “Glamping” that I finally relented. And “what is Glamping” you may ask? It’s Glamour Camping!

The Pink Post Office!

We were taking a five day drive down the scenic coast thanks to the nice people at Sydney to Melbourne Touring. On the way we’d be stopping at various places to eat and finding quirky little places. Did I mention we’d be looking for seafood too? Oh yes seafood monster reporting for eating duty!

Kiama view

Our first stop is in Kiama. And yes there’s a pink post Office which is so Elle Woods don’t you think darlings? The blowhole isn’t spouting any water today so we stop by for some lunch at the Sebel Kiama where they’ve kindly prepared some of the items from the 1871 restaurant dinner menu for us to have at lunch.

Lobster and scampi papardelle

Serves for mains are huge as we soon learn and the papardelle ribbons are paired with a generous serve of local lobster and scampi. The sauce is thick and creamy and very rich.

Chicken breast with wild mushroom and chard fricasee and port jus

The chicken breast comes out sitting in a huge pool of creamy sauce. It’s incredibly rich although good but even Mr NQN who seemingly has a bottomless stomach for food barely finishes it. The chicken is nicely tender though and the deep fried leaves are a nice contrast to the creamy sauce. After having a quick tour of the grounds and seeing the lovely heritage listed former school building turned into a conference centre, we set off again for the picturesque area of Jervis Bay.

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