First we tried the Imax but the movies all had icky starting times so then we tried George St. but there was nothing on there that we wanted to see.

This is already beginning to sound like The Three Bears… and Juliet is blond. Does that make her Goldilocks? 

Anyway, so we headed back to her car parked around the back of Darling Harbour and as we headed towards Darlinghurst thinking of one of the Palace cinemas, we got a call from Wendell. Back to town we went picking up the fashion photographer and heading to dinner somewhere else.

I love this photo I shot of Juliet talking to Wendell. Such colour… such… wait– did I just get a colour shot?!

This is the story of that dinner.  (Okay, it's not really a story… it's a post.)

Juliet parked the car on one of the side streets near Five Ways. By park, I mean that Wendell and I got out while we sort of pushed the car into a position so it wouldn't misbehave. Aren't Wendell and I strong? Super-strong!

Anyway, by now I was hungry. After only having breakfast this morning and a slice of pizza of Tim's while my co-workers and I were drinking, I was pretty hungry.

Wendell suggested we go to this little cafeteria sort of place. It wasn't very good and we more or less walked out as fast as we walked in.

Next to it, though, was Christo's.

Wendell & I discussing while drinking. Juliet shot this while I post-processed it. Click it for a bigger one!

When Wendell & I used to work at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, I can remember going by on the bus or walking by Christo's wondering what it was like. It wasn't that I never had the money to go there: it's an Italian place and it's not really really upmarket. It was more that I had no one to go with. 

Tonight I did. Tonight I was dining with Juliet Bennett and Wendell Teodoro.

Juliet at Christo's. I shot this picture. 

We sat down outside and had a look through the menu. After deciding on a prosciutto & bocconcini pizza for me, a spaghetti bolognese for Wendell, and a 2006 Willow Estate Cabernet Merlot for the table, we tucked into the conversation.

And then a few minutes later, the food.

I ordered the pizza…

…while Wendell ordered the pasta. Or spaghetti bolognese in this case.

And then the conversation which went on for quite a while.

We spoke about religion and quantum mechanics. We spoke about politics and women. We talked photography and models and how everyone was, and at one point one of the guys sitting next to me on another table asked me if I was using a D300.

I replied "yes" and he asked me how I was finding it. I told him that I reviewed it (which I haven't finished writing yet) and that I loved it so much, I went out and bought it.

His friend said that was about as good as it gets. He's probably right.

Juliet when she laughs that beautiful laugh. I think this was shot by Wendell Teodoro.

The night continued as Wendell & I shot photos of Juliet and Juliet shot photos of Wendell & I. There was conversation, conversation, conversation, and it was all over a really nice drop of red.

And it was a nice drop. I even messaged Stubbsy to tell him of it.

Shot by Juliet Bennett. 

At one point, the conversation became so engrossed in religion that I switched over to playing God of War on the PSP. I got about ten more minutes into the game and then went back to being semi-social while I let the salty freshness of the pink prosciutto make its way through my mouth.

The food was excellent. Well the pizza was anyway.

I didn't try Wendell's spaghetti but my bocconcini & prosciutto with rocket-on-top pizza was excellent. It had fantastic dough baked to perfection and was simply excellent.

It really was a nice drop of red. I was sort of paying attention to Wendell but more paying attention to the final drops as the wine dripped out. Shot by Juliet Bennett & processed by me. 

I wish I could tell you of the conversation we had. Of the points about religion and happiness, of security and safety. Of so many technological and communication points I could make and probably did.

Unfortunately like most good conversations, it's one of those things that you just had to be there for.

Okay. I got this photo. Credit to me!

Next time you need some intelligent and stimulating conversation, you could always go out on a date with me. I'm good for it.

The problem with discussions (and arguments) over quantum mechanics is that neither of us – being photographers – will probably be right. I think I was more right in this case, though. Regardless, image shot by Juliet Bennett & post-processed by me. 

More pictures below:

First we have a serious-y photo of Juliet shot by me…

…followed by a less seriously and more giggly, happy picture shot by Wendell Teodoro.

Juliet managed to capture us perfectly. Wendell is… well, Wendell… and I'm slightly blurry. Just like in real life. Shot by Juliet Bennett, processed by me.

Don't ever let anyone tell you I'm not a dreamer. Not like they would in the first place. Unless they hated me or something. Shot by Juliet Bennett, processed by me. 

I initially was more of a "naaaaahhhh, I'll just wait to go out with my friends by playing video games at the office," but then something in my mind ticked over and said "Leigh, you're being a douchebag. These people actually want to drink with you. It's not just a load of crap."

So I agreed and as they waited for me downstairs, I packed all my crap up and then joined them.

And then we all headed in a great big packed train off to Jackson's on George for drinking, random conversations about Jennifer Hawkins, the occasional yelling at the fuckwits across the road walking to a party and dressed like the douchebag Corey, and all manner of things.

And yes, I took pictures.

Click the "to be continued" thing (it's called a "jump") to see them. And if you want to hear my occasional blurb on my thoughts during the drinking. If you're into that.

Laura and her beer. Never tear a woman from her brewskie. Shit, did I just say brewskie? *shutter* 

Nat won't give me a straight face. Must be the booze. Or Nat. One of them.

I know. I'll get a shot of Nat when she's not paying any attention…  right about… now…

There we go! Natttttttttttttttttttttt… with out the extra t's.

Timmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Without the extra m's. Unless you're into that sort of shit. 

When I'm sitting there drinking with people, I notice that most people chat and have fun… socialising without Facebook and doing it good and proper somewhere where they can all have fun. 

I, for the most part, tend to shut up because I don't really have anything to say and I usually won't talk until I do. It's just the way I am, I guess. I'm random and eccentric but social situations aren't something I know how to handle. That and girls. Completely clueless on those things.

I only stayed about an hour or so before heading off to Darling Harbour to meet with Juliet where we were gonna go bowling at some ultraviolet lanes or something. It didn't quite turn out like that but you'll see why in the next post.

The Jewish Santa that is, or so say some of the models from Thursday nights' outing.

“Ah yes,” you say. “Leigh must have something slightly more interesting to talk about other than him being sick or trying out a new gadget. Maybe this is one of those entries that someone other than me might be interested in.”

And then you'd quickly ask “Is there any nudity?” To which I'd reply… “no”. Followed by “I wish”.

The reason “I wish” is because tonight saw me as the plus-one of Wendell Teodoro at the Chadwick… thingy. Seriously, I don't know what it was. It was a party of some kind with some element of free booze with lots of beautiful women (and if you were so male inclined, probably beautiful men… who were gay).

Okay… I'm going to try to remember names here… from the left… Emma (on the bottom), Amanda (?!) on the top, then Wendell and then… Pip!

Yes, it was one of those parties I occasionally frequent although to be honest, I have no idea why I go. It's bloody obvious I'm the outsider.

I don't dress brilliantly. I don't smell of some flashy brand of perfume (though I do have them). I can't make sitting on the edge of a tacky leather “couch” look cool. I carry a camera bag. I'm really, really honest. And, oh, I wear a hat. This time a Santa hat. The same sort of my new Christmas-y logo is wearing off there to the right (unless you're reading this and it's not Christmas in which case that comment means completely nothing).

But all of that was irrelevant as tonight was Chadwick's Christmas thingy. Or I suspect it was a Christmas thing. I mean there were red drinks and… tinsel… and drunk people… and short of a revival of those “Bloody Mary” mirror horror stories, that reads as Christmas all over it. Sure, no one else was wearing a Santa hat and I didn't see any reindeer… but what other reason do people host a party in December?

Maybe the tinsel was all in my head.

I can't remember. So many drinks later, I still wasn't drunk… because, well, that's how I am… and Wendell was. I was giving him mints to placate his restless stomach that probably would have relieved itself right there and then on anything.

A very drunk Wendell and a very sexy Karla.

Ah yes, the evening. Of course. I hate getting off-topic and yet I do it so frequently.

So the evening was mainly a party. There were no speeches, no random people telling you to get bent, no bad attitudes… just lots of people having fun while the occasional police brigade walked through checking for minors.

I don't remember the progress of the night per se. What I do remember, however, is the people.

One of the things that I'm finding from being a writer is that I seem to be developing a sharper and keener ability to memorise places, feelings, and events.

The view of Kings Cross from the balcony. I was probably the only one to pay attention to that. I should probably pay more attention to the women next time. Ahhh… the women.

As a result, I can tell you that the floor overlooking what's practically the entrance to The Cross was a maze of hardwood floors and people. Red and yellow paper-styled vase lights echoing from the seventies shone from the ceiling and creating a relaxing dim light that bathed the entire bar. The couches and chairs were trendy, practically shadowing the feeling of the lights while the DJ's area bounced black lights off of disco balls in what seemed a nod to the seventies.

The DJ seemed to be enjoying himself enough to play through the seventies, eighties, and the nineties giving a packed & drunk audience exactly what they needed to propel themselves forward before the alcohol made them lose ground and fall backwards. The DJ didn't seem to mind. For half the night, he was lost in his own little black-light-lit world as the floors remained as barren as the bride of Frankenstein.

Emma and Lucy (with the head-band-y thing). What's so crap about this image is it's the only image I have of Emma & Lucy together. Here's hoping my memory can keep me going for how gorgeous Lucy is cause it's the only shot I have of her from the night, sadly.

I met Emma & Lucy early in the night. They're beautiful (which is a line you're likely to see quite frequently in this blog entry… someone fetch me a thesaurus!!!). Emma has model looks while Lucy is more of a natural the-girl-who's-your-friend beautiful… which is of course excellent and magnificent. As a result, they're both stunning and I don't think I've ever found the Kiwi accent so bloody sexy.

Grrr… "six" and "chip" and stuff. Mrowwwww!!!… and more stuff.

At one point, we had to help Lauren get in as she was having troubles so Wendell and I stood in front of the elevator for no apparent reason. As people passed by and tried to weave their way around us, we waited like two pigeons expecting that the biggest crumb was just going to magically appear before our eyes.

You know… one of these days, these ridiculous metaphors that I come up with are just going to come to life and then we're all doomed. Can you imagine two pigeons waiting for a giant crumb? What if the giant crumb could talk?! Anyway, onto the next picture.

Emma as candlelight bounces off of her face…

Emma again with more candlelight and the soft glow of streetlights behind her as she sipped champagne amidst the warmth of the party…

Now people who know me know that I've done a little bit of digital operation work. What that means is I sat behind a computer on fashion shoots and made sure stuff was in focus, cameras worked, and that images generally looked good while they were being shot. It's a relatively simple job (for me) and I quite enjoyed it.

One of my early jobs had me working as the Operator for a photographer out of New York named Gregory Kramer. The shoot in question was some sort of Sass & Bide shoot… I don't know who they are. Fashion label of sorts. Anyway, there's was a gorgeous model named Karla (maybe it's spelled with a C… probably is… I'll just use the "K" until I can be bothered to dig around Chadwick's site and find out for sure) who was being used. She was amazing and seemed quite perceptive. She was from New Zealand and was learning photography at the time. This would have been about a year to a year-and-a-half ago.

Guess who was there?

KARLA!!! (And a guy who looked like he may have been her boyfriend… a golfer or something…)

In fact, there was an entire entourage of New Zealand people. When you've just been re-introduced to how sexy the Kiwi accent can be, having an entourage of New Zealanders makes things interesting. Luckily for me, the entourage was mostly men so it wasn't that big o
f an issue. But imagine if they were all women… I'd have never been able to escape with my life (oh if only I were that lucky)!

Wendell Teodoro in black & white. I don't think I've ever used my signature moody black & white style for a portrait of Wendell yet, or before this anyway. Well… now I have!

By the way, I feel I have an obligation to comment on the state of a few important issues as a result of this party.

One is the definition of the word "beautiful" which is — for all intents and purposes — primarily useless when practically everyone around you is, in fact, beautiful.

Your vocabulary actually starts to develop penis envy for anyone that can swing a hammer and say something other than that specific word "beautiful". I feel that if I'm going to an event like a model party, I should probably come equipped with a thesaurus because really, "beautiful" just doesn't cut it. I mean look at some of the words thesaurus dot com spits out when I stick that word in:

• alluring
• angelic
• bewitching
• cute
• dazzling
• delicate
• divine
• enticing
• exquisite
• foxy
• gorgeous
• magnificent
• pretty
• pulchritudinous
• radiant
• ravishing
• resplendent
• sightly
• stunning
• sublime
• superb

I think I used "gorgeous", "beautiful", "stunning" and "brilliant" throughout the night. I use "brilliant" a lot actually.

Mind you, any of those could work to describe these beautiful girls! Shit… I used that word again. I really need to start paying attention to my own writings.

Then there's the other issue: height. 

Without playing the pun, height is a big issue especially when you're talking about people who happen to be err… umm… quite tall.

It's not that it makes you feel small. No, it's not that. Doesn't make you feel like any less of a person either. It's just a little… strange… to realise that you're actually in the minority and that you're walking around with really tall people.  People that you look up to… in a manner of speaking.

I happen to like tall girls. Girls taller than me.

You just can't help but feel like an Oompa Loompa at times. An Oompa Loompa without a song. 

Zoe.

Anyway, continuing on from those "important" issues.

At one point throughout the evening (I think it was as Wendell and I were getting some drinks), we saw Zoe Loveland, a girl I've had the pleasure of seeing in a photo shoot before when I was working as an Operator for James Cant.

She didn't seem to notice Wendell or myself. Oh well.

Emily hugs a drunk and now blind Wendell.

Emily did though, and that's much better. Very down to earth girl. Fantastic bubbling personality and sexy as all hell to boot.

Emily is one of those people that you'd probably find it impossible to hate. Or I guess you could, but you probably would have to have your heart ravaged by wild dogs with vicious attitudes and razor sharp teeth. But we're not talking about wild dogs here… we're talking about Emily, a girl I met some what recently when I went out after the Bowie party with Wendell and some of the crew from Cream. 

When the free tab is about to be closed and you might just have to start paying money for drinks, it should be noted that you can never really be too prepared.

All in all it was a fun night. I guess I would have loved to have come away with a kiss or a peck or something. Anything really. But spending time with some of these people and making some new friends (as well as seeing Wendell drunk) definitely made it quite fun.

Need to do it again soon. Real soon.  

More pics below.

Emma bathed in candlelight. Shot by Wendell Teodoro, processed by me.

Emma again shot by Wendell and processed by me.

Some of you may have been curious whose legs were used in that preview post I used recently… well, they're the property of the girl above: Emma.

Much like the first image in this blog, from left to right: Amanda (I think that's her name), Emily, Wendell, Pip, and some random person who just jumped in for no apparent reason… or maybe there was a reason… but I'm pretty sure it wasn't apparent… and it's not becoming apparent to me now or anytime soon. 

Wendell smoking in a high-grain sort of shot. If you squint, he sort of looks like Bob Dylan. Sort of.
Click on the image for a bigger image to look at…

From left to right: Pip, Lauren, and Wendell.

And you will.

Just not right now. I'm at work. Posting this in a spare moment while an image uploads.

But I will be putting something online hopefully later on tonight (if I'm not out and knowing my luck, I won't be).

I even started writing it when I got home last night.

But for the moment, here's a picture that more or less sums up the evening… you know, something to whet your appetites…

Sorry, err… umm… Wendell took that while drunk. Let's try that again. 

Something that more or less shows what last night's Chadwick party was all about.

 
Pip, Lauren and Wendell.

Ahhh… much better. More later.

HP launched a bunch of new products tonight and some of the lucky press got to see just a taste of what it's like to eat at what's considered the fifth best restaurant in the world. The world, people!

And the best in Australia!

I don't know what "Three Chef's Hats" means but I'm guessing it's something bloody impressive if it's the top honour from  the Sydney Morning Herald.

The menu was preset and at a price of $195 per person with $90 for the wine set with it, HP sure didn't go cheap on us.

Want to know how it fared in the minds of a cynical writer who swears that some of his food is out to kill him (that would be me)?

UPDATED!!! (I've now got some videos to show the texture… why, it's almost like being there!… except not) 

What do you do when you've taken a bite of your first course and you realise that any of the words you might choose to describe what you're enjoying just won't do the meal justice?

You bring a camera!

Unfortunately, I decided early on before going that me sitting there amongst everyone and whipping out the D70 for a shot every time just wouldn't be all that polite. So I opted for the Sanyo I'm currently reviewing instead. If anything, it showed me how weak a camera it is in situations where you have to rely on available light so consider this sentence my early apology for the image quality appearing shortly.

Without wanting to get ahead of myself though, let me just say one thing:

Tetsuya's is remarkable.

And seriously, how often do you say that about a restaurant. A comment like that really only serves to prove how brilliant it is and my Trilby goes off to HP for allowing me the chance to try it. Why, the Trilby even stayed off for more of the night and didn't get to partake in the marvelous food I got to experience in. I'm unfair to my hat, I know.

So rather than keep you here for five-and-a-half hours (which is how long our meal went), let me start my little blog now (despite me having already started it several paragraphs ago). I don't think that I'm as good with words as Mr. Tetsuya is with ingredients, but I'll sure do my best.

To begin with, you might actually want to see the menu. It's got a lot on it and if you've never seen one before, you might need a GPS to tell you what you're having. Luckily, they have waiters to tell you as it comes by which is most helpful. 

I feel however that I need to write down what the food was like. While I'm not sure I remember exactly, seeing the images (as bad as they are) jogs my mind a fair bit and while remembering food might not be too easy, this evening and it's food will probably be impossible to forget. Not that I'd want to forget either. 

1. Pea Soup with Bitter Chocolate Sorbet

Cold pea soup isn't something I'd normally like the sound of. And mixing it with a bitter chocolate sorbet doesn't seem like it'd be all that good. But the flavours smack you in the side of the head. The sweeness of the pea and the bitter dark chocolate which while I find hard to qualify as a sorbet, still find strangely alluring. The ingredients feel like polar opposites and yet seem to apply themselves to the rule that opposites attract.

An amazing way to start a dinner.

2. Smoked Ocean Trout & Avruga Caviar

I never considered caviar as something I'd like. I do like egg roe in Japanese food, but usually only of the tiny orange variety. This was what I think a sort of compressed piece of ocean trout served cold with a thin layer of caviar on top. I don't know what the white bit on top was, but it felt like a jelly like substance. Regardless, it was excellent. A smattering of fishy flavours and unique textures. I might like this caviar stuff a bit more.

3. Leek & Crab Custard

This one caught me off guard. As they placed the plates with wooden mats and small spoons on our places in front of us, I wasn't really sure what to expect. At one point, I think I even considered eating the wooden mat thinking it would be some sort of a wafer. Before I got the chance to test my theory, they put down the little dish-bowl-thingy instead and we were treated to the Leek & Crab Custard. It's a pudding like dish (considering the custard) with what I'm guessing to be some sort of soy sauce on top that just helps to cement the strong flavours of this dish.

I'm really not sure if I'm qualified to write even the slightest bit of commentary on food this good. It's like the Holy Grail of food. I'm honoured just to be in its presence. In case you were curious, I thought this dish was excellent.

4. Scallop Carpaccio with Red Wine Vinaigrette

This was tasty, but I wasn't sure about it. It was sort of like a layered scallop dish and it's one where my mind's gone fuzzy on the details on it. It was one of those areas that either I was talking to someone while I was eating it or it just wasn't as brilliant as the previous four dishes so I might not have paid too much attention. I think I liked it, but as the words start to fade from my mind — the words I need that I feel might do this experience some element or at least illusion of justice — I know I might end up just scrambling for the words to define with.

Interval

I feel I should point out that the fine team at HP Australia did an excellent job at showcasing their new wares. I'm usually especially hard on new technology — especially if it's likely to be expensive — and while some of the gear they're
launching doesn't look like something I'd want to review, the products that did get my attention look as thought a great deal of thought went into the planning and creation of them. One of them in particular looks like it would be an excellent product come Christmas time. I'm referring to the A826 which — if it's as good as what I'm guessing it will be — will probably be near the top of my suggestion box for people who have digital cameras and want a convenient and easy way of printing their pictures.

And as someone who works with a lot of photography, I can easily see people getting into this.

While the dinner was being eaten & the wine was being consumed, there was plenty of talk. From gadgets to life to travel and what-not, the talk was abundant. I was sitting next to MJ, HP's desktop guy who I actually met in my first week at CBN. Across from was Nick Ross from PC Authority and Stephen Fenech from The Daily Telegraph's tech publication Connect, as well as one of the HP big-wigs in Australia that I remember only as Christoph (although the website will probably tell me otherwise… yep, there it is… Christoph Schell). They're all great people and I look forward to seeing them again.

A few years ago, I probably wouldn't have been one of those people that was into meeting others. My my, how times change.

5. Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel Seasonal Green Salad

What I love about some of these names is that I don't have to go about explaining them. Chefs must just have a field day by writing the titles of these meals exactly the way they are. In journalism, scripts, and story writing, we dance around the title until we have something fun and interesting. In food, the chefs just make the food fun & interesting while the names are definitive. This was what it says up there: ocean trout with konbu, daiko & fennel seasonal green salad.

And it's soooo good. I could eat that again and again. The smattering of salt and pepper on top of a raw piece of fish. I think it was raw, anyway. It was excellent. Exquisite. E-e-e… I'm out of good "e" words. Enjoyable. Highly enjoyable.
 

6. Ravioli of Queensland Spanner Crab with Tomato & Basil Vinaigrette

I should probably say that short of Wiki-ing it, I have no idea what a Spanner Crab is.

I suppose someone came along one day and threw a spanner at a crab. It would have likely surprised the person that the shell protected the animal from the person's stupid spanner tossing (spanner tossing championships, no doubt) and thus he named it the "Spanner Crab". I'm guessing here. Fictitious guessing. 

The Spanner Crab probably used its claws on that person to inflict some damage which in turn cause the person to break the Spanner Crab over their leg. He then ate the Spanner Crab.

I'm being really fictitious here.

Look, the point I'm trying to make is that Queensland Spanner Crab tastes good when it's made into ravioli.

7. Baby Abalone with Braised Ox Tail & Orange

The abalone was done in thin pieces and I'm sorry that the picture isn't great. The camera is less-great and that's all I have. While it was still excellent, I don't think I was as impressed with this offering as I was everything else up to this point. It had the excellent coarse texture that abalone frequently has and was nice, but I don't suppose I was into this as much as I expected.

It also could be I'm beginning to lose the memory of the food. Sure, I remember the ones I loved… but the ones that just blended into everything (the very small few) I might be losing all the descriptions in my head to make room for… uughh… "work". 

*sigh*

8. Twice Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Olive & Caper Jus

Much like the previous meal, I wasn't all that… into this one. Another one that I'm losing my memory to, I suspect.

I do remember not knowing what a "Spatchcock" and needing to ask but short of that, I can't remember a whole lot.

9. Grilled Wagyu Beef with Lime & Wasabi

This was another of the group that rated highly with me. Maybe it was due to my love of beef and lime or maybe it was because it was truly excellent. I've never mixed beef with lime and now I see a need to. I did try this with the wasabi and I thought it didn't need it, personally. So after trying it with the green spice (because seriously, how many chances am I going to get to try this food), I just ate it without it. I'm not much of a fan of wasabi being someone who favours what I see as more flavourful peppers… like chipolte and the like.

But this was brilliant. I'd look forward to this.

10. Comte with Lentils

While I had a menu sitting next to me, I had no idea what this was.

It's a spoon… ok yeah, aside for that. It's got lentils on it… ok, once again, understood.

So you just stick it in your mouth and– instant eyelift!  Great dish though it's literally gone in the first bite which is a shame.
 

11. Beetroot & Blood Orange Sorbet and Strawberry Shortcake

This was an interesting one. The first of the three desserts with the mains now over, we were told by one of the waitresses
to eat the beetroot & blood orange sorbet first and as that flavour began to leave our tongues, we should take some of the strawberry shortcake (on the right), mix it around a little, and then eat that. I'm really not sure the effect they were looking for, but even for someone like myself who isn't too fond of beetroot, it was an excellent dessert. Like… truly excellent.

It only got better. 

12. Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with White Beans & Dates

Upon putting a spoonful of this in my mouth, I thought I'd tasted the best bloody ice cream dish in the history of ice-cream-kind. Sure, I enjoy making ice cream… but I'm no Tetsuya. Like… wow. The white beans & dates help to bring flavours like hazelnut (I think) and  sugar and it's really just a mesmorising experience.

I could eat this one again and again. Sure, I'd gain a few pounds if I had a lot of it and probably lose a fair chunk of my wallet in the process… but yeah, it'd probably be worth it. 

13. Chocolate Terrine with Mascarpone & Cognac Anglaise

Ok… so you know how people can say that chocolate can be orgasmic?

While I didn't have an orgasm through this incredibly brilliant chocolate terrine, I can see how someone would. It was… soft… and luscious… and creamy… and… oh, oh… OH– I spoke too soon.

You get the point.

To be honest, I preferred the previous dessert as a favourite… but this one was to die for too.

You really can't go past Tetsuya's desserts.

"Incredible" is the word I'd use.

14. Coffee or Tea & Petit Four

I unfortunately did not manage to take a photo of the excellent cappuccino served in cool pottery cups with interesting glazes. Nor did I manage to grab a snap of each of the four kinds of Petit Four. I did manage to take a shot of some of the wine, so here's some of the wine we had as well as the wine list and my thoughts summing it all… everything… up.

NV PolRoger Brut Reserve (Epernay, France)
I didn't partake, I'm afraid.

2005 Crawford River Riesling (Henty, Victoria, Australia)
Quite nice, actually. Refreshing and easy to go down.

2005 Bindi Composition Chardonnay (Macedon Ranges, Victoria Australia)
I found it very wooden. Not my sort of drinking style. Probably too mature for me, but still quite nice.

2005 Stonier Reserve Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia)
I don't usually like red's, but this was magnificent. I really need to buy some of this.

2003 Parker Estate Terra Rossa Cabernet Savignon (Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia)
I think this was too full-bodied for me. My taste buds are still forming and I found this one too rich, though I bet in a few years I'd probably love it.

2005 Wellington Iced Riesling (Coal River, Tasmania, Australia)
Being one who normally loves dessert wines and ports, I tried an ice wine about a year ago. While I find ice wines too sweet, this one wasn't as sweet as that one I'd tried. It did seem to leave a the palette not so much feeling invaded, but I found that it left an imprint more so than I would have wanted. The Wellington Iced Riesling was still very nice, but from my point of view, it was maybe too sweet.

… and that was the end of the meal.

So seriously, what do you do now after having a brilliant experience at one of the world's best restaurants?

Now I fear that I'm going to look at the rest of the food world and go "well… it's just ain't Tetsuya's".

But that's fine. I'm just glad to have had the experience.

In fact, the whole separate main course thing has made me re-evaluate how I think restaurants should serve food. McDonald's seems to indicate it's a restaurant (if you agree with their signs) so maybe they should start serving their food in courses.

"Ah, sir… here is the bun. In ten minutes time, we'll be coming out with the meat, followed by the fake lettuce, fake onions, pickle, bottom part of the bun, and topped off with a generous serving of our famous fries. I do hope you enjoy it."

Cheers HP & Burson-Marsteller for the wonderful experience.  

(I might try to update this entry later on tonight with videos I got of some of the food showing texture so… look for it again tomorrow. I'll leave a note on the main page before the "continue reading" bit if I have!)