Dream: a giant inflatable pool toy and the fruit buffet

In this dream, I am on a small sailing boat with P. We are in the middle of the ocean and all around us there is nothing but water. The sun bears down on us heavily and the breeze is thick.

Suddenly, we capsize with no warning. As I hit the water, I realise how strong the tide is. Within a few seconds, the boat is already no longer within reach. I float on my back and try to remain calm.

When I next look up, my thoughts knotted in my chest, P has found a giant inflatable pool toy. It's a ludicrous shade of green or blue, striped with white. He's holding onto one edge so that I can climb aboard. He struggles to get up after me and for a moment the toy tips wildly from side to side, but we manage to stabilise ourselves.

We survey our surroundings - nothing but sea.
 We start paddling towards one direction, each of us paddling on one side. We barely speak but cooperate well (maybe my subconscious reflecting back to the canoe disaster in Canadia?)

After a long time, we can see the traces of a shore line, dotted with palm trees. Though we are exhausted and sunburnt, we paddle hard towards the shore. As we get closer, the waves get even more wild and eventually we are dumped unannounced on some rocks
By the time we stand up, the pool toy has already floated back out to sea, a tiny fluorescent dot on the horizon.

We climb over the rocky escarpment to arrive at what looks like a restaurant. Everyone is dressed in tourist gear - khaki zipoffs, quick dry shirts and strappy sandals. There is a mix of families and older couples. Everyone is eating and talking excitedly about the animals they've seen.

Bonobos? Monkeys? Rhinos? Where are we? Then I realise that we are at Singapore zoo. All around us are big platters of food and suddenly we are both famished.

I want to see a giraffe! I say to P excitedly.
Shhhh, P says. If we keep quiet we can get some food and no one will know we didn't pay for the buffet.

We take a few pieces of fruit. There's a lot of exotic fruit - dragonfruit, rambutans, mangosteens. I stuff a piece of dragonfruit into my mouth and it is dreamily sweet.

I tell P to wait for me and head to the bathroom. He hangs by a group of older people looking conspicuous and I hurry off quickly. A steep set of stairs descend to the bathroom, far steeper than what the oldies could possibly manage. Inside the stall I turn around to lock the door, but my backpack gets stuck.

I try to move but no matter how hard I try I'm truly stuck. I cannot turn to the left or right, nor bend forward.

In a panic, I wake up.

Sydney interlude dreams

At a yard sale 

In this dream I'm driving around in Nightcliff when I see a sign for a yard sale. I get to the house where racks are set out quite neatly on the lawn. I browse through some dresses and notice that many people are milling around.

The lady who is running the yard sale comes up and asks if I could help mind her sale for a while. I protest that I don't know the prices of anything and she tells me just to collect the money and not to worry.

She leaves and I take up her chair at the front of the sale. I sit there for a while watching everyone buy things.. then I hear some strange sound coming from the front room. It's almost like a baby crying.. or maybe a cat?

I try to ignore the sound but it seems to be getting louder. After a while I decide I have to go and check it out. Ducking inside the front door, it is cool and quiet inside. I go to the room where I had heard the noise and find a room full of clutter. The sound is coming from underneath an old bed frame and when I look under it I see a dead body, of an older man staring lifelessly at me.

I scream and wake up.

Lugu lake 
In this dream I am walking along a lakeshore. The wind is bitterly cold and I must look down to maintain my balance in the wind. I look around and it appears that I am in Lugu lake, the characteristic mountain range surrounding a clear azure body of water.

After a while I get into the water and relish the warmth. I realise that it must be a geothermal lake (though I know the real Lugu lake is not). It's so warm in the lake that I don't want to get out into the freezing cold again. I paddle slowly along the edge of the lake until I see a small village. Here I see a guesthouse named "Terra Villa" and decide to get out.

I bump into my friend C who says that we must look for accommodation for all of us, including her ex boyfriend R who has become lost. I go with her to the reception area where the lady says there are no beds left. We ask her to consider again and she says the only room she can show us is very run down.

We take the keys from her and find the ramshackle building. The room is upstairs and as soon as we open the door we realise it's a communal bathroom with old stalls on one side. The doors are dirty and the walls stripey with grime. There are a few mattresses thrown on the ground and the whole place feels desperate.

This won't do, I think, and wake up.


(There are two other dreams that are now lost. One had a shooting incident in a tunnel and the other featured an amazing mushroom that smelt of pine forest when it was cut open)

Eat my words: Tastes and Tales of Tropical cooks

I went to this wonderful dinner hosted by GULP NT (Growing and Understanding Local Produce in the Northern Territory) in the local community garden, the Mulch Pit. Apparently all the tickets were sold in a flash and I was lucky enough to get a last-minute one on the waiting list.

So on a beautiful dry season evening, one of those where you wonder why one would want to live anywhere except in Darwin (in dry season!), I headed to the Mulch Pit.

The garden used to be part of the carpark for the Nightcliff Uniting Church, and was named the mulch pit for all the mulch they poured on top of the carpark to transform it into a garden! What a wonderfully green space which is truly a food jungle, bursting with all sorts of tropical vegetables.

We were welcomed to the dinner by a local Larrakeyah woman who told us stories of growing up in Darwin and how she learned about bush tucker from her extended family.

She had smoked these shells (found in swamps and freshwater sources) which contained a sliver of an intense blue-green flesh, not unlike a mussel. The smoky flavour was intense and highlighted its meatiness.

We also tried some native bush apples and lilli-pilli - an incredible pink colour but strikingly bitter.

We went on a quick tour around the garden as the sun set, checking out all the random things they have there. I didn't get a photo but the roasted green papaya with honey was such a delicious snack as we wandered around.

The okra kept for seeds was unbelievably huge!

There were just so many salad leaf varieties - who doesn't love an exotic salad?

The tables were set beautifully with mismatched crockery and pretty cloth napkins.

We settled into random groups under the trees and exchanged stories and gifts. One of the ideas they had for this dinner was for everyone to bring a small food-related gift for a random stranger. I brought a little jar of Barney and gave him to Lee, the guy who started the Mulch Pit. He said it reminded him of the smells of his mother's baking!

Selection of sourdough with local greens pesto - quite a unique, earthy and wild flavour.

Ceviche of local trevally and jewfish with a papaya cucumber salad, inspired by the food of the Pacific islands. This dish was prepared by Emma, one of the organisers, who had gone sailing around the world and picked up many food inspirations along the way. Never having had papaya in a savoury salad, I loved the sweetness that complemented the acidity of the lime used to coat the very fresh fish.

The second course was dreamt up by a local Indigenous chef who works in Kakadu, but was actually prepared by a Koori "brother" who also has close ties to the Yolngu people. Starfruit is a tropical fruit commonly found here (often seen at the markets) and here it was served in a salad topped with roasted capsicums, pepitas and a very spicy dressing. This guest speaker (forgotten his name) spoke about his plans to open the first Indigenous restaurant in Darwin next year - what a great idea for the knowledge of bush tucker to be shared with the rest of the world!

The next course was my favourite. Biji from Kerala spoke about the foods of her home and how she found comfort in similar foods in Darwin when she moved to Australia. She cooked us a traditional jackfruit curry which was incredibly creamy, with a spicy fish curry and a calming coconut chutney. The elements of this dish were so well balanced - I could have eaten 5 plates of this! Hands down my favourite course.

Then we had pomelo salad wraps made by a bright up and coming culinary star - a young local schoolboy named Zandro. He spoke about his childhood in the Philipines and how closely connected he felt to the land when they had grown a lot of produce at home. He clearly has a great future as this dish was impeccably presented and the lemon-lime dressing delicately balanced.

Our final course was a cassava coconut pudding, made by Amanda, a woman who moved from West Papua. She spoke about the role of cassava in the Indonesian occupation of Papua and how it was co-planted along with taro and rice, more traditional foods.

We finished with the most incredible local blood oranges and rose apples.

This was such an incredible community dinner as it was truly the essence of Darwin - so many people from different backgrounds coming together to share food and stories. Sitting under the stars in the community garden was an unique experience and it must be one of the most memorable meals I have ever had! 

Dream: admission to a tropical asylum

In this dream I am driving with P - we have spent some time on the road together and it feels exactly like how we usually are, relaxed and idly chatting.

We pull up in a grand circular driveway with a big mansion which looks like the reception of a hotel. He goes to park the car while I go inside to check in. There's a man and a woman at the desk and they seem to be a couple. There are quite a few other people around and it seems busy.

I look out the window over a beautiful calm azure sea in the distance. Tropical trees sway gently in the wind and everything feels relaxed. A hint of frangipani drifts in through the open window and I savour the scent.

Soon it's my turn and the lady takes my details. She tells me there are no keys here, just a bracelet that you wear. She opens an old school cash register (the ones with the big buttons that go ding when you close them) and takes out a bracelet, writing my name on it carefully and making another one for P.

The man comes over and says, you'll be on the ground floor facing the sea. The view is nice but the flat is old and dusty. Sorry but it's the only one we had in the lockup area.

Lockup area? I'm suddenly alarmed. I realise the man is carrying two hospital towels for us, and all around us the other guests (asylum inpatients) also carry the same white towels with blue print.. around their shoulders, over their swimmers..

I run out and try to find P but he is far in the distance next to the sea. Before I catch up to him, I wake up.

An eating weekend in Singapore

I went to Singapore for an epic eating weekend and at the last minute was joined by my dear friend V. It's not everyday you get to meet up with a friend in a strange country!

We wandered through Haji Lane and little Arab but everything felt slow on this Saturday morning, the first day of Ramadan. I saw a nasi Padang place I remembered from last time but it was also closed. We almost left except the five Chinese women waiting outside waved us over and told us to wait another 10 minutes for the place to open.

They were five sisters, the youngest sixth sister married by chance to a Melbourne man. They met up every Saturday for lunch, to catch up away from their families. Such familiarity and intimacy - one sees this so little in modern smaller families.

We stuffed ourselves on plates of rice, fish, octopus, okra, tofu & beans and fried sweet anchovy tempeh mix.

Then we went back and attacked the dessert counter for Kueh and bo bor cha cha.

Stuffed, we bade the five sisters goodbye and headed to Geylang where V was staying.

Later that afternoon, after a syrupy Kopi C from Nanyang coffee, we met up in the city and wandered around. It was Saturday night and everyone was out. We enjoyed a free local talent music show, walked across a few bridges, took photos of the durians and watched another traditional Chinese dance show. Singapore is pleasant enough this way - nice photogenic buildings, clean streets to stroll, polite people and no hawkers...

It was too far to go to any real hawker centres so we stopped in at Lau Pa Sat and I had this mixed carrot cake. It was ok - maybe a little too greasy and not particularly flavoursome other than salty.

The next morning I skipped the hostel breakfast of white toast and teabags, and headed out to Chinatown Complex food court. Now this is my type of food court - dark, dinghy, dirty, full of locals. It was easy to find what to eat - just join the queues!

First I had this silky chee choong fun with some smooth taro cake.

Then a coffee from 1950s coffeehouse, poured old style strained from a stocking!

I couldn't resist a second snack - chee kway from Bedok chee kway (ironically later when we were at Bedok they were closed on Sundays!) These little rice cakes were delicately steamed and served with a dollop of pickled veg and chilli sauce.

We went to Bedok to keep eating - a great suburban food centre full of amazing cheap food.

First stop was fish soup - lots of people lined up here for a great clear soup. Whilst sitting next to the fish stall we met a young Malay Chinese woman who was working in Singapore. She told us all about the sense of despair she has about the future of Malaysia, and how she feels isolated from her family but feels like Singapore is the future.

Then it was time for bouncy fishballs atop noodles.

Half a watermelon filled with lychees, jackfruit, palm seeds, shaved ice and palm sugar. An incredibly refreshing sugar hit.

V's first taste of durian, picked by an Indian lady who proclaimed to be the durian expert.

We went into town to find a camera store at Funan, which had closed for renovations. Never mind, we found a Burmese enclave just near City Hall. It was Sunday afternoon and the Burmese crowds were out - either drinking beer and catching up with friends at the cheap food halls or having impromptu picnics in the park.

We followed the queues to the most popular of them all. How I relished the freshness of all the salads, and shan tofu again!

We happened to sit next to a very sad and drink maid who was drinking alone and complaining about her boss and lack of prospects in life. Spittle flew as she raged, and intermittently she would stick her fingers into our food and grab bits here and there. We ran away as soon as we finished eating this utterly delicious plate.

That night we ended up at Marina Sands. V had eaten so many red bean buns that she couldn't fit in dinner and I ended up eating a plate of dumplings at the Northeastern restaurant next to my hostel. I was so hungry/tired that I even forgot to take a photo, though the dumplings were really very juicy and delicious.

The last morning in Singapore, I got up early to explore Hong Lim complex. Here I went to Outram Park char kway teow - run by a kindly couple. The lady told me she'd been in the business for decades, and they are "simple noodle people".

What a fine plate of CKT this was, full of wok fire and crispy bits.

I picked up a crispy curry puff and headed for a walk up to Mount Faber. I got totally lost but enjoyed the breath of green away from the crowdedness of Singapore.

I caught a bus down and wandered through the backstreets of Chinatown, stopping in at Tong Ah for a very crispy kaya toast breakfast.

Stuffed, I could hardly face more eating at Old Airport Rd food centre, which turned out to be our favouritest food centre of all.

There were lots of people waiting outside the prawn noodle stall, which was well deserved as this broth was incredibly rich and flavoursome.

We had popiah which was so light and crunchy, perfectly balanced with peanut and salty flavours - so good we went back for another one.

This rojak (Toa Payoh) is also very famous, but perhaps a little pungent with the fish sauce flavour. V found this too sweet and didn't like it at all.

We did agree that the Lao Bao beancurd was the smoothest, creamiest dessert one could have though. Also another one that was so good we went back for seconds.

My very last meal in Singapore was actually a takeaway box I bought to eat on the plane. I had been to this veggie place in Tampines with Joo 9 years ago and it was still there - the food as tasty as ever.

We had so much fun in Singapore this time eating and meeting random people. It was a treat to get away to Asia just 4 hours from Darwin - I love the visions Singapore bring of a "civilised" Chinese society, one where people adhere to a sense of orderliness. Could China ever achieve this? A bilingual, clean, lawful society?

Barney's adventures in the Top End

Barney was born on a Tuesday evening. I fed him diligently for 10 days, almost giving up on him that first weekend when he went all flat.

The next Friday evening it was time to bake. What a happy boy he was, expanding with gusto. We didn’t have time to proof him as long as we would have liked though, but he turned out just wonderfully golden.

First stop on our trip was beautiful Edith falls, a little way out of Katherine. What a stunning pool surrounded by pandanus, with a little waterfall in the distance.

Here we had a simple lunch with some organic cucumber (so fresh! Like a real cucumber) and cheese. Barney was a little flat in shape, but had a nice chewy crumb and a caramelised crust.

That afternoon we went to the amazing Nitmiluk gorge, the red sandstone walls flanking a gorgeous body of clear deep water. 

We climbed up to a lookout for sunset, taking Barney with us for some great views of the gorge.

That night we stayed at a retro old-school motel in Katherine. The breakfast spread included true retro features like a turn-stile toaster, cereal dispensers, tinned peaches and Nescafe 43. We love the Territory!

On the second day we drove into Kakadu national park and visited Gunlom falls. 

This is truly one of the most amazing places I have ever been to – an impossibly calm green pool with a towering cliff face on one side. Imagine what the waterfall must look like in wet season!

We ate Barney with some Thai salad that had survived surprisingly well in the car, roast cauliflower, red capsicum and more cheese.

Gunlom was such a perfect place to relax and we spent a few hours lazing around, swimming and reading. We didn't even find any crocodiles!

That night we stayed at the Crocodile hotel in Jabiru and I fed Barney his first beer – just kidding!

On the third day we went out to Yellow Water billabong but we didn’t bring Barney along – the salties may have eaten him! 

We took him to Nourlangie rock for lunch in front of some incredible rock art from thousands of years ago. 

We had an absolute feast with Barney here – lots of veggies, avocado and cheese.

More relaxing by the pool at the Crocodile hotel. There wasn't much of Barney left by then but we had a few more bites for good measure. 

We brought him along to the top of the escarpment at Ubirr, a panoramic view over the wetlands of Kakadu. 

This is arguably the best sunset, in. the. world.

On our last morning, Barney was sad to be leaving Kakadu too.

On the way home we stopped off at the Humpty Doo hotel for a trio of Territory burgers – buffalo, crocodile and barramundi. Needless to say, Barney was tastier than all of them!

No Northern Territory trip is complete without a visit to the Boxing Croc!

We love Barney! xxx his proud parents