Sydney Chinese Food can be found at the very trendy Mr Wong in Bridge Lane not far from Circular Quay. Focusing on Cantonese food in a French Colonial setting, with a large selection of dishes including a huge dim sum selection.
Wonderful decor & atmosphere
A very impressive venue as you can clearly see, with a seating capacity of 240 people.
Rather expensive as you can imagine
Around $100 per head which is probably not over the top for Sydney.
Too much duck is never enough. 🙂
Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.
An ideal setup for lone diners like myself
They cater for all requirements from large parties to lone diners like myself.
Large selection of Dim Sum
Other than Japanese Dim Sum is my favourite way of eating.
Waiting to be cooked
For all you amateur chefs out there who want to cook Cantones roast, just follow THIS LINK.
Merivale is now led by CEO Justin Hemmes, whose creativity and knack for pushing the boundaries has made Merivale what it is today. Hemmes has become a pioneer within the Australian hospitality industry, growing the ever-expanding Merivale portfolio to over 70 brands and venues.
Sydney Chinese Food That’s all folks
Thanks for visiting my Sydney Chinese Food photo blog.
Beachfront restaurant Pattaya is aptly named Surf & Turf & is rated number 100 out of 1187 restaurants in Pattaya. For far better food photographs than in this post just check out THIS LINK for my previous Surf & Turf photo blog.
Location
On the beach next door to the Long Beach Garden Hotel.
Beachfront restaurant Pattaya
A fairly ordinary front entrance.
Air conditioned inside section
It’s much nicer inside which you can clearly see.
Catering for the smokers
The further away from me the better. 🙂
Inside in the aircon.
Especially during the day the front area beside the beach is the most popular part of the restaurant.
Another outdoor area
There is quite a number of different sections in this popular Beachfront restaurant Pattaya.
This is the beachside section
No aircon but they have plenty of fans & there is usually a beautiful breeze coming off the ocean.
An unusual dish
My friend ordered snapper, as you can see the portion was rather small & there was a skewer of beef with it.
Here is the seared tuna
Rather delicious.
Chicken Satay
The peanut sauce was excellent.
Oysters from France
Delicious, rather expensive here, around B500 or $24 AUD for 6, double what I pay at El Mercado in Bangkok.
My 2 Australian friends
Ian Fraser-Smith & David Robertson from the Gold Coast in Australia are regular visitors to Pattaya. They were both impressed with the food at the Surf & Turf.
For far better food photographs than in this post please check out THIS LINK for my previous Surf & Turf photo blog.
Thanks for visiting my Beachfront restaurant Pattaya photo blog, Surf & Turf has good food in a great seaside location.
Click bottom right hand corner for full screen. There is also a zoom facility.
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history, you may describe it as the melancholy musings of an old man. My answer to that is simple, it’s far better to be a “has been” than a “never was”. 🙂
Pretty woman stop awhile, Pretty woman talk awhile, Pretty woman give your smile to me, Pretty woman yeah, yeah, yeah, Pretty woman look my way, Pretty woman say you’ll stay with me, ‘Cause I need you, I’ll treat you right, Come with me baby, be mine tonight. It seems fitting looking back on a random selection of some of the Pretty women I have been lucky enough to know, that Roy Orbison should help me recall some of those wonderful memories.
That’s Karen Smith in 1985, my 3rd & last fiancee, I have never known a nicer girl.
Carol Aboud in 1978
This was taken on my birthday which fell on 7-7-77, Carol & I were an item (on & off) for around 4 years.
Sing it for me Neil. 🙂
Carolyn Clark 1994
I still see Carolyn when I’m on the Gold Coast, in fact in July 2019 we made a little promotional video for her boyfriend Andy Sims.
Next we have Glenn Frey sing a beautiful song, ok I know the song is Caroline as opposed to Carolyn, but you get the picture.
Now this definitely is a pretty woman.
Kelly Davis hailed from Tasmania, we knocked around together for a few months in 1991.
Kelly was a huge fan of Van Morrison so here is another one of my favourites.
One of the sexiest of all the girls I knew.
There is something about those Kiwi girls, hot, hot, hot. Karen Greenwood & I had an on & off relationship for over a year in 1991. She stuck around mainly because I lent her a car. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Now here we have a real wild child.
Allison Schroeder, 18 years of age & gorgeous. Of course I was only 45 at the time. 🙂 If I remember correctly I promised her the world & bought her an atlas. 🙂
As they say in the classics, I was having the time of my life. 🙂
Allison was wild but Tanya was crazy. 🙂
Great company sober, but give her a couple of drinks too many & she would turn into a nightmare. This was 1989 on the Gold Coast.
Time to feature a triple treat.
Meet Kitty, Di Parko & Helen Burke, before you ask the answer is yes. 🙂
They don’t come any hotter than Donna Turner.
This was 1996 & she still looks fabulous today in 2019.
Marlene Cuthbert
Around 1983 Marlene worked for Ansett Airlines, she had a very sexy voice on a microphone, that’s why Ansett used her to make all the announcements at mascot airport. 🙂
Looking back I sometimes regret I chose Karen Smith to be my 3rd fiancee instead of Marlene. Don’t get me wrong, Karen was one of the nicest person I ever knew, our personalities were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Lee Gregory was my 2nd fiancee.
Lee was from Adelaide where met, then we reconnected again in Melbourne in 1974. We had a fairly hectic dramatic short time together, travelled to Singapore & Bali & saw Frank Sinatra in concert in Melbourne on my birthday 7-7-74.
This is one of my all time Sinatra favourites, I can think of no better song to play when I think of Lee.
And they did…..
Teresa Hamilton-Smith & Helen Burke, we had a lot of fun together in 1982 & 1983.
Barbara Manneli aka the Gypsy.
The classic island romance, we celebrated the millennium on Koh Samui, 3 months later I flew to Italy to re-kindle the affair. Guess what? I didn’t make 1st base. 🙂
This one’s for you Gypsy.
Tall & tanned & young & lovely
This is Mel, we me on Copacabana beach, she had green eyes & was 6′ tall, say no more. 🙂
Bebel Gilberto will sing the song for us.
Someones knocking at the door.
Do me a favour open the door & let em in.
This is Emily at the Sheraton Mirage.
Was a Gold Coast meter maid.
Then there was Jill….
Cool, sexy & a lot of fun. Last time I saw her was in Sydney in 2102.
Back to the 60s
Veronica Crocker was my 2nd serious girlfriend, we dated for a couple of years when I was a teenager until the wanderlust took hold of me & at the ripe old age of 20 I sailed to England.
Dion DiMucci was a huge artist in the 60s, here are two of his songs. Both bring back great memories of my time with Veronica.
Teenager in Love
Take good care of my Baby
My first serious girlfriend
What incredible memories I have of this gorgeous girl Elizabeth Wiggington, better known as Beth. She lived on the corner of Wellington Rd & Antwerp St & I would ride my bike 3.3 Km from my home at 58 Kihilla Rd. It was much easier when I got my drivers licence & bought my little Morris Minor, except for the night I was driving home from her house & collided with a horse on Cumberland Rd. 🙂
Now here is one of the reasons I love Facebook, it was 1960 when we were together for 1 to 1.5 years, then I never really saw her again. It’s now September 2019, 59 years later & we have re-connected on Facebook, in fact Beth sent me quite a few photos, because way back then for some stupid teenage reason I had torn up all the ones I owned. 🙂
Johnny Burnette can remind us how it was back then.
The old shipboard romance.
I needed to get over my long romance with Veronica & Leanne Scott on the ship to England seemed like the perfect solution. 🙂
Sing it for me Bobby……
Wendy Winspear, tall & gorgeous.
A lovely Dutch girl on the Gold Coast, sadly she passed away far too young around 2017, RIP.
My first fiancee, Melbourne 1970.
Paula Wills was an Adelaide girl living in Melbourne & working as a an hostess for Ansett. After 3 months living together I think we just ran out of things to say.
Dianne Parkinson in 1975
To say Parko bought some dramas into my life is a gross understatement. Read about some of it on THIS LINK.
The sweetest Diane of them all.
Adelaide 1973 Diane Butson was one of my neighbours in a condo block on Anzac Highway. She was a dance instructor at Arthur Murray dance studio. A great girl & absolutely gorgeous. Follow THIS LINK for more old photos.
Great song from the Bachelors in 1964.
The Bachelors ~ Diane ~ 1964
Another beautiful Adelaide girl.
Jan Seagers was another neighbour, we had some terrific times together. We caught up again in 2015, I had not seen her for 40 years. Check out THIS LINK.
Pretty woman stop awhile
Helen Burke from Melbourne, we really had some fun, played backgammon all through Hawaii & the California coast in 1982.
Linda Ronstadt will tell you about the coast.
Well by now you are bored silly by the memories & musings of an old man. But make no mistake, Glenn Frey will describe exactly how I feel today.
Boys must have toys, it’s ingrained in our DNA. I have searched through my photos to find nearly all of the cars & boats I have had the pleasure of owning throughout my life.
They don’t come much prettier than my yellow canary shown above, I owned this beautiful Mercedes 350SL for 17 years from 1990 till 2007.
Here’s what you do with a beautiful carYou fill it up with pretty girls of course. 🙂
When you own a beautiful Mercedes….
Naturally you need a Porsche to keep it company. 🙂
When you drove a Porsche on the Gold Coast……..
Good things seemed to happen.
My first Mercedes 350 SL
I purchased this classic in 1980, it was the ultimate chick magnet. 🙂
When you have a Mercedes & a Porsche…..
Naturally you need a boat. 🙂 This is a 22′ Fraser with a 200 HP Yamaha.
Next you need a crash test dummy
This keeps the birds away when the covers are off. 🙂
My previous boat.
19 foot long with a 150 HP Suzuki.
Life is hard, then you die.
Joking of course, life is wonderful, when you die you can take a rest. 🙂
A little runabout to get me around Pittwater & Scotland Island. Do you like the name?
Here is my Bertram 25
A terrific flybridge cruiser with twin 165 HP Mercury inboards. It was moored outside my Drummoyne apartment in the early 80s & spent most of the time visiting Doyles at Watsons Bay.
When you own a boat…..
Good things seem to happen. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Loading the team on board
Off to Doyles again.
Gluttony at it’s very best. 🙂
So many memories of long lazy lunches at Doyles.
A typical Sunday at Doyles
Huge crowd at Doyles & the Watson’s Bay hotel next door.
Back to the cars
Early 80s I drove a Ford Marquis for a while.
You gotta love a Benz. 🙂
This was my Mercedes 280 E in 1989.
My beautiful Jaguar XJ 6.
It came with 2 petrol tanks & 2 gorgeous girls.
My first car
Sorry about the photo quality most of my photos were damaged when my home in Melbourne was firebombed in September 1977. But that’s another story, it & others are on THIS LINK.
Next car was an iconic FJ Holden.
My girlfriend Beth washing my FJ Holden outside my home at 58 Kihilla Rd Auburn.
I was lucky to survive some of the things I did in this car. Looking back, I was a typical teenager in the 60s who knew no fear.
Then came the Volkswagen
I can remember floating it on the flooded highway at Ballina in the floods. I just pushed it 50 metres to the dry road.
When you owned a VW in the 60s……
Good things happened, for example “Veronica Crocker”.
EH Holden station wagon.
This was my next car after arriving home in 1965 after 18 months in England & Europe, including a 4 month stint as an officer on the La Maria.
A 1970 MGB, my first new car.
It set me back just under $3000, worth every cent. Purchased in Melbourne, relocated to Sydney for 2 years then moved to Adelaide in 1972.
A 1971 E Type Jaguar
Forget the photo quality the car was magnificent. I remember driving from Adelaide to Melbourne in the middle of the night in 5 hours 45 minutes.
When you drove an E type good things happened.
Meet Jan Seagars & my Doberman Ziggy, this was Lexton Grove Windsor in 1974. Three thoroughbreds together.
My two sports cars
One was a little faster than the other, but I loved them both. Madison was guarding the fleet.
The work horse
My Commodore station wagon initially was my 2nd car, in 2003 I took 3 Japanese students on a road trip which started in Surfers Paradise & went through Broken Hill NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia. The next leg took us to Uluru aka Ayers Rock.
Boys must have toys
You may think this Lexus is a little out of character, I owned it for 3 years prior to moving to Thailand in 2011. Without a doubt it was the best value out of all the vehicles I ever owned. Paid $7,500 in 2008 & sold it for $7,000, it was as smooth as silk.
Well, that’s all folks.
Many thanks for visiting my Boys must have toys photo blog & indulging me in truck loads of nostalgia.
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia which is officially known as Flagstaff Beach, is the northernmost beach in New South Wales. It’s at the mouth of the Tweed River and the rocky headland Point Danger, which also marks the Queensland-New South Wales border.
Sand transport system
The Project is a sand transport system that collects sand from the southern side of the Tweed River entrance at Letitia Spit, and pumps it under the river to outlets on the northern side. From there the sand is transported by waves and currents to nourish the southern Gold Coast beaches.
Great view of the beach
We are standing on a cliff in QLD looking across Flagstaff Beach to NSW.
Surfers waiting for a wave.
There seems to be many personal and indescribable experiences in their lives that keeps them paddling out again & again. Plus the willingness to wait for them often defines a surfer more than his or her individual ability.
Bring it on.
The waiting is really worth it.
Everyone loves the beach
Not just surfers, kids with their mums & dogs as well. 🙂
My friends from England
Joan Baptist & Bill Austin from Wiltshire visited Australia in 2010 & naturally I took them sightseeing along the coast. The following week we drove down to Sydney.
They actually got married in England yesterday August 3 2019 after being together for over 20 years.
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia
It’s not just the board-riders who love to surf. Kite-boarding is an action sport combining aspects of wake-boarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and sailing into one extreme sport. A kite-boarder harnesses the power of the wind with a large controllable power kite to be propelled across the water, land, or snow. Wikipedia
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia
I’m guessing he is heading for a cold beer.
OK, I’ll meet you at the pub. 🙂
This is what the Beach Boys call a “surfer girl”.
Thanks for visiting my Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia photo blog.
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history. It seemed like Groundhog day. 🙂
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
Surfers Paradise Party Animals, 1992 was just another year of fun & games on the beautiful Gold Coast. I was certainly among the main party hosts, I had a great home for entertaining & I loved have lots of beautiful girls around.
Some of the usual suspects.
Naturally when there were pretty girls around the competition between the guys was fierce. 🙂
A rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. 🙂
I guess there is no need to say I was enjoying life to the max.
Occasionally some of the girls would relax in the spa.
Naturally I always had my camera ready.
These girls loved nature
And Dr Evil was always there with the camera. 🙂
Roslyn & Jill looking good
I remember spending some “quality time” with both these lovely ladies.
Jill & Sharon
Another “daily double” I’m happy to say, (that just means I bonked them both. 🙂 )we saw a show that night at Jupiters casino, I think it was Barry Humphries.
Andre Buzek dentist extraordinaire, (I don’t think so)
Sadly my great mate lost his life soon after in a car crash in Cuba.
Girl of the year Kelly Davis
I was lucky enough to spend a few months on & off with this lovely lady.
Here we are on New Years Eve
Naturally Harley is locked & loaded once again. 🙂
My favoute song from 1992
Big Steve Bristow (son of Tim) & Greg Johnston.
Now in 2018 Greg lives in Pattaya & runs a bar on the dark side, & Steve still lives on the Gold Coast.
The late great Paul Allen, a Surfers Paradise icon.
Talking about icons…………
Daryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, those bikes however all belonged to Mick Doohan the living legend who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. The guy in the middle is a legend in his own lunch time, my good mate Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe”.
Talking about legends…
Here I am giving my boat a good wash. 🙂
A good looking bunch of babes
It was Xmas day 1992 and we all had a great lunch at my home in 106 Upton St Bundall. My main squeeze at the time was Kelly 2nd from the right, & my occasional squeeze was Jill standing beside her. 🙂
Another night another dinner at Upton St
Harley & his gay flatmate naturally came dressed in their army outfits. 🙂 Tat’s Kandice on the left & Nicola on the right.
That night produced one of my favourite photos
This is a true classic.
Another classic from 1992
Lyn Goss & Roslyn provided the glamour & Tony Murphy & I contributed with a truck load of style. 🙂
On the road between Hornsby & Sydney is The historic Roseville Cinema on the Pacific Highway, noted for its art deco facade. It became Traynor’s Picture Palace in 1919, but did not become a full-scale cinema until 1936. Roseville Cinema was renovated & updated to two screens in 1995.
Approaching the Harbour Bridge
Not too much traffic on a Sunday morning.
World famous Sydney Opera House.
A fabulous iconic Sydney landmark.
Sydney Boats Beaches Harbour
Huge ships dock at Circular Quay because they are too tall to go under the Harbour Bridge.
Naturally Bill had to climb it. ?
Being an ex Para Military man who has made over 500 parachute jumps my friend Bill Austin naturally had to climb to the top of the bridge, and what an amazing view he had from there.
Sydney Harbour Ferry
Circular Quay ferry terminal.
The famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Opened in 1933 it is certainly Australia’s best known landmark.
ORIGINALLY BUILT BY TOOTH & CO. IN 1938 & RECENTLY RESTORED TO ITS ART-DECO GLORY, THE ROBIN HOOD HOTEL IS LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF BRONTE AND CARRINGTON ROADS IN WAVERLEY (CHARING CROSS).
Wonderful antique pub signs
When I was growing up I remember these great signs were on most Australian pubs.
Typical old Australian home in Waverley.
I would hate to think what it’s worth today, Sydney prices are outragious.
House prices in Waverley
As you can see you need plenty of money to live in Sydney. 🙂
My road trip from QLD has ended
My Honda rental car never missed a beat, time to head to the airport.
Apex Car rental
It’s worth checking their promotional prices, ofter you can get a terrific rate to relocate one of their vehicles. In my case I rented for 6 days at $19 aud per day. Picked it up at Surfers Paradise & dropped it off at Sydney airport.
Road Trip South Australia reminds me of the last frontier and the road trip I took in 2003. Three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & I travelled from the Gold Coastin Queensland, through Broken Hill NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia, a fascinating opal mining town where most of the population live in underground houses, then on to Ayers Rock and back home to the Gold Coast via Hervey Bay where we went whale watching. On our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers which was around 82 hours behind the wheel.
The above photo is at Tenterfield on the New England Highway.
This famous Australian singer son writer was born in Tenterfield. For a discounted room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Listen to Peter sing one of his famous songs about the Tenterfield sadler.
The first stage
Across NSW to South Australia.
Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia
Our first day on the road, we will overnight in Broken Hill.
Trades Hall in Broken Hill.
The Trades Hall is Broken Hill’s most historically important building.
Broken Hill in outback NSW.
Broken Hill over 1,100 km (680 mi) west of Sydney and surrounded by semi-desert.
For a very good discount on a Broken Hill hotel just book through THIS LINK.
Typical outback building
In the 19th and early 20th century Broken Hill was home to a community of Afghans. Afghans worked as camel drivers in parts of outback Australia, and they made a significant contribution to economic growth when transport options were limited. The camel drivers formed the first sizeable Muslim communities in Australia, and in Broken Hill they left their mark in the form of the first mosque in NSW (1891).
Wilmington South Australia
Wilmington is a farming community, known for sheep, wheat and barley, but more recently for the planting of olive groves.
Road Trip South Australia, the general store
Wilmington is 305 kilometres north of the state capital, Adelaide.
This was at Byron Bay near the start of our journey.
Such lovely young girls, Noriko Megumi & Yukako. Thanks for visiting my Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia photo blog. Next stop is Coober Pedy.
Surfers Paradise Sydney Trip seeing lots of friends & in particular caught up with Karen Greenwood an old girlfriend from 1991, 26 years ago. As you can see see still looks fantastic. 🙂 So many great memories came flooding back, it was certainly wonderful week Surfers Paradise. We are at Franks seafood cafe on Chevron Island.
I first visited this iconic bar on New Years Day 1982, 35 years ago. The reason I am so sure of the date is it was the day after my unforgettable NYE on Sydney harbour with my overloaded boat being showered by sky rockets.
First stop Kingscliff only a 40 minute drive.
Just a quick stop for a very good breakfast and some photos.
Great views over the beach from this excellent hotel, Use THIS LINK for a terrific discount on a room with a view.
The older side of Coogee
Many parts of Coogee are quite ancient as you can see, probably worth several million as a development site here in Arden Street.
This one is certainly worth preserving.
Not sure if it will be kept as a private residence or a guest house.
Overlooking Coogee Bay
As you can see Coogee is quite hilly.
Important safety message
When on the beach in Australia make sure you always use sun block-out, wear a hat & swim between the flags.
In recent years I have had many skin cancers removed, doctors tell me the damage was done many years ago before I turned 16 years of age. In those days we NEVER wore hats or used sun protection.
Things looked a little different in 1936
It was called Belmore Rd in 1930
Fabulous old photos.
How about 1905?
It certainly wasn’t Busy Chaotic Coogee Beach then. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Busy Chaotic Coogee Beach Sydney photo blog, before you leave please check out Maroubra Beach which is a few kms south of Coogee.
Sydney Chinese Food can be found at the very trendy Mr Wong in Bridge Lane not far from Circular Quay. Focusing on Cantonese food in a French Colonial setting, with a large selection of dishes including a huge dim sum selection.
A very impressive venue as you can clearly see, with a seating capacity of 240 people.
Around $100 per head which is probably not over the top for Sydney.
Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.
They cater for all requirements from large parties to lone diners like myself.
Other than Japanese Dim Sum is my favourite way of eating.
For all you amateur chefs out there who want to cook Cantones roast, just follow THIS LINK.
Always nice to see the busy chefs working.
