Restaurant: KOZY Korean Barbeque (Sydney, Australia)

With Sydney bringing life to the CBD's laneways these days, restaurants and bars are opening one after another.  I have been lucky one afternoon to pass by Wilmot Street and saw a sign that said "Korean Barbeque".  Told the Husband about it and decided to have our late lunch there on our Friday date in June.  

KOZY Korean Barbeque is near Townhall Train Station tucked in between George and Pitt Street.  Even if located in a small laneway, you won't miss the sign of their resto.

The wooden interiors, dim lighting and big TVs showing Korean stars singing & dancing will make you feel like you are in Korea. 

A Korean trademark:  cutlery and a box of tissue in every table.

Open the box and you'll find Korean cutlery: chopsticks and spoon for soups and rice.

KOZY offers their lunch special to patrons during weekdays that costs AUD$8.00 per meal.  Each meal comes with 3 side dishes and a small bowl of salad.

I ordered their Bibimbap.  A bowl of rice topped with vegetables, beef strips and egg.

The vegetables were fresh and lightly seasoned which was more than alright for me as I'd like my dishes to be low in salt.  A small bowl of Chili Sauce was served together with the Bibimbap and side dishes.  It is the patron's choice on how much Chili Sauce they would like to add unto their Bibimbap.  I wanted my Bibimbap moderately spicy so I only added 2 tablespoons of the Chili Sauce to liven it up.

The Husband ordered their Bulgogi meal and it came with a bowl of rice.  For only AUD8.00, the beef was abundant and flavourful.

The next time we visit KOZY, we plan to try out their Barbeque.


KOZY Barbeque Restaurant
7 Wilmot Street, Sydney NSW
Phone: 02 9267 3533

"A Wife's Charmed Life" dined at KOZY Barbeque Restaurant as an anonymous guest.

Lindt's Winter Exculsive: Hazelnut Hot Chocolate

There's something about traveling together that makes us (my Husband and I) closer to each other that after we traveled, we missed being away from each other.  After our Manila & Seoul vacation, it took us almost four weeks to spend a whole day out together. 

It's very rare that we in sync our day/s off work because we usually allot that for our respective "me" times.  However, for our first day off work after vacation, we decided to align our schedules together and spend the whole day traipsing around the city.  Although we enjoyed our vaycay immensely, we found that we missed the laidback atmostphere and familiarity that Sydney brings.

Our date started with a late lunch at our newest Korean resto find (coming soon in the next entry) and then we just wasted time hanging out in the shops at Pitt Street.  A walk along George Street led us to the Apple Store where we just played with their devices and looked at gadget accessories.  We were on our way to Circular Quay for the Vivid Sydney when tea time came and it was fortunate that we were near Lindt Cafe. 

It was the first week of Winter and there were signs that they are offering their Winter Exclusive--the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate.

I was looking forward to having coffee but when I saw their Winter Special, I immediately changed my mind and ordered the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate instead.

Chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts or toffee nuts are a favourite of mine so I had to take advantage as Winter is only three months. 

The limited edition Hazelnut Hot Chocolate is only available at the Lindt Cafe.  It combines the richness and earthy aromas of roasted hazelnuts and Lindt's dark or milk chocolate, with added honey and caramel for a perfect blend.

I smelled it from a few meters away as the waiter walks out of the counter to serve our drinks.  I was in hazelnut heaven from the first sip thereon.  The flavour of hazelnut was abundant and rich.  Truly perfect for chilly-snugly days.

The Husband opted for his usual favourite: Cafe Mocha (Dark Chocolate was his preference for the chocolate).

We shared a slice of their Wimbledon, a layered cake of mascapone and vanilla bean cream, almond vanilla cake, strawberry puree, bordered by shards of red and white chocolate.



We've go two more months of the Winter Season so if ever you are near a Lindt Cafe, drop by and warm up with a cup of the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. 


Lindt Cafe
Martin Place * Darling Harbour * George Street

Costco Soon-to-Open in Sydney & Canberra

One of the things my Husband and I enjoyed during our trip to Melbourne last year (September 2010) was shopping at Costco.

Costco is an international chain of membership warehouses that carry quality, brand name merchandise at substantially lower prices than are typically found at conventional wholesale or retail sources.  I've heard about Costco from relatives that travel to America when I was in my teen years and I have always been fascinated with their shopping stories in Costco. 

Costco opened in Melbourne last year and it became one of the highlights of our September 2010 trip.  I love grocery shopping!  Shopping in Costco reminded me of my weekly shopping rendezvous with my parents in Makro (in the Philippines) so when we entered "Costco-landia", it was like deja vu on a larger scale.

Costo is a shopper's haven.  From electronic gadgets, musical instruments, clothes, cameras, groceries, furniture--they almost have everything anyone may need. 

Fun fact:  They have American chocolates!!! 

Amusing fact:  Huge items are sold here!

Even the cakes sold in their Pastry Area are in massive sizes.

Great find for the OC (obsessive-compulsive): an instant stain remover.

GREAT NEWS!  Costco will soon open in Sydney and Canberra in July 2011!  Since last year, the Husband and I have been waiting for their opening and we're excited that it won't be long now. 

Early this year, they have announced that their registration for memberships are open so if you have not registered yet, you may do so here.

For more details and updates, check out their website.

Vivid Sydney 2011

Important Note:  All photos by Chris & Ibyang Sanchez, Copyright 2011.  Please don't use our photographs without our permission.

For the past two years, shooting Vivid Sydney has been a winter event the Husband and I always look forward too.  We've made it an annual project of ours because we love seeing the city of Sydney come alive at night, it's an excuse to go out on a winter's night and we get to practice our skills in night photography.

This year, we spent two nights shooting Vivid Sydney.  Although we were disappointed with the images of the Lighting of the Sydney Opera Sails due to its VERY interactive images, we still enjoyed the vibe of the city up in lights.

On our first night of shooting, we went up to the Pylon Lookout so we can have a different angle of the Sydney Opera House and the city.  It was a bit difficult as we were on the Harbour Bridge and the ground was unstable due to cars and trains passing by.  Not to mention that it was more windy up on the bridge too.  But it was worth it.

 

We had a good walk up the stairs to the Pylon Lookout before 6:00PM (start of Vivid Sydney) so we hung out in one of the stairs for a bit and let ourselves be mesmerized by the view around us.  One of our friends told us, "Seeing Sydney so beautiful makes me feel lucky to be living here."  And I couldn't agree more.  The city of Sydney, with or without lights, is always a sight to behold.

We spent a good hour up on the Harbour Bridge and then went back down to shoot some light installations in Circular Quay and to watch the fun activities at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

We hung out at the Overseas Passenger Terminal with friends on the first night.  Amidst the disappointment, we tried to enjoy watching the Lighted Sails of the Opera House.

On the second night we took shots of the Vivid Sydney, it was just me and the Husband.

Two years ago, there weren't as many people who came to see Vivid Sydney, but on its third year, Circular Quay on a Friday night was jampacked!  And there were more photographers lined up at Passengers Terminal this year too.

Once in a while, a bloke would approach my Husband and I and ask for a few tips in taking photos of the Lighted Sails. 

Here are some of the our favourite shots that night:

I especially wanted to see the Fire Dance this year.  It was our first time to see it and it didn't disappoint. 

This was the crowd in Campbells Cove waiting for the Fire Dance to start. 




On the hour and for four minutes, giant 15-metre high flames danced in time to two different soundtracks.  Fire jets threw flames higher than a three-storey house and all the people watching were entertained.  Watching the Fire Dance was a great finale to a night of enjoying the Vivid Sydney.

My recent article for my column "Life Down Under" for "Ang Kalatas" is about my Vivid Sydney experience.  The article and photographs were produced in collaboration with my beloved Husband, Chris Sanchez, as we both worked hard in getting good photos from the event.  If you want to read my article, please click this link or click the photo below and it will lead you to the article.