Ibyang
Ibyang

Aussie Life

Reflective “Me” Time on Maundy Thursday

Here in Australia, we still have work on Maundy Thursday but from where I work, we were given a free half-day if we go to work on Thursday. I left work as soon as I finished my morning tasks and met up with the Husband for lunch. For a change, I wanted to eat fastfood coz I craved for Hungry Jack’s onion rings.



After lunch, we walked towards QVB checked out this funky store called Bristol and Brooks where you can find designer gifts and amusing, cool stuff for the home


After a few minutes of walking along George Street, the Husband went back to work so I decided to hang out at Hyde Park. I especially brought along my Canon 400D with the Fujinon 55mm lens for some test shots at the park.

I took photos of flowers…

of trees….


of park benches…
of people sleeping on benches….

and the park.
 

I’m amazed at how powerful and sharp the vintage Fujinon lens is. I love it.


 
Stayed at the park for a while. Walked around and then at one point, sat in one of benches and just watched people pass by. Listened for the sounds of nature and life around me and most of all reflect. No matter how hurried some people were around me that time, I felt a certain peace coming out of me…of my heart.

 

Before I went home, I continued my “me” time at a nearby Starbucks for a cup of Cafe Mocha and a slice of New York Cheesecake to celebrate one of my recent achievements at work (which happened the day before).



It was one lovely afternoon of great weather. It may not be the ideal, quiet Maundy Thursday that I usually celebrate in the Phils, but nevertheless, my quality “me” time was filled with serenity, joy and gratitude for the life I have and the life I’m living.

All photos by Ibyang Sanchez, Copyright 2010.
Canon 400D and Fujinon 55mm lens.


READ MORE

Sydney Camera Market

7 March 2010

Organised by the Camera and Image Collectors Society, the Sydney Camera Market is held twice or thrice a year. It is in this event that photographers, hobbyists, enthusiasts and collectors can find vintage cameras and lenses for cheap prices.


Other items that they sell: secondhand digital cameras (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony etc), lenses, flashes, polarizers, lens hoods and caps, bags, tripods, camera straps and magazines.

Other than finding “diamonds in the rough”, this is a place where one can talk to people with the same interest for photography. Most of the stall owners are very accommodating in discussing buyers’ question on gadgets and photography even if you are not buying from them.

The event is held from 10:00am to 3:00pm at one of the halls of the Ultimo Community Centre. The place is not that big so expect little room to move once you’re inside. We arrived before 11am and there was a crowd already.
Our friend Jon was already there. He was the one who told us about this event and I was glad to see him. He helped us try out some vintage lenses via his camera.
Now for our great finds. We were able to buy a vintage Fujinon lens (55mm, f1.8). Haven’t used this yet as I have to buy an M42 mount for my Canon camera. Test shots from this lens produced sharp images. Tag price on this little one was AUD$35.00 but the seller gave me a AUD$5.00 discount.
With the bargain I made from the Fujinon lens, I bought a cute lens hood for the lens only for AUD$3.00.

Our great find that day was a vintage Fujica camera (the grandfather of Fuji cameras) released in the early 1980s. The camera and lens were priced at AUD$42.00. My Husband asked the seller if we can buy it for AUD$35.00 and he gave it to us!!! What great bargain that was.

The next Sydney Camera Market is scheduled on 25 July 2010. Hope to see you there!

Here are some sample shots from our vintage Fujica. We just scanned the photos, no editing done so you can see actual shots.
Here’s a full body shot. Notice the vignette on the side of the photograph.
Here’s a more close-up shot. Notice the beautiful bokeh (eyeloveit!!!).
A silhouette shot. In the real photo (as in hard copy), the outlines are sharp and crisp.
To have this camera is a dream come true. Having to buy it at a very cheap price was a big bonus. No matter how digital everything are these days, using film cameras will always be love. I love the learning that goes with it, I love that you really have to think about settings because there’s no take twos (there is, but you know what i mean), I love the romance of waiting for your photos to get developed (one day wait here in our suburb), the anticipation and wondering (and fear?? hehe) what your photos really look like and the joy of seeing some good photographs when they’ve been handed over to you.
The Husband and I have already bought a couple of coloured films and some black & white films. The Fujica will be one of our cameras when we cover events now.


1st Photo courtesy of Jeanny.
READ MORE

Restaurant: Subsolo Spanish Resto and Bar

10 March 2010 5 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food

If you’re looking for a Spanish and Portuguese restaurant in Sydney with classy but cozy ambience, gastronomically-satisfying food with reasonable prices and great service, I would highly recommend Subsolo Spanish Resto and Bar to you. (Note: “Subsolo” means “basement” in Portuguese) 

The space is very welcoming with a variety of tables ranging from bar space to private areas. Has a New York-meets-Barcelona vibe with sultry red and brown interiors.


 


Location: Unassuming and can be easily missed as it is in the basement of a building. However, never underestimate the district in which its situated as Chanel and Louis Vuitton surrounds this underground space.

Ambience:

Since we’re a group, we were given a table at the far end of the room with curtains from each of our sides to give us a bit of privacy (see curtain on the photo below).

It can be dark for taking photographs but it’s a beautiful place to bring a date with it’s romantic and warm lighting.

Above our table is a chandelier–i love it! So stylish and glamourous.

Food:
I started the night with a glass of Sangria (AUD$15.00/glass) while we waited for friends to arrive. Unlike other Spanish restos, Subsolo only serve their Sangria in big wine glasses–it’s really big (good enough to share), hence the price. Their Sangria’s refreshing and a bit strong compared to other Sangrias I’ve drank before. I’m fascinated that they added a Star Anise to their Sangria, made it more tasty.

Then came the tapas we ordered:

Zucchini Flowers filled with three Spanish Cheeses (AUD$24.00/entree). My first time to try these tapas. It’s crunchy and the minute you cut the Zucchini Flowers in two, cheese overflowed. If you love cheese, you can never go wrong with these.
 



Chicken Chorizo with Caramelised Eschallots (AUD$20.00/entree). Chorizo is one of my favorite tapas in any Spanish resto. I never fail to order these. Their Chicken Chorizo was uniquely sweet as they caramelised eschallots in order for the chorizos to have their own sauce. I love it! (Usually, chorizos swam in just oil in other Spanish restos) We had two orders of these which only showed how much we liked it.

Crunchy Bacalao (Salt-Cod) Croquettes on Aioli (AUD$24.00/entree). This one is divine. Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside (yes, just like the TV ad). At first bite, I almost forgot that it was fish inside the croquette. You can taste the fish but it’s not overpowering.

Paprika Salt and Pepper Squid with Saffron Mayonnaise (AUD$21.00/entree). Soft, easy-to-bite and fresh.



Paella Valenciana with Chicken, Pork Chorizo and Seafood (AUD$39.00). Visually beautiful, the chicken, chorizo and mussels were arranged to entice one’s appetite. The mussels, and to my surprise, scallops tasted fresh and the pork chorizo were exquisite.

Just a tip: Cooking the Paella takes 40 minutes so if you know that you’d like to eat Paella, order it as soon as you come in to save you time from waiting.


Churros filled with Dulce de Leche, Spanish Chocolate Sauce and Honey Nougat Ice Cream (AUD$16.00). An amazing dessert, I swear this is to-die-for. Usually the thing to look out for when ordering Churros is the chocolate dip. But the Churros in Subsolo had something more than the delicious chocolate dip. The Churros had Dulce de Leche filling!!!!! It was sooooo yummy. And the siding was not just an ordinary ice cream–it was Nougat Ice Cream. So so wonderful to the palate. Truly, the grand finale of our dinner.



It was one great meal enjoyed in the company of good friends. I will be coming back here soon to have a taste of their Pork Chorizos and Portuguese Espetadas (Charcoal Spit-Roasted Skewers).

I would also like to commend their customer service. I made reservations via email and they replied the same day. I asked a few questions and they were very accommodating. They also called me two hours before our reservation to make sure that everything is set. Our host during dinner was very friendly who even cracked jokes while he served us.

Subsolo Spanish Resto and Bar
161 King St. corner Castlereagh St Sydney NSW 2000
For all bookings and inquiries
please call 9223 7000 or email bookings@subsolo.com.au

For more photos of our dinner, click here.


READ MORE

Don’t Panic

The first two words that my Husband said to me this morning was…

Woke up an hour late because I forgot to turn on the alarm of my mobile phone. For some reason, I somehow disabled the alarm yesterday instead of enabling it. I think I was too tired and sleepy last night I wasn’t thinking straight anymore.

When I opened my eyes, it was already 7am! So I sat up and nudged the Husband to tell him that we’ve slept in. All he said was, “Don’t panic” like there was an emergency or something. It amused me amidst the shock of waking up late.

Good thing I always get everything ready the night before I retire to bed: our clothes for work, bags and lunch boxes (they’re inside the fridge so we just have to take them out and put into our bags). I also get our breakfast ready on the table: bowls with spoons and cereal boxes so that all we have to do is bring out the milk, pour it in and eat. It takes awhile for me to rest after dinner because I get everything ready. Other than it has become a habit for me, it’s a good safety net for days when things are running late.

So there’s really nothing to panic about, and we really didn’t, but I appreciated my Husband’s first two words this morning. Maybe he was also shocked so his instinct was to say “Don’t panic” so both of us will come out of the shock as calmly as we could.

The truth of the matter is, there is no logical reason to panic. We love going to work early so we normally wake up before 6AM. However, our work actually lets us come in late (we can come in as late as 10:30AM) but we like being early at work so we can also come home early. And if we do get late for work, so what? It is not the end of the world and it is very seldom that we’re late for work anyway (in my case, never…yet), we’re pretty sure our respective offices will understand.

What also helped was the public transportation here in Sydney tries their best to be on time. It’s not perfect, anyone who lives here know that, but public transport here have a timetable they try to follow. Most of the time I’m grateful that they are efficient and I’m glad today nothing happened in order for the trains and buses to get delayed (at least in my area).

Running late can make us crazy in the morning. But what saved us this morning are two wonderful words spoken by my Husband, the practice of preparing for early morning rush and public transport that thankfully didn’t get delayed.

Hope everyone’s having a great Thursday…TGIT!!!

{image source}

READ MORE