Food and Friends

I have been really blessed this week with opportunities to catch up with friends over some lovely meals in lovely places in Sydney. On Tuesday night I went to Newtown for thai at my favourite Thai restaurant there - Thai Pothong. My dear friend Penny and I shared a couple of great entrees - Papaya Salad, Scallops and then a couple of mains - Green Chicken Curry and a dish of Green Vegetables. The food, needless to say was delicious! Mind you the Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, went quite well with the food and really complemented the dishes!

The restaurant has grown incredibly over the last few years. It has continued to expand in size and now boasts a gift shop as well! It still retains the lovely ambience and the staff are all very friendly.

It is well lit, but no with hideous flourescent lighting. There is quite a lot of Thai art that adorns the walls. It really does create a gorgeous ambience. We had a wonderful dinner and then went to Kuletos, a regular haunt of mine when I was a university student in the '90's for cocktails. The evening was so enjoyable! It was great to be able to catch up with a work colleague I can honestly call a friend.

Last night, I had dinner with my cousin George. He is one of the most inspiring and hard working teachers I know. He is also incredibly generous with his time and his knowledge is deep. We started with drinks at Clock Tower at Surry Hills and then went to Pizza e Birra. If you have never been to Pizza e Birra, it is an Italian restaurant in one of my favourite suburbs in Surry Hills. The pizzas really are something else! Dessert was some delicious cannolli filled with ricotta. Mmmm. Afterwards we went to another good place for a drink - The White Horse. Again it was a really enjoyable night and I suppose that both of these wonderful meals got me thinking about the importance of food in bringing together friends. The relaxed way in which we come together to share a meal is so simple, yet provides so much sustenance. It gives us an opportunity to nourish our friendships (as well as satisfy our appetites)

I truly believe that I exercise the way that I do (I did a 10km run before dinner yesterday) so that I can eat delicious food. I am quite happy about that arrangement, because I do have quite an insatiable appetite for good food, whether it be at a restaurant or a home cooked meal. I think I could be characterised as one of those people who dreams about the delicious meal that they will have and uses that as inspiration!