Today was finally the day for the Sydney Food Blogger meet up at East Ocean Restaurant. After weeks of deliberating about who was coming and where we were going, the big day came and went surprisingly quickly. Plus, I discovered we’ve all got something else in common other than food… talking!
Being the organiser, I arrived early and with butterfly belly nervousness. Would I be dining alone today at this table set for 10? Nope. I had 11 wonderful dining companions; Suze, Helen, Kathryn, Jen, Lisa, Howard, Qing, Lorraine, Reem, Belle and William.
I was talking too much to take notes on every dish but there were the usuals like har gow, chinese greens, steamed rice noodles, chicken feet, custard tarts, mango pancakes and mango pudding topped with condensed milk.
We also had something I hadn’t eaten before - ‘Footballs’. That’s not the technical name for them, but it certainly describes the shape. They had a crispy, flaky pastry outer shell with a soft glutinous inner shell and a filling of pork mince, prawns, shallots and mushrooms. Very tasty, although a little sweet for my liking and apparently they should have been crispier on the outside.
We also, of course, drank lots and lots of green tea to help our poor groaning digestives systems cope with the overload.
It took a while to start eating though because once the table was covered with dishes everyone whipped out their cameras and started flashing away. The ladies pushing the trolleys certainly found it very amusing!
Loads of other stuff happened too, but this is getting too long already and that’s not my style. If you’re craving more info, then click on the names above to visit some amazing blogs, drool over their photos and read their observations of the day.
Thanks so much for a fantastic lunch guys, let’s do it again soon!
Happy eating, Christie
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19 responses so far ↓
1 Helen // Oct 12, 2008 at 12:23 am
Ahhh to be in like-minded company is always a liberating experience! Thanks for organising this - a fab way to start the weekend
2 noble pig // Oct 12, 2008 at 2:34 am
Lucky you, sounds like a wonderful time…I like the Footballs name…very cute.
3 Lisa // Oct 12, 2008 at 9:50 am
It was wonderful to finally meet everyone, and even discover some great blogs I’d never read before! Thanks so much for organising it, Christie. Sounds like I’ll see a lot of you guys again on Thursday
4 Lorraine E // Oct 12, 2008 at 10:56 am
Thanks for organising it Christie, it was a great idea and one to be repeated most certainly. It was lovely to meet everyone and put a face to the great blogs!
5 Howard // Oct 12, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Ditto, it was great to meet everyone over some good food and good laughs! Thanks for organising, hopefully we can do it again soon.
6 Jen // Oct 12, 2008 at 5:45 pm
What a quick turnaround in getting this post up! Thanks for organising the meet-up Christie. Looking forward to the next one
7 belle // Oct 12, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Hi Christie, Thanks a million for organising such a great lunch. Had a great time and can’t wait to do it again. PS: I got a photo of your hand holding the camera, hope that’s OK!
8 chocolatesuze // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:33 am
wow were you the first to post? heh great to meet you in person dude thanks for organising!
9 Helen // Oct 13, 2008 at 5:09 am
Yay! I love meeting up with other food bloggers, putting real life personalities to online personas is a wonderful thing.
10 Billy @ ATablefortwo // Oct 13, 2008 at 9:32 am
Sorry that I missed it, looks like fun though. Next time, the poor ONLY male blogger there had to put up with 13 female bloggers talking about food, fashion, cosmetic huh?
11 Prizetastic // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Oh wow, sounds like you all had so much fun… I get SO nostalgic when anyone posts about doing anything in Sydney…. How I miss the huge variety of unlimited cuisine…. hhhhmmmmm but I do love my beachy paradise here… I think it’ll be time to visit sydney just to eat some yummy yummy food soon though. Love your blog, look forward to following it
12 Simon // Oct 13, 2008 at 1:38 pm
sounds like a great event. i look forward to checking out your reviews.
s
13 pea and pear // Oct 13, 2008 at 3:30 pm
What a fantastic day out you all must have had!! I felt like a fly on the wall reading this post, well done!! Happy days!! Ali
14 Christie // Oct 13, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Helen - Most definitely! Looking forward to seeing you again soon.
Noble Pig - I thought it was a cute name too.
Lisa - Absolutely, see you then.
Lorraine - I loved putting faces to names too. It’s funny how people’s personalities really come out in their blogs.
Howard - Glad you enjoyed yourself surrounded by so many girls!
Jen - I was second! But thanks. Was fun to talk avocado and condensed milk with you
Belle - The shot of my arm is approved! I was so glad when you and Michael arrived first… very relieved!
Chocolate Suze - Nope, second! I can’t believe you ate ice cream and steak straight after that meal… see you again soon.
Helen - Looking forward to our UK meet next year, it’ll be a blast!
Billy - Sorry you missed out! Looking forward to our Sugar Hit overload on Friday night
Prizetastic - Thanks for dropping by. See you round again soon.
Simon - Cheers, it was a really unique experience.
Pea and Pear - Glad you could experience it through this and welcome back after your blogging break.
15 FoodJunkie // Oct 13, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Hello! I have a little award for you on my blog!
16 Mag // Oct 14, 2008 at 5:03 am
Award time! Award time! It’s waiting for you on my blog
17 Y // Oct 14, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Looks like a great get together! I haven’t been to East Ocean before - will definitely have to make it my next Yum Cha destination.
18 Kim // Oct 19, 2008 at 7:00 am
Sounds like so much fun and the food looks good too.
19 Roast duck noodle salad | Fig & Cherry // Dec 24, 2008 at 1:31 am
[…] had Yum Cha with The Bear and my best friend on the weekend. We normally go to East Ocean, but it was pouring rain and she had her little girl with her in the pram. We needed somewhere […]
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