Very Vietnam

The Perfume River flows through Hue in central Vietnam and we are proceeding upriver on a tourist boat, watching life go by. Mum is on the phone here while the boys keep a steady course. Hue is busy but laid-back compared with the big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.  As a guest of Vietnam Airlines I was lucky to spend time here and on the road to Quang Binh to the north and then in Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon.
(Image ©Alison Plummer/True Blue Cockatoo.)
www.vietnamairlines.com.vn

Melbourne Jazz Festival

We drove down to Melbourne for the Jazz Festival last week complete with film gear, a double bass, keyboards and an alto sax plus my brand new Nikon D300s which was couriered to me the night before we left! I should have taken a photo of the 4WD piled high with gear, but the camera was so newly out of the box that it sat on my knee for most of the trip. I love it! 

We filmed the Mothership with John Hollenbeck and Theo Bleckmann, rehearsing at Bennetts Lane, performing at the BMW Edge space and then again at the Basement in Sydney. The Mothership is a fantastic orchestra - go hear them when they play next.

We also saw Charles Lloyd with Zakkir Hussain and drummer Eric Harland. Pure magic!


PS Buy all your music from Birdland in Sydney www.birdland.com.au

The quintessential Crab Sandwich

I was driving to Port Douglas recently and stopped in a little town which had a welcoming cafe and – great excitement – a board listing crab sandwiches as one of the specialities. I grew up on the border of Devon and Cornwall in the UK and visits to the Cornish coast were frequent, which is where I developed my taste for crab. Nothing seems to come close to the succulent sandwiches available there which, made properly, are heavenly.

The key, I was reminded when I mentioned crab sandwiches to the wonderful Valli Little of Delicious Magazine, is the use of both dark and light crab meat. So I am off to experiment again and see if I can produce the quintessential crab sandwich ....watch this space ...

Chocolate update

" the possibility that chocolate could causally contribute to depressed mood, driving the association, cannot be excluded"


http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/wellness/Chocolate-is-linked-to-depression-Study/Article1-536403.aspx

Travel to Europe

Sitting here wondering how many people there are like me who have ageing parents in Europe and have been called upon to travel same day to hospital bedsides. It was difficult enough to find an airline seat for same day travel this time last year but the Flight Centre in Crows Nest, Sydney did the seemingly impossible and were very patient – I am trying not think about what would happen at the moment. 

Stonehurst Cedar Creek Semillon 1998

The Stonehurst Cedar Creek wines have become favourites and we tasted a 1998 Semillon last weekend that was pure Hunter – deliciously coloured and delicious to taste. Award-winning wines include the 2006 Chardonnay Semillon Champagne Style Sparkling White which won a trophy at the 2009 Hunter Valley Boutique Winemakers Show. Shiraz, Chambourcin and Semillon are more drops to try at the pretty sandstone cellar door. Love red? Try the Grower's Reserve Shiraz and the Chambourcin!
The pomegranates in the picture were growing on the Cedar Creek property which have led me on a search for recipes - I have an Armenian one which includes pistachio nuts, rosewater, yoghurt and cream which I can't wait to try. Watch this space ...
www.cedarcreekcottages.com.au

Image © Ken Martin/True Blue Cockatoo/Stonehurst Cedar Creek

PS: Just looking at Not Quite Nigella (created by one of my favourite travelling companions) I see a recipe for pomegranate chicken. See for yourselves:www.notquitenigella.com.au

Volkswagen Eos & Hunter Valley Test Drive

Lucky us - we drove a Volkswagen Eos around the Hunter Valley last week for the Volkswagen Magazine. The weather was perfect so we had the roof down most of the time. We drove the Peat's Ridge Road off the F3, north of Sydney, stayed in Wollombi and drove to Pokolbin where we stayed at the brand new Chateau Elan, dined at Legends on Tony Maher's delicious food and had a massage at the divine spa.

We photographed The Vintry, a contemporary 'green' house on DeBeyers Road, photographed at Talit's, a Provencale house in Broke and loved the gnocchi at Margan's Restaurant (above), close to Whispering Brook. The full feature will be posted soon ..

Images © Ken Martin/True Blue Cockatoo