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Australia Featured German Restaurant Löwenbräu Keller Saturday Sydney Sydney The Rocks Sydney

Löwenbräu Keller. German Restaurant. The Rocks, Sydney

Löwenbräu Keller German Restaurant Recently I had the opportunity to eat at Löwenbräu Keller, a German Restaurant in The Rocks area of Sydney. It is part of the Urban Purveyor Group which owns other similar places such as the Bavarian Beer Cafe, The Argyle and Sake. As it was my partner’s birthday she was able to take advantage of the ‘free main meal with ID proof of same day birthday’ deal. If you have a birthday coming up and have at least one other with you ordering a main meal, you can get your main meal free. (Subject to change.) My…

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Windows 10 Update Download Upgrade. Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Release.

A slight departure from my usual posts here. Traveling around the world of IT. In this post: – Short discussion about my experience with previous versions of the Microsoft Operating System – The big news about Windows 10 and its confirmed release date – Likely Microsoft Surface Pro 4 release date – Great guide to Microsoft 10 link It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited by any Microsoft news, but recently I had the opportunity to explore a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and was taken aback. Is this how far they’ve come since Windows 7? Having used Microsoft…

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Top 5 Things to do on Sado Island City, Niigata, Japan. Video.

The Top Five Things to Do on Sado Island Sado Island, otherwise known as Sado City, is a part of the Niigata Prefecture. It’s just a short ferry trip away (about an hour on the fast ferry or almost two on the scenic one). The island is home to a huge number of things to do. Mainly because it is a bit of a distance away from much of Japan so the people of the island do their best to attract visitors. I was very impressed with what they had to offer. It is a surprisingly huge place with immense rice…

Australia Bar Review Saturday Sydney Sydney Wine Bar

The Stoned Crow. Small Craft Beer and Wine Bar. Food and Drink Review. Broadway, Sydney

On Saturday we went to the Stoned Crow. It’s on Broadway and has replaced the old Hotel Broadway. This is a great redecoration with wood panels everywhere, a more friendly mood lighting, and the ubiquitous craft font on all the faux chalk boards above the drinks area. Glasses start at around $8 each though there were some specials, such as house wine for $5. I chose an $8 glass of cabinet sauvignon block 50 from the Central Ranges which, while not as juicy as a cab sav from the coonawarra region, definitely worked well with Stoned Crow’s style of meat…

Australia Bar Review Cocktail Bar Review Darlinghurst Sydney Saturday Sydney Sydney

Hinky Dinks Darlinghurst 1950s Dining Small Cocktail Bar Review

Hinky Dinks in Darlinghurst is one of those bars that you just don’t believe exists. Hiding behind a tiny door and window not far from the dazzling King’s Cross, this bar serves some amazing cocktails. As King’s Cross and surrounds are becoming THE place for cocktails, it’s difficult to be innovative, yet Hinky Dinks does this in style with their 1950s diner atmosphere, professional service, and easy to watch cocktail preparation. (Drink and a show!) We chose four different cocktails and all of them were a delight. We had the Dark Dinky n Stormy, the Honey Badger Punch, the Black Forrest…

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Hunter Valley Winery Tour Video Australia

I try and make it to the Hunter Valley every couple of years, to check out the new types of wines available and to visit any new wineries. I usually choose a tour so that I can enjoy the tasting experience and not worry about how to get back to Sydney. Here is a short video of one of my trips. In it you’ll see 5 areas of the Hunter Valley, including wineries Savannah Estate, Blueberry Hill, Tempus Two, Hermitage Cellars and James Estate, plus edits of the journey to and from. It’s very short as I’ve cut my own commentary…

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Iwanohara Wine Niigata Prefecture Japan. Japanese Muscat A Dry Red Review Video.

Iwanohara Wine Niigata Prefecture Japan Iwanohara Wine is a delicious and slightly sweet wine from Niigata Prefecture Japan. This review is about enjoying the Japanese Muscat A Dry Red Wine next to Niigata City River. My tasting commentary review is below. I had the pleasure of being able to drink a glass of wine on the street near the river in Niigata City. Something that’s just not legal in Sydney City and surrounding suburbs. The wine was a Japanese red from the Niigata Prefecture Iwanohara region and tasted of fresh fruit, strawberrys, bitter cherries and rasberry. The ideal wine…

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Niigata 新潟市 is the city of Niigata Prefecture, in Honshu, Japan. Video.

Niigata 新潟市 is the capital city of the Niigata Prefecture. It’s on the northwest coast of Honshu and is the gateway to Sado Island. The city has about 810,000 people so is considered a country town by residents of other major cities in Japan. However, Niigata still features many of the modern conveniences that you get in Tokyo, just with less people! So, it isn’t like you are actually going somewhere to eke out a living, like some towns in Australia. Niigata also gets LOTS of rain. About 270 days of rain and snow a year. So if you’re not into sunlight much,…

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Vivid Sydney. Get ready for 2016! Part 4. Darling Harbour and Vivid Sydney compilation video featuring Sydney University, Martin Place, The Opera House, The Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks and more.

The final part of my Vivid Sydney report. Darling Harbour featured regular fireworks and laser light shows during the Vivid Sydney Festival, as well as a new edition of a ferris wheel. The ferris wheel not only took you to the top and down, it also allowed you to turn your car around 360 degrees. Apparently it was $8 per person for one loop. The video below features a quick compilation of various Vivid Sydney displays around Sydney including at Sydney University, in Martin Place, of The Opera House, on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, across to the Art Gallery of New…

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Vivid Sydney. Get ready for 2016! Part 3. The Opera House. The Harbour Bridge. The Rocks.

We walked down Elizabeth Street to avoid much of the crowds but still took a quick detour to near Customs House for one of the geometric displays. The queue was at least half an hour long just to look at some mirrors inside a geometric shape so we decided to avoid it, go back the way we came and get to The Opera House that way. The Opera House Vivid Sydney display was different to last year. Last year’s was basically images in the shape of the Opera House with some creative animation, but still showing the geometric structure…

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Vivid Sydney. Get ready for 2016! Part 2. Martin Place Sydney Vivid Display.

We were expecting the display in Martin Place to feature buildings covered in lights, and displays such as creatures crawling up the sides of office blocks. As it turned out, that was so last year. Instead Martin place had been taken over by several corporations intent on promoting their brands. One of them was Intel, which on one day had a guy dressed as a giant robot. I didn’t get to seem him during the time I was there. Maybe next year! Other features included trees made of slices of wood that would make sounds and change colour when you…

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Vivid Sydney. Get ready for 2016! Part 1. Sydney University Vivid Display

Well, what an amazing ride Sydney’s Vivid festival was. While arguably not as good as the previous year, depending on who you speak to, Vivid Sydney’s 2015 event was still a refreshing and artistic light show organised by both amateurs and professionals. There was something for everyone. For me, seeing Intel’s drones on display in Martin Place was the highlight, but then I like anything robot-like! I also like artistic manipulation of geometric shapes, so creative use of shadows in light forms to change the shape of a building, or structures closely resembling dodecahedrons or tetrahedrons, or even some basic…

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Japanese Toilets, Public Restrooms and Narita Airport’s New Art Gallery Museum Public Washroom Experience.

It is well known that Japan has the best toilets in the world. With automatic sprays, music, self washing mechanisms and apps to control detailed toilet functions, Japan leads the world in hygiene. New features have appeared in Japanese toilets in recent years to help with fathers carrying children. Now most men’s cubicles are fitted with a child seat, so daddy can do his business and not worry about his child running around. A number of toilets have different symbols to indicate what you’d like so places may feature a western toilet, a hole in the floor toilet or a full care…

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A Distilled Wine Known as Grappa at Vanto in the QVB in Sydney.

In Sydney I regularly explore the bars and restaurants, looking to discover something new. In menus I look for different combinations of food that are unique or interesting, as well as drinks I’d never heard of. Sometimes I’ll be at a restaurant where I’ve already tried everything, but I’ll try something again that might be worthy of a review. This review falls into the former category as, and I was quite surprised to realise, I’ve never really tried grappa. Grappa is a drink made from the remains of the wine making process (seeds, pulp, skin and stems known collectively as…

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Saitama Craft Beer Festival Japan Review and Video

The Saitama Craft Beer Festival was everything I expected and more. Compared to Sydney ones, the Saitama one was a much better organised event with individual breweries offering their products at direct prices. This meant no prebooking required, no restrictive tab/ticket based tasting systems, no endless queues, and plenty of time and space to enjoy many craft beer tasting selections boxes. The best thing was it was just a five minute walk from the Saitama train station and there were no tickets to buy to get in or people checking your bags or even checking your ID. Families were welcome.…

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Street Markets, Food Markets near Tsukiji Fish Markets, Tokyo, Japan. Video.

This is just a short walk from the Tsukiji Fish Markets and so, if you find the seafood markets closed when you get there, there are still plenty of other options available to you. What impressed me about the food markets was that, unlike other bazaars and street food markets around the world, everything was spotlessly clean, all pieces of food were individually wrapped or in their own resealable pouches or under clean glass covering with not a speck of cooked or raw food dropped on any surfaces. You could even buy individual oysters, eat one, then be offered a…

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About the Tsukiji Tokyo Fish Market for Tourists. Foreigners Are Not Usually Allowed at Auctions Anymore.

The Tsukiji Tokyo Fish Market is THE place to go in Tokyo if you want to explore seafood. Some things have changed since all those fantastic reviews made it online though! 1. Foreigners are unlikely to have access to the auctions anymore. No more 5am tuna auction for tourists. 2. On the rare occasion they make the auction available to tourists, you must line up by 3am for a 3.30am entry and there is a maximum of about 120 people allowed in. As it is easy to get lost, perhaps get there earlier than that! 3. While sellers will have…

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Streets of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Video.

This short video simply shows you some buildings in Shibuya. And here is a picture of some blurred-out people waiting at Hachiko. The Hachiko waiting area stretches out across the square. Here is a picture of some wine for sale in a store in Shibuya. Remember you can get these kinds of drinks just about anywhere in Japan. Some are even available in on-street vending machines and on various floors inside hotels. There isn’t much of a restriction. However, you might be surprised at some of the prices if you’re from Australia. We usually pay about 3 times more than the…

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A quick look at a few streets of Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan and a business hotel room in Hotel The B Akasaka-Mitsuke. Video.

Streets of Akasaka in Tokyo, Japan and a quick look inside one of the Hotel The B rooms. We stayed at Hotel The B Akasaka-Mitsuke. This is part of a large hotel chain of business hotels with rooms available at a good price, and free coffee near reception. Very polite guys at reception. Ice vending machines on various levels. A bit smokey though! However, when we requested a non-smoking room they loaned us an air cleaning machine! Very local and within a short walk of the Ninja restaurant.

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Chateau Mercian Yamanashi Bailey A Muscat Unfiltered Red Wine Commentary Review Tasting Video

At the ninja restaurant cafe in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan I had the opportunity to sample the Chateau Mercian Yamanashi Bailey A Muscat Unfiltered Red Wine and give a wine tasting commentary review of it to camera. The vintage of the wine was 2006. On the video I didn’t know the grape variety but found out later it was Muscat (which, as there are many varieties of Muscat, means I still don’t really know!) In Australia the more popular red varietals are big, bold and juicy with peppery, coffee or chocolate notes, whereas the reds regularly served and prized in Japan are sweet,…

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Irish Bar Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Wine and Haggis!

After meeting at Hachiko we headed to a surprise place for dinner that one of the friends of our friend had recommended. We had been looking forward to perhaps a sushi place or a rare and secret izakaya, and certainly somewhere that no foreigner would ever know about or could ever find in Shibuya. However, we were surprised to find that we were taken to Abbot’s Choice – an Irish Bar, right in the centre of Shibuya and easily seen by everyone. So, definitely not what we were expecting, but apparently THE most popular place for Shibuya residents. Who’d have thought? Ironically, wherever…

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Le Sun Palm Bar in the Hikarie building, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

It was a pleasant surprise to stumble across this craft drinks place in Shibuya. I had no idea that this kind of establishment had already become popular in Japan. We tried a couple of drinks there but the main surprise was the quality of the ‘bar snack food.’ This was delightful, fresh and filling. Tuna and avocado combination with wasabi flavour. The perfect accompaniment to pre-dinner drinks. Around Le Sun Palm Bar were other places equally impressive with quite a wide variety of drinks on the menu. If you’ve been living in Japan for awhile and need a European or…

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Shibuya Crossing aka Shibuya Scramble in Tokyo, Japan. Shibuya Ekimae Kosaten is where a million people cross daily. Video.

The Shibuya Crossing, otherwise known as Shibuya Scramble, (also known as Shibuya Ekimae Kosaten) is one of the most busiest pedestrian crossings in the world with an estimated million people crossing it daily. (About, on average, 2500 people cross every time the light changes) While it is not that busy during a weekday during the daytime, it may seem like you’re risking your life on weekends and during peak times. Below is a video showing the area, the crossing and a view of the crossing zoomed in from the Hikarie building. If you wish to join in, go to Shibuya…

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Hikarie Building Shibuya Tokyo Japan Shops and Viewing platform

Featuring a creative space, cafes and restaurants as well as several levels of department stores, the Hikarie building is a new event in Shibuya. The viewing area on level 11 referred to as the Tokyo Theatre Orb and Sky Lobby is definitely worth a visit and looking out the windows is completely free! For a variety of wine and food you can’t go past the various European style restaurants on level 7. I was surprised at the international selection of wines and other drinks on offer. Definitely worth checking out.

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