Tropfest 2005

From its famed humble beginnings in Darlinghurst's Tropicana Caffe 13 years ago, Tropfest is now trumpeted as the world's biggest short film festival. Way back in 1992, John Polson asked the permission of the local Tropicana cafe owner to screen his first short film Surry Hills, 902 Spring Roll.

And as they say, the rest is history. Australians love the idea of egalitarianism and any Joe Bloggs on the street seemingly has just as much chance of being a Tropfest finalist as a seasoned professional director. All films are viewed without knowledge of the director's name so although it attracts its fair share of celebrity directors and cameo appearances, the essence of success remains in a good idea and an ability to capture the imagination of a short-attention-spanned-public.

The brief? Make a film under 7 minutes and include the Signature Tropfest Item (TSI). This ensures the film has been made in the given period with the gap between TSI announcement and submission deadline less than nine weeks(?!?!).

Comedies normally do well but dramas and animations are just as likely to succeed if they strike a chord with the viewers. Those that enter say the adrenalinin rush is phenomenal as the live audience feedback truly indicates the emotive and story-telling success of their film.


Sydney's Domain was packed with people. The 16 finalist films are broadcast live via satellite to venues around Australia.

The estimated audience was 130,000. Australians love a festival, love a picnic and any excuse to pack the Jatz, the TimTams and the ice-cold esky!

We, of course, packed a veritable feast.

L-R clockwise: AG's pesto pasta salad with olives, basil and feta; mascarpone-stuffed figs; sundried tomato tortilla wraps; blue cheese and crackers; French pate; bottles of chardonnay and verdelho; prosciutto; and AG's chorizo, cherry tomato, cucumber and rocket salad.
Oh and a free Sony inflatable pillow and lollypops too.

[And yes, there was a reason why I handily had chorizo and rocket in the fridge for my EoMEoTE!]


Sundried-tomato pita wrap with chorizo salad.


Cheers!


Live audience feeds entertained the crowd. The Harbour Bridge lies in the distance.


Free Lipton iced tea samples went down a treat.


And the free popcorn, fairyfloss and lollypops at the Sony Playstation tent were also popular. Sony also had a free jumping castle (pictured in the background).

Tropfest is also famed for its celebrity supporters. It's all about street-cred and "power to the plebs" eh?

Nick Giannopolous and Daniel MacPherson

Magda Szubanski and Geoffrey Rush

Congratulations to all the winners and all 792 entrants!

Tropfest takes place every summer with entries generally opening in late November, closing in late January and airing in late February.

IRL: Sydney bloggers' yumcha

With regular photographic :P knowledge of each others' lives, it seemed about time that Sydney bloggers put names to handles, and faces to blogsites.

We had a Sydney bloggers yumcha today, forcibly drawing back the curtains from the anonymous stage of cyberspace.

In attendance was pinkcocoa, ShinChan, BHR, R, R's sibling, Casey, and of course yours truly. The rollcall was modest, but the appetites--happily--more than compensated.



We had yumcha at perennial favourite, East Ocean, whereupon a frenzy of urgent finger pointing and vigorous head nodding quickly resulted in a groaning table of delectable delights.

There were dumplings with prawns (har gow), dumplings with garlic chives (gao choy gow) and dumplings with snow pea sprouts (dao miu gow).

We had sticky rice, bean curd parcels, beef siu mai, Chinese broccoli (gai lan), long prawn noodles (har cheung fun), fried rice noodles (jin cheung fun) and pepper beef.

There was tripe. There was chicken feet. And then there were desserts.

Coconut jelly, almond jelly, mango pudding, mango pancakes... *sigh*

It was hard work but we had commitment.
We had integrity.
We had emergency stomachs.

Pinkcocoa took on the onerous task of photographing each dish. Check out her post here.

All in all it was great fun in the midst of like-minded company. The tastebuds are always heightened in the company of foodies and it was fantastic to finally meet the people behind the blogsites.

And it seems like we're not the only city to turn URLs to IRLs. Seattle bloggers also met for the first time last week.


Sydney bloggers doing what they do best!

EoMEoTE #4: Chorizo and rocket

I've been meaning to join in an EoMEoTE (End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganza) ever since I saw the first version way back in December last year. Eggs, toast... is this not the international brunch of choice? With limitless opportunities for culinary entrepreneurship? Brilliant, brilliant idea Anthony and Jeanne!

As usual though, time crept up on me so when I saw Julia's punctual post on her EoMEoTE for version #4 this morning, I shrieked and raced to the fridge to see what was available.


Toasted ciabatta with scrambled egg, chorizo and rocket

I love good chorizo.
I also love rocket.

Hello EoMEoTE #4!

I have always loved the taste sensation of chorizo oils soaking into crusty bread. This version had the bonus of spicy seared chunks of sausage contrasting with soft silky eggs and cut through with the peppery cleansing effect of rocket.

Mmm... Is it too early for sangria...?

Toxteth Hotel, Glebe

We had a quick dinner at the Toxteth, a low-key but recently refurb'ed pub in Sydney's inner west.

The food here definitely fulfilled the "value" part of the pub grub equation, with enormous servings to satiate the ravenous.


Calamari with chips $13.00


Grilled marinated chicken breast with chips and salad $18.00


Smoked chicken salad with Roquefort dressing $13.00


Baby octopus salad $18.00

The chicken breast serving was enormous although this appeared pan-fried rather than grilled. The taste of dried herbs was also a little strong. The smoked chicken salad was a bit of a disappointment with deli, not whole chicken used. However the baby octopus was tender and tasty even if the cherry tomato and parsley garnish did look at little 80s retro! And importantly for some, plenty of chips for everyone!

The outdoor courtyard was also perfect to dine in as the sun set on a warm summer's eve.



Toxteth Hotel
345 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
Tel: 02 9660 2370

Snapped: Bill Bryson at the Valhalla, Sydney

Bill Bryson at a Gleebooks author talk at the Valhalla in Sydney.

Generally known as the witty author of numerous travel books, Bryson is currently touring to promote his latest book, A Brief History of Nearly Everything--a layman's guide to the Big Bang and the start of the Universe.

Looking remarkably cool in a velvet jacket despite the Sydney humidity, Bill read us chapters from various works, told us his 11 rules to make the world a better place, and generally won us over with his English humour and charm.

Recently he was asked to submit written answers to a WH Smith Q&A feature...

Q. What would you like people to be saying about you 100 years from now?

A. ... and the amazing thing is he's still sexually active.

CNY: Dragon boat races

The final event on Sydney's Chinese New Year festivity calendar... dragon boat races on Sydney's Darling Harbour.


Vendor making hand-made eggrolls. First time I've seen this--very impressive!





Official dragon boat race opening ceremony










Related GrabYourFork posts:
Links for all Chinese New Year 2005 pics

Govinda's, Darlinghurst

Govinda's has been around since 1979 and provides one of the cheapest dinner and movie deals around.

A vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet is $15.90.
Add a movie for only $4.00.
Or watch the movie without dinner for $10.90.

The movie room is upstairs and its biggest drawcard is the fact that patrons get to lie on lounges for the screening.


Pic from www.govindas.com.au

What's the catch? Well, it is run by the International Society for Krsna Consciousness, or as they're more commonly known, Hare Krishnas. But their presence here is low-key. No orange robed staff, no overt attempts to convert you and nary a tambourine to be seen.

There are a couple of Krishna prints on the wall, free literature at the door and a constant soundtrack of muted sitar-playing, but that's about as much Krishna action you're gonna get. So we grabbed a couple of plates and headed straight for the vegetarian buffet.


Vegetable bake, vegetable gratin, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds


Penne napolitane, lettuce and coleslaw


Pappadums, cauliflower pakoras, salad and mango chutney


Spicy dahl soup


Subji vegetables


There's plenty of food and a fairly wide variety of it. The cauliflower pakoras were pretty addictive and there are even chips and wedges for the non-adventurous.

A row of condiments line the counter bench and include mango chutney, chilli sauce and yoghurt as well of plenty of toasted sesame seeds and sunflower seeds to get your B vitamins.

The chairs and tables are a functional-looking black, the decor is minimalist and the ceiling-to-floor windows allow us to see the balcony's gloating occupants.

Alcohol is available although we settled for mango lassis which were ok, but a little watery.

The movie tonight was Hero which we watched leaning back on couches as we rubbed our distended bellies.

An enjoyable evening although be warned that on busy nights you may end up lying very close to your lounge neighbours! It's also advisable to eat early so you can queue for prime lounge seating.


Oh, and our favourite Govinda's business card reads:

For all earthly enquiries phone 9380 5155.
For all Other World enquiries call the Supreme Operator on
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
to lift off to a trascendental eternal world
full of bliss, love and infinite knowledge

Govinda's
112 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst
Tel: 02 9380 5155

Check the website for movie listings, times and reviews.

Una's, Darlinghurst

Una's reputation precedes itself for Darlinghurst locals in-the-know. Having served giant-sized schnitzels for over thirty years, the patrons here are devout fans and inevitably ravenous.

The specialty here is the Jaeger schnitzel, two enormous veal or chicken schnitzels served with a kilo of potato rosti and half-a-cabbage worth of sauerkraut (or so it would appear). The menu is predomoniately Austrian (complete with alpine-feel paint theme) and everything is ja, giant-sized.


Roast pork knuckle with sauerkraut $17.90
The pork was surprisingly tasty and moist. Alas no marrow but definitely a crowd-pleaser.


Una's goulash and spatzle $13.90
Spatzle is a type of German dumpling made of flour, eggs, milk and nutmeg but tasting rather reminiscent of gnocchi. Pleasingly stodgy comfort food!


Una's famous Jaeger schnitzel with mushroom sauce and potato rosti.
Chicken $17.80 Veal $17.40
Happy faces all round with freshly cooked moist schnitzel smothered in mushroom sauce. Lots of schnitzel.


Cabbage side salad (which arrives with schnitzel).

The mains were all well-received. Sure the emphasis here seems to be on quantity, but the schnitzels were fresh, lean and perfectly crispy. The ensuing silence as people chewed contentedly said it all. Some people contemplated their plate after 20-minutes of eating and realised they had hardly made a dent into theirs mains mountain.

The portions here are sumo-sized but don't compromise on quality. This isn't fine dining, but if it's a big hunk of tasty schnitzel or pork knuckle you're after, this is the place you're looking for!


One of the waiters at Una's. Not quite lederhosen, but close enough!

Despite a number of loosened belts and groaning digestive tracts (I don't think anyone finished their meal!), we battled on for your viewing pleasure...


Cappuccino served with love... awww...


Chocolate mousse $4.90


Creme caramel $4.90


Chocolate rum balls $4.90


Apple strudel $5.90

Dessert hit-of-the-night was definitely the strudel. A veritable brick of pastry-encased chunky cinnamon apples with sultanas.

Una's is incredibly popular with a steady queue constantly hovering on the footpath. For this reason, somewhat draconian rules are enforced. No bookings allowed, and groups must hover upstairs in the bar until every person has arrived before they're allowed to sit.

In addition, once dessert is consumed the bill is presented and diners are asked to either relocate themselves upstairs in the bar or outside.

But I forgive them for it. Each seat is a potential schnitzel eater and Una seems determined to double the body weight of every Sydney-sider.

The lesson? Eat in small groups. Don't order an entree. And don't eat for a week beforehand.



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Una's, Darlinghurst
340 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9360 6885

This has been included as an Intrepid Eat on Grab Your Fork's Top 10 Sydney Eats for Tourists. Read the entire list here.

Open Monday to Saturday, 7.30am - 10.30pm;
Sunday 8.00am - 10.30pm

Fully licensed and BYO wine only ($1.50 per person, $1 per bottle)
Sunday and public holiday surcharge $1.00 per person
Minimum food charge $12.00 per person after 6pm
No credit cards accepted

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Una's Darlinghurst, Mar 05
Una's on Broadway, Ultimo, Mar 05 (dinner)
Una's on Broadway, Ultimo, Aug 05 (breakfast)