Sydney trip, and Easter plans

I was in Sydney last weekend, to see Tim Minchin at the Enmore. We stayed at Arncliffe, with the very nice R & P, who took us off to their local Lebanese for an amazing feast. Naji's Cedars Palace is the name; there's a takeaway kebab and chook shop next door run by the same people. We had the basic set menu, and the food just kept on coming. Fabulous hummous, baba ganouje and labneh, plus tabbouli and fattoush and felafel and kibbeh and shish kebab and more. Nothing unusual, except for the gratuitous bowl of hot chips, but it was all very good. The regular menu had many more tempting delicacies; I hope to try a few more of them sometime.

We also had a great breakfast at the Fairtrade cafe in Glebe - I forget the name, it's on the same block as Badde Manors, closer to Broadway. Very good coffee, huge breakfasts served until late. I had some lovely buckwheat pancakes with thinly sliced granny smith apple and strawberries.

We stayed over until Monday. In the morning, we did the usual city shop: Galaxy, Abbey's and Mecca for coffee. Then it was off home with our loot. I bought thirteen books, a Tim Minchin T-shirt, a funky tin box with "Devil Girl" on it, and a pair of shiny black shoes with a black-on-black stealth cat design. Only one of the books was food-related - a collection of essays by AA Gill, the English food reviewer. He is hilariously snarky, in a way that I only wish I could emulate.

This weekend we have, as usual, houseguests for the folk festival. Since our main bathroom is devoid of any plumbing, the bloke and I are moving in to the bar to allow better access to the ensuite. And we've sent our Sydney hosts off to stay with B1 & M, who nobly volunteered. Or at least B1 did. M seemed a little surprised when I mentioned it the other day...

Anyway, we will have our traditional dinner party, and I still haven't quite decided what to make. I have got some hot cross buns rising now, and a hunk of cured salmon on to marinade, and a cinnamon icecream base underway. I've got some pumpkin puree ready to make a pumpkin pie. Maybe I'll use this recipe instead. And it's Okonomiyaki for tonight.