We’ll end the series with some interesting details from the walk.
Cafes are a big part of Newtown and you can choose to sit at one of 100 or so in the area. Always sit by the window as there’s always something interesting to look at.
And there are also lots of interesting shops to browse too. This one is from a second-hand shop specialising in antiques – a grouping one does not ordinarily see.
Breakfast in the morning is a fusion affair. There was still slices of toast on the table, but the spread we liked most was a mixed tropical fruit kind. The coffee however was something special.
Kopi tubruk is the Indonesian version of Turkish style coffee. The beans are roasted dark and grounded to the same powdery consistency as Turkish coffee, however the water, instead of being boiled with the ground coffee, is boiled separately and then poured on to the grounds. The grounds are then left to settle for a few minutes before the coffee is drunk.
I quite like this coffee. It’s strong, but not at all harsh and bitter. And unlike Italian-style espresso, it doesn’t give me the jitters. With a little milk and sugar, it’s good start to the day.
Well, winter’s over, so this is the last dish of the season! I tried baking a mocha friand. It was originally a coffee one but I replaced instant coffee with cocoa powder. After baking it’s dosed with an espresso/sweetened condensed milk concoction, which makes the finished product nice and moist. It could actually do with a touch more sugar, but other than that I was pleased with the result.
It’s raining cats and dogs in Sydney today. I know that people from northern Europe (or anywhere else with a high percentage of rainy days) would laugh but it is possibly the first time this year that I’ve had to carry my large umbrella. Such a miserable day gives me a craving for the coffee I had on Sunday – of the Turkish kind – rich, flavoursome, dark, sweet.
Static and Silence 