PTDs (public transport dependents) can just jump on a train to south yarra station. as soon as you get out turn left and walk all the way down past chapel st, como centre right to the last shop before the shell petrol station.

i first came with.. why yes, how did you guess?.. xm and although i can't remember all that we ordered, i do remember falling in love with the deep fried soft shell crab and eggplant with miso sauce. i'd never had eggplant done this way before but it was gooooodd...

i've been here countless times since and there's a waitress - i really must remember to ask her what her name is -  who is lovely. unfortunately i don't have pictures for all the dishes i've sampled (and the pictures i do have aren't fantastic), so bear with me!

when you get in you normally get a small dish of edamame with rock salt. these beans are really addictive!

told you my pictures weren't fantastic. this is my favourite sushi.. you can get the soft shell crab on it's own too but i normally get the sushi (or the soft shell crab hand roll) to fill me up a little bit more.

k always makes fun of me because i hate eating salads at home. i much prefer roasted vegetables. but as soon as someone's made it for me, i devour it! yoshi's green salad is served with a light citrus-y dressing and is a really good side dish to have. the salad is always really crunchy and fresh, and the dressing is amazing.

the okonomiyaki (japanese pancake made with shredded cabbage) is made in the same style as the soft shell crab with japanese mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce which is similar to katsu sauce) so we normally order one or the other. the bonito flakes flutter around madly on top of the dish, which grossed k's grandma out but it's good, really! you have to eat it as soon as it hits your table though, it's no good once it cools down.

k always gets the sashimi when we come here, you have a choice of a normal platter of just the red fish (tuna and salmon). personally i like the red fish option better, i don't eat much of the white fish.

i don't have photos for the following dishes but i'll try and get some the next time i visit. i'm not quite comfortable with whipping out my camera to snap photos of every dish anymore. and sometimes even if i want to my brain directs my hands not to the olympus but to the cutlery first and by the time i realise i've forgotten to take a picture my meal's almost all gone. which doesn't help this blog hahaha.. but i'll try.

the hamachi fish is melt-in-your-mouth fantastic. seasoned with salt and pan fried, it is served with a wedge of lemon and shredded white radish.

the beef sashimi is worth a try. i know this dish as tataki but hey... tomayto, tomahto and all that jazz. it's served in a ponzu sauce with spring onion and chilli powder. nobu still has the best tataki, but yoshi's offering is not bad either.

the vegetarian fried udon is a nice dish if you need to fill up, it's not too sweet like fried udon normally is. i would definitely share this though so you have the chance to taste everything else as well.

i've tried the teppanyaki dishes here (i think you get a choice of salmon, beef or chicken and maybe pork). but i just think that unless teppanyaki is made in front of you and comes served with a side of super-garlicky rice, it's not teppanyaki. i much prefer getting an assortment of dishes to share rather than just the one dish anyway. because of this i also avoid ordering tempura or teriyaki, but if you like these dishes yoshi's offerings are really good.

the karaage is also a good choice, served with japanese mayonnaise and mustard. the takoyaki is also a good snack. jeez, everything i've tried here is good! the only dish i've semi-regretted ordering is the mushrooms butteryaki. basically a selection of mushrooms fried in a butter lemon sauce. it's actually really tasty, but gets a bit sickening after a while. maybe if i'd shared it then i would have been able to break the taste up, but k hates mushrooms so whaddaya do..

i know i've missed out on more dishes i've actually tried, so i'll update this post after the next time i head there! :)

Ancient Free Gardeners has taken various forms since 2006 around a blooming collection of artistic, folkish indie-rock tunes orchestrated by James Milsom. Callum Barter emerged initially as a producer/engineer but took up his drumsticks when the need for a drummer arose. When Melbourne rockers The Scapes became extinct, bassist Gautam Raju and keys-smith Steve Morfesse entered the line-up.

The name Ancient Free Gardeners also sparks some intrigue. Apparently, there's an old building on the outskirts of Melbourne's central business district that advertised its tenants as the Ancient Free Gardeners. According to James, the building housed a secret society. Within weeks of the band spotting the building, local newspapers ran a story about it, citing a 'friendly society' that had shut up shop and quietly slipped out of town. Not exactly the moves of a friendly bunch of individuals...

The band debuted on disc in 2007 with a self-titled independent EP and has since released two singles. Triple J has since endorsed the quartet via airplay, alongside generous national and international community radio support. Fans can expect a full length album sometime in 2008. Those who dig Augie March, The Frames and Art of Fighting may find a safe and happy haven in Ancient Free Gardeners.

For a taste of Ancient Free Gardeners' new single Innards Out hit the Sound Wave!

The "Gold Rail" Dunk SB is the first we've seen of Nike SB's October 2008 releases. These kicks will be available only in Melbourne, Australia. Via NIKESB.org.

Waiting for the show to start

Ella and her friend dancing

Charlie getting into it

K

und da ich es ja schon lange vergessen hatten kommt jetzt endlich ein paar bilder von uns und der stadt....hoffe ihr freut euch ein bisschen darueber ;)

a beer -or in my case a glass of wine - on a nice warm sunday afternoon is good to have here. so we figured that dinner was worth a try. but it was a complete waste of money.

we tried the escargot and crumbed mussels. the escargot was tiny and forgettable, and the crumbed mussels were also nothing to shout about. but at least they were below average. the mains on the other hand were disastrous!

again in the mood for something different, i ordered a pressed leek terrine with wild mushrooms and artichoke barigoule.

even though this was classified as a main, a slice of leek sat on my plate, covered with a tiny serve of mushrooms and safeway-deli quality artichoke.

we also ordered a medium porterhouse that ended up on our table grey right through, 2 duck confits that seemed to be drowning in salt and a stew that had meat so dry it tasted like parchment.

one of my pet hates is not getting a steak how you ordered it. you expect it from pubs (which is why i avoid ordering steaks at pubs) but not at a place where you're charged $30. . it's not hard to make them right!

bad, bad, bad.

ihr habt ja alle nen Knall  ;)  -  klar....kannsch glei nen zoo aufmachen wenn ich wieder da bin, wenn ich hier jedem den tierwunsch erfuellen wuerde ^^
bis jetzt hab ich ja selber auch noch kaum schoene tiere gesehen :(

aber ich glaub, dass sich das bald aendern wird.  *g*   denn wir haben uns n bissl beraten und im moment gibts folgenden plan: katharina sitzt im moment auf den heissen kohlen. das heisst sie weiss nicht ganz was sie machen soll. auf der einen seite hat sie halt den probetag im cafe' gehabt und sie muss halt jetzt warten auf den typ, der ihr sagt, ob sie da jetzt anfangen kann oder nicht. falls ja, dann bleibt sie dort fuer 2 wochen, falls nicht, kommt sie entweder mit uns mit oder macht die tour mit ihrer freundin.....also bei katha steht alles noch ein bisschen in den sternen....

reini und ich haben uns jetzt entschlossen, dass wir nach Cairns fliegen. *schonwiederfliegenbaeehh* ne also in Cairns ist im Moment echt geiles Wetter, die beste Zeit um dort zu seien ;)  wir bleiben erstmal kurz in cairns im partner backpacker hostel, von dem, wo wir jetzt sind. das soll uebelst geil sein. mit swimming pool und geileren zimmern. falls wir nen job in der stadt finden bleiben wir kurz und wenn nicht, dann wollen wir weiter suedlich und auf farmen oder plantagen arbeiten. endlich mal geile nature sehen und so. tiere pflanzen und das Meer ;)

so siehts aus. dort werden wir wahrscheinlich nicht so viel internetzugang haben wie jetzt im moment, aber das hier war ja auch mehr ne ausnahme.....auf jeden fall lassen wir noch mal was von uns hoeren bevor wir abfliegen.

shit...ich hab die cam schon wieder im hostel vergessen, da wir schnell aufbrechen mussten....das heisst leider fuer euch noch einen tag warten auf die ersten bilder von uns aus melbourne und von der stadt an sich.  sorry guys

hoffe ich verpeil es morgen nicht nochmal ^^

na dann macht's mal gut

euer stefan

in july 07 we headed to stokehouse for lunch. stokehouse (located at 30 jacka boulevard, st kilda) is divided into it's casual dining area downstairs, and the 'nice' area upstairs. now i know i had an onion tart of some sort, but can't for the life of me remember exactly what.

i can however tell you exactly what we had for dessert!

i remember being very keen on the mousse when we were looking at the menu, not so much the other two. but i stand corrected.. these three desserts were perfect! the parfait was by far the best.. i don't like white chocolate but there wasn't any of the milky, sweet taste you normally get with white chocolate. and the toasted meringue.. mmmmmmmm

Heute wurde eine Bankfiliale von 5 schlaftrunkenen leuten ueberfallen, die alle ein bankaccount aufmachen wollten. Die Frau hinterm tresen war nciht sonderlich begeistert. Was ich nicht wusste ist, dass die leute hier einen echte verwirrenden akzent sprechen. 'white please', sagte die Bankangestellete zu mir und ich wahr 2 sekunden verwirrt, bis ich begriff das es wohl 'wait please' heisen sollte.

Danach gings erstmal auf zum Subway, eine der wenigen sachen die wie in deutschland ist und sogar noch guenstiger ist als in deutschland. Im krassen gegensatz zum maekkes, wo es frueh am morgen nur schinken mit ei, statt des erhofften cheasies.

Die erste Australierin, denen wir begegneten in australien, trug einen schaal. Denn es ist echt kalt hier(um halb 5 uhr morgens besonnders kalt). echt doof, aber zum glueck hab ich ja nen halstuch mitgehabt.

Inzwischen haben wir unser visumstempel im reisepass, sind im hostel eingechekt und haben ein 6er zimmer, grad ne simkarte fuers haendy bestellt...

So, wir gehen mal nen Aldi besuchen, in der hoffnung das er nicht so sau teuer ist wie all die anderen laeden hier.

Soweit fuer heute, vyten

I think that it is great news for Melbourne book lovers. I was also surprised to learn that Edinburgh, Scotland, was the only other city to be awarded the title so far. Edinburgh has developed a whole range of good things to support readers, books and writing to celebrate their love of the world of all things bookish.

Our State Government that has committed itself to the centrepiece the establishment of the Centre for Books and Ideas at the State Library of Victoria. We are very fortunate to have this reference and research library, collecting and preserving Victoria's documentary history. Firstly,it is a wonderful building with an amazing collection. Secondly, the library offers all of us an array of opportunities, for research, to literary events, with travelling exhibitions, literature site for young people to review and engage in many things literary and the list goes on.

The exhibitions that I visited this year, the wonderful Ned Kelly exhibition and the Medieval manuscripts displays, were marvellous. The opportunity to see the exhibitions was taken up by many, going by the length of the queues I saw waiting to view them. The library also offers many other opportunities for those who visit but they are also digitising a lot of the collection. This makes access available to many people who cannot visit in person. There are many services it provides but te one I have been pushing lately is the Ergo site.

This year's launch of Ergo, a website designed to build secondary student's skills in research, critical thinking and writing, offered a wonderful resource to all of us in schools. The SLAV publication, Making a difference, was used as the basis for its development. Ergo: research skills and resources online has a variety of features. These include: guides to research and writing; curriculum-focused primary and secondary source material, based on the Library's collections; section themes including Early  Melbourne, Crime and Landscape; drop-down notes that help students to assess resources by highlighting particular issues; interviews with prominent authors, historians and artists. I have had a few students lately working through the site, just looking at their State's history. They were totally engrossed in learning about aspects of life in Victoria that hitherto they had not known. They also talked about enjoying learning form the site. A wonderful recommendation.

In Melbourne we also have a great many interesting bookshops and, when the football is over, I think that I must spend more time wandering through them.

also ich muss schon sagen dafuer, dass wir erst 3 tage hier sind, sind wir ganz schoen gewieft ;)     Denn im Moment sitzen wir in einer Bibliothek und sind nur im Internet ^^  - wir haben uns angemeldet kostenlos und duerfen nun jeden tag ne stunde kostenlos surfen. also ich finds klasse. leider gottes duerfen wir aber nur 2 items ausleihen bei dieser membership....das ist ganz schooooen tragisch :(

na ja wir werden es verkraften.

weiterhin haben wir vorhin uns hier jeder ein bankkonto eroeffnet, was auch so ohne weiteres ging. wenns so weitergeht bin ich guter dinge. 

na ja auf jeden fall werd ich mich dann auch mal gleich nach nem job hier umsehen. an sich ist das ganz schoen schwierig, da uns fuer 2 wochen so oder so keiner haben will....aber mal sehen. ich frag erstmal bei McDoof an ^^  hier ist es zwar ganz schoen anders zu dem in deutschland (z.b. gibts hier nen doublecheeseburger *fg*) aber mal sehen, was sie sagen. mehr als nein geht ja ni wirklich.

ansonsten gibts hier schon einige laeden wo dran steht, dass sie jemand suchen....also mal schauen.

in 2 wochen wollen wir wahrscheinlich weg. die maedels fahren zum ayers rock mit freunden von katharina.....bzw. das steht noch nicht ganz so fest, auf jeden fall denk ich werden wir uns alle ein bisschen trennen. schwerer herzens natuerlich. mal schauen wo es uns hinverschlaegt. ich bin mal gespannt, aber ich denke jeder findet sein weg.

morgen ziehen wir erstmal in ein anderes hostel um, was billiger ist und auch so nen kuhlen anschein macht. denn unser jetztiges hostel ist zwar ok und gut, aber ziemlich gross, sodass man kaum jemand kennenlernt. unteranderem gibts auch so ne art gruppendynamik, also die deutschen unter sich, die englaender, die koreaner und so.....keine ahnung ist irgendwie komisch. mal sehen obs im anderen hostel besser ist und man auch mal kuhle leute trifft.

die stadt hier ist echt schoen. leider kann man das ganze flaire und die stimmung der stadt nicht richtig auf bildern einfangen, aber ich denke wir lassen mal bald n paar rueberwachsen, nur so zum bestaunen. gestern waren wir im "Aldi" einkaufen ;)  - ja das gibts hier wirklich.  na ja sooo billig ist es auch nicht, aber es geht....leider gottes ham die nicht mal kartoffelbrei  :(  *grummel*   aber na ja. fuer heute und morgen sind wir noch versorgt, dann gehts erneut auf futterjagd. irgenwie fehlt mir mein hobby, 5 mal am tag in den kuehlschrank zu gucken und ernuechternd festzustellen, dass nix da ist.  xD

die maedels wollen morgen mal auf die "spring fashion week", die hier noch bis samstag ist. *g*  - weiber

na dann hoffe ich, dass euch der blog ein wenig freut und dass wir uns doch relativ haeufig melden.

lg von den drei bekloppten

So anyway. A night out to the theatre here specifically means an opportunity to dress up. Honestly, you really don't want to turn up in the theatres in your casual wear here - it's probably the most humiliating ettiquette mistake you can make.

It was my chance to bring out my most recent dress purchase. It's a chiffon floral print piece, and the thing that caught my eyes was the sleeves. I love the puffed sleeves, it makes the dress really interesting. I also took out my greek bangle for the first time since I scalded my right hand (I mean, you don't draw attention to a red blotchy bit of skin, right?).

And I threw on a red coat for colour (and warmth) and a black clutch... viola!

Earrings: Portmans; Dress: To the Max; Bangle: To the Max; Tights: Safeway; Heels: DMK; Clutch: Sportsgirl

Most of the people I know couldn't believe that I was actually moving out. Maybe due to the fact that most of us have always contemplated the idea of moving out but we could not dare to actualise it. This was probably owing to the fact that we were either financially unstable to support ourselves or our parents wouldn't allow it.

At twenty, I consider myself to be fairly young and it might be surprising for a select few to deem it reckless to move out. Like most, I'm fearful of moving out. I'm fearful of the uncertainty; fearful of the pressure involved. With all these said - I know I won't regret it. I will love every moment of the independence they I profoundly seek.

It's not even solely the independence that I avidly act in pursuit. It's the agitation that's been growing in my mind with returning to the same surroundings in the same house in the same location. You get the idea.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't turn out as expected. I can question my motives later.

Now for the most critical part - what will change? Well, I'll be sharing a nice apartment of which I will be paying $800 a month for. That is definitely a lot of gravy. The great aspect about this place is that is close in proximity to the shopping precinct - about 3-5 minutes on foot I'd say. I'm going to enjoy that.

I can't speak to as how my experience with moving out has been yet and it's quite obviously why. There will be more to come soon.

Chocolate cake, Belgian chocolates, shortbread, chocolate mousse with nuts & chocolate ice-cream.
名改得真好，似乎可以嘗到每一款甜點，
只要把每一款的份量都縮小，味道依然，還不是寵壞了？
小食多茲味，也壞了肚皮，肚皮愈來愈大...
忘記了是第幾次再去的時候，點了過個，hot chocolate with icecream. 

逐小把熱辣辣新鮮即磨的朱古力倒入雪糕球，
妁一口混有熱朱古力的冰凍雪糕...
朱古力的甜、濃，加上雲尼拿雪糕的簡單，味道恰到好處。
「冰火」對味蕾的衝激真是不容小覷。 
吃後感：比吃Belgian Spoil更覺被寵愛、更覺感動。
來澳洲，必定要找一間KoKoBlack坐一坐。

From for blog

Oito horas da manhã.

Eu: E aí, fazemos o que hoje?
Chefe de Equipe: Nada demais, o piso já está montado. Vamos só empurrar os dinossauros para dentro e montar as estruturas.
Eu: Beleza! É bom que dá tempo de descansar que eu ainda tenho a saída dum show hoje à noite.

(dez horas depois)

Chefe de Equipe: TODO MUNDO AQUI DE VOLTA AMANHÃ ÀS OITO HORAS DA MANHÃ EM PONTO!! NÃO SE ATRASEM QUE AMANHÃ O DIA VAI SER MUITO CORRIDO E HORRÍVEL!!

Sexta-feira, 23 de março, 8am
(apenas quatro horas depois de carregar um caminhão e meio com os equipamentos do show de Darryl Hayes)

Chefe: O show abre hoje e ontem não deu tempo de acabar sequer a montagem! Sorte nossa que agora é só a parte de eletrônicos sensíveis e quem faz isso são os técnicos, mas ainda temos que montar o som e a iluminação! Quem de vocês não trabalha hoje à noite para ficar aqui durante o show? Igor?
Eu: Nã...
Chefe: Você fica!
Eu: ...

(cinco horas adentro)

Sujeito que nunca vi antes: O PISO ESTÁ DEFORMANDO! VOCÊ AÍ (eu), PEGUE UM ESTILETE E UM ROLO DE FITA ADESIVA E VÁ CONSERTAR!

(após três horas ajoelhado, tentando deixar um chão coberto de vinil o mais liso possível)

Chefe: ATENÇÃO! VAI HAVER UM ENSAIO GERAL AGORA, TODOS SAIAM DA PISTA!

(o espetáculo dura mais ou menos uma hora e meia)

Coordenador de Palco: Você aí, grandão (eu)! Pegue uma vassoura e vá tirar os pedaços de fita e qualquer lixo que achar na pista! As portas abrem em duas horas!!

Sexta-feira, 23 de março, 8pm

Coordenador: Bom trabalho pessoal, vão pra casa descansar! Vejo vocês dia cinco, às oito em ponto!

quinta-feira, 5 de abril, 6am
(após três caminhões carregados com o equipamento dos Pixies mais todo o som e iluminação do V Festival)

Colega: Igor, quer carona?
Eu: Não, tenho que ir pro Vodafone agora...
Colega: Os dinossauros saem hoje, é?
Eu: Ãrrã...
Colega: Iiiih... Boa sorte!

8am

Chefe de Equipe: Estão todos dispostos? Hoje teremos um dia loooooongo...
Colega: Aquela fila de jamantas lá fora...
Chefe: Sim. Todas para nós.

(quinze horas depois)

Chefe: BOTEM A RAMPA PARA DENTRO, FECHEM AS PORTAS E VÃO PRA CASA, PELO AMOR DE DEUS! NÃO AGÜENTO MAIS OLHAR PRA SUAS CARAS! OBRIGADO E ATÉ A PRÓXIMA!

E foi assim que eu perdi a sexta-feira, dia 6.
Sábado foi entrada e saída de John Mayer (dois caminhões) e domingo foi entrada de Red Hot Chili Peppers (seis, incluindo um com um sofá e uma pia)...

p.s. Não se enganem! Eu apenas suprimi os palavrões proferidos para conseguir acabar de escrever o relato ainda hoje...

Sebastian Bourdais needs a strong performance at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix as pressure mounts on the Frenchman as Toro Rosso bosses look to the 2009 line-up. Team-mate Sebastian Vettel bound for Red Bull's senior team in 2009, and Takuma Sato, Bruno Senna and Sebastien Buemi are.

STR part-owner Gerhard Berger said:

"He is now in the situation where he has to prove his talents."

Impressive in the opening race in Melbourne, 29-year-old Bourdais has subsequently struggled to compete with Vettel, as the STR3 does not suit his driving style.

"Every weekend is going to be different. If people had asked me to sign for that, I would have."

His tenth place at Valencia two weeks ago, however, was his best result then.

On the same Spanish street circuit, Bourdais was again overshadowed by Vettel, who claimed three points after arguably the drive of the weekend to sixth. The result means Vettel has nine points in the drivers' championship compared with Bourdais' two.

Berger admits that, in order for Bourdais to stay in Formula One, he must impress not only him but also those at Red Bull.

"At the end of the day the last word will come from Red Bull, because that is where we get all our resources from."

Neal's View: Unless Bourdais adapts his style, he is going to be out. Sato, Senna and Buemi are after the four-time IRL Champion's seat. Red Bull will select Buemi to replace Vettel. I can see Berger picking Senna for the other seat.

Apparently, the latest addition to Melbourne's endless by-passes and road upgrades, EastLink is a very quiet (relatively speaking) run until towards the city end and old Melbourne town. How could this be?

For starters the toll imposed on commuters for round trips is ridiculous (standing at $16) after tax payer money was used to construct EastLink. There is of course the cost of petrol to consider with more and more people choosing to take public transport. I can vouch for peak Sydenham line services (morning and evening) being dangerously overcrowded.

But then I doubt that this situation will stay this way for long. Denying climate change deniers the opportunity and excuse of spending more on roads. It won't take long for the associated development to make this another congested freeway. And it won't take long for more people to start taking EastLink as they become more accustomed to it; and/or attempt to use it as an alternative to the usual route.

So if the traffic load isn't high enough it could see additional fees or efforts to re-direct traffic onto Eastlink ala Sydney tunnel fiasco. Speaking of tunnel fiascoes we (as in the Victorian Government) need to heed the lessons learned from Sydney and junk any proposal for tunnel projects. The Eddington Report fails to address urgent transport issues like the electrification of the Melton line along with building a station at Caroline Springs and upgrading the Deer Park station.

The Public Transport Users' Association (PTUA) has been a very vocal critic of Brumby's response to the growing road and rail squeeze afflicting Melbourne. Along with the PTUA the Victorian Greens branch in Brimbank has been a long time advocate for the electrification of the Melton line and upgrades to public transport infrastructure. It is very worrying that if we already have such massive problems with these essential infrastructures then, how will they cope with the supposed increase in traffic from the new port; one of the justifications used for dredging Port Phillip Bay?

Even if the economy argument is thrown in, as it so often is, building the proposed tunnels (from the Eddington Report) and expanding the freeway network and by-passes will be ultimately more expensive than overhauling and extending Victoria's rail infrastructure to transport people and cargo. 

As a complete aside I've noticed that we don't seem to question the advice of some so-called expert economist as readily as we do scientists and educators.  And there is an apparent failure to understand the connection between affordable, reliable and accessible transportation and social connectedness, integration and social/familial support networks.

But if these projects go ahead, and people don't use it as enthusiastically as projected, then it will be a massive loss to Victoria ie taxpayers.  It seems to me that these are ill-conceived solutions to rapidly expanding problems.

The longer Brumby openly embraces and subsidizes the major greenhouse gas emitters in Victoria and Australia, the more we're contributing to accelerating climate change; and more importantly the impacts of future positive feedbacks in the world's climate systems.

It must be tough to be Anthony Davidson. Spending years of his career at Honda as a test driver, when he could have secured drives elsewhere is testament to this man's loyalty - but when a seat vacancy arose, Davidson did not mean as much to Honda, as Honda did to Davidson.

Over his years of testing for Honda, Davidson picked up a reputation. He was not good at his job, he was one of the best. It could be argued that only McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa and former Ferrari's former World Champion-cum-occasional tester Michael Schumacher are better at getting the technical aspects of the car just right.

Looking on as his twice former teammate Takuma Sato is helped by what seems to be half of Japan (the Honda half, not the Toyota half) to secure the second seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2009, Davidson must be wondering what happens next. Maybe there would be more of an outcry if it was not for Lewis Hamilton's gleaming star.

This week it was announced that Sato would be testing for STR in Jerez later this month, but for Davidson, the Formula One options look bleak. Although the Brit insists he would be happy returning to a developmental role, providing it meant his profile remained high, he is a racer, pure and simple.

It was his testing, first with BAR and then when they became Honda, that brought Davidson into the spotlight. Barring a few lowly outings with minnows Minardi, he completed a total of six laps when he was the substitute for Sato in 2005. Following the creation of satelite team Super Aguri, again in order to keep Takuma Sato in Formula One, Davidson was given the second seat. In 2007 Davidson completed his first full season as a race driver this decade, in a car he knew like the back of his hand from testing at Honda in 2006. It is at this point that Honda's cars started to nosedive in performance, and, although a wrongly calibrated wind tunnel has been blamed, you cannot help but think they would have done better had Davidson been around.

Super Aguri survived until the Spanish Grand Prix of 2008, when financial problems - caused by defaulted payments by title sponsor S.S. United - caused their downfall. Davidson had performed impressively, bearing in mind he was driving the slowest car on the grid, he was running in third at the Australian GP of 2008 before a warthog put him out of the race. Although Sato grabbed the headlines for overtaking then-World Champion Fernando Alonso at Montreal, Davidson's performances went by almost unnoticed. Honda have said they are helping their dynamic duo to gain employment, but it is clear that the Japanese marque favour the Japanese driver, and it seems Davidson is going to have to migrate east, to the Honda-powered IndyCar Series.

The Briton was a guest of IndyCar Series frontrunner Panther Racing at last weekend's Detroit round and, according to the official series website, should have tested with the team a couple of weeks ago, only for a shoulder injury, sustained while training on a mountain bike, derailed the plans.

The Briton is not entirely alien to the US open-wheel scene, having been offered the chance to quit his test driver role at Honda to join leading the Champ Car World Series outfit Newman/Haas Racing as long ago as 2005, (the same year a full-time drive at Williams F1 fell through because BAR wanted Davidson to return in 2006) but eventually opted to pursue his goal of racing in F1 instead of replacing Bruno Junqueira, who had broken his back, ironically, in a one-off IndyCar outing at Indianapolis. The rid eventually went to Oriol Servia who, like Junqueira, has been a full-time member of the now unified IndyCar Series this season..

Since Davidson's visit to Detroit, Panther has signed fellow Briton, and former karting rival, Dan Wheldon to race the number 4 Dallara next season, but is reportedly trying to find the finance for a second entry as the IRL-sanctioned series regains some of its former lustre. While current Panther driver Vitor Meira would be high on team boss John Barnes' shopping, list, Davidson is tipped as a serious contender, along with GP2 race-winner Mike Conway, who wowed onlookers, including several other IndyCar teams, with an impressive testing debut at Infineon Raceway last month.

Neal's View: It is sad to see a grid without Anthony Davidson on it. He has more talent than some drivers lining up there and his testing ability makes him a valuable asset for any Formula One team.

the nine of us opted for the banquet option. now the word banquet scares me. conjures images of spring rolls, honey chicken, prawn crackers and special fried rice.. basically everything that says YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT GOOD CHINESE FOOD IS.

so while i was hesitant about longrain's version of a banquet, i was very much pleasantly surprised. longrain has an extensive list of dishes and the best way of sampling a wide range of flavours is by ordering the set meal. there's a current banquet menu on longrain's site but of course i can tell you what i tried :)

freshly shucked oysters with red chilli lime juice and deep fried eschallots - the oysters were nice and crunchy, and the sauce was a great match.

betel leaf topped with prawn, galangal and sorryiforgetwhatelse - i thought this was the best dish. all the flavours pretty much exploded in our mouths as soon as we took a bite. you could see everyone's faces around the table go "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........"

beansprout, peanut and coriander salad covered by eggnet - this was a great dish too. thai salads are just fabulous!

salt and pepper squid served with sweet soy and ginger - i'm not really a fan of salt and pepper squid. this was worse than i imagined.. someone in the kitchen lost control of their hands when tipping the salt in, that's for sure! i couldn't eat more than one bite and the sauce wasn't enough to mask the saltiness.

caramelised pork hock with five spice and chilli vinegar - the pork was a bit chewy for my liking bit pork hock's not really my thing so i can't be an objective judge.

we also had kingfish, asian greens and a chicken curry. but i can't remember the descriptions so i can't elaborate further. the kingfish was really fresh, the veggies and curry were average.

after we finished our huge meal, we had about a 10 minute wait before three massive dessert platters were plonked down in front of us. as much as i love something sweet after a meal, even i knew that one platter would have been enough. asian desserts are generally very sweet and little amounts is enough. (i know right, this is coming from me!!)

my favourite thai dessert is actually the pink water chestnuts in coconut milk served with jackfruit.. which sadly wasn't on this platter. come to think of it, i've never had it in australia. i enjoyed the glutinous rice the most, with lashings of the coconut caramel custard, but we couldn't even do justice to one platter.

all in all a yummy night, although we were so full we couldn't even eat any of xm's chocolate cake after. and that's a BAD thing!