I was very happy to score a cheap ticket ($40) to this show through the app TodayTix. My brother saw it recently and enjoyed it. I was curious. I was introduced to Sondheim many years ago when I lived in London. I’d heard this was one of his strangest and least produced. The first production apparently was Kabuki style…
And it is strange. A tale about Japanese isolationism in the 1800’s? While occasionally you could feel an analogy with the Orange Monster’s Plan for a Wall, the play doesn’t really try to be particularly political. It’s mostly farce, and the tale unfolds with some heartbreak, some loss, diplomatic meetings and quite odd group numbers, which is not unusual for Sondheim.
What struck me was hearing his familiar melodies and orchestrations applied to a different setting… though not one, but two songs were about a relationship between women and observers or consumers, a romanticization of sex work in one piece, where the madame in charge of geisha girls sees a new market opportunity and another with British sailors ogling a local girl, which seemed much another version of ‘Pretty Women’ from Sweeney Todd.
Another song, about a boy in a tree, observing the diplomatic meeting, was classic Sondheim, some sort of commonplace analogy and a way of speaking about something else. Not finishing the hat in this case, but being in a tree, and what does he see and from whose perspective do we ever know the truth? If I’m feeling charitable (and the music was gorgeous), I think this is interesting; though if I was grumpy I might have rolled my eyes. Unless you’re swept away by the larger story, it doesn’t come across as deep and complex as it might.
It was really exciting to hear Ann Harada up close, with wonderful comic timing; to hear and see George Takei, basically playing George Takei, that unmistakeable voice seems always with the same cadences to me, and so wonderful: a full cast of talented Asian-American actors.
Apparently, the original show is much longer, and this has been edited and shaped down, with songs cut, and especially transferring the whole shebang to a sparse stage with modern dress. Still, I wouldn’t have been really up for an Asian costume party. Some white guys, even Sondheim, writing about Asian history puts me in a questioning frame of mind. It’s wonderful to see an all-Asian cast. But the songs seem a bit of silly stereotyping: one with characters trading Haiku poems; another about… oh, bowing, tea, kimonos, Asian sort of stuff, I gathered… But I was very glad to see this piece of Sondheim history, which I can’t imagine I’ll have the change to experience again…
There are so many Momofukus these days, I can’t quite keep track of them all. I’d meant to plan coming to at least one of them while in NYC, but hadn’t gotten around to it. I was killing time before going to see Pacific Overtures and decided to treat myself to a nice lunch, and lo and behold: here is a Momofuku, and no problems getting in the door and sitting at the bar.
The main theme of this one seems to be the Korean Ssäm, which is a lettuce wrap, I believe. So, perhaps any protein wrapped up in something else, and lots of interesting sides you can order. As well as ham. You can order some special ham. I’m not sure what’s about.
I couldn’t resist a cocktail, and my god this one was tasty. Sake, lime, yuzu and Japanese pepper. It was therefore sour, sweet and spicy. Nice.
This came with two sides so I went with a Japanese biscuit, a very crumbly savoury little number, and a version of tea egg, which was nothing less than extraordinary. I don’t know how it was treated. Mostly hard-boiled but the yolk removed and turned into some delicious sauce and god it was good. There were also some pickled cucumbers, and ohhhh that meat was nicely spiced and perfectly tender and fatty.
On my second night in NYC, I decided to try out my TodayTix app on my phone and noticed they had a lottery to see Sweeney Todd. I’d read about this production. Originally staged in a pie shop in South London, some theatre-goers get to eat pies beforehand! And I recall something about it being intimate and innovative. My app told me I hadn’t won the lottery… but I got a phone call not much later asking if I wanted to come. Did I?!
Honestly, this was thrilling. I barely stopped to wonder at how, with lighting, and innovative staging, and sensational singing and acting, that the whole story unfolded in a humble pie shop. I was reminded of just how good the plot is, how every character has motivations and how there are twists and turns. And in a smaller, more intimate setting, I was blown away at how complicated the melodies and harmonies and counterpoints all were: this is really amazing music, also tuneful and beautiful and memorable.
This place is an institution, y’all. It’s been in Sydney as long as I can remember, and it’s also an empire, as there is Maya Tandoori and Maya Vegetarian across the street.
I’ve always found the food here dependable and occasionally really tasty. Like the Kashmiri Naan, a favourite. We had two different dishes with paneer, a super tasty beef sausage like appetizer, some goat with a nice strong flavour, and a sort of a vegetable dumpling in a cream sauce. Five dishes, enough for the three of us. My friends were rapturous and thought it among the best Indian food they’ve ever had. I would be more likely to call it tasty and dependable.
There’s this stretch of Regent Street in Redfern that suddenly has a few cool bars and restaurants and shops and though it’s a slightly ugly street, with traffic too fast, the neighbourhood is managing to impose a sense of cool nonetheless.
I love that this little place, in the style of a Hawker stall, is located inside the Grace Hotel, serving up delicious Malaysian food.
He often goes for the chicken rice, which he said was very good.
I really liked this one, though I have the feeling I was also a sucker for the packaging and marketing. Isn’t it pretty? And being from the West Coast of Canada, the idea of a bit of Rocky Mountains in spray-on form evoked both nostalgia and nationalism for me.
Ah, Tropicana.
My pal said his sandwich was good. My scrambled eggs and sausage were perfectly fine. I think it might be a little cheaper than other places in the neighbourhood. I’ve always had basic, good, humble food here.
I’d been craving Sichuan food since a meal at Spicy Sichuan (now closed) four years ago… but it’s hard to get together a big enough table so you can try enough tasty dishes!
Lucky for me I got into the lucky draw with the 
We were treated to a very special meal: all of their greatest hits, and with nice explanations of Sichuan cuisine (from a cold region, so specialising in spicy food; also good at preserving meats!).
Celtuce
Also some spicy tripe and tongue, I think it was.
We also were served this drink, which I’ve never seen before, but the other bloggers/instagrammers seemed to know about!
My favourite was this dish of prawns and corn kernels coated in thousand year old egg yolk, and crispy. Incredible flavour.
But the different flavours and spices of the sichuan peppers and chillis were incredible. Super-crisp tiny pieces of chicken surrounded by shards of chilli (which I didn’t eat) and the cauldron at the top was a lucky dip where you found the fish among the pepper and chilli. I love that weird numbing sensation at the back of the tongue, an unfamiliar sensation compared to other spicy foods I’ve eaten.
This was a version of Kung Pao chicken, except with fish. It has a sour or citrus flavour; not sure what it was, but it was nice.
But meals, while mostly about the food, are also about the company, and what a nice group of people. Expertly hosted by Erica from FCBA, it was fun to get to know a little about 
I’d gotten wind of the buzz on this place, but still wasn’t sure what to expect. Yes, stamping your name on a bun is a pretty good effect for Instagram, but what would the food be like? Well, it was very, very good.
My pal, a vegetarian had a burger with a portobello mushroom and it wasn’t very photogenic, but he said it was good.
I opted for an extra cheesy burger and my god, it had macaroni and cheese IN the burger, along with more cheese, and some molten cheese. I also found that the beef patties were particularly tasty. All together, I thought this was really an awesome burger. The only thing is that it was almost too much. I was so full. My stomach (unfortunately) doesn’t look like it is shrinking in its old age… Oh well. Still, I’d issue a warning: go with a healthy appetite!