Ichi Ban Boshi

I had the day off today and was really craving ramen, so I treated myself to lunch in the city at Ichi Ban Boshi . I wanted to try the Tonkotsu Ramen of which they only make 15 bowls per day. Tonkotsu means pork bone and is a super rich and thick pork broth made by boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen for many hours. The result is ultra creamy and like melted butter and milk.

I arrived about midday taking a chance that they would have made the ramen early, but chose another menu item just in case they hadn't: Shio Butter Corn Ramen.

I was all ready to order but I waited...and waited...and waited...about ten minutes. The restaurant was starting to get busy but not at all manic just yet. There were about six waitresses all with their headsets on, buzzing around, and a couple of times they even walked past me to usher in new customers but they never looked at me looking at them earnestly. I had become invisible. And I was getting frustrated. I may have been more frustrated because I was worried I was going to miss out on a bowl of tasty Tonkotsu. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry. When I finally did get to order after standing up to get someone's attention, I was informed that it wouldn't be ready until 1:30pm. So, Shio Butter Corn Ramen it would be! I also ordered an extra of a fried dumpling on top.

As it turned out, I LOVED my pork and corn ramen. The broth was rich but not too salty, it was filled with loads of crunchy bean sprouts and corn. The pork was delectable, I could have done with another slice. It was tender and just the right amount of fattiness. And the butter...OH, the butter! I let mine melt right were it was and only mixed it in the slightest bit, rather than dilute it, so I would get globules of buttery goodness bursting in my mouth every few mouthfuls. And the noodles were so moreish, slippy with a little bite. I could feel myself filling up but not finishing it was not an option.

Delicious toasted rice green tea



The arrival!


So beautiful.


Love the nifty spoon


Mmmmm, dumpling

Ichi-ban Boshi
Level 2, The Galeries Victoria Bldg
500 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000

Phone +61 2 9262 7677

If you're curious about the Tonkotsu experience and flavour, it's well documented here.

Scents o' the Day ~ No. 31 ~ Villainess

I’m trying to get back into my perfume reviews again and thought it best to start off with my Scents o’ the Day with smaller reviews and notes. Villainess Soaps released a bunch of their most popular soap, cream and scrub scents in perfume oil form late last year, so I had to jump in with a few decants.

Bathory
The cloying sweetness of a covetous lust for misspent youth, offset by a geriatric touch of rose and carnation, and underscored by a malevolent insinuation of sandalwood.
Mostly fruity berry musk on me. Not getting the sweetness of rose or the dryness of carnation at all. Nice, but not exciting and not me.

Blush
A blend of sweet berry and tart lime notes, grounded by a slightly tipsy touch of cheap dry wine.
I loved this in cream form. The perfume is a good blend of all the notes, the berry, lime and wine all seem to be playing equally. Seems to have good sillage. The wine goes a bit fizzy and up my nose a bit. Ooh hang on, going a bit sharp powdery, not so good. After a while it softens and it’s more how I loved it in the cream. Like this one but not enough to get.

Canaan
Warm milk, sticky bronzed honey, succulent grapes and berries, and exotic perfume - Tunisian jasmine, tuberose, the indolent lily of the valley, and Madagascar cloves.
Mmmmm, like milk warming in a pot with soft almond and honey. Very warm, sweet and lightly spiced with the cloves. I’m getting a hint of grapes but not much berry. Definitely getting the warm milky notes which start coming out more on the dry down along with gentle white florals. Quite like.

Datura
An intoxicating blend of crisp, regal gardenia, sweet frangipani, verdant tuberose, and soft, beguiling pikaki lani.
Mmmm, lovely in the vial. And lovely on, soft at first. Ooop, this quickly ramps up to be a touch sharp heavy floral, which is reminiscent of room spray. I think it could soften nicely though. … Yep, it has. Hmmmmm, quite beautiful. A really lovely very true tropical floral.

Decadence
An indulgent vanilla - alcoholic, buttery and bittersweet with delightful undertones of tonka and coconut. Our favourite vice.
This is indeed decadent and alcoholic! A very tasty, rich foody vanilla with good sillage. It reminds me of the rich vanilla tonka feel of Arcana Frilly Underpinnings but I prefer Frilly with its more complex notes.

Pearl Diver
A delicate play of bergamot and jasmine, orchid and violet, over a sensible wash of sandalwood, and salty kelp.
I really like Pearl Diver. Really fits the name. An excellent aquatic with definite salty kelp notes, so fresh and mermaid-like. Gorgeous. I may not want a bottle but always want this one around, I love the imagery of it!

Pyromania
A highly unique fragrance based on black pepper essential oil. Peculiarly spicy, warm black pepper, sweetened with brown sugar, and touched with a veil of smoke.
Reminds me of Arcana Frilly Underpinnings with pepper and vanilla notes but this is way more tickle your nose peppery and smoky. Frilly works better on me. Does soften nicely but is still mostly pepper.

Scintillating
A complex blend of revitalising mints - spearmint, cornmint, peppermint - grounded with a rich base note of black tea, and barely sweetened with soft vanilla.
Really delicious creamy mint tea. I love minty scents (BPAL Nuclear Winter, Spooky, Tokyo Stomp, Arcana Anodyne, Winter Nights, Puppy Kisses, Nocturne Alchemy Bergamot and Egyptian Mint Tea, Ra’s Chocolate Mint…erm, that’s just to name a few!) and this is one of the good ones. Has a sort of smoky musky drydown which is a bit different from others I’ve smelt.


All in all, there’s some standouts, my favourite being Pearl Diver, plus I like Datura, Scintillating and Canaan. Nothing is screaming at me to buy full size fortunately, but I think I’m going to try cutting down in that area this year in any case!

2009. Who ordered that then?

So, here we are. 2009. 2008 didn't totally suck, but there are many parts of it I am more than glad to see the back of. I have a few goals and hopes for this year, the main one being that I make it through in one piece.

I mostly though, hope for the usual stuff of good health and happiness for my man, family, friends offline and online, pets, the world... and me while I'm at it. Health and happiness seem to cover it all, because if you have them, most other stuff follows. Okay, enough of my nonsensical ramblings.

This year was the first year in many in which we celebrated it with the family. Usually Christmas is family and New Year friends. We spent the evening at an old friend of my Dad's at Pyrmont which has fantastic views of the harbour. We wouldn't normally go out of our way to see the fireworks due to the heavy crowds, but viewing them from the comfort of a lovely home was worth it. We chatted, ate tasty foods, played Guitar Hero and of course watched both the 9pm and midnight fireworks. They were amazing. For the first year ever, I really felt like we were heralding in the New Year...a fresh start and all that. It can all look the same the next morning, but even to have that feeling for a moment is pretty special and hopefully I can hold onto it throughout the year.

A beautiful afternoon

The crowd building up in the park below


North Sydney to the left of the bridge


The city on the right


Homemade spring rolls


Tasty


Night falls...


9pm fireworks!




Mango and avocado salad


Awesome chicken wings made by our host and my Mum's colesalw


My sisters made two kinds of fresh fruit trifle




I made my caramel tarts




Midnight!

Please excuse my poor photography..




The pretty lit up boats which sail around the harbour afterwards

Farewell 2008...Helllllllo 2009!

A Happy New Year to all!

Photo I took at the Sydney Harbour fireworks. They were stunning!