Coming back to Canada tomorrow from Australia, and will resume my steeped-tea habit soon afterwards! Losing cup number 23 (kept with me for a whole month) was taken with Australian Ronald!

Current Statistics:
Record: 3 – 20
Spent: $36.57
Won: $4.56
Probability: 21.39%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

At the Calgary airport waiting for my flight to Melbourne via San Francisco and Auckland! I still have one more unrolled steeped tea right beside me though!

Current Statistics:
Record: 3 – 19
Spent: $34.98
Won: $4.56
Probability: 22.32%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

Packing up my luggage to head out for a month again, in the middle of the contest… At this rate, my statistics will end up even lower than last year!

Current Statistics:
Record: 3 – 17
Spent: $31.80
Won: $4.56
Probability: 23.79%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

Seven losses in a row, but thats okay: My Blurb photo book from 2010 finally came in, and its as massive as a textbook!

Current Statistics:
Record: 1 – 10
Spent: $17.49
Won: $1.52
Probability: 29.61%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

I’m liking this extra 5% odds! Third cup was already a winner! This puts me in the top 52%, so I’m not feeling too terribly lucky yet.

While this shot was taken in my relatively uncluttered cubical, just a few days ago, my cubical looked like this, thanks to a fairly awesome office prank.

Current Statistics:
Record: 1 – 3
Spent: $6.36
Won: $1.52
Probability: 38.58%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

The Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim race has begun, although it has begun a bit early on the Family Day long weekend! Some interesting high-level changes are that:

• There will be very few “empty handed losers” as the food prize odds have been tilted in the customers favour, to 1 in 6 chance of winning (from 2010′s 1 in 9 chance)! To put this in perspective, you’ve got a 5% more chance of winning something edible.
• The grand prize total value has gone up by $1.25 million! The $10,000 cash prize is gone, but in its place are Panasonic 3D televisions, while the BBQ grills and the mountain bikes make a return.

As usual, you can follow me on Twitter at jon_lin, or follow the crowd by following the hashtag #rutr or #rolluptherim.

Of course, here is the running, live chart. You didn’t think I’d forget, did you? Also, some background regarding the picture: A co-worker just came back from San Francisco, which is also the home of Ghirardelli chocolate! I never noticed it until he pointed out the tiny lettering on the top of the logo.

Current Statistics (Updated 2/21/2011):
Record: 0 – 1
Spent: $1.59
Won: $1.59
Probability: 83.33%

[RUTR 2011 Progress]

For our vacation this year, we decided to take a week-long road trip to Vancouver to visit our friend and indulge in the food! We chose to drive the highway between Vancouver and Calgary, which was a drive shy of 1000 km and 11 hours driving time, and only made a stop for gas as the Prius would only give us 850km per 40 L tank!

Vancouver is a beautiful summer city and still had some charm left from the Winter 2010 Olympics – the large outdoor torch was still standing, waiting to be be lit during special occasions, and mascot plushies were on sale in the gift shop windows in Gastown. All the other beauty was still there before the Olympics arrived – Stanley Park, Granville Island, Robson Street, etc.

We had lots of fun exploring Vancouver. Tandem biking without prior experience is a tense experience, Okanagan wineries are almost a five hour drive away, and exploring up and down Robson St. for the local stores that we Albertans don’t have is an enjoyable treasure hunt.

And of course, there were great restaurants everywhere!

With the help of Mel, our local Vancouver foodie expert, we compiled a list of excellent restaurants and places to eat at:

Coffee

• With every new year, a new coffee house opens that is better than the last. While JJ Bean is still one of my favourite coffee houses in Vancouver, Elysian Coffee quickly made a new spot in my heart with a delicious coffee coupled with a complimentary glass of refreshing carbonated water!

Brunches and Lunches

• If you’re exploring Gastown, Medina Cafe is close by and worth the stop for brunch! While their waffle selection with sweet and chocolate dips was a twist from than ordinary (Milk Chocolate Lavender), we were very impressed with the open-faced sandwich with smoked salmon cream cheese, the Saumon Fume. However, the Fricasse, braised short ribs in a skillet with eggs, was a bit too heavy and sweet. When you arrive at Medina Cafe, remember to write your name on the taped up roll of receipt paper, representing the wait list.
• In Granville Island, if none of the vendors within the market have won your heart over, then give the Clam Chowder at Tony’s Fish and Oyster Cafe a try. Be warned: it is extremely heavy and limiting yourself to a cup of soup is recommended if you are getting a main dish.
• Before putting your relationship on the line with a tandem bike ride in Stanley Park, hop to the close-by Kintaro Ramen (788 Denman Street, Vancouver), where you will be surprised how full you can get off a Miso Ramen. Just avoid the rich broth, if you fear for your heart.

Dinner
We tend to favour East Asian side of cuisine, and our fantastic host delivered not one but three great places during our visit:

• Dia Jang Gum (3088 St Edwards Dr, Richmond), a Korean BBQ house in Richmond, was an excellent choice for a self-grilled meal. For three people, we opted to start with an incredibly thick and savoury seafood pancake, followed by an assorted BBQ for two and the Japchae (Korean noodles). While this restaurant doesn’t deviate from traditional Korean meals, it definitely does it right.
• Guu is an izakaya, which is a Japanese tapas style eatery with a focus on socializing and drinking. The tapas menu encourages experimentation with the 40-some different choices – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the udon noodles, and don’t pass up the Kabocha-Korokke, which is a creative treat of fried pumpkin with a fully cooked egg in the center, topped with a variant of thousand island dressing. Located throughout Vancouver, although we went to Guu with Garlic on Robson St. (I’ve been advised to avoid the one in Aberdeen Center, Richmond).
• Burnaby’s Sushi Oyama is another Japanese restaurant, but this one features cheap Japanese food. And don’t underestimate this place – you will be full off of some quality sashimi and rolls. I’ve also heard Sushi Garden (4635 Kingsway, Burnaby) is good, and the waits are as ridiculous as ever.

Snacks
Of course, our trip would not be complete without snacking on the side:

• With a few locations around the city core, Japadog claims it uses the “kobe beef” grade equivalent of pork sausage meat in its Kurobuta Terimayo hot dog. With a generous serving of japanese mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce, seaweed flakes, I couldn’t tell if the meat was truly as great as they say it was, but it was still an excellent hot dog. The quality reminded me of Fat Franks in Edmonton, without the unique toppings.
• If hanging out in a dodgy area behind a warehouse, lit by flood lights with tents all around is your idea of a fun weekend night (with good snacks), then head to the Richmond Summer Night Market, where the street-style food vendors have brought out fresh Takoyaki. Takoyaki are Japanese baked balls with an octopus filling in them, a convenient and savoury treat, and while the market has dozens of standard and strange items to try, the Takoyaki stood out as the best snack at the night market.
• Savoury, smoky, fresh, expensive, jerky. If you are excited by the combination of these words, then head to Bee Kim Heng (4194 Fraser Street, Vancouver), where the only thing they do is prepare fresh pork and beef jerky, in both regular and spicy flavours, at $20 a pound. I’m a big fan of the pork regular jerky, which is consistently more moist and tender than the beef counterpart. I recommend you to order in advance (it takes a while to package it up), and don’t waltz up on Monday when they are closed!

For pictures of our Vancouver adventures, check out the Vancouver set on Flickr!

Thanks Mel for recommending a whole bunch of great places and being a gracious host!

• Days in Melbourne – 97 (99 on the road)
• Pictures Taken – 9773 (average of 101 a day)
• Pictures Uploaded – 686
• Parmas Consumed – 3
• Australian phrases ingrained in my vocabulary – mate, heaps, adjective-as, flat white, how-ya-goin-all-right?

There were simply too many memorable Melbourne moments, including all the coffee, food, the endless number of activities, public transport, wineries, and Footy! Here is my attempt to give them justice.

The Best Parts of Melbourne

Coffee

Favorite: Flat White, One Sugar
Melbourne has had a large influx of Italian immigrants, and the Italians brought their best espresso machines with them when they arrived. There is an espresso machine in every shopfront imaginable (including bars, Japanese restaurants, and Subway fast food), and it seems as if every barista has gotten the training on how to properly prepare a latte, flat white, long black or espresso shot. The portions are not as large as Starbucks, but you could drink this deliciously smooth god-in-a-cup and have the boost you need for the day. As an additional perk, some coffee shops will put sugar in the coffee for you too!

Food

Favorites: Sakura Kaiten, Cellar Bar, Rockpool, Japanese Pancake Dessert House
Melbourne is a foodie city. While Indian food is lacking, there is no shortage of Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean or Western food. For each genre there is a spectrum of hole in the wall, moderately priced and fancy dining experiences!

• Want to be cheap and adventurous? Duck into an alley way to find great roll-your-own-sushi rolls at Kenzan, ramen at Ramen Ya, or laksa at Laksa Me (creative names aren’t a prerequisite to good food). For those who can’t eat like a rockstar every night, the Cellar Bar shares the kitchen and staff of a highly coveted chef, and Grill’d offers an obesely-sized Mighty Melbourne burger with thick-cut rosemary chips to match.
• Middle of the road? Perhaps a sushi train at Sakura Kaiten, where the best items on the menu, Fresh Fried Oysters with Cream Cheese or the Takoyaki, tease you as they float by on the track. If you’re out late for any number of reasons, the 24-hour Greek resto Stalactites with mass-produced-yet-perfect-lamb always beckons.
• If you have the money to splurge, make sure Rockpool is on your list, and don’t neglect to order the Duck Confit, or head to Claypots with four others and reserve a Chili Crab.

Lots of things to do!

Favorites: Yarra Valley, Great Ocean Road
Theres heaps of fun activities inside the city and if you need a break, just hop outside for the day.

• The Yarra Valley and its world-class wineries are only an hour drive from the city (you really need a designated driver).
• The National Gallery of Victoria has a great mix of contemporary and historical exhibits for free entry.
• For sports, there is Footy and Rugby during the winter, Cricket during the summer, and the rates for entry are a bargain compared to Hockey games at less than $30 for great seats. Don’t forget to get a Four’n'Twenty meat pie!
• On a hot day, venture to any beach and sunbake, admire the surfers, or get out there and surf, bodyboard or kite-surf.
• Get out to the Dadenongs if you want a taste of nature, mountains and epicly-sized trees (think “A Land Before Time”), and make sure you have time for afternoon tea and fantastic dessert.
• Drive along the Great Ocean Road (or take a tour) to enjoy kilometres of the Southern Ocean, and stop by a fish’n'chips shop in Apollo Bay.
• Head farther south and you’ll see the one thing you’ve never expected in Australia: Little Penguins. The price tag is steep but the cuteness is worth the price of admission. Just don’t run them over, okay?

Public transport

Favorites: 96 to St. Kilda Beach.
Melburnians have it pretty good, despite the fact that the trains and trams have a reputation of being below performance ratings (80% on time). The trains do run throughout the city, although not to any major shopping centres or hubs, only suburbs. The trams and street cars are also unique (jump on and jump off at the roads), although the whole ticketing and metcard system leaves something to be desired. If you’re in the city, the best way to get out safely is to take the 96 to St. Kilda Beach – you can’t get lost, because the tram line ends where the beach begins. Just remember to validate your metcard or face the wrath of the ticketing crazies.

Wineries

Favorites: Domaine Chandon and Greenpointe Brasserie
I enjoy wineries, but its not solely because there is wine. In addition to sampling a wide range of wine, a perfect winery includes education and delicious food bundled with scenery and good friends. I was lucky enough to have this experience twice! The Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley was my favourite place to go when at the Yarra Valley, as there was a free tour that guided you through the process from the grapes being shipped into the bladders to be pressed, all the way into the Riddling Hall where the bottles were rotated on a frequent basis to settle the yeast-induced bubbles. Then the attached dining hall, Greenpointe Brasserie, has a seasonal menu that always goes well with the Range Wine tasting, consisting of four types of sparkling wines. If the mussels with Chardonnay appear on the menu, you are obligated to order them. Combined with the free wine tastings and the mountains in the backdrop, this is heaven. See more in my Yarra Valley post!

Footy

Favorites: Essendon, and not cheering for Collingwood
Australian Rules Football (AFL) is better known as Footy, and is played during the Autumn and Winter seasons. The game is a bit tough to explain, and its a mix of American Football, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Basketball, and Rugby. Its definitely easier to understand when you watch a match in person or on television – general admission to standard games is only $30! Hopefully you’ll get the gist with these quick notes:

• The objective of the game is to get the most points. There are two teams of 16 each playing on a massive oval field.
• The object of desire is a football. You move the ball around the field by running and dribbling, punching or kicking the ball.
• It is full contact, yet the players do not wear any padding. It is illegal to tackle above the shoulders, yet using opponents to elevate (i.e. jump off a player’s shoulders) and catch a ball is perfectly fine.
• A player gets a mark when someone kicks the ball and the player catches it. A mark means that the player can’t be tackled, temporarily. If the player punches the ball or runs with it, he can be promptly tackled.
• There are four goal posts, and scoring is rewarded by kicking a ball through the poles. If the ball goes through the outside poles, you get one point and the game plays on from that same side. If the ball goes through the middle two posts, you get six points and the ball goes back to the middle.

I’ve only scratched the surface with the above, and I know I’m missing out on a lot more. I sincerely miss Australia. I will return, and when I do, you can bet I will do all of the above again.

I need to give thanks for some of the best mates I’ve met while overseas. Starting with the Americans I was on secondment with, Lindsay and Ruby, my constant company, reality checkers and the largest contributors to my wild experience. Julia and Paul for being incredibly talented and great friends both in and out of the office. Kathleen for being a perfect buddy and having excellent taste for seafood. Maria for being an “unofficial buddy” to everyone, taking us out to the beaches, comedians and spas. Tara for being my very first Australian friend and bringing me to the shoppo. John and Winnie for taking us out to Yarra and trusting me with his Mazda. To Julian for Rugby, ridiculous pranks and sincere efforts to increase my alcohol tolerance. Holly for hiring me, and taking us to Phillip Island and the Dandenongs. Ka-Meng for being a camera nerd and approachable senior manager. Kirk for being Scottish. And especially Ron for being a fantastic host for food, badminton and a good mate. Ta.

The barista quickly slurs: “Howyagoinalright?”

My face quickly twitches into a “Huh?”, as I draw a blank face. Panic! Did a lapse of time just occur? Did I completely zone out for a second? I missed a key word that would make that sentence comprehendible and complete! Was the question “How are you going somewhere”? Well, I’m not really going anywhere…

Nothing seems to make sense.

After this second of awkwardness passes (and I truly feel bad for the bloke on the other side), it registers that the “How ya going?” is the typical greeting in Australia.

Me: “Oh, uhh, great, thanks. I would like to order a flat white – one sugar, please.” as I hand him some oversized cent coins.

Barista: “Ta.”

“Ta”? What? Did he just cut off himself mid-sentence? I mean, I just paid money and he is giving me back change. Does it mean please take your change? Wait here?

Nope, “Ta” means “Thanks.” Truncation, indeed.

As you can tell with the example above, Melburnians like to take the easy way out when it comes to verbal communication. Your first few weeks will be invested in understanding the rationing of syllables and sentences. Then, when you think you’ve got Australian figured out, you’ll be thrown more random phrases, including:

• Don’t glass your mates – A type of violent behaviour
• Pot of beer – A smaller size of beer, perfect for me
• Smoko – Is derived from, but is not literally smoking… sometimes
• Not a drama – No worries
• Heaps – Lots
• Adjective-as – Best explained with an example: “This is funny as.” is “This is as funny as the most funny event ever.”
• Reckon – I think
• Not a drama – No worries
• Maccas – McDonalds
• Wagging – Skipping, but for fun
• Whats to go – Is used to ask if there is anything to stop something from… going
• Tea – Dinner
• Dinner – Dinner
• Supper – Late night snack

Also, did you know any word can be shortened with an “-o”? Jono. Bottleo. Arvo. Teao. Okay, I’m sure some Australian will correct me, but the first three are absolutely legitimateo.

By the way, the lazy kangaroo in the picture symbolizes grammatical laziness of Australians. Perhaps a doped-up Koala may be a better representation?

To Melburnians, Sydney and their citizens Sydneysiders are the Americans of Australia. Naturally, this amuses me, as we Canadians refer to the USA as Canada’s underwear.

Michelle and I arrived a Saturday morning to rainy Sydney, where we were immediately wooed by an expensive $15 AUD train ticket from the airport to the city. By comparison, Hong Kong’s Airport express line is the same price, but includes fewer stops, goes a much longer distance, and features an airline check-in so you don’t have to lug your giant bags around. However, the Sydney Airport Link train was a modern double-decker train, which entertained us for the 20-minute train ride to the city, and only blocks away from the Radisson Plaza hotel.

After arriving to the hotel, we eventually ventured to Bondi Beach, where we signed up for some surfing lessons ($89/pp, low season)! While it was raining, the water was surprisingly warm for an autumn day. For newbies like us, the lessons were also the best way to go to pick up on the how-to. We had only four people during our group lesson, including Michelle and myself.

The lesson began with how to get a good wave and maintain your center on a surfboard. Once you catch the wave by inefficiently paddling like a madman, you must place your hands flat on the surfboard to help evenly distribute your weight. This is more difficult than it sounds, as it is human instinct to clench the surfboard side to maintain balance, but which contributes to the capsizing surfboard. But once you grasp the concept, its a lovely coast to the shoreline.

Once you’ve enjoyed bodyboarding a few times, the next challenge is to stand up on the surfboard. You have to push up with your hands flat on the board (again, gripping the side will result in a tipping over), and bring your lead foot onto the front of the board while keeping the board balanced, left-right and front-back! This is a lot harder than it sounds – if you are not centered on the board when you begin to stand up, you are quickly dunked. By the end of the two-hour lesson, both Michelle and I were standing on the board (don’t ask how long I stood though), and I also fractured my pinky! I hear both that it is and is not a common injury associated with surfing, so just allow me to say that I’m an awesome surfboarder with a surfing injury.

The next day, Michelle and I headed to Sydney Opera House to embark on an Essentials tour ($28/pp, early bird adult). All the tour participants were loaned some impressive touring technology, strapping on headsets that turned our tour guide into a portable radio station, allowing the tour guide to speak in our ears as we traversed from location to location. The tour was composed of interesting historical videos and a chance to sit inside the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre – it is an architectural nerd’s delight to be able to witness the interior concrete fins and design.

The Rocks Sunday market was a short 10 minute walk east of the Opera House and Circular Quay (pronounced “qee”). While the market had a large assortment of random wares to purchase, Michelle and I were most engrossed in, of all places, a candy store. Sticky is a candy store that specializes in the making of custom hard-candy, with designs of little fruit and words (mostly names of couples to be used as wedding favours). Lolly maker Greg invited me to step behind the counter to take closer snaps of the confectioners-in-training, which was a privilege! So we watched up close, for an hour, as Sticky made passionfruit candy from start to finish!

To summarize the long candy-making process, melted sugar is poured onto a cooling table, where citric acid and colourings are added into mix. After the candy is well mixed, the confectioners then whip the hefty slabs of candy to get air into it, giving it a beautiful, glossy look. The different parts of the candy are then stuck and rolled together to resemble a design, and are stretched thin on a hot table to be chiselled out into a massive amount of candy. While this may seem easy, it is a long and physically demanding process. The end result is always a crowd pleaser though, as nothing tastes better than delicious and artistic looking candy! In addition to names, they also do company logos and other retro designs. If I ever quit my job, I want to be a lolly maker.

Michelle and I were getting increasingly hungry as we witnessed candy growing up, and would soon turn diabetic if we continued to purchase and eat candy. So we then took the ferry to Darling Harbour ($5.30/pp), got off at the Maritime Museum, and walked to the Sydney Fish Market.

The Sydney Fish Market is not only the place to go to get your fresh fish, but also a great location to consume the seafood right there and then. For example, a delicious dozen of fresh pacific oysters was only $15.90 per dozen, complemented with lemon wedges and a small fork. Or perhaps you could indulge in some fresh sashimi, where you hand-pick the fish and then it is all sliced for you on the spot. You would have no choice but to be absolutely stuffed after eating it all in one go (tip: 200 grams per person is more than plenty of fish)!

A productive weekend of surfing, candy, and seafood. Not bad for the America of Australia!