I have been to
Sydney about 4 times, and half of them have been for the
Hillsong Conference. In fact I have gotten a little 'bored' of Sydney with the limited shopping. What made it special in my last trip was because we decided to check out the food in Sydney and would go all the way out to try coffee joints and restaurants in town. In addition, we planned for a trip out of the city to Hunter Valley and Port Stephens after the conference.
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Sydney Harbour Bridge
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Day 1 - Sydney, arrive on Friday
Hotel check-in
We had quite a big group with us this time and checked in at
Breakfree on George which was a service apartment. The rooms and bathrooms are decent and cheery. Just missing luxurious elements of staying in a hotel. What's great is that it is near the Central station and surrounded by restaurants nearby after returning late nights from Hillsong Conference.
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| Breakfree on George, Sydney |
Lunch at Marigold
The first thing every sane Singaporean will do when touching down in any city would of course to find food at eat. One of our favorite restaurants is Tim Sum (Yum Cha) at Marigold. A Singaporean slang goes - Wack ah! Which means, spare no thought to courtesy, just tuck in!
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| Marigold, Sydney |
Marigold
Level 4 & 5
Citymark Building
683-689 George Street Sydney 2000
Email: info@marigold.com.au
Phone: (02) 9281 3388
Lunch: 10 AM – 3 PM
Directions to Marigold on
Google Map
Paddy's Market
After a full lunch, one certainly needed to walk it out. And we did by shopping for fresh fruit and vegetable market at Paddy's Market as well as the Chinese grocery store in the top floor to stock up for cold packed lunches during the conference days.
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| Paddy's Market, Sydney |
Pancakes On the Rocks
A place we always visited at least once because it's a popular touristy destination right on the Rocks and because it opens late, a perfect hang out post conference. However, the quality of the pancakes have since dropped over time, and we have geared more towards a dinner main course. I must say the do have delicious ribs and crepes.
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| Pancakes On The Rocks |
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| Pancakes on the Rocks - chocolate pancakes with Jaffa orange |
Pancakes On The Rocks
4 Hickson Rd, The Rocks, Sydney
Open: 24 HOURS, 7 DAYS A WEEK
Phone: 02 9247 6371 |
Directions to Pancakes On The Rocks on
Google Map
Day 2 - Breakfast at Surry Hills, Paddington Market, Bondi Beach, Saturday
Now I am beginning to understand why we were having so much food sampling before conference, as when Hillsong Conference starts, it would be cold packed sandwiches. We started the day with renting a car from Avis for the day and planned a trip towards Bondi Beach.
The day started at Surry Hills with breakfast at
Le Monde. Surry Hills is a quaint residential area where many stay, and where you can find fabulous food. Happily we slurped down our morning coffee and Eggs Benedict. It's a tiny outfit at Le Monde but food, coffee, and company was great. No one does great breakfasts as Australians do.
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| Breakfast at Le Monde, Sydney |
Bourke Street Bakery - as if breakfast was not filling enough, we headed to Bourke Street Bakery to pick up their famous tarts. Oh it's so lovely to travel in a group as you can try out more food. Packed these tarts for our Bondi Beach sojourn, don't they just glow in the sunlight?
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| Bourke Street Bakery |
On the way to Bondi Beach, we stopped at
Paddington Market, a perfect place to hang out on a Saturday. You can find almost anything from knick knacks to artwork, to jewelry pieces to clothes, and of course some light food.
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| Paddington Market |
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| Art at Paddington Market |
Paddington Market
395 Oxford Street, Paddington,
Sydney, Australia
Open: every Saturday from 10am to 5pm
Directions to Paddington Market on
Google Maps
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach in winter would mean great surfing waves, picture perfect postcard view, and of course a breath-taking view of the beach and sunset. God makes such beautiful sunsets here in Australia!
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| Bondi Beach, Sydney |
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| Fancy swimming in winter next to crashing waves? |
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| Sunset at Bondi Beach |
No day is complete in Bondi Beach without trying their fish and chips. I did request for calamari as I so love having that in Australia. This time we had our meal at
Mongers Bondi Beach. Personally I preferred the calamari to the fried fish.
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| Mongers Bondi Beach |
Fishmongers Bondi Beach
42 Hall Street
Bondi Beach
NSW 2026
Phone: 02 9365 2205
Email: Bondi@mongers.com.au
Directions to Mongers Bondi Beach on
Google Maps
Day 3 - Hillsong City Campus, Pitt Street, Circular Quay, Sunday
A Sunday in Sydney means an early morning start to Hillsong City Campus (love the shuttle service that brought us easily to the campus) followed by some serious shopping before conference day starts.
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| Hillsong City Campus |
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| Pitt Street Mall, Sydney |
The main shopping area is Pitt Street Mall, a walking street with shops on both sides of the street. In particular I like to shop at
Westfield Sydney, and also to dine at the food court on the top floor. I stopped for cake and coffee at
Coco Noir and the cake I had was absolutely a fantasy.
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| Coco Noir - Raspberry Delight |
The
Strand Arcade is also another mall favorite mall of mine because of the old world charm, and to pick up my favorite strawberry chocolate at Haigh's Chocolate.
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| Strand Arcade, Sydney |
As night fell, which is pretty early during winter in Sydney, I walked to Circular Quay and towards Sydney Opera House for dinner and a gorgeous day-to-night view of the Sydney Habour Bridge. This is one of the most romantic views one could enjoy in Sydney. I chose the most wallet friendly meal which was a salad made from grilled prawns with rice noodles topped with Thai sweet sauce at one of the alfresco restaurants located on the lower concourse of Sydney Opera House. A cold meal on a cold day, makes you really really cold. But with such a view, and tightly bundled up in winter wear, you could literally brave anything.
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| Dinner with a million dollar view of Sydney Habour Bridge |
Day 4 - Pymouth Fish Market, Hillsong Conference, Monday
I woke up early this Monday morning and before my trip with the rest to Sydney Fish Market, I did a morning walk to find a good coffee and breakfast. Walking along Kent Street was fascinating as with admiring the beautiful architecture of historic buildings. I tried a lovely hot sandwich and coffee at the
Central Baking Depot while watching working professionals get their coffee and off to work.
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| Central Baking Depot, CBD, Sydney |
Central Baking Depot
37 - 39 Erskine St, Sydney 2000
OPENING HOURS:
Monday - Friday: 7am - 4.30pm
Saturday: 8am - 2pm
I absolutely enjoy going to the
Sydney Fish Market. It is a definite must if you love seafood and also a must to have an early lunch there. But be warned of the seagulls as they are aggressive and will snatch away exposed food, even unattended for a second. Bring your sauces if you like you seafood spicy, otherwise Fish and Chips, fresh prawns, lobsters, oysters, and calamari are some of my favorite finds here. The only issue is that it is pretty inconvenient to get to this place. It took us a good 20 minutes walk from the Star Casino, but I suppose that would help you to work up a good appetite!
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| Sydney Fish Market |
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| Yummy fresh prawns at Sydney Fish Market |
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| Best calamari ever, cooked Asian style |
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| Fishing boats at Sydney Fish Market |
Sydney Fish Market
Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Directions to Sydney Fish Market on
Google Maps
After a full satisfying meal at Sydney Fish Market, we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel along Pymouth Bridge with a gorgeous view of the Cockle Bay area. Winter in Sydney is a beauty with the blue skies and cold weather, and it really is possible walking everywhere in such weather.
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| Pyrmont Bridge, Sydney |
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Cockle Bay, Sydney
I was blessed to have found a room at Olympic Park where the annual Hillsong Conference is held during the week. So after lunch at Sydney Fish Market, I moved on to stay at Ibis Sydney Olympic Park. Rooms are usually sold out, and year on year, you can almost expect a price increase. Ibis Sydney Olympic Park is simple, basic, and clean, with plenty of table space and storage space to keep my week's worth of packed lunches. I would recommend buying the necessary groceries in the city and bring it along with you, as there is nothing much going on at the Olympic Park. Canned tuna, sardine, tortilla wraps, salad, muesli bars, nuts and fruits are the staples during the week long conference.
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| Ibis Sydney Olympic Park |
Hillsong Conference, Sydney
An annual event, Hillsong Conference brings together a team of Christian pastor / speakers and Christian worship bands from around the world for a week long conference at the Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. This is the time when Christians of every denomination come together as one voice to worship and listen to message. It is amazing to see 21,000 believers coming together, all loving Jesus, all wanting a word in their season. Hillsong Church comes up with amazing worship albums, and this is the time also when their latest album would be released. I think having it right in the month of July helps in the renewal of passion, to be reminded of what is important in life, other than work and self/family. The conference starts on a Monday night to a Friday night, consisting of morning and night sessions, with the afternoons breaking out into streams. It is in the streams you get up and personal with the leaders. I took worship leading and song writing, and to be to hear from Chris Tomlin and Ruben Morgan on what it takes to write a song is inspiring.
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Hillsong Conference - listening to Pastor Joseph Prince
Because of the cost of the hotel stay in the Olympic Park, I would usually check out on Friday, and spend the afternoon session moving my luggage back to the city. After the conference on a Monday, we rented a car and made our way to Hunter Valley for a lunch stop over and to Port Stephens for an overnight stay. Read more about the road trip here.
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