Off to glamping in Dee Why

 

Cousin Gillian and her husband, Michael, live in Dee Why, a lively Northern Beaches suburb with a mix of beach culture, natural beauty like the Dee Why Lagoon and a bustling town center.

 

Lunch at the food court before the 'handover'

I was told they decided to live in Dee Why as her office was located a short distance away. Later, the office relocated to Chatswood, thankfully still a driving distance away but road traffic was often heavy at peak hours.

 

Her parents, Auntie Polly and Uncle Steven, who visit Australia almost every year, will stay with them and have learnt to enjoy the lifestyle in this neighbourhood.

 

When we had a plan to go for a live theatre experience last Saturday, Auntie and Uncle came to stay with us for the weekend.

 

Uncle Steven enjoys curry noodles

When it was time for them to leave and return to Dee Why, Auntie invited me to join them for a short stay. It was a very attractive proposition as I was keen to see and experience another part of Sydney.

 

I learnt that the name, Dee Why is believed to have originated from an Aboriginal name or term used by the local Dharug people. While the exact meaning of this name is being debated, some suggest that it relates to the shape of the lagoon or the call of a water bird, first appearing as Dy Beach in 1815 records by surveyor James Meehan.

 

Gillian was also keen to have me over to spend time with her parents (while she was at work!) and said I was welcome to join them for what she called, a glamping time. While space was limited in their apartment, we were ready to have fun and ‘rough it out’ for a few days.

 

Michael helping with our 
luggage at the 'handover'

So it was arranged that we should meet with Michael for lunch in Chatswood and thereafter, to do the ‘handover’ of people and luggage for him to drive us to Dee Why.

 

Lunch was at a food court with a stall that served a highly recommended fried salmon fish-head soup noodles for Auntie and curry noodles for Uncle. I am not a particular fan of either fish-head or curry so I opted for Indonesian mee kway teow goreng.

 

I did not know it yet but Auntie had in mind to let Michael drive Uncle home with our luggage while she and I would stay on in Chatswood to browse around in the malls. Later when Michael came to pick up his wife after work, we would go back together.

 

So when Auntie told me about our plan for the afternoon, I did not hesitate to agree. After all, she was familiar with the malls and the arrangements for our return later.

 

Aunty Polly, ready to enjoy her
Strawberry Watermelon cake
at Black Star Pastry cafe

The ‘handover’ went on smoothly with Michael helping with our luggage and when it was loaded in his car, Auntie told him about our plan to stay back. He was pleasantly surprised but was pleased that we had a plan… and he reminded us about our meeting place later in the day.

 

Soon as Michael drove off with Uncle, Auntie and I went into the mall to look at the Directory.

 

From reading the Directory, I got a better perspective of our location and the directions to reach which stores. Little did I know that Auntie already had in mind, the destination for our afternoon tea. 

 

“Black Star Pastry!” Auntie pointed to the mall level where this café was situated and told me with certainty, that we will go there for afternoon tea. This was because she longed for a taste of their signature Strawberry Watermelon Cake.

 

Once she was sure about the café location, we went on to enjoy browsing around the shops as well as the nearby malls before heading over for tea.

 

A clever play on words!

When Auntie decided it was time for tea, we took our time to make our way to the café. Upon arrival, I glanced at the logo for their brand and saw that it appeared rather familiar.

 

Outlined in bold Black lines, it was an illustration of a man’s face with a Black star on one of his eyes. Auntie asked me if their logo reminded me of another and I replied, “Yes.”

 

We both agreed that it looked like the logo for, “Tan Ngan Lo,” a Malaysian brand for herbal tea. However, the only difference is that the Black Star is on the right eye while a Black disc covers the left eye on the logo for Tan Ngan Lo.

 

Next, I needed to find out why Auntie was so set on having a taste of this cake. A glance around the café tables revealed that almost everyone seated there was enjoying that popular slice of cake.

 

It's dinner time at restaurant PHOOD

This iconic Strawberry Watermelon Cake, I soon discovered, is synonymous with Black Star Pastry. It features layers of almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream and fresh watermelon, topped with strawberries, grapes and pistachios. Mmm…

 

After taking our time to indulge in this tasty treat, we continued browsing around the shops, seeking any best buys until it was time for our rendezvous at the appointed meeting place in the mall.

Auntie Polly with a Hibiscus bloom

Then Michael and Gillian arrived, ready for an early dinner. A decision was reached to step out of the mall to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant that had a menu of dishes that were reminiscent of Chinese cuisine. 

 

Familiar with the menu, Gillian placed the order for items that will meet with her mother’s taste. I observed that the restaurant was fast filling up with diners – probably because it was close to dinner time – but as there was daylight hours in summer until about 8pm, I was not aware that it was already dinner time.

 

While we were enjoying the comforting dishes of hot soup, barbecued pork and what appeared like yee-mee noodles, Gillian told me to take note of the restaurant name.

 

Looking closer, I figured out that it was a compound word made with the word pho, for Vietnamese beef noodles, pronounced “fer” linked with ‘food’ in a clever of play on words that created their brand name, PHOOD, pronounced as, “food.”

 

Potted plants in a planter box
on the balcony of their apartment

With our stomachs warmed with food from PHOOD, we went on our drive back to Dee Why. Since there were still daylight hours, Gillian and Michael decided to drop by at a warehouse to buy some potted plants with fresh flowers for their home décor.

 

When we arrived at their apartment, Uncle was waiting for us. I was taken on a tour of the premises for an orientation of sorts so that I could “make myself at home.”

 

It was very funny when Gillian was guiding me to use the shower system and Auntie came inside the bathroom to add her two-cents worth of advice. When Michael stepped inside to retrieve something, we could not help laughing because then, there were four people inside the bathroom during my orientation!

 

This was the start of my two-day-three-night stay with this family at Dee Why, one that turned out to be a hilarious House of Comedy contributed by the many “senior moments” between Uncle and Auntie. More about this in the next exciting episode.

 

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