Summer in Sydney means ... Burwood Chinatown, Midori, fires

What does Sydney mean to you?

Work. Alienation. Sex. The ex. New flame. Hills. Money. Smoke. Isolation. Child No.2. Love.

That’s me with the bat from about the time my cricket career reached its peak.Credit: Michael Ruffles

First memory of Sydney?

January 2, 1992. A cricket debut. We hopped on the bus from the South Coast to provide Kanga Cricket lunchtime entertainment. Failure with the bat, but a lucky one-handed catch won some cheers. Boon and Border scored a few, and the world is oblivious to the cricket god who spent the day in the change room. Maccas on the way home.

When the weather gets hot I …

Get hotter. But only in anger.

Lovin Lamb in Burwood’s Chinatown.Credit: Brook Mitchell

First place you take visitors?

Burwood Chinatown. Convenient, colourful, no shortage of food. You can walk from Xinjiang to Hong Kong via Xi’an in a matter of minutes, but I’m yet to see the scorpions on a stick I once sampled in Beijing.

Favourite cafe?

Profiterole Patisserie, about 50 metres from home. Everything’s pretty good and they tolerate my boys after filling them with ice-cream. I don’t want to admit to ordering a ridiculous smashed dessert share plate to be delivered all the way over the road. I won’t say whether it happened more than once. But I will say isolation was tough, OK?

Secret spot you escape to?

Does the ensuite count? The boys never think to look for me there. Walking aimlessly around Kinokuniya or Dymocks is quality alone time.

Best summer food?

Is Midori and pineapple juice food?

I know it’s summer when I smell …

Sunscreen. I bet everyone says sunscreen.

My favourite summer song is…

Se A Vida E (That’s the way life is) by the Pet Shop Boys. The decision is final. Childish Gambino, Don Henley and Texas can squabble among themselves for second place.

Worst thing about summer?

It used to be flies, but now it’s fires.

My closest bolthole is ...

Crossways Hotel, South Strathfield. It brought us together as a family after we were deemed close contacts of an infected visitor in an early wave of COVID-19. And there’s a good playground.

Guilty pleasure?

Letting the boys watch Hey Duggee and Sarah and Duck just so I can enjoy them myself.

What aspect of Sydney would you change and what should always stay the same?

I wish my favourite boutique, Antons, still had a Sydney store because it’s been 12 years since I was able to buy anything from them. Their Melbourne store in its pomp was a joy to behold, and I couldn’t really afford more than a few pieces back then.

I hope there will always be someone stretching out handmade noodles in the window of a restaurant in Burwood, and pigs ears in chilli oil and spicy meat on sticks will forever be available.

But mostly, I hope to never lose the sense of awe the bridge inspires every day on the way to and from work.

Summer in Sydney is a series where Herald staff reveal the best – and worst – of our city in the hotter months.

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