DOM'S ASIAN TEAHOUSE

Taking Off To The Jungle

2011-08-19T01:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs a break now and then and especially this Old Dog . No promises. I'll not promise posting over my holidays definitely not taking any phone calls or emails. but you never know folks. Meantime, Cheers wherever you are!

How To Open A Pandora Box

2011-08-11T02:43:00.000-07:00

owadays there seems to be numerous number of food bloggers on the Net posting on other people’s cooked food with their running commentary and their water-marked snapshots. We view it with askance and turn a blind eye to them because it is probably excusable as you are merely in a virtual unreal world of your own making trying to make yourself heard. However when you are in a real world you are dealing with real people with real feelings and sentiments and attachments. Let me now relate to you. There was this wannabe food writer who mind you writes for a living and was trying freaking hard to impress his new writing prowess and skill. He unfortunately took on a restaurant, which was virtually an old institution in Hobart an establishment that is so inextricably interwoven with the Community's deep roots and connections that unexpectedly he ended up incurring a public wrath a furore so to speak for what he wrote. Quite rightly he should expect the unforseen outcry and backlash. What is more he should bear the consequence that followed for ridiculing and deriding a long standing iconic symbol to which a large number of Hobartian customers identify and attach their sentiments and loyalty. ....

The Public Reaction

As for Dominic the more controversial his food is the more he adds new customers to his ever expanding market. I think he loves every minute of it.

Salamanca Last Review

2011-08-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

Teahouse Salamanca Photo gallery

Teahouse Salamanca Photo gallery

The Final Thumbs-Up Salamanca Coverage

2011-08-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

www.top nosh @ dom's teahouse. com. au

2011-08-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

A Subject Of Newsworthiness

2011-08-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

Cheers to my niece Valerie and Milne! Just forgot what both of you differently specialise in medical wise. Perhaps Bernadette or Sabrina can help to enlighten. Sharing this thru Facebook. Both Maggie and Sabrina being members and close by can assist. Otherwise come to the site here to download. Google 'Dom's Teahouse'' first.

Gathering of Chinese Foochow Centenarian Geriatrics. The subject now is on self health and life longevity

No mortal sin food slipping off chopsticks

So much to catch up.

Food that nobody eats

Pushing The Border Of Spicy Cuisine

2011-08-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

The High Point Our Pinnacle

2011-07-31T07:56:00.001-07:00

Revisitation Of Salamanca

2011-07-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

1994-2002

Salamanca Teahouse Photo Gallery

This is my fourth restaurant I have managed and cooked in and this is also the second last link to my final eating outlet that I am involved . For the next few weeks I shall leisurely park here at this trading station and concentrate more on the Salamanca Place restaurant before moving onto my last destination since more materials have been collated. Hopefully I can get a grip of myself and make some sense out of my attempt in cataloging the sequence to my Teahouse history.You will keep your fingers crossed for all things to fall into place for me soon won't you....Do Read On and Cheers!.

Some Media Publicity For Teahouse At 6 Victoria

2011-07-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

Rebirth Of Dom's Teahouse 1992-1993

2011-07-20T02:11:00.000-07:00

his is a supplementary article providing additional information to a previous article so featured here under the title Renovation & Refurbishment (Part Two). The renovation taking place at 6 Victoria Street is without a doubt a complete overhaul. I feel I need to reinvigorate myself of having to throw myself onto a new challenge.Wiring, wall plastering, floor covering heat ducting brand new engine room cool room etc. Mind boggling come to think of it. Indeed a mammoth task if restaurants wants to have a complete turn over of a new lease of life. But exciting times are ahead of me and I always convince myself that one should get oneself constantly involved in life at all times so I must treat it that way .I just simply cannot stay rusty by being too complacent about things .Already my business had reached a plateau after more than a ten year run in South Hobart. Liverpool Street Cafe is considered too small. It has a restrictive sitting capacity and lacks available car parking space. So I decided I need to remain resilience and stay abreast of the competitive spirit in a rather saturated eatery market of Hobart during the 90's by giving this new found place a complete face uplift. .It was really a stroke of a luck that I pick up this old solid building for sale because firstly is it did rarely ever exist nowadays right in the very heart of the city and secondly is that it gave me a real opportunity to put my dreams to test and ultimately to renew myself with my patrons and the public .

The same starlet with her Papa again!.Life would had been utterly boring without her around at this time.

The new kitchen is slowly coming into shape.

You can see the newly renovated kitchen at the background through the door. The keys to the whole establishment including the ground floor basement were hung on a pad

First part on the Eastern room to complete. The neon sign that is hung on the wall 'Tropicana Asia'has been brought over from Liverpool St Teahouse Cafe.

Here is a total renovation and refurbishment completed to the eastern flank smaller dining area adjoining to the main dining room. New carpets tablecloth flowers and indoor kentia palm and all. I have decided to cover up the bain marie food serving area with a large Japanese screen using it as a nice backdrop with some sombre down lights at the back of the screen. This area is now ready for trade.However our concentration now must be gyrated towards the main dining room before we decide to open the door to the public.

More boxes to open, more crockeries, cutlery and ornaments to be sorted and more framed pictures to hang up. It is slowly beginning to look like a real restaurant now.

My daughter's first breakfast in a bright new spanking restaurant. The first person to have tasted the first meal cooked on a brand new gas stoves in a brand new kitchen.

My daughter heading off to her school after a hearty brekfast of sausage and eggs. Because it was an old building occupied by the Returned Servicemen Club for their functions and meeting the overall building is quite substantial. She lives up at the Loft all by herself overlooking the old ballroom floor. There was a separate large room just above the women's powder room which I took possess of. Toilets facilities in general were of excellent conditions as they were recently renovated by the Club members . Altogether there were 4 women cubicles and a shower recess annexed to a huge powder room. The men toilet downstairs had a huge public urinal plus half a dozen cubicles.

The complete works of renovation and refurbishment to the ground floor of an old grand building.

Renovation and Refurbishment (Second Part)

2011-07-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

enovations can be costly. It depends on what you really want. I remember when we’re doing the spray paint on the roof of a double storey Spice shop at 42 Newdegate Street we have to hire a cherry harvester mounted on a truck that works on hydraulics in order to reach to the rooftop. Old concrete buildings generally have higher roofs than the newly built The painter forgot to cover all the nearby cars parked in the area and I had to dash around on his behalf covering each of the vehicle with all his industrial protective cloth including that of my old bed sheets as the wind started to change its course. I assume that he must have his insurance cover. That was the whole purpose of not taking any work related risks myself but hiving off jobs like this to the professionals who were certified and licensed for the it though they may well be the small businessmen like myself.

The shop fitters I contracted represent the heaviest cost in a retail situation like the Spice Centre at North Hobart. You showcase your merchandise in the best possible way for a sale. So designing a showroom with appropriate shop fittings is a must. Display shelving and cabinet units are not cheap. Then you have to consider the type of flooring or suitable floor covering . More importantly I had to redesign the whole interior lightings. But that was the Spice Centre shop. However here in this article I am going to show you a photographic account of renovation and refurbishment on an old Club building and gradually turning it into a spanking brand new restaurant and the address is at 6 Victoria Street. That was the year 1992.

About the most expensive renovation and refurbishment I have ever gone through in any of my restaurant years was undertaken at 6 Victoria Street right in the heart of the Business centre. Altogether it costs me more than three houses and an additional hefty sum of loan from a bank to secure this majestic building before I could get it renovated and refurbished in a substantial way. But the house value then wasn't in any way like the house value of today. This time I really did dig deep into my pocket. Like I mentioned before in order to maintain your business competitive edge renovation and refurbishment can be a costly financial matter. The first few months’ things were moving very slowly perhaps because I was still going through my initial euphoria of my major purchase. Just as well this coincided with my contractors’ set date for their job commencement which was at least a few more months away which gave me a brief spell to brush up more on city council by-laws and rules regarding the requirements of a restaurant operator.

The empty main dining room. My daughter is my best companion at all times.

The bare kitchen with no stoves sink wash basins etc. A new start on essential like pipes and plumbing, wires, and heating/AC duct. The costs will reach a bottomless pit so to speak by the time you consider the miles of carpet one has to lay in the main dining room and around the foyer.

Then there is the outside frontage consideration. Hiring of scaffolding costs me more than a thousand a week and I couldn't afford to let this stretch for too long. Wish they speed up the outside painting job a bit because I didn't want the painters lot to clash and be in the way of the major interior designers and renovators scheduled job .

This is a unique opportunity to take up residence in an historic building on high- pedestrian trafficked Street and flanked by two arterial thoroughfare namely Davey and Collin Streets. This is where I need to transform the antiquated interior into a chic eatery.

In my next post I shall show you how I have converted an old interior ground floor into a swanky spanking eatery outlet equivalent to a five star establishment.

Testing Linkage

2011-07-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Renovation and Refurbishment (First Part)

2011-07-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Small business renovation or refurbishment is without a doubt a burden to a proprietor because it is not something you can do without and it represents an additional outlay on top of your purchase of a building or a business you are taking over. Yet it is very necessary because it is very much like a statement that you want to make and you want your own mark on it which clearly indicates that it is you not the previous owner and that there is a complete change of management or ownership of your new business .It is also an appropriate opportunity for you to introduce a brand name that you would like to stamp on so that it is clearly identifiable to the public what you and your service have to offer..There is no escape that any new small business has to deal with the bureaucracy of the day. When it comes to renovations that require structural changes you will need a permit and obviously an approval, which undoubtedly attract more fees. Refurbishment is not as complex and most of the time be carried out internally though you may still need prior approval from your landlord. But refurbishment can also be costly depending on your budget target..

I remember when I decided to convert an empty run-down empty chemist shop into an Asian restaurant in South Hobart I have to apply a permit for a change of commercial use of the building. You do feel that a lot of time is wasted with red-tape and so on. unfortunately that is how you live by the rigmaroles of complicated procedures in our business life. A Community’s Public Notice will be issued out for a month for any objections or opposition from the project. I so proposed. Then I sought to have the professional service of a draftsman to draw me up a plan for submission to the City’s Planning Office, which they may either further amend, reject or accept in its entirety. Meantime I line up suitable contractors to do the real renovating job. Where it involves a bigger and expensive project it is best to call a public tender to achieve a better economic outcome. That is what I did on my RSL Club in Victoria Street. But wherever I went somehow or other I would make a point of earmarking money aside for renovations and renewal.

A later photo taken in 1990 on the dining room of my first restaurant when I started trading in March 1978 in South Hobart. Most major structural renovations were done in the kitchen area for it was a brand new kitchen I'd built for my landlord. It was a costly exercise before I received my certification of approval from both the Town Planning Office and the Hobart City Council. The dining room costs and outlay was in fact the cheapest item. You virtually supply expensive items like galvanised steel kitchen hood with commercial three phase kitchen fan, pantry, a cool room, stainless steel basins, hot water system, grease trap grease-proof wall etc. A good commercial stove is essential too. The kitchen is the engine room of any restaurant. The kitchen is where nearly eighty percent of your total outlay is spent on setting up with a typical eating outlet. Plumbing cost far exceeds electrician's bill.

The recently renovated internal dining room of Dom's Teahouse Cafe at Liverpool Street in 1991. This was wisely done on a modest budget for I had already spent quite a substantial sum on the purchase of a double- storey house as well as setting it up as the Spice Centre in North Hobart. . The theme here is Tropical more of tropical timber and its natural grain plus a lush illustration of green tropical growth. As well it has a fusion of Japanese teahouse setting which henceforth correlates in some ways Dom's own version of a tropical SE Asian Teahouse. Below are some of our simple Japanese frame and artwork.

I got this two colourful words done in neon sign so that they are portable and mobile wherever we go in the future. Perhaps I had in mind a customised theme for a separate room in the future. Besides some neon if not overbearing can help to enhance.

My 1991's nice close Staff members . Pauline Chan now a fashion designer in Melbourne, Simone and David. Simone has a wonderful personality. She should be in a P R or some kind of Consultancy job anything less like nursing is just sheer waste on human talent. They were a cheerful bunch to work with. Yes we are still very much in contact even today. I hope so too with whoever that has worked with me.

New shelvings added on the kitchen wall. Secret is out. At Last , I have let that miserable cat out of the bag. I use sambal oelek mostly as my spice base as you can see the number of empty jars I have collected on the shelves for storage. Sambal oelek is not your everyday chilli paste. It is in many ways more expensive than the Thais, Vietnamese or Chinese made chilli sauce or other type of imitation sauce and it is not usually used like the way they are usually used with say Chinese chilli sauce..

Finally my fast growing daughter Ming Zhu. The more she grows up the more I have to find food to feed her. She smiles then she doesn't! What should I do to make her smile all the time ?

In Praise Of My Loyal Patrons

2011-07-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

In Praise Of My Loyal Patrons

I am completely overwhelmed and overtaken by the swell and stream of well-wishers and messages that is still trickling through. Below here is another one which I just received in my post and of course I would like to share this again with you and the public because I sincerely believe that without your loyal and concrete support in the community I would not be what I am today. Special thanks to Chris & Rosemary merry Curry club, Geoffry’s, Lynn & Jock, Muirs & Pennecott’family, the Godfreys, the staffs working at Mercury News Daily both past and present and et al all the others. . Whilst gloating over a good situation like this I have never for a moment forgotten at the back of my mind that it always take two to tango.

You as loyal patrons are regarded as an important and an intrinsic part of my social life in the world of small business because you are also a key to the actual survival of my economic existence. Where small business relationships are so personal your involvement and your personal relationship becomes a vital reciprocity without which Dom’s Teahouse wok-a-bout’’or wok-a-thon’’ would had long time run out of steam and the business spelt its demise in no time. You do all the advertising for me to just about anybody and there is nothing more effective in the form of advertising than the actual good words you put in. By spreading good words to your friends and your neighbours about my eating outlet you are not only helping me to build up a whole crop of new and loyal followers and in doing so you also in the event helped me shape successfully the distinctive type of dishes and service that is unique and different from the conventional norm. You’ve done what all the media and advertisers couldn’t do. So with greatest respect to all my loyal supporters that had closely identified with me from South Hobart down to the South in Blackman's Bay may I today just as I poignantly started off on my retirement days salute you for your support your contributions and importantly your dedication.. You have my greatest respect and admiration both as a human being and a customer. I personally like to publicly thank you both for that , Jeff and Kay.

People Personality Power and Politics (1)

2011-07-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

In the dawn of my next decade of restaurant activity it had just occurred to me that the year 1991 saw the entourage of Robin Trevor Gray’s team the leader of the state Liberal Party coming in for dinner at Liverpool street in the city one night . You might think why on earth would such a person of stature like the premier of state of Tasmania be seen patronising a dumpy little place like the Liverpool Teahouse café. Well to some extent I can understand that’s pretty normal because as politicians they usually do especially before an election or after they retire or lost their jobs. And came he did with a bodyguard or two standing outside. This time he did plenty have time to taste my food. Mind you though the world is a wonderful place. He was a senior lecturer in the Agriculture department at the same time as I studied Economics and Politics at Monash.That was well before he went into topsy-turvy world of politics and I thereon into the extra mile for an incessant wok wandering march over the next two decade...

Come to think of my recall the early 80’s at South Hobart's Teahouse had quite a few visitations of interests with social personalities ranging from the English Cricket team to the famous left-winger campaigner Victorian Dr Jim Cairn. For Jimmy it was a sort of return social visit. In order to do him some justice here I think I shall do an exclusive on him and his family when I come around. Only that way I can relate to you properly of my experience during my stay at his home in Hawthorn Victoria. The comedian Billy Connolly and his comedian team from United Kingdom did turn up as well since they were billeted close by down at the local Sandy Bay Wrest Point Casino. Then of course there was this tall elegant looking dark lady from US who was a blue jazz singer whom I unfortunately forgotten her name after so many years. They were all international Artists performing around venues and Casinos round the world. But when it comes to private moments outside their stage Performance they rather prefer something that is not the mainstream somewhere of a place that is quaint and exotic , and some thing that has to be completely different from their normal routinal limelight.

The Teahouse at Salamanca Place was in fact originally called The Office prior to 1991 named by an owner who was then an active member of the Liberal Party. It is therefore without surprise that in the earlier part of the period when we took over the premises in the late 1994 we were frequented by most of the cabinet ministers of State Liberal party during lunchtime led by a gentlemanly mild mannered Raymond Groom whose family happens to live nearby in Battery Point vicinity. I think this is therefore due not only to the proximity of the restaurant location from the docklands and the waterfront but also from the State Parliament of Tasmania where all the politicians were working. I began to know most of the elderly Liberal Cabinet members. I Knew the Hodgeman family and Eric Abetz –a Federal senator well.. not just at Salamanca Place but also later on down South in Blackman’s Bay and Kingborough area

However, Abetz has been a long time acquaintance during my university years at the Student Representative Council much more than the Honourable Hong Lim who is now an active Labour member for Clayton in Victoria. Anthony Rundle who later took on the job of Premier was indeed my personal fan followed by Rene Hidding. I think a lot of people would have easily misunderstood what they stood for perhaps because they were in politics for if you know the pair well enough personally they were nothing like a typical politician. For one I regarded him more as a marvellous teacher and the other a prime example of an industrious Dutch migrant who had successfully made into the top public and social ladder. Whilst talking about the Kingborough area let me just deviate from the topic at this juncture. James Bleasale the ex-chairman of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation) brought Dick Smith a rather renown philantropist of Sydney in one night for a meal down at Blackman’s Bay and they thoroughly enjoyed their stay so they said. .. The tycoon Dick Smith obviously as you know is an environmentalist and apart from other things is deeply committed to the preservation of Antartica continent down further south..

Salamanca Teahouse also attract other relatively well-known VIPs for instance the Federal Minister of Communications from Malaysia Affendi Norwawi . He was on his way to receive his honorary PHD Doctorate Degree from University of Tasmania. He brought with him some dark glasses bodyguards too but more in numbers than Gray because perhaps labour is cheaper over at yonder and thus but also not to forget along came his young charming second wife as well for a rather long sumptous banquet . There was then the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race event, which also brought Lachlan Murdoch the son of Rupert Murdoch and their entourage from the vessel Sayonara to our premises in 2001. It was a rather nice looking blonde lady confidante that came preceding the party and concluded a deal with me a day or two prior to their arrival. I am sure she was from Sydney too and not a Hobartian .

We were so close to the docks that inevitably we were sharing some of the arrivals from the annual events The event that is suppose to be the highlights of all summer events in Hobart. It is all glitter and glitz for the next few summer weeks down at Salamanca what with all the sideshows, galleries, live performance and the Taste Festival showcasing local food and wine to coincide with the arrival of the first Yacht from the Great Southern Sydney Hobart Race. If you are a Hobartian yourself you will probably know what I am carrying on about.

The Return Of A Prodigal Son

2011-06-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Dom's Teahouse Cafe At Liverpool Street 1991

he year 1991 was the crucial year I decided to return to the fold of restaurant industry. I realised now this has to be the sector that I knew best. Besides the restaurant atmosphere is more lively and spontaneous. I began to miss that in less than a year away from South Hobart’s Malaysian Teahouse. Anything else outside this sector will be less achievable just like of course lamentably speaking with the Spice Centre I have no access to the additional ancillary support service nor larger capital finance for my current stock outlay. The restaurant industry has to be the sector that I know best by now. I got to know the customers and their taste in the market well. I got to know that it did really work for me. It has worked for me in South Hobart. This I think is perhaps because they do have a liking for my type and style of cooking. I have the skill the acquired expertise and the know how, as well as getting a much better understanding of pressure and workload that is involved with running a restaurant than with any other. Besides, I still have the remnants of my students work brigade from South Hobart floating around eagerly waiting to be redeployed.

My young growing daughter then with Natalie who is a pleasant university student to work with. She came down from Brisbane liked it here in Hobart and settled in for a course at the local university. She worked for me till she graduated and she followed me and the rest of the Teahouse entourage right through to Salamanca Place.

Here is Natalie again with Andrew. Andrew is a hard working Guy. As well as studying full-time Economics at university he also took a managerial job at Victoria Tavern practically running the show all by himself nearly four nights a week and still have time left to come over and check in over the weekend to see if we were coping alright.

Memorable plaque I received from the Chinese Mainland Association over the restaurant service in South Hobart and my support through their trying times over the Tien An Men Massacre. Transliteration: in it it says weird but unique flavours from a unique Chinese high flyer. I kinda like that !

I find it rather amusing by looking at this old picture of mine today. Back then I still had such a thick crop of healthy hair on my head. Today I suddenly noticed I had considerably less hair left on my crown. It must have been just the enormous amount of wear and tear and rough and tumble in the kitchen over time.

Whereas with me I am quite comfortable if I leave the majority of dining room affairs with my more matured workers outside and concentrate myself on the actual preparation and presentation of food coming from different region of South-East Asia. When I am finally back in the kitchen I feel as if it is like ducks in the water. My adrenalin gland is pumping again. See how chirpy I am in the pic.Its worth publishing in spite of its headless pose.I really wonder who took this snap before?

The Scourge Of Modern Technology

2011-06-24T12:56:00.001-07:00

Security Setting and Privacy Concern

Facebook is not something I like to go near. I shall swear by my Lord Bhudda big opening palm that it is nothing like a proper social relationship they are promoting . Lately I have this awful personal experience with deleting my account from Facebook.Yet that new account was barely two weeks old which only say so much for this sordid affair. .Really It was initially at the behest of an invitation from my sister in England that I decided to join in .We started off purely as a private family affair relationship harmless enough like swapping photos and catching up news with each other. This is all rather unsuspecting and nothing seems to be untoward. Everything seem to be moving smoothly and you just had the feeling that you are using the account the same way no more than what you would use on Yahoo or Hotmail freebie.But that is where the comparison ends.I nominated six persons as friends but not in the Facebook’s sense.They are my relatives old and young all spread around the world.I decided to set restricted access to only the six in the family like as if it is a private club by using the ‘’Friends Only’’ button. I think there were only three control buttons namely Everyone, Friends of Friends or Friends Only. Somehow or rather filth material started coming through from the third party. That was unaccounted for and that was an unauthorised access...

Some Kind of Social Networking

I know The whole world wide is about being linked together through the internet .Facebook works on links like a gigantic cobweb. Facebook particularly works on linking network. It operates in a similar way like linkedin a company that sells and market professionals as my daughter has been one using it.. But the trouble with Facebook is that they without criteria nor pre-requsite encourage and actively promote just about everybody to join in by finding friends only in the hope that those friends can find more friends and friends and…” fiends’ as well.Seem to me that this has been such a psychological setup especially amongst the young for a great urge to compete with each other for friends and more friends within your circle. My sister has made two friends today so it has to be my turn to make two new friends or more than her so says the friend finder tool. To create your own wider audience, your own sizeable market and having the Centre of your new attention is really all determined by how frequent and intense you utilise the” Fiend’s Finder” tool. From what I have heard especially those whom I know had joined their number of friends range from 84 to 3540.Half of the time they do not who they are socially accepting except that they are friends of a friend who is also a friend of your immediate friend. See the crowd control problem when you are trying to hold a private party.

Massive Data Mining

Over the years the hordes brought with them enormous amount of human friends. They(those that work for Facebook) therefore have all the opportunity in the world that is literally speaking to help themselves with the massive raw data that comes on hand.They can sell their profiled and detailed information to the third party big businesses and governments alike. If you have studied data processing and data management at uni or college you will be familiar with methods of collation like categorising similar data sets’’ so that you.can begin extracting patterns of human behaviours from them. Facebook today has over 500 million members. Facebook has it all worked out with your tastes, spiritual beliefs, personal philosophy, health, favourites, level of education, religion, salaries, hobbies, sports, pastimes, etc. . But ultimately Facebook has got all the lot of you through your conversations, your shopping habits, your social habits , your address your phone numbers and so on We must remember we are entering a digital age where quantity and storage has no meaning . Computers are becoming so much faster so they process data faster with instant results. Compare to other companies a company with such unprecedented trawling of massive world wide human data that is of digital nature which when stored and then sold to business or any other third party or government at any one time can certainly claim a triumphant upper hand in the informational.contest of a competitive business world’.

A Devil’s Paradise

Facebook is so popular in schools especially amongst young students that I rather admit it has been endemic This is because of its ease of format and the instant folding together of all the goodies in one. For instance it is a personal site that you can build up on, it got your email facility better than the old email system, it is accessible to mobile, blackberry, iphone and newsfeed is instantaneous. It also tells you exactly what your friends are doing right now. There is instant chat setting or you can hover over someone else and check on them just like they check on you. Needless to add majority of my young workers at Dom’s Teahouse are overwhelmed by it all . You may think that it is a generational fascination but it is not because the business world is equally attracted . Harvey & Norman furnishing superstore is not the only one knowing where the pot of gold is so does my local Tasmanian grocery supplier. It is so prevalent and rife between consumers and suppliers because Facebook knows the usefulness of its data and its applications. So Facebook placement advertising becomes more focus and projected than Google. Soon every employer in town will begin to ask their prospective young workers for a profile reading from Facebook like as if it is a reference on what sorts of friends a member is keeping and associating with, what family background they come from.Hoteliers will check up on clients credit card worthiness . We know already cyber stalkers scammers and criminals are trawling through Facebook but we too know that police law and order agencies are vigilantly checking on them under one guise or another.

Template Running Amok

I have really never come across such a weird template. I think it must have been set up by a really weird mob of faceless people.For instance every action taken has to be an add on.Add on friends, add on photos and they constantly jam your email addresses with any movement or any link wires someone in 'or outside your group accidentally trample on. One day I woke up with my paralytic email addresses showing nearly every delivered item saying coming only from Facebook.This even include a simple” Ï Like “link and they permanently want your email address because it is a requirement to open an account. I mean I can offer a fictitious address of course but that makes just about everybody in there promoting an act of mendacity and deception. What! In front of my niece, nephew and close friends and relatives? On their template It is always frown on if you so deduce or delete anything And when you have decided to vacate their premises you have to fill in 10 different questions as to the right reason why you make that dreadful decision to quit the Almighty community. And whatever legitimate reason you gave they always have a ready pre-typed counter argument of their own on a flash which really make you pewk and sick.. So when the only reason you can click on is the ”others”button they swiftly turn around and ask you to specify the reason why you want to close off the account in detail in a huge blank form readily provided.By the way Facebook has a lousy search engine capability.Maybe they could have a better social celebrity search engine than others. I could be wrong here.

No Delete Button or Unsubscribe Link

Then I soon search out for the delete button or at the very least an unsubscribe link. But I couldn’t find any. In other words I couldn’t find any effective mechanism to close off this account until I start to read down the fine blur print right at the very bottom.There in a tiny speck of detail I figure out there was something close enough to what I was looking for an deactivating button..So happy I was this time I thought I got this template licked at last. But soon as I hit on the deactivating button an instant message appeared and it reads like this…. “ When you de-activate an account no user would be able to see it. But it will still be not deleted. Users have to clear their own account by manually deleting all of their contents including wall posts friends and groups ’”. Looks like I shall be forever in the clasp of this monstrosity. It looks very likely I may have to one day go through the re-activation process and do all this manually by tearing away all my niece & nephew’s contents and photos as well as that of my sister’’s. and their loving posts. Meantime I shall steer right clear of this Facebook.There are lots of other better comparable and more responsible social networks around like Microsoft Messenger, Google Chat Forum,Mirabella, Skype and the list goes on on the Net.

Old Dog Is Learning New Tricks

2011-06-22T01:03:00.001-07:00

A Leisurely Promenade of Miscellaneous shots

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I am not at all sure if this work because if this does then we shall use more of this type of photo blogging deployed here in the future .I think I still have a long way to go yet before I give up the ghost on this web blog. It is just that I am half way through recording the restaurant’s timeline. The only trouble is that I feel many of my readers may have been well long-time fed up even before I finally finish with the rather laborious long-winded historical narration. So in the matter of interests meantime I shall continue to plug and hover over on any exciting subjects or issues that I consider may have some importance and social significance to us. Cheers!

A Prologue To A Lonely Soliloquy

2011-06-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

his could not be right. It could never be an epilogue yet as we are not about half way in the mark of our epic journey in Dom’s Hobart ‘wok-a-bout ’ and his restaurant's wild wandering adventure business. For your curiosity I was already kind of a great ‘little student cook’ once and had all my friends coming around for dinner most nights. For when you were a full-time university student living far away from home you have to look after yourself well and the first thing you have to learn is how to cook so you won't go starving skipping meals and all that which would eventually be all detrimental to your studies and basic well-being.. As well as living away from my initial host family environment I have to straight away learn how to be independent self-reliant and being self sufficient on a tightly balanced stringent student budget funded by my parents who were not rich and had other siblings to support overseas. In any case I cook well dress well and study well. I chanced to know the honorable Duncan Qoulhoun Kerr and honorable Michael Aird very well then because as student friends they used to raid my fridge frequently especially after their tiring and hungry pub crawl.

humble beginning

I remember back in the days when dining was only about Chinese and Italian and the rest is just meat and three kinds of vegetables offered it is then hardly worth your while to prove an idea especially a new one. Yet in an uncanny way we still possess the feeling that told us we must prove a point and that we were damn sure we’re right and we knew we could do it even though all the odds were against it.. We may also relish a real challenge in life in order to sell our skill or expertise so that we feel an achievement of self-fulfillment of sorts. Besides, - you would always ask yourself over and over again the question- is it not a truism that where there is “nothing ventured there is nothing gained”… or that if you dare not to Struggle you dare not to Win? You may also feel that this is the right place and the right time to launch an idea just because nobody was doing it first. For me that was spice. In any business I suppose one should not be too over-optimistic because soon enough I realise how wrong I was.

In some ways I was ahead of my time by going into an Asian Spice store selling just about everything spice and encompassing even Japanese crockery’s and kitchen ware. There weren’t enough people demanding them. Besides such exotic products were generally unfamiliar. There was only enough room for one Asian grocery store and not two or more at that time. There were then no major influxes of migrants into Tasmania or Asian students for that matter. For those who did patronise my spice den I would personally make sure that they were amply supplied with relevant recipes and advice as how to use ingredients they purchased before cooking them. Some customers were good regular buyers especially those scouting for fresh lemon grass, coriander, galangal, fresh ginger, red chilies and shrimp paste but you can hardly say the same for people who goes for dry spice or condiments. You may see them only once or twice every two or three months. However this is quite a different story with restaurant customers because they come back for more when they are hungry. Spice on the other hand has a longer shelf life than cooked food.

I begun to think I must have been streets ahead of time. People were just not ready yet for a real Spice market like in Melbourne or Sydney. There were none of those proliferating Curry clubs & societies and self-learned cooks and hospitality class and Asian Cookery Classes as it is nowadays. Nor were there teeming overseas students that throng the Asian grocery stores like it is today. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation centred at the Antarctic Division did help matters to some extend by prolonging my cash flow. But then that was rather seasonal because you hardly get scientific team going down the cold continent around winter. My immediate thoughts back then were to start combining running a small eatery outlet in conjunction with the operation of Spice centre . This way I could remain financially viable and economically sustainable. That was the year 1991 when I gradually started to return to what I know best. Back to the old grind so they say. Perhaps a little bit better than straight merchandising that spelled no bounds on capital stock spending.. I could also offload some unfamiliar lines and use them up at my eating outlet. The little eating outlet was to be called the Liverpool Street Teahouse café.

Bear in mind that I only run a restaurant one at a time. I am only a small tiny fish in a vast ocean of other fishes. Blackman’s Bay would have been my fifth and my last and perhaps my proudest.

Herein I have just been handed a newspaper cutting from one of my dedicated ex-staffs. I thought it would be nice for me to share this with you because it shows how heart warming and caring most of my customers are. They send well-wishing messages on my email as well to which I ampublishing just the kind here . Special mentions must be made of the following as well as those well- wishers who sent cards and gifts; Evelyn and Arnold, John and Lena , Haans, Dick, and many others that were not able to be present at our final weeks. Until my next post I say cheerio to wherever you are. Keep well and take care.

Gifts For the Boss and Staff's Farewell Party

2011-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

You can't get a more lovelier staff than the one I had. Over the last final two weeks I must admit it has been rather hectic and busy for them despite their school's and university workload. But they never w hinge nor grumble because they were cheerfully and happily fitting themselves into their beloved jobs and place. They have learnt a hell of a lot ever since they started their jobs in this establishment and I in turn learn just as much from them.My staffs are very adaptable agile and versatile. and they learn fast. I do indeed wish them well and success in whatever field they take.All I can say guys is that it has been a job brilliantly done and I am mighty proud of you all.

Below are the gifts we received both from our Customers and Staff members

Gifts from both our Customers and Staff members

Lovely Flowers from our Customers for our Farewell

Bask in The lifestyle Of Beautiful Blackman's Bay

2011-06-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

Recently a well-known Hobart wine merchant friend of mine gave me a delightful digital frame sideshow gadget loaded with his fishing trip photos and an expensive bottle of Champagne for me as a parting gift. This was because he as one of my regular customers realised that I was going to retire from my restaurant work soon. He happens to live down at Blackman’s Bay where my small business was located. It is without doubt Blackman’s Bay is a beautiful suburb and has a rather relaxed lifestyle of its own. It is now the most sought after middle class living suburb in Tasmania surpassing that of older Sandy Bay and is a major part of a fast growing dynamic regional center of King borough. With the courtesy of Patrick and his Merry Mob I sought their permission and upload their pictures for all to share and appreciate. It would not be in a form of slide since we already have more than two or three going flat out on the pages here. So it will be in the form of photo snaps. Cheers!

Viewing Dom's Teahouse Final Nights' Finest Hour on Slide

2011-05-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Heartbreaking Farewell From All

2011-05-29T18:27:00.001-07:00

Pulling away and distancing myself from what I love to do in life is indeed difficult . But it is the time of that moment which has finally arrived on us. It is time to say farewell to each other. My inner self told me I must go and I have to ultimately accept this as inevitable. I know departing from my own staff as well as my customers and friends I have developed over the years is sad and heart rending for me. Only in the agony of parting do we realise the depth of our special human relationship. But I believe I do part from your beautiful neighbourhood a far more enriched and an endowed person than before entering into one . I may have stayed in Blackman's Bay for a short while like perhaps seven and a half years but you all have left in me such an indelible mark on my heart that I will eternally treasure and take with me wherever I go in future..Here goes Forever, and forever farewell. If we do chance to meet again why we shall smile: if not lets make this a good one whilst it last. And you still remember my favourite song I frequently played on our restaurant music sung by Vera Lynn..?. keep smiling through just like we always do till the blue skies drive the dark clouds away. Don't know where don't know when, but I know we shall meet again some sunny day...

Our Final Week's Well Wishers

2011-05-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

I must say that I have the greatest admiration and affection towards my friends and customers. The tumultuous farewells with their accompanied flowers, gifts and cards exemplify how sad and truthfully painful this particular parting is going to be. This is because they know I shall not return to the restaurant scene anymore . Saying goodbye isn’t hard . It is leaving all those beautiful people behind that is the hardest. Remember real friends don’t say goodbye.They remain true to the last. I have all these beautiful photos to share with you all for our everlasting memories.Cheers from Sue and myself...