#banana fish cafe

[aslan-jade-okumura]

My friend went to the Banana Fish Cafe!

[asela40425]

These fish belonging to the gourami fish genus are a popular fish species among fish breeders around the world today. Unlike other species of fish, this species of fish, which shows a slightly violent hissing pattern, is used as a gambling game in countries such as Thailand. They are extremely popular among fish breeders due to their extremely beautiful colors.

[deliciouslyfrightening]

Homoerotic fighting anime from the director of Free!, Banana Fish, and SK8 

Arajin wants to find a cute girl and lose his virginity, but he is in a universe where every lad is a hottie.

His childhood friend looks like this:

His crush's brother looks like this:

His classmates look like this:

Sussy cafe staff looks like this:

And his crush has eyes only for her brother:

But let's be honest, our main lead has a whole harem awaiting him with open arms (or maybe fists).

[glitterpersonified]

ALBA ROSA’S cafe - HULA ROSA

HULA ROSA was a cafe created by ALBA ROSA. Its locations were: Marui city Shibuya, Marui city Ueno, Yokohama Sotetsu joinus, Lumine Yokohama, and Marui city Yokohama.

Menu:

•Hamburger ¥900 •Potato croquette sandwiches ¥900

•Cheese burger ¥1000 •Fish fillet sandwiches ¥1000

•Bacon burger ¥1000 •Hula rosa’s omelette sandwiches ¥900

•Salsa burger ¥1000 •Healthy sandwiches ¥900

•Teriyaki burger ¥1100 •B.L.T. sandwiches ¥1000

•Teriyaki chicken burger ¥900 •Tuna cheese jaffle ¥800

•French fries ¥400 •Seafood fries ¥600

•Mixed green salad ¥800 •Hula rosa’s tomato salad ¥700

•Clam chowder ¥500 •Minestrone ¥500

•Iced coffe ¥500 •Iced caffe latte ¥600

•Iced tea ¥500 •Iced royal milk tea ¥600

•Ultra milk ¥650 •Iced cocoa ¥650

•Fresh banana juice ¥700 •Fresh orange juice ¥700

•Fresh apple juice ¥700 •Cola ¥400

•Gingerale ¥400 •Fanta orange ¥400

•Fanta grape ¥400 •Oolong tea ¥400

•Beer ¥500 •Red wine ¥1200

•White wine ¥1200 •Hot apple pie & vanilla ice cream ¥700

•Hot banana pie & vanilla ice cream ¥700 •Banana cake ¥700

•Dark cherry cake ¥700 •Fresh fromage papaya ¥600

•Coffe ¥450 •Espresso coffe ¥400

•Caffe latte ¥550 •Capuccino ¥900

•Flavored coffe ¥500 •Cocoa ¥600

•Darjeeling tea ¥550 •Earl grey tea ¥550

•Hibiscus tea ¥550 •Royal milk tea ¥550

[waffledforbreakfast]

First Date- [MUTI! BLLK X F!READER]

(SEPARATE) pt2

Staring: niko, kaiser, ness

pt1: Rin, Sae, Kaiser

pt3: Otoya, Karasu, Reo

[ BLLK Scenario Masterlist ]

TW: heavy ooc, bad grammar, bad spelling, bad formatting, cringe, scuff, etc.

>Niko

[Manga/Anime cafe/store ]

Niko waited for you outside the school doors, the two of you had agreed to go to the new anime cafe as a date. It had been a few minutes since class ended and you still weren’t there, Niko was getting worried “I swear if she-” he mumbled to himself

“NIKOO” you crashed into him, catching your breath “Sorry- *huff* the teacher- *huff* held us back…”

“Smh [Y/N]... what’d you do now?” he sighed, you getting in trouble was nothing new

“Nothing nothing” you reassured him, brushing yourself off “Anyway, you ready to go?”

Niko nodded as you both left the school ground, chatting about whatever you found interesting. You spotted the cafe with cats in the window, and he saw it too

“Niko Niko look! It’s this one right?” you smiled at him as you pointed to the store 

“Cute…” he replied “The cats I mean-”

You rolled your eyes as the bells above the doors ringed when he pushed it open, “Hello!” a woman greeted as you two entered “Can I get anything started for you? Are will you look around first?”

“We’ll just look around” Niko was already walking towards the large shelfs of Manga on display “There’s so many…” he stared in awe, talking to himself

You quickly skimmed the shelfs til one book caught your eyes, “Hey Niko,” you pulled it out and showed him “Banana Fish, your favourite right?”

He quickly came over and took the book “Yea! Looks like they have all the volumes here!” he smiled while running a finger through the pages “Oh yea, this one's your favourite, right?” he took out another book and handed it to you, it was one you started recently and desperately tried to get Niko to read

“Mhm! You should totally give it a shot one day” you both took the books as you went up to order food

Niko flipped through the menu and pointed out some cute foods to you “Look, this one’s themed after the main character. Oh I think you’ll like this one, it looks pretty sweet.” In the end, you both decided to share some Totoro styled waffles and each got your own themed side drinks.

While you waited for your food to arrive at your table, Niko told you about Banana Fish, and even listened to you rant about your favourite manga/anime

“Have you watched Blue Lock?” You asked him excitedly, forgetting about the fourth wall

“...Blue Lock?” 

“Nevermind-...”

Finally your food was ready, and you took photos (you did the finger hearts for the camera) before cutting it down the middle and taking a bite

“Geez slow down…” he joked, before eating his portion too. After a while, he excused himself quickly before leaving, you just shrugged and continued eating, almost done anyway

He quickly came back with two macarons in hand, blushing slightly, “For you…” he slid the first one to you, a face of your favourite character on it,

“Awww Geto :D wait what happened to his forehead-” you took a toothpick and poked lightly at it, whoever made the macaroon put red icing bubbles on his forehead

Niko held in a laugh “That’s just foul…”

[Doesn’t have to be Geto lol, just thought it was funny]

“Well, thank you for the macaron!” you gave him a quick smile “I hope it wasn’t too much…”

“Nah it’s fine” he sat down beside you and pulled out a postcard “There was a promotion, so I got a free Miku postcard out of it”

He gave it to you to look at, it was a beautiful card, with a high quality Miku on it with a holographic background.

“It’s so pretttyyyy” your eyes sparkled as you stared in awe at it 

“Y-You can have it…”  Niko whispered as he looked away, the slightest blush on his face

“Are you sure??” you asked hesitantly, it was his after all,

“Yea… you’re always 01 in my heart…”

“...”

“...”

“Was that a Miku pick-up line-?”

The two of you finished eating and headed out the cafe, giving a small thanks to the workers 

“Where to now?” He asked, turning towards you

“Hm… I think there’s actually a manga store around here somewhere, there was a new volume I wanted to pick up…”

“Oh I think I know the one you’re talking about… it’s this way.”

Once you guys got there, your jaw dropped at the sight. Shelves upon shelves of books, new and limited ones in display cases. You thought the cafe had a lot, but no- this one had 6x as many. And you could buy them too!

You dragged your finger across the spines of the books, walking down the isles, Niko close behind.

You suddenly stopped and pulled out a book, it was the limited edition of your favourite series. “Niko!” you spun around and showed him the book “It’s the anniversary special :D” you were going to buy it, until you saw the price… you knew that special volumes may be expensive, but you didn’t think they were that much!! 

You put the book back into their places, silently sobbing at the fact you couldn’t afford it 

“Hm, what’s wrong?” he asked you, while watching you shelve them

“It’s too expensive… Don’t worry, I’ll get it one day!” you replied, trying to convince yourself more than him

“Alright… I saw a book over there that seemed interesting, why don’t we split up for now, we can meet up in a few minutes.”

You gave him a nod, and went back to wandering

After a while, you met Niko at the check out. You had already bought 2 books and it seems that he bought one too.

“Hey Niko! Ready to go?” you got your things and got ready to leave

“Mhm” he hummed as he bagged the book, angling it so you couldn’t see the cover

You though, happened to notice, “What did you get?”

He pretended not to hear your question and walked out, waiting for you to follow. You frowned at his lack of a response, but went along anyway

It came the time that you both had to go home, so you two stood at the entrance to the subway station.

“Thank you for coming out with me” he gave you a short bow, blushing slightly. “I got you a gift…” he pulled out the bag from the manga store and presented it to you, “It’s the special volume you wanted…”

As you opened the bag, you found that it was indeed the anniversary special. You thanked him, still in awe at the book and gave him a hug “Thank you so much, Niko! You really shouldn’t have 🥹”

You pulled out your own bag with the books you bought and handed it to him “These are the only volumes you’re missing in your collection, right?” You remember looking though his shelves, you were 70% percent sure he didn’t have these

“Yes, these are the ones…” he took the books gently, his eyes practically glued to them (not that we can rlly tell) “Thank you” he said, barely louder than a whisper

Niko smiled and gave you a wave as you hopped on your train, hugging the books tightly. He really couldn’t stop blushing, happy with how the day went.

It was that day he decided he’d never be able to get sick of you

>Kaiser

[Ice Skating (also for this is set in Germany, during Christmas]

Running around the German night market was a vibe like no other

And Kaiser being there was the cherry on top. He held your hand while gently guiding you through the stalls.

“Schatz, let’s grab some chocolate”, he said while looking at a few bars of chocolate on display. “They have white, milk, dark, caramel, everything. What would you like?” he asked you, having already grabbed a bar of his own, a very bitter dark chocolate.

You silently judged his decision before choosing your own. “You like your chocolate that bitter?” you laughed

He frowned “What’s wrong with that? I aint no p#ssy.” he grinned at you “And milk chocolate sucks. I can’t stand any white-coloured drinks.”

“Chocolate isn’t a drink-”

“Still sucks. Have you made your choice?” He looked at you, taking the bar from your hands and getting ready to pay. You nodded as the worker scanned the bars

“They’re HOW MUCH??” your jaw dropped as you saw the price

Kaiser only smirked as he paid, “They’re traditional, high quality, german chocolate. A very well-known brand.” he opened your bar and held it up to you, “Try it”

( If you didn’t eat it when he offered, he would’ve shoved it down your throat (affectionately) )

The second you took a bite of the chocolate, it felt like you were transported to heaven. It was perfect, the best chocolate you’ve ever had. You quickly took more, taking the the delicious taste and texture

Kaiser did a prideful huff, knowing that he was the reason for the happy look on your face. Even if it was indirectly-  

He ate his own chocolate as the two of you wandered about more, occasionally stopping at other booths. You guys got matching scarfs, keychains, you were so close to getting him to buy cat ears, but he refused.

Eventually, you guys were at the heart of the market, right where the big Christmas tree was. You were spaced out, admiring the lights, before the flash of a camera snapped you out of it.

Kaiser smiled, looking at the photo, “You look beautiful, Meine Liebe.” He gave you a gentle kiss before taking your hand, “Join me skating?”

You didn’t even have to move as kaiser got on his knees to lace up your skates for you. What a gentleman. He even held your hand when getting on the ice. If you didn’t know how to skate, he’d guide you (or just drag you across the ice). If you do know how to skate, he’d definitely challenge you to a race. 

And do NOT underestimate this man, he is GRACEFUL. Unless ur a professional skater, it’ll prob be a pretty close tie, that or he laps you like twice to show off… if you are really good at skating (or if you wanna pretend to be, we don’t judge) and beat him, he’d just say he was going easy on you with a salty smile, trying to convince himself more than you.

After he’s gotten over it, he’d hold you hand (or pocket it) while skating in circles with you, just admiring your voice as you spoke. He’d spin you in circles, twirl you around, all that ;) If he caught anyone staring, he’d just show you off more and pull you in after a spin.

He couldn’t stop smiling, he was so happy, just being by your side and in your presence. This was one of the few times he was quiet, wanting to hear nothing but your voice.

You both skated around for a bit longer before getting off the ice. Kaiser undid your laces, and put everything away for you. After looking at the last few stalls, the two of you exited the market, and Kaiser sent you home.

He texted you once he got home to make sure you did too, and he couldn’t stop smiling. For the whole week, he was smiling, the whole week (until some imbecile talked to him.) the whole team was slightly scared until it was revealed it was because of you. That made more sense to them.

He already marked his calendar for next year, and it’s not a choice <3

>Ness

[Lego date/chill picnic]

You and Ness had been friends for a while, hanging out whenever he wasn’t busy w/Kaiser (which wasn’t really that often). Today was one of the few days you guys had time, so you were wandering the mall and ended up inside the LEGO store.

“[Y/N] look, it’s a blue rose!” he showed you the box, looking at the price tag “Do you think Kaiser would like it?”

You sighed while browsing, “Ness, you don’t have to always be thinking of him… you’re with me right now after all.”

He hesitated for a second before smiling and putting the box back, “Yes, you’re right. Which set do you want?” he followed your eyes, skimming the shelves 

“Oh, what do you think of that one?” you pointed at a LEGO box, a bunny in a magicians hat on the cover “Do you like it?”

“Oh- yes, it looks very nice…” he stared at it, thinking about how cute it was, but still trying to process that you asked for his opinion “Do you like magic and things like that?” he assumed that's why you were grabbing the box

“No” you started walking over to the cashier and gave Ness a smile “But i know you do”

His face turned red at the words, you weren’t wrong, but he didn’t expect you to know that, he’d barely mentioned it.

“Let me pay,” he said as the cashier rang it up. You would’ve stopped him, but before you knew it, he tapped his card and was already putting the box in the bag

He gave you a smile as he held the item. You felt bad because he was already carrying your other belongings, but he insisted and there was really no way you could convince him otherwise.

The two of you left the store, and slowly made your way around the mall. 

“Hey, let’s grab some desserts!” Ness pointed at the bakery and dragged you in “Look look! It’s bread :D” 

You picked out a few foods you liked, and he picked some too.

After buying the food, the two of you left the mall, and for a while it seemed that you both were just mindlessly wandering. But Ness had something planned, and soon you found yourself at a surprisingly clean picnic table at a near-by park. 

“Ness- Where are we??” you hesitated before sitting down after him

“Don’t worry! Do you like it here?” he gave you a smile, a bit of obsession in his eyes

You nodded as he set up all the food, and even brought out the LEGO set. You felt a bit awkward as you just watched him, but he refused to let you help, insisting on doing everything for you with a smile

After everything was laid out, you guys started eating the food, and building the LEGO at the same time. You listened to him talk about his day, and he listened to you talk about yours!

All in all, you two had a fun time! The food was all finished and the LEGO set was built. Ness took a ton of pictures of you the LEGO, and you even let him keep the final product!

A/N: Hope yall don't mind the ass formatting.. lotta word blocks ik, ill fix it when i actually make tumblr specific posts :')

[puriiinz]

HEADCANONS | abby a.

a/n: this is my coming out post as an abby fan. love my shnookums 🙈

⊰ watches mukbangs when she’s hungry and knows there’s no food in the fridge and she hates that habit but shows no effort to stop it.

⊰ learned how to braid hair because of her grandma. she’d take her dolls to her granny to braid their hair and she learned just by watching. was the hair stylist of the class growing up. (and she might’ve charged 5 dollars for each braid and surprisingly never got in trouble)

⊰ she was a granny’s girl growing up!!! her dad would drop her off at grandma’s and she would happily spend the whole day there.

⊰ loves chocolate ice cream. even better if it has chocolate chips in it and despises anything and everything that’s banana flavored. literally cannot fathom how someone can pick banana when there are a million other options.

⊰ she’s never had shrimp before. doesn’t really like fish either but she would kill someone for a piece of squid.

⊰ she’s bad at story based games where your choices matter. she does the qte’s just fine but gets half of the characters killed because of her poor decisions.

⊰ she’s so indecisive. which is why she’s bad at non combat games. immediately regrets her decision and starts wondering if she should’ve picked the other one. it’s not just with games though, she could be at a cafe thinking if she should’ve gotten the tiramisu instead of soufflé or she could be at a public restroom thinking if the stall next to her would’ve been a better choice.

⊰ she likes linking/holding arms more than holding hands. it just makes you two stand closer. you can stand far away when she’s holding your hand but when your arms are linked you have to pull her with you when you want to go somewhere. basically where you go she goes.

⊰ she had atrocious bangs when she was 5. she watched those cutting my bangs at home vids and cut hers with kitchen scissors in front of her doll’s wonky plastic mirror (she didn’t want her dad to see) and put her hair in a bag before throwing it in the trash. and cried for a month straight.

[thehollowwriter]

Some Octoquartet hcs cause I haven't given them attention in a while:

•They sometimes have date nights where they watch movies together or play something or just do their own thing together, usually after exams

•When they stay in the dorm during the winter holidays, they take turns cooking food for each other

•Finn and Jade often go on hikes together, Finn's always out of breath really quickly, but he likes spending time with Jade and getting to look at plants and butterflies

•Floyd and Finn often go down to the shore of Sage Island in their spare time to swim together and hunt fish. When they finish, they rest in a cave or a crevice, and Floyd likes to trace Finn's many stretchmarks

•Azul and Finn go on cafe dates under the guise of market research for the lounge, but it's really just a nice way to spend time together, and Finn enjoys seeing how excited Azul gets when it comes to Mostro, and Azul enjoys how happy and delighted Finn is when trying new food

Tagging: @distant-velleity @br3adtoasty @rainesol @theleechyskrunkly @jovieinramshackle

@galaxies-and-gore @cyanide-latte @cynthinesia @officialdaydreamer00 @krenenbaker

@offorestsongs @kitwasnothere @elenauaurs @boopshoops @inotonline

@1dont-really-know @kazumify @minteasketches @elysia-nsimp @skrimpyskimpy

@casp1an-sea @offorestsongs @tixdixl @poisoned-pearls @the-trinket-witch

@ramshacklerumble @ghostiidasponk @thegoldencontracts @the-banana-0verlord @cloudcountry

@skriblee-ksk @twstinginthewind @lumdays @theolivetree123 @natsukishinomiyaswife

@authoruio @jewelulu @raguiras @honeynclove @moonyasnow

[shytravelerstrawberry]

Hello h2hoes, I’ve had this idea in my drafts for awhile and I’m wondering if you would like if I would make a cute little H2o unofficial recipe book for anyone to print out with a bunch of references and stuff ?? Idk if this is a dumb idea but here’s the foods that I want to add:

Peanut butter and banana pancakes Cleo’s fave

Emma’s black current and alfalfa juice

Wilfred’s Juicenet wheatgrass shot

Ms Chatham’s Clam chowder

Emma’s banana beatbox

Zane’s gluten-free pastries

Seaworld’s Ice Cream

Charlotte’s cooking recipes (quiche or something? I don’t remember)

Annette’s secret sauce sauce + Don’s fish (done right)

Terry’s barbecue

Additions from others :)

@outatmako

Lewis's burgers (from the party boat)

Emma's fruit punch (from the first full moon ep)

@makomaniac

Lisa’s homemade yogurt

(Please lmk if there are any more foods that I could possibly add I was really grasping at straws at the end 🙏)

If anyone wants to share any recipes you can aswell :)

[qiuweyballs]

banana fish hurts me and i love it so so so much ESPECIALLY THE TRACKS because theyre composed in ash's perspective??? you can see how happy and upbeat he is with eiji like its literally them whistling down a street holding hands

and then theres dino's. i feel genuine dread disgust and hatred whenever that comes on in my shuffled spotify (fuck that btw can i just listen to my shit normally????)

in my mind they are together alive happy they own a cute lil cafe in japan and i am not delusional at all

[jaehyun-updates]

170528 NCT Jaehyun at Ivy Club 1 Day Cafe Event‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ © banana fish do not edit, crop, or remove the watermark

[ecargmura]

Wind Breaker Episode 2 Review - Welcome To Fuurin High

With an action-packed premiere, the second episode is more of a slower paced one as it helps Sakura and the viewers be introduced to the town and Furin High School with the help of newly introduced Akihiko Nirei who isn’t much of a fighter but more of an information broker in a way. Will Sakura be able to fit into the town and the school?

Sakura still isn’t used to the friendliness of the town as he gets used as a horse by a granny and the other townsfolk give him presents as thanks for protecting the town yesterday. Sakura does take all of their gifts as he’s a sucker for compliments but he then loses them when a girl comes up to him for help. The post-credit skit reveals that he actually picked them back up and ate them. He’s a good boy at heart.

When he stops by Cafe Porthos, which is Kotoha’s cafe and the cafe the granny he was helping out wanted to go, Kotoha gives him breakfast, which is a fancy egg sandwich with fruits and this is where he meets Nirei, who barges in with a fancy shirt underneath his uniform and starts being a bit nosy as he asks Sakura if his white hair comes from stress. I was laughing when he mentioned that.

My impression of Nirei is that he’s definitely going to be the brain to Sakura’s brawn, but  with a unique twist that both of them share a braincell. I do like that he’s practically Sakura’s guide to the town and that he’s a huge klutz as he’s always tripping and colliding into something. I feel you, Nirei. I collide into things all the time. While he’s a motor mouth, I find Nirei cute! He’s not as cute as Sakura, but he has his moments! I do like that while he sucks at fighting, he still has guts to protect someone from gangsters. I just hope he won’t be a liability going forth. The last thing we need is the constant distressed person for Sakura to save.

Nirei’s voice actor is Shoya Chiba. I’ve seen his name pop up in different animes. I’m most familiar with his role as Sing Su Ling from Banana Fish and he was also in Blue Lock as Imamura. I do like that the anime does cast well-known names and rising stars to bring in their fans and get fans of the original source hyped up for a splendid voice cast.

Fuurin High School is quite a wacky school. The students in Sakura class are also very interesting. One standout face is a rather beautiful boy with an eyepatch and tassel earrings named Hayato Suo. He teases Sakura by introducing himself as Leonardo Dicaprio. The fact that Sakura falls for it and believes he’s from overseas before Suo corrects himself was hilarious. He’s surprisingly a jokester, which actually makes him a lot harder to read. Is he hiding something? He’s definitely that one character who is flighty but has a sad past.

His voice actor is Nobunaga Shimazaki. I really like Shimazaki’s voice and he shows off his range from voicing the lethargic Nagi from Blue Lock to flighty Suo. I feel like Shimazaki isn’t particularly typecasted because he has versatility. Like, you both expect and not expect him to voice a character like Suo? Like when you listen to it, it just fits? The fact that Yuma Uchida and Nobunaga Shimazaki reunite here is both amusing and cool! They were Nagi and Reo in Blue Lock and Kyo and Yuki in Fruits Basket!

The last standout character is Kyotaro Sugishita who makes his presence known to Sakura by throwing a desk at him. Talk about making an entrance. He’s someone who really respects Umemiya, the top person of the school and doesn’t abide to anyone who speaks ill of him. This is why he picks a fight with Sakura. He’s tall, but hunches. His scowl and long black hair helps him stand out.

His voice actor is Kouki Uchiyama and it surprisingly fits. He’s got the trademark moody and emo vibes Ucchi characters are known for. I just need to listen to it more because he only shows up towards the end of the episode.

I honestly can’t wait to see what sort of story Wind Breaker will be about and how Sakura will become the top of the school. I also can’t wait to see what sort of friend group he’ll have as it’s necessary for a shounen MC to have one! I’ll be tuning in next week to see more. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[aslan-jade-okumura]

Banana Fish Cafe and Bar 12/21/2023

This month, the Banana Fish Cafe and Bar Twitter announced that they will be opening a new cafe theme called "Memories of Cape Cod" to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the anime's broadcast.

Here is the website in JP and ENG

The Cafe menu in JP and ENG

The food and drinks are both inspired by the characters Ash and Eiji as well as Ash's home town. Each item is given a description but I'll do my best to summarize. I do recommend you check out their website for further details.

FOOD

"Green hill Diner's sandwiches" on the left, "Home Town pasta" in the middle, and "Fish Fry Tacos" on the right.

DESSERTS are

"Cranberry Waffle" on the left and "Mochi Pancake" in the middle and "Sunset with You" parfait on the right.

The waffles are inspired by Ash, they are topped with cranberries and cassis sorbet which are specialties of Cape Cod.

The Mochi pancake inspired by Eiji. They give a mix of Japanese and Western ingredients.

The parfait is inspired by the scene where Ash and Eiji are gazing at the sunset.

and SPECIALTY DRINKS

"My City is Red" on the left, "Your City is Blue" in the middle, and "Shooting Tea" on the right.

Ash's drink is made with cherry, pomegranate, and raspberry flavor soda drink. My guess it's also based on the song "Red" by Survive Said the Prophet.

Eiji's drink is a lychee based drink meant to express the sea and greenery of Cape Cod.

The shooting tea is obviously based on the scene of them shooting bottles. They also have a bottle of the tea that you can take home.

What's a pop up cafe without its goods?

Acrylic badges, can badges, acrylic key chains, acrylic stands, mini towels, drawstring bags, photo cards, and more

[air-rising]

Where can I find the Ellie the guardian article?

It’s from The Australian! Pasting here:

FIFA star Ellie Carpenter’s guide to Sydney

Views along the Bondi to Bronte walk. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Cowra holds a special place in Ellie Carpenter’s heart, and her leg (she bears an ink outline of the NSW country town’s boundary on her left ankle).

But having moved to Sydney’s Inner West in her early teens to pursue her dream of soccer stardom, Sydney also feels like home. The 23-year-old Matilda’s defender has been living in the French food capital of Lyon since 2020, when she signed to one of the world’s best football clubs, Olympique Lyonnais.

Ellie Carpenter is counting down the FIFA Women's World Cup. Photo: Rebel Sport/Nike

Being a foodie, Lyon is a boon for Carpenter, but the athlete says between 6am and lunchtime, Sydney has the culinary upper hand. “Lyon is a beautiful city; the food there is incredible and there are so many Michelin-starred restaurants, and I love my food, so it’s a great place to live,” she says. “But I love the brunch culture and the coffee culture in Sydney; there’s really nothing else like it in the world.

With the eve of the FIFA Women‘s World Cup fast approaching, Carpenter hasn’t had much time to enjoy leisurely brunches. “I’m really excited to have a World Cup on home soil,” she says. “To have that opening game sold out; to have that crowd behind us is really exciting.”

Inspiring the next generation of Australian soccer stars is a huge motivation for the defender, who, in her capacity as an ambassador for sporting retailer Rebel, has joined forces with Nike to host GoalGirls, a free program aimed at encouraging young women to participate in the sport.

“I’m really proud to be able to inspire girls eight to 12 to play football,” she says.

-

Eat

For Carpenter, a Sydney morning well spent involves an early morning coffee and brunch at one of her favourite cafes.

“Whenever I get back to Sydney I’m always jet-lagged, so I’m awake and about at five or six in the morning, and I love that coffee shops are open,” she says. “In France they don’t open until about 11.”

The Boat House at Balmoral.

The Nike athlete cites The Boathouse Balmoral as a favourite destination for a mid-morning feed. The casual beachside eatery, one of nine venues owned by The Boathouse Group, serves up Australian brunch classics such as steel cut oat porridge, bacon and egg rolls and ricotta hot cakes. “Whenever I come home from overseas which is about twice a year I go there,” Carpenter says. “Their avocado toast and poached eggs are my go-to for breakfast; it’s so big but so good, and for lunch I always get the classic fish and chips.”

The Boat House Balmoral’s fish and chips.

She also makes a point of stopping by Bondi’s Fruitologist for one of the grocer’s famous Beach Bowls; a generous compilation of frozen acai berry puree, peanut butter and banana which has become so popular the line for the nutritious treat often snakes around the block. “I am an acai connoisseur and no matter what I go there,” she says. “They do the best acai bowls in Sydney.”

Having spent her teens living in Abbotsford in Sydney’s inner west, Carpenter likes to stop by Travatino Café in Wareemba for a nostalgic treat when she’s in the area. “Their raspberry and strawberry tarts are amazing.” she says. “It’s still got the same owners, and they’ve known me since I was 11 or 12.”

For a finer dining experience, Carpenter heads to Sydney’s eastern suburbs. You’ll find her lunching at Totti’s Bondi whenever she’s in town and her hectic training schedule permits.

“It’s one of my favourite restaurants to go to for lunch with a group of friends,” she says. For a main course, the reginette, lobster and crab alla vodka pasta is sublime, she concedes, but it’s the restaurant’s extensive shared antipasti which cannot be missed.

Antipasti at Totti's Bondi. Picture: Nikki To

“The bread, oh my gosh, you can’t not order the bread,” she exclaims, “and the prosciutto and the olives and the cucumbers and the tomatoes; all the sides are great.”

Mimi’s, another Merivale restaurant located just a few beaches over at Coogee Pavilion, is the soccer star’s newest Sydney food find.

“I’ve eaten at restaurants around the world and honestly it’s one of the best lunches I’ve had,” she says.

“I went there last week before I went back to camp, and I was like ‘wow’. Their sticky date pudding souffle is one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten.”

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Play

Located at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers, Lyon boasts beautiful waterways, but Carpenter admits she misses Sydney’s beaches. When she’s in town and not busy training, you’ll usually find her at one.

The tranquil shore at Balmoral beach. Picture: Damian Shaw

“We have the best beaches,” she says. Balmoral is a childhood favourite, and taking a dip after finishing the cliff walk from Bondi to Bronte Beach is a must do for anyone visiting the city for the first time. “I feel really lucky to be Australian when I’m walking along the coast, and I think it’s something a lot of us take for granted,” she adds.

Ellie Carpenter with her partner Danielle van de Donk. Picture: Instagram

Last year the FIFA World Cup contender took her partner and Olympique Lyonnais teammate Daniëlle van de Donk on another favourite Sydney excursion; a ferry tour around Sydney Harbour.

“It’s the best way to see the harbour,” Carpenter says. “We went to Taronga Zoo to see the koalas and kangaroos because she’d never seen them either. She still talks about it.”

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Stay

Having risen through the ranks of the world’s professional female soccer leagues at such a young age, Carpenter has spent more time in hotel rooms than the average 23-year-old. So when it comes to accommodation, she knows what she likes.

Views from the Park Hyatt Sydney.

In Sydney, she will often opt to stay at the 140 room, five-star Intercontinental Double Bay. And with its unrivalled views of the Sydney Opera House, the Park Hyatt is also another top pick. “Their rooms are exceptional,” she adds.

GoalGirls registrations launch 13th July on rebelsport.com.au.

[quillusquillus]

I'm going to talk more about Zürich's rivers because I find them very entertaining, idk my sense of humour is broken and finds geology funny I guess.

To start with, some geographical context: Zürich is a major city in Switzerland that sits on one pointy tip of Lake Zürich, a long banana-shaped lake formed by glacial carving. Zürich has two rivers, the Limmat and the Sihl, which join together within the city. The Limmat is significantly bigger, deeper, and connects to the lake in the city center, you'll see it on a lot of tourist photos and postcards.

The first thing that's interesting about this imo is that the Limmat flows OUT of Lake Zürich, and does not flow into it. The Limmat is literally birthed by the lake fully-formed as a medium-sized river. The Sihl on the other hand does not connect to the lake at all, despite pretty much flowing alongside it for many kilometres.

The Sihl, a modest river from humble alpine origins, has seemingly every opportunity to enter the lake but it can't, it's literally barricaded from entering by the glacial hills that surround it like bodyguards.

Instead, just as it might finally have a chance to connect to the lake, it gets swallowed up by Big Lake trust fund poster child Limmat, a river which is in every way prettier and more popular. The junction point is actually quite a nice place to hang out, and it's interesting to see the difference in the waters. The Sihl is brown because it's worked its way across the terrain picking up sediment, starting from a stream, and the Limmat is a clear and purified green, full of lake fauna and flora. There's also a nice cafe there and it's a good fishing spot.

The final punchline of this to me, besides mercilessly dunking on the poor Sihl, is that the Limmat itself ceases to exist very soon after. It spends a mere 35km being picturesque before being itself swallowed by the Aare further down the line lol

[heatwa-ves]

Top 5 manga/anime series

I've put off answering this for so long because I really don't know how to pick just 5.. doing my best here but there's absolutely gonna be some i love that I completely forget about 😛

anime: as usual here I'm just including anime I haven't read the manga of because 99% of the time I'll prefer the manga 💥 also the order is subject to change

1. banana fish- changed my fucking life it's been almost exactly a year since I watched it for the first time and I am always thinking about it because. aiyshajueiwhshwkkeyaiowhsjajejieiwheh. I enjoy pain and suffering and thinking about ash makes me cry

2. haikyuu- been rewatching recently so it's on my brain.. I love you gay volleyball players I love you sosososososo much. makes me absurdly happy

3. death parade- changed my life. chiyuki..... really interesting perspective on death and morality and is one of the few anime that have genuinely made me cry I sat there in tears for so long. also banger op.

4. bofuri- do you like lesbians do you like silly girls being silly do you like video games do you like FUN. shoutout to bofuri it makes me so happy

5. doukyuusei- on any other day this probably wouldn't make the list but I've been thinking about it today and feeling emotional. all I can say is watch it right now.

manga: this is where picking got really difficult I read manga a lot more than I watch anime and there's a lot of obscure ones I really like and also one I'm not gonna mention on this list for reasons but I consider it one of my favs too

1. toilet bound hanako kun- my favourite art in the world amazing characters amazing story it's all I could ever want in life I owe my life to aidairo

2. the summer hikaru died- I love gorgeous art and body horror and guys who come back wrong and gay people and amazing narratives and this one ticks all my boxes

3. chainsaw man (or at least, csm part 1. I'm so conflicted on part 2) - I love love love part one the characters are amazing the narrative the themes everything. part two is good I guess but I don't enjoy it the same way I liked part 1. also it's confusing to me 😔💥

4. crossplay love- the gist of this one is guy 1 (hanae) dresses as a girl (Hana) and works at a maid cafe, guy 2 (shuumei) sees Hana, develops a crush on her, and dresses as a girl (mei) to get to know her better and hana and mei become friends, while hanae and shuumei who go to the same school don't like eachother at all initially, it's hilarious and very Not Cis and yaoiyuri silliness and I love it dearly. also the art is gorgeous

5. shimanami tasogare- do yourself a favour and read it.

6. (I couldn't pick just 5) sirius twin star- I love love love love this author so much it's a short manga about two girls who meet while staying at a beach town in the summer and mutually inspire eachother to live and strive for their dreams and it's sooooo beautiful and I love them and also they're gay if that wasn't already obvious

[elaine-abroad]

Volume 5 Part 1

Week 4

I definitely tried to fit as much as I could into this last week to ensure I didn’t leave Korea feeling like I missed something. It was a little tiring doing that and wrapping up classes with final projects, but I’m ready to come home. 

To start off, Grace, Bianca, and I headed over to Itaewon on Sunday. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what there was to do besides the club nightlife, but I thought that I can’t leave without paying at least one visit. The other two didn’t want to go to the famous street where the tragic crowd crushing incident occurred last Halloween so we ventured to the main streets and some smaller ones. We were feeling peckish after arrival so we went to a cafe that sold Western styled breakfast.

I got berry compote french toast, Bianca got egg's Benedict, and Grace got banana walnut pancakes

They weren’t really good at serving us at the same time so I got my dish a good while after the others. Grace also eats faster than my boyfriend so it felt a little weird eating when she was almost done but that’s pretty much how it’s been when hanging out with her. 

Grace is apparently a big Barbie fan, so much so that it’s been on her list of possible Halloween costumes for a couple of years now. It just so happens that there was a Barbie cafe in Itaewon so we tried going there. Unfortunately all the tables were full and we had to put down a number, but only Grace had a working number. We never got a call and it was probably because it was an American number or something.

We went to a bingsu place instead to combat the heat though. Bianca and I shared this injeolmi flavored one. Injeolmi is basically a sweet rice cake covered in roasted soybean powder. I’m not sure how to really describe it, but the powder is dry and tastes nutty. I’m pretty sure it’s the same powder used on Japanese raindrop cakes.

It was also raining that day so we kind of decided to head back. There wasn’t much that caught our attention in Itaewon, but it was nice to visit.

On Monday, our painting teacher made us paint outside. It was not the most ideal, but I ended up painting a view of campus.

After class, the three of us headed back to Myeongdong to see the nightlife and street food market. I was pretty dead set on coming back with cash. Before we got into the vendors, we did some shopping and got dinner.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get photos of the fruit mochi I bought, but it was seriously worth my money. It looked like this though.

I also got this honeycomb and ice cream taiyaki. You’ve probably seen taiyaki before – it’s that fish-shaped cake. They served it with a small chunk of honeycomb and that was the first time I tried actual honeycomb which was cool. It was fun chewing on the wax.

On Tuesday, Grace and I got to go to the Starfield COEX Mall for our visual journal field trip. It’s pretty awesome that we were able to go on so many field trips for that class and that we got to go to a mall of all places. The mall was absolutely enormous. There was only one floor for shops, but we literally kept getting lost because of its size. Other cool things were attached like this massive library, aquarium, and movie theater.

We sat down inside the mall for some food and got what was probably the most incorrect Indian food I’ve ever had. I say incorrect because the flavor was okay, but the execution and everything was wrong. I’m no Indian food expert, but I questioned a lot of the things. The drinks were wrong and had the wrong consistency, they used the wrong rice (we had to pay and it was such a small portion too) – things like that. I guess that’s what we get for trying to get Indian food inside of a mall in the middle of Korea.

That night’s food made up for it though. One of the girls I hung out with after the Everland trip was turning 21. That same group went out for dinner to celebrate. We got kbbq in Hongdae because we all wanted to experience getting kbbq in Korea at least once. To be completely honest, it was a little pricey for the amount of food, but that was probably because of the fact that we had to share. I guess I’ve been spoiled by the kbbq buffets back home.

In case you couldn’t tell, bingsu is a big deal here. And of course we ended the night with some. We shared some new flavors: tiramisu and mango apple cheese. 

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I had my painting final and we were given 2 hours to paint anything we wanted to, using the techniques we learned. It could be the plants we learned, something from Korea, or just anything we wanted. I painted the key parts of Korea for me which was basically Ewha’s ECC and all the field trips. I also included some flowers we learned.

For dinner Grace and I went to this place called Witch’s Kitchen. It’s a witch themed restaurant with a vibe crossed between Halloween and Harry Potter. Some of the food options were decorated in a way that made it all more fun.

We were most excited for the drinks. I heard that they served them in blood bags and that they did. Each table had one of those liquid IV stands they give people at the hospital and filled them with our drinks. We got to control how much we wanted in our cups and it was really fun.

I spent the rest of the night working hard on my visual journal project. I made a pop up book of where I’ve gone to in Seoul, basically the same thing as my painting final. It was a little bit of a risk since I’d never made a pop up book before. Albeit a little simple, it was a lot of fun. There was this lady that came into one of my classes in the second semester of freshman year who taught us the most basic techniques of pop up book making and I’ve wanted to give it a try ever since.

We had a mini exhibition within our class the next day and it was cool seeing what everyone else came up with.

Later that day, Bianca and I went out to check out the Gwangjang market, a traditional street market with lots of street vendors and mini restaurants. It was still light out when we got there so we got this white peach bingsu while we waited for the sun to set.

My friend Iris told me to go to Cheonggyecheon Stream which I’m pretty sure is the man-made stream my dad told me to check out as well. It stretched out for quite long. Here it is before the sunset.

Once we got back to the market, it was definitely a lot more lively. There were four main paths that we looked at.

We were looking for one thing to eat and luckily many of the restaurants there sold it. I’m serious when I say don’t knock it till you try it because multiple of my friends expressed their disgust, but it was actually pretty good. I’ve wanted to try this for the longest time ever and have always seen mukbangers and foodies eat this. 

For those who haven’t been to guess it, it’s raw squid. This is often confused with live squid. To be fair, people here do actually eat live squid, but the raw squid we had was just raw, NOT alive. It’s only called live squid because the tentacle nerves continue to move after being chopped up. 

Anyways, it was doused in sesame oil which made it good for me. I’m not a seafood girlie and don’t even know why I liked it, but it was fun to eat. We also got bibimbap with beef tartare (also raw) which was also good. This day was all about trying traditional things so instead of getting a basic drink, I opted for Sikhye, a traditional Korean fermented rice drink. I kept seeing it on the street there so I decided to try it out. I noted how it looked like something my mom had always made and Bianca said that was because Korea always steals stuff from China.

We also ordered bindaetteok, a mung bean pancake with bean sprouts in it. It was very very good.

We were quite full at the end of this so decided to get a snack that was truly authentic and worth it. I wanted Hotteok, a sweet filled pancake. My mom sometimes makes this for breakfast so it was cool to have it from the actual streets.

The stream was really nice to look at and walk along once dark. We spent a little more time there before going back.