Day: July 12, 2004

Just spent four days in the warm at SeaWorld Nara Resort… business; not pleasure!… Ausweb ’04
Actually, it was pretty full-on… dawn to dusk activities and speakers, learned lots.

I also learned that SeaWorld Nara Resort has dreadful food! How can they get away with this? – a $25 buffet breakfast where they serve square, sliced, supermarket bread – and the cream for the pancakes is not real cream!!
The food we paid extra for was bad enough, but the catering for the conference was pathetic. Lunch was invariably dried out cocktail sandwiches (made from the same awful bread) and hot chips! – there’s a balanced diet for you!!

The staff were great, but I felt a bit sorry for them. I reckon the place is in $ trouble and management is turning the screws – every way you turned they wanted another dollar. Even the papers cost extra.

Anyway, the conference was great, the polar bear was beautiful, the resort sucks!

I really pity people who, for allergy or other reasons, can’t eat chocolate. After a second or so I get over it!!

Last Sunday was cold and windy – good day to stay inside – but we hopped on our bikes and headed into the city to try out the latest Melbourne chocolate sensation.

Actually, it seems to be a Sydney import, so it’s at an immediate disadvantage, but I’ll admit Max Brenner is not too bad! They had just had a good review on TV, so they were frantically busy, but we enjoyed our hot chocolate in exotic flavours.

While on the topic, I have to put in a word for their direct competitors, Koko Black, a very much more ‘Melbourne’ shop and (I think) a cut above in quality. Koko Black doesn’t have the range of flashy flavours and snacks, but this is made up for by sheer class and flavour. Sitting above Royal Arcade, flicking through beautiful chocolate cookery books, sipping on their brew – you wouldn’t call the king your uncle!

Of course, when we just want great chocolate, we go for Haighs every time!