Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art, Downtown Walk, The Memorable Firehouse Grill Food Experience
music music music music music I love it a lot. I won't delay, let's go to him and I'll tell you more. Welcome David. David is a big deal. First of all, we didn't want to film him today, but let me tell you what we learned. First of all, his parents came in the 60s on a boat, it took them 28 days to reach Kobel.
28 days to leave from Lebanon to Australia. 2,000 people came on it and they were able to find the name of the boat and how many people were How many Lebanese people used to go to Australia or America or Canada in those days. We talked a bit about Multiplex. Multiplex is one of the biggest companies that make multiplexes.
It is one of the biggest companies in the world. It is one of the biggest companies in the world. It is one of the biggest companies in the world. We talked a bit about Multiplex.
Multiplex is one of the biggest companies that make one of the biggest events. Why are we here? We are here because I wanted to see the fish market that will end next year and how much work it David is the managing director of this company which is Multiplex, one of the biggest companies even has projects in Dubai and in the whole area in Australia. It started in Perth.
We are talking about hundreds of millions of projects. Do you remember? Last year or in the previous episode, the new airport. They are doing a project of 1.5 billion which is very big. David is responsible for more than 120 employees here in the office. 650 are all in all.
He is originally Lebanese from Hasroun. He was born in Lebanon. He came back after 2 years. When he was 2 years old, he came to Australia.
He promised me that in the next episode, in the next trip, we will do an interview with him. We learned a lot. This is one of the Lebanese successes that you can find everywhere.
Our day will continue. Now, we will go to the museum. You will see and we will film the museum for the first time in this way. Why? Because the Lebanese artist and the people will tour Lebanese as well.
I said something a long time ago and I will repeat it. Australia runs on Lebanese. Very proudly. Look, David came from Hatshit in Hasroun.
Hatshit is from your place. Exactly. David from Hatshit.
All of you are called David Fouk. No, no. There are only 2. There are only 2.
So David from Hatshit. David from Hatshit. Ok, next. I am not eating a lot in this trip to tell you the truth. Because David is not taking me to a place to eat.
I am not taking you to a place to eat. I am not taking you to a place to eat. I am not taking you to a place to eat. So my name is Suzanne Cotter and I am the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
And I have been the director here for almost 2 years. And prior to that I have been working as a museum director and as a curator in Europe, in the UK, the US and also in the Middle East. So I worked with the Guggenheim Museum on the development of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum. But I also have a long standing connection with Beirut and artists from Beirut. So I first travelled to Beirut in 2005.
And it was part of a research trip organised by the Arts Council of England. And I travelled with curators and museum directors. And while I was there it was a very particular time as everyone in Lebanon will know. And I met astounding people and incredible artists. And I was so inspired by my experience of travelling there and of the people that I met that I to develop an exhibition of showing the work of contemporary artists from Beirut from the War generation.
And we presented this exhibition in Oxford in 2006. So I worked very, very hard for a year. And we presented this exhibition which turned out to be a really ground-breaking exhibition and a important exhibition. Not only for those artists but for the Western world's understanding and appreciation of what were doing in Lebanon and in the broader Arab world.
Tarek is sort of the continuation of my relationship and my history with Beirut and Beiruti Although I never met him in Beirut, I first met him in Sharjah when I was curating the Sharjah And Tarek was an artist in residence there. We got to know one another. This was in 2010. And then we kept seeing one another and I kept seeing his work. And he was becoming a more and more important artist.
And so from there in 2014 I invited him to Portugal when I was directing the museum in Porto, the Elvis Museum, to come and work with us. And he eventually came and presented a work, a major work, as part of a performance festival. Then I moved to Luxembourg and I invited him to show this work, Water's Witness, and we with Porto. Then I moved to Sydney and I said, let's please bring this work to Sydney.
So as Tarek says, we've been following one another for over a decade and finally we come together Sydney. Tarek is an artist who studied music and composition, but he has increasingly worked in the visual space. And as you can see here, he really understands how to make a sculptural environment. But this sculptural environment is in fact a musical instrument. It's a self-composing work. And as we can see, there are people in the galleries and they're sitting on stones.
They're walking between the cables and as they move and as they sit, they're actually impacting the in which the sound works. And so ultimately, the whole piece is a composition. in motion. The materials actually come from different parts of the world. They come from Athens, they come from Singapore, they come from Lebanon, and they come from Sydney. And with each iteration of this work, it's now be presented four times in different parts of the Tarek introduces a new physical element.
So here we have sandstone from Sydney. The cables are all part of, we can say, the sculptural environment, but they allude to the fact this is a live instrument, if you like. So it's like walking inside an instrument for the visitors to the exhibition. So it's extremely atmospheric, it's extremely geological, archaeological, cultural, it has many to it, very poetic as well. So here I am standing in front of the museum, and we are right in front of Sydney Harbour.
And Sydney Harbour in Aboriginal Australian is called Wurren, and the land that we are standing on Talawalida. So it's a very culturally significant site that is connected to over 60,000 years of continuous presence by the indigenous peoples of this country. So we're very proud to have our museum here. It's also a wonderful, wonderful location for people to come through, and our relationship to the the harbour, and the light of Australia. But the Museum of Contemporary Art here opened in 1991. We're dedicated to showing contemporary art, which is to say the work of living artists, and we the work of artists from Australia and from around the world, as we've seen with the beautiful we have here by Tarek Atoui.
We have over four and a half thousand works in our collection, predominantly works by artists and working in Australia. But Australia, as a very multicultural country, means that those artists come from many different backgrounds. So we have beautiful work that speaks many languages. So this work here is a commissioned artwork for this part of the building, the foyer wall of the and it's by an absolutely fantastic Aboriginal Australian artist by the name of Vincent Namajira. Vincent is only 40 years of age, and yet he's proving to be one of the most exciting artists in today.
Obviously a painter, he lives in the central deserts of Australia in an artistic community. He's also a musician, and he comes from a very important artistic lineage. His grandfather was the famous Australian painter Albert Namajira, and we can see a portrait of Albert Namajira here up behind me, up on the wall. It comes from a very famous photograph of the artist, because he used to drive around in a truck the outback of Australia, painting landscapes. And many of
his works are in the collection of the Gallery of Australia. Vincent himself is what I like to describe as a very much an Indigenous pop artist. He really works with popular cultural figures, but those popular cultural figures coming from from football, from art, are all Aboriginal Australians. So he's reframing the way we might think about what is pop, what is popular culture, and who are icons of today.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is Australia's only independent contemporary art museum. It consists of four levels, three levels of exhibition spaces, two levels of temporary exhibition and a level dedicated to the MCA's collection, which focuses on contemporary Australian artists. We also have the National Centre for Creative Learning, a wonderful space where students, young and adults can come and learn more about art and do workshops. We also have an incredible cafe on level four, with stunning views out towards the harbour and the Opera House. The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia gets over a million visitors a year, and is dedicated solely to contemporary artistic Our Rio to the River is a large-scale exhibition by the American artist Zoe Leonard. Over six years, from 2016 to 2022, the artist
photographed along the Rio Bravo-Rio Grande, the international border between Mexico and the United States. This exhibition consists of hundreds of photographs depicting different aspects of the river and border communities. It looks at ideas around migration, around border force, agriculture, and climate change. It's a stunning exhibition, and it's here at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Hi, I'm Camille Le Touf. I'm director of the Lebanese Film Festival.
My family are from Ghalem Saddi in Lebanon, in the north, but I was born here. Hi, I'm Julia Le Touf. I'm one of the co-founders of the Lebanese Film Festival Australia.
I also manage the PR and marketing for the festival as well. My family originate from Weyli-An-Nubi in the north, so it's one of the World Heritage listed sites Lebanon, dear to my heart, but I am born in Australia, yeah, born and raised. So we're from the Lebanese Film Festival, which runs every year. It's been running since 2012, and our key ambition is to tell Lebanese stories through film to Australian audiences. Lebanon has such a rich and vibrant history and culture, and even current affairs, and it's got a to share to the world, and film we think is a great platform to provide that storytelling. There's so many rich and diverse stories coming out of Lebanon, but also from Lebanese all around world, and to not be able to show them in Australia would be a huge miss for us, so one of the main why we started it was to get these stories out there, but most importantly, collaborate and with the arts and cinema scene here in Australia, and marry it with the arts and cinema scene in and here we are today, 11 years on.
So the festival started in 2012, and every year it runs in Sydney at the end of August and early for about 16 days. We then tour the country, for example this weekend we're heading to Canberra for three days of cinema, partnered with the Australian National University and the Embassy. Every year we're attracting thousands of people, about five to six thousand people.
Last year we had about 17,000 people post-COVID, and that was after a couple of years of not being to host the event, so we had a huge surge in audiences, and people really interested in seeing what about. So to keep in the loop and follow Lebanese Film Festival Australia, you can follow us on all of our media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn at LFFAU. Also sign up to our mailing list on our website lff.org.au, and keep in touch. What we're seeing here is the Arnett's Bark Collection.
This collection was gifted to the museum in and it's one of the most important collections of bark paintings anywhere in Australia. It brings together a whole range of different artists from the communities in the north of in Arnhem Land. The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia consists of four floors. A number of the
are dedicated to temporary exhibitions, and we also have an exhibition floor dedicated to the collection of contemporary Australian artists. On this gallery, we see a selection of works from the museum's collection of over 4,500 objects. MCA also has an incredible cafe on the top floor, level four, with sweeping views out across the and onto the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. My name's Lorraine Tarabay, and I'm chair of the... of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. I'm a proud Lebanese Australian.
My parents were born in Lebanon and I was born here in Australia. And one of our roles at the MCA here is to encourage audiences from multicultural communities, our magnificent and large Lebanese community here in Sydney and across Australia. ♪♪♪ The museum took at least 2 hours. After that, first of all, it was amazing. After that, we stopped at Grace. Grace's restaurant is on the other side of the food court.
It looks like it's on the menu. There are some very nice things. ♪♪♪ My grandfather came to Australia by himself in 1949. He left my grandmother in the village in Mirha with my mother, who was a baby at the time, and my was pregnant with their second child. He came to Australia and he was here for four years before he back to get my grandmother, my mother, and his newborn son from Lebanon.
He was waiting until he saved enough money to put a deposit on a house and then went back and got four years later. So, Mum came here as a four-year-old child, and my father came here in 1970. He was an adult at the time, 24 years of age, and I was born here in Australia. ♪♪♪ Good food, very good food, with a great view. Imagine sitting in a cafe, it looks like you're in a tourist attraction, and we're going to eat as it is, not at all. The plates are amazing, the presentation is great, the food is good, everything in it has its own I took the fish and chips, I really liked the potato, it's amazing, the fish is good, and the is exceptional.
David was telling me about his plate, and he didn't tell me because he finished it all. Museum of Contemporary Art. You should come and spend at least half a day here. Very, very, very interesting stuff to see.
We're going to continue from here, we're going to walk a bit in front of the Disney Cruise, because very crowded. The weather is amazing, the winds are nice, and the sun is very nice. And from here, we're going to continue our tour. We still have a few full stops, like this, this, this, and this, and beautiful things on a very day in the city. Definitely one of my favorite cities in the world. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ here in the city.
I am thinking again about this lady, how cute she is. She is coming, eating, a plate of falafel, then she continues her way. She said things that we always say, that the falafel are not mixed together, that they are light on inside. She used words that a person should really like or know, and should be from our country to know So I will take her word and tell you that her Kafta is amazing. Super tender beef. This is a discovery.
Walking distance from the hotel, they open at 10 p.m. When I crave, I come here. Let's continue with Shawarma, and have a proper lunch. Shawarma I left before starting again. I left to tell you how amazing this place is.
Amazing. What a collection. I felt like I am in my office. We are not doing a collection of cars, we are doing a collection of fire trucks only. We brought all these fire trucks, which we enjoy seeing in movies. Oh my God, it is called Fire Grill.
It is true, fire grill, meat, etc. But it also has the feeling of fire, the feeling of a fire brigade, amazing. Then, you meet the housewife, the woman who is responsible for everything, the husband who is the daughter who is helping, her friends, all the staff is smiling, from her heart, from her heart. Oh my God, the positive vibes, this amazing place. Sometimes, when you enter, you open the door and I like it, I feel it, I enjoy it.
I am gonna enjoy it. I will take a deep breath and go back. I will go back to taste and show you the decoration calmly. It's amazing.
With Funeral. Anthony, lovely to meet you tonight. Today, you are at Fire House Grill. We are very pleased to have you here tonight. Our background is Lebanese.
I am personally from Tannourine. We have the most amazing steaks on our menu. We do our special seafood.
We have our chicken dishes. Everything, we hope, please needs tonight. We have decorated our restaurant as a Fire Brigade theme, everything is collectibles in our and we hope to host you with the best hospitality tonight.
Hey guys, my name is Neil, I'm the owner of Firehouse Grill, my passion for food is bar none, top quality, it's all made in Australia, a lot of imported ingredients as well, I'd like to welcome to come and give it a try. My background is Lebanese, I'm born in, I'm Australian, I'm born here, my background is from Elmina Lebanon, we look forward to seeing you all. My signature dishes is most probably the Faramundi or the Paella, and of course our steaks are all cooked, top of the grade. Hi, we're a family business, me, my wife, and my daughter Sianna, I make sure that the steaks are one by one, we grill our steaks on the grill, we don't fry them in the oven, we hope for the best, make sure that everyone gets their steak done perfectly.
I really liked the place, I really really liked the place. Generous portions, we haven't started eating yet, the music is nice, the seating is nice, the light nice, the collections are nice. Let's start with a bite from here, a bite from here, a lemon slice, and this is how we're going to Top, top, top. I'm waiting for the meat to come together, oh this is so good. Thank you.
More, more, more. It's time, it's on the table. It's cooked, it's boiling hot. It's still coming out of the oven. The cheese has separated from it. The cheese is amazing, the smoke is coming out of it, and suddenly it's going to make your mouth What's left? What's left? A little bit of jam, a little bit.
It's going to give it a three-taste sweetness, it's very nice. The bread is amazing, the cheese is amazing, and the jam is amazing. Flying over the rainbow. Tasmanian scone. Thank you. Every trip starts, I'm not mentioning you, with David.
People started to stop on the street and say David, David, they know him more than me in Australia, as you can see from the videos. So I don't want to remind you who David is, David Harkora, who we spend our trips together with. The most important thing is why David is here, because he eats the food that has garlic, and he me if it's good or not. So David loves scallops a lot, and he finished them. I'm going to wait for the meat and the things that are coming. Let me tell you again what the chef said inside, but let me explain a bit.
Most of the restaurants, 99% of the restaurants, to go faster, they put the meat in the oven. We are not used to it at home, and in our house, we don't put the meat in the oven, because on the it takes a lot of time. It needs time, and it needs to go, and come, and go, and come, and it needs experience to know if cooked on the inside or not, without cutting it. On the inside, it doesn't need anything.
It's properly cooked, it has experience, he touches it, and he knows if it's medium, medium-rare, he knows. We ordered here medium-rare, and look, first of all, it's very soft, it's very comfortable, I'm going to put it on the side, and he'll give it to me. I'm going to cut it on the inside, and you'll see its color. He didn't cut it, and he doesn't know if it's properly cooked or not. We're going to tell him that it's properly cooked, as it should be. It's red on the outside, grilled, right? It's very soft.
Super juicy. Hot and salty. Extremely flavorful.
I'm not sweating at all. I'm sitting on the grill, the heat is coming from the bottom. I'm busy with love and passion, and a piece of meat comes out.
You haven't tasted this before. I felt this place when I first came here, and it still exists. Thank you. I'm putting it under my teeth.
I'm cutting it in half. I'm getting juice out of it. Delicious. Let's start with this. Unbelievable, look at it. Seared.
Caramelized on the outside. When I cut it, not a single drop came out. Not a single drop.
Medium rare. Hot and salty on the inside. But it's not cooked.
It's not cold. It's cooked but not overcooked. The heat reached the middle. Even though it's red. What is this color? I didn't tell you about the sauces that come with it. You can order all of them.
Bearnaise, my favorite. I love this place. And the chicken.
This is what comes with it. Coming back in for one simple reason. One, I want to congratulate you. On being an amazing chef. You know your stuff, you know your meat, you know your dishes, you know your fish. You know everything.
It's very clear that we ate passion, food, love. And the ingredients come next. Every single thing you've done comes from the heart. And I felt it in every bite. Thank you. You are amazing.
For everyone watching, you have to come here and visit this guy and his family. You rock. Thank you. Thank you. Amazing. Thank you. I am sweating. I am sweating. This meat is amazing.
I am impressed. I am impressed, but before we leave, let me tell you how much it is. First of all, the prices are very low. You will come and enjoy it for sure. It is so big that it really helps. It is really amazing.
The feeling that I felt here is amazing. I am repeating it again. The people who are here, God bless their hearts. The tables are 2 times a day, 4 times a day. They are all locals. They are all Australians. They are old. They know what they are eating.
They know what they are eating. I am very happy. I am going to share. I am not going to break it. It is so crispy.
The creme brulee. Date pudding. Oh my God. It is even tastier than meat.
Wow. I am impressed. I will be back again and again and again. Don't forget the place. I will definitely be back. Before we leave, I have to tell you something.
It is forbidden for this concept not to become a franchise. It is forbidden for this concept not to grow. It is forbidden for this family not to have someone to put their hand in their hand and grow them I know that there are many places, maybe steak, meat, or others, and they become very big and have branches. This place is worth it.
I think that if you are thinking of something, investment, or doing something in restaurants, I don't know if they want it. We didn't talk about it. But I felt it. Whether it is the decor, the food, all the details, the passion, the small menu, the prices, it is I don't know why I am so happy. I felt it. This is how the day ends. Wow and great notes.
Even my voice is not as happy as before.
2023-11-12 05:08
