HazyDaze

I think I found my pregnancy craving. I warn you, it’s quite weird.

Watermelon and Chocolate combo.

I started with watermelon and chocolate ice cream 2 weeks ago. Then I had kit kat and watermelon combo. Today, I’m back to Watermelon and chocolate with chocolate chip ice cream.

I’m so weird.

Since KL will not be in town to celebrate our 12th year anniversary this Monday, we booked ourselves at Rockpool Melbourne for a nice dinner.

We haven’t done that for a long time.

I had a busy day in the office because my boss wasn’t around. I had to rush off to meet KL at Crown because he would be stuck trying to get into the city to pick me up. I was all dressed up. All I needed to do was to remove my cardigan and reveal my cleavage and I would look oh-so classy.

It was a terribly hot day with flies everywhere. To save money on transport, I begin walking. Guess what? The bloody underground passage to connect me to the other side is bloody closed to pedestrians. WTF… so I walked all the way back to try another way around it. While walking there, I gave up - took the tram and was squash with smelly sweaty people in good old public transport.

I got to Crown just a little before our reservation. But I was no more classy - I was more sweaty and sticky. And frustrated coz the heat, the flies and the people irritated the hell out of me. ARGH!

will load the pictures later.

The kids in my office have been going to this joint for dumplings very often but I never had the chance to go with them. Finally today, I went with another group to Dirty Dumplings.

It’s got its name because they were closed a few times, possibly due to violation of hygiene matters. Still, its good and cheap. The kids once held a “Who can eat the most dumplings?” competition there.

Anyway, I went there today. We shared a fried dumpling plate, a steamed dumpling plate, a plate of fried shanghai noodles and a plate of healthy vegetables. It was good. Mostly coz I soak the whole damn dumpling into the bowl of vinegar. Just the way I love it. Dirty or not, I’m not sure. Have to tell you how my tummy feels tomorrow.

But, the place has this rotting wood stench. I didn’t smell it after i poured a huge bowl of vinegar.

I want to bring KL there someday. When he is done with his vegetarian diet thing.

Woke up this morning meaning to meet DTAC for lunch. Since I woke up early, I called him and demanded that he meet me NOW. Obliging, he took a cab to Suntec and since it was too early for lunch, we sat down for coffee and tea.

I miss DTAC, he is the one guy that was there for me when I was at the lowest and I’m glad I was there for him when HE was at his lowest. I’m very happy to hear that he is doing so well now.

Sitting down, he updated me with stories about the employment in SunnyLand and how 50% of the workforce are foreign talents. It’s scary to know that fresh grads will be fighting with cheaper PRC for jobs.

KL came to meet us shortly after and we headed for lunch. As all are not hungry, we shared a Fried Prawn Noodles and Sushi.

This is our expensive sushi that cost $15.

I wish we could stay longer to chat with DTAC but we had to rush off home to do some final packing and then off to the airport.

We met at the airport and after checking in, we were issued a receipt. Apparently it was our boarding pass. BS says, “Budget what.” And from then now, we expect everything to be “budget” service.

Since we were early for our flight and our Budget airline do not provide dinners, we went to Popeyes instead.

Saw this ridiculous sign at the cafeteria.

If a tourist that see this in the airport would be damn puzzled.

At popeyes.

I see that it’s still fashionable to study at airports and fast food places.

While waiting to be board the plane, KL suddenly remembered he might need to notify the army that he going out of the country, so he went to queue at the free Internet access computer. After a while, he came back and angrily told us that he have been queuing a long time behind some kid who is on facebok. Apparently he is engrossed in superpoke. Hahaa. BS, GL and I wanted to get up from our seat and go SuperPoke him for real. But, we didn’t. Boarding the plane, KL pointed him out to us. We had another chance to Poke him but again, we are wimps. He is known as Mr SuperPoke.

The place ride was alright for budget airline. I was busy playing my DS. GL and KL slept.

We sat in different cabs to the hotel and on the way, we saw fireworks. Welcoming us. Sure.

Hotel looks good and I’m glad we got adjoining rooms. Of course we are so comfortable with each other, it really didn’t matter. One thing is, how was the hotel going to put the spare bed in our room? Luckily, KL and me could squeeze in a single and GL slept on the other bed.

Anyway, we dump our stuff and off to the highly recommended Thai restaurant nearby.

Its really quite a nice place.

Got authentic music some more.

These are the food we ordered. I might miss a couple.

Drinks:

Steamed eggs with prawns (Yummy!):

Pad Thai to share:

Pandan Chicken (blurred picture coz was in a rush to eat):

Papaya Salad (KL’s favourite. He order it in our every meal):

Fried Sun Fish (damn nice):

Tanghoon with crab claw (BS reminded us about that Thai advertisement. We couldn’t stop laughing):

Tom Yum Soup (must have):

Our dessert - sweeten banana, chendol, mango with sticky rice:

I wish I ate more during dinner but my 2 sore ulcers on the throat is annoying the hell out of me. BS bring me to the nearby pharmacy and I got some disgusting thing to gargle to bring the swelling down.

GL paid for dinner (we are yet to pay her back). And it started pouring. BS used NL’s umbrella to go back to the hotel to get more umbrella for us. It was quite a heavy rain but we went to 7-11 because NL wanted to stock up. That night, we all fell asleep very quickly.

We woke up the next day again with breakfast on the table. Mum really loves KL that much. Then while we are changing to go out, it rained so suddenly and so hard too. Its been a long time since we’ve witness such rage. Melly have been in a drought for about 7 years. We took an umbrella and went down to stare at the rain for over 40 mins. As it turns, Alan was late.

Alan and KL went to electronic heaven while I made a rational decision to shop at Bugis instead. The downside was that I had to lunch alone and I seriously hate that.

At Bugis, I discovered that Seiyu is now BHG (Big Hungry Giant?!?) Its still the same crap to me anyway. Lunch time, I went to the basement only to realised that the food court I remembered is no longer there. Had to ask around to find out where it went and I had this:

Dried Beef Noodles with Tripe.

The wonderful “Chin-char-lok” that goes so well with it. OOooohh…

I only bought a top and a dress before the boys came to pick me up to go home and set up my dad’s computer.

That night, we had Chicken Rice for dinner. Not any ordinary chicken rice but THE chicken rice from Katong Shopping Centre.

It’s the best!

The Chicken:

The chicken feet:

The salad -’ah char’:

The divine mystery soup:

We were caught in the rain after dinner so we went home without walking around the neighbourhood.

I met my ex chinese tuition teacher when I went down to dispose some boxes and was invited to her place. Somehow, we chatted for nearly over 2 hours and I was exhausted. Its amazing how some people’s life changed in a matter for 3 years.

Early in the morning we got lost - trying to bring our GPS to the shop to repair.

Then we head out to Globe.

KL had this:

I didn’t order my usual Caesar Salad and had this instead:

They look the same but it’s actually different. I had crispy bacon!

Then, off to the airport we went.

We went to the Guggenheim exhibits today. Dashed into the Arts Market to get some souvenirs to bring back and then we had snack at Movida right before it rained.

Love this parma ham thingy platter best. We ordered a lot of food, of coz, I forgot to take pictures of them. Food come, whack!

Love this bowl of olive even more. Its gourmet olives.

Hope to go back there again.

Last month, KL dumped me and went away for the weekend in the mountains to snowboard. In bid to occupy myself during that time, I signed myself up for a French Baking class.

Picture of my teacher’s cakes.

Pistachio Mascarpone Almonds Gateaux. Okay, it doesn’t look like my teacher’s cake but I think it taste the same.

Chocolate and Pumpkin Tart with Mocha Sabayon. I know it looks like it has some breadtop buns on top, but that is really the nice bit. And, I made the chocolate decorations!

Passionfruit and Mango Tart. Well, half of it anyway. Had to share it with my stupid lazy partner. I like this best - actually, I might make it again some day.

I didn’t take a picture of the fourth cake - Fusion Entrement. But its probably the same look as my teacher’s.

Wah Piang… I never realised so much work just to make it look nice. Seriously, don’t think I’ll make those cakes again. Not worth the trouble.

But I made a friend or two there. I had a teacher’s assistant who helped me quite a bit and have since been in contact on MSN. Might meet him for coffee one day.

Famous South Melbourne Dim Sims.

I really miss KL. Come home safely soon.

My stupid Local brand rice cooker’s teflon thingy peeled and the silver bits stuck to the rice. So, we threw it away.

Bet it’s China made. I’ve decided to go back to SunnyLand and buy a Japanese made one.

But till then, we have been steaming our rice, old skool.

We had Japanese curry the other night. Not bad. Easy too!

I have been working very late the whole of the week. I thought coming to KoalaLand means more slack and relax, damn - I’m so wrong.

It was nice that KL came to my office to hang out with me till I’m done. We went out for a nice dinner after that, which was a good consolation.

We have been walking past this jap place for a long time and the picture outside looks really good so we decided to go there tonight. I tell you, the entire soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera is still ringing in our ears and KL was humming to the tunes, I’m pretty sick of it already.

KL wanted to try this dish with a funny name.

Since the service is so slow and I got bored, I took a picture of my Green tea and KL’s orange juice.

When KL’s “stamina” came, it looks rather different from the picture outside. Still it didn’t taste bad. Probably we were too hungry to complaint.

And, my chicken thing (forgot the name) came. Not that great. The batter with the chicken was way too gooey and they used chilli sauce to top it. BORING!

Don’t think we are going there anymore!

Inspired by pictures I saw in flickr, I have been trying to make Bentos for lunch nearly everyday. I hate sandwiches!!!

I kept forgetting to take pictures except for this particular one - Teriyaki chicken with rice, steamed vegetable and onion egg with japanese pickles.

Don’t ever have Chrysanthemum Green Tea (with Lemon and Honey)!

I don’t even know if it taste like

- Chrysanthemum Tea
- Green Tea
- Honey Tea
- Lemon Tea

Damn rojak tasting. I think my tongue is confused.

Second day, we woke up late and didn’t do what we planned to do in the morning. But we got dressed up and went to Sydney Fish Market.

We die die have to have lunch there. So K got busy taking pictures while I was drooling at all the seafood there.

At the end, we had a seafood platter for 2 and Sashimi Salmon.

This big slab of fresh Salmon Sashimi is only $13.

Seafood Platter for 2.

After lunch we walked around and took some touristy pictures. Well, KL did. I just took more food pictures.

I love the fried white baits.

My favourite Oysters Kilpatick and Mornay.

I saw this and had to take a picture of it. Wish BS, NL and GL was there with us. They would love all the seafood. My best foodie mates are in SunnyLand!!! *sob!!!

I was still feeling pecking, even after the huge lunch. A lady was going around offering ice cream samples and so I bought this “Death by Chocolate”. Its soooo good. Its fudgey and yummy.

Anyway, we went out into the sun to sit a little and KL was taking pictures while I kept wanting to eat more. So off into the shed I went, looking for more food.

I saw this and had to get it.

I told KL that he can tell people that I bought him Abalone for his birthday. So generous!

Some pictures of raw food.

“Don’t eat me!”, says the yabbies.

Never tried Scampes before. Heard that it taste like prawn. Hahaa…

This must be the uglist fish ever.

Never seen a real swordfish. Wonder which way up?

We left the Fish Market feeling sad until I saw these Lalang on the side of the road. I love Lalangs. Now it just remind me of Sunnyland.

After all that eating, we went back to the city to do a little shopping. However, shopping was boring because I wasn’t allowed to walk into any shops that Melly have. So basically, I didn’t walk into most shops.

We went to QVB to have a look and this is wax figure of Queen Victoria during her coronation.

The whole QVB is damn old like a old mansion. Yes, I have to take picture of the toilet of course.

At night, we met Edwin for dinner. He picked us up and brought us to the suburbs to have this really authentic Ramen. Well, it was pretty chilly that night so the ramen was most inviting.

Here’s the menu with the address.

Edwin had the Pork in Miso Soup.

I had the Katsu Chicken in Miso soup.

KL had the Seafood Ramen which I traded my chicken for.

It was sooo good that we ate every last bit of it. Good choice, Edwin.

After dinner, we went to take some obligatory shots of the harbour, bridge, opera house. KL has some nice pictures which I am not going to steal.

I was invited to Sinny for training today - on KL’s 30th. So I got KL an airticket, paid for hotel and we celebrate his 30th with a bang in Sinny for the weekend. I even reserved dinner for 2 at Rockpool, celebrity chef.

We woke up at 5am to catch the 7.15 flight out of Melly. It was suppose to be only an hour and a half flight but we had a 2hour delay due to the brakes on the plane not working properly. I was cursing under my breath that we are flying and didn’t need any damn brakes. KL reminded me that we need it when we land. Ooops!

So, I was in training the whole day while KL went around the city to the museum, aquarium and about taking photos.

Picture of my office in Sinny taken on my way back to the hotel.

We came home rested and then made our way to The Rocks.

We didn’t expect the walk to be that short so we arrived way to early, hence I was bored and took picture of the door.

We couldn’t decide if we should have the 5 course set meal or the 12 course degustation set. At the end, we choose the 12 courses over 5 of course.

The menu for the 12 courses.

1. Lemongrass, Saffron, Mussels and Galangal Soup.

2. Sterling Caviar with Tuna Tartare and Ginger Jelly

3. Squid, Iberico Ham and Parsnip Salad with Nitro Black Pearls

4. Salad of Abalone, Mussels, Clams and Tea Smoked Oysters with Truffle Oil and Mushroom Soy Dressing

5. Grilled Quail, Pork and Prawn Pie, Sichuan Pickled Vegetableand Red Curry Sauce

6. Stir Fried Lobster with XO Sauce and Fine Noodles

7. Crisp Snapper with Cafe de Paris Butter and Spinach Sauce

8. Chinese Roast Pigeon with Prawn Stuffed Eggplant - Black Vinegar Dressing

Served with Salad (we didn’t much touch it)

9. Whipped Brie de Meaux with Quince and Pear Salad - Almond Straw

10. Vanilla Cream Cup with Raspberries and Rose Granita

11. Fig and Strawberry Chiboust Cake with Strawberry Sorbet

12. Coffee and Sweets

Seriously, by course number 5, we were so tired we want to give up and go back hotel to sleep. Still we made it to the very last course. In fact, KL even ‘tabao’ the sweets in his pockets and gave it to me the next day.

Sometime last week, we went to Jamon for the Wagyu special with the CTs. Trusted CT to make a lunch booking coz it’s cheaper, but I believe she messed it up and booked for dinner instead. Luckily, Charles, the chef was so nice to give us the lunch price for dinner. It’s supposed to be the Blackmore Wagyu, which is the best Wagyu of all.

We ate from 7pm to about after midnight. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Charles, the chef of Jamon. Happily cutting up his beautiful meat.

Picture of the Blackmore Wagyu beef we were eating the whole night.

Took this picture of our sushi counter table top while waiting for our dinner.

This wholesome nutrious soup with raw wagyu was absolutely yummy, that I had many many bowls of it.

Wagyu sushi making in the process.

Wagyu sushi platter.

Finally, the Wagyu steak platter.

4.5litres vanilla ice cream

2 tablespoon green tea powder and green colouring

Tomorrow is CT’s birthday and we had a small intimate dinner at Dragon Boat. Not bad since I thought it was for loser angmos.

The main theme was Lobster Noodles. Nice!

We went Yu-u again - 2nd time. Love the Yakitori as usual. Spend some time together and finally finished the dinner at 9.30pm.

The Wagyu beef is good too. But at the end, we decided that we are sort of sick of the place already.