The Summer/Winter Battle

Melbourne’s weather is like an emo guy with constant mood swings. I know I’ve mentioned this before but I’m gonna write another post about it anyway cus lately, Melbourne weather’s been getting more of an attitude problem. Yeah, raining everyday and winds so strong that I can hear them even when I’m inside the apartment with all the windows closed.

The temperature in the past few weeks has been going up and down unpredictably. One day it’d be 8 degrees, and the next day it’ll shoot up to 25 degrees. But this week it’s just been rain rain rain fooooooooo wind wind wind fooooo rain rain fog fog cold (fooo is the closest word that I can think of which imitates the wind’s sound)

I’m the kinda person whose mood gets heavily influenced by the weather (doesn’t sound very good since I just said Melbourne weather is like a crazy emo man). When I wake up to a bright sunny morning, I’m instantly happier and more ready to start the day. But if it’s cold and dark, along with the sounds of raindrops hitting against my windows and the fooooo, I become even more sleepy and feel like I have no reason to wake up.

SOOOOOO

In order to not get beaten down by the weather, I gotta have more positive thinking.

Here are some of the things that I’ve been doing before the weather got so crappy:

Go to the beach and ponder on life (hehehehe)

That was actually the first time I had visited the beach in the two years that I’ve lived here. I know right. It was amazing seeing nature after being in the city for so long. Even the seagulls there seem less annoying.

The beach also allows you to get active and get some exercise done. Or just watch your bf play while you continue to ponder on life’s big questions…

And that’s the expression you’ll have if your life-changing thoughts suddenly get interrupted by a happy photo-taker.

A sunny day cannot be complete without some ice cream.

Gangsta Michael holding his ice cream like it’s a gun. Hehe

Calamari rings with chips and salad by the beach is a pretty awesome lunch to have

Or if you prefer to stay at home, BBQ is the way to go!
Breakfast food Sausages and hashbrowns

yumyumyumyumyumyum satay prawns and some sorta meat patty

Other happy nature-y things you can do when the sun is out…

… include feeding the ducks at the park (with bread crumbs)!

There were actually cute baby ducks at the back but they didn’t come near us for food. Their duckie parents probably told them that we were dangerous people and to stay behind in the safe area where the giant people can’t reach.

It would’ve been awesome if they had come closer to us! Baby duck are so cute!

Yeah I am aware that the squatting pose is not very attractive but I was getting really into feeding them!!

 Winter has its perks too though. You get to stay indoors and pig out on things like this You’ll be under so many layers of clothing anyway no one will notice the little bit of extra weight you’ve put on. Hehehe.

Thanks for reading

There was once a little boy who kept lying about seeing a wolf in his village, and each time other villagers would come to ‘rescue’ him. After a while the villagers stopped buying into this boy’s BS… When an actual wolf did come to the village, the little boy shouted for real help but no one believed him anymore. He was then torn into pieces and eaten alive.

Wow, what a great story to tell your kids before they go to bed. Haha.

I’m feeling very much like this little boy now. You know, with me saying that I’ll blog more often and each time I only end up writing two month later. Not that I have many devoted readers, or any actually… I still feel like I have to explain every time I come back.

It’s not excuses my friends, this time it was serious shit keeping me away from writing nonsense :O I had so much school work to do last week I didn’t even bother eating or sleeping. Seriously, I think I only had five hours of sleep over a three day span and each day I would only have maybe one chicken wrap or two pieces of toast. It’s never happened to me before but I was so stressed that I had no appetite. THAT’s when you know things are serious. Cus food is the love of my life.

So this is what I did when I had time to myself: Sleep, wake up, eat, sleep, wake up, eat, repeat.

The only thing that cheered me up was when my boyfriend came home while I was writing an essay with this:

A GIANT KINDER SURPRISE!!!!!!!!

I’ve never ever had one of these ever ever and I’ve always wanted them!! But I think my mum used to say that I was too chubby as a kid so I never got them for Christmas or anything (I got normal sized ones though). But at the age of 20, I finally got a proper giant chocolate egg

And the best part of kinder surprises is not the chocolate itself but the toy inside!! Look at this cool toy I got. Tom & Jerry man! Maybe cus it’s a giant egg so their toys are more exciting. Hahaha.

Check out what this toy can do!

 See how Jerry is hanging off a string? You’re supposed to keep tossing it till he goes through the net and it’s like a never ending game cus net has no base. You know why? Cus in the cartoons Tom never catches Jerry so they did the same thing with this! Or maybe I’m thinking too deep into this… Meh.

Anyhoo, let’s end with a picture of me

My zombie face (from lack of sleep) suddenly lit up when my body made contact with this magical egg.

Muahaha.

Thanks for reading.

I promise I’ll update again by tomorrow (or within the week) so please come back.

PS: I finished the egg in less than two days. Woohoo.

Eggette/gai dan zai- Call it whatever it’s the yummiest food ever

Wow my title rhymed! I’m such a poet. Hahahaha.

Today, I’d like to talk about my most favourite-est food in the whole wide world. It’s not very well known globally but it’s one of the most popular street snacks in Hong Kong! And did I mention it’s my mostest favouritest food ever??? It’s one of the things I have to eat every single day every time I go back to Hong Kong to visit.

Okay, here’s something a little more eloquent than my usual ramblings that I wrote in honour of this food:

Hong Kong’s reputation as a gourmet paradise puts the city at the top of every food-lover’s list of places to visit. With over 11,000 restaurants across the metropolis, food can be bought almost everywhere, even at the oddest hours of the day. Hong Kong offers a variety of cuisines, ranging from Moroccan to Indian, Spanish to Japanese- the choices are unlimited.

The obvious choice for first-time visitors, however, should be the local Cantonese cuisine. No, I am not referring to the fancy restaurants that serve shark-fin soup and premium dim sums. I am talking about the real local food found in Hong Kong’s street side stands. Hot bowls of wonton noodle soup and fish balls on a stick are often the first images that come to mind, but there is one modest street food that deserves much more global recognition- the eggette, or gai dan tsaai (literally translated as ‘Little Eggs’) as the locals call it.

Ta-da! This is a pathetic photo I know… But I was in a hurry to eat this yummy yummmyyyy food so I was just like meh whatever, quickly SNAP so I can eat. Let me find a better one for you on Google.

Yay, okay let’s continue.

Eggettes’ unusual name is reflected in the egg-like shape of the snack, which can be described as a golden foil of bubble wrap. It is very much similar to Western-style waffles, with the main ingredients being eggs, evaporated milk, sugar and flour. Just imagine eating waffles in the form of little balls attached to each other. Each puff of relishing goodness consists of a hard and slightly crunchy exterior, with a soft and gooey centre. Eggettes are traditionally made by pouring batter into two hot pans (dented with multiple holes to create the bubble shape) which are clasped together over charcoal fire. Nowadays, street vendors prefer electric pans as they are more convenient to use. Eggettes have a subtle taste of custard and egg, and can be consumed as an afternoon snack or as dessert after a meal.

This is the machine that hawkers use to make gai dan zai. I wanted to buy one of these so I can make them at home.. or maybe even start up my own gai dan zai business here… Except I read lots of things online where people say the ones they make at home tastes different to store bought ones… Also if I were to get this machine it’ll be imported from China and the postage fee would be pretty expensive.. I don’t think it’s worth it. I’ll just have to go back to HK more often..

Chocolate flavourGreen tea flavour

This street snack is available in an assortment of flavours such as strawberry, chocolate, green tea, sesame, and others depending on the store. However, to truly appreciate the distinct savor of gai dan tsaai, the original flavour is a must-try for first-timers.

You’re probably still not convinced that this is the yummiest food ever cus truth to be told, it is quite plain and might not suit everyone’s taste if you’re into having different flavours bursting in your mouth with every bite… BUT JUST LOOK AT THIS PICTURE! See how the outside is crunchy and the other side side of the bubble/ball is soft?? It’s soo goooood.

Okay I might be a little biased cus eggettes bring back a lot of happy childhood memories for me. Whenever I was behaving well in school, I would get one of these after school. And you know when you’re a kid, you’re always hungry after class cus you’ve spent the whole day in school? Having something warm like this really fills your tummy up and it made me very happy

Enough talking, here are a few more pictures to make you hungry

Just to clarify, these are all pictures I found on Google (except for the first one). So this unsightly fingernail featured here doesn’t belong to me.

Thanks for reading!

Pink+Sparkly+Lollipops+Shoes= My favourite things

My blog traffic is slowly declining (not that I had many readers to begin with) as my absence here persists. I blame this yet again on the stress I’ve been having over uni work and assignments the past few weeks. Despite of that, I’m going to try my best to continue my pursuit as the provider of useless material for bored people to pass time with (as a last resort?).

To break this prolonged period of non-blogging, I thought it’d be good to have a post filled with rainbows and butterflies. Okay, more like cupcakes and glitter and fairies. What are you going on about, you crazy person? My dear friends, a world like that really does exist. To be exact, it existed for about two months during 2011 Christmas in Hong Kong’s Times Square.

A tree that grows candies and handbags and heels. Say whaaaat? 
I’d like to have ten of those, please.

And some giant cupcakes too if you don’ t mind.

 Hong Kong is maaaagical during the Christmas period, especially in Times Square (one of the main shopping landmarks). Every year, they come up with a different theme, and it is never less than anything extravagant. This year (technically last year but ‘this year’ sounds better), the theme was Barbie. And everything was pink and sparkly. I loved it!

If someone had brought me to a Barbie exhibition like this when I was still a little girl, I would’ve thought it was heaven. I was a very girly girl (still am). I had boxes of Barbie dolls and I used to line them all up and pretend they were at a beauty pageant and I would be the host. It sounds lame now but at the time it was the most fun thing ever.

Barbie’s wardrobe! That’s another thing I loved doing when I was little, dressing up my Barbie dolls, changing their clothes everyday, chopping off all their hair unevenly… cus I thought it was in fashion at the time…

Limited edition Barbie. Don’t know the name but the dress is so prettyyyy I don’t know why but I’m thinking of all the stuff you could hide under there. Like if you go to a supermarket in that dress, you can take a whole week supply of food and no one will notice. Not that a princess like her would need to do her own grocery shopping…

Diva Barbie? That’s my friend in the background.

Better/less creepy picture of Natalie and me with the magic lollipop tree. Lame but I made secretly made a wish when I was there. I know it’s fake and all but this tree grows freaking pretty shoes!! And candy! My favouriteeee <3

Barbie and Ken <3 Apparently they broke up? I don’ t know what nonsense that is. Her new bf’s name is Blaine- “A hunky Australian”. Pft.

Check this outttt. Each Barbie has on a different outfit and they’re all pink!

I don’t know why this picture didn’t upload the way it’s supposed to. So just tilt your head to the left and look at the decorations the Times Square people used!! So prettyy I would decorate my whole house like this if I could…  My old room in Singapore used to be all pink too. The walls were hot pink and I had a pastel purple wardrobe and colourful curtains. It sounds crazy but it looked quite nice! My friends would ask how could I not get a headache in such a bright coloured room but that’s what kept me happy! So if you wanna be more optimistic then paint your room in a brighter hue

[Think of cool caption and put here]

My favourite photo with the barbie logo And first time I wore a blazer out. I always thought it looked too formal but it was cold at the time and I didn’t have any other jacket. Turned out quite nice, no? Hehehe.

That’s it for now.

I’ve noticed that my posts about make up/hair are the most read… I’ll probably write more about that from now on.

Thanks for reading

I’m not ready to be a mama.

Helloooooo

Okay, the title is a little misleading… But check out my nurturing motherly pose here. I am so ready to be a mama.

Hahaha, noo. I’ve been wanting a puppy here in Melbourne for the longest time.. And I was always convinced that I have what it takes to be a good.. what’s the word.. pet mama? master? Meh. Anyway, I only realised today that I am not ready for that at all.

This is the baby a friend of mine recently got. Her name is Delilah and she is a 2 month old Rottweiler puppy. She has been the highlight of my past two days, and she is also the reason why I no longer want to get my own puppy.

Don’t get me wrong, she is super cute and I love playing with her. Just look at the happy faces in the picture (both mine and hers )! But she is really active and requires a lot of attention. Although I don’t usually do a lot of physically straining activities, I don’t think I’ll have the time or energy to keep up with a puppy… Especially since I have uni and am hopefully getting a job soon. I reckon it’s as difficult as taking care of a human baby (I know cus I’ve babysat my little cousins before).

So, I urge all dog lovers out there to think carefully before getting a puppy. Are you prepared to:

- Constantly play with him/her?
-  Take him/her for a walk in the morning and at night?
- Pick up his/her poop and clean up her pee every hour? (with the possibility of getting your possessions ruined) This is especially annoying if you live in a small apartment.
- Minimise your social life so you can go home and feed him/her at certain set hours?
- Train and teach him/her to behave
- Be woken up by whining puppy noises in the middle of the night after a long day…

EVERY SINGLE DAY?

There are many many more things to be added to the list, but just the thought of having to do those few up there everyday is making me dizzy… Hehe. If you’ve read my blog before you would know that I have had pets in the past- a dog and a chinchilla. This was also my main argument when Michael told me it was a bad idea to get a pet here. Now that I think about it… He is right. The reason why I didn’t think about doing all those things I wrote in my list earlier is because I never really did them did any of them at all. I had a nanny/helper who did all that for me. I was only 8 years old… and my job was just to play with them whenever I felt like it.

But now that I am an adult (just typing that made me giggle), I have learned that pets are not mere toys that entertain you whenever you please. They come with a lot of responsibility. A good point Michael raised was, “You’re not even sure where you’ll be after you graduate. What’s gonna happen to your dog then?” I didn’t have an answer. My immediate solution was to get something that has a shorter life span and easier to manage… like a hamster. Except there are no hamsters in Australia… cus the government didn’t want them to mass breed and become pests, or something like that. So meh.

The truth is, after spending a whole day playing with Delilah, even though she is very adorable, I was actually relieved that I was going home to a quiet apartment with no puppy to take care of.

My conclusion is that the cuteness can wait for a couple more years… Until I’ve figured out what I’m gonna do with my life (at least decide what country I’m gonna stay in).

Anyhoooo, one last (not so great) picture of me and Delilah:

Seriously though, I look so pro at this. Hehehe.

Thanks for reading

Holidays bring out the true glutton in me.

I know it’s a little (super) late, but I’ve been really busy with uni work, settling into my new apartment, and looking for an internship. Anyhooo, here’s the delayed entry on my 2011 Christmas & New Year’s Eve (gonna be a little longer than usual to compensate for my lack of writing recently ).

The holidays is a time you spend with your family and loved ones, a time to relax and have fun, and most importantly (for me anyway)- a time to pig out on chocolate/cake/fried food/all the naughty things you’re not supposed to eat.

The last week of the past two years had not been festive for me at all. In 2009, I went to a beach party for NYE and lost my bag, phone, wallet, iPod, and camera all in one go. In 2010, I was back in Hong Kong and wasn’t used to breathing polluted air, so my airways got infected and I basically spent the last week of the year in and out of the hospital.

So in 2011- There was no partying for me, and no dying at home alone either.

I spent a quiet and gluttonous (hehe) Christmas and NYE avec le boyfriend.

2011 Christmas

My apartment is pretty small, so I only had room for a mini tree. It did create a Christmassy ambiance though Especially with the presents underneath!

Opening presents before dinner

Please excuse the shitty home clothes. I wasn’t expecting to have my photo taken.

Tiffany necklace for me <3

Michael wanted a watch for the gym/sports in general, so I got this G-Shock watch for him. It works pretty well apparently.

And Davidoff perfume in the shape of a dumbbell to go with it! I think it’s cuteee, and it smells really good! I probably would’ve still gotten it even if I didn’t have a boyfriend *creepy smile* (to spray it around my room and pretend I have a man. yes this thought has occurred to me before…)

Happy people.

Then we went out for a not-so-traditional Christmas dinner, cus I was craving Korean BBQ that night! Yum yum yummm so much meat I’ll find out the address of this place and post it later.

Spicy Seafood BBQ! The flavours were so rich that you can really taste the spices/sauces in each piece of seafood/meat you bite into. A bowl of white rice would be an ideal compliment to these dishes, as its bland taste would offset the variety of flavours bursting inside your mouth (wow I should become a professional food critic ).

A good meal always ends with a good dessert. My mum got me this box of Mont Blanc chocolate in Hong Kong, which me and Michael managed to finish in just half an hour They were Swiss made and tasted very good as well! Each chocolate was different and I think each of them had the logo on it.

2011 NYE

Afternoon tea at a little lane we just discovered recently! Hardware lane I think? It’s full of Italian restaurants. It’s pretty popular I think, and it took us two years to find it….. (This lane also has a shop selling one of the best macarons I’ve tried in Melbourne, but more on that in another post). Anyways, this plate of delightfulness I had in front of me was a date pudding. It was one of the best I’ve had And the portion was super generous I struggled a little to finish it.

And Michael ordered a slice of tiramisu, but again the portion was so big that it ended up looking like a small cake instead. The tiramisu was alright, not the best I’ve had but the size makes up for it I guess

This lane discovery was so awesome that we went back that night and tried a different restaurant for dinner. This was my seafood risotto. It was pretty goooood

Michael’s gnocchi- It was alright, but stuff like gnocchi and ravioli are not really my thing cus I feel like I’m just scooping spoonfuls of dough into my mouth.

I was, however, very satisfied with my seafood risotto.

Michael taking a second shot of me and my risotto, but I was already in attack mode. I was visualising the food in my mouth and didn’t want to be interrupted.

We waited half an hour for our desserts, only to be told that they had forgotten it. So we got this creme brulée for free. It was good but the prolonged waiting time impacted my judgment a little. It would’ve tasted better if it had arrived earlier.

Free homemade passion fruit and chocolate ice cream Not as good as the creme brulée but since it’s free, mehhh.

And we ended the night with watching fireworks on my balcony.

And thus the year ended.

I know we’re already 3 weeks into 2012, but I’d still like to send my new year blessings to you all (the few people who read my crap blog). May this be the best year you’ve had so far as the world is ending soon. *dum dum dum*

Hehe, no seriously, have a great year!

Thanks for reading

I am a professional baristaaaa.

First post in 2012 Happy new year everyone!

There are quite a few things that’s happened since December that I’d like to blog about, but I’m gonna try to write it in a somewhat chronological order so it’ll be separated into different posts

At the end of each year, it is natural to reflect upon your achievements and major events that have happened. The problem with me was that even by the third week of December, I still hadn’t really accomplished anything eventful… So I thought about learning a new skill, but what could I learn in just one week?

I suddenly remembered an advertisement on TV about a website providing spontaneous gift ideas- adrenaline.com.au. As its name suggests, the activities they offer are supposed to give people an adrenaline rush. They range from skydiving and car racing, to less hardcore stuff like chocolate making or coffee making.

I thought since I drink a cup of coffee almost everyday, it might be good to learn how to make them the proper way with professional machines and all that shiznit. I could even try to get a part time job at a coffee place and earn some extra pocket money.

So with my newfound ambitious spirit, I enthusiastically booked a one day course on the website. And a few days later, I ended up in this place.

There were quite a lot of people surprisingly, seeing as the class started at 10 AM and it was on a weekday. I guess they were just dedicated souls like me. Hehehe

That’s me posing before the class actually started.

I was the only clumsy one who splattered milk everywhere when I was frothing it.

Unlike Mr. Michael who did everything neatly and properly…

But after a few attempts, I finally got it right! It was pretty easy actually.

How to use commercial coffee machines in five simple steps:

1. Depending on the coffee you’re making, lock either the single or double lever under the coffee bean machine and pull the button (once for single and twice for double)

2. Put the lever in the middle part of the machine (like the picture above) and lock it in. Then press the button on top for hot water to go through.

3. Place the appropriate cup under the lever to receive coffee. Meanwhile, put half a jug of milk under the pipe that sticks out on the left, and pull that lever up. Remember to keep the pipe inside the milk so you won’t get it splattered everywhere like I did.

4. Check how much coffee has been leaked into the cup and turn off the hot water. Once the milk is frothed, you can pull up the lever and turn it off too.

5. Put the appropriate amount of milk/foam into your coffee.

Ta-da!

We were given a coffee menu and had to make all those coffees on it. I think I made each one at least 3 or 4 times.

My favourite mocha and latte

A better picture of the latte I made. God I’m so proud of myself *shameless* haha

And a babycino! It’s so cuteee it’s meant for little kids who want to feel more adult-like and drink coffee with their parents. It’s just milk froth and chocolate powder.

I got home and took a picture with my webcam to show off my barista certificate , only to realise later that my webcam produces a mirror image and my certificate became backwards….. *bimbo moment*

So I asked Michael to take a picture of me with his new iPhone. The photo quality is pretty good I reckon!

That’s it for now

Go forth and learn/do something new and exciting today.

Thanks for reading.