Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hello, Geelong!

Sunday afternoons in spring are some of the best times to go for a long drive and that's what we did! The sun was dancing on the blue water when we arrived at the coastal city of Geelong, an hour's drive west of MEL. I finally had a chance to become better acquainted with Victoria's second largest city after hearing many good things about it. Like most coastal cities, Geelong has a long esplanade and lots of waterfront development, such as these cute stick figures at Cunningham Pier :)

We found a very busy cafe called Sailor's Rest that served all day brunch and the usual fish & chip favourites. Here's my order of Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon on muffins :D

This was the reason for our trip - the OM Doulos! This 94 year old Christian missionary ship is also known as the "floating bookstore". The Doulos is staffed with 350 volunteers from 50 countries and has been sailing around the world on humanitarian projects. This is her final voyage downunder and possibly my third and last visit.... farewell!

It was soon time to head home after a most fulfilling afternoon.Till the next time, Geelong :)

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stormiii at 10:35 pm

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Sydney memories

Back in Sydney after 6 years and I was warmly welcomed by one of my favourite buildings, the Queen Victoria. And it still stood as regal as ever :) The warmer temperatures in June were a nice change from freezing MEL!

More grand dames on famous George Street.

Tears of joy flowed from my eyes when I chanced upon the newly opened Ding Tai Fung at Liverpool St :D Check out the innovative wall decor using bamboo steamer baskets!

I honestly haven't found another dumpling restaurant that can rival DTF in terms of their xiao long bao! DTF proudly states that every xiao long bao has 18 delicate folds and the portion size is just perfect for a mouthful of goodness :D

Mel and Wendy took me around their little suburb of Eastwood in Sydney's north the next day. It is starting to fill up with migrants and I found it rather interesting to see Chinese and Korean shops lined up on opposite sides of the train station! Here I am making a bold claim that "I'm not afraid of chilli"!!

That weekend was also Mel's 30th birthday and we celebrated with his family and close family friends at Spanish Tapas on 26 Glebe Point Road. I loved the ambience and the staff were also helpful with recommendations.

We found that it was cheaper to order from the menu instead of having the tapas banquet - imagine yummy seafood paella, garlic prawns, fried calamari... ;P

And then it was off to a certain secret location (for Mel at least) with his friends :) We joined the Pacific Highway heading north for a good 5 hours before arriving at the beautiful coastal city of Port Macquarie! It wasn't the best weather for outdoor water sports so we visited two wineries. Cassegrain, where most of us purchased a fruity dessert wine called Noble Cuvee.

Bago Vineyards, which involved some country driving and where there was a small jazz band playing that rainy Sunday afternoon.

Back at the beach house to prepare for the BBQ, we took a long walk along the coast. The winds were blowing crazily but it felt so invigorating to be out there, far from city life :)

Hundreds of colourful stones littering the beach like jewels.

After a fun night of food, games (Wii!) and more laughter, we packed up and headed home.

Brekkie on my last day in Sydney at a tiny cupcake shop/cafe along Liverpool St :)

A short visit to another well remembered haunt, Darling Harbour where there was a cute exhibition of French toy boats from the 50s, "bateaux jouets" at the Maritime Museum.

Mel and Wendy certainly made sure I was well fed - farewell lunch at a Japanese bento restaurant before it was off to the airport and back in ... yes, freezing MEL :D

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stormiii at 12:44 pm

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Mooncake fun!

Thanks to Margie who opened her home to host our gang's first ever mooncake party :) I must have been 10 when I last played with paper lanterns during the mid-autumn festival!

Preparation for the party - a variety of pretty paper lanterns, cheap grade lantern candles (now I know why lanterns burn after 10 min!) and sparklers!

I was amazed to find that shops here sold an impressive range of mooncakes from different countries. We enjoyed the Meixin brand of snowskin mooncakes with refreshing flavours e.g. lychee, strawberry, blueberry, tiramisu, etc. But of course the prices were higher than back home!

Childhood memories of fun with paper and cellophane lanterns!

And a wish for love and world peace to end our lovely party ;)


stormiii at 9:13 pm

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Saturday, September 06, 2008

Liar Liar!

Liar Liar (90 Kinkora Rd, Hawthorn) is another refreshing take on MEL's brunch scene :) Located off bustling Glenferrie Rd, it is a small cafe that boasts a former barista champion from WA. A perfect way to spend a barmy spring afternoon!

There were a few other menu options apart from the usual eggs and bacon. I had a lovely serving of Smoked salmon in scrambled eggs and some high fibre toasts :)

And finished off with an absolutely scrumptious lemon slice and... a specialty filter coffee called "Clover". Served in a brandy glass and meant to be have a weaker texture similar to tea! Something different for me but I'm sure true coffee aficionados would not approve :P

stormiii at 4:56 pm

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