Van's Wonderland

2011-05-27T22:41:00.007+10:00

Japan Part 2

I am running out of ideas on this post....

Will write short notes on these pictures....

Breathtaking views to enjoy while we skied away.....

It was soooooo cold up on the slopes...

Happy New Year!!!

People were at the temple making wishes to their Japanese god.....

Getting their car 'blessed' by this scary looking man in a green robe.

I hope he was blessing it....not performing an exorcism :P

Washing their hands outside the temple before going into the temple

In Otaru... where its famous for glassware and musical boxes.

This has sooooooo many musical boxes. I regret now not buying one.

I would have bought this one... 2 dahschunds playing the violin and the flute

* Back to Hokkaido again???? Yes pleaseeeeeeeeeeee

Yupe..... i got sucked into buying a Burberry Blue Label scarf.

I bought it only because its exclusive to Japan... :p

2011-03-13T13:02:00.012+11:00

Remembering Japan (Part 1)

Its been a little over a year ago when the hubby and I visited Hokkaido, Japan. Sapporo and the other towns we visited were blanketed in fresh snow. Only a few days ago there was this heartbreaking earthquake/tsunami at Sendai (north east of Japan?). Its more of a mountain/agricultural area..and the damage is devastating. We didn't go there but the news of it certainly made me sad. I can't bear to watch anymore of the news on television....

Anyhow, lets go back to the happier side of this post. Now where was I? Oh ya...there was a lot a lot a lot of snow when were there in January. It was actually new years when we were there.

We experienced all forms of snow:

1) Light, soft and fluffy snow...gently falling on your face.

2) Heavy, piercing..OMG get me outta here snow

We went skiing...and I must say its the best snow! Soft powdery snow... We skied on snow that were fresh...and no one has skied before us. Falling over (which did not happen too frequently :P) was comfortable :P because it was like falling on fluffy cushions. The scenery was very picturesque. Too bad the ski trip was a little too short. We were on a tour from HK and no one wanted to ski except us. So we had only the morning to ski, and by noon....we had to do compulsory 'shopping'/'sight-seeing' stuff.

Me and my snow angel. Bringme back to the snow!

We went to some mini bear zoo. This is the part I do not agree...they kept bears and raccoons in some enclosed area out in the open in the middle of winter. Tourists like us will then buy apples or whatever to feed them. I thought bears we supposed to be hibernating in winter? These poor animals were doing tricks to make us feed them. I have to say I fell in love with a few..ehhee... because he/she was too cute. Check out the photos below. Which one is the cutest?

Of course we ate and ate. How can one go to Japan and not stuff their face with their cuisine? Boy did we eat. Seafood is abundant in Hokkaido. There must be some form of growth hormone in the sea of Hokkaido. The size of the prawns, crabs, scallops, abalone are like XXL compared to the ones we find back in Australia, Malaysia and HK.

One thing I didn't enjoy was the way it was cooked (or lack of..). We were adviced to eat them all raw...... I can eat raw stuff but not everything...every meal. Not in the middle of winter when it is 1 degree outside. Sometimes there is a shabu-shabu style meal but still...where is my stir-fry crab with XO sauce served on a bed of noodles? I have Chinese blood flowing in me....so I love my stir-fry :P Yeah too much raw stuff on this trip. I gave up on raw stuff one lunch and ordered a Tonkatsu Bento. MmmMMm crispy deep fried pork.

We did eat some non-raw stuff too.. We had some ramen.

My ramen chef cooking away...and my lovely buttery Hokkaido ramen..mmMMmm.

Dinner is complete with Sapporo beer on tap ^^

Of course the Japanese McDonald. Joe's mum told us we had to eat their prawn burger. Hmm nothing special..... Maybe it had to do with us trying to gobble it down quickly while we were there because our eyes and noses were burningfrom the cigarette smoke. Smoking is allowed indoors in Japan.All these ladies were puffing away in McD. EWWwww......

I didn't get to do any clothes shopping in Hokkaido :( The one thing I did get though was a Blue Label Burberry scarf. Since Blue Label is exclusive to Japan, I had to get one :) The tour didn't allow us much time to do retail shopping.

Oh yea, I did buy another thing...I bought a Le Creuset Round 24cm (Wasabi Colour). The tour guide was SHOCKED that we were going to lug a pot home. He said he's never ever seen someone buy that :) What can I say? I'm special. Also, the Wasabi range is only available in Japan. Good purchase! (oh it was on sale too). I love cooking with it........ So pretty :)

2011-03-09T21:34:00.000+11:00

Next Post: Japan Trip 2010 !

This one is a special request by Audrey :)

* I need to find the photos :P

2011-03-09T21:18:00.003+11:00

Embarrassing Moments

(image by Garance Dore)

This happened in 2010 April/May when I was shopping in HK with the husband and the mother-in-law. We were hunting for a bag for Joe's aunt who resides in Malaysia. So we were browsing in Salvatore Ferragamo @ TST. When suddenly a beautiful bag caught my eye sitting there on the side table next to the shoes. I quickly walked over....picked it up and admired it and thought:

"Gee... this display bag is kinda heavy. Its so beautiful. Since when did Ferragamo make a Hermes Birkin bag look-a-like?"

Sales lady: "Excuse Miss, this bag belongs to the lady trying on her shoes over there"

-______________________- """"""""

ZOMG...I was so red faced...... And yes my husband saw me doing the crazy deed. I had to dash quickly back to the bag section...and pretended that never happened. Thank goodness the onwer of the bag did not see me.......

Thats why I put up a picture drawn by Garance Dore of a lady carrying a Birkin.

2011-03-09T14:52:00.005+11:00

Welcoming 2011...the year of the Rabbit

We didnt spend the lunar new year in Malaysia or in Hong Kong due to work commitments. So we had to celebrate it in Australia with our buddies. I've never really cooked a CNY meal so this year, it was my attempt No.1. Its not a very traditional FooChow CNY meal but it still feeds 4 people :P

1) Roast duck (this was a take-away dish)

2) Steamed osyters with XO sauce..mmMm

3) Steamed Snapper with lots of garlic and scallions

4) Stewed Abalone (everyone liked it except me)

5) Crispy Pork Belly

6) Braised mushrooms with scallops

7) Spinach with Goji berries in Superior sauce

8) Red bean soup with mochi (sesame paste fillings)

It was a coincidence that we had 8 dishes. I just realised it while doing this post! Does that mean we'll be '8' for the rest of the year? :P

2011-03-08T14:25:00.000+11:00

Trying to Grow again..

Introducing my mini garden ...

1) The hardy herbs (Mrs Rosemary, Mrs Thyme and Mr Spring Onion)

If they die.... I will never attempt to plant again....

2) Japanese roses / a.k.a 9 a.m flowers (according to my grandparents)

They look a lot better now (this was taken 3 wks ago)

3) ???? They just looked cute so I got them from Bunnings :P

4) The bravest thing I've ever planted... Baby Snow Peas!

They are about 30 cm now and have started flowering ^^

2011-03-07T15:37:00.002+11:00

Joining the Work Force..

(Barbie Dentist 1997 image from google-images)

Van has finally started working in 2011. But some (i.e the husband) will argue that working 3 days a week is slack). Hahaa...yea it is a bit slack but working 4 days a week in the place I;m working is considered full time already. They didn't have enough rooms to give me 4 days. So I'm not arguing :) Work is good so far....and everyone is nice. The boss is willing to give guidance anytime and that is a bonus.

I bought a similar barbie gift for my dear friend. I'm glad she absolutely adores it. Phew!!! Otherwise she'd think I've gone cuckoo in the head for buying her a toy as a birthday pressie. I wonder is it in her surgery or at home? I would put mine in the surgery...but I guess kids might smother it will they germs......

Talking about barbie dolls, I've only had ONE barbie during my entire childhood. She had long wavy blonde hair but over the years it straightened out and turned a bit brassy. And of course I gave her a haircut! I gave her a BOB..and why didn't it grow back???

2011-01-27T23:31:00.008+11:00

Ooh La La...My Bison Pot & Carrots...

The last photo was edited to give an antique/rustic feel.... do you like it?

The main reason for this post was to show the ginseng like carrots the hubbie took home from work. A nurse at the clinic had a huge harvest last week so she was giving them away.... They look too cute to be eaten.... Maybe I should replant them? Will they grow more baby carrots? Haha I doubt it......

Most of my friends would know that I can't grow anything. I can even kill cactus. And up til today I still have the dried cactus sitting on my kitchen bench....I don't want to believe that I killed it....so I'm just gonna pretend that the cactus/cacti are still alive :)

FYI: All my herbs die too (even rosemary)

The only things that thrive in our garden are the things planted by our gardener i.e everything. Anything else we put in..... it goes to vegie heaven....

Hmmm actually we do have one thing that survived. Our Olive tree....but I think it only survived because my gardener transplanted it into the ground...otherwise I think it would have been short lived too....

Lesson learnt so far....is to get the gardener to plant it and look after it. No potted plants in the house unless its plastic... :P

2010-12-27T22:53:00.000+11:00

Christmas 2010 DIY

Do you like my rustic Christmas wreath? Its made of intertwined rattan, and decorated with red/green/yellow wooden buttons. Oh I don't think you'd believe I actually made it... :P The wreath came 'naked' and I sewed the buttons onto it..and tied the massive green ribbon. Ta daaa... easy easy. The houses on my street tend to not decorate (exterior) during Christmas. They would only put a wreath..and I think its really nice that way. Too much Christmas lights are kinda Over The Top unless you're entering the Christmas Lights competition which happens yearly and the residents of Oakleigh/Heidelberg go crazy with the lights. You can probably see their houses from the moon :P

I did take a few other photos of our Christmas tree and our trustworthy mascot Muffin in his costume but its on the other camera and I havent loaded it yet. Will update this post once I get it done....

2010-12-20T22:32:00.000+11:00

I GRADUATED !!!! Now I have the License to Drill

On the 4th Dec 2010, I finally graduated after 5 long years. My friends came to congratulate me and showered me with sooooo many flowers. I love love flowers...

Thank you x 999 (You braved the crazy summer heat)...

When I got home, I had to dismantle most of the bouquets and put the flowers into every single vase, bottle I could find (e.g milk bottles, glasses, etc). My house turned into a floral shop and there was pollen everywhere... I had to load up on the antihistamines :)

I will officially start drilling on Monday 31/1/11...and I wonder how long I'll stay in the Australian work force before making the move to another land (to be revealed slowly)... Wish me luck! Hopefully no screamers on my Day 1 (fingers crossed).

2010-10-13T23:51:00.007+11:00

Illustration by Garance Dore

Totally ignored this blog for so long......

But I'll return to it in 1 months time.........

Wish me luck...

Its the final dash to the finish line......

Then i'll be freeeeeeeeeee......

Whats on my to do list when I finish? Hmm....

1) Hair cut

- Hair is so disgustingly long/thick/unmanageable MOP now

2) Dress shopping

3) Shoe shopping

4) Clean my bat cave (a.k.a. combat/study zone)

5) Do nothing...and just sit there and enjoy nothingness....bliss

6) Get a job if I haven't got one by then..AHHH STRESS AGAIN

7) Prepare for a holiday in Sept/Oct 2011

P/S Do you like Garance's illustrations? I heart them...

If only i had legs like that...

2010-04-08T09:14:00.019+10:00

Vietnam & Cambodia (June 2009)

Winter break last year was spent with the hubbie and in-laws in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was a 14 day trip...and boy did I have FUN FUN FUN. This post will be primarily on Vietnam and Cambodia.

First impression of Ho Chi Minh city.... MAD TRAFFIC x 1000

For the first time in my life I witness more motorbikes than cars on the road.

They drive madly..have no sense of traffic rules...and trust me, when motorbike riders get knocked down (which is all the time) they just get up and continue their journey like nothing happened! AHHH!!

Tiger Cage Cell

Vietnam had a sad war history.... we went to the War Remnants Musuem which was quite a harrowing experience. It had depictions of the atrocities carried out by the US troops and the effects it had on the vietnamese people.

Plastered all over the walls were pictures showing torn corpses, severed heads and the most disturbing were the pictures of kids that had been born with defects as a result of the US use of chemicals (Agent Orange, Napalm etc etc).

Now lets move on to something more positive...Mystical Ha Noi

This place reminds me of GuiLin, China. I have never been there but it definitely looks like it from all the photos my parents took when they were there...and all those travel shows. But apparently GuiLin does not have so many mountains and is not as wide.... The sea water at Ha Noi is eerily green.....

(image from googleimages.com)

I did not take a dip in the sea (unlike the hubbie). I'm scared of the great ocean..and yes JAWS. Too many movies...Jaws I, II, III

The Ben Thanh Market! This famous Saigon landmark has been present since the French occupation. They sell all sorts of things from food to counterfeit items. The most annoying thing about shopping in Vietnam is 'Getting Ripped Off'. Some old lady tried to sell me an orange for 1USD after realising that I wasn't local. So she thinks I can't do mental arithmetics huh?? I can convert Dong to USD!!!

My trip would be INCOMPLETE if I didn't taste a bowl of true Pho, Saigon style. So what's the verdict? Its not as salty, less MSG than those in Melbourne...and I like it that they use lime instead of lemon. But the rare beef slices are definitely not as tender. I mostly had the Chicken/Gai Pho. So I'd say Saigon Pho = Melb Pho. BUT one thing I know for sure.... Melbourne Pho is CLEANER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so unFortunate to have gastro problems after eating Pho and their Iced Coffee on the second last day of our trip. I think they left the milk out too long on the counter before serving it to patrons. I felt sick...was spewing, and made numerous toilet bowl visits.... The in-laws thought I was pregnant!!! Sorry I am not.

The Three Ballerinas

The best thing we bought in Vietnam was this painting by local artist Binh Nguyen.

CAMBODIA!!!!

I'm gonna be biased and say I prefer traveling in Cambodia. The people are genuinely nicer, and are not trying to rip you off at every opportunity. The 'tuk-tuk'/moped drivers would recommend restaurants that serve true Khmer food without the tourist prices (compared to those printed on hotel brochures). And even came back to pick us up after dinner! I guess he knew we'd tip him....and we did it gladly.

Even though Cambodia went through hell under Pol-Pot's regime, I'd say the people have moved on and this was reflected on the paintings the locals produce. Most of them have smiling faces...kids running around... We bought one called Happy Cambodia! It is now sitting in my living room....will take a pic of it soon.

Our planned trip to Cambodia was only to visit Siam Reap and its mighty Angkor. The travel agent who booked our tickets accidently booked Phnom Phenh instead of Siam Reap. Our hotels were booked for Siam Reap!!! We checked in at the airport...was waiting to board the plane when I gazed unto my boarding pass 'Saigon' to 'Phnom Phenh'.

- I asked, "Hey are we going to Phnom Phenh or Siam Reap?" (I am usually the blur one).

- The hubbie replied,"Siam Reap...Angkor Wat is in Siam Reap".

-I replied," but the boarding pass says Phnom Phenh!!!!"

- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Frantic calls were made immediately....and we had to fly to Phnom Phenh and it was an eye opening experience. A mistake I'm glad the travel agent made.....

We didn't have enough time to visit the infamous killing fields. They say that bones and clothing jut from the grounds.....

But we managed to go to prison, S-21 (Tu0l Sleng Genoicide Museum). This is where Pol Pot housed victims before they were sent to the killing fields. This was a rather reflectful trip. Every single person that went into this prison was documented on photos. Pictures were taken upon entry and when they're dead. These pictures were plastered all over the place. I did not take much photos because I felt they needed respect...and also I had goosebumps throughout my time there.

The prison cells were erected in an old school building. Rooms were subdivided into little cells for 'upper class' prisoners and 'lower class' prisoners had their legs shackled onto the ground. They (50 at a time) were made to lie on the ground, side by side shackled up. It was painful to just see the empty shackles on the floor.....

They used Physical Ed bars as torture places, and all sorts of unimaginable tools. Prisoners were banned from talking, and even banned them from crying or making any sound when tortured....... it was so inhumane....

The guy in-charge of that the Khmer Rouge prison back then was Comrade Duch. He was charged for crimes against humanity.... and he pleaded guilty in 2009. He pleaded to be released!!!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

Ok enough war stuff.... Please visit Cambodia if you have the chance....

Beautiful...breathtaking...majestic..... 12th Century Temple Angkor Wat at dawn.

Tourists (including us) wake up at 5am to get here to capture this shot.

A reflected image of Angkor Wat on the pond...

Inside, the walls are carved to perfection with the dancing 'Apsara'. These are supposedly beautiful, supernatural, elegant woman. Each Apsara is different... Many walls/carvings were destroyed during Pol Pot's regime because they used Angkor Wat as a fortress

When we were temple hopping, we realised that animals loved the temples too.....

Some other temple had carvings of Chinese troops battling the Cambodians! Woo Hoo!!

Ta Phrom Temple

Made even more famous after Lara Croft's Tomb Raider was shot here. Go Angelina Jolie!

This blog post is sooooo long.... You might get sick of it...so I'm gonna stop here.

Hugx

Van

2009-12-14T11:40:00.005+11:00

All Things Pretty & Weird

When was the last time milk arrived in glass bottles?

I usually don't purchase organic things because of the hefty price but this one I could not resist because it was too cute...and I'm a sucker for pretty packaging so I had to buy it. The milk tasted like milk, a bit watery but then all skim milk are not creamy (Except for Zymil). This bottle is now serving as a water container ^^ So nothing is put to waste.

We were over the moon 1.5 months ago to discover a nest with 2 eggs in our backyard. I would go visit the mama bird daily...watch her while she nests her eggs and coo away. Daddy bird was also present but he perches away on a tree nearby.... I managed to take a picture of the two birds (pigeons...i think) up on our chimney roof. You'd have to look closely for the second bird.

But.....tragedy occured.....Evil possums came at night and ATE the eggs.... I HATE POSSUMS

Pretty cherry blossom trees

Taken while we were on our way to Falls Creek for a ski getaway weekend.

It was the end of winter... but there was still some snow

Whilst we are on the theme of pretty flowers..

Chrysanthenum flowers in a teapot....floating away...like little fairies

(occasionally u'll find little black insects)....eeww

And now for the UGLY post...

Guess what this is?

Its an EGG VOLCANO!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-12T12:09:00.002+11:00

Pre-Christmas Party @ Home

No Christmas is complete in this household if we do not take silly Muffin pics.

Muffin is such a poser...so it seriously was an easy task.

We had a Pre-christmas dinner at home with a couple of good friends...and guess what we whipped up?

Steamed Scallops in XO sauce....very chinese style

Followed by the palate cleanser of the night...chilled summer soup

(Movida-style)

Christmas Salad

Asparagus, cherry tomatoes, bocconcini cheese with the most interesting dressing but it was lovely (yellow beans, spanish onion, cabernet vinegar, ginger stem in syrup)

Beef wellington wrapped in Parma Ham, mushrooms and puff pastry

Crumbed baby carrots served with home made garlic aioli....

Finished with Greek Yoghurt filled with berries and glazed with homemade toffee...crunch crunch

2009-09-30T21:41:00.003+10:00

Studying has turned Van into....

Someone with a BIG nose, short teeth, wide-eyed alien

Oh wait, there's more..... Now she has Blubber lips...

And turned into a cutesy, nerdy, 4-eyed asian.....

I'm camwhoring...(think the Codral is making me go cuckoo in the head)

2009-09-23T17:32:00.003+10:00

Spring Time

Its my 3rd day into mid-term break...but its only my 1st day of a 'real' break.

Finally I get to sleep in but that is only til 8.50... the phone rang...

Oh well, I needed to wake up and do some household chores + STUDY... (how terrible)

Studying is boring...but tea-break time is LOVELY!

Checkout the chocolate cupcake (from Melb central) and my de-caf latte...mmMMmm ...

I haven't been blogging for some time...and its not because I was too sad due to Jacko's death. There just hasn't been anything too interesting. I haven't been cooking much....my mum was visiting from Malaysia so she did all the yummy cooking. I'm sorry I forgot to take photos of her cooking...but I miss being pampered by her. I'd come home and there was lunch/dinner and even breakfast at 7.15 am. Mums are lovely....

2009-06-29T20:22:00.003+10:00

Gone Too Soon

~by Michael Jackson

(This song sums up MJ's life....)

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

2009-06-26T23:41:00.002+10:00

A sad day....

Michael Joseph Jackson

The King of Pop

1958-2009

Will do a proper blogpost on my music idol soon

Rest in Peace Michael.

2009-05-18T21:54:00.002+10:00

The Cold Nights

The past few weeks have been wayyyy too cold for me.

Thank goodness for the clever inventions of:

i) Electric blankets/fitted sheets

ii) Mini-heaters

iii) Knitted wool socks

I don't know how I'd live without these few objects through winter......

Don't you think my woolie socks look warm? mmMMmm. It keeps my toes warm at night after i've switched off the heated sheets..... and they never fall off in the middle of the night...

2009-04-22T23:09:00.005+10:00

Breakfast - with New Gadget

Ever since I laid my eyes on this UFO looking egg poacher/cooker I knew I had to get it. It was just the cutest thing ever!

It had legs, wings, a tail, and it tweets when the eggs are done.

It came with 2 free egg cups too! Bonus!

Eating soft boiled eggs brought back lots of childhood memories. Most of you would know that I hate eating egg yolks (especially runny ones). I never order poached eggs, always scrambled. Mum used to have to force me to finish my soft boiled eggs...and I'd do it by adding lashings of soya sauce to it...so that I could only taste the soya sauce..and not the eggy suphur smell.

Things haven't changed after 20 ++ years. I'm still adding soya sauce.... love it to bits. I'm so Asian... At least I am eating egg yolks.... I'm only eating it because of the goodness of eggs...

2009-04-15T23:54:00.005+10:00

New Kitchen - New Gadget

Joe moved into his new accommodation roughly 2 months ago. It seriously needed kitchen appliances to make it a home...

We took advantage of Myer's Mid-season Sale on the weekend to get him a coffee machine. Nespresso was doing a 15% discount plus $50 cashback. Thats pretty good. Also, there was a new range of Delonghi machines called the Citiz range...and its supposed to be shaped like skycrapers...long and skinny.. unlike my machine 'Le Cube' which is cube-y in shape...

We also got a fridge/freezer unit from the country town's Retravision....which got delivered the next day! These country people are very efficient! Delivery and installation was free too!

Now my hubbie's kitchen is complete.

Actually, he needs a wok or sautepan too....That'll be my next shopping trip then.. I'm thinking some Le Creuset pots..hmmmm....haha...NAH!!

2009-04-12T23:13:00.000+10:00

Happy Easter!

(Can't let the rabbit getaway during Easter even though I don't know why the rabbit plays a role on this day. We should be remembering the true reason behind Easter, the celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection and a new life for all sinners)

Been indulging in wayyyyyy too much chocolates..

I'm loving these chocolates nowadays:

- E-Royce's Chocolate Amande (especially the dark choc coated)

- Valrhona 70% Grand Cru (thx u Yi for the luxurious chocs!)

Eggs are used on Easter as a symbol of new life...and I was given free eggs from my butcher! Yayness to the max! It was no ordinary egg...it was Kangaroo Island Free Range Eggs. They cost $6.20 doz. I usually either buy these or the South Gippsland Free Range Eggs. I know there's always the debate on whether to buy Free Range or not.... Cost is a big issue...and also the animal cruelty part... but these Kangaroo Island eggs are HUGE, their shells are a paler shade...and their yolk are really orangey!

The butcher cut off half the carton cos he gave me 1/2 a doz eggs

Check out these eggs!!! Can you spot which is the odd egg (none Kangaroo Island)

To finish off, this came in the mail the other day from Yi....

My Easter package! Filled with gourmet chocolates (Valhrona and Simon & Johnson)

- the lego dog is so cute....

- pity the wrapping paper tore (bad postman)

Happy Easter everyone....

2009-04-05T22:55:00.001+10:00

Melbourne International

Flower & Garden Show

It was a rainy day and three girls ventured to the Carlton gardens..

We walked about looking at displays..

Laughing and giggling at silly things..

Got 3 pots of free flowers from the Mitre 10 man..

They are currently living in my kitchen sink..

Will get them a potted home soon..

Had to satisfy my corn craving..

I knew I had to get them after bypassing 2 stalls

Even though it was $4 each!!!

2009-04-02T17:11:00.005+11:00

Where in Melbourne can one get such a view?

It is none other than our Eureka tower!

I was up there (Skydeck) on the 14th March partaking in the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival event called "The Last of the Summer Wines and a basket full of Stone Fruits" at the Eureka 89 restaurant. It was a belated birthday /Joe finishing his GP exam dinner.

We didn't do the touristy thing of going into the viewing block that zooms in and out....because we were actually on the upper level.... but the lift ride up to the 88th or 89th floor was SCARILY fast..... The lift actually required several attempts to close its door and bring us up due to the strong wind draft!!!

Its been a while since i last made an entry of foodie things.

So Feast up! (I'll try my best to remember what they were)

Roaming appetizers - Can't remember

There was a Quail Starter dish - but i think we forgot to take a picture (or i misplaced it)

Fish = Hapuka with apricots, tapioca pearls (smaller than those from Lucky Cup!) with some pansy which I ate also. It was so-so.....

Pork - Joe said "My wife can do a better pork than this"

It was some slow cooked pork with nectarine....but it was pretty dry. I think if some old guy with saliva deficiency ate it, he might have choked and died on Eureka tower! It'll make frontpage of The Age newspaper.

Dessert - probably the best dish of the night

Its peach with crumbled biscuity thing..served with cream???

Maybe because the chef had to prepare 80 - 90 serves of the same food that night, that they couldn't control the quality of the food....

It wasn't a truly nice dinner.... the view was good though!

I probably wouldn't go there again....

So my review for Eureka 89 = So So only....

2009-03-11T21:27:00.008+11:00

Another Year Older, another year wiser?

(cake from my dental buddies from Brunneti's)

Turned 28!! What more can I say? Time is cruel...but it hasn't been that bad towards me. Changes I've noticed since I'm no longer 21 (i.e getting OLD) include:

1) Lower metabolic rate

(i.e get chubby faster)

2) Need to sleep earlier

(battery runs out after midnight)

3) Liking the colour red

(i use to complain to mum why she likes red so much...think when u get older, the cells in your brain

tells you to pick RED stuff) Hence the recent purchase of the red chicken, the red laptop case,

red pencil case, hmm i should stop here)

4) Enjoying going for walks with the dog after dinner

(ease digestion)

5) Going to the butcher on weekends

(and becoming friends with the guy that sells me meat)

6) Nagging the husband about leaving his socks everywhere except in the laundry basket

7) Remembering the price of fruits at different supermarkets

8) Loving to have fresh flowers at home

9) Getting excited about Kitchen gadgets

10) I shall stop here...

So what did Van do on her birthday?

- went up to Colac on Friday (day before before) to visit the hubby (bringing some Koko Black chocolates for him, but i ate 50% of the chocs while waiting for him in the library). I can't believe I ate in the library. Such a rebel! All those years being the school librarian and eventually the Head Librarian in primary school has taught me nothing... I guess all i wanted was just to wear that Gold badge. Can't believe I thought it was COOL to be a librarian then.... Now that I think back, its so geeky, nerdy... and so me :)

- drove back to Melbourne on birthday and spent the night at cousin David's engagement dinner. We didn't do anything because the hubby is busy preparing for his GP exams.

- Sunday, the day after my birthday. The hubby said he'll take me to my favourite breakfast place (Porgies and Mr Jones).

I said, "OK, but I bought Ricotta and was going to make us some ricotta hotcakes. Lets just eat home, don't need to waste money laaa"

Hubby replied, "Its your birthday!!! I'll take you there."

I answered, "I'll get changed then"

My phone rang 10 mins later, and it was from a friend in Sydney and below are our conversation. (Stef, Joe, Me)

"Hey Missy, happy belated birthday. R u there yet?"

"What do you mean am I there yet? I'm at home la. Where am I supposed to be?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at Porgies?"

"How did you know?" .... "OHHHHHHHHH"

"OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....... I thought you'd be there by now"

"JOEEEEEEEEEEE, i think you might want to speak to Stef"

"STEFFFFFFFFFFF!!!! Ok, now I can tell her to hurry up since its no longer a surprise"

"Fai Di La.... people are waiting!"

"Thank you lou gungggg... I Heart You"

Surprise Numbah 2 came yesterday, three days after my birthday.

- my uni buddies Hannah and Chrystella made a pact to go watch Slumdog Millionaire at the Moonlight Cinemas @ The Botanical

- Hannah mentioned during lunch

" Lets catch dinner before watching Slumdog, ok?"

" Ok, I feel like having Pho"

" Hmm Lets have pizza at this place on Faraday St called D.O.C, Chrystella said its pretty good"

" Ok, whatever"

When we got there,

"How did Lincoln know we're here for dinner? And even Noor is here!!"

"I booked a table for 8 people"

"Hannah, you booked a table???"

"Its your Birthday Dinner!!!!"

I heart you all!!!!

Thank you everyone for giving me such a fantastic birthday!

And there are my lovely lovely lovely presents. Think I'm spoilt now.....

Hanna's Homemade Rumballs (without any rum)

The beautifully wrapped present form Yi (weighed a few kilos!!) and contained a library of cookbooks

Sweet smelling Lychee flower body butter from Louise

Romantic vintage roses and an inspirational book from Stef.

(Stef, if you're reading this, You being in Melbourne was the surprise)

(Stef, Enjoy Italy, send us a postcard ok?)

Fragrant Eucalypt serving board from the Khoos

(You didn't forget that we wanted one after we saw yours!)

So what did the hubby get me?

He got me my MacBook Air Yay!!!!! It was a combined Valentine's and Birthday pressie. I am such a spoilt wifey.... Who doesn't like being spoilt by your loved one? I don't mind at all..... :)

2009-03-09T16:44:00.007+11:00

Hyacinths & Chicken

These are the two things that I absolutely adore

Hmm besides the other million things that seem to reduce my bank balance

Few things about me:

1) I love eating chicken

2) I don't like eating lamb stuff

3) I'm scared of porky smell (thats why always buy female pork)

4) Beef...must be cooked til its BURNT...no blood please.

5) Love flowers...except smelly ones (i.e very few...maybe only stargazers)

6) Love flowers (did i already mention it?)

I stumbled across this beautiful/dangerous shop in Auburn 2 weeks ago. I call it a BLACK shop because once you step into the shop, your nose is filled with the most enchanting smell of lavender, bergomet, camomile, etc etc..and I'm certain a spell was cast on me because money flew out of my purse not long after..... but I was a happy....even though i was a few bucks poorer.

The shop is called Handmade @ 134 Auburn Road, Auburn. Will remember to post pictures of any items I purchase from there.

This Chicken thing I bought from there is actually a door stopper. Its made from some suede-flannel like material, and its filled with lavender, camomile and all things nice. I can't bear it sitting on the floor (just in case my dog decides he wants to pee on it) so I've placed it on our chinese round dining table with my Hyacinths. Note the teapot doubling as a vase! The chicken comes in a smaller size, and different colours...for the pantry...to ward off any moths or pesty insects.

Oh and lunch/dinner this week was Grilled Cha-su with cold Soba noodles + miso soup. I made enough to last me two dinners and two lunches. I was pretty sick of it after that.......

Sorry about taking so many pics starring the Chicken

Will upload my birthday post soon!!

2009-02-19T23:46:00.006+11:00

Feeling Bamboo-ie

A few weeks ago....right after returning from our trip overseas, I was craving for home cooked food hence I decided to cook something homey....

I whipped out the Bamboo steamer that I bought last year but never really used (except for steaming Paos)....and went out to buy some ingredients to cook a scrumptious meal for the hubby and I.

Lo and behold I present to you........

Steamed Blue Eye with Black Beans...

(Before Steaming)

I know its very Chinese...but I AM of CHINESE background..

Fermented Black Beans were used.....not the pre-prepared black bean sauce things you buy from the supermarket....so I wasn't cheating..... and I had spring onions lying underneath the fish too......

Anyone interested in getting the recipe? HHaha

2009-02-16T22:07:00.009+11:00

Valentine's @ the Khoo's

I look like a horse in this pic... and a bit red from the wine

Celebrating the 'Day of Love' won't be complete without some mischief from Muffin

Muffin's nose on the bottom right corner

Then I decided to let him pose with the Heart Shaped Icing

In 2 seconds, he launches an attack

The food we had were catered by Porgie's and Mr Jones @ Auburn Rd

- French Baguettes

- Brownies, raspberry tarts, portugese tarts, scones, muffins

- Fritatas

- Osyters - not from Porgies - Joe had a craving so we ran down to get some from South Melb Market

And flowers for our lovely hostess....my buddy...adriana...

2009-02-15T21:53:00.000+11:00

Van's BACK

Its been a few weeks since my previous post.

The reasons:

- Holidaying in Hong Kong & Malaysia

- Computer at home is still DEAD

But now.....I've got a new laptop and I'm back in business! YIPEEEEE!!! Thank you Hubbie for such a lovely present! Lap u long time ^^

Things I've been up to lately:

1) Back to Uni since the 2nd Feb - lots and lots of lab work

This is a Lamb's tongue! We had to make cuts on it and then suture it!!! Yummy.......

It actually smells a bit :)

2) Reading - THE READER -

A Nazi book (sort of) with Kate Winslet starring in the movie. A bit boring....won't recommend it....unless u like the story of a middle-aged woman seducing a 15 y.o boy and then dissapears and reappears 10 years later to find out that she is actually a Nazi officer....etc etc etc... B.O.R.I.N.G..

As you can see...I read this book on my bed to put me to sleep... and it works. If you suffer from insomnia, I'll gladly pass u this book.

2009-01-15T16:05:00.003+11:00

I did it for you, girls:

Barack Obama pens letter to his daughters
January 15, 2009 - 1:46PM (www.theage.com.au)

Grateful every day: the Obamas on election day.

Barack Obama has written a letter to his daughters, explaining how he has missed them during his campaign for the White House, why he wanted to be president and what he wants to achieve.

He was asked to write the letter by US magazine Parade. This is what he wrote:

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me - about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

2009-01-15T11:40:00.002+11:00

.C.H.A.N.G.E.

I decided to change the Blog's template...to a little browner...a little more like me...tan tan tan.

Most of my friends would know I do not know how to work a computer and am constantly amazed at how people can create their own blog templates!!!

SOMEBODY TEACH ME PLEASE!

Before I turn into a Template-Changing-Pro, I'll just stick with what blogspot.com has to offer (not much)

2009-01-13T12:00:00.003+11:00

My current craze....Go Team Edward!!!!!

(image from google images)

How much hairspray did he use? I lurrve his hair! Gravity defying!

No. of trips to bookstores to look for the 4th book Breaking Dawn:

Camberwell - Dymocks - 4 times

- Angus & Robertson - 3 times

- Borders - 4 times

- Targey (Target) - 2 times

Westfield Doncaster - Borders - 3 times

- Myers - 3 times

- David Jones - 3 times

- Big W - 1 time

Chadstone - Borders - 2 times

- Myers - 2 times

- David Jones - 2 times

Colac - Newsagency - 2 times

- Targey (Target) - 2 times

BUT FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Alex and Adriana got the book for me!!!!!!!!!! OMG I can't wait for it to reach my hands this weekend.. It'll be my inflight reading....

Hope I won't suffer from Withdrawal sydnrome like Alex...hehehee

The books are really good but the movie kinda sucks...except the eye-candy part which i enjoyed. And for those who know the stories well.... I'm on team Edward!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-13T10:46:00.005+11:00

My version of mr Wolf's Pizza no.9

(thanks to Karen Martini's cook book

Where the heart is)

A christmas gift from my buddy Yi who is currently tracing her roots in the Foochow provence..... good luck with the toilets!

Pizza dough recipe

400 g plain flour (preferably unbleached)

100 g fine semolina

2 tsp table salt

1.5 cups (375 ml) warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp (7 g) dried yeast

Combine flour, semolina and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook attached.

Mix water, oil and yeast in a small bowl and stir to dissolve yeast.

Pour water mixture into flour and mix on low speed until combined, then mix on high speed for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic, but quite wet and sticky.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic film and rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Divide into four portions.

The dough can be used at once or stored, covered in the fridge overnight.

MAKES 4 PIZZA BASES

If preparing dough for the next day, use cold water in the dough and prove it in the fridge overnight

If you don't have a dough hook, combine basic dough ingredients and gather mixture into a ball. On a smooth surface lightly dusted with flour, knead for 15 minutes or until dough is smooth, elastic and sticky.

Pizza no. 9 Recipe

A simple one, with fresh ingredients that are a perfect marriage made in pizza heaven.

olive oil and fine semolina to coat pizza tray/pan

1 portion basic pizza dough

1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil

150 g buffalo mozzarella, sliced

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lemon juiced

80 g rocket leaves

6 slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 250 degrees celcius

Light brush a large pizza tray with oil and dust with semolina

Roll pizza dough out on a lightly floured surface and transfer to the pizza tray

Drizzle pizza base with half the oil and top with cheeses.

Season with pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes until dough is golden and cheese has almost melted

Whisk lemon juice with remaining oil.

Dress rocket leaves in a small bowl and toss to combine.

Remove pizza from oven and cut it, then immediately lay slices of prosciutto and dressed rocket on top and serve.

MAKES 1 LARGE PIZZA.

SERVES 4-6

2009-01-12T09:59:00.017+11:00

CHRiSTMAS 2008 ( a way overdue post...)

Firstly our Christmas Dinner table wreath.....the long one from Pollon. I asked for a round wreath which was cheaper ($80) but Nicholas (the owner) gave me a long one ($160) for the price of a round one!!! Whoopeeee!! Yay!! Such a nice guy.... guess He'll be my favourite florist now!

Because I wanted a round one too...I came across this one at the Camberwell fresh food market for a bargain at $30!!! I was being a bit cheapo by asking for a 'better price' and I could tell the guy selling it was about to roll his eyes at me because $30 was already the heavily reduced price at 4.50 pm on christmas eve..... But then how can you blame me for trying during this terrible financial period? Any savings is better than none..hehhee.

Presenting Our Christmas Tree

The first ever Van's Christmas Turkey

Turkey with Chestnut, chorizo sausage, porcini mushroom stuffing.

Served with Chive Gravy.

Preparing the turkey wasn't as hard as i thought it would be...it was a bit intimidating but it sure is Do-able and I'm looking forward to my next one. A bit time consuming too....but it was yummy! My recipe for this was actually a combination from a few sources...Oprah.com and ABC's Delicious Christmas book.

Sides : Refreshing salad (Watercress, baby cos lettuce, prawns, mangoes, caramelised walnuts

Balsamic shallots (no picture)

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes (no picture)

2009-01-11T13:02:00.002+11:00

My "I wanna be an American" moment

images from times.com, huffingtonpost.com

Remember awhile ago I posted my first Obama post and the whole world was questioning whether this man was the future?

I know I'm sooooooo late in posting this but I'm pretty glad he was the one who got the top job. I'm not American, and know nothing about politics... but this is the first time i'm actually interested in it. I actually bothered to sit down and watch the telly...watch the counting of votes. And listened with 200% what he had to say when he made his winning speech.... i had that "I wanna be an American" moment

In just a week's time, this man is going to be:

The 44th President of The United States of America

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer"

2009-01-07T22:24:00.005+11:00

Muffin & Me (a bit like Marley & Me)

I constantly take pictures of Muffin but they're mostly disastrous..cos most of the time Muffin will have his eyes closed...or his ears are blocking my eyes.....or I'm screaming cos he suddenly turns around and licks me on the lips....or his wet+cold nose touches my face...

We'll be putting Muffin in a boarding kennel soon while we're in Lorne...Don't know how he'll live without us. The last time we sent him away he went berserk when he saw us after 2 days....

Will post up some Christmas pics soon....they're not in my camera. I'm so proud of my turkey...the first ever Roast turkey in my life.... (never even roasted a chicken before) and it was a total success...and we finished it!!!!!

2009-01-05T11:40:00.005+11:00

Kitchen Addition!

Checkout my all-Stainless-Steel Kettle! Cool huh?

...
...

Its not exactly a kettle.....its actually a kettle shaped Tea-Leaf-Infuser

I had to get it the other day while doing last minute Christmas shopping...This cute little gadget has brewed me good tea from Simon Johnson (can't remember what tea i got...it was some green tea with chestnut i think....) while I dream away in Vampire Land with Edward Cullen. Hah!!! Someone is going to think I'm CRAZY....

2009-01-05T10:02:00.004+11:00

Apollo Bay

About a 2 weeks after my exams I was in Apollo Bay with Joe. He was having a GP conference/get-together with the other docs from the region. It was a really nice place except the chilly wind...and the occasional shower. We didn't get to do much there due to time restrctions and also the weather....but we did manage to take a short stroll along the beach..

I spent most of my time reading in the room or the lounge area..... reading the current HYPE book....the Stephanie Meyer vampire series..Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon and Breaking Dawn (which I am yet to get!)

Its been a while since I picked up a book and read it with great speed! I went out and bought the 2nd book soon after....cos i needed to know what happened next! I think i even got a few of my friends addicted to it too... Its almost like when I was a teenager...reading all those Sweet Valley books....

2009-01-04T11:18:00.000+11:00

Reasons

So what exactly was the reason for not updating this blog in the past few months? I've come up with a few.... and their genuine....I promise!

I had exams....all throughout November..

My computer went all coo-coo! Couldn't see the screen....therefore you reckon I could do any work?

Note: That computer is still driving me crazy...I've left it to die..... I'm currently using Joe's MacBook Pro.....We'll be getting a new computer/laptop when we're in HK! Yay to holidayssss. I am counting down daily.......

2008-10-16T18:48:00.005+11:00

Weird things in my Garden

What in the WORLD??? This birdy commited suicide in my fishpond. I hope it didn't traumatise/poison my fishies. Hmmm maybe it was trying to eat the fish and the fishies attacked it!!!!

A bird decided to build a nest on my electricity meter.....it tried to build one on top of my main door before this!

How can such an ugly thing turn into a butterfly? I found this THING in my backyard...squirming around.... Don't worry I didn't kill it....I swept it up and dumped it into my green bin

2008-10-12T21:48:00.004+11:00

I'm listening to...

I love this song.........its from the Sex and the City Movie Soundtrack which I purchased while in HK

The Heart of the Matter (Indie.Arie)
(originally by Don Henley)

I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
And all the struggles we went through
How I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

I've been learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning them again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work they put between us,
You know it doesn't keep us warm

I've been trying to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
The more I know, the less I understand
And all the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my heart is so shattered
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

All the people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down, you know they hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; cause life goes on
You keep carrin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside

I wanna be happily everafter
And my heart is so shattered
But I know it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if you don't love me anymore
Even if you don't love me anymore

2008-09-23T14:36:00.003+10:00

Porgie and Mr Jones....

291 Auburn Rd,

Hawthorn

Introducing my current favourite breakfast place.

Best dish there so far is The Banana Bread + pistachios + berries + other yummy stuff....

They even have Mandarin juice....not just your regular orange juice...

I think I'll be taking Chrystella there next week when I'm back in Melbourne....

2008-09-23T14:29:00.004+10:00

Safety Glasses....

Don't you think he looks like a dentist?

(Safety glasses acquired from Dental Cocktail Ball goody bag)

2008-08-21T09:15:00.000+10:00

Dogs need makeover too

After some pampering (a bath and a stylist hair-do) time...this dog finally got adopted from the Nth Melbourne Lost Dog's Home. I think he's called Roger.....Apparently he's been waiting for someone to adopt him for 27 days...and his time will run out if no one picks him up on the 28th day.......because they will have to send him to doggy heaven........OH NOOOooo

Then the Herald Sun ran a news on him after his beatification process compliments of grooming saloon, and immediately the phone rang like crazy with people wanting to adopt him...

Aint he a little handsome dog (Muffin is MORE HANDSOME!!!!!)

Therefore I urge people to go to the Lost Dog's Home (2 Gracie St, Nth melbourne) to adopt a dog instead of spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars at the pet shop.....give these dogs another chance to live....

2008-08-20T21:04:00.004+10:00

Soup time on cold cold Melbourne winter nights

Chinese herbal chicken soup this time....trying to get some 'good stuff' into my body....

I didn't take a picture of the soup because it looks like any ordinary chicken soup...

I had chicken soup the past two nights...with rice....and thick ABC soya sauce to dip my chicken pieces...yumm

Oh...and chinese pickled cabbages too..... double yummm

2008-08-19T22:59:00.003+10:00

New kitchen gadget (borrowed!!!!)

Introducing the newest addition to my kitchen.....da KITCHEN AID MIXER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aint it the bestest looking thing ever? It whips up the best egg whites....solid....and everything is so even..so pro.....

This cool gadget belongs to one of my bestie...Yi...she has decided to let her mixer stay at my house......(obviously I don't charge the mixer any rent! hehhee)......

Now that I've seen the wonders it can do....I want one too......

We baked Yi's famous Orange/Chocolate Flourless cake (recipe tried and tried and tried and edited 30 times to perfection)...and guess what? We were probably too distracted by the handsome-ness of the mixer that we forgot to double the butter............but the cake turned out pretty good too..a little spongier than usual....but it was still BLISSFUL eating it... (i forgot to take the picture of the finished product!!!!)

Checkout the amount of eggs we used.....(12!!!!!)

With this in my kitchen, I have to make good use of it....so be prepared to see more coming out of Van's Kitchen......

2008-08-19T22:32:00.008+10:00

Tea places....

I have a thing for Tea Shops...Just walking into a tea shop and smelling that wonderful aroma is heavenly....

My favourite tea places...to buy tea leaves are:

1) Mariage Freres (BEST TEA SHOP IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!)
Sorry we can't get it in Australia...But u can shop online...but the freight cost is too much...maybe next time when I'm in Paris again I'll buy more for my girls...(i think there's a franchise in Japan....hmmm that would be much much closer)

2) l'epicier (QV)
Nice Japanese tea...but i think the packaging is nicer..hhahaa...most of the Japanese products are packaged very well..I'm a sucker for pretty things..(can't find a nice photo of that place...but u can google it)

3) Tea Leaves (Sassafras)

Haven't been up to Sassafras since 2006 April...and I absolutely adore that Tea Leaves shop...was tempted to buy some more French Earl Grey but guess what? I didn't.....No more unnecessary spending!!!!! There's a whole bag of Mariage Freres French Blue Earl Grey sitting in the pantry.

2008-08-12T20:03:00.004+10:00

Have you ever?

Seen such a big Chariot of cheese???? I was gobsmacked when the lady pushed out those cheeses....i didn't know what to pick. There were so so so many types of cheese....i got CHEEZED over...(thank goodness i wasn't the one that ate the one that tasted like 'crap') hehehhee

oh...how i miss the warm weather of Bordeaux...and its touristy town of St Emilion where we stayed for 2 nights..

The day we went hot air ballooning....over the beautiful vineyards.....chateaus.....what a life....

2008-08-12T19:36:00.005+10:00

To delete or not to delete....

(a pic taken by Joe...on the way back from Colac.....beautiful canolas)

Dear blog readers....(especially to my train/tram buddy Kevin)....I've been thinking lately should i just get rid of this blog. This is due to my lack of commmitment of updating it....and I shoudn't just leave it as it is...

I'll see if I'm motivated the next few weeks to snap away....and upload pics....

Lemme see....actually I did do something pretty exciting last week which I could have taken a photo of...damn..i should've taken the photo of my first EXO!!!!! The first tooth.....mmmMmmmMmm......

(image from www.mrcad.com)

2008-08-07T12:32:00.003+10:00

Breathtakingly beautiful France....

A few pictures taken from our recent trip to Paris..

Notre-Dame is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary

Portrait of Lisa Gherardini (Mona Lisa) in the Musee du Louvre

(It was really hard to get a picture of it.....all those tourists!!!!!)

Monet's Water Lilies as displayed in the oval rooms of the Musee de l'Orangerie

2008-06-05T23:27:00.002+10:00

Should I adopt Nico?

How can anyone not fall in love with those cute lil puppy eyes....awwww......
As most of my friends know, my dog Muffin was an adopted dog from the Lost Dog's Home. So i'm always promoting dog adoption instead of buying a dog from the pet shops. I think every dog should be given a second chance to have a home and someone to care and love them.

I've been having thoughts in regards of having a 2nd dog. Joe and I do want another dog but we need to consider a lot of things.....2 dogs....double trouble..and if we go away, we need someone to care for TWO dogs..... even though Muffin is an extremely well behaved dog (except his running away problem^^)....two dogs is not going to be easy.

I sent Joe this photo today on MSN...and he said its cute...but its a Jack Russell....it'll destroy our home....and if we were to leave him in the backyard, we'll be proud owners of a backyard with LOTS OF HOLES...as Jack Russells love to dig and dig and dig!!!! Oh dear....what should I do? I guess someone else will definately adopt Nico.....just not me... TT

2008-05-28T16:52:00.006+10:00

What In The World????

Introducing THE BOYFRIEND-ARM PILLOW.....

(image from Kameo Corp website)

Japs seriously are weird designers. This is actually pretty freaky. Why would anyone want to sleep on a pillow that has ONE torso, and ONE arm wrapped around you? It might actually give me nightmares instead of making me feel safe.

Apparently this pillow has been selling really well since its debut in 2004. They even sell it on American websites etc etc. I guess I can't really say its a bad thing before actually trying it out. Maybe I should buy one for the sake of investigation? ^^

2008-05-27T23:44:00.005+10:00

Looked out from my window a lot today....

I had a day off from Uni today..
Studied a bit..
Went out to the bank...

Came home...
Ate lunch...sushi time...
Couldn't finish it....

Studied again...
dinner time...
Sushi time...

mmMM....If only eating lecture notes will help with memory...I'd eat them all

2008-05-20T17:57:00.003+10:00

Does losing things mean I'm starting to AGE???

Losing Things Can Sometimes Be A Challenge - Wooden Man
(image from google images)

Well I'm over exaggerating....its just that today I was on the train to uni...then realised that I left my pencil case at home...i was looking forward to using the new pen and highlighter I bought yesterday (new pens motivate me to study more..write more)....So I went into Smiggle once i got into Melb Central and bought myself a 2 in 1 pen. (highlighter/pen) for $2.95.

I had fun using it for my 1 hr lecture....went home after that...and decided I should use my new purchase while doing my revision....So I sat down on my messy desk, took out my books/notes, sat down....got the coffee ready too...and started looking for my new pen.....ITS NOT IN MY BAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where issit? I dug through the whole bag, looked inside the compartments....even felt for it in the lining (hoping that it fell inside....).....oh noooooooo.....no more new pen........ I just bought it!!!!!!! Thank goodness I still have my other new pen...the one i bought yesterday......hmm....I do not want to start the trend of losing things weekly....

As most of my friends would know by now, I left a library text book on the tram last week!!!!!! I had to pay $135 for it....thank goodness the pen i lost today didn't cost that much......otherwise i'd be pulling my hair out.

2008-05-17T11:40:00.000+10:00

2008-05-17T11:22:00.002+10:00

Van's mood on this gloomy/wet/windy/cold cold Saturday

2008-05-07T17:54:00.006+10:00

My Autumn Garden

On a beautiful (cold cold) autumn day..... I went snapping away....

Magnolias by the window greeting me when i wake up

Part of a very big tree in my backyard....

Fishies in my little pond. i think the fish with the black stripe is the BOSS

Gardenias, my wedding flower. In my GARDEN!

The Real Boss of the garden..Muffin Man

Mushroom on my steps

2008-04-08T10:13:00.003+10:00

Is This Man The Future?

(image from www.theage.com.au)

CHANGE
We Can Believe In

More than any other presidential candidate in recent history, Barack Obama has a unique capacity to listen to other voices around the world.

2008-04-02T22:10:00.008+11:00

My body works better with Burgen

I've been watching too much The Biggest Loser lately. Can't help it because that's my dinner time...and yes I do eat infront of the telly....I know its bad. But its my habit...and I get entertained while eating. I enjoy looking at them exercise, crying, gossiping about each other....

I'd have to say I wasn't lured into buying the Burgen bread because of the millions of times the Burgen advertisement comes on when the show is on. It was because it was on sale at Boccacio's. The usual price is about $AUD 5? I think that fateful Sunday, it was on specials...and it was bout $AUD 3.26?? Can't remember. I realised that there wasn't much left of the bread on the shelf. There were two Soy and Linseed and 2 Rye. Hmmm...decisions decisions..I picked up the loaf, it was really heavy (must be the gazillions of seeds)...so then came a lady with her shopping trolley. She stood next to me and picked up the Soy and Linseed loaf without even having to check the expirary date!!!! That must be a good choice!!!!!! Ok...that was all i needed to convince me to buy the bread. Give the poor bread a chance..... :) She picked it out of so many breads without thinking...(i'm sure that lady has a brain).

I have been buying it since...I keep it in the fridge...and later in the freezer if I can't finish them...they still taste great after that. I think the seeds are keeping me full.......it just seems healthier....but not when i pile on loads of peanut butter or nuttella tough......sorry bread...i destroyed you.....

Will load a proper picture of the Burgen bread loaf when I take a picture of it.

2008-03-26T21:39:00.003+11:00

Can Mouse and Van Live Under The Same Roof?

(image from Wikipedia.org)

Maybe if the mouse was as cute as this one....and looks as though its got his/her hand on a steering wheel....

Mind you, there are no mice (undetectable so far) in my Kew home......but I'm freaked out by this lil mouse in Colac where Joe is currently working. I first saw it 3 nights ago while we were watching telly and it just zoomed past the fire place, straight behind the curtains. Muffin my dog didn't even sense a thing!!!! We even placed Muffin behind the curtain so that he can eventually sense that there is another animal in the house. Sadly i realised that my dream of having a super dog that kills all rodents in my house is dead.....

And moments ago, while i was using the computer, i heard the plastic bag rustle in the sink. Obviously i sent my hubbie to try and capture it...but he said it was too cute...and even suggested we keep it as a pet...hMmmmmMmm...tempting tempting but we can't even catch it so how are we going to keep it as a pet?

A free roaming mouse = a pest

Mouse in a cage with wheels = a pet

2008-03-13T22:41:00.003+11:00

Autumn Madness....rescued by Van's Green Tea Ice Cream (Macha Ice)

Its got to be one of the WARMEST day I've ever experienced....the sun seems to have killer rays.... I couldn't wait to get out of the stinky tram and run straight back home.....dash straight to the freezer and help myself to the green tea ice-cream I made the night before.....

I didn't know making ice-cream was this easy! Don't even need an ice-cream processor.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 or 1 if you're feeling greedy)
2 tablespoons/10g green tea powder (macha)
120g granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 cup/200 ml milk
1 cup/200 ml double cream

1) In a small bowl, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
2) In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks and remaining sugar
3) Pour milk into a small pan and gently heat (do not let it boil) (ideally around 80 degrees Celcius but that hard to achieve without a thermometer). Remove from heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder and sugar in a small bowl. When you get a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolks and sugar mix. Leave to cool.
4) Lighly whip the cream and then add to the cold green tea milk mixture
5) Transfer the mixture to a large container and put it in the freezer. As ice crystals start to form, mix well with a spoon to break them up, and return to the freezer. Repeat this a few times as it freezes to ensure the ice cream is really smooth.

I personally only did step 5 twice...cos it was bed time...and i couldn't be bothered. It turned out alright though :)

2008-01-21T20:53:00.000+11:00

We Got Married!!!!!

This is not our wedding photo (that would be pretty sad if it was). This was taken on boxing day while we're on our way to HK onboard Cathay Pacific...CX 135. I'll load the pictures when we actually get them back from the photographer (which reminds me....I should call him to tell him that we're back).

Our world tour wedding has finally ended and we were very lucky to spend a week on Koh Samui island....doing tourisy stuff (beach/spa-massages) and most importantly MORE EATING. The place we stayed was called Tongsai Bay and it is absolutely AWESOME...... I highly recommend it to everybody who wants a nice getaway where you get treated like royalties and get fed like one too....the service is amazing. They don't even want you to walk (they have buggies that take you everywhere). We were so sad the night before we left......we didn't want to go...so we decided we have to come back again!!!!!!! Oh my goodness and the food at the restaurant was amazing...and I got the chance to learn a few dishes from the famous chef herself Chef Chom. I even have a certificate of Excellence from her...hahahhaa....Guess who's a Thai convert now? THAI COOKING HERE I COME............(in the next few weeks)

Checkout the toilet at Koh Samui Airport...

Can you see the monkey's side profile?

2007-11-12T15:46:00.000+11:00

nygirlofmydreams.com

He found her!..

Okie.....need to go back to my books...

I needed something else to do besides reading.....

Will be blogging actively after I finish exams.....

I still haven't bought the Lifetime of Secrets book....

Can't believe Borders doesn't have it....

I think Readings has it...

2007-10-13T15:23:00.000+10:00

Got a Secret?

(all images from http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/)

I saw an article on the last page of a magazine today...and it was about this website called postsecret.blogspot.com and I think I know what I'll buy the next time I pass by a bookstore....the book A lifetime of secrets compiled Frank Warren written by everyday people....

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project in which people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Here are few featured on the website. Frank puts up a new postcard every Sunday......

Wanna fess up? ..... Mail yout postcard to:

PostSecret

13345 Copper Ridge Road,

Germantown, Maryland,

USA, 20874-3454

or simply hit up the website for more details.

I might mail one....... just for the fun of it....

2007-09-04T20:07:00.000+10:00

The Moon and my Strawberry Mooncakes

(photo by Peter Matthews @ http://www.theage.com.au/)

Forgot to mention about last week's lunar eclipse...I've seen this before when I was in M'sia many years ago...dun really remember much about it though. But I do remember when it was the sun being eclipsed by the moon!!!!! What issit called again? That was when the day suddenly turned DARK...and we were told not to look directly upon the sun even though it was dark as the rays would be very harmful...And then sleazy sales people started selling "SAFE" sunnies to vulnerable people who want to stare at the sun....thank goodness I wasn't that dumb. I do remember that day.....a very long time ago.

That night in Melbourne when the lunar eclipse happened, I remembered about it around 4 pm but then dinner came....i was too absorbed in eating mum's dinner that I forgot about it until after it happened....I managed to catch the end bit of it...so the moon was covered maybe 20%? Tried taking a picture of it but failed miserably as it was too cold on my balcony....and maybe poor technique (my camera is not crap!!!!) :)

So...to celebrate missing out on the event...we took out our Moon cakes and ATE IT! Yayyyy!!!! This is so random.......hehhee....

This mooncake is imported from HK. Joe's mum use to bring them over when she's here close to the mooncake/mid-autumn festival. But this year, I saw it on sale in Chinatown. You can't see it on the shelves, it would be stored in a fridge as it needs to be kept cold...unlike the usual baked brown ones. This is mochi-style moon cakes and the filling inside is sooooo soooo worth the extra kilos you might pile on...hahaha its not that bad la...

This is the BIGGEST size available....with 8 mooncakes (7 med/1 large)..... my favourite is the sago/pomelo/mango followed by the Strawberry (the sticker says strawberry princess in chinese)..

2007-08-30T22:21:00.000+10:00

People with TOO much

On my recent trip to sweaty HK....we came across the new Louis Vuitton Concept Store that was yet to open......and it had this MASSIVE bag over it (fake of course!)...then somewhere on the Right side of this soon-to-be megastore, was the current LV store which was already pretty impressively big (compared to our small itsy melbourne/collins store)...and it had this long queue of tourists waiting for their turn to get into the shop and spend their cash! I thought this was a one day thing....but everyday when we pass by it.....its the SAME! It wasn't even on sale...and these guys start queing from the moment the shop opens its door for business.... I'm not that insane yet to line up and let them take my money....

The queue outside the shop

2007-08-30T22:04:00.000+10:00

In the mood to Blog...or not?

My last blog entry was on the 15th July! Thats like 1.5 months ago. The past winter months have been too cold...too cold to do anything...hmmm actually lets recap what Van has been up to (July-Aug):

1) Came back from Malaysia and HK hols + with mum

2) Got keys to new house (yipeeeeee!!)

3) Went white goods hunting

4) Spoilt ourselves rotten with a luxurious bed

5) Joe's Birthday....followed by Stef's birthday party (the sunday where Joe and I were prim and proper...not that we're messy and indecent^^)

6) Florist hunting (9 am appointment in Geelong..... -____-

7) ATE a LOT with Joe's boss and Hamilton Hospital work mates (one with the nickname Bin Laden...he's Viet by the way so no terrorist attempts there)

8) Watched Phantom of the Opera!!!!!! except it was pretty crappy seats...... so i think we'll probably watch it again either in Melbourne again.....or in London..... during our honeymoon? haha.... Haven't planned anything yet so not too sure where we're going.

9) Attended marriage preparation classes......hehhee... its pretty good! I highly recommend couples to attend before getting married.

10) Watched the Lunar Eclipse.....actually i missed the entire thing...and only saw the last bits. Oh well...I've seen so many of this kind of stuff....we had the total Sun Ecslipe thing in Malaysia when i was in high school...then meteorite shower or something.... no biggy la....

11) Decided I should BLOG again....and I WATCHED THE SIMPSONS!!!!

Spider Pig Spider Pig...

2007-07-15T17:58:00.000+10:00

Holidaaaaayyeee....Celebraaaaate (like that guy in the Wedding Singer)

10th anniversary of the return of HK to China.... (Tourist panda)

wooo hooo.... exams over (weeks ago) and its travel time for me! This break is jam-packed for me as I'm stopping at various places to do sooo many things. First stop was in KL for lovely siew mei's wedding!!!!! I went back home....for a few days then went to HK for about 8 days...then will be going to KL and back to Melbourne in two days! Such a hectic schedule....and my legs are so tired from walking miles and miles.. and my tummy is getting bigger from eating all those yummy stuff......(no i am not pregnant!)

My tired feet, innocent prawn with funny arms, and shark fin soup...(sorry shark)

2007-06-25T14:31:00.000+10:00

Finally Exams are Over...

Photo from www.theage.com.au

Oh my goodness...how long has it been since I last blogged? Its been Forever and I found out that my sister's friend actually told my sister to ask me to Blog something as soon as she found out that I finished exams. Sorry bout not updating it.

I haven't taken any interesting pictures lately...cos you probably don't want to know what I've been eating too....eating really ugly, unhealthy food and gulping lots of coffee with chocolates, lollies, chips, dips, all those ultra fattening things. But to my amazemet, I haven't piled on the kilos! Woo Hooo!!!!! But lets pray hard that I don't have anything clogged up my arteries....

I'll be flying away for holidays this week and will be sure to take my camera with me and snap up photos. In the mean time, checkout this photo taken by a famous photographer who gathers everyone who is willing to pose nude for his Mass Nude pictures of people on the streets around the world. I hope I don't get into trouble for loading this picture here.... Feast your eyes....a new form of Art. Art is weird.

2007-05-26T10:23:00.000+10:00

Feelin a bit "Conservative"

Conservative dentistry!!!! My first restoration....still not on a real patient yet. Probably will be Very Afraid when the time comes to see one. I think I did a pretty good job on this tooth. What did I do on this tooth...lets see...

-prepare the cavity (high speed handpiece, diamond bur)
-remove carious bits (slow speed handpiece, round bur)
-"condition" it (Ketac cavity Conditioner)
-Line it with Glass Ionomer Cement (Fuji IX)
-Acid etch whole tooth
-Line with Singlebond (2 layers)
-Restore with Composite resin incrementally (light cure it)
-Pit and fissure sealant...(light cure again)

YEAHHHH... tooth is restored! Doesn't sound that hard huh?? Hmm...maybe not. Its almost exam time so all I can think of is uni stuff.... Will load more interesting things soon.

2007-05-26T10:01:00.000+10:00

3 whole Oranges were sacrificed...

Dessert time!!! This is a different version of the last sticky date pudding I made. Presenting..... 'date and almond cakes with orange syrup'.....

Recipe (Serves 4)
1/2 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
3/4 cup almond meal* (ground almonds)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup roughly chopped pitted dates
75g butter, melted
2 Tbs milk
1 egg

orange syrup
1/2 cup caster sugar (thats a lot of sugar....reduce it to
1/2 cup orange juice ( i used freshly squeezed juice)
2 Tbs finely grated orange rind (this was hard to achieve....maybe its just me)

Method:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius. Place flour, almond meal, baking powder, sugar and dates in a bowl and combine. Add butter, milk and egg and mix and combine. Then spoon mixture into greased 1 cup capacity muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

While cakes are cooking, make the orange syrup. Place the sugar, orange juice (i squeezed them from fresh orange) and orange rind in a saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Simmer 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Spoon warm syrup over the warm cakes and serve with thick (double) cream....

2007-05-14T12:12:00.000+10:00

Can dogs Pray? Pray for an ice-cream Bar?

Once upon a time in Faraway Land...there lived a dog called Muffin. He sleeps 23 hours a day, only interested in food that is not found in his bowl, thinks he is the King and barks at dogs which are much much bigger than him... he is my apartment's guardian angel. I love how he jumps about frantically everyday when I come home after a long day.....welcoming me home. Suddenly a lonely quiet nite at home alone doesn't seem that quiet anymore with Muffin snuggled around your ankle while you watch Sunday nite's Grey's Anatomy...his warm belly keeping my icy toes warm....can't imagine my life without a dog...

2007-05-08T21:22:00.000+10:00

Is this the way to 'Eating Healthier'?

(Will my bum look smaller after eating this?)

Some munchies during my study period...compliments of my naturopath friend who works at Vitamin Me. She reckons the choc chip bar is the 'Next Big Thing' and is better than Uncle Toby's bars. Apprently its lower in sugar...etc etc... You know I am no expert in health food and I usually just eat whatever my eyes can see....But I'll have to say for something that is suppose to be 'healthy', it taste kinda nice! Its rather chewy! I like it. I think it retails for AUD 2.50 per bar.

The bottled water was also from that shop. Its bottled Water For Women! I like the marketing on that! Its even got Water for Travel etc etc. The water is special cos its gently infused with 8 flower essences and it tastes just like Water! HmmmMMm..

2007-05-08T21:07:00.000+10:00

Its been a while...

I've been busy preparing for my anatomy flag race exam the past week and its finally over today. It was a hard exam........ok...lets not dwell in the past now. Should always look forward and smile...everything will be better.

Even though I haven't been blogging...I have still continued to snap pictures of yummy places to go and a few things that I've been up to lately.

I've decided to load the pictures in the order I found them in my camera. So first one up is Joe's lunchbox! I cooked some Korean Spicy Pork Belly...Everything has to be sliced up/julienned?? in Korean cooking. So I had to do the carrots, onion, capsicum.....Eat it with steamed rice, and some seasoned seaweed... yum yum.

2007-04-29T17:03:00.000+10:00

Becco Fantastico (7.5/10)

Becco

11-25 Crossley St, Melbourne
(03) 96633000
2 chef hats in The Age good food guide

This dinner was worth waiting for. We called to book sometime during the week and the best they could offer was 9.30pm with a possible wait. We got there at 10 pm, no waiting...and got seated rite away.The place wasn't packed....but very noisy as most of the diners were very happy people (probably intoxicated by that hour).

Entree was the "BESTEST" dish I've had so far (out of the few places I've been to recently). Its crispy prawn wrapped in some stringy pasta bits (i think) served on a bed of tangy salad (avocado, cucumber...etc etc). I gotta say, this dish made me eat avocado! I usually do not touch that green thing as they taste kinda nasty..... but this dish on its own is worth 8/10 on its own. I love it and recommend all future Becco-ers to try it. A must try!

This is the "Van's-Must-Try Dish"

Snapper and Creme Brulee

For mains, Joe had the snapper while I had the spaghettini with pippis. The picture came out really really blur so i decided to skip it. They were yummy but not something worth crying for. Dessert was a leatherwood honey creme brulee serced with blueberries and raspberries. I gulped down this dessert pretty quickly and got a piece of the sugar stuck in my throat. I should've crunched the sugar bits more before eating it but i was too hungry..... Sorry throat.

A must try for lovely Italian food.....

2007-04-25T22:00:00.000+10:00

Feeling Soupy

Miss my mum's cooking. Can't believe mum chose Korea over her kids! She decided to go sight-seeing with her friend instead of coming over to feed her starving children. Mum!!!! How could you do this to us? Hehhee... oh well. Mum needs a holiday too and I'll be seeing her at the end of June. As long as she remembers to buy us lots of pressies then we're even.

Ok, back to food....I went through my pantry and found some dried beancurd (think mum bought them awhile ago), then I remembered I did set aside some "soup-bones" last week....SOUP TIME SOUP TIME!!! Its going to be dried beancurd, red date and bone soup tonight. I haven't had those chinese boiled soup for ages! Usually its just ABC soup for me. For those who do not know what ABC soup is, it is basically everyhing you can find in your fridge mixed together. Sounds disgusting but the combination requires some skill too.

Usual ABC ingredients: (Vegetarian)
Carrots
Tomatoes
Big brown onion
Potatoes
(will boil the above ingredients for 30-45 mins, then remove from heat and stir in spoonfuls of miso paste, and add a dash of dashi granules)

Dried Beancurd soup:
Dried beancurd (soak it in water until soft, then add it in the soup after it has been boiling for and hour or so)
Red dates (deseeded)
Soup bones (can be chicken or pork)
(the bones and dates are boiled together for as long as you want....to release the flavour within....yummm....then add the softened dried beancurd into the soup and let it boil again for 10 mins or so....do not let it boil too long....because the beancurd will shatter).

I will upload the picture of the soup a bit later....cos I was too hungry tonight so i didn't take any pictures.

Pears are in season.....so PEAR it up!!!!! Some like it squishy soft, some like it firm. I like them in between....so just let them ripen at room temperature instead of shoving it in the fridge. Believe me....cos I said so.....

2007-04-24T17:12:00.000+10:00

Coffee or Sea?

Photo: Jason South @ www.theage.com.au 24/04/07

The weather this week is about 4 degrees celcius above average and I'm not complaining at all. Usually I'm the Queen of Complaining....this and that....always "sighing". But not this week because all is good..

a) Weather is good

b) ANZAC day on Wednesday = a public holiday in the middle of the week

c) I finally get something out of Tuesday dissection classes (except the bit where I had to witness my friends sawing someone's head into half...right in the middle. Chrystella, if you're reading this, hope we didn't inhale too much bone particles and no nightmares)

The above picture with the man floating in the sea was taken from www.theage.com.au website. I just thought that guy looks sooooo relaxed and our Melbourne beaches are looking pretty cystal clear during this horrible drought we're facing. I wish it was me...but I'll probably be wearing sunnies and sitting on a float with a BIG umbrella over my head. No no to sun damaged skin.

2007-04-24T17:00:00.000+10:00

For the Love of Vegies

Just a quick note cos I think this picture is cute. It kinda reminds me about the whole Organic craze. Even shampoos nowadays are advertised being organic? So we now wash our hair with organic brocolli? Moisturise with pear nectar? Brush our teeth with peas? Ewwww...

I apologize because this blog entry probably does not make any sense to anyone...

2007-04-22T16:46:00.000+10:00

The Botanical @ Domain Rd, South Yarra

This is not our first visit to this restaurant. In fact, it is probably our 5th or 6th visit! This is Joe's favourite place for fresh oysters....unfortunately I do not share the same view as him because I do not like oysters....especially raw oysters. Oysters smell fishy.

Entree:
Twelve hand selected A grade oysters from Australia's premium growing regions

Main course:
Woodroasred Calabrina style snapper with a shellfish stew, trofie pasta, seaweed, tomatoes, fennel and chilli (for 2 persons, or for one if requested)

Dessert:
Chocolate & sherry crème brulee with warm cinnamon churros

You should've seen Joe's facial expression when he devoured each and every one of the oysters...while sipping on his chardonnay. I stared on...unable to believe how oysters can make a grown up man smile to himself with his eyes closed while eating it. Poor oyster!!! There was a BAD oyster among the platter that night....so maybe we should've complained!!!!

Main was more like the Spanish paella. I didn't quite like it. The taste was just 'normal' nothing special.....maybe I was expecting more. Also, the prawn that I had was a bit 'powdery'...another sign that things are not looking very fresh in the kitchen. The shellfish was sweet though.....

I would have to say that the dessert was the best out of everything we tried that night. The creme brulee was hiding underneath all the froth in the espresso cup and it made the warm cinnamon churros taste even better when dipped into it. Total satisfaction guarenteed.

Verdict: 6/10
If it wasn't for the dessert, I would be one grumpy diner. Joe was happy no matter what cos he had his oysters. I never liked this restaurant that much.......cos the food is NOT THAT GREAT. Steak is better here....so maybe steak for the boys next time. Not me.

2007-04-18T10:42:00.000+10:00

DVD Review: Fearless llll stars

After dinner last Friday night, we ventured into JB city store to grab a movie for the night. We came back with two movies...Jet Li's Fearless and Monster House.

Van: Which one do you want to watch tonight?
Joe : Anything you want is fine
Van: Ok, pick right or left hand (with the DVDs hidden behind me back)
Joe : Your right side
Van: Ok...its Monster House...I'll set it up now.
5 seconds later......
Joe : But I want to watch Fearless.
Van: What??? You said whichever was fine.

I think this is a typical scenario most girls will encounter when the guys have a choice of watching either a kung-fu/action packed/no nonsense film or a cutesy catoonish/romantic comedy movie.

Movie plot:

This is a story of Huo YuanJia, a fighter who represents Chinese martial arts to a nation. A man who fought his way out of darkness and into history. I don't want to give away by typing out the entire story line....I almost did then decided its best for you to watch it. I'm not a kung fu fan but this movie is definately worthwhile watching. Some of the fighting scenes were a bit outrageous because you can SO tell that it was computer work but its all good! We are living in a tech crazy world so its acceptable. Kung fu sometimes need to be modernised too huh?

It has been reviewed that this is one of Jet Li's best martial arts movie ever.

2007-04-16T21:01:00.000+10:00

Chicken with chickpea+couscous+tomato+onion

I've been trying to be healthier lately. But so far....it ain't working. I only went to one BodySteps class and one Reformer pilates class. Then...I let myself go and ate all that BAD but yummy stuff in Adelaide. Therefore, I shall force myself to attend more exercise classes (three times a week?) and eat home more often (i.e cook more).

This recipe is my modified version of what is in the May issue of Super Food Ideas.

Ingredients
Cooking oil Spray (I just started using sprays....they're so much better)
6 x Chicken thigh fillets (trim the fat)
400g Edgell chick peas drained, rinsed (found in cans or you can cook your own)
Cous Cous (Ainsley H) Spice sensation 200g (Or any other cous cous)
2 tomatoes (cut into chunks)
1 large onion (sliced roughly)
Lee Kum Kee Chicken Marinade
Chinese cooking wine

Method:

1 Marinade the trimmed chicken fillets with the bottled marinade and cooking wine. The amount used depends on how much chicken you have...etc etc... I just estimate with my eyes. Leave for 30 minutes or even longer to let the flavour soak in.

2 Heat a large, non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Lightly spray the wok with canola oil and fan fry the chicken pieces. Let each side cook until it is golden brown before turning over to seal in the flavour. Make sure the chicken is cooked thorough!

3 Add in the tomatoes and onion into the wok, and let them soften.

4 In the meantime, prepare the cous cous (add 180 mL boiling water to contents and let stand and fluff with fork after 2 minutes)

5 Add a few table spoons of cous cous into the wok with the chicken/tomato/onion

6 Spoon some chick peas into the wok too.... and dinner is served.

2007-04-15T20:15:00.000+10:00

Been away.....to a land faraway...called Adelaide
(Actually Adelaide is only 50 minutes away by plane)

On Good Friday, I went away on a short yet sweet trip to Adelaide to visit my soon-to-be cousins in law. It was such a crazy weekend....we basically stuffed ourselves with food and not to mention the amount of wine consumed by the boys. I think they drank half of McLaren Vale's supply.

On the first nite we arrived, we had BBQ at home.....at Malaysian/homey styled Osyter omelette. I'm no osyter fan but that particular dish went pretty quickly. Zoom Zoom.

One of the yummy lunches took place at d'Arenberg 's Verandah restaurant. I think I had the yummiest dish of the lot....it was Snapper/beetroot/some white beans...It was the special dish of the day. Very very very saliva worthy.

Hundorf is a very cute town. Its a German tourist town with everything German and the wannabe Germans (e.g a try hard Chinese restaurant was there too). Even the shop signs were adorable. Pretzel!!! but that shop did not have freshly baked soft pretzels like Aunty Annie's Pretzels back home. If you have the chance, try and buy freshly made BIG pretzels. Not the ones you buy from the vending machine....eenie meenie weenie...

We had lunch/dinner at the German Arms Hotel. The entrance of the hotel had this rather disturbing old man doll with his tongue stuck out (as if he wanted to lick his moustache). This place has HUGE beer glasses....and Joe's beer was 500mL...and checkout the Hahnburger. It is MASSIVE...this picture is not doing the burger justice. Joe was so tired eating the burger. Never believe the menu....cos it was under the Lite Lunch section...and it definately wasn't light at all.

2007-04-05T14:26:00.000+10:00

Sticky Date Pudding (another old favourite recipe to share)

Serves 4
400g pitted dates
600ml cup water
2 tsp bi-carb soda
125g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
250g sugar
4 eggs
400g S.R. flour

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
2 Tbs cornflour
1.5 cups milk (1 1/2 litres)
1.5 cups cream
600g brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup golden syrup

METHOD
Cook the dates in water and bi-carb until soft - bring to the boil and simmer very slowly, covered, for about 10 minutes (the mixture should form a jam consistency). Cool slightly and puree until smooth.

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar until creamy; add eggs one at time until incorporated. Add the flour and date puree to the cream mixture, and mix well.

Butter and flour individual moulds or a large roasting dish and pour in the mixture.

Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the pudding comes out clean.

Serve with butterscotch sauce and whipped cream.

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
Make a paste with the cornflour and a little of the milk. Bring the remaining milk and cream to the boil and whisk in the cornflour mixture to thicken. Simmer for 1 minute, then stir in the brown sugar and golden syrup. Serve.

2007-04-05T14:04:00.000+10:00

Flake with tomato chilli relish

I cooked this last year and didn't post up the recipe....so here it is. Its actually really yummy...so do try it out k? Maybe over the Easter long weekend...dun eat too much Hot Cross Buns.

Serves 4
20g butter
1 Tbs olive oil
700g flake fillets
1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 dill sprigs, roughly chopped ( i didn't use this )
1 lemon, cut to wedges, to serve

Tomato chilli relish
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 large tomatoes, diced (vine ripened ones if you feel gourmeish)
2 long red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped (leave the seeds if u want extra HOT)
2 Tbs tomato paste (not sauce)
1/4 cup white wine

Method:
1) Make tomato chili relish
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat
Add onion and garlic
Cook for 2 to 3 mins or until soft
Add tomato, chilli and tomato paste
Cook, stirring, for 3 mins or until tomato is soft
Add wine and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low
Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 mins or until thick
Season with salt and pepper

2) Meanwhile...
Heat butter and oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot
Cook fish, in batches, for 2 mins each side until cooked through.
Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep it warm

3)
Combine mint, coriander and dill in a bowl
Spoon tomato chilli relish onto plates
Top with fish and sprinkle herb mixture
Serve with lemon wedges.

Note: I rubbed some salt and pepper onto the fish before cooking it....just to make sure I don't get too much fishy taste. I think any sort of white meat fish can be used in this recipe.

Enjoy!!!!

2007-04-04T15:39:00.000+10:00

Special Delivery

Someone called around 12 pm to say that there was a courier for me and that I'll have to pick it up later in the day when I was free. So after class, I went home, took the dog and started walking to the courier place....I had no idea what the shop was called. All I knew was it was on 130-136 Stanley St, West Melbourne. Ok....thank goodness it was somewhere close to my place. So I walked....the dog walked....then FINALLY we got there. It was Roses Only!! I knew immediately that Joe must have sent me flowers for our anniversary. How sweet.....

So I lugged the box and the dog and headed home. Opened the box and was so excited like a little girl when I saw not just the long stemmed roses, chocolates, pot pourri....but a cute cuddly bear lying on the bed of roses!! I can't remember when was the last time I got excited over a bear. Hehhee.... I love it.

2007-04-03T20:27:00.000+10:00

As Easy as A B C

How can anyone go wrong with Lee Kum Kee marinades? Saw this new product last week on the shelf while grocery shopping "Cantonese Barbeque Marinade"...just had to try it. Too easy to create succulent pork ribs for dinner.......

Ingredients: 1) Pork Ribs (or whatever your little tummy desires)
2) Minced garlic (my own secret recipe)
3) Spoonfuls of cantonese BBQ marinade

Method:
1) Preheat Oven at 200 degrees celcius
2) Cut away the bad ugly fat from the ribs
3) Put ribs in a bowl and mix well with the marinade and garlic ~ 30 mins
4) Place ribs into oven ~ 30 - 40 mins or until cooked. Turning it once.

Serve with rice and some vegies for a well balanced meal. Yummmmmm

2007-03-30T17:06:00.000+10:00

You should wash your clothes at night

Did you know that Electricity is cheaper at different times of the day?

Rates from Origin Energy (Melbourne CBD)

Peak
7 am-11 pm @ 16.29 c/kWh

Off Peak
All other times @ 7.07 c/kWh

That is double the charge for using electricity during peak hours! Therefore, we should only use electrical goods that require more energy after 11 pm. e.g. Washing machine, dryer, maybe we should bake at night too? Surely we will save a few more dollars in our pockets!

I do my laundry only at night and dry them on the rack the next morning. The clothes do not smell as long as you do not fiddle them after they're done. However, if you've got delicate items or clothes that might change shape, it is best not to leave them overnight.

2007-03-30T16:41:00.000+10:00

Easter is every CHOCOHOLIC's Fantasy Dream Come True

Its that time of the year again...where everyone deserves chocolate...don't care whether you've been good or not. Every year the Lindt Rabbit is the cutest chocolate around but consumers should be aware of the vast differences in price around. I only checked two shops and it was a whopping $2.50 difference.

The Most Overpriced Shop Award goes to "CHOCOLATE BOX" - $6.95
The Reasonable Price Shop Award goes to "PRICELINE" - $4.50

Therefore, everyone should shop around for the best price. Be a smart consumer. Maybe you can get it at a cheaper price elsewhere (Big W, Safeway, Coles, K-Mart, Aldi) but I'm lazy. Two price checks is enough. Actually today I bought some more chocolates but this time from chocolatier Darrell Lea...got myself some solid egg chocolates. Didn't take pictures but will do so during Easter (if there are any left).

2007-03-28T19:05:00.000+10:00

New Look

I decided to pick a new template for my blog. Is it too plain? Is there a way for me to use my own pictures as the background instead of the pre-selected ones?

2007-03-25T17:35:00.000+10:00

Mr Engineer was the best!

Went to watch Miss Saigon the musical on Friday. It wasn't that great afterall. I didn't enjoy the musical that much...as the story was kinda silly because how can someone fall in love with a prostitute after one night? and then supposingly got married in some vietnamese ceremony in a nite club and bring her back to his home country to live the American dream? HmmMmm... maybe things like that do happen.

I'll have to say the Engineer was the best performer of the night. His cabaret-style dance routines were entertaining and definately not OTT cheezy like the main leads (i.e Kim and Chris). Too much lovey dovey stuff....

I'll be watching Phantom of the Opera in August. Hopefully it will be better...actually I'm sure it will be much better. The music score and backdrop will be breathtaking (i hope).

2007-03-23T10:04:00.000+11:00

Curry No Worries

How weird is the packaging for Eclipse mints? Actually its kinda cute ^^ No worries for people after eating curry....No curry breath...only minty breath. This is true as it has been tested on me. Hehhehee..

Because....I made some Japanese curry two nights ago. It was the 'most bestest' curry I've ever made (so far). Even my bro's gf said...'wahhh....hen hau chi ohh'. Also that night, I made cantonese pork chop but I forgot to take pictures! I only managed to take a picture of the raw ingredients needed for the curry...but not for the porkchop. I think I'll be making more porkchops this weekend so I'll take some pictures then (if i memory doesn't fail).

2007-03-22T16:51:00.000+11:00

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tinkkkkkk.. I suppose everyone's heard of that song before. I apologize for my lack of sanity. Blame the weather today....33 degrees! Its Autumn...its supposed to be breezy, maybe a little wet, but not this warm.

Anyhow, Autumn is here and the plum fruit is in season...and very yummy, healthy and is supposed to help in bowel movement (^o^)

Pictured here are two types of plum. Besides the obvious colour difference, they have their individual taste too. The darker plum has a slighter darker yellow flesh and is sweeter. The brighter plum has a lighter flesh colour and a sour-ish taste. I prefer the darker plum. Dark skin wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I think its got to do with my own skin colour too....tanned skin wins huh???). Cheers to Autumn...and soon we'll have chestnuts too.

2007-03-22T16:35:00.000+11:00

Pamper Time

How I love the smell of this product. The combination of sweet almonds and milk concentrate gives it a very light yet moisturizing effect. It leaves your skin feeling smooth and hydrated. I don't know about the firming and toning properties its supposed to do...but I love it just as it is. I've even bought it for my friends! (I am such a sweety pie). Oh don't get me wrong here...I'm not getting paid for promoting their product.

2007-03-20T21:45:00.000+11:00

Coffee Lover

I use to think that coffee was really really really EXTREMELY bitter and only old people drink it. I think my first ever coffee experience was in a cafe at Crown with a dear friend. It was so bitter that we complained to the waitress..hehheee...and she said she will give us something "sweeter". I think we ordered an iced latte. After that incident, I stayed away from coffee until one sweet Sunday morning before church, I decided to give coffee another chance at Laurent. I ordered a skinny latte and then found myself hooked to beans til now. Maybe my tongue's taste buds have changed...but I'm loving the change.

Joe bought me this espresso machine as my birthday present and its doing its job marvellously. I haven't bought coffee from outside eversince........thank you for the present....i really love it and will continue making u coffee before your drive down to Hamilton.

2007-03-18T21:34:00.001+11:00

Catch-up with my girly pals @ YERING STATION
(Note: This place is worth the drive!) 8.5/10

While my sister and pals were busy with the chilled oreo cheesecake, I was on a road trip with my besties...newly married Adriana and her hubbie Alex, sweetie + gorgeous stefie, and my trusthworthy/mr organiser/fiance Joe. We went to Yering Station for my belated birthday lunch. The weather was great...boys in the front seat trying to get us there...the girls chit chatting in the back seats. There is simply no better way to spend a nice Saturday afternoon than this. I'm looking forward to more Saturdays....We've got a few things planned for April.

The food was really good....and we even talked about 'future-kids' running on the grass. Which is kinda weird because it made me felt OLDer....but in a good way. Growing up is part of life and I'm happy to grow older this way with friends keeping us company along the way. Thank you Stef, Adriana, Kan Li and Siew Mei (if u're reading this) for always being there. I wouldn't change anything we had while we were in Science (hmmm maybe except the bit when i failed a subject!!!hhehehe). Those library gossips...and muffins....and hot chocolate. We'll have to arrange a lunch at Union house one day. I know the food aint that great but it'll be fun.

There's too much to talk about the food we ate at Yering Station....so here are the pictures only. I'll try and annotate them.

A) Seafood Plate (Scallop with something on the base/King Fish/Chargrilled tuna)

B) Duck (sorry can't remember the description)

C) Snapper with Mango, Nectarine and crab salad

I'll do the desserts next time...

2007-03-18T20:32:00.000+11:00

What can one do with Oreo, Cream cheese and John Legend?
+

Last Saturday three girls gathered in my place (Yi, Vera and my sis). They joked, mixed some stuff, broke some biscuits, listened to sexy Legend and produced a CAKE!!! Magic! Aww its really really good.... I think I should try and make it myself next time. I saw a restaurant selling the same cake except in a much much smaller portion (i.e. single serve) for $6.50. Maybe I should quit school and start selling chilled oreo cheese cakes to cafes? Will it pay better?

Ingredients:

Base:
200g Digestive biscuits, crushed finely (bash it up in a sandwich bag^^)
100g Butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Topping:
500 g cream cheese (mascarpone cream cheese if feeling luxuries)
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
65 g butter @ room temp.
100g castor sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp of gelatine
1 1/4 cups of whipping cream, whipped til just stiff
50g Oreo biscuits, crushed coarsely

Method:
Base
-grease a 20cm spring form pan
-melt butter in a small contained on medium high until melted. Add brown sugar and stir until roughly dissolved. Mix the mixture with the crushed Digestive biscuit.
-transfer mixture into spring form pan, spread it evenly. Use glass to press the mixture evenly. Refrigerate for 30 mins.

cheese bits
-blend in cream cheese, sugar and lemon rind until smooth. Add butter and continue to blend til smooth
-mix lemon juice and gelatine in microwave. Heat in high power for 30 secs uncovered. Stir until gelatine dissolves then pour it into cream mixture.
-gently fold whipped cream into cream mixture into spring pan.
-refrigerate 3-4 hours (or freeze if desperate for CAKE)

2007-03-16T18:57:00.000+11:00

Celebrity endorsed Meals

This colourful/handsome disposable placemat next to my super dooper yummy pork chop rice is from a frachise Hongkie restaurant 'Kim Gary" in Kuala Lumpur. I'm not very sure if its from HK but i think it is. That guy in the picture is some hot actor at the moment. I can't remember his real name but I do remember his on-screen name the first time i saw him act.

Checkout my baby sister's black nails. It was painted kinda badly...hehehe. Goth nails....do not touch my rice....

2007-03-14T18:10:00.000+11:00

No to Kobe Jones
(My rating : 6.5/10)

Last Friday, we went to tryout Kobe Jones @ Docklands. The food is not that great. Menu wasn't impressive especially their mains. The taste is alrite...and price was OK. I wouldn't go back to that place again.

I tried to take some pictures and then was told that "you can't take photos of our food"!!! But too bad....i did. hehee

2007-03-13T17:58:00.000+11:00

Smiley Face Noodle

Ever cooked instant noodles and presented them like this? I went overboard last week when I decided to make the noodle "healthier".

Ingredients:

1 x Nissin Tonkatsu Noodle

2 x Fu zhou fish ball (with pork inside)

Carrot as much as u desire (can be replaced with tomatoes)

Spring onion to garnish

Obviously you try and cook the fish balls first...etc etc... then noodles are the last to go in. Voila...yummy and healthier version of Instant Noodles.

2007-03-13T17:48:00.000+11:00

Kung Fu Tea Experience

While I was in KL with my sis, mum and fellow aunties...We stayed at the Park Royal on Jalan Sultan Ismail. There is this really cool restaurant called the Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant. They served Sichuan (Szechuan) and Cantonese style dishes. However, the dining experience was made memorable by the master tea pourer serving the restaurant's signature Eight Treasures Tea with his 1 metre nose tea kettle with such precision. It was totally awesome to see him perform his KUNG FU stances before pouring the tea. I took a video of him but I don't think I can load it. But here's the picture.