7.30am: First alarm rings... (slaps snooze button)
7.45am: Alarm rings again... (turn on itunes to listen to 5min news by BBC via podcast)
8.00am: Stand and stare at wardrobe wondering how to vary winter clothing.
8.20am: Pack for what seems like a ridiculous pinic outing (aka: lunchbox, fruits, yoghurt, breakfast, to bring to office).
8.30am: Leave house.
That's when the adventure begins. First I'll walk past the smell of espressos, lattes and flat whites at the italian cafes along Lygon street, and the tempting cakes and breads. If I have a gold coin to spare, I'll go and buy a chocolate scone from Bakers Delight- freshly baked! Then I'll walk pass some little parks, lots of victorian houses, and finally pass the stretch of RMIT uni, cross over to Melbourne Central for 2 floors of window shopping, and if I'm a minute late for work, i can cut pass Myer and pretend to speed-shop (and enjoy the heating)... And finally dart under the Commonwealth Bank building, slid and slide down the underground parking at the back lane, and arrive at another day's of work. 2.6km worth of travelling, and some calories burnt.
12.30pm: Lunchtime at the Galleria@ Commonwealth bank building, since it's winter now and the outdoors aren't worth spending time at. After a quick lunchbox lunch of whatever-was-yesterday's-dinner, Claudine and I will go in search of adventure (part 2). Frozen yoghurt at Myer? Or coffee at degraves? Hot choc at Brunettis? Kaypo-ing at David Jones Food Hall? Go browse cuilinary books at City library?
5.30pm: It's dark and cold. Retrace morning walk. Think about what to cook for dinner, and lunch tomorrow.
Sounds like work is an adventure everyday isn't it?
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Epi-not-curious
All things food for this long Queen's birthday weekend.
I'm so stuffed with food I really don't know when to start. I just had brekky at Mart 130 (Middle Park), following the reviews of the breakfast blog. The corn fritters that I had was fresh, the rows of corn kernels stuck together reminds you that it was fresh corn off the cob, not out of a bag of frozen corb nibblets. Evie had the Pancake with caramelised bananas, but she preferred the oatmeal pancakes we had at Cafe Sweethearts a couple of weeks ago. I was as usual, cheery at the sight of the black speckled vanilla bean cream that can only scream of pure vanilla bean- from the $4-a-tiny-pod, not the $2.50-a-bottle. (Forgive me, I'm not a food snob, but there's nothing more vanilla than those from vanilla beans- essence hardly counts.) Yuan had an omelette, but he was not impressed with the sourdough that came with it. The genovese coffee is average and fluctuates according to the barista, the verandah side of the converted tram-station was scenic, and the parking was a breeze. Although the breakfast blog gave it a 19/20, I'll have to let Cafe Sweethearts gain the upper hand with their stellar poach eggs with hollandaise sauce- value for money too if you order it with oat pancakes and bacon.
And since I'm at the breakfast topic, Cafe Sweethearts has the added draw of the South Melbourne market. I bought a sell-by-weight tub of cocoa to make hot choc (oh, I'll review hot choc the next time) and some apple chips. The cheeses there are drop-dead cheap if you want to consume it really soon, and there are aged meats for the 'ing cheem' (picky) steak-snobs.
Back to the long weekend. Communion extended from church to the Yarra Valley. I was quite determined to visit the Yarra Valley Dairy again, since the last time we stumbled upon it with melbie pals Cindy, Clara and homepal Edwin. This time the Persian Fetta was unavailable for tasting, and there were too many soft goat cheeses for my liking. The last time, Clara and I had 6 years of Pinots lined up in half-glasses when we went. This time, I was introduced to the wines of Yarra from the boutique wineries. I know I ranted about the lousy Chandon and large-touristy-nice-packaging wineries the last time I came. This time, my favourite has to be the 2002 Gembrook Hill Sauvignon Blanc. The Jamsheed Shiraz was also commendable. Both tasted much flavoursome than the earlier cellar door tastings at De Botoli and Yering Station.
My rechargeable batteries for my camera has gone kapuk. This will explain why there's hardly any decent pictures to complement the narration.
Mart 130
The Corn Fritters and Bacon I had
I'm so stuffed with food I really don't know when to start. I just had brekky at Mart 130 (Middle Park), following the reviews of the breakfast blog. The corn fritters that I had was fresh, the rows of corn kernels stuck together reminds you that it was fresh corn off the cob, not out of a bag of frozen corb nibblets. Evie had the Pancake with caramelised bananas, but she preferred the oatmeal pancakes we had at Cafe Sweethearts a couple of weeks ago. I was as usual, cheery at the sight of the black speckled vanilla bean cream that can only scream of pure vanilla bean- from the $4-a-tiny-pod, not the $2.50-a-bottle. (Forgive me, I'm not a food snob, but there's nothing more vanilla than those from vanilla beans- essence hardly counts.) Yuan had an omelette, but he was not impressed with the sourdough that came with it. The genovese coffee is average and fluctuates according to the barista, the verandah side of the converted tram-station was scenic, and the parking was a breeze. Although the breakfast blog gave it a 19/20, I'll have to let Cafe Sweethearts gain the upper hand with their stellar poach eggs with hollandaise sauce- value for money too if you order it with oat pancakes and bacon.
And since I'm at the breakfast topic, Cafe Sweethearts has the added draw of the South Melbourne market. I bought a sell-by-weight tub of cocoa to make hot choc (oh, I'll review hot choc the next time) and some apple chips. The cheeses there are drop-dead cheap if you want to consume it really soon, and there are aged meats for the 'ing cheem' (picky) steak-snobs.
Back to the long weekend. Communion extended from church to the Yarra Valley. I was quite determined to visit the Yarra Valley Dairy again, since the last time we stumbled upon it with melbie pals Cindy, Clara and homepal Edwin. This time the Persian Fetta was unavailable for tasting, and there were too many soft goat cheeses for my liking. The last time, Clara and I had 6 years of Pinots lined up in half-glasses when we went. This time, I was introduced to the wines of Yarra from the boutique wineries. I know I ranted about the lousy Chandon and large-touristy-nice-packaging wineries the last time I came. This time, my favourite has to be the 2002 Gembrook Hill Sauvignon Blanc. The Jamsheed Shiraz was also commendable. Both tasted much flavoursome than the earlier cellar door tastings at De Botoli and Yering Station.
My rechargeable batteries for my camera has gone kapuk. This will explain why there's hardly any decent pictures to complement the narration.
Mart 130
The Corn Fritters and Bacon I had
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
A Little Surprise
It's just one of those old fashioned things that still warms my heart. I came back today to see an envelope on the table, evidently with Nel's handwriting on it. It's was for no particular occasion, but I think she's being really sweet about things, to send me a cute card with photographs that she took- of us three, of her trips to Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It stopped me on my tracks as I got home from a tiring day, with no dinner nor housemate in sight.Ever since I came here, every little post means a lot to me. I still get them often from good friends, and nel, sha and jocelyn are the ever-faithfuls. I hope I'm not too emotional when I say that sometimes tears do well up in my eyes when I see them, especially when the day is long or it's just one of those lonely nights.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Tribe
I made some cupcakes for someone's birthday last week. There were some extras, and I was at a loss at who to give to. They were gorgeous Bill Granger cupcakes with white chocolate icing, and the texture of a soft buttery cake good enough for an nice afternoon tea. Of hand, I could think of a few, but I wished there were the kind of friends who truly know who your thoughts are with when you give it to them.
And my thoughts were transported to miles away, where there's a tribe waiting. It's a few ex-colleagues whom I've been very close to while working there- people you share 2 hours lunches with, who sits with you over those weekly ops meetings, people who took annual trips together with, and those you hung out with eating durians and watching midnight shows, or playing Risk over New Year's eve with... people who gave me a blown up photograph of our kelong trip for me to take to Melbourne... and yes, we even had a 'Tribe' t-shirt...
I called Ah Ong, we talked and laughed... she can read my thoughts, and we can switch from serious to candid... she's been my travel partner to Australia, NZ... then there's Small Man, my Saturday soulmate at chijazz, my arthouse movie buddy, my breakfast and supper partner... there's Larry Cool who's really getting excited over our Darwin trip and I'm excited to hear that he's excited.... and Mok Mok who gets on ur nerves everytime with his por-ma, but is really a caring person deep within.
I don't know if I'll ever have friends like these in a workplace here. It's been 3 years since leaving and I still get a present sent to me on my birthdays by these wonderful people. I always thought God has been over-generous in the 'friends' department, and I really felt the loss when I am here.
I know if I had made those cupcakes in Singapore, I'll have no problem giving them away. In fact, I'll have to think of making more to give to people I really want to give.
Here's one for The Tribe. I miss you all :(
And my thoughts were transported to miles away, where there's a tribe waiting. It's a few ex-colleagues whom I've been very close to while working there- people you share 2 hours lunches with, who sits with you over those weekly ops meetings, people who took annual trips together with, and those you hung out with eating durians and watching midnight shows, or playing Risk over New Year's eve with... people who gave me a blown up photograph of our kelong trip for me to take to Melbourne... and yes, we even had a 'Tribe' t-shirt...
I called Ah Ong, we talked and laughed... she can read my thoughts, and we can switch from serious to candid... she's been my travel partner to Australia, NZ... then there's Small Man, my Saturday soulmate at chijazz, my arthouse movie buddy, my breakfast and supper partner... there's Larry Cool who's really getting excited over our Darwin trip and I'm excited to hear that he's excited.... and Mok Mok who gets on ur nerves everytime with his por-ma, but is really a caring person deep within.
I don't know if I'll ever have friends like these in a workplace here. It's been 3 years since leaving and I still get a present sent to me on my birthdays by these wonderful people. I always thought God has been over-generous in the 'friends' department, and I really felt the loss when I am here.
I know if I had made those cupcakes in Singapore, I'll have no problem giving them away. In fact, I'll have to think of making more to give to people I really want to give.
Here's one for The Tribe. I miss you all :(