Sunday, August 31, 2008

Vegetarian Week!

i skipped The Parade today as the weather wasnt too good.. Miyuki went with Jo instead.. and the sun came out after they left! Geez!

anyway, Miyuki taught me 2 vegetarian dishes that she learnt from a previous Greek housemate! how cool!

Left: Baked Zucchini and Tomatoes with Cheese (Turkish)
.: Slice Zucchini and Tomatoes
.: Pan-fry Zucchini with Olive Oil
.: Arrange a layer of Zucchini and sprinkle a layer of Cheese
.: Next, arrange a layer of Tomatoes and sprinkle a layer of Cheese
.: Continue with the above arrangement, depending on how much veggies you need or how deep your baking dish is and top it off with a layer of Cheese
.: Into the oven to bake till the Cheese has melted

Right: Spinach Risotto (Greek)
.: Stir-fry chopped Onions in a pot
.: Add Rice and Spinach (frozen spinach in a box!)
.: Add about 2 cups of water
.: Add about a Tbsp of Tomato Sauce and another Tbsp of Tomato Puree to taste
.: Boil till rice becomes soft

this is absolutely delicious!!!

Miyuki also cooked some Tomato Puree with Garlic for the Baked Zucchini and Tomatoes.. yum yum~ the above 2 dishes are very simple, healthy, easy and most importantly, YUMMY~! Miyuki declared the coming week as Vegetarian Week.. i dont think i'll be able to stick to Vegetarian meals for the whole week but i managed to do that for today!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

No partying..

the reason why i'm now here typing this entry is because i didnt go to Simon's party.. came home in the morning after a night at The Hilton.. didnt really slept well last night.. i think it's because this time round the room came with a Queen size bed instead of the usual 2 Singles.. i was afraid of making heaps of movement, just in case i disrupt S's sleep..

so didnt really slept well and came home to my dearest bed for a nap in the afternoon.. Jo wasnt feeling too well and still had work to do and hence wasnt able to make it for Masa Sangria.. i didnt want to go alone and sent a text to tell Simon to have a blast without us! we did present him with a handmade card signed by all of us and Jo made him a White Chocolate Chip Cake! it was huge! i called it the 'Superman' Cake!



29th August 2008 (Friday)
got myself to The Hilton at about 12noon but S needed more sleep.. so i watched TV while she snoozed on.. we only got ourselves to Dumpling King at about 3pm.. we ordered a plate of Steamed Peking Pork Dumpling (15pcs) and a plate of Fried Sliced Rice Cake.. and both dishes did not disappoint me!

this look pretty healthy, doesnt it?
it's a tad too oily for both S and me though..

after lunch, we went to Coles to get some Orange Juice and Mount Franklin before going back to the hotel to chill and chat.. a very relaxing afternoon.. S didnt want to head to the city at first because of the cold.. but i finally managed to irritate her with my constant nagging and we finally went out to the city for 'late night shopping'!!! we didnt really buy anything.. just some sushi rolls for dinner and had coffee at Gloria Jean's in Borders..

GJ's Cafe Latte with Whipped Cream and Caramel
(2 spoonfuls were eaten before i could whipped out my camera!)

my dear friend didnt know that we can request for Whipped Cream on top of our coffees at GJ's.. i also squeezed some Caramel Sauce on top of her Cafe Latte with Whipped Cream.. it was so so good, S asked if she could have a second helping of the cream with caramel!!! Geez.. and i actually requested a second helping for her, would you believe it! but the staff at GJ's in Borders were really nice about it and gave us more cream the second time round! yummy~ i ordered a White Chocolate Mocha, which was yummy too!

we went back to the hotel, watched TV, chatted a bit more before showering.. S turned in after that, which was needed to get ready for her flight today.. i went on to watch more TV before turning in..

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Nice weekend coming up!

S, my dear friend, will be here in ADL again tomorrow! she's bringing me a few pieces of my clothes and the rest of my savings!!! Geez.. make it or break it! but i wont worry about that till next week because i'll be accompanying her the whole day tomorrow and staying over at her hotel to do some serious catching up! i am looking forward to it! for Saturday, we'll be attending Simon's "21st" and it'll be grocery shopping with Miyuki on Sunday.. so yup, worrying can wait till Monday!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

another test~

went to meet another recruitment agent today.. i really think that this lady, B, is much more professional and serious about her work.. and there was a much better conversation and discussion.. i also did another round of the Typing, Data Entry, Word and Excel test and i did better this time round! B also requested for the contact details of the person i was reporting to when i was working at SG.. one example of what i meant by being more 'serious' about her work!

i went to meet Karine for lunch after the test ended.. i was having KFC and she was having McDonald's.. yup, in the food court we were able to get all sorts of fast food! you can get Subway and Gloria Jean's in the food court too! it was a good catching up session!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

a walk..

the weather has been really good these few days and i decided to go for a walk.. and in order for this blog not to become a food blog, i realised that i need to have more non-food related photos here.. i also realised that i didnt have many photos of Adelaide, either of the city or the suburb which i now reside in.. so i took my camera and went snapping down the road to The Parade!

i thought the clouds look cute~

some interesting building..

a church at the intersection of Portrush Road and The Parade..

the entrance leading to Foodland..
with House on the left and CIBO Espresso on the right..

Norwood Mall..

the entrance leading to Coles and other nice little shops.. there's Angus and Robertson on the right of the entrance and a Gloria Jeans opposite Coles.. The Parade is really quite a nice place for a walk because it has some of my favourite shops.. i hope the good weather is here to stay!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta

Simon finally cooked.. thankfully none of the ingredients were 'canned' related, so that's good enough for me.. haha! i think it's a great pasta to cook (that's for him.. we only participated in eating!) on a Monday night.. very easy and simple and most importantly, it tastes great! i love Pesto! The Ingredients:
  • Onions
  • Zucchini
  • Chicken
  • Mushrooms
  • Thickened Cream
  • Leggo's Traditional Basil Pesto
  • Linguine
i guess the best part was to sit in our warm TV room with a bowl of hot Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta and have a good laugh while watching the Perth audition of The Australian Idol! Thanks for dinner, Simon!

Potato Cakes?

bought too much Baby Potatoes the other day and was wrecking my head for ideas with how to cook them.. went online to search for Potato Recipes.. there must be about a zillion recipes (and counting) with how to cook potatoes but i have limited ingredients and resources to work with yesterday evening.. hence i came up with the very simple and humble Potato Cakes~

Miyuki asked me what i was trying to do when she saw me in the kitchen and i said it was "something like Croquette".. i really wished i didnt tell her that afterwards because my ingredients and method of cooking are just not what the Japanese will agree with for 'Croquettes'.. so once again, i'm trying to fake 'Japanese' here.. wahaha!

anyway, i stir-fry Onions and SPAM together before mixing them into the Mashed Potatoes, to which i added a little bit of Salt, some Pepper and quite a bit of Milk.. i used a soup spoon to scoop 1 spoonful of the mixture, rolled it into a ball and flattened it to about 1cm in thickness.. and then coated it with breadcrumbs.. i managed to get 18 Potatos Cakes!

i lined aluminium foil on a baking tray and oiled the foil with some Olive Oil.. and baked the Potato Cakes at about 200C in the oven for about 30mins.. flipping them over after a 15mins interval.. everyone had second helpings! even Jo! Woohoo~!

now i have to think about what to do with the rest of the potatoes~

Sunday, August 24, 2008

New Header!

i'm pretty sure you would have already noticed the new header sitting on top of this entry! the old one is a default from Blogger and i am more than happy to see the back of it!

All thanks to Zen! he's now my designated Blog Header Designer! the first header he did for me can be seen at DNS..

this new header has a 'Postcard' feel and signifies that every entry here in this blog is like a postcard sent out to all of you (ovunque tu sia) who are keeping track of my steps here in Adelaide! Thanks!

the 'Postcard' showcases The Grange Jetty in the South Australian Suburb of Grange.. there's a Grange Jetty Cafe at the start of the jetty that serves Modern Australian and Italian food and they specialise in Seafood.. i will get myself there someday!

and i have my own stamp! how cool is that~ wahaha.. the stamp gave Zen quite a bit of a headache but he managed to finally get it done to my satisfaction! hehez! oh, it only takes a 2¢ stamp to send this postcard!

all in all, i'm very satisfied with my new header and Zen himself couldnt take his eyes off it.. or was it the food that's making him all dreamy eyes? hmmm~

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Serious House Meeting~

we had a really serious house meeting tonight.. we started off with Miyuki cooking her version of the Shephard's Pie for dinner and it was really healthy! she stir-fried Minced Beef with the below vegetables:
  • Onions
  • Red Capsicum
  • Green Capsicum
  • Carrots
  • Mushrooms
  • Celery

how healthy is that?! she also added a little bit of Chicken Stock and Tomato Sauce to the stir-fry.. and for the Mashed Potatoes, she added Butter, Thickened Cream and Cheese!

the kitchen was a hot zone tonight with Jo doing lots of baking as well! she baked more White Chocolate Chip Muffins and left some plain Cupcakes without icing for me (i find the icing a bit too sweet)!!! she also made us our individual cupcakes with our initials on them, created with White Chocolate Chips! how sweet!

i am thanking little 'Z'!

that's my 'J'!


Simon opened a bottle of Sparkling Pinot Noir and it was pink in colour! matching our individual cupcakes perfectly! and Miyuki provided some Apricot Fruchocs! indeed, it was a very serious meeting, yup?

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Spaghetti Bolognese & Tikka Masala

Yesterday evening Jo cooked us Spaghetti Bolognese and Garlic Bread! it was very good and i had a second helping! i had to stand while watching 'So You Think You Can Dance' because i was just too full!

'Spag Bol' with Oven-baked Garlic Bread..

i stir-fried Cabbage with Onions, Carrots and SPAM for lunch today! a very simple dish with just Olive Oil to oil the pan and a teaspoon of Soy Sauce for some flavour.. i wanted to stir-fry it with Black Vinegar like how LL taught me to.. but i didnt buy the vinegar while at Kim Wang the other day because it was too big a bottle and there's only one size of that vinegar! maybe next time!

i also cooked Chicken Masala (not sure if that's the way to call it!)! i used Pakta's Tikka Masala Curry Paste (Coriander & Lemon) and cooked it with Onions, Tomatoes and Yoghurt! very interesting flavour! something that i have never tried before..

doesnt look too bad here!

P.S. THIS IS NOT A FOOD BLOG! whatever~

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Why is this blog becoming a FOOD BLOG?!

Geez.. really, why is that so? Hmmm.. i'm going to write about food again~

went to Dumpling King for lunch as Miyuki was on leave and she really wanted to try the dumplings there after seeing the entry on Dumpling King..

i ordered a Fried Crumbed Pork Chop on Rice because it looked really good the other time while i was there with XW.. Miyuki got herself a bowl of Chilli Oil Dumpling.. the dumplings, without a doubt, are still very yummy~ the only difference, literally, was adding Chilli Oil to the soup! as for my Fried Crumbed Pork Chop, it was a bit too dry and a bit too hard.. the sauce was alright.. it doesnt taste salty nor sweet.. i dont really know how to describe it.. Miyuki said it felt Japanese after she tried it.. like Tonkatsu!

Miyuki cooked us dinner tonight.. she prepared Baked Chicken and a Pasta Salad.. i think her recipes are more creative than mine, for sure!

Salad Dressing:
  • Olive Oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar (white)
  • Lemon Juice
  • Basil
  • Garlic
  • Salt
healthy!

Baked Chicken: the drumsticks were coated with a sauce made with:
  • Yoghurt
  • Garlic
  • Lemon Juice
  • Parsley
  • Salt
  • Seeded Mustard
the drumsticks were further coated with Krummies Bread Crumbs!

very enjoyable! thank you, Miyuki!

went to Officeworks today to get my academic transcript scanned because i need to send them as a softcopy for a particular job application.. waited for a long time to realise that the 2 ladies behind the counter are not the 'experts' with the scanner.. and they would probably "take half an hour" to scan my documents!

Geez.. they seemed uncomfortable with the idea of scanning! i didnt want to waste more time there since i have been waiting in the line for 20mins before my turn! they asked if i would like to "book an appointment" for tomorrow so the scanner expert would know that i am coming! Gosh, really! if they dont know how to use the scanner, who else would? absolutely unbelievable!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Blackout!

Yup, there was a blackout at around 11.20pm last night.. i was using my laptop and suddenly i was consumed in darkness, COMPLETE DARKNESS! took me about 2 seconds to realise that it was a blackout.. i vaguely remembered the last time we had a blackout.. it was in Year 1 of Uni and it was really fun! showering in the dark (with a torchlight!), taking turns to boil hot water for the one in the shower, chit-chatting on the balcony of Flat 23, etc.. it was loads of fun!

but it's winter now.. and it's really not fun at all to realise that..

there's no lights..
we cant turn on the heater..
i cant turn on my electric blanket..
we cant use the kettle to boil hot water!
we cant use the stove to cook!
there's no laptop to keep in touch with civilisation!!!

the only consolation was the emergency light that came on at the common computer while the whole house was in darkness.. all 4 of us gathered there and try to make sense of the situation.. went out to have a look and realised that the whole area was soaked in darkness.. so it's not a matter of a tripped circuit.. we resigned to fate and went back to our cold beds..

i was on the phone with Zen while hiding under my blankets.. and about an hour later.. the electricity came back on! Yippie! back to civilasation! i have learned to appreciate POWER!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Potato Bake, Honey Mustard Chicken and Jo's Cupcakes!

it's finally my turn to cook for Miyuki and Jo! i prepared a Creamy Potato Bake and Honey Mustard Chicken!

The ingredients i used for my Creamy Potato Bake:
Olive oil, to grease
1.2kg Potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
150g Middle Bacon, cut into thin strips
50g Honey Baked Ham, cut into thin strips
1/2 Yellow Onion, sliced
300ml Thickened Cream
100ml Milk
100g Shredded Parmesan
Rosemary

the main Potato Bake without cheese, for Jo!

this is the one with Parmesan Cheese, for Miyuki!

Honey Mustard Chicken Thigh with boiled Broccoli and Carrots..

The ingredients i used for my Honey Mustard Chicken:
5 Chicken Thighs
4 Tsp Honey
4 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

all in all, i enjoyed preparing and eating the above dishes and i will definitely cook them again!

16 August 2008 (Saturday)
went to the city with Jo to do some shopping.. in the evening, Jo started baking heaps of goodies in the kitchen! the cupcakes below are new creations from the Cupcakes Compendium that Miyuki bought for her!

Strawberry Cupcakes! 18 of them!

and more White Chocolate Muffins! in new MUFFIN paper cups! how cute!

there was also a large Chocolate Chip Cake! Gosh, Jo! you are the MUFFIN MACHINE!

15 August 2008 (Friday Evening)
Simon came home from work while us girls are talking about girly stuff like earrings, dresses and shoes! he opened a bottle of white wine and got everyone to drink with him before going for a serious night out.. Jo didnt want any and so did i! but i was 'forced' to drink some in end and my glass was mysteriously topped up when i went into my room to pick up a phonecall.. of course, both Miyuki and Simon appear not to know anything about it! haha..

because all 4 of us were home and in the kitchen, we decided to do a quick 'spring' cleaning.. and chucked out all the stuff in the fridge that doesnt belong to anyone of us! gosh, there was nothing much left in the fridge after that! but well, we did have a serious house meeting, didnt we? haha!

Friday, August 15, 2008

2 months

Geez.. it's been 2 months since i first got on the plane for ADL.. Gosh, i've been unemployed for 2 and a half months now.. that's counting the 2 weeks that i was down with Chicken Pox before i came! another month before my 3 months 'plan' to be unemployed is up~ oops.. getting nearer!!!

it's been a peaceful week.. didnt hear anything at all from any prospective employers.. because only one day out of 7 last week was spent job hunting! hehez.. so it's been a really quiet week except for Diana calling to see if i'm still job hunting.. yes, for sure i am~

other than job hunting every morning after breakfast, i've been catching up on my reading this week.. i bought PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern for only A$6.99 last Sunday! finished that in about 2 days and moved on to Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, which i brought here with me but havent touched it since i-have-no-idea-when.. finished that yesterday and i just bought Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (also A$6.99!) when i was doing grocery shopping at The Parade just now.. i also have on hand A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, which i received in the mail on Monday from Zen! *smilez*

i have also been reading TIME and flipping through Good Taste to see what i can cook for Jo, since she has been really kind to bake us muffins all the time and just last night, she cooked Shepherd's Pie and Yorkshire Puddings and asked us to join her for dinner! this week, she was on leave for 2 days and came up with 3 more flavours of muffins: Lemon, Strawberry and Rich Chocolate Sauce!

been watching Olympics on TV too.. though i have to admit the only programme that i have faithfully turn on the TV for is 'So You Think You Can Dance'.. haha.. i love that!

i celebrated my unemployment last night by doing my own French Pedicure! it was a stretch for my neck and legs but from my height level, my feet is looking pretty good! i try not to look too closely though.. the mess will scare anyone and it's not even Halloween!

Nick moved out on Tuesday, so there's only 4 of us in this house at the moment.. i guess that pretty much sums up my week and i'm pretty sure everyone else is having a more exciting life at the moment! Have a good weekend while i go back to my books!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Gnocchi!

went to The Parade today with Miyuki to get groceries.. she asked if i would like to have Gnocchi for dinner tonight as she will be cooking some! i was, of course, delighted! Potato Gnocchi, here i come! Miyuki prepared Gnocchi with Onions, Mushrooms and Sun-dried Tomatoes.. it was absolutely yum~

fresh Gnocchi!

i was given the very important job of boiling the Gnocci and making sure that they are scoop out of the boiling water once they have floated! it doesnt take long for them to float.. about 3 minutes.. and they kept me very busy by all floating at once!!! Geez..

boiled Gnocchi!

she sauteed onions with olive oil before adding in mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.. next, she added a tub of Bulla Thickened Cream and simmered everything for a few minutes.. she then added some shredded Cheese and stirred till the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened.. in went the Gnocchi and all ingredients were allowed to simmer for a few minutes before being transferred into an oven-proof dish.. she further topped the dish with more Cheese and sent it into the oven to bake till the Cheese has melted!

baked Gnocchi!

First Job Offer! - Rejected!

wahaha.. i cant believe this.. i actually rejected my first job offer here!!! Geez.. i've come to the conclusion that as desperate as i may be.. i'm not that desperate yet~ wahaha..

it's too far out of the city and in the middle of nowhere! what's more, never mind that i have to take 2 buses (approximately 45 minutes not including waiting time) to get there, i still have to walk quite a distance before i reached the company! i would have to do that twice a day.. which means that i will be spending about 2 hours on the road everyday? Geez.. isnt that what i was trying to avoid by staying near the city?

the company didnt give me much time to consider when they called me up late Friday afternoon at about 4.40pm.. i was on my way to Zen House Tea Corner.. and they wanted me to make a decision by 5pm, which means i have 20mins! Geez! they wanted me to start the coming Monday and i dont mind starting as soon as possible, come on, it means getting paid sooner! but.. the distance really turns me off.. so there we go, i rejected my first job offer here~

Cheers,
Not-Desperate-Enough

Friday, August 8, 2008

too full!!!

i must say dinner at Zen House Tea Corner tonight was simply the best that i have had in the 2 months that i have been here in Adelaide! it was a 9-course VEGETARIAN dinner, served like a Chinese wedding dinner.. only that there was rice to go with the dishes too.. which makes me extremely full!!!

the whole restaurant was booked by a colleague of Miyuki from her department.. there were 4 large tables for this occasion.. hence about 40 of us in there.. the restaurant serves a wide range of vegetarian food.. from Chinese to Western, Dim Sum to Burgers, Salads to Sandwiches, etc.. it's not called a Tea Corner for nothing.. they carry a huge variety of TEAS from all over the world.. on our table tonight was a pot of Jasmine Tea and a pot of Rooibos Tea (organic)..

1. Mixed Entree

the first dish was an assortment of their Yum Cha series.. it consists of 5 different dishes.. which was really quite yum~




2. Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables

this is real food, okie?







3. Red Roasted 'Duck'

this dish was quite yummy but a little bit sweet and too red for me..

didnt want to eat rice because there were quite a number of dishes.. but in the end, i have to!

4. Curry 'Fish'

this is my favourite out of the 9 dishes tonight.. i will go back for it!

yup, more rice consumed at this stage! wahaha!



5. Claypot Tofu

this is real food too, alright?

by this stage, we were really very full.. but we just kept on shoving food down.. wahaha..



6. Ginger 'Chicken'

a nice dish.. the 'chicken' was a bit salty though.. but quite good!

i had a hard time trying to explain what's in these fake 'meats'~



7. Hotplate Sambal 'Eel'

i dont see no Sambal in this dish.. too sweet! most people dislike it!






8. Fortune Knoki Mushroom

heaps of people at our table really like this deep fried mushroom! kind of salty..





9. Creamy Yam

i know it's 'Bo Bo Cha Cha'!!! wahaha.. not wonderfully fantastic though..





after dinner, we went to the bar just round the corner of Grenfell Street and Bent Street, it's called 'The Austral'.. Miyuki wanted alcohol real badly and had a glass of beer.. haha.. we then went for hot chocolate (how much can we put in our tummies?!) at this cozy little place called the 'Chocolate Bean'..

it's a nice little place on Union Street which i would never have come across on my own! it's a real chocolate place, with all sorts of hot chocolate! T & A both ordered Orange Hot Chocolate, another guy ordered Chilli Hot Chocolate (it felt and tasted absolutely wrong!!!), Miyuki got herself a Rose Hot Chocolate and i ordered a small glass of Original Hot Chocolate (how exciting~)!

T further ordered a Strawberry Fondue and a Chocolate Filth (a disgustingly [this is exactly what it says on the menu, okie?] large slice of mudcake with shots of white and dark ganache, mousse and cream topped with more chocolate)! Gosh.. it's all very good.. but too much to take after such a heavy dinner~ T finished it all when we couldnt shove down anymore of the desserts!

i realised that there's so many nice restaurants and cafes further down Grenfell Street.. more things to try coming up next! Thanks to Miyuki for bringing me out today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ZEN HOUSE TEA CORNER
17-19 Bent Street
Adelaide SA 5000

CHOCOLATE BEAN
18 Union Street
Adelaide SA 5000

yet another interview on 08/08/2008!!!

went for another interview at where Jo and Karine were working.. the interview went pretty well and Ben, the guy who interviewed me, was really nice and made me feel totally comfortable.. if only all interviews were like that!

went to the post office to send off a parcel and walked around for a bit.. that resulted in me buying a blouse from Bardot! oops! i like the blouse, it's formal enough to be worn for work and can also be worn for a night out! but i also really like the paper bag! wahaha.. because it's yellow! hehez..

Jo baked muffins again last night.. in the muffin paper cups that i bought for her! the muffins taste good and look cute!

look at that~

i'm excited about dinner tonight as well! Miyuki invited me to join her and her colleagues for dinner at Zen House, a vegetarian restaurant in the city! i didnt realise it until Miyuki told me that the dinner was to 'celebrate' the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics tonight! Yummy food, here i come!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

another interview~

went for an interview this morning and got lost on the way there.. i was almost late! Geez.. it was really in the middle of nowhere!!! it must be some sort of industrial area and the bus that i took was only able to drop me on another stretch of road adjacent to it! Apparently no buses go down the road that this company is on!

i was so lost that i went into what i thought was some sort of factory-cum-office.. the receptionist was really kind and looked up Google Maps for me.. she even asked me what time my interview was supposed to be.. when i told her it was at 10am, she asked me if i want to call the company using her phone because my watch told me i have less than 15mins to get myself there! Gosh, i would have to walk quite a fair bit before getting there..

when i finally reached the company, i dont like the look of it, i dont like the feel of it, i dont like the area it's in and i dont like how long and troublesome it took me to get there.. the interview was alright but it didnt took me long to realise that this is one job that i wish i wasnt offered a position!

i went back to the city after the interview.. and had my usual at GJ's.. my Irish Nut Creme.. i'm kind of into Hazelnut flavoured coffee nowadays, yup? haha.. the drink menu describes the Irish Nut Creme as 'A magical mix of Irish Cream and Hazelnut Italian style syrups, white chocolate, espresso and milk. All beneath a mound of whipped cream and green sprinkles'. Gosh, sounds like me! wahaha.. but i would normally request for a squirt of Caramel on top of my whipped cream though~ hmmm~ *smack lips*

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bye, Miss Neo!

XW got on the cab to the airport about 10 minutes ago.. life is back to normal and i'm no longer a tourist anymore! it's back to job hunting and attending interviews!

we went to Penfolds, Magill Estate today.. it's so near my place! it sounds a bit crazy to think that there is such a huge winery just down the corner of my street and that the area itself was the start of an empire with such a long history! cool~

we took a tour through their cellar door, costing A$15 each.. we saw the machines that processed the grapes and Mark, our guide, told us the procedures of producing wine.. Mark also gave us heaps of information on the company, its pioneers and of course, their wine!

we started with wine tasting before the tour because we were early and Mark was very kind to show us a number of different wines.. one white and about 5 reds, i think.. i wasnt very impressed with the wine (not that i know anything about them), but i love the port!

we tasted the PENFOLDS Bluestone Ten Year Old Tawny and the PENFOLDS Grandfather Liqueur Tawny.. the PENFOLDS Bluestone Ten Year Old Tawny was so yummy!!! The 'Grandfather' costs about A$100 each! Gosh, i was right to assume that there was a 'Great Grandfather'! Geez.. wonder how much that would cost~

after everything ended at Penfolds, we took a bus down to The Parade.. it was raining and freezing cold the whole day!!! walked XW through The Parade and had lunch at Cherry Blossoms (Japanese cuisine).. we ordered a Pork Katsu Don and a Teriyaki Chicken Don.. i would say that it was pretty value-for-money but the sauce was too sweet for my liking!

from The Parade, we went to the city for some light shopping and then had tea at CIBO Espresso.. i ordered a Ciboccino (hazelnut flavoured cappuccino) and XW had a Cioccolata Italiana (thick dark hot chocolate with a dash of cream.. i had a hard time trying to pronounce it!).. which turns out to be the THICKEST hot chocolate that i've ever tasted!!! gosh, a little bit over! we also ordered a slice of Apricot Cheesecake, which was pretty yummy! went home after tea as XW need to pack for her flight back to Melbourne!

P.S. Photos for today will have to wait till XW gets back to Singapore as my camera ran out of battery and i forgot to charge it!!!

5th August 2008 (Tuesday)
Today was a relaxing day and the only item on the itinerary was Central Market and Chinatown.. we had coffee at The Perfect Cup on Grenfell Street when we arrived in the city after breakfast at home.. i ordered a Macadamia Flat White and ordered the Hazelnut Flat White for XW..

their flavoured coffees were relatively mild in taste as compared to the ones at GJ's.. but i must say the milk was pretty well-frothed! after walking through Central Market and Chinatown, XW decided to have lunch at Dumpling King! it was a good decision! i like both the dishes that we ordered: Steamed Peking Pork Dumplings (15 of them for only A$6.80!!!) and Shanghai Fried Noodles with Sliced Pork and Vegetables (A$7.80).. we cant even finish half of what we ordered! i will definitely go back to try other dishes!

food.. glorious food~

yummy yum yum~

i had an interview scheduled at 5pm and left XW in the city after our late lunch.. it was a group interview for an upcoming promotional campaign.. i have never attended a group interview before and there were 15 people altogether! we were divided into 3 groups of 5 and were asked to choose a brand that we know of and come up with a advertisement for it! it was pretty fun and more like a group discussion than an interview.. met up with XW in the city after my interview.. and on my way to meet her at Borders, i dropped my handphone!!!! gosh, that pretty much ruined my day.. i was really upset about it.. the phone was barely 2 months old!!! *sob*

we went to Woolworths to get groceries for dinner after i grumbled (vent my frustrations, basically~) to XW at Borders.. i should have been more careful than to walk, adjust my shawl and hold on to my handphone all at the same time!!! now it's all scratched!!! i was in a real bad mood..

anyway, dinner was Steamed Dory fillet with Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions and Broccolini! you must be wondering what's that.. it's baby Broccoli! interesting vegetable.. just like how i didnt believe it when they first mixed Broccoli and Cauliflower and get this greenish looking cauliflower.. i think it's called the Broccocauli.. i dont remember.. but for a while it was sold in Woolworths back in Perth.. not sure if they still sell it though..

got home and slacked for a while before steaming the fish.. while we (all of us girls, including XW) were in the kitchen, Nic came in and announced that he's going to move out during the weekend! that was totally unexpected! anyway, that's life, isnt it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Perfect Cup
77 Grenfell Street
Adelaide SA 5000

Dumpling King
Shop 4 & 5
85 Grote Street
Adelaide SA 5000

Monday, August 4, 2008

Hahndorf!! Beerenberg Farm!

we went to the town of Hahndorf today, which is situated in the Adelaide Hills.. it's the oldest surviving German Settlement in Australia and also one of South Australia's 17 State Heritage Areas! the weather wasnt too good though.. it kept on raining.. stopped for a while and then rain again.. the funny thing was that the skies tend to rain whenever we were outdoors and when we were indoors, the skies tend to be clear.. the moment we decided to hit the road again, it'll start to rain all over!!! Geez..

i was thinking that the signboard in the photo above was really precise with the population level in the town.. so it has 1839 inhabitants today.. i wonder how often the town change the signboard.. and how accurate the figures are~ i sure hope the numbers are increasing!

anyway, we had heaps of delicious food today! we were pretty hungry when we got to the town.. it was raining heavily and we really wanted to seek refuge in one of the warm-looking cafes! we decided on Cafe Assiette and it was the absolute right choice because there was a fireplace inside!!! warm~

XW ordered a White Hot Chocolate and i had a Flat White.. we then ordered a Bratwurst Dog and a Fish and Chips.. we both agreed that the side dishes and the condiments were really good.. the mains were good but not as exciting.. hehez!

the Bratwurst Dog has two side dishes of Garlic Mash and Sauerkraut.. my favourite is really the Sauerkraut though i have no idea what it is, really.. the Fish and Chips was served with fresh salad, crispy chips and dill mayonnaise.. and i actually like the dill mayonnaise best!

after warming ourselves with lunch, we went for a walk through the main street of the little town.. there are many quaint little shops in the town.. and many things to see, buy and eat! we walked to the Beerenberg Farm, just a little outside of the main street of the town.. lo and behold, there are so many bottles of yummy stuff one can buy there!

on this side of the shelf are the savoury condiments and sauces.. there are as many sweet condiments, sauces and spreads on the other side.. and the below are just some of the stuff that we bought! wahaha!

the little bottles of Rich Chocolate Sauce, Choc Mint Sauce, Hot English Mustard, Bavarian Mustard, Farmhouse Mayonnaise and Sweet Chilli Sauce are just so cute, i couldnt resist! and i didnt buy a single bottle of Strawberry Jam, which is their most famous produce!!! well, i dont like Strawberry Jam!

it was raining when we got out of Beerenberg Farm and we had to walk all the way back to the town.. by the time we got there, we were wet and freezing and decided to seek solace at the German Cake Shop! we ordered Earl Grey Tea for 2 and a slice of Bienenstich to share, which was absolutely yum~!

i will go back for this!

the cake shop was pretty big.. and this is only half of the shop floor.. it does look very European, i must say.. after tea, we went for cheese-tasting.. actually, only XW did because i was too full to put anymore food into my stomach! went home after that.. we were quite proud of ourselves because we managed to catch the public transport to a tourist attraction without buying day tours!

came home to cook pasta for dinner and it turned out that Jo cant eat mushrooms! she's allergic to them! i wasnt able to offer her dinner in the end and i felt really bad about it.. Jo, if you are reading this now.. sorry! i'll run through the ingredients with you the next time i invite you for dinner!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cafe Assiette
72 Main Street
Hahndorf SA 5245

German Cake Shop
2 Pine Avenue
Hahndorf SA 5245