Voglio viaggiare per il mondo!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Back in Adelaide! - Day 8

Day 8 was basically like day 1.. we were sooo tired after the coach ride. There was this guy who talked so loudly on the phone that the bus driver had to stop the bus to tell him off. I couldn't sleep throughout, and i've never had problems falling asleep on the bus. Then after a break at a gas station, he decided to talk to this girl who was sitting behind me and rach. And that led to more talking for the next hour...

Anyhow, we made it back to rach's room and fell asleep until rach had to go for her lessons. I went with lydea and weiqin to marion and had ice cream from cold rock after rach came to join us! it's really interesting cuz you can choose whatever flavors you wanna have, and a topping, then the girl will mash everything up for you. And you'll have a flavor that you created! We have this here in sg, it's called Ice Cream Chef and is located at East Coast Road..but i've never been there before. Anw, I chose white chocolate ice cream, butterscotch ice cream and a brownie for the topping. It's quite a safe choice, so as expected, it tasted really good. We got it on a 1-for-1 offer thanks to shopping at Coles. So it was like AUD6+ for 2 regular cups. The serving was really huge and i split it with wei qin. rach had hers with roche and malteasers, which was pretty good as well..

It was a lazy day, cuz we were too tired to do anything. You can tell from the dinner we had - fish n chips popped into the oven!

Melbourne - Day 7

This was our last day in Melbourne and it was a Sunday! which meant that we were going for the Planet Shakers service in the afternoon. In the morning, we prepared our pasta lunches before setting off for Brighton Beach. It was a cool breezy morning, not the perfect weather for the beach, but good enough. Brighton Beach is a whole stretch of the sand and the sea, and a whole row of colorful houses. These are bathhouses that actually belong to ppl, but they're only used in the summer. Each house is numbered and painted a diff color/design. It was a pleasant sight, walking down the whole row. I love the green and yellow one with a picture of a kangaroo in boxing gloves, and the one with the aussie flag painted on. Rach took pics of every house (there were like 80!)
We left Yuting's place kinda late (what's new), so we resorted to having lunch in the car just to make it in time for the service at 3:45pm. And were there a whole lot of ppl! It was really grand, so huge and so packed we had to go 3 levels up to get a seat. Planet Shakers is a charismatic church, which explains the extremely LOUD music and some practices that we didn't really follow. It was an interesting experience, but some things that the church practiced were quite controversial. I guess i need to read up more.
After the service, we went to Koko Black, this chocolate place that Wei qin was promoting back in adl. It's really famous in Melbourne, and apparently every Singaporean who stays in OZ should know about it. We went to the one at Lygon Street. Yuting and I ordered a hot choc each (AUD5), and rach had the choc ice cream (AUD7.50). I must say that the chocolate is really of high standard (check out the price! haha..nah it wasn't that ex), and i thought they were even comparable to the Belgium ones. But yea, then I found out that Koko Black's chocolates ARE imported from Belgium..haha. The ice cream was really rich, but it wasn't so sweet that it made you sick of it. The hot choc (signature item on the menu) lived up to its name. Nothing like a hot choc on a winter night. Once again, it stimulates endorphins like all chocolate does and causes a superb sensation --> the root of happiness? hehh.
Yuting dropped us at Southern Cross station, where it was time to say goodbye to her and Melbourne. We were taking the night bus (AUD51) back, which meant a 10hr bus ride all the way to adl. Stocking up biscuits, chocolates and making the final dash for the loo, we got on the bus and headed back to the more peaceful part of OZ...(more pictures comin' up)
SMART cars (part of Benz) stacked up in the Mercs centre in the city
Flinders Train Station
My first time seeing a kiwi knife (frog in the well, mountain tortoise, etc), so I was quite fascinated..
me n yuting in her room
Can't blame her, it was national day period...

Melbourne - Day 6

I woke up to a lovely breakfast of golden crumplets with jam and honey, and a cup of international roast coffee. Life is good =) After breakfast (by then it was already noon), it was off to wine tasting and Mount Dangdenong in yuting's trusty little hyundai. The two wineries that we visited were Whispering Hills and Serville Hills. At the first winery, we tasted 3 in-house (of cuz) wines - a sparkling semillon, a chardonnay, and a shiraz. The top fav was the semillon..haha what else can you expect from 3 ladies. The wine tasting was matched with cheese and crackers, which rachel was very pleased with.
Serville Hills had a larger variety of wines, consisting of their unwooded chardonnay, shiraz and merlot. I loved the shiraz in particular, spicy yet smooth. Yuting and rach stopped at the first wine. I went on for another 5 types. Really taking after my dad in terms of wine interest. Serville Hills sold homemade olives as well, and I tried the preserved chilli ones, which were fabulous. So enticing i almost bought a bottle. But it was not cheap.
After wine tasting, I had to take over yuting in driving cuz she was a little woozy..haha. it was off to one of the villages on Mt. Dangdenong, where antique shops (that dee is so love with) can be found. We stopped at Pie in the Sky, this pie cottage that sells the most wonderful pies i've ever tasted. I had the plain steak pie (AUD3.50). One word - awesome. The generous beef filling oozed out with the first bite. The flakey and crumbly crust tasted great, and yet was firm enough to prevent the pie from falling apart. Rachel had the beef rendang, and yuting the steak and mushroom. They should franchise it and allow it to spread across the globe. We went over to the shop next door - which sold antiques. Yuting bought a jewellery stand at AUD15. I'm not one who would purchase antiques or accessories, but I did enjoy that short span of time in a rusty old shop that evokes a nostalgic feel.

We went to Salvation Army Church at Boxhill where Yuting's ministry had a booth set up at the mini missions exhibition. We stayed there for quite awhile, and when the ABC youths came out from the service, we joined them in finishing the whole lot of food that was at the snack counter ;) haha.

Zion Road Riverside Food Centre

There's always a reason why things happen. As for my weight gain, it has to be due to too much good food on this tiny island. My colleagues at Lexus told me that the char kway teow at Zion Road was not only famous, it was actually quite good. However, we were around the area to try the even more famous River Valley Nasi Padang (which i will blog about when i go again next time), so being the foodie that I am, I had to make another trip down to check it out.

I was not disappointed. The stall has so many awards, they hang all the way to the bottom. But as most ppl might agree with me, such awards are not as accurate anymore. Almost every stall has at least one newspaper cutting or certificate hanging in front of it. This one however, i guarantee you, is worth trying. The rice noodles are tossed in a wok full of flavor, absorbing all the essense that the owner has accumulated over the years. The sauce is slightly sweet, and the wetness of the dish is just right. Not too wet like Apollo char kway teow at Marine Parade Food Centre, and not dry like the hill street one at Bedok South. I felt that the chilli could be more spicy though, to enhance the dynamic kick of the fatty goodness. One serving ($3) is not too big though, so that helps in portion control. The uncle is pretty generous with the cockles and lap chiong, and that's always a good thing. Plus they were really fresh too.

No 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
Zion Road Riverside Food Centre

I think i've found my top 3 char kway teow stalls in singapore, and here they are in order of merit:

1) 91 Fried Kway Teow - Golden Mile Food Complex
2) Hill Street Char Kway Teow - Bedok South Food Centre
3) No 18 Fried Kway Teow - Zion Road Riverside Food Centre

Next up, another unhealthy but national favorite - fried carrot cake, teochew style. You can choose either black or white, as usual. I asked the uncle to give me half of each, and chilli at the side. He was very accomodating, which was a bonus. The carrot cake was done very nicely, crispy for the white, and sweet for the black - the way i like it. Another stall that should improve on the chilli - not spicy enough (maybe it's just me) and lacks fragrance. I'm very particular about chilli, since it's something i can eat on its own and i feel that it can really add punch to your food, if its good. I felt that the carrot cake was not particularly unique though, despite the name. But its good nevertheless ;)

I didn't take down the name of the stall, but its the only teochew fried carrot cake in the food centre, so you can't miss it.

Monday, September 17, 2007

something sweet?

Craving for a light dessert? There's plenty at the marine parade food centre, which boasts more than desserts of cuz. but for now, how does beancurd in gula melaka sound? pretty weird huh? but its all good i tell u.. just good. i love gula melaka - it might be too sweet for some of you maybe. but beancurd is kinda tasteless, so the combination surprisingly works. It goes for just $1 at Selegie beancurd.


Another recommendation is the chendol. At $1.50, its a refreshing and affordable treat, but it adds alot of calories, so don't have it too often. Chendol in a cup - NICE.
For more tau huay, try the Rochor one at Geylang. It's smooth and slides down your throat. I feel that it's not sweet enough though, and definitely not the best i've tasted (i can almost hear daniel protesting). The one at my place is better. I would have the rochor tau huay again, but I wouldnt drive down specially to get it. if i do, i must rem to ask them for more syrup. unhealthy, but tastes better ;)
To top this post off, fancy some cantonese desserts at the Hong Kong Tea House? Went there with pris and anhua and we tried the peanut and sesame paste, and the glutinous rice balls in peanut paste. The portion is really small and for the price, it's not the best deal out there. I'm a fervent supporter of Ah Chew Desserts. The peanut paste at HKTH was not thick enough for me. But i love the ambience of the place. Its the biggest cha chan teng in singapore, and just a great place to hang out with friends. I guess that makes up for the average food.
Hong Kong Tea House
Katong Village #01-09/10

local insert

Enough of melb for now.. just a short little insert of the food in singapore.. the pictures are piling up as well. so here i've got ikea fish n chips (only available on fri) - i like the chives sauce. nothing to shout about (i mean, its ikea), but it's filling. I always like a hearty meal, although its a weird description for fish. at $4.50, cant really complain. even those at the hawker centres cost more.
Next up: bimbimbap at tiong bahru plaza kopitiam ($6). my first taste of the rice in a hot stone bowl. Not bad at all. I love the variety one gets in bimbimbap, plus the hot and savoury sauce. Give it a stir with the egg yolk and we're good to go. Perfetto!


Melbourne - Day 5

Day 5 kicked off with a trip to Chadstone, fashion capital, shopping mall that we didnt manage to go to the previous night. Chadstone's pretty big, but pretty much the same shops again. We did buy sth though.. GELATO! our second round of gelato was at trampoline, voted the best gelato in melbourne. So the flavors we had were "open sesame" (sesame obviously), white choc with raspberry swirls, and ferrero rocher. mama mia! again.. not authentic gelato, but all expensive ice cream's good..has to be. we paid like AUD 5.70 for the whole thing i think. there's krispy kremes at chadstone's, we were supposed to get it for wei qin but we had no time to grab them from the train station b4 we left for adl on the last day.
Anw we proceeded to Queen Victoria Market, which meant even more shopping. but in a flea market kinda setting. I love queen vic. There are clothes, souvenirs, food, shoes, everything. I bought more food and a wine holder! Great bargain at like AUD8. After queen vic, we went shopping at smith st (factory outlets like nike, adidas, etc) and spencer st (huge factory outlet at Southern Cross train station) b4 we met yuting for dinner. We had dinner at Pellegrini's, a traditional italian espresso bar at 66 Bourke St. Food was alrite, the lagsana was really good. But the thing i like about the place is the old italian feel and its cosiness. The owner even washes the dishes at the bar, so you see everything that's happening. It was really crowded when we went, and the place is really small so we had to wait for our seats. There were only a few choices when it came to the food. The menu that hangs from the ceiling had been there since 1954. Cool huh? I took a picture with the Italian owner, who taught me how to say "the food is good" in italiano. I didnt manage to catch the phrase then, but after having learnt italian for awhile (studio italiano solo da quattro settimane), I finally know what he said: il cibo è molto buono!
After dinner we walked along the Yarra river towards Crown complex, where the famous casino is. To my amazement, Nobu is in Crown! no needa go to Malibu anymore! haha..the no. 1 restaurant in the world. Can't believe I forgot that there's a branch in Melb. and omg rockpool's in Melb too.. ok I thought its only in Sydney. Café Greco's in the Crown too. Famous for its cheesecakes, it has queues as long as the Donut Factory's. It's cheaper to take-away than dine in though, about AUD3 cheaper. We caught the 10pm fire display outside crown complex afterwards. Its quite massive and happens every hour. reminds me of the fire display at Vegas, but definitely less impressive.