Jordan: The Food Never Ends

The amazing buffet they served us at the Movenpick hotel in Jordan:

Muffins galore

Bread-y things which I did not eat

Donuts!!!

Jakarta x Bali Photo Diary

Jakarta

Instant millionaire. 

This is how they do street food. Lots & lots of cheese.

Gado gado: a vegetable & tofu dish doused with lots of peanut sauce!

This has got to be one of the BEST views of Jakarta. Picture taken from the top of Monas.

Bali

So glad to see lots o' blue.

The Forrester's, Surry Hills

Lunch or dinner after uni classes is a regular routine for me and my friends. There's this place in Surry Hills called The Forrester's, they serve decent pub food at decent prices, and a good atmosphere too. Also, they have daily specials during lunch time where they just punch down the prices a fair bit.

Crushed Apple Cider- $7

Waiting for the food with a glass of Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider. I'm a big fan of cider, this one is on the sweet side but still a tinge sour and crisp.

Chicken Schnitzel Parmigiana- $12

3 THINGS that make me so HAPPY.

Just thought I might talk about 3 THINGS that have made me very happy the past few days.

Macchiato- $3

My mornings have just been better lately. With one stop at Workshop Espresso on my way to uni, it makes all the difference. Dem mornings just seem less bleek. It's always between piccolos & macchiatos, I'd say, depending on my mood. It definitely gives you that boost you need to get through the day. Make sure you have some blue Pulse gum after, that's a must. Combo does wonders.

Meet The Greek, Brighton Le Sands

Meet the Greek is undeniably one of the best restaurants I've been for Greek food. I'm in love with the cuisine but it's just that there is no Greek place near my house. It's such a shame. This quest for Greek food brought me to a part of Sydney that I have never been to before. Definitely a bit freaky at night. But the food was totally worth it. 

Inside, the whole place was packed out. So glad that we even had the chance to snag a table. Everyone was white or Greek or Lebo, yes, for once I have felt out of place. 

Taramosalata x Melitzanosalata x Tzatziki x Skordalia

All good stuff. Ditch whatever preconceptions you may have coming from those tubs you get at the groceries. This is definitely nothing like it- so freeeeeeeeesh. 

Hemingway's, Manly

Hemingway's is one of those precious gems that I wish I would've found earlier. It's located in right on Manly beach, undeniably one of my favourite beaches here in Sydney.* That's why I just had to bring my good friend Heish over when she visited Sydney. We were fumbling around Manly, undecided where to go for brunch. Then I remembered this place right opposite Manly beach, pretty cool and chill.

Taste and See: HK December 2012 Trip (Part 3)

This is the last installment on my 3-part blog miniseries about our family HK trip. (To read about the previous two, please click here and here)

I discovered the true meaning of Boxing Day -- a day for which you box up all your Christmas decorations! So stupid of me, but I actually thought that "Boxing" was some sort of old-fashioned voting/democratic term or ideal that the Brits decided to celebrate and assign a holiday! They were actually boxing up the Lego Christmas village (which was the cutest thing ever) at Times Square.

Fell in love with this window display at Hermes. I'm a sucker for jungle themed anything and the colours here are just divine.

We received the most thoughtful presents from our aunts! Jo Malone is my new favorite perfume.

Exercise Vendetta

A short break from my travel posts, to discuss another thing Chloe and I have in common: an understanding of the importance (not necessarily a love, haha) of exercise.

WHY I WILL DO MY INSANITY WORKOUTS OBEDIENTLY AND CONSISTENTLY:

1. I do not want to end up with someone who does not exercise, i.e.*, someone who has flabby arms and a fat potbelly. A disciplined man, e.g.*, person who gets up at 5:30 AM everyday to beat his body and make it into his slave is not going to be with a continuously
eating pig who refuses to budge (me, at the moment).

2. I've observed that successful** people are those who rise and grind. Of course, it's not like a person who does not exercise=a person who is not successful. It's just that I don't know of a single person who gets up damn early daily to exercise before going to work who isn't successful. I think it's because being able to discipline one's self physically is a baby step to being able to master self control. CS Lewis said something like men are animals, and what our bodies do, our feelings and thoughts tune into and go in accordance with. People who exercise even if they don't feel like it at first have probably realised that emotion follows motion (that quote is not mine): you do it, then you start feeling like doing it, and not the other way around.

3. Having a healthy and fit body helps you LIVE A FULL LIFE

3.1 BEING ABLE TO DO YOLO-Y STUFF Sports and other recreational activities (i.e., surfing, hiking, etc.) all require a certain fitness level. You can't do play-all-you-can when you're overweight and taxing your heart triple time.

3.2 BEING ABLE TO WEAR NICE CLOTHES Being fashionable and wearing beautiful, stylish clothes also require a decent body! It's sad how being fat forces a person to limit his/her sartorial choices. :(

3.3  HAVING HAPPIER AND BETTER-REGULATED MOODS Endorphins released by exercising makes people happy and less insane. (Even Elle Woods knew that).

3.4 HAVING BETTER SKIN

3.5 HAVING A BETTER CHANCE AT SUCCESS Also, I think people (subconsciously) respect you more when you look good. This I know because I studied and aced*** social psychology, where I learned that tall men and pretty women tend to get paid significantly more than their less attractive counterparts. And cute children were thought by their teachers to be better behaved and smarter than not-so-cute children. (My slightly premature) conclusion? Being smexy will get a person a better paying job and a better shot at a good life.

Making Pizza at Home

Best thing about making your pizza is that everything is ultimately customisable. Though my dough needs a little more work, I was rather content with the toppings and combos that I came up with. Obviously I made quite the mess, but it's all good fun. 

Your typical hawaiian pizza except with turkey bacon. Our house definitely can't live without this flavour- both my sisters demand it. They however don't like bell pepper, but that's for my grandpa anyway. 

Smoked fish x caramelised onion x mushroom x fried eggs. This is what I'd call the Filipino Sinangag Pizza. Tinapa is definitely one of my favourite filipino things, it's smoked milkfish. It tastes rather different from your typical smoked haddock or trout. 

Well, that's it for my pizzas. I'll be putting up the recipe for pizza dough once I've perfected it. This is one of those things that I will be making a couple of times over until I'm fully satisfied. 

x

chloe

Thailand Photo Diary

I went on a holiday with my family to Thailand. It's somewhere that I've been wanting to go for quite a while now. 4 words for me to describe Thailand- great food, rich culture. There's way too much for me to say- so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Midday traffic in Bangkok

One of the many icy desserts we had

Thai take on the oyster cake

Crispy roti with condensed milk- so good.

Taste and See: Hong Kong Trip 2012 (Part 2)

More photos from our family trip (read about part 1 HERE) :

We kept eating at this super fantastic, long-running and authentic noodle house called Mak's. THE. BEST. BEEF. WONTON. NOODLE. SOUP. EVER. (We ate there like 2x over the 4 day trip! Visit them here: 麥奀記 Wellington St., Central, +852 2854 3810, open Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.–8 p.m.)

Suzie Q, Surry Hills

Tucked away in one of the quieter corners of Surry Hills, is Suzie Q. It's a cafe at the same time a shop that sells vinyl records. It's got a super chill vibe, some vintage or what people have coined hipster these days. The staff was ultra friendly, but not to the point that you'd feel awkward though- they're accommodating. It's such a great place to just hangout and have an ultra long conversation with someone you haven't seen in a while.  

See the records on sale? 

I love those vintage touches here and there too!

Taste and See: HK December 2012 Trip (Part 1)

Last December, I went with my whole family to HK. It was my first (I think!) time to actually spend Christmas abroad. It was fun but it was a little bit sad to not be home for Christmas -- I've gotten so used to dressing up and spending Christmas eve at my late grandmother's!

Anyway, here are some photos I took from the trip:

My favorite fast-food snack: deep fried bell peppers, eggplants, tofu, hotdogs, & wontons from this huge stall on Causeway Bay, right between Times Square and Sogo

Razon's of Guagua

Palabok x Halo-halo

Razon's is one of the places that I have to go to when I'm in Manila. There's nothing flashy about it, it's downright stripped down simple. Simple food done well- one of my favourites. It's just always spot on. There's not exactly much to say about the food, just check out the pictures, they should speak for themselves. I think I must've eaten there at least 5 times when I was back recently. 

x

chloe

Razon's of Guagua

http://www.razonsofguagua.com/

HELLO AGAIN

It's funny (and very sad) how this blog once used to be such a huge part of my life (I'd say 10% at least)  -- I was so conscientious about sharing EVERY good meal I had here! It's terrible that I (or we, as in Chloe and I) have kinda let it go and neglected it so! The great news is that we're totally committed to blogging regularly now and getting life back into this little project of ours. :)

So here's a little sentimental sumthin-sumthin for you all to AWW over and feel cheesy about while I go and find interesting things to blog about! (I really, really, really love this quote, it makes me excited to live and go and meet "kindred spirits," to use a term Anne of the whole LM Montgomery series so loved!) I'm thinking of a few posts about some newfound hobbies and interests of mine, and lots of travel updates!!! :)

Love,

D

Mucking x Eating x Travelling Around

OH, HEY!

Well, I've got to say, I haven't been proud of my actions. Obviously cause I've been away from here, I don't have exact reasons for it other than just being I've been lazy and complacent. You know what happens when the uni holidays roll around, when you're back home enjoying home-cooked meals, when you suddenly have so much time to daydream, actually have time to travel, and best of all, have time to spend with family and friends!

It's been too long. It's time to come around and start writing again. So much has happened, so many stories to tell, and yet, so much more to experience. Cheers to 2013 and what it has to in store for me!

So.. here's a sneak peek of my adventures over the holidays. 
Be blogging about 'em soon.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Where the coffee is great and the creative ones go wild.