Damn Skippy, It's THE DIP.

So the place is puny, and this is the sign you should look for up front! 

Amidst all the deadlines drama with school work, me and my friends actually got to sneak out for dinner. Which was fantastic cause a lot of school work definitely becomes overwhelming after a certain point. Biggest understatement of the year. I've probably never been more busy, tired, and stressed! But let's leave the miserable note at that! I get to escape all that when I blog- it's just so pleasant.

The Dip is inside GoodGod.

We decide to hit up The Dip on Liverpool Street. It's actually been getting a lot of coverage lately via blogs. In my opinion, their food is straight to the point sorta comparable to fast food but with a touch more pizzaz. It's American, duh. 

Cold Stone Creamery, Dubai

There's a saying that's been running through my mind a lot-- You are what you daily do.* It has really got me reflecting on my life and where I'm heading. The things that I consistently do everyday include: eating, checking my Facebook and Twitter, sleeping, and showering. Everything else (including the far more important things) are only done once a week, or twice a week, or three times a week. I really NEED to sort out my priorities. I think it's this messed-up-ness of my priorities that leave me harangued and harried on Mondays! I'm got two mini-meetings today, a College Fashionista entry to post, lots of summaries to type up... so many things to do!

And now it's time to blog. I love blogging here. Aside from exercise, I think writing for 3748 Miles is a wonderful way to escape.** :D It allows me to reflect on and freeze great memories! :)

Remember my Fauchon post? Here's another sweet stop we made at Dubai: The Cold Stone Creamery.
I'd never tried Cold Stone and had heard a lot about it so I was pretty excited to try it out!

You pick out a flavor, they roll it into a ball, toss said ball into the air, and mash it!

Lunch

Here's the brunch I cooked for myself: PASTA! Pasta with shrimps, sardines, and garlic. And since I'm trying to load up on the veg+fruits, I added one WHOLE head of broccoli.

Fauchon, Dubai

I just came from the gym (in case you care, although you probably don't, but I'll share this anyway, I ran/walked 9km and did this horrible butt workout*) and am about to shower and eat. Or maybe eat and shower. Although it would be more hygienic to shower then eat, I really am hungry... Anyway, I've got a ton of papers to write (I really can't wait to graduate) so let's get this blog entry started! :)

Remember my Holy Land trip? After we visited all the holy sites, we visited the holiest of them all... the Dubai mall. KIDDING!!!! I'm only kidding, please don't stone me and condemn me to the fiery pits. But Dubai really was a dream! The weather was insanely hot (I could die there, if you left me outside the mall...It was REALLY scorchingly, murderously hot) but the SHOPS in the mall more than made up for the parching, crazy heat (after that trip, I understood why people hallucinate in the desert).

One of the places you've got to hit in Dubai is this French restaurant/cafe called Fauchon. Actually, you need to hit everything in Dubai because everything is just to luxurious and extravagant (or at least only in the mall**). First, we went to the Fauchon store, where you can get chocolate souvenirs to take home.

Super cute farfalle in Fauchon!

All the pretty boxes

Meet Cabramatta and Thanh Binh

Cabra is the place to go for all the Viet goodies on your mind.

Ever heard of Chef Dan Hong? He's the head chef of the famous Ms. G's! And ever so recently I've heard that he opened up El Loco in Surry Hills. Well, I've tried out El Loco but it was really stupid of me to leave my camera at home. What kind of food blogger am I? Anyway, this post isn't about Dan Hong, it's about his mother, rather. Well not his mother, his mother per say, it's about her restaurant. The restaurant is called Thanh Binh and apparently it's sort of as authentic as Vietnamese food could possibly get.

Bar Biscotti, North Strathfield

Every Saturday, my friends and I head to bicentennial park and we EXERCISE. We do all sorts of crazy drills and routines. Pushups, burpees, box jumps, pull-ups, and the like. As a reward after each workout, we do go out brunch. This time we headed down to North Strathfield to have a look around and hopefully find somewhere decent to eat.

Meet Bar Biscotti.

I love the contrast of the brick wall against the bright red retro chairs
and also against the polished concrete floor.

We ended up at Bar Biscotti, it was a modern, clean, and airy cafe with a great atmosphere. There were all sorts of simple dishes on the menu. But if you know me well enough, you'd know that nothing seals the deal like steak. I ordered the steak salad just because that perfectly fit my craving for both meat and greens. And what would a lunch at a cafe be without coffee, right? I had a cappucino as always. It had a really frothy top that was just great! Plus, the coffee itself was notable too!

Cafe Breton and Chelsea

                There's a song stuck in my head right now, and it goes, "I always thought the left was your strongest side, but when it comes to you, now I can't decide. It's only a matter of time." It's one of those vague songs that are open to interpretation (or maybe that's just me). Anyway, I like my personal understanding of it, and listen to it all the time. Just sharing!

                I know I haven't posted in ages. My life is a little bit crazy now and I always feel like I'm running from one thing to another. I always tell myself that "busy" is a state of mind but sometimes it definitely feels like it isn't-- it feels more like a huge, greedy, giant monster that wants more, more, MORE. If only I could zap things away and escape! All I live for now are the weekends, where I shut down EVERYTHING and stop DOING and just take a breather and RELAX and ENJOY. Weekends and exercise*--it's funny because I've always been very anti-exercise but lately I've discovered what a wonderful escape it can be. There is nothing like a run and an hour of yoga after!

               Anyway, here's what I've been eating lately.

Nutella crepe at Cafe Breton (this costs more or less 100 pesos; super worth-it, if you ask me). They have the best crepes in the Philippines.

For Grandpa- Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I love my grandfather to bits.

He celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks back.

It wasn't a fancy event, in fact, he had it in the hospital. He went through surgery.

Anyway, he doesn't like vegetables at all.

And I thought it might be funny maybe a bit cheeky to bake him some carrot cupcakes.

He actually liked them a fair bit, wheeeeew. 

Breakfast at Antonio's, Tagaytay

Tagaytay is really a dream. It's only been a week since our trip and I miss it already! It really is a place to escape from reality and pretend that all the requirements and demands of life don't exist.* I just LOVE it for the fresh air and the absence of the Internet. Not to mention for Antonio's.

Welcome to Antonio's! (Remember my Antonio's post?) We went back the next day for breakfast! I just LOVE having breakfast at Antonio's because the place makes me feel like a southern belle.

First up, I had the homemade yogurt with lemon curd. Tres bien! The yogurt was really tangy and deliciously fresh, and the curd tasted like melted lemon squares.

Talk About Croissants.

Croissants are absolutely heavenly.

Buttery, flaky, and fluffy- my goodness.

For a time, they were irresistible to me.

I'd always be tempted to get one before my classes started.

A ham and cheese one, heavily toasted on the panini press.

It was the most comforting thing, alongside coffee.

It was my break and indulgence in the midst of stressful mornings.

Such an indulgence.

So, I mum bought a dozen of croissants at Costco.

Your average croissant.

There are croissants, and there are Chloe-style croissants. 

Happy Chloe

Style

Croissant.

Let me break it down for you.

Chloe-style Croissants

Fluffy huge buttery croissant

Jarlsberg Cheese

Turkey

Dijon Mustard

Alfalfa Sprouts

Mixed Greens


I think my croissants make the world an easier place to live in.