Picnic.

I'm missing Sydney so much right now. I miss the food, the weather, and the lovely scenery. There is just so much great architecture (hello, Sydney Opera House) and the parks are just to die for.

If ever I migrate, it's to a place where there are gorgeous parks. I just adore parks! Beyond the grass and the breeze, it's the very FEELING of languorous laziness that so seduces me...

Anyway, on one particular day of my 12-day Oz trip, Chloe and I were exploring the Surry Hills neighborhood and deciding where to eat. We were thinking of going to one of the very tempting restaurants but ended up doing something entirely different-- a PICNIC!

It happened that we were browsing through and organic grocery and Chloe chanced upon a huge slab of SMOKED SALMON on sale!

!!!!!!!

Nothing Short of Fantastic

It's one of those days that's just ordinary and yet packed with happiness in the simplest ways.

The highlight of my breakfast.
It's never to early for curried potatoes.

It started off with breakfast, I was quite indecisive today, I didn't know what to eat. I finally decided on toast and jam cause I was being lazy. Which jam? Would it be the Orange Marmalade with Lime? Or the Fig & Chocolate? I went for the Fig & Chocolate, 1 slice of wholemeal bread or two? Anyway, YOU get the picture. It took me around 10 minutes just to figure out what I wanted to eat. I had a slice of toast with Fig & Chocolate Jam plus some leftover potato samosas. 

WORK TIME. Everybody was especially cheery at work today and the customers weren't much of a pain. Even though it's a Thursday, the cafe wasn't as packed as it usually is! But of course, there's my croc-face (crocodile face) boss that makes everything absolutely BAD. She likes to lecture and yell at people because she thinks she's just BRILLIANT.  She never listens to people's explanations and she just keeps repeating what she already said. BORING, I just nod my head but deep inside, oh, you have no idea how much I would want to punch her. On top of that, she has red highlights and a fobby (fresh-off-the-boat/ che kwa)accent, how much more annoying could she get? But at the end of the day, I get my pay and tips, and THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS.

The rainbow that was so enchanting, I just stared for ages and smiled up to my ears.

After work, my dad, grandfather and I headed to Reverse Garbage. Yes, I know it sounds gross, but they're just scrap pieces from industrial areas. I get to save heaps more going to places like those instead of buying fresh material from the store. And if I get to save money, boy, I'm in. I got to buy my materials for my next project, YES!:) On the way home, traffic was pretty bad since it was rush hour, it was drizzling outside but the sunset still proved to be impeccably beautiful. While stopped at the stoplight, I saw a RAINBOW. It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. It made my day. Whenever I see a rainbow, there's no way that I'd have a frowning face. It was the ultimate highlight of my day! 

Preshafruit Apple & Passionfruit, this might just be my new favorite one!
The passionfruit was so subtle and yet it gave such complexity!

Since it's Thursday, late night shopping it is. We headed to Ikea to buy some stuff for the ongoing construction here at home. I love Ikea and their Swedish Meatballs. My cousin and I didn't stay long though, we headed to the grocery and bought some junk. I spotted the new Preshafruit and instantly grabbed it!:)

My Lamb Shank Stew with Mash Potato, the perfect way
to bid the harsh winter goodbye and say hello to spring!:)

Dinner time, earlier this morning I put together my Lamb Shank Stew. It's the first time that I was going to attempt this recipe and I decided to wing it. :) I browned the meat, threw this and that into the pot and I let the LOOOOOOOONG cooking process begin. Turned out aisdufjaslkjbf GOOD. I made some mashed potato as well, because Braised Lamb Shanks just wouldn't be complete without mash!:) Recipe will be up soon!:)

And now, I'm skyping with my loves as I'm typing, is there a better way to end this day? I doubt it!:)

The Way to Start September Right!

Perfect Lunch- Roast Beef Roll with Preshafruit Juice

It's been a few days into September already and I haven't really been eating the way I would want to cause I'm on my self-created diet and it's proving to be effective! So I'm happy nevertheless! Back to starting September right, as I may have mentioned before, I always grab something scrumptious to eat every Friday lunch since it's the end of the stressful week and I deserve it. On today's menu, Roast Beef Roll with Caramelized Onions and Extra Gravy. I just came across this website that displays Sydney's 10 Best Sandwiches and this happens to be second on the list! What's even better is it's located at the foodie's mecca, the David Jones Foodhall. I head to the Foodhall quite often, the variety of food that they have there is astounding. They have all the good stuff- Valrhona Chocolate, Harrod's Tea, Truffle Oils, and the other hard to find goodies. On top of that, they have oyster, grill, juice, cheese& antipasto, and gelato bars. If that doesn't count as heaven, then I don't know what does.

Anyway, the queue for the carvery was long. I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if it was actually lunch time, it was beyond lunch time, I arrived at 3! I was definitely banking on it to be shockingly good. While waiting in line, my mouth was watering. There were all these different roasted meats just shining on the food counter. The man in front of me was ordering kept repeating to the server that he wanted roast pork with crackling and applesauce. And when the server asked him if he wanted pepper, he said with crackling, with crackling, I wonder how many times he said crackling, I lost count. I on the other hand was so excited to order, I ended up saying:"Roast beef on onion gravy roll" What a FAIL. 

Roast Beef Roll:)

Onto the taste test, the aroma was exhilarating, it was very peppery and savoury. The appearance is rustic and the beef is just overwhelming as it drops out of the roll, it's really really inviting. The bread has a bite to it, and it's not one of those rolls that scratch your palate as you eat. The roast beef is crazy tender and flavourful and the caramelized onions have a sweet vibe and just melt in your mouth. The gravy is the ultimate hero, it has hints of rosemary and thyme and is gorgeously rich. The bread was flaking apart because of all that extra gravy. It's ecstasy. 

Epic bread, note: the black bits are pepper.

And now that I've finished writing this post, I'm craving for another roast beef roll. In my opinion, this might just be the best $9.95 I've ever spent. Yes, I would choose it over the Wagyu Beef Burger by Becasse. The Wagyu burger has more of a value for money but this one is just nostalgic and uplifting.

What's in store for tomorrow? A massive food adventure.

David Jones Food Hall

65-77 Market Street
Sydney, NSW

Preshafruit Goodness.

I LOVE JUICE- FRESH, NOT FROM CONCENTRATE, NO PRESERVATIVES, NO SWEETENERS, NO COLOURING.

Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and Apple & Strawberry

Which leads me to PRESHAFRUIT JUICES. They're pressurised cold using High Pressure Processing, they look in all the nutrients. AWESOME. They deliver twice as many anti-oxidants compared to regular juices simply because they're never heated up at any point. They also use 100% Australian Fruit, way to go home base!:) I reckon they use whatever fruit that is in season as well, because as of the time being, they don't have the Valencia orange and other stuff. I'm all for seasonal, so TWO THUMBS UP!

The thing I like the most, is the flavours are so intense and clear, you could just fully grasp it. It's nothing like the other bottled juices which claim that they're all natural and yet they taste crazy sugary. 

The Pink Lady:
tangy, fruity, and full-bodied

The Granny Smith:

vibrant sour flavour, BOOM, it just hits you! 

my personal favourite!:)

The Apple and Strawberry:

scent is mostly of strawberry

upon tasting, you'd realize that there are several layers to this

initial and final tastes would be of strawberry

middle notes are purely apple

a bit too complex for my taste

PS. I love the catchy packaging, it's really hard to MISS.