Leesh's Birthday

Leesh celebrated her birthday at Miyako, Southbank. It was nice to see everyone again and most of the Circle were there, except for certain vital members (hi Lil Miss J and Kt!). It was a cold night, but I insisted on wearing a skirt. My argument is that it could have been much colder. And I have so many clothes that I don't wear. And I'm not getting any younger. And it's all downhill from here. Hahaha

Bao, Mona, Mooey.

Mooey doing what she does best.

PT, Meme, Yours truly and Leesh. I wish I could think of a smartass quip, but I can't.

Prince KH and his Princess C.

Tina and J. Looking cosy, but not a couple.

Bao and Mona. How sweet - they're matching! I was advised it was purely coincidental.

AH and Leesh invading a couple photo.

Tina fulfiling his dream of being a (pretty ugly) woman.

Leesh, Meme and Steau. Coming soon to asian breakfast radio.

Three women with fringes.

An attempt at an impromptu shot. Which is unflattering as it just makes Bao and I look like we love ourselves.

My "cyclops" shoe. I love these shoes!!!!!! If I see them on sale, I'm going to buy another pair.

An artistic shot by Bao.

Post dinner was meant to be somewhere having souvlaki but we were all too sick to leave Southbank and instead camped ourselves in Greco at Crown. Yummy, sticky date pudding!

Back in Melbourne

I left Adelaide without a spot of a bother. My final night was spent with Tien at dinner on Rundle st, hot chocolate at Chocolate Bean (a Koko Black/Max Brenner-style cafe) and then a round of cocktails at The Botanical Bar. I would post some pics up except that I forgot to take my camera. It's a bit of a shame cos she is gorgeous and a nice person to boot!

It's nice to be at home even though a week of it was spent in Cranbourne. I dont think that I should project a negative image of the general demographic, but I will say this - something must be wrong with the water there. The only advantage in working in the outer outer outer fringe was that it was walking distance to Krispy Kreme. I only permitted myself to eat two donuts though. I haven't been gymming regularly lately and a dozen donuts would really upset the fine balance I have with my pot belly.

Barossa Valley Wine Tour

If there was one thing I was determined to do while in Adelaide, it was to visit the Barossa Valley. I'm sure all the other wineries in Australia do good wine but I was pulled towards the Barossa for some mysterious reason. Maybe because that's where Penfolds estate is? Not that I've even tasted Penfolds. I've heard McLarenvale, south of Adelaide was better for boutique wines but I figured that it was unlikely I would return to Adelaide any time soon, hence my decision stuck.

I'm sure they wont mind the advertising but I would recommend Prime Mini tours if anyone wants to take a wine tour in Adelaide. A good selection of wineries with a good tour price.

First stop was the Wolf Blass Winery. One of the more larger wineries, this where Moo picked up a bottle of port. I realise now that I'm not really a port drinker. Oh, well, maybe only when it's cold and I have a roasting fire, cigar and a pipe then I'll consider it.

Us and the Wolf Blass eaglehawkie.

Oh look, even the shelter has wings.

Next stop for the day was Maggie Beer's Farm Shop. Maggie appears on ABC on 'The Cook and the Chef'. She wasn't there that day so I couldn't get her autograph, but even if she was there, I don't think I would have wanted it anyway.

Maggie Beers had this kick-ass Pheasant pate, which I didn't buy on the day, but is available in DJs. Maybe it was the wine that we tasted prior that enhanced the flavour however, the pate I purchased a few days later didn't taste quite as great as it did at the farm :(

It wasn't bad, but it felt mediocre given that I nearly ate the whole sample tub at the shop! It was a bit of a struggle to eat all that pate alone in Adelaide but I somehow managed! Maggie Beers is where I picked up a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz that is meant to compliment the pate. I have yet to buy another pate tub, but here's hoping.

Lunch was at the Barossa Valley Estate where I didn't buy any wine but had a yummy lunch platter of cold meats, cheese, olives and the like. Too lazy to take a photo here.

Langmeil Winery was next and my favourite winery on the tour. Whilst at the other wineries I definitely had my ticks and crosses, all the wines here were to my palate. Mmmmm mmm mmmmm. I wanted to buy them all but refrained from doing so cos didn't want to lug it all the way back to Melbourne!

The tourguide provided us the history to Langmeil and it just made you appreciate the wine so much more. I wont bother going into details as you can read it on the link. The point is, Langmeil is home to one of the oldest vines in the world which provides them with an exceptional shiraz (which wasn't available for testing cos it sold out! Dammit!)

Moo and I playing in the vinyard. Being winter, there were no grapes!

One of the 160 (!!!) year old vines.


Where's Mooey?
Moo doing her best Where's Wally impersonation. I wonder if she realises it's not very good.

Moo picked up a bottle of Grenache, which she plans to open upon completing her PhD. If on schedule that should be in March 2009. Let's hope she finishes on time as it was recommended the bottle be opened before 2014.

Chateau Tanunda was our final winery of the tour. Here we were given a tasting by a very enthusiastic, young, blonde cutie. I'm pretty sure she wasn't smashed but it's nice to have people who love their jobs to share their passion with you. Here, I also found a yum yum blue cheese which I have yet to hunt down but was advised is available at Queen Vic market.

Tower at Chateau Tanunda.


Our tour group.

Here is where I picked up a bottle of sauvignon blanc. I'm not a biggie on white wine, but this one was so nice and we already had two reds, that I felt I should even it out with a white.

Our stash.

Lessons learnt from the tour:

• I prefer Cabernet Sauvignons over Shiraz

• I thought I was a fan of sweet/dessert wines, but not so anymore. But don't stop me from drinking them!
  

• Remember to wipe your mouth after each tasting, cos I ended up with purple lips at the end of the day and no one told me. Moo wiped her mouth but she didn't bother to tell me.

• A day of tasting really stains your teeth.

Anyway, this has re-opened my interest in wine and I plan to take a Yarra or Hunter Valley one in the near future. Anyone wanna come?

Forcing Moo to Adelaide

When I first arrived in Adelaide I was a little bored because I didn't know anyone there. Hence I forced little sis to come along and keep me company for a weekend. She had to cancel a get-together with some high school friends but oh well - big sis always gets her way eventually! Hehehehe. We also planned a wine tour, as the idea of getting tipsy on my own in the presence of a bunch of strangers wasn't particularly appealing to me.... yet.

We hit the 'town' on Friday night by going to Fumo Blu, a cocktail lounge on Rundle St. We were recommended this by locals, however neither Moo or myself thought much of the cocktails. They weren't bad, they just weren't outstanding. The actual lounge itself was quite nice and 'blue' inside. They had a fish tank with pretty fish which was good novelty value.

Mooey being silly at the Fumo Blu entrance.

My mittens and I.

After Fumo Blu, we headed down to The Apothecary, a wine bar similar to M.O.O in Melbourne. This involved a pitt stop in Rundle Mall and we passed by some interesting strreet art.

Sitting on the Piggy sculptures in Rundle Mall.

Moo doing it Piggy-style.

Nice happy-pants, Moo.

Adelaide

Now, after my holiday in Manila and Hong Kong, it was time to return to face the world, this time in Adelaide.

My flight into Adelaide was a mess. Well not the flight itself, but rather how it was scheduled with my return from international waters. I flew in Melbourne at 11am and work had scheduled my flight from Melbourne to Adelaide at 2pm. As if I was going to go straight to Adelaide after an international flight with all my summer clothing in tow and no work clothes!!

I cracked the shits and said I wasn't taking the flight and went home from the airport. Hahahaha. I've had enough whingeing about admin issues. Anyway, they changed my flight to 7pm that night (notifying me at 3pm), which was more reasonable but a rush nonetheless. I basically dumped all my dirty clothes and re-packed my suitcase, filling it with winter work clothes for my 4 week stay in Adelaide.

I thought I didn't know anyone in Adelaide but I was lucky enough to run into a girl who studied in the year below me and also two guys who went through uni with me!

I would upload a pic of TT and I, but it's on my fone and I'm having difficulties uploading it. Damn computers and bluetooth. I'm no good with technical stuff.

Here's a pic of me, HK (left) and DP.

Look at the meat fest we had! Ugh.....nice but painful for me to eat.

Hmmm before going to Adelaide I had the impression it would be similar to Perth - a big friendly country town. I could live in Perth (if there was a forced choice) but I dont think I could do the same in Adelaide. You kinda have to pity Adelaide a bit though, cos it's too close to the other larger east coast cities. I decided to not sit here and bag Adelaide cos I have a feeling that the winter weather was a negative contribution to the atmosphere.

Holiday continued

After our sumptuous stay in Manila (the Peninsula hotel kicks ass!), we had a brief stopover to Hong Kong.

I've always liked Hong Kong. I could live there but only if I was filthy rich. It seems to have cleaned up a bit since I was there a few years ago. Either that or my dirt tolerance was skewed from being in the Phillipines.

Anyway, we only had one day in Hong Kong but because of the poor nutrition of the past week, Smee and I were dying to have a good old asian feast. No shopping for this stopover, just eating will do. I managed to catch up with two friends in Hong Kong and yum yum, we had dessert.

Fair enough, the dry ice was a tad excessive, but for anyone who goes to Hong Kong check out Sweet Dynasty. My only regret was not trying more desserts, but rest assured, I will be returning there on my next trip!

Oooh and here's a pic of BB and JC. Two friends from college in Sydney.

Smee and I had planned out our day in Hong Kong. First stop was Yung Kee, a restaurant in Hong Kong famous for its roast goose. Who cares about bird flu? Not me! Hehehe... mmmmm, roast goose is YUMMY! If you've ever had roast duck, it just tastes the same except that goose tends to be meatier and less fatty.

A pic of me and Smee outside Yung Kee. I swear I'm not just standing outside of Hills in Box Hill or BBQ King in Sydney!

Ok, so it does look like ordinary Chinatown food but it's yummy! Crispy skin, meaty goose. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Dinner in Hong Kong involved Smee and I jumping on a train and then travelling by bus (triad bus or normal public bus) out to the coastal area of Sai Kung. Here is where you can pick your fresh seafood and have it cooked anyway you like.

We ate at Chuen Kee. Well not this particular one, but another one just walking distance away.

Some of the seafood available for your tasting pleasure:

A very sad looking octopus.

Some odd looking 'clams'.

More seafood!

Bamboo clams.

All of our food. Do keep in mind that it was only two of us at the table.
Clockwise from top left: Cheesy Boston Lobster, the obligatory fried rice, Kai Lan (just so we had a bit of green), I'm not sure why but these are called "Pissing Shrimp" fried in spicy salt and lastly Bamboo Clams in garlic, soy and spring onions. YUM!!!!!

A close up shot of the Cheesy Lobster. Mmmm mmm mmmmmmmm


Me and the food - ready to attack!

Smee teasing me with a Lobbie leg. Meanie.