Melbourne Photo Diary (:

It's been a month since I got back from Melbourne, and the nostalgia is still there :') I miss it so so much!

Monday morning rush in Melbourne

I love Melbourne for its markets and homeware stores, its florists and fresh produce. I could have gone on a completely crazy buying spree, but the only thing stopping me (fortunately or unfortunately) was my lack of luggage space. I'm so gonna fly there with 30kg luggage allowance the next time I go. Haha I could start stocking up items for my future home perhaps? :P

Went on a wine tour with Sam and that was definitely one of the highlights of our trip ^^ This was at the Domaine Chandon winery, which is related to Moet & Chandon! 

Those gorgeous rolling green fields behind us :') Sam was just commenting on how the vineyards here look so pretty! Greener and lusher than those we visited in Tuscany. Perhaps it's because of the different seasons, or the mood we were in. But we really had an awesome time during this wine tour ^^ Gotta admit it was a little too much in the end. I had almost enough to drink by lunchtime :x 

Love this photo of us :))) 

WE NEED TO TAKE MORE PHOTOS. 

I'm having this inner conflict about taking photos nowadays. Always want to capture all these beautiful moments together on camera, so that I can look back at those days :') And we should always take more photos when we still look young and fresh, right? Haha. But Sam just isn't a fan of taking photos -.- and sometimes the act of photo taking just interrupts the moment that should be enjoyed at that point. Am I making any sense? 

One of the best lunches we had was during the wine tour at Rochford Winery. That wagyu beef cheek with mashed sweet potato bathed in red wine jus was to die for!

We sat on the green grass, shared a cup of gelato and soaked in the afternoon sun (:

I really appreciated the time I had for myself in Melbourne. It was a good balance, spending time with Sam and other people, and also having a break to just wander alone. I took the safer route so that  I wouldn't get lost, along the Yarra River. And it is so picturesque :') It would have been wonderful walking along that stretch with Sam too. But alone, I had the chance to fully soak in the beauty of my surroundings and enjoy the sights and smells. This feeling of space, even in the city is so incredible, and is one thing I really wish Singapore had. 

Thankful for the late sunsets there :) This was at 7.30pm and the sun hadn't even started setting. So glad for the long days which gave me extra time to explore all these places.

Full of awe as I stood at the magnificent Shrine of Remembrance :') It's much nicer when it's empty haha.

Watched the sun go down over the Melbourne cityscape (: 

Yet another experience of travelling together and we're improving each time! Hehh ^^ 

More food in Melbourne

So apparently I can't stick to just one post of food in any country. If you've checked out my previous travel guides you'll probably find that more often than not I've got more than one food post for each city. What can I say? I love food haha. Sorry, not sorry :p

Anyway, while brunch is a definite MEAL OF THE DAY in Melbourne, there are tonnes of other good food that you can find there. This city is a melting pot of international cuisines and you can probably find more Asian food than any other western food here. Unfortunately I didn't get to try much of it, but there are other things that I have to recommend.

Brown Bagels
330 Collins Street, VIC 3000

Tucked away in a little alley off Collins Street, you wouldn't come across this place unless you're in the know. And of course you are, now that I've told you. And there are lots of reviews of it on Urbanspoon as well! I was hard pressed to select a bagel from the list of flavours because they all sounded so yummy! While I'm not usually a fan of bagels, I really enjoyed this one (: The poppy seed bagel had the most incredible texture, and the combination of smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers can't go wrong.

N2 Extreme Gelato
329 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Wacky names, and even wackier flavours. What makes N2 Extreme Gelato stand out is the fact that your ice cream is created a la minute right in front of you. You will not find ice cream tubs in this store. Instead, you see ingredients and blenders and liquid nitrogen and *BOOM* there you have it - your cup of ice cream made from scratch. Flavours change regularly, so there's always a reason to keep going back.

Yarraville Gardens Food Trucks

My most interesting dining experience in Melbourne was my dinner from the food trucks! Oh, we know how difficult it is for such a concept to be licensed in Singapore. And yet in Melbourne, I found an entire row of trucks all selling different types of food, lined up in front of a football sized field. I went on a crazy food spree and we ordered this for two people to share. Those kimchi fries....yum!

San Churro

Shop LTL 255, QV Centre, Swanson Street, VIC 3000

You can probably find San Churros in quite a number of places in Melbourne. It's one of their most popular food chains there, and there's a good reason for it! Despite having one of the worst sore throats in my life, I went ahead and ordered this because I simply couldn't resist it! You can a choice of different portions (this was for one person) and white/milk/dark chocolate sauce. Gosh. If I wasn't having a sore throat, I would have slurped up the entire cup of chocolate!

There were so many other foods I wished I had the time (& tummy space) to try! I've heard rave reviews about the Korean and Vietnamese food here, and if you go to Lygon street, please eat the gelato and tell me which one is good!!!

Brunch in Melbourne

The answer to Melbourne's favourite meal of the day - BRUNCH! :)

Whenever I asked people for recommendations of food in Melbourne, the topic would inadvertently turn to this meal, in between breakfast and lunch, for the lazybones, or simply those who have the time to spare to languish over a delicious meal, relish every mouthful of the food, and indulge in their caffeine of the day. I know how I'm sorely missing out, being rather averse to coffee, but I was definitely in for a treat with the food. And while these cafes I'm recommending are solely on the basis of their food, I'm sure their coffee is pretty good as well because it is rare to find a bad cuppa in Melbourne. 

I need to be more efficient in writing these posts (as you know, I have the tendency to ramble), but I've got to pen this down - Australians are proud of their brunch, and they show it. The brunch here is so mind-blowingly good, that I can't wrap my head around what we've been eating in Singapore. You can refer to my lists of best eggs benedict, french toast, waffles etc, and they are good, but...it just gets a little tired after awhile. It's...common. In Melbourne, they don't do common. They do loud, they do unique, they do creative. This is probably a generalisation, but I don't believe it's far fetched to say that no brunch is the same anywhere in Melbourne. 

Here are the must-tries:

Hardware Société

118-120 Hardware Street, VIC 3000

Man, can you resist a cafe when it has such cute servers like them?! ;) 

We were really lucky to get front-row seats at this cafe. At a bar seat right in front of where the chefs were whipping up their meals. It was fascinating to say the least. I took a leap of faith and ordered the daily special, which was a tuna & salmon tartare on a bed of quinoa/barley/pomegranate salad, topped with two poached eggs and homemade crisps. GOSHHHH. Just the way our server described it made me drool already. I just had to order it!!! And it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I hope they get this on the main menu soon! 

Hammer & Tong

Rear 412 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Apparently soft shell crab burgers are a big thing in Melbourne, and you can get your fix at Hammer & Tong! A perfectly crisp soft shell crab, sandwiched between two fluffy patties and it comes with a yummy slaw as well. You can find all kinds of slaw here!! It seems like every cafe/restaurant has their own version of it, which is pretty cool. Also tried this really interesting salt & pepper french toast (photo featured in my first post on 5 things to do in Melbourne) which was delicious, despite the fact that I couldn't wrap my head around the description.

Proud Mary

172 Oxford Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066

This cafe is a coffee roaster as well, so you can expect to find some great brews here (: I had, by far, the FLUFFIEST PANCAKES EVERRRRR. Look at that stack!! Sooooo thick, but super duper fluffy and light. It was really interesting because I wouldn't typically go for orange-flavoured foods (not that I don't like orange, but I just like it in the form of fruit/juice and that's all), but this was a great choice! The tangy orange sauce was so appetising and yummy that I mopped up every bit of it with my pancakes that had the soaking power of a sponge. 

And...that was the day I ate two brunches haha. Things you gotta do when you don't have a lot of time in Melbourne. Hah!

7 Seeds Specialty Coffee

114 Berkley Street, Carlton, VIC 

So I actually really only went to four cafes. SOBS. Can you believe it?! It's too little! 

Anyway, I went to 7 seeds on my last day, and I'm really glad I chose it! It's those kind of really hole-in-the-wall cafes which I nearly walked past without knowing it was the one I was looking for. Melbourne's cafes are beautiful. You might be getting sick of me raving over these cafes already, but I can't help it. I love the vibe in the cafes here. The buzz and the bustle, the whole experience is just so invigorating, yet extremely relaxing. I don't know how to describe it, but you've gotta feel it to know it. So I heard a lot about the pulled pork sandwich at this cafe and I had to try it! Definitely one of the better ones I've tasted. It was so moist and tasty! And I was sold by that handful of toasted chilli nuts on the side. Can't resist it. Tried my first (and last) hot chocolate in Melbourne, and I was just wow-ed by their little touches (: That chocolate stick in there? Gosh. It was such a lovely, creamy, chocolatey cup of warmth ^^ I've heard their coffee here is amazing too! Do try it on my behalf hehe. 

So...some last words (: While brunch in Melbourne is not cheap, you get what you pay for and more with their huge portions and quality ingredients. Plus, there has to be some value for the amount of creativity they put into their dishes, right? While I tend to hold back a little when I go for brunch in Singapore, I was happy to splurge on brunch in Melbourne. Typically paid around $20 for each dish, and I would do it all over again <3 

5 things to do in Melbourne

I'm back from Melbourne!!! (: Ah, that sweet feeling of taking a break from work and travelling. This was one of the most last minute travel decisions I made, but the trip turned out to be one of the best (:  Didn't make many plans, simply because I didn't have the time to, in between work and studying for exams. But my last minute research proved to be somewhat useful, and going with the flow turned out much more fulfilling that I'd ever imagined it to be.

I really enjoyed my time spent in Melbourne, with friends, Sam and also alone. And it was the perfect balance between all three. There are so many things I wish I could share, but it's just way too much for this little space here. Let's just start with 5 things to do in Melbourne. This is my personal list, and since this was my second trip to Melbourne, I didn't want to do much of the touristy stuff. Might be different from what you're looking at, but I hope this gives you a glimpse as to what Melbourne can offer (:

1. Visit Melbourne's markets

I'm a HUGE fan of markets, and this pretty much tops my list in every country I go to. I loved Melbourne's markets for the variety of produce they stocked. Different markets have their own unique character, and it really depends on what you're looking for. Queen Victoria Market is the go-to for tourists, situated pretty much in the central area of Melbourne. I loved South Melbourne Market for its numerous homeware stores which I went absolutely crazy over! And you've got to try Pardon my French, a little pushcart stall selling sweet & savoury crepes. Prahran Market had lovely fresh produce, as well as coffee shops displaying a spectacular variety of beans. For those who love handmade products, Rose Street Market is a must-visit for products ranging from t-shirts, to candles, cards etc. All handmade with love.

2.  Catch the sunset from Eureka Skydeck 88

Melbourne is gorgeous from above, both in the day and night. You can visit the attraction throughout the day, but we chose to go around sunset so that we could watch the cityscape change from the day to a sparkling beauty at night (: Tickets are priced at $19.50 for adults.

*tip: get a copy of the tourist guide for a 10% discount coupon inside*

3. Get lost in a book in the State Library of Victoria

It probably sounds like strange advice to go to a library while you're on holiday. But if you love books like me, the State Library of Victoria is a magnificent place to visit in Melbourne. Pick a book from the impressive collection and curl up in a chair with it. You could potentially spend hours here.

4. Eat a LOT (i recommend two brunches a day)
^ that was typed by Sam haha but I agree :P

As you might expect...more details coming up in my next post! ;)

5. Chill along the Yarra River

Walk/cycle along the entire stretch of the Yarra River; find a spot on the (fake) grass when you need a break. It's a perfect day out - what could be better than this? (: 

Grad Trip in Taiwan :))

i'm back from my grad trips!!! (: or at least ⅔ of them hehe. and boy, am i glad to be back! travelling really does get pretty tiring after awhile. especially Nepal... :x haha once in a lifetime trip. i missed singapore so much!!! i've never been one to complain much about singapore (i honestly love it here, except maybe the weather) but the trip to Nepal just made me superrrr homesick. i was SO HAPPY to be back, i was literally bouncing off the plane the moment we landed at Changi Airport hehe ^^ though i have to clarify that despite everything, i thoroughly enjoyed the company (: - though i'm sure i would have enjoyed it more in any other country in the world hahaha. 

okie, here's some photo spam of taiwan to start off!!! ^^ SUPER LOVED my grad trip there :') first ever trip to taiwan and i spent two whole weeks there! honestly, i've had more than enough of taipei for awhile, but i miss the food already!!! definitely a place to go back, though probably not in the near future yet! 

so stoked for our first trip together!!! ^^ haha reality barely set in then that exams (and uni life!) was over. what would i give to go back to that day again :') so excited!!

waiting for the HSR to Taichung! (: 

TAIWAN IS ABSOLUTELY A FOOD LOVER'S HEAVEN :D

i miss the food already (though it's actually quite unhealthy oops)

we started pigging out the moment we reached taichung hehe! :P first night market was Feng Jia Night Market, and one of the best! stuffed ourselves till we were going to burst because everything looked so delicious, and ended the night with a hilarious discovery moment when we realised how the food was S.O. C.H.E.A.P. woohooooo ^^

next day up the mountains to Cing Jing Nong Chang - we had really bad weather that day >.< super cold!!!! and of all days i'd decided to wear shorts. haha big mistake....look at how warmly everyone else was dressed!!! what was i thinking. haha. BIG LOVE for these girls xx :)

the weather cleared up the next day!!! ^^ and we had our ANTM Vogue photoshoot with gorgeous mountains as our background hahaha. looking at these photos just makes me miss grad trip with this bunch soooooo much!!!!! hehe we were all so enthusiastic and woke up at 4am to try to catch the sunrise. in the end it rose from behind our villa and we couldn't see it :( so thankful for the clear weather anyway though!!! the scenery... :')

on to Taipei!!! ^^ where more exciting things were to come.

hahaha so much meaning behind this photo. lol!!!! how the three of us were the naughty (irresponsible) kids running around and exploring our AWESOME airbnb and toilet (i miss it already!!! okay i'm officially having major nostalgia now haha :P) while our 双木林 parents were patiently listening to the landlady showing them how to use the facilities in the house keke. well, too many cooks spoil the broth right? no need for so many people crowding around the area. teehee ^^ 

first meal in taipei was awesome-possum!! we were totally blown away by the super friendly (and smile-y) staff at Din Tai Fung, and how delicious the food there was ^^ the service itself just made up half the experience already. look at the big smiles on our face! ;)

one of my favourite moments! (: 放天灯 was super meaningful with the best company ever <3

bestie! <3 love this photo of us!! (perfect if not for that butt in the picture -.-)

another of my favourite places was the Dan Shui Fisherman's Wharf/Lovers' Bridge. can really feel the loooove there hehe! and it was so spacious and windy and all! super super love that place :') 

visited Jay Chou's restaurant too! hehe so that dearest SK could fulfil her dream ;) could see how happy she was! haha. and it was really quite cool with the piano and all ^^ definitely a must for Jay Chou fans! 

we got so lazy that by the last day of our trip together, we woke up past 12pm!!! :P omg haha. honestly i think this is the FIRST time in my life (not counting when i was a baby) as far back as i can rmb that i've ever slept till such a time. i've really never done this in singapore before!!! and the feeling was SO SHIOK. haha. this was taken on the last day before we parted ways :'( i was so torn between choosing between staying on in taiwan with sam or going to korea with the girls. hearing them rave about korea so much totally made me want to fly there as well!!! And yet i was absolutely relishing our couple time in taiwan as well :') (so much better than exchange hahahahaha). if only i could split myself in half eh? hehe. but the one week with them was really a precious memory that i'll keep forever :') BESTEST bunch of travel buddies <3 we really had the perfect combi of personalities  (hehe like the parents & the kids ;)) and just the right number of people so that we could share food and eat to our hearts' delight. SUPER DUPER LOVE THE VIDEO THAT SK DID TOO :') hahaha so many memories!! totally looking forward to our next trip together again <3 

lots more on my taiwan itinerary coming up!! stay tuned ~ :)

Bangkok in the first week of school! [Part 2]

hello! as promised, this is part II of my bangkok trip! (:

after Platinum Mall (see previous post), we headed to the Siam area! 

Siam Centre was really nice for all its cafes and food places. I FOUND MR JONES ORPHANAGE!!!! ^^ SO HAPPY! i've seen so many pictures of it on instagram (thanks to ladyironchef lol) and i'd been wanting to go there since f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and i'm so glad it lived up to expectations :')

so gorgeous!!!!!!

and omg, doesn't this look simply orgasmic? :O :O :O sooooooo goooooood. luckily there was ngan to restrain me. i was half-tempted to choose a few cakes because they all looked so good! >.< hahaha. we decided to order one first, and another one if we were still hungry. and that was after lunch :p well, luckily we only ordered one. because it was SO DELICIOUSLY RICH that we couldn't have another slice after that haha. and this only cost 100 baht if i rmb correctly! (: more affordable than in singapore, and absolutely worth every cent :) 

we had lunch at Som Tam Nua, which serves all kinds of salads! or papaya salads. well we ordered three salads to share (haha so healthy right) - papaya salad, mango salad and vermicelli salad. all of them were scrumptious!! but oh gosh. they were so spicy hot!!!! i think my chilli tolerance is pretty good already (ngan's tolerance is like, zero? haha) but i found these wayyy too spicy! we actually asked for less chilli already! (idk whether they heard the opposite, because the staff's english was really bad), but it was insanely spicy. it's the kind that tastes alright in the first mouth, but just gets hotter and HOTTER as time goes by! :O even my eyes felt like they were on fire haha, not to mention my tongue and stomach. luckily they were nice enough to change it for us when we couldn't stand it anymore. and they actually gave us brand new servings! wow. oh and try their thai iced tea too! (: it looked really different from what we'd expected, but it was definitely necessary considering the spicy level haha. 

we didn't really shop in Siam Centre, because it was all the shops like h&m etc, which we didn't go to bkk for. but!! we discovered a really interesting place there ;) guess where this is!

the toilet. 

the most atas-looking toilet in the whole of bangkok hahaha (i don't know. but it's definitely a strong contender). we took AGES to find the toilet, because the staff just kept pointing downwards, and we were on the third floor and wondering WHY THERE WAS NO TOILET?! finally found it after really going down down down all the way, and realised it was at B1. and oh boy, it was HUGE. walked in to this touch-up area for people to rest and re-apply their makeup. there were curtained changing rooms along the corridor, and (of course) the toilets. it was amazing! very impressive, i've gotta say. 

we then headed to Siam Square for more shopping. it was pretty hot in the outdoor areas there! but then we found an air-conditioned area after that which was more conducive for shopping (: bought quite a few pairs of shoes there! ^^ wheeeee. 

have to say that our afternoon-evening shopping experience was much more disappointing compared to the morning one though! 

i'm really sad that we didn't go back to the Siam Night Market! :( we actually saw it on the first night! but it was SOOOO CROWDED (it's practically impossible to stop and shop. i've got no idea how people do it) that we didn't stop, because we were just recce-ing. second night we decided to go home early, and third night we were broke haha. i actually saw a lot of nice tops there which i wanted to buy though :( sigh.

also didn't manage to go to Siam Paragon, because After You cafe was closed for renovation!!!! :"( unbelievable!!!!! i was so sad because i was totally craving it after hearing so much about it. anyway, that's a great reason to come back haha.

the next morning, we got up bright and early to go to Chatuchak! it's a weekend market, so you'll miss it if you're not here during that time. this was a bit more troublesome to get to because we had to take the train (rather than walk), but their public transport system is really quite convenient (: we took the BTS Sky Train to Mo Chit station. it's impossible to miss because EVERYONE would be heading there haha. no kidding. oh yes! a tip that i got from reading other blogs is that you should bring a huge bag along to put all your shopping! so that you don't have to carry around a bunch of small plastic bags there, where it's so crowded, chaotic and hot. 

there, you have it. crowded, chaotic and hot xP personally, i didn't like chatuchak much. it was really unbearably hot!!! Thailand's hot weather was really OMG... and another tip i got is that you should go to chatuchak in the morning/evening because it's really crazy hot at midday. trust me. i was there at 10am and it was scorching already. and bring lots of water!!!! 

the good thing is that you've got a lifesaver from the heat, in the form of this coconut ice cream :)))) looking at it makes me drool already. it was so so so yummy!!!! i never really expected it to taste THAT good. i'd heard a lot about it, and i was really trying to keep my expectations down. how could something that looked so simple be that good? seemed too good to be true. but IT'S TRUE!!!! the next time i'm gonna eat one whole thing on my own haha. this, in my opinion, is the ONLY thing worth going to chatuchak for. haha. i didn't buy anything there at all because it was just too confusing already -.-

there are lots of street food there, and i wished we could have known that our stomachs could take it (didn't dare to risk it >.<) so that we could try all the food! saw so many people eating, and it all looked darn good! we tried this coconut thingy that sam recommended though! haha we thought it was a little strange :p because it was coconut that was sorta sweet & salty? haha dunno :p anyway, that's pretty much all we did at chatuchak - eat! 

and then came my favourite part!!!! :) our last stop of all. and where we accumulated this much of stuff in 7 hours of shopping hehe. TOO SHIOK. Union Mall was awesome!!! there aren't many recommendations of this place because it seems much less touristy. but thanks sk for telling about this gem of a place!! the moment we stepped into the mall, we were floored. a super duper long row of shops extending from one end of the mall to another. multiply this by 4 parallel rows, and 6 floors (i'm estimating, but it's really a lot!!!!) and we were in shopping heaven! loved how Union Mall was arranged in a grid, which made it really easy to shop. each level sold a group of merchandise, e.g. clothes or shoes, which also helped in allowing us to compare prices across shops. have to concede that goods are more pricey here (like i said, we shopped from the cheapest to most ex haha), but it wasn't too bad! still managed to find really affordable clothes. and the staff don't speak as much english here (also in the restaurants!), but for some shops, they allow you to try the clothes which is super useful. 

we found that Tienchai Thai Cuisine (i think it was on level 4 or 5. it was called a 'food hall' level or something like that) served really good and cheap food (i think our lunch cost us 50 baht each?!) and we had both our lunch and dinner there ^^ i recommend the green curry fried rice, green curry and pad thai! 

and we finally settled for our mango sticky rice at this place just across TienChai called Crazy for Mango. actually...i wouldn't recommend you to go there. we probably paid for the presentation rather than the mango sticky rice itself because the portion was quite small, and didn't quite taste like what this dish should taste :/ i'm so sad we couldn't find Mango Tango!!!! does anyone know where it is??? we went to so many places to search for it but couldn't find it :'( i think the airport mango sticky rice which i da-baoed back to singapore (yippee!!) tasted better than this one haha. 

so this is the end of my bangkok adventure (amidst the "protests" which we never encountered. phew!). hope it was useful/interesting! and i would definitely come back again for more shopping/eating/massage *hehe*