Finished another day's worth of work. Though there are more people in the house now, since my auntie and uncle are staying over a night before heading back to their farm, they are all sleeping~ so I have yet another pot of tea in front of me, tea cup steaming with a freshly brewed cup of Chinese tea, all set for another blogging session with me and my computer =D

From Z

A while ago, my brother and dad took two days off. I just cancelled my second audition with UTS and since I've already called for a week off at work too, we had a very rare chance of going out as a family. We decided on a place near Katoomba called Leura. My brother wanted to go have a look at Everglades Garden- a place of about 14 acres, filled with beautiful flora and fauna. We stopped on the way at Windsor to have their famous fish and chips.

From Z

Their fish and chips are very well-known and it won the best Fish and Chips award back a few years. It is really the best you can get in Sydney. I've had some terrible encounters with fish and chips up in the Blue Mountains. Went there a few years back when we were still new to Australia, and let's just say it scarred us all for life. The fish was still frozen, cold and hard inside, while the outside battered skin was burnt. We requested tomato sauce, and the woman just squirted so much on top of everything, it was a soggy cold mess within seconds.

That's why we really only go to places that guarantee good fish and chips, like the fish market and this shop from Windsor.

From Z

My dad went to a nearby shopping centre and got us some drinks. Pomegranate and grape juice- the first time I ever try this. It's been a recent hit, pomegranate juice, because apparently it's really good for you (yes, another one of those "health" products to consume... they're everywhere these days). I used to like grape juice because being a silly kid, grape juice is the closest a child can get to red wine, and yes, being a kid, drinking grape juice feels more "grown-up"... *ahem* I shall stop embarrassing myself. The pomegranate leaves a very strange aftertaste... bitter... so it felt healthy enough. At least it was mixed with sweet grape juice. I don't think I'd like 100% pomegranate juice...

We actually arrived at Leura safely. That's actually quite a feat, because... I was the one driving *collective sigh of relief from everyone who knows what a bad driver I am* and I have never driven to Leura before, but imagine a green P plater travelling at max 100kph (or was it 90? I can't remember...) when the speed limit is 110... ^^''

So we arrived at Leura and parked right next to Everglades Garden. I must say, gps saved us all, because without it, we might still be stranded somewhere in the mountains ^^ This entry has been pretty text-heavy so far, but here, enjoy photos from the garden!

From Leura

From Leura

A very straight path- on the left, a stone hedge, on the right, rose bushes

From Leura

From Leura

From Leura

A curious kookabura gazed at us. It stood quite close actually, cackling its evil laughter... they look cute, but on the first night of arriving in Australia back near a decade ago, I remember waking up to their laughter and wondering what the heck looms out there at night in Sydney.

From Leura

A green pond that was right in front of an art archive, which was unfortunately closed that day. There were ducks swimming in this pond when we were leaving later that day.

From Leura

Everglades Garden was decorated with many statues...

From Leura

and urns. This huge one was right in the middle of nowhere... but apparently in spring, there will be cherry blossoms around.

From Leura

From Leura

Straight skinny trees.

From Leura

The house was nicely furnished, with tables set up for visitors to have tea and some food.

From Leura

From Leura

Many really pretty flowers with different colours.

From Leura

Could see Blue Mountains from there actually... Katoomba...

From Leura

The god of Wine...

From Leura

I can imagine a scary movie being filmed here actually. It would be quite scary at night... 14 acres, anyone could be hiding in any corner, and this little cottage, which was probably just used as a shed, could contain various torture devices... =P Too much Higurashi.

From Leura

4 white petals, perfectly symmetrical, thus I name you the shuriken flower.

From Leura

They had a really pretty creek running through...

From Leura

From Leura

And near the creek, a big field for special occasions like weddings. This banquet table looks like those from Asterix and Obelix comic books, where they catch wide boars and roast them over the fire before feasting on tables made from chunks of wood like this.

From Leura

Dead tree carvings by a well-known artist... I forgot who...

From Leura

From Z

The place where the creek flows down into was absolutely beautiful. A waterfall with a strangely reflective rock over it that gleamed and rippled, reflecting the waters below. When we went, there were very few visitors as it was a weekday, so we spent quite a while in front of this waterfall all by ourselves, with my brother snapping away with his dslr.

I didn't post all photos taken, but it's in my picasa album, just click on any random photo and it'll take you there.

From Leura

My mocha. We got hungry after the visit to the gardens and stopped by a random cafe for something quick.

From Leura

Turns out they had very interesting cakes on display. Ok, so it doesn't look that great, I suspect someone had already dug into it before I manage to get a shot of it *cough, icie*, but this was more than just an apple tart. It had some sort of flower flavor added to it, but for the life of me, I cannot recall.

From Leura

It's been too long. All I remember was that they weren't the usual berry pie you see or make.

From Leura

This looks like a raspberry cheesecake.. it probably is one.

From Leura

A very very rich chocolate pie~ all of them came with a scoop of ice cream and double cream, and even though we really only came in for something quick, it was so filling, we couldn't have lunch or much dinner afterwards.

My dad was meant to drive us back, but after 10 minutes, he parked to the roadside, got out and made me drive instead. =_____=

From Z

Lobster! I cannot get over my obsession with lobsters and crabs. I really feel sorry for people who are allergic to them. I know someone who... can eat a little of it, but will get skin irritations and swollen eyes afterwards, and it has led to something more serious before... T T poor thing! Which makes me think, if I had that allergy right now, would I put my life on the line for something as delicious as lobsters and crabs...? Are they really... to die for? Hm...

From Z

This was at the Sydney fish markets btw. Soft shell crabs!! At $3.30 each, these were pretty cheap, though I still think the soft shell crabs from Ryo's Ramen, Crows Nest were better. Still! To be able to eat the whole crab, its meat along with all the yellow... um... stuff... *googles* ... apparently, this yellow stuff in crabs are colloquially known as crab "mustard", or the more technical term, the hepatopancreas. I've never known the English term for it since I usually eat crabs with people who refer to this yellow liquid as "gou" (Cantonese). Apparently, Westerners avoid eating it because it increases the risk of cancer, as do everything else in this world, but we Asians see it as a delicacy =P Anyway, digressing here, to be able to the eat whole crab without the fuss of removing shells is pure bliss~

From Z

There was an event at Martin Place where this big Christmas tree gets officially lighted up~ there were heaps of people there that Thursday afternoon, with bands and choirs putting on shows of Christmas carols.

From Z

There were fireworks when the tree was lighted up, but since I don't know much about photography, I ended up taking photos of light streaks instead.

From Z

And that, is the tree lighted up, while everyone else is staring up ahead where the fireworks were going.

That day, I went and bought something on impulse...

From Z

A purple psp. I confess, the main reason why this thing even caught my eye was because it's purple. Damn Sony and their "girls play psp too, let's make it purple to tempt them" motto for this lilac purple psp... I end up falling right into their trap and getting it...

... thinking that I could play ps1 games on it. Unfortunately, there are no cfw out for firmware ver 5.7 =______= so I shall have to wait till they crack it. One day. Sometime soon hopefully. At the moment, it's sitting in tt's house. Seriously, Sony might have failed if they didn't have minions like tt whispering into my ears

about all the wonderful rpg a psp can play =P

I realise this entry isn't really as focused on food as it has been, but then there are so many food blogs out there already.. I beg to differ, because this is really just another page off my (online) diary =D and shows my life does NOT just revolve around food... because it really doesn't.

From Z

... yea, there's more to my life than food. Really.

(sorry, just HAD to repost my soft shell crabs... I could really do with one right now...)