I suspect that after this entry, it will take a while before I accumulate enough material to blog again, though this "last" entry isn't all that spectacular either. The past two, three entries were the accumulation of... two months, haha.

From Z

Those people who visits Kinokuniya during lunchtimes will know- there is ALWAYS a huge queue for the Ichiban Boshi that is right outside Kino. The queues are always so absurdly long, it is impossible to get a seat in half an hour. Ever since Wagamama opened up just a level under Ichiban Boshi, I think many people have been lured into it at least once when they decide not to wait in queue for Ichiban Boshi...

... and then realise what a huge mistake it was... and never enter Wagamama ever again. I first went to Wagamama, the Galleries Victoria, when it first opened, with my sister and brother. Not only was it super expensive, the food was pretty bad. We tried their ramen, and our bowls were filled with bean sprouts more than anything else, the noodles itself was hardly anything special. For the price we paid, it was an outrage.

I haven't been back for years. Until this one day, when, once again, put off by the queue at Ichiban Boshi, we went into Wagamama. Tt was on a one-hour break from work, so time was an important factor. I temporarily forgot my previous many-years-accumulated apprehension of entering Wagamama... and went in.

Do not be fooled by the photo. It looks quite nice and all, but guess how much it was? $9.30 or was it $9.80? One of the two. Just for a few pieces of fried squid with a lime sauce. I saw the recipe for this in a finger food cookbook, and really, the ingredients would cost at the very most $4. If this was beef tataki, the ratio of proportion food versus cost might be more reasonable... but for this?! It's not like the squid undergoes special massage treatment and gets fed wine.. =_=

From Z

Tt's vegetarian curry rice. Once again, presentation is good, but price was about $15. For a vegetarian dish of salad, battered and deep fried potato, sweet potato and what not.. and rice. Taste was mediocre too...

No wonder the queue for Ichiban Boshi is always long. Wagamama is daylight robbery in comparison! People who know me will know that I hold grudges for a long long time (I know =( it's not good, we all have to forgive and forget right?) and this one visit back was such a mistake, I will hold it against Wagamama for many years to come =_____=

There are so many Japanese restaurants that are more reasonably priced and taste better. We frequently visit the Bondi Junction Ichiban Boshi because 1) there are less people and usually, we could get a seat as soon as we walk in 2)the price is actually cheaper at the Bondi Junction chain as oppose to the one outside Kinokuniya. Expensive lease in the CBD area?

Then there's Ryo's Ramen, Gumshara and Menya as well.

From Y

Menya's Tsukemen. It was much nicer than the one from Ramen Kan..

From Y

Their hiyashi chuuka. I realy liked this one. The one at Ichiban Boshi had tomato, ginger (urgh), finely shredded eggs, cucumber and ham, whereas this one was a little more special with shredded meat, thick strips of eggs, sprouts, tomato, cucumber and shredded sweet tofu skin (and ginger that got picked out). Of course, the Menya one won, taste-wise and presentation-wise. The slightly sweet egg strips were thick and spongey, almost like cake~ XD and there are also other varieties of hiyashi chuuka, so I can see myself going back there a few times this summer~

From Y

Headed to Allan's Music store for a quick look. In the past, I'd probably think this grand piano, along with its gigantic ribbon ^^'', would be a fabulous present. Now, rather than big, traditional grand pianos like this one, there are many slim electronic pianos with volume adjustments and those which you can plug headphones into. =D Those are definitely more useful. Was actually looking for a guitar that day, since I have to learn how to play it to pass my master course. Didn't buy one. I've learnt not to impulse-buy! Shall do more research before I get my guitar~

From Y

Strange looking top-like wooden toy? No. This is similar to the signs given to us in Singapore during the meat buffet at Carnivor. Green for "yes please! More meat! Moreeeee!!" and red for "I'm so full, I can't talk, just leave us to digest in peace". This was at Braza, Leichhardt, a Brazilian meat buffet.

From Y

Side dishes. They weren't self-serve like the one in Singapore, so whenever we wanted refills, we had to flag down a waitress. It wasn't too bad though, our waitress was pretty attentive and we could catch her attention most of the time. These are polenta chips, some other form of chips, and... banana fritters!! I was totally into the banana fritters and must have had at least 10 of those deep-fried-till-golden banana pieces....

From Y

Salad, potato salad, rice.. and also some spices to put on top of the meat.

From Y

There's the rice, and salsa... and a small dish filled with chilli. I tried one... and couldn't eat it. These tiny yellow or green chillis are dangerous!

From Y

JL was sitting at the head of the table, so I passed my camera over to take photos.

From Y

I usually don't post people on my blog, but it's alright. P.S, if you don't want your photo on my blog, tell me and I'll remove it =P Man carving meat for JL. It's kinda different from Singapore because the knives were sharper in Singapore and we didn't need to assist them using tongs to grab the meat. And there was a self-serve counter of tea and coffee in Singapore, but not here. When it comes to meat buffet, having a self-serve counter of tea is important to aid in digesting ^^'' I still prefer Carnivor, but it's all the way in Singapore =(

From Y

A blurry photo taken at the start of the grills.

Thank you to everyone who showed up for dinner that night =D

From Y

AY, this was thoughtful and beautiful~

From Y

B&G, you guys know me too well =P

This is what I mean by I celebrated my birthday at least 4 times this year... =D

From Y

A very familiar food by now- tsukemen from Ichiban Boshi.

From Y

Ben&Jerry! Yes, a branch opened up in Manly recently and I heard there were massive queues because they had free ice creams on their open day. I don't go to Manly often... maybe once every three years or so, haha, so I haven't had a chance to try their awesome ice cream yet, but this one was from a kosher convenient store at Rose Bay near where tt lives... I guess because it's imported from US, it was quite expensive (about $3.80 for a small little cup), but it was very nice =)

I went grocery shopping one day at Eastwood with family when I saw this:

From Y

and it reminded me of my sister buying the exact same thing for my grandpa in Singapore. Except the price was SG$15.60... I guess if there's one thing I forgot to do in Singapore, it was to get boxes of this and gulp it down like there's no tomorrow.

Getting closer and closer to the present now... a photo taken yesterday at a walk in the Botanical Gardens..

From Y

I never knew they had a pond filled with lily pads... wait, are they lily pads?

Today! Just a few hours ago~ I went over to FL's place and spent a couple of hours doing random things =D There was this thing that I needed her help with, and though it turned out... well, what was supposedly straight wasn't exactly straight, and I missed a step, but!! it was completed, and we went on to make lunch. Quiches!

From Y

Looking exactly like the picture in the book! Haha, who are we kidding with this alien-looking thing. It puffed up alarmingly high in the oven and became quite deformed when it sank back down while cooling, and because FL didn't have a big pan, we used a muffin tray to make small quiches rather than a big one. Taste-wise, it was pretty good though =D

Then we had some random fun with oversized t-shirts. Those who have been to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand or places where you can get cheap, one-size-fits-all clothes everywhere will know. Sometimes, because it's cheap, we get heaps of these shirts that look quite... well, cheap. And big.

FL got the idea from ->here<- and she blogged about the process ->here<-

From Y

A generic looking oversized tshirt. I've already cut a strip from the bottom, whoops...

From Y

Transformed! It takes only a few minutes and all you need is a pair of scissors! =D Magic? What you basically do is to cut strips of fabric from the bottom and tie up the sleeves and a "ribbon" that ties at the back. The two sites posted earlier has the proper tutorial for those interested or with time to waste ^^~

From Y

FL posing with her t-shirt recon~

So after a fun-filled afternoon, I arrive back home to an empty house once again, chucked another globe of tea leaves in the pot, and with a cup of freshly brewed fragrant tea, I blog.