So while I'm waiting for the aspirin mask to do its work, I have half an hour to spare before sleeping, and waking up in another 5 hours to go to work. In half an hour, surely I can do a blog entry? =)

This is actually from a week ago... last week, when I went to watch Ip Man II with my brother. It was really good, and this time, we sat far back enough to not get disturbed by annoyingly loud commentators. But first up, some random food shots!

From Week 20, 2010

These were from a place near Broadway called "Chopsticks". I was there with a classmate before an AGM for NR Music Therapy, and was originally looking for a cafe to just sit and chill because we were there super early (managed to grab a great parking spot too!) but ended up at this Thai restaurant. We ordered finger food, just appetizers. Have to say, they were pretty good, but because it was around 4pm, we didn't have anything big. The spring rolls still don't beat Midori's from Castle Towers, and their curry puffs don't beat the ones my sister used to make. The rest were good though =)

From Week 20, 2010

Typical photo of my coffee, some arrangement-making for The Blue Danube, and yay for lefties! =D

From Week 20, 2010

View from Gloria Jeans, Borders, Chatswood. I was waiting for my brother to show up. He was in.. Pendle Hills or something.

From Week 20, 2010

This was at the Chatswood foodcourt. Shove over, EasyWay, it's ChaTime. I realise I've been pronouncing it as "Chat Time" rather than "Cha Time"... confused now. This is really SO much better than EasyWay, and it costs about the same too. They actually use real tea leaves in ChaTime, brewing it in what looks like an expresso machine, except for tea leaves. The waiting time is definitely long, but seriously, this is real stuff.

From Week 20, 2010

Originally, you can see the distinct layers of milk and tea, but I shook it up without thinking... I did revisit it again, so I'll upload the photo of the layered tea for the next post. This is their TieGuanYin latte, recommended by icie. I'm never visiting EasyWay again.

From Week 20, 2010

Near ChaTime was this Shanghai restaurant. It looked really interesting and was really crowded too. Based on popularity, it has to be good right?

From Week 20, 2010

I really just found the interior designing so nice. It reflects olden Shanghai.

From Week 20, 2010

Big gate and red flags.

From Week 20, 2010

Inside is dimly lit, decorated with posters and pictures that resemble ancient Chinese propaganda (nah, they're really just old Chinese pictures).

From Week 20, 2010

Oh yea, I must credit some of the photos to icie, who put my point-and-shoot camera to shame.

From Week 20, 2010

Like many other dumpling places, there was a clear window through which you could see people patiently shaping and forming each and every individual dumpling with their own hands. You know it'll be good when you see the way these ladies fold those dumplings.

From Week 20, 2010

Small private function room lit with a red chandelier. The last time I saw one was at Adriano Zumbo's cafe. This one seemed almost eerie- never liked red lights.

From Week 20, 2010

Click to enlarge =)

From Week 20, 2010

Quite a large selection. We weren't feeling too hungry though, so we ordered three dishes- one xlb (of course!), one dumpling, and one noodle dish.

From Week 20, 2010

Braised beef with cold noodles- vinegar and peanut butter sauce. This was good. The serving sizes were actually pretty decent.

From Week 20, 2010

No one can keep me away from XLB in a Shanghai restaurant. No one.

From Week 20, 2010

Shepherd's purse and pork wonton soup- 10pcs. I really really liked this one. It was just beautiful- presentation, flavour, all there.

From Week 20, 2010

The skin was slippery and smooth, the meat and veggie inside just right. The soup stock wasn't too salty... loved it.

From Week 20, 2010

One thing though- because they're so busy, we actually had to ask twice for water. Customer service was a bit lacking, but that's fine- we took our time and spent ages just taking photos anyway. Plus, we were seated right next to the ladies making dumplings, which entertained us quite a bit. They are seriously so professional at it, making just the right amount of folds deftly in the skin before twirling it to form a beautiful dumpling that was to be my xlb.

From Week 20, 2010

Price? Not too bad, quite standard.

From Week 20, 2010

We still had time left before Ip Man II started, so we headed up to my brother's office =D It was my first time visiting icie's workplace!! Interesting quote: Today, when feeding my fish, I realized that to him, food rains down from the sky when he gets hungry. Never before in my life have I wanted to be a fish so badly.

From Week 20, 2010

Messy messy icie.

From Week 20, 2010

And we watched Ip Man II at the Mandarin Centre =D Go watch it if you haven't!!! Nao!!!

Wee, almost exactly 12! Time to wash off mask and sleep~