2014

So it seems like I may have abandoned my blog. For the longest time, I haven't updated, but 2014 will be different.

I shall try to make an effort to maintain this blog. Come at me, 2014!! :D Happy new year.

My Caffeine Romance

I didn't have a deadline. 

That is the reason why my blog entries are so tardy. It probably wouldn't have been updated today if I wasn't reminded about it by my friends today during badminton. To be honest, deadlines are vital to make the world run smoothly. Without them, the open-endedness of "you can finish it whenever" just gets read as "low priority", which can also be interpreted as "sweet, it's not urgent, I don't need to do it". That's the one thing my boss figured out at work about me (after chasing me multiple times and during my end of year review, told me I need to follow up on things and perhaps keep a diary).Unfortunately, she's started giving me deadlines. Meaning, I can't leave my reports in its half-finished state saved on the computer in some unnamed folder, forgotten and never to be completed.

No excuses now. Except I still have an excuse on my blog. Because no one can set a deadline on blog posts.

 

From Collages

Collages take effort and time. Not complaining, because I can always revert back to posting individual photos anytime. For now, it's a phase I'm going through. "My Caffeine Romance" is located down South *gasp so far* at Kirrawee... I know right, where the hell is Kirrawee? One of the cafe buddies lives down that area and since T often takes the liberty of coming towards our area of preference for cafe visits, we decided to return the favor. Just this once. 

Reviews on this place are mixed- from some hating on their choice of music (yes, the f bomb was dropped a few times through the radio, but I guess some people deem that as inappropriate for a cafe with kids around), to some who sit on the fence and go there for the food and coffee but said service was a bit awkward... to some who are loyal regulars who have been waiting for a cafe that serves good coffee down South. I personally like Toby's Estate coffee. They did it well enough at "My Caffeine Romance".

From Collages

Then we come to the food. S ordered a smoked salmon sandwich- toasted sourdough, smoked salmon slices, caper cream cheese, cucumber and salad leaves (top and left). T ordered grilled fish fillet with boiled rice, salad and tartare sauce (centre) which I thought was probably the most interesting thing on the menu, but didn't have any of it. It almost has a Japanese breakfast feel, except without the miso soup, disgusting natto and... that tartare sauce wouldn't belong either. My grilled chicken burger with tasty cheese, tomato, lettuce and mayo served with chips was really good. Chicken was well marinated at least, with lots of herbs and spices. Typical order from B who ordered a BLAT- bacon lettuce avocado tomato with lemon aioli on sourdough (bottom). It's like how I'm going through a collage phase at the moment, B is going through a BLT/BLAT/BAWJKL:SDF phase. 

While I am inclined to say it was a rather nice cosy cafe, I don't think it's worth travelling... how long was the drive?? all the way there for it. I guess now we have more incentive to find decent, good cafes so T would feel a little better travelling all the way for it next time. Cafes that are not... like... that French... one.... 

Interesting fact: if you put the initials of us 4 cafe buddies' names together, you get BLTS. In other words, bacon lettuce tomato sandwich. Outsiders won't get it. 

Sneak preview

From 127___03

Clipper Cafe

It's been a while... and since I know the one cafe buddy who keeps on top of things when it comes to blogging won't be writing about this, thought I might do this one. Perhaps it might inspire S with her blog.

Clipper Cafe wasn't our intended point of destination that fine Sunday. We planned to go to Wedge Espresso which was just down the street at Glebe, but unfortunately, that narrow little place could only accommodate so many people, and we were cast out on the streets... which was fine, because that was one street full of bustling cafes, bakeries, and wonderful things. 

From Collages

Clipper. Learnt something new, I never knew clipper was a nautical term for a fast-sailing ship. Upon first hearing the word, I assumed it would be a person's name, or.. something less majestic, like a nail clipper. Growing popular in the 1800's due to high demands for faster delivery of tea from China, these speedy ships sailed all over the world and were primarily used for trading purposes. I never appreciated Clipper Cafe for its interior design quite as much as I should have when I was there. The teapots, chinaware, the ships, the washed out stools outside, with its polished tables resembling a deck floor... every single detail in this little cafe was so well thought out. 

From Collages

Then we get to the food. Natraully, some of us had coffee, S ordered a milkshake which came foamy and full to the bream, her bacon and egg toasted sandwich followed shortly after. My capp arrived with a beautiful tulip, creamy as it should be, with my "clipper baked eggs with home made Napoli sauce, spinach, feta and herb toast with Spanish chorizo" looking snug and warm in its claypot. I am a sucker for appearances when it comes to breakfast, and anything in its own pan, pot, tray, etc makes me feel like it's extra special and slightly more personal breakfast. It's different, isn't it... take for an example, a slice of pizza taken from a big one, compared to a personal small-sized pizza just for one. 

Then our guest cafe buddy (since B couldn't make it due to a tournament) ordered his "two poached eggs with smoked salmon and avocado on sourdough with capers, dill and asparagus", followed by T's "poached eggs with homemade baked beans and halloumi". Those baked beans do look delicious, but I've never been a huge fan of baked beans. S tells me I just haven't had proper ones, so I'm probably missing out big time there. True- I've only had baked beans from cans and they are quite a horrid mess. I'm in no hurry to try baked beans anyhow, but when I do try good ones, I might change my mind. I'll leave the other cafe buddies to comment on their own dishes when their blog posts come, but just look at that poached egg. One was probably just a tad overdone, but the other was just oozing golden perfection.

I think we'll be seeing this cafe again soon, just because one of us missed out on it. 

Breakfast!

From 127___03

New Toy

So the last toy I mentioned on my blog was probably the purple psp from Christmas perhaps two or three years ago. Currently, that purple psp is lying dead somewhere because it got broken by someone whom I shall not mention, and been replaced by an ugly black psp, which I didn't settle for and got another purple psp, but that one is being held hostage right now by someone, so now I am psp-less. Which is ok because I have a new toy to play with.

This one was given to me by my brother~ it is called Ninja. Like literally, it is called Ninja.

From 125___01

I haven't taken any good photos of this, nor used it very much. It was only opened today because we were waiting for the TRANSFORMER.

Unhealthy Things

Back a few months ago, I was into all things sweet and unhealthy. Still am, but on a lesser level. I was constantly churning out cookie cupcakes with anything and everything as a filling, as well as the much loved rice krispies.

From 122___09

Oh yea, a few months ago, we also gained 6 new family members. We thought they were all going to grow up into lovely hens and lay lots of eggs for us.

Little Snail Revisited

Before the next cafe series entry, I actually went to various other places worth mentioning, so let's start with Little Snail. Even though we've been there before a couple of times, this was one of the online voucher thing, where we managed to score a bit of discount for their dinner 3 course.

From 122___09

So my brother requested (and I owed him a dinner anyway) for it since he really liked the escargot.

Venti: 4 Fourteen

Special post as my cafe series hits 20! I never realised Venti meant "20", Starbucks use it as one of their sizes meaning "Large"... anyway, today's one is technically not a cafe, but we did have coffee after our meal, so I'll just make this an exception.

Most of the photos turned out blurry though, I don't know enough about cameras to take good photos in the dark. Stanley is supposed to be made to take good photos in the dark though, so... hm... might need a crash course with my brother some time.

From 122___09

Diciannove: Cafe Jolly

On to the next cafe! Just feeling a little guilty for indulging in half a container of Maggie Beer ice cream, but hey, I didn't have dinner so it's all good... right....

So tomorrow's going to be a scorcher, 43 degrees across Sydney, what am I going to do with myself?? Wait.. why did I just finish all the ice cream?!? =( Time to go get more. Recently I've been holing myself up in my room, blasting air con at myself while watching Korean drama show IRIS... 20 episodes long, and when I tried to watch it at double speed, I didn't understand what was going on, so I actually have to tolerate it in full time... taking forever to finish watching the whole thing.

From 122___09

Oh right, the cafe. 'Twas a jolly good cafe indeed, all the way at Leichhardt, right where S, our star cafe buddy lives. Maybe by the end of this entry, I'll be able to spell Leichhardt without google searching its correct spelling.

Diciotto: Chavela

Happy 2013! While I dislike reminiscing unhappy times, 2012 was undoubtedly a very challenging one. Ever since I could remember, my life was very straight forward- it was overcoming one academic hurdle after another... I was never lost because in my head, music therapy was always my career choice, and everything else was just working towards that.

 2012- first year out of uni as a fresh, new graduate. Wouldn't exactly say I was plunged into a world of unknown... I had a couple of jobs lined up, but there were times when I didn't know what to do with myself. Then my mentor passed away and I miss him till this day. I never understood the pain till I felt it myself.

Then my mum fell sick and still is sick. Rather than being challenged academically, which I was when it came to presenting in conferences, there were more real-life adult situations which presented itself last year. It's all about growing up....

From 122___09

Chavela, this cafe which I failed to blog about 3 months ago, doesn't exist anymore. It was a surprisingly good cafe, completely unintended for us to visit, but for some reason, I was with B around Burwood, looking at badminton stores I think, when we stumbled upon it.