While I haven't updated for 2 weeks, it really wasn't because I had nothing to update about. It's because... I've been lazy. As I'm sitting here freezing in front of the computer, I shall use that as the perfect excuse- it's cold. The cold discourages people from doing lots of things, including training for city2surf and blogging. There are times when one feels like blogging, but for the past 2 weeks, the itching impulse to blog didn't hit me at all, so since I have time now (an hour or so before I need to go to work), I shall.. start one, and hopefully publish it.
Back two weeks ago, went to city during one of my days off and saw this:
He was just outside townhall and next to him was a guitarist playing some spanish tunes while this artist drew with chalk pencils. It's rather interesting that Sydney has people displaying their talents like this. Never saw anything like this in Singapore and much less Hong Kong.
Wandering through Townhall, we went into Australian National Geographic- a shop I used to love when I first came to Australia, but then the one at Castle Towers closed down, replaced by the girly clothes shop Supre, so I haven't really been to one in ages. Walked in and saw:
.. Astronaut ice cream! Always wanted to try it just for the fun of it, so we got one packet.
This is what it looks like inside. Those who have tried it will know... it's not ice cream. It's not cold, and it's not creamy =P It's like, as tt described it, the honeycomb in Violet Crumble bars, or, like the Crunchie bar. Dry, biscuity like, and when you let it melt in your mouth, it just became like what Crunchie bar tastes like if you leave it in your mouth too long. Interesting though, now my curiosity has been sated and I don't think I'll try it again.
Got home and at the front of the house...
New flowers opening. It's really spring soon...
The next trip to City brought us to this Japanese ramen shop. Hidden in the Eating World food court at the end of China Town, "Gumshara" is known to be one of the top three ramen shops in Sydney (though the source was a Thai documentary and named the other two Ichiban Boshi and Menya... while I might agree with Menya and Gumshara, I think Ichiban Boshi should be displaced by Ryo's Ramen).
TT said that Gumshara was the best and that it's better than Ryo's... even better than those in Japan.
This is the shop, and just look at the pictures of the eggs... seriously... drool-worthy?
This was tt's- a tonkotsu ramen with all toppings. (Sorry about the blurry picture, but just look at those eggs o O)
and mine, the cha-shu ramen. SO MUCH MEAT!!
It was crazy filling and the soup stock was extremely thick. Gumshara is well-known for its stock that has high collagen content (note: collagen is sometimes known as the glue that holds a body together and is a type of protein that supports tissues, internal organs, etc etc. It is good for the skin too- makes it stronger, more flexible... and when you get older, your body doesn't make as much collagen, which is why old people get wrinkles. Moral: as you get older, eat more at Gumshara.)
/lecture.
I managed to finish all my noodles and stuff, including the extra topping tt piled into my bowl =P but the soup... the good soup boiled out of pork bones and water only (no msg!)... couldn't bring myself to finish it. BUT! I must say, it was really good. Really good meat, really good noodles, and the stock was amazing. Really, go try it if you haven't. Trouble is, they only open at 11:30 till... I'm not sure what time. And they are closed on Mondays.
After walking the ramen off for a bit, we went to Mamak's for roti tissu again! =D
Yum~ a mountain of sugar'd pastry with condensed milk running down. Sugar overdose! Talk about being greedy though, because after the ramen, I could barely fit this down.
More food adventures:
Went back to BontaVita one night and had their fried eggplant in szechuan sauce and their Hainan chicken rice. I have to say, for that price, one could have gotten two+ bowls of ramen from Gumshara... but the fried eggplant was nice and the chicken was deboned! All restaurants should start deboning their stuff, because it makes eating so much easier and enjoyable~ mess free too! Especially with fish and chicken... actually, just fish. I've always had problems with fish bones =_=
A nice, untouched!!! photo of Bondi Junction during dusk. And yes, usually my photos will be touched up in some ways. But not this one.
Disappointed. It was quite cold one evening and we went to Starbucks for their signature hot chocolates. Usually, it's be really really nice, but for the past two times that we went, it's gone bad. Maybe it's due to a different barista, but last time, I don't think they put enough chocolate powder and it turned out really bland and was not sweet enough. The previous time before that was even worse- it tasted weird, and when we took off the cap of the cup, we saw that there was this thin layer of yellow oil sitting on top... ...
Needless to say, we chucked it out after some speculation of how OIL could have gotten into a cup of hot chocolate.
I think the next time I get a cup of hot chocolate from Starbucks, I'll make sure the usual barista is there first.
More food adventures include this green tea yoghurt ice cream. The first spoonful tasted so weird, it was almost bad. Yoghurt has this distinct sourness and green tea has this subtle bitterness. They do not go well together. I guess after a couple of spoonfuls, one could get used to it... we did finish it =) but I can't say it was very nice. I still prefer tiramisu ice cream from ice+slice, Newtown.
Yesterday was city2surf day~
Look! It's the blue starting line! =D Though I was set up to start with the greens, I ended up starting with my friends at Blue.
Look at those portable toilets and stay away. Seriously. I was standing in line with F.L and when we were after 3 people away from entering, I asked her where she thinks the stuff goes. She said because the toilet isn't connected to anything, the stuff just stays in there. She then gave me a disgusted look and told me not to think about this kind of things before going in there.
The stuff does stay in there. And there's no water for you to wash your hands. No flush. Thin tissue papers. STAY AWAY FROM PORTABLE TOILETS. FL went in and out super quick, haha ^^''
The race itself wasn't that bad. Ran most of the way, walked up hills. Nearly died when I saw the 7km sign ("what?! I'm only halfway? chibiru!!") but after about 11km, the rest of the 3km were easy- flat or downhill path. It wasn't bad while running- it's the aftermath. My legs feel like they're being broken everytime I stand up or climb down stairs. Looks like I'm going to be pretty useless at badminton this Wednesday.
My bib, my timer tag, and I have a new book to read! (Did not run under my name btw- someone else registered me under his company for free, so they couldn't use my name~ haha)
Have to go to work soon... guess I'll be a super slow worker today... I already know someone called in sick and we're going to be understaffed. Again. Some things just never change.
Back two weeks ago, went to city during one of my days off and saw this:
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
He was just outside townhall and next to him was a guitarist playing some spanish tunes while this artist drew with chalk pencils. It's rather interesting that Sydney has people displaying their talents like this. Never saw anything like this in Singapore and much less Hong Kong.
Wandering through Townhall, we went into Australian National Geographic- a shop I used to love when I first came to Australia, but then the one at Castle Towers closed down, replaced by the girly clothes shop Supre, so I haven't really been to one in ages. Walked in and saw:
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
.. Astronaut ice cream! Always wanted to try it just for the fun of it, so we got one packet.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
This is what it looks like inside. Those who have tried it will know... it's not ice cream. It's not cold, and it's not creamy =P It's like, as tt described it, the honeycomb in Violet Crumble bars, or, like the Crunchie bar. Dry, biscuity like, and when you let it melt in your mouth, it just became like what Crunchie bar tastes like if you leave it in your mouth too long. Interesting though, now my curiosity has been sated and I don't think I'll try it again.
Got home and at the front of the house...
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
New flowers opening. It's really spring soon...
The next trip to City brought us to this Japanese ramen shop. Hidden in the Eating World food court at the end of China Town, "Gumshara" is known to be one of the top three ramen shops in Sydney (though the source was a Thai documentary and named the other two Ichiban Boshi and Menya... while I might agree with Menya and Gumshara, I think Ichiban Boshi should be displaced by Ryo's Ramen).
TT said that Gumshara was the best and that it's better than Ryo's... even better than those in Japan.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
This is the shop, and just look at the pictures of the eggs... seriously... drool-worthy?
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
This was tt's- a tonkotsu ramen with all toppings. (Sorry about the blurry picture, but just look at those eggs o O)
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
and mine, the cha-shu ramen. SO MUCH MEAT!!
It was crazy filling and the soup stock was extremely thick. Gumshara is well-known for its stock that has high collagen content (note: collagen is sometimes known as the glue that holds a body together and is a type of protein that supports tissues, internal organs, etc etc. It is good for the skin too- makes it stronger, more flexible... and when you get older, your body doesn't make as much collagen, which is why old people get wrinkles. Moral: as you get older, eat more at Gumshara.)
/lecture.
I managed to finish all my noodles and stuff, including the extra topping tt piled into my bowl =P but the soup... the good soup boiled out of pork bones and water only (no msg!)... couldn't bring myself to finish it. BUT! I must say, it was really good. Really good meat, really good noodles, and the stock was amazing. Really, go try it if you haven't. Trouble is, they only open at 11:30 till... I'm not sure what time. And they are closed on Mondays.
After walking the ramen off for a bit, we went to Mamak's for roti tissu again! =D
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
Yum~ a mountain of sugar'd pastry with condensed milk running down. Sugar overdose! Talk about being greedy though, because after the ramen, I could barely fit this down.
More food adventures:
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
Went back to BontaVita one night and had their fried eggplant in szechuan sauce and their Hainan chicken rice. I have to say, for that price, one could have gotten two+ bowls of ramen from Gumshara... but the fried eggplant was nice and the chicken was deboned! All restaurants should start deboning their stuff, because it makes eating so much easier and enjoyable~ mess free too! Especially with fish and chicken... actually, just fish. I've always had problems with fish bones =_=
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
A nice, untouched!!! photo of Bondi Junction during dusk. And yes, usually my photos will be touched up in some ways. But not this one.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
Disappointed. It was quite cold one evening and we went to Starbucks for their signature hot chocolates. Usually, it's be really really nice, but for the past two times that we went, it's gone bad. Maybe it's due to a different barista, but last time, I don't think they put enough chocolate powder and it turned out really bland and was not sweet enough. The previous time before that was even worse- it tasted weird, and when we took off the cap of the cup, we saw that there was this thin layer of yellow oil sitting on top... ...
Needless to say, we chucked it out after some speculation of how OIL could have gotten into a cup of hot chocolate.
I think the next time I get a cup of hot chocolate from Starbucks, I'll make sure the usual barista is there first.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
More food adventures include this green tea yoghurt ice cream. The first spoonful tasted so weird, it was almost bad. Yoghurt has this distinct sourness and green tea has this subtle bitterness. They do not go well together. I guess after a couple of spoonfuls, one could get used to it... we did finish it =) but I can't say it was very nice. I still prefer tiramisu ice cream from ice+slice, Newtown.
Yesterday was city2surf day~
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
Look! It's the blue starting line! =D Though I was set up to start with the greens, I ended up starting with my friends at Blue.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
Look at those portable toilets and stay away. Seriously. I was standing in line with F.L and when we were after 3 people away from entering, I asked her where she thinks the stuff goes. She said because the toilet isn't connected to anything, the stuff just stays in there. She then gave me a disgusted look and told me not to think about this kind of things before going in there.
The stuff does stay in there. And there's no water for you to wash your hands. No flush. Thin tissue papers. STAY AWAY FROM PORTABLE TOILETS. FL went in and out super quick, haha ^^''
The race itself wasn't that bad. Ran most of the way, walked up hills. Nearly died when I saw the 7km sign ("what?! I'm only halfway? chibiru!!") but after about 11km, the rest of the 3km were easy- flat or downhill path. It wasn't bad while running- it's the aftermath. My legs feel like they're being broken everytime I stand up or climb down stairs. Looks like I'm going to be pretty useless at badminton this Wednesday.
 |
| From 2009-08-10-1115-24 |
My bib, my timer tag, and I have a new book to read! (Did not run under my name btw- someone else registered me under his company for free, so they couldn't use my name~ haha)
Have to go to work soon... guess I'll be a super slow worker today... I already know someone called in sick and we're going to be understaffed. Again. Some things just never change.
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