Here, there...everywhere...

It's been a busy week at work, but I've only 2 more weeks before I head back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year. I haven't celebrated CNY in Msia for a good 4 years! I'm looking forward to all the food, ang pows and shopping :D All the good stuff. I also have a few dresses to pick up (the wonders of online shopping :))

 I had free tickets from work to attend a Melbourne Symphony Orchestra open rehearsal last year and as I was curious to see what actually goes down in the Arts Centre, I took this opportunity to attend.

How grand does this look?

20 minutes into the rehearsal, after overcoming the excitement and novelty of seeing an orchestra perform for the first time, the boy and I were ready to get out of there. Funnily enough, there was a man who played the triangle and he would only play for a few minutes at a time. I wonder if he ever felt bored? Haha. 

At Blok M for some ox tail soup. Yummy.

Our lunch sets at Takumi- which we visited for lunch during one of the weekdays. I highly recommend the one I had, only I can't remember what it's called....Ahh I just looked it up on the website. It's the Wagyu Beef Yakiniku Bento Box. Nicely accompanied by fresh salmon sashimi and scallops. Mmmmm...

And this is the Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki Bento Box. Not as good as the one I had!

Taken at Montalto Winery in Mornington Peninsula. Can you see my birthday present on my neck? :)

Had breakfast today (after weeks of not doing brunches- they were taking a toll on my weight!) at Q11 in South Melbourne. This is the 'Mexican Extravaganza' I had. Nothing spectacular although the pumpkin roesti was good.

It was a hot day- 30 degrees....so we headed to Igloo Zoo on Glenferrie Rd in Malvern for some frozen yogurt. I STILL haven't found anything that beats Pinkberry when I had it in the US :( Mine's the one on the right- pomegranate flavoured froyo with halva, meringue and slivered almonds- that makes one hell of a delicious combination! That said, the froyo's were a disappointment. We've had better at Mahoni's in the CBD.

On the way back we tailed a weird-looking science car...

 

Came home and cooked steak with mushrooms in a red wine and caramalised onion sauce (so before you go 'wow', the sauce was store-bought hahaha...I just merely added mushrooms and some chinese cooking wine). Served with a side of french beans and carrots in salt and butter.

All pics taken with the Iphone and they turned out pretty decent.  Just finished watching the Australian Open final on TV where it was Federer vs. Murray. The tie-break went on forever! It was point for point and then it ended. The Fed was just too good. It's the start of another work week tomorrow, so off to brush my teeth and wind down with CLEO before hitting the sack. Please let this be a short and quick working week!

Unwinding at home with....

....fresh fruits, camembert and brie cheese, crackers and a glass of moscato with 30 Rock playing on the TV after a busy week at work. ahhh blisss :D

Summer lovin', summer life

Haven't updated recently as I've been busy with work (and life!), plus work has just started to get really crazy insane busy as it's half-year reporting season all over again. Thank God it only lasts for 1-2 weeks this time instead of 3 months at year-end around the July-September period. Phew.

I'm enjoying the healthiest breakfast I've had in a long, long time. Feels good to be able to wake up late on a Tuesday and not have to go into work. I've had to work on Australia Day for the past 2 years, so it's  a welcome relief to have a proper public holiday off :D I'm certainly not complaining, so here I am with a plate of fresh figs, watermelon, rockmelon, strawberries and banana, blogging with Entertainment Tonight on TV and TMZ is up next. Yay.

Last weekend we experienced awesome weather so off we went to the Australian Open 2010.

The day's matches.

Music acts playing at Grand Slam Oval- Rogue Traders are playing during the finals!

Tennis Man sneaked up behind a lil'kid when she was posing for a pic.

The crowd lounging on the grass, under the sun at one of the open areas.

 

They were watching the Nadal v. Karlovic match on big screen.

Oh hi it's us :D

Where to next?

Food, of course ;)

We split up for a lil while, so he climbed onto a ledge to look for me- but I was just right under his nose and even managed to walk slowly towards him and take this picture before he even saw me. Haha blind as a bat.

We watched the Bryan brothers play. They are the number 1 men's doubles seeds in the tournament and they played the number 17 seeds Melzer and Petzschner.

Sponsors' tents. We lined up to get into a few tents and scored some freebies. The Cussons test was the best, it was like a mini-spa! We were given a body wash for visiting the tent. You can see Rod Laver arena in the background on the far left, and Hisense arena on the right.

Oraity, back to watching tv and relaxing :) Take it easy till next time! xox

Montalto Restaurant- Mornington Peninsula

Let me tell you about the wonderful birthday I had today- made possible by the boy, and my sister who surprised me with a pressie when I got home. This will be a picture-heavy post (well, the most picture-heavy I've ever done...)

Obligatory outfit check before heading out. It was 16 degrees outside (very cold for a summer day), so I ditched the heels and put on some tights and flats.

Hitting the dirt roads. Ok fine, not exactly dirt roads...but it was scary having cars coming at you at 80km/h.

We finally arrive at our destination after 1.5 hours. Good thing about Melbourne is the proximity of vineyards and wineries. Perfect for a small getaway.

One of the many sculptures we saw at Montalto. They hold a yearly sculpture contest and I'm guessing the winner gets their sculpture displayed.

Restaurant time! Always my favourite part :D This restaurant was awarded 1 chef's hat by the Age Good Food Guide 2010. They grow most of the ingredients in their garden. Taken from their website, they have a "herb and vegetable garden, fruit & nut orchard and berry garden."

Taking advantage of the perfect lighting.

Inside the restaurant.

Montalto and Pennon Hill wines. Pennon Hill is south-facing whilst Montalto is north-facing so that affects how the wines taste.

Complimentary cauliflower soup from the chef. Bf loved this.

 

We ordered 3 entrees and 1 main. This was the zucchi flower risotto with some sort of cheese. My favourite entree out of the 3 we ordered. Now I know zucchini flower can be cooked this way instead of being deep-fried. I might incorporate it into my cooking soon- before zucchini flower season ends!

Duck and foie gras terrine with sourdough and figs. Served with slivers of green apple salad.

Wagyu beef carpaccio. Looks pretty but bf thought there was too much on the plate- which took the attention away from the carpaccio. I prefer the one I had at Movida.

I created my own tasting platter! :D

Now this is the main we had. I was blown away by the most tender, juicy and tasty piece of steak I've ever had. This beats the Angus sirloin I had at the Botanical. We told our waitress that we were sharing our main course and the chef kindly plated it on two dishes.

The view from where we sat.

Yummy chocolate dessert. I've had better- this is pretty run of the mill.

The view of the restaurant from outside.

Give the boy a stick and he will happily have a kick-around.

I thought this was one of the sculptures- but I think it's their drainage system :s

Grapes!

On our way to chase the little red rabbit (which you would have spotted in the last few pics if you were eagle-eyed ;)).

Bf asked, ' Who left their party hat laying around?'

STILL kicking things around :\

Taking a pensive stroll through the woods.

A mini-replica of the Malthouse theatre in Sturt Street, Soutbank.

Getting closer...come here lil wabbit.

 

 

 

There was an olive grove too.

More grapes in hiding.

Random sculptures on a highway. This is not a real hotel.

Bf drove quickly so we could watch 'Up in the Air'- Director's Suite-style! I had a free ticket from Hoyts to use for any screening in any cinema I wanted...so why not go all the way to the top huh?

Came home and I found a pressie in my room from my sister! Awesome stuff, right? Look at how cute the chocolates are (penguin, mushroom, bear, cupcake and chilli). And the post-its are <3 Which reminds me, I've yet to buy her her 21st birthday present, and she'll be turning 22 in 2 months. Oops.

Time for bed, good night everyone!