BRB....

taking a breather from updates....

......work will be a killer this week.

The comforts of Hainanese Chicken Rice

Absolutely delicious- freshly cooked from my kitchen......


......using sauces from a pack hahaha.

Not letting you in on the brand but it's so true to the taste that I haven't found anything close to it in any of Melbourne's restaurants.

The grated ginger, the soup base, the seasoning for the rice and chicken.....yum.

yummy yummy yummy i've got bugs in my tummy!!

Came across these in Coles one day and me being a sucker for all things with great packaging fell for them instantly .... and in they went into my shopping basket :D  I initially trialled one box and it was good enough to make me buy all the other flavours.

Scroll down 3-4 pictures to see how they get transformed ;)

The surprise is...they actually taste nice! Especially the chocolate koala named Bruce- the mud cake tasted really yummy and moist. Mmm...I'm gonna have one right after I finish this post as a reward.

So now we all know Bruce loves to snowboard- why not give him his gear and send him off to the snow? His watch is constantly at 12.30pm too- lunch time all day...he must be stoked! No wonder he looks happily satisfied.

Kevin the caramel koala on the other hand loves cricket, eating green apples and collecting insects (ewww), so we gave him all 3! Lol I put the green apple on his face and the knee guards on his non-existent knees.

Hahaha, so much fun playing with the stickers in the box and dressing these koalas up. Too bad Cath the raspberry white choc koala didn't come with any :(

Postal Hall- Melb CBD

Ventured into this busy lil cafe during lunch one Friday. Ordered a takeaway of tuna salad and moroccan cous cous. Was suitably impressed. Returned for lunch on Tuesday.

Chicken casserole of chicken, vegetables and red wine on steamed rice. Just what we needed on a cold, blistery Melbourne day- a delicious, warm, hearty meal. :)

kitchen conversations...

Me (washing dishes by the sink and had my back turned towards the stovetop): "The water in the pan looks like its boiling, the pasta can go in now."

Bf opens packet of pasta and throws pasta in the boiling water, pauses for a splitsecond, then looks at me and asks: "Throw everything in, right?"

I turn around and see that he has literally chucked the whole packet of pasta into the pan.

The pasta was meant for a family of four.

-_-

a string of love hearts

loving my new stockings <3<3<3

pocketpics

'Travel Needs [as dictated by a store in the Sydney airport]....because when you fly from Sydney to Melbourne you really need an Egg Flip...'

pocketpics

"Hi, I have a weird looking green hair growing from my left eye! On an unrelated note, I totally should have been cast in Toy Story 3!" *sulks.

Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons- Crown

This place doesn't accept bookings so we had to wait by the bar for quite a while before we got seated. Everytime I walked past this restaurant I couldn't see inside so I had no idea it got so packed on Fridays and weekends. I finally got the chance to try this place as one of the boy's friends was shouting us dinner.

Rocca Reggiano- 3 year old. Apparently the King of Reggiano cheeses. Give me a plate and I'll finish everything because I love my cheeses and this was yum. Served with celery stalks, fennel biscotti and paper bread.

Risotto Nero- squid ink rice with calamari, chilli, garlic, lemon and parsley. I can't remember what this tasted like since it wasn't my dish and it's been a couple of weeks since this pic was taken but overall the food was a-ok. Nothing really stood out but I guess the selection of cheeses will lure me back one fine day....

Mabrown- Balwyn

Spicy deep-fried, crispy skin quails with plenty of tender meat...lip-smackingly good. I'm surprised not many people have heard of this restaurant before; I only knew of it a few weeks ago.

Tom-yum steamed fish- so good you just keep going back for more.

The Mess Hall

Best place for polenta chips = deep fried goodness. Top of the pic: Spinach gnocchi with pork ragu- absolutely delicious.

Random views from my mobile....

I'm steering away from food posts today just to mix things up, so here are a few pics from my phone....some as old as a year ago!

Some pics taken when I was back in KL during Chinese New Year earlier this year. I believe this was the deco in Midvalley- so pretty!

Best Nasi Dagang and Lemongrass drink EVER! From some shop in 1 Utama methinks. I can't rotate the pic so just tilt your heads haha.

Would you like some cerery? Veli cheap only $3.68 dorrah.

My grandparents make the yummiest assam laksa in the world!

Spotted: Miranda Kerr at David Jones on Bourke St (when she was first appointed DJ's ambassador)

A protest by Pacific Brands employees to keep jobs in Australia instead of moving them offshore to China. This made headlines and was in the news for quite some time last year.

Eureka- tallest residential building in '___________'. I have no idea where, and their site doesn't work anymore -_- . I love how the sun's rays reflect beautifully off the top of the building.

The next couple of pics are from work.

My desk when I first started as a grad. I've since moved desks 3 times! The boxes, lei and starfish are random stuff I've collected from my company's functions over the years....Christmas parties, drinks, social club invitations, retreats...fun times. 

Bye-bye desk...onto a bigger one!

 I don't have a pic of where I currently sit, but this is what I see when I look up. I dread the day when the balloons start popping around the office. 

Cupcakes from the launch of some event in my division- I hope that explains the balloons haha

My cupcakes even says 'Regulatory and Contractual'...the other one I had even had 'Tax' or 'Accounting' on it...be careful..work is Big Brother! They're always watching you.....lol jokes. I certainly hope not.

Signing off now- these pigs look like they're in the middle of some SERIOUS discussion.

Good night!

I have a personal chef!

The boy's been busy in the kitchen lately and this can only mean it's good news for me because I get home-cooked food without having to cook! He's also needing less supervision so I can happily watch Masterchef while he preps in the kitchen. Double yay!

Keeping us full with Mee Goreng...

Roasted porkchops with sprigs of thyme, honey and soy- I really liked this.

He also made mash potato from scratch. I've never ever made mash from scratch, I always use the instant stuff so I'm really very amazed and proud by how far he's come in terms of cooking. He personally peeled, boiled and mashed potatoes (so patient!). The recipe called for bits of chopped cabbage in the mash, which was a nice addition. I added some gherkins on the side cos I like anything that's been pickled :D I should get my act together and start cooking again....someday ;) but in the meantime I'll enjoy being fed.