First night: a wander through graffitied backstreets…
then an underground Japanese dinner. Off to a great start, I'd say…
Showing posts with label adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventures. Show all posts
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Melbourne
So a few weeks ago, - no wait it must've been about five weeks - my friend and I spent about a week in Melbourne. We were busy most days marching around town having the best time, and taking heaps of pictures, of course! Here's a little of what we got up to… Prior Warning: The following contain a LOT of food shots, just saying :)
Friday, 24 January 2014
Thailand/Singapore Part 1
I just read this beautiful blog post on Enchanted Fig. She is so true in her writing, it inspired me to try and open up to you all. To try and hush my inner editor, or english teacher or whatever, inside me - it has inspired me, you mean. Let it just flow. Show my creativity. Show myself.
I just got back a few days ago from overseas. We went to Thailand and Singapore, my family and I did. Everyday there was something new. In Thailand, it was colorful and elaborate temples the first day, waterfalls the next, and always, always seafood that had just been swimming when you ordered it.
Koh Samui, where we stayed, was frightening at first; I found it hard to trust the place, as if anyone would try and take advantage of me if I so much as looked at them. But after a few days, I relaxed. I learnt how to barter, to ignore the people outside restaurants and shops who were trying to beckon you inside, or to politely accept and scan their wares, without letting their eagerness bother you. When I smiled shyly at the shopkeepers, they warmly smiled back. Vegetable sellers would explain the cooking techniques of their produce, and I tried to keep up. The people were kind and lovely and helpful, and everything was different. But that is why we travel, isn't it? I left wishing that we could have stayed longer, to have more time to lie on the beach, to see more of the island, to learn more about the culture that is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Powerlines are more like birds nests, and once I even found a string of fairy lights around a low hanging section. How did they even put those up with being electrocuted? It has a certain kind of feeling, not quite like beach life - although everyone has that kind of relaxed approach to things - but far from the electric air of a big city. It is perhaps a mix of the two - but then something else as well.
 |
| Candles and insense at a temple |
 |
| Galangal |
 |
| Na Muang waterfall |
Koh Samui, where we stayed, was frightening at first; I found it hard to trust the place, as if anyone would try and take advantage of me if I so much as looked at them. But after a few days, I relaxed. I learnt how to barter, to ignore the people outside restaurants and shops who were trying to beckon you inside, or to politely accept and scan their wares, without letting their eagerness bother you. When I smiled shyly at the shopkeepers, they warmly smiled back. Vegetable sellers would explain the cooking techniques of their produce, and I tried to keep up. The people were kind and lovely and helpful, and everything was different. But that is why we travel, isn't it? I left wishing that we could have stayed longer, to have more time to lie on the beach, to see more of the island, to learn more about the culture that is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Powerlines are more like birds nests, and once I even found a string of fairy lights around a low hanging section. How did they even put those up with being electrocuted? It has a certain kind of feeling, not quite like beach life - although everyone has that kind of relaxed approach to things - but far from the electric air of a big city. It is perhaps a mix of the two - but then something else as well.
 |
| The Big Buddha and Surrounding temples |
 |
| A baby elephant we met |
 |
| Na Muang waterfall |
 |
| A local variety of eggplant |
The most amazing 'pancakes' you will ever eat - more like a crispy crepe, but filled with any combination of sweet or savory centre. Ours was filled with banana and coconut before being slathered in Nutella and a drizzle of condensed milk to finish...
Monday, 30 September 2013
September-October Flavor of the Month, Melbourne and a Short Break
Happy Spring, lovelies!
In other news, the Chinese Moon cake Festival happens around this time, and while I am not Chinese in any way, any celebration where a certain food is at its core is right up my alley. Whilst in Melbourne recently (more on this later), my Mum and I took a trip to Chinatown, where I made it my mission to find one of these unusual baked goods. Some of my friends are Chinese and stirred my curiosity when I asked them about moon cake prior to my Melbourne visit. They told me that moon cake is hard to describe and as I bit into my lotus-paste-with-2-yolk version, I could see what they meant. The outer layer is thin and virtually tasteless, quite short yet soft, almost like a pastry crust. When you open the packet a scent of pure sweetness emerges, conjuring up images of sugar syrup, yet… also with a hint of 'earthliness'- I can't really describe it any other way. The first bite reveals a quite dense center, almost the consistency of firm play dough, and there are clear marks where your teeth made indentations in the cake.
You could say, overall, that this foodstuff is 'sweet', but not necessarily in the way that, perhaps a cake slice you buy in Acland Rd, St Kilda's is: layers of sponge drenched in liqueur, sandwiched between generous amounts of frosting it is not. Instead, the lotus seed flavor comes through first and foremost - which in itself is difficult to imagine, let alone having tasted it before. The most I can say about it is that it tastes 'earthy'- perhaps it is in part due to the pale forest green color of the inner. As you continue to take in the curious flavors and mouthfeel, eventually you will expose the yolk, sitting in a secret burrow, patiently expecting your arrival. It has a salty exterior which is in stark contrast to the (now noticeable) sweetness of the cake, and is very hard, almost crumbly, like a very hard boiled egg. This is what it's all about. The yolk, traditionally that of a duck's egg, is a symbol of the full moon.
September-October Loves
Bright Heels
Let's be honest: being wrapped up in monochrome knits head to toe can be a bit… daggy, after a while. Eventually, we've got to reveal our daisy-white legs to the world underneath a skirt (gasp!). And what better things to dress your lower 3 inches in for their spring debut than a pair of bright, eye-catching pumps… |
| Heels |
Moon Cake
In other news, the Chinese Moon cake Festival happens around this time, and while I am not Chinese in any way, any celebration where a certain food is at its core is right up my alley. Whilst in Melbourne recently (more on this later), my Mum and I took a trip to Chinatown, where I made it my mission to find one of these unusual baked goods. Some of my friends are Chinese and stirred my curiosity when I asked them about moon cake prior to my Melbourne visit. They told me that moon cake is hard to describe and as I bit into my lotus-paste-with-2-yolk version, I could see what they meant. The outer layer is thin and virtually tasteless, quite short yet soft, almost like a pastry crust. When you open the packet a scent of pure sweetness emerges, conjuring up images of sugar syrup, yet… also with a hint of 'earthliness'- I can't really describe it any other way. The first bite reveals a quite dense center, almost the consistency of firm play dough, and there are clear marks where your teeth made indentations in the cake.
You could say, overall, that this foodstuff is 'sweet', but not necessarily in the way that, perhaps a cake slice you buy in Acland Rd, St Kilda's is: layers of sponge drenched in liqueur, sandwiched between generous amounts of frosting it is not. Instead, the lotus seed flavor comes through first and foremost - which in itself is difficult to imagine, let alone having tasted it before. The most I can say about it is that it tastes 'earthy'- perhaps it is in part due to the pale forest green color of the inner. As you continue to take in the curious flavors and mouthfeel, eventually you will expose the yolk, sitting in a secret burrow, patiently expecting your arrival. It has a salty exterior which is in stark contrast to the (now noticeable) sweetness of the cake, and is very hard, almost crumbly, like a very hard boiled egg. This is what it's all about. The yolk, traditionally that of a duck's egg, is a symbol of the full moon.
Strawberries
On the drive home from school the other day, a hand-painted sign which Mum and I saw on the side of the road which read 'strawberries 3km' ignited an excitement and almost unbearable anticipation in me for a long-ago taste of these delicious jewels. "Can we go, please?!" I gasped. And off we went in the search of strawberries, with me sitting alert on the edge of the seat.
Upon taking my first bite, I couldn't help but smile. It has been so long, and to me, summer doesn't really begin until you eat your first strawberry. But now, it seems summer is well and truly here.
 |
| From Tartelette blog |
Melbourne
About a month ago Mum and I went on a short trip to Melbourne (mostly) in the name of finding out about a potential University to study architecture at in two years' time. The thing that struck me most about Melbourne was the eclectic mix of new and old. It's everywhere - heritage buildings neighbor glass-fonted apartment blocks, trams a fitted with state-of-the-art ticketing services or encase you in a 1950's relic of leather-apholstered seats and windows with wooden frames.
The Architecture
St Kilda's
Chinatown
Victoria Park Markets
A short 'so long'…
It's that time of year again: exams. The final, stressful push before months of sunny, lazy freedom. And because I really do want to go to that Melbourne university I visited last month, I really must keep my head down, tail up till early November (the 27th, to be exact!) you shall not be seeing me around these parts for a while. So long, friends, I'll be back with loads more stories to tell before you know it!
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Flavor of the Month: July
Queenstown
 |
| View of the ranges on the way to Cardrona |
 |
| beetroot, apple, celeriac soup from Amisfield |
 |
| The Remarkable Sweet Shop in Arrowtown |
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Psychogeography and Peanut Chicken San Choy Bau
In the last issue of the lovely Frankie Magazine, Eleanor Robertson pondered the art of wandering through your own urban habitat. She writes, 'Psychogeography is best described as bushwalking in cities. Bushwalking is satisfying because nature is beautiful, and with attention and some luck you can experience cool things happening… The same is true for cities, with buildings and architecture creating the landscape, and people creating the interest and drama'.In a time where no one has enough of it, she recognizes the importance of taking the leisure of appreciating urban space by just being there, as opposed to just passing through.
So yesterday, as the First Official Monday of the School Holidays, Mum, Dad and I did just that. We took a trip into the Auckland CBD and experienced it with fresh eyes, made new discoveries. First stop was breakfast, at a bagel-ry named Best Ugly. The topping combinations were nothing new, but just a little outrageous - cold smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion and a little sprig of dill on mine and Mum's poppy seed bagels, a sesame-crusted one topped with hot mustard, pastrami, melted swiss cheese and gherkin for Dad. This was good food, done superbly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)