The Birthday Post

Hd selfie ftw! Lol. 

I haven't actually worn eyeshadow in months! The last time I had eyeshadow was probably in June when we were out for a fancy dinner for our anniversary. Mmm not bad I haven't forgotten my skills wtf.

So on the day before my birthday I booked for a night's stay at the Langham Hotel, the hotel where the spa I work at is located. I got a complimentary night+breakfast as a reward for working hard :) 

Upon checking in we were greeted with this:

A welcoming message on the tv, how appropriate!

More pictures of the room later. We dropped our stuff and headed straight to Nobu for dinner. 

For drinks I had a mocktail which is so insignificant it's not in their website menu haha. 

I don't like alcohol but for the sake of something fancy to celebrate the night I ordered this. Can't remember the name, it's the first one on the mocktail list and it's got lime, lychee and... that's all I remember. Tastes pretty good.

We started off with 3 cold dishes.

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno

 Scallop Tiradito

The name of this scampi dish isn't the one that's in their website and I don't remember what it's called but this was really delicious. It's our favourite out of all 3 cold dishes but generally, all cold dishes were really good. The seafood were really fresh, presentation and flavour were spot on.

Then came the 2 hot dishes.

 Black Cod Miso

This is one of Nobu's signature dish and it is SO. GODDAMN. GOOD period. Oh that spear thingie is pickled ginger shoot I believe. 

The moment we took our first bite we literally looked up at each other in complete awe I'm not joking. Hahah ok I may have exaggerated but this was easily our favourite dish. We kind of regretted not ordering 1 each, instead of sharing. I would definitely go back to Nobu for this. 

Again, this isn't in their website's menu. It's a dish with duck breast. It was alright, nothing to shout about.

Towards the end we thought since they're pretty well-known for their sushi we might as well try it too. This was their maki with spicy toro filling. Quite delicious. The maki is rolled with a thin sheet of daikon, talk about crazy knife skills. 

Then it was time for dessert.

 Nobu tasting plate

These were basically miniature versions of the desserts they had on that day. We were told to start eating from the bun (far right) and move our way towards the palate cleanser (far left). I found it odd at first to be actually directed the way to eat a dessert platter (usually people just dig in!) but it totally made sense! You start with the heavy chocolatey goodness, followed by a light cake, slowly move your way to a more refreshing fruity mix and finish with a palate cleanser (in a spoon) to end the meal. So clever! 

Oops sorry I forgot to rotate this photo. I saw there was a white sesame panna cotta in the menu and I was hoping that it would be included in the tasting plate (I love sesame if you didn't already know) but it wasn't. So of course I had to order it.

Let's just say if I could turn back time I wouldn't have done it lol. The tasting plate itself was a really good end to the meal and this panna cotta isn't the best thing in the world so it sort of ruined the experience a little. 

Haih who ask me so tamjiak lol.

Ok now back to the hotel.

Hee :)

OPI Langham Pink  

I was forbidden to post his handsome face lol. He was checking his teeth in the mirror and was sort of cleaning it and umm... it's not the most attractive expression hahahaha. 

The bathroom/toilet is probably my favourite part of the room, so lavish! The entire area has marble finish, feels so atas man lol. 

If I knew there was going to be a bathtub I would have bought some bath bombs T_T such a waste! 

MASSIVE mirror by the sink.

 MASSIVE mirror by the bath tub. 

Full length mirror by the door.

Mirrors everywhere! Every girl's best toilet seriously. 

There's also a mirror by the mini bar area (left). And the mini bar is so damn well stocked. There's more alcohol than anything. They even have condoms and tampons wtf.

 We got upgraded to a river-view room because it wasn't really busy.

 "Melbourne is renowned for experiencing four seasons in one day. Delight in our city of surprises."

Word.

 Can you tell I was trying really hard not to laugh while I posed for this photo?? Hahahaha

To be honest I was really pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to get such a nice room since it's complimentary. And maybe I haven't stayed in a 5 star hotel for a long time that's why so suaku lol.

There's a pretty good selection of food for the breakfast spread. Not shown here are the cereal, muesli, dried fruits and nuts, juice, milk, toast and spreads. There's also bacon, baked eggs, baked tomatoes, croissant, yogurt etc.

You can ask for your eggs to be cooked however you like. I saw some hollandaise sauce and decided to make eggs Benedict!

Natural honey, anyone? The honey from this supposedly natural honeycomb is sweet (duh), super thick and sticky. The honeycomb tastes like wax wtf.

While this may seem really fancy, who on earth has chocolate fondue and ice cream for breakfast?? NO, no kids should be allowed all these for breakfast because they go freaking crazy from all the sugar.

Last picture before we headed to the spa!

So we went to the spa (where I work at) for a massage for myself (from my lovely colleague) and a facial for Wk. Hahahaha I know, facial for Wk, sounds silly but he'd rather have that than massage. 

Going organic

I have concluded that organic raspberries/blackberries are hands down the MOST expensive fruit in the world. To me anyway. At $9.90, you only get 1 cup of raspberries which will be done in 2 servings. That's almost $5 a pop, which is enough to buy you a decent serving meal. 

Sigh. Why is eating healthy so expensive.

Finally the stone fruits are in season. Peaches and nectarines are my favourite. And yes, those are organic too. There are certain fruits and veggies that you should eat organic, according to sources I read online. Not sure of its credibility but if there are a million websites saying so, then I guess it's somewhat true. Which makes sense anyway. If you eat the peel of the fruit, wouldn't you want to make sure you're not eating pesticide residue? And let's be real, even if you rinse your fruit you won't know what's left behind.

So stone fruits, berries and apples are some of the things which are recommended to be eaten organic. If it comes with thick skin which you will remove and throw away (eg. avocado, banana, grapefruit), you don't have to go organic. You can, if you're feeling rich. Hahah.

That being said, eating fruits (organic or not) is better than eating none. It's not as though you'll die the next day if you eat a non-organic apple anyway.

Random post because I wanted to post this picture taken with my new camera heheh. Loving how I didn't have to edit the picture at all apart from reducing its file size. Colour and exposure are spot on.

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How's the Christmas prep coming?

This picture was taken 5 minutes before the tree toppled over the stools wtf. It has since been placed on the floor where it's most stable, but it makes the tree look really stunted hahaa.

Not that Wk and I celebrate Christmas, but one day I casually mentioned "Hey, let's have a Christmas tree this year!" without even actually having an intention to buy one. And we were at Big W when we saw this little tree for only $27. And Wk went, "Omg it has fiber optics. Let's get it."

I didn't even know what fiber optics were lol but since he made it sound like it's a cool thing I thought, yeah why not.

As of now the tree is still naked, we haven't gotten any accessories. Couldn't decide on the theme to go with yet. 

Mandatory selfie.

This is my work makeup when I am bothered to put on eyeliner and mascara. Haha. I've recently found this liquid eyeliner from Maybelline which is really good. Look at how precise the line is! Of course, it's the skills too *shameless.

Made Vietnamese Chicken Salad the other day and concluded that if there's a salad I can eat everyday, this is it. I don't know how everyone eats salad with the conventional vinaigrette/olive oil dressing everyday. It sucks. This is different. But I gotta say fish sauce is an acquired taste. If you love belacan (shrimp paste), you'll love fish sauce. If you find either one or both smelly, then I'm sorry you're missing out.

I had one of the most awesome Saturday ever.

I usually work on Saturdays but last week a colleague swapped with me so I had the Saturday off and worked on Sunday. It's been a while since I had Saturday off so the day was extra special haha.

We started off with having dim sum (or Aussies like to call it Yumcha) at Gold Leaf. I tell you the amount I ate was ridiculous, insane and unacceptable all at once. It was enough to last me the ENTIRE day. I didn't eat lunch or dinner. The only thing I had few hours after was a small cup of coffee.

Would I do that again? Hell yes LOL. There's nothing quite like stuffing food in your face, let alone dim sum. Every Asian loves their dim sum ok.

And then, we went to check out cameras. Wk and I have been meaning to get ourselves a DSLR for some time now. We first dropped by JB Hifi and found some pretty good deals (15% off plus $150 cashback!) and after comparing it to Myer, we decided JB Hifi would be the place to get it. Before that we went for coffee.

On our way to JB Hifi we passed by this little camera shop called Digi Direct and saw that they offer a very similar deal to JB Hifi but $50 more, on top of that it comes with a backpack and a monopod, while JB Hifi's offer doesn't come with anything. And I should also add that the salesperson we spoke to at JB Hifi was quite cocky, which was quite a turn off but this wasn't the first time we've had negative sales service at JB Hifi anyway so it was not surprising.

We didn't find the backpack or the monopod useful so we went in to bargain and see if they could take out the extra gifts and drop the price for us. They said they could only take out $25 and they offer to swap the gifts to anything else we might want such as an SD card. Talk about flexibility! And the guy who attended to us was really pleasant too.

Which we thought was a much better option because if we do get the camera we need an SD card anyway. As for the monopod, I decided to swap it with a mini tripod so I can selfie easier HAHAHA.

Since JB Hifi wouldn't package it with gifts for us, at Digi Direct for an extra $25 we get a 32GB SD (which is usually $50) and a tripod, what do we do next?

SWIPE THAT SHINYPLASTIC OF COURSE! Lol.

And you know what made the Saturday freaking awesome?

WK BOUGHT IT FOR ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

So we got the Canon EOS 700D (also known as Rebel T5i), which come in a pack of 2 lenses. You can get it with one lens but it's only $50 more for a twin lens package so only an idiot would pass on it. You can't get a lens for $50 anywhere.

And THIS is like frosting on the cupcake.

I made an order with Asos some time back and because my order was so big, it was split into two packages. 1 package arrived and the other didn't. And in the live-tracking website that other parcel seems to be "In Transit" still, 4 days after my 1st package arrived which didn't make sense at all since both packages were dispatched at the same time. I contacted Asos and they told me my package has been lost. They said they would replace all the items I haven't received or they would refund me.

The thing is, I DON'T WANT A REFUND, I WANT MY CLOTHES!

I got these clothes only because there was a 30% discount and I got them because I needed new clothes!

I looked at the clothes individually after that and most of them were out of my size! I replied them saying I want them replaced, crossing my fingers that everything is still available. It's really frustrating when you're expecting something and then you get told it's no longer available.

After replying them on Wednesday, I haven't heard from them. On Friday, I received a card from a local post office to collect a package. Yes, it's my Asos package -___-

I'm guessing Asos knew my package has found its way to me and that's why they're not responding to me anymore, which to be honest annoys me a little because yes I know problem solved but the least they could do is tell me rather than ignore me? I don't know. Maybe I'm just being a bitchy, whiny customer who can't wait to get her new clothes hahaha.

So anyway. On Saturday Wk picked up the massive package for me from the post office and it was like a war zone on my bed. Best part is everything fits perfectly :D

Ok last picture before I run some errands.

I've been really liking Bircher Muesli for my breakfast lately. It's basically soaked muesli (plain or with fruits and nuts) or rolled oats in water/milk/juice to soften them (30 minutes or overnight), then you eat them with grated apple and yogurt. Cinnamon and honey for extra flavour. The honey is really optional as apple itself is sweet already. Seeds and nuts can be added for more crunch.

It takes more time to prepare but it's something different than the usual toast or cereal. It's packed with macronutrients, and it fills me up too.

Ok time to start my day.

What the fish?

Hello hello.

Nothing much, life's pretty much been about work and food. And a bit of retail therapy. Not exactly therapeutic when I look at my bank account...

My housemates recently returned from Japan and they got us this pea snack. Omfg it's so good I'm not exaggerating. It tastes like green pea cookies but with the crunch and savoury flavour of potato chips. SO GOOD.

Bought my first pair of designer shoes because of peer pressure wtf. No lah, I've always wanted a pair of Ferragamo Varina and Shopbop had a 25% sale. Don't they look so damn fine...

I wore these out once and I'm never wearing them again wtf. My left foot is a little loose because it's 1 size smaller than the right (story of my life) but still the fit is surprisingly not bad at all. These shoes are quite narrow but my feet is narrow anyway so that's why they fit alright. The reason I'm never wearing them again is...

... the base was worn from all the walking on tar road T_T

I know whatchu thinking. It's a freaking pair of shoes which is meant to be WORN. 

But it's not just a pair of shoes it's a Ferragamo Varina ok! When I saw how scratched up the base was my heart felt like it's scratched too. So I've concluded that if I'm going to do a lot of walking, I'm never wearing these. Unless the floor I'm walking on is tiles (eg. shopping malls), or I'm going for karaoke or something wtf. (Where nobody can even see my shoes in a dark karaoke room and most of the time you remove your shoes and put your feet on the couch/table anyway. But whatever.).

Selfie intermission wtf. Dunno why I like to tilt my head to one side when I take selfies. Makes my face skinnier looking I think.

*** Ok from here on it's all FOOD. You've been warned. ***

One of my favourite breakfast dish from Hardware Societe. Croque Madame. Their brioche toast is just spot on. Plus the combination of gruyere and bacon oh gosh. Nobody can dislike this. Nobody.

Wk had one of the specials of the day which wasn't good. If I remember it right it's smoked ham hock with forgot what croquettes, poached eggs and salsa verde (I think). 

Wk has this theory that usually (not all the time) specials are made of ingredients that are leftovers. Hahah. I kind of agree, because how else can you sell a product made of leftovers right? When you say it's "Special" or "Limited Edition", everyone will dig it.

And my obligatory cappuccino. There's something about coffee art that sort of makes breakfast/mornings 100% better.

Now on to some home-cooked stuff.

I love to eat fish. It's healthy, it cooks quickly, it's simple yet tasty.

Seared blue eye cod with garlic butter, with sides of steamed kale and baked balsamic mushroom. 

My favourite fish is steamed cod, something we would eat at home during special occasion because cod is such an expensive fish, not to mention super delicious too. 

But blue eye cod is not the cod I grew up eating :( It's nothing like it. The cod I grew up eating is black cod, it has a black gelatinous skin and a silky, smooth, tender white flesh. Blue eye cod is a really firm fish, takes a while to cook through too.

Crispy skin salmon with sides of grilled asparagus and baked sweet potato. Salmon is probably my second favourite fish, after black cod. 

This has definitely become one of my favourite breakfast. Eggs and avocado on toast with Vegemite.

Vegemite is yeast extract, it's exactly the same as Marmite. I know whatchu thinking, Marmite on bread? Ew!

I used to be disgusted too. I grew up eating Marmite mixed with porridge, or sometimes diluted with water to make soup. Vegemite on toast is a very Aussie thing. One fine day it hit me. Porridge is usually plain, that's why we add Marmite to flavour it. So is bread! So technically it should taste alright?

So I braced myself one day and tried it.

AND I LOVED IT!

You really don't need a whole lot of it because it's so salty. It tastes even better if you add something creamy on top for example cheese, eggs, or avocado; it helps to balance the saltiness. Avoid salty cheese like cheddar though because salty + salty = yuck. I'd go for something like gruyere.

I saw a Vegemite advertisement once and it had avocado, with a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper on a toast with vegemite. I tried it and omg it's DA BOMB. The lemon juice really help to balance out the creaminess and saltiness.

And then I saw this video on Youtube about combining boiled eggs with avocado and use it as a spread for toast. And that's it, I've found my perfect complementing topping for my Vegemite on toast.

Went to South Melbourne Market one day and found these grass-fed scotch fillet steaks! I've read a lot about grass-fed steaks (basically it's like the beef version of free-range chicken), it's apparently healthier, leaner and some say more ethical too (Because the cows lived a better life before being turned into steaks? Hahha)

I've been to markets and supermarkets and have never actually seen grass-fed steaks (plenty of steaks but none labeled as grass-fed) so I decided to get them and see what all that fuss is about. They're expensive that's for sure, just like any free-range chicken product is if compared to industrially farmed/caged chicken.

Not that I'm a steak aficionado, I really don't know much about steak. In fact, this was the first steak I've bought and cooked!

Don't wanna sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet but I loved it! I give all the credits to the cut really. It's so easy to cook (easy to cook it wrong too!)! There's no need for marinades, no need special pans. All you need is to have the steaks at room temperature and a flat pan to sear it. Season with salt and pepper. 

To me, they were perfect at medium rare (4.5 minutes in total of cooking time, for a 3/4 - 1" thickness). 30 seconds more, and it'll be medium which is alright but medium rare's better.

Another favourite breakfast - oats with natural peanut butter (no added salt/sugar), chia seeds and frozen berries (or sometimes kiwi). Peanut butter makes ANYTHING better. Anything. Hehe. I discovered that kiwi and peanut butter go really well together.

Brunch at Krimper. Forgot to take pictures of my food hehe. 

Crispy skin salmon (again), with sides of wilted spinach and baked balsamic mushroom steaks. Yes, mushroom steaks. They're basically sliced humongous mushrooms. This dinner is so simple and easy to prepare (each element needs approximately only 8-15 minutes to cook and they can all be done at the same time) yet packs nutrients and tastes great without any fancy sauces involved. Fresh produce generally are good on they're own.

It was a warm day yesterday and I was craving for a cold ice-blended drink. Headed to Max Brenner and had the Peanut Butter Iced Chockie. 

I'm not a huge fan of Max Brenner anymore simply because there are better chocolatiers out there but THIS drink, is hands down the best I've had and I have yet to find something like this elsewhere. Unless you're not a fan of peanut butter or you have some severe nut allergy, you NEED to try this.

Steamed Snapper Sunday. 

Lots of fish in this post huh? Hahah. We always have fish on Sundays because that's the day we head to the market and if we do get fishes, we would eat it on the day itself because they sort of lose the freshness as you keep them.

Okie time to get ready for work. Ciao.

Types of irritating people

Yes it's me ranting about people. What's new? Hah!

To be fair I haven't actually ranted about something in a long time. I used to rant in almost every single blog post ok. So appreciate it because I rarely do this wtf.

I know I haven't properly blogged about what I'm working as and I'm not going to do it in this post but basically I work in a spa and a part of my responsibility is reception. In other words, I get in touch with people on the phone, in person, everything. I'm at the front of house. Meeting so many people it's really no surprise how some can just be a massive pain in the butthole.

1. People who start asking you things even when they see that you are holding a phone receiver to your ear, obviously on the line with someone.  DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE TWO MOUTHS? 

2. People who ask you where things are but never pay attention when you give them directions... and of course they get freaking lost. It's not as though I'm directing them to the Antarctica. It only takes 3 seconds for me to give them directions and these morons just cannot pay 3 seconds of their attention to me.

3. People who ask for testers and samples. If it's not there, then I'm sorry we do not have it. And we are not a departmental store, we are a spa, there's really no reason for us to keep samples. You want to try the products? Book in for a treatment so that we can use it on you, simple as ABC.

4. People who complain that things are expensive. Aunty, why not you go become the CEO of my company? Then you get to decide the price?

5. People who throw their used towels everywhere. Like, EVERYWHERE. I can take it if it's on the floor in the change room. The worst I've had so far is on the reception table - what a fucking jerk. There are signs everywhere that says "PLEASE PLACE YOUR USED TOWELS AND ROBES HERE". But no, for some reason they just become incredibly stupid and prefer to throw their towels anywhere as they please. 

6. People who treat you as though you are a class lower than them. Or maybe many many classes below them. With such people, I can only hope that karma is real.

Ok that's all I can think of so far. Of course, idiots aside, I've met some really nice people too. But bitchy stuff are always funner to read hahaha.