Hot Air Balloon Ride Anybody?

Today was no different to any other day. As usual I was up by 7am and after getting dressed I headed down to the kitchen to put the electric kettle on the boil. While waiting for my staple morning coffee to perk up my day, I looked out of our kitchen balcony and lo......

The balloon was heading towards our house and I was so excited, I started yelling on top of my lungs for Alex to bring the camera. It takes so little to get me excited no? :) Anyways, at one point the balloon was so close, right above our balcony that I could see the people and hear the loud whoosh of gas heating up the air in the balloon when the guy manning it yanked on the lever.


As you can see, the name of the company is called Dawn Drifters and I have done some research to find out details about it. Flights start as early as 5.45am. Each trip is about an hour long and to sweeten the ride, a flute of champagne is served during the flight and each passenger is also greeted with breakfast at the end of the ride. A week day flight will set you back AUD 272 per pax and a weekend flight is AUD 322 per pax. Kids are charged different rates and large groups are also eligible for discounts.

I enjoyed my morning surprise. I was really tempted to wave and say good morning to the folks in the big basket but was coaxed out of it when I heard my kettle go off. A cup of coffee trumps waving to a big balloon.

cheryl

Vaccinations

Working at a hospital comes with one big plus.... free vaccinations! Its part of occupational health services provided by the hospital. Because we are exposed to bloods, bodily fluids and body parts each day, its better to be careful and safe rather than sorry.

A week ago I got some blood of mine tested for a myriad of tests some being the Hep A, Hep B, Hep C, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Chicken pox(Varicella) and others. I collected my results this week and found that I needed a booster shot for measles plus I was advised get a shot for chicken pox because did not have immunity for it.

Statistically, 75% of children contract chicken pox before 12 years of age. I obviously fall into the 25% part of that pie. My sister has had the chicken pox. But even though we lived under the same roof throughout the whole time she had it, I did not show any signs of exposure to the virus in my blood. As for the measles, I guess the concentration of the shot I had when I was a baby had waned so much that I needed a booster shot for it.

So I got both shots today with two puncture holes covered up with a sticker to show for it. One on each arm!

Right arm..

Left arm...

I kinda feel like a little kid running about showing off evidence of her first injection. In my opinion, one can never be too old to act like a kid. Tee hee...!

cheryl

Malaysian Dish #2 - Fried Kangkung

Trying to find ingredients to cook authentic home cooked Malaysian fare is not easy in Canberra. Not only are the ingredients far and few, the price of the items are at least 20% more than in Sydney or Melbourne.

I got my hands on some Kangkung one day. Also known as 'Eng Chai' in Hokkien or 'Erng Choy' in Cantonese or 'Chinese Water Spinach' in English. Kangkung is the Malay name for this veg. I usually have it fried with sambal and dried prawns back in Malaysia. Sambal is a malaysian chilli made by pounding chillies with a bit of lime and belacan. I have searched high and low for a similar sambal in Australia but to no avail. And Belacan is fermented shrimp paste usually sold in a solidly packed rectangular block.


So whats an improvising cook do?

:) I used my belacan fragrant oil ( from my previously fried belacan chicken), added garlic and chilli paste, frying it till fragrant before adding my kangkung into it. Behold, I got a dish that was pretty close to the one I used to eat back in Malaysia.

Yumminy-yum-yum. In case anyone is wondering how Alex coped with the spice from the chilli, he actually did quite well! I'm slowly trying to build up his tolerance for spice. Hopefully by middle of 2009, he can take on raw cut chillies!

cheryl

Our Pictures from Sydney

We stayed at the Wentworth Sofitel in Sydney, a stones throw away from Martin Place. It was located only short walk to Pitt Street mall and a 5 star hotel. We definitely enjoyed our stay there.

The nice lobby of the hotel - A lobby clues you in about the 'nice-ness' of the hotel room before you step into one. This one was looking pretty good!

Our room - We liked it. Our conclusion made in the lobby was not wrong!

The view of the hotel courtyard from our room window.

It was a complimentary stay thanks to the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the conference Alex was there to attend. Our breakfasts were included as well and I thoroughly enjoyed the spread which included healthy options; fresh varieties of yogurt, bread and even an entire honeycomb right out of the bee's nest! I didnt manage to get a shot of that though.

What's a blog entry without a food shot? :)

Alex looking rather sleepy at breakfast

After the hearty breakfast, Alex went off to his meeting and I spent an hour at the gym trying to compensate for all the calories consumed just an hour before. Its been awhile since I got to run on a treadmill and I really loved that I got to run at the gym. After showering, I walked to Pitt Street mall for some retail therapy.

Apparently Hummer limos are frequently used as bridal cars in Sydney. I spotted this one while walking on my own on that Saturday afternoon.

That Saturday evening we met up with old family friends from Penang, Uncle Kher Hwa and Auntie Christine. Daniel their son was there as well but we missed their daughter Lydia because she was at the youth service at the church. We had a yummy dinner at a Korean restaurant named after the famed Korean series about a lady in the palace and her wonderful cooking. I can't remember the title of that series at this moment...

After dinner we went for a walk at Circular Quay. Had to walk off our heavy meal! :)

We watched a busker do his show for about 20 minutes at the quay.

After somewhat walking off our dinner, the family took us to a dessert place in Chinatown and its here that I got to have my favourite.. the black sesame dessert with glutinous balls! So yum!

We got back to the hotel at 9.30pm and had plans for the second part of the night, that was to meet up with Alex's sister and family for drinks. While we were freshening up in the room, we heard an alarm go off. Momentarily a look of sheer panic crossed both our faces because we were up on the 16th floor and if we had to make a run for it, things could look ugly. Talk about drama.... Anyways, Alex quickly rung the reception for details and was told it was our building that set off the alarm and it was on the 5th floor. However we were told not to worry. Me being rather paranoid, told Alex we are better off heading down to the lobby anyways and be closer to ground just in case the receptionist didn't know what she was talking about. We were meeting his family in the hotel lounge so it wasn't completely unnecessary :) Yes, I can justify my paranoia.

The fire truck parked outside the lobby with its lights ablaze.

We sat in the hotel lounge, ordered 3 pots of tea and had a relaxing chat. We were surrounded by very nicely dressed people who had just finished their formal dinner in the hotel ballroom. I spent much of my time in the lounge checking out the ladies and their outfits.

The next day was our last morning at the hotel. After having breakfast plus a long relaxing bath, we checked out and headed to the Lindt cafe where we had our last indulgence before leaving Sydney. Iced mocha and iced dark chocolate! So very rich and satisfying!

I had a relaxing time at Sydney. However I can't say the same for Alex. He was attending the conference most of the time and only enjoyed the room at night. But his sacrifice wasn't without rewards. All the networking and the building of bridges that he did over the 2 days will work in his favour at a later time. As for immediate rewards, I was definitely the sole beneficiary that weekend!

cheryl

Cirque du Soleil - Dralion!

Familiar yellow blue tent tops. The big one in the background is the Grand Chapiteau.

Cirque du Soleil! Alex and I bought tickets to the show 2 months ago and after a long wait, we have finally seen it! Dralion is the theme of this years show and its a mix of traditional chinese circus traditions and the avant garde style of performance done by cirque du soleil. The show draws on influences of the east and west, hence the name Dralion. Dragon for the east and lion for the west

Concessions stalls selling Dralion souvenirs

The show was an explosion of colors, the story revolving around the quest for harmony between human kind and the 4 elements of fire, water, air and earth. It is quite unfortunate that cameras are not allowed so I only managed to take shots outside the grand chapiteau, some before the show started and a few at the end. Lighting was dim and I could not have the flash on so my shots are blurred. I did my best to steady my hands...

I loved it when performers would appear and disappear discreetly on the performance stage thanks to sliding holes on the floor. Their disappearing act was so smooth that I had to make sure I didnt blink just so I could catch a glimpse of the gap before it closed up and looked like a regular stage again. I was also very impressed by the body contortionist who twisted her body so many ways while balancing herself on one arm atop a high pole. Some other acts which got lots of claps from me was the trampolinists and the group of boys jumping through metal hoops.

At many points of the show my eyes were tired from trying to keep up with all the movement coming from all areas of the stage. I was working them hard, trying not to miss a single movement. Its not possible though. I guess in that sense sitting further away from the stage is a good thing. We got a better panoromic view.

An empty stage before the show began

The finale : Performers and crew on stage for a big round of applause

All in all we had good fun watching the show.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

cheryl

A Malaysian Dish - Fried Belacan Chicken

Alex and I eat at home most of the time. We eat out at an average of once a week. It does get incredibly tiring having to cook so often but it saves us heaps of $$$. There is no such thing as a hawker centre in Australia and a plate of char koay teow in a restaurant could set us back AUD 13. That plus drinks multiplied by portions for two makes for a pretty good dent in the pockets especially if I start converting that expense to the Malaysian ringgit. Hey I can't help it .... :) I'm Penangite to the core!

Anyways, I cook every day and it usually consists of 3 dishes; meat, veg, soup plus rice. I also cook bigger portions for dinner because I would then pack the extra for our lunch boxes the next day.

I attempted to make a true blue Malaysian dish some weeks ago. It was my first attempt and I made it without any recipe. It turned out perfectly and smelled just as it should. Have a look at my FRIED BELACAN CHICKEN!





Looks quite right doesn't it? As you can see, I made it with chicken wings. I'm quite pleased that it turned out beautifully. I did have to air out the house after. The fragrance of belacan! Phhoooh!

I have since made another batch of it for dinner. It's nothing flashy, just a little something to remind me of the little island I called home......




cheryl

Another short weekend away... this time Sydney!

We are taking another short weekend trip, this time around to another city in Australia often mistaken as the capital of the country. Sydney! Its going to be a lovely, relaxing trip as our accommodation will be sponsored by Sanofi - pharmaceutical company. Alex is going for a conference organised by these folks and they are putting us up for 2 nights in a 5 star hotel right smack in the city. Fantabulous! I'm so excited.... This is when being a wife is a perk. I get to enjoy hotel facilities i.e a beautiful room, comfortable sheets, a lovely soak in the bath tub, buffet breakfast, swimming pool plus shopping all day while hubby has to sit in a conference room for most of the day. Heh heh heh..

Happy, happy, happy.... so now here's hoping I don't get myself lost while walking around the city alone. Planning on leaving a trail so I can find my way back! :p

cheryl

Random Things..

We live quite close to where I work and on some days I walk home instead of having Alex pick me up. On each walk, I pass a huge playing field (I have learnt that most playing fields here are called Ovals in general) A flock of cockatoos have made this field their home and every evening there will be at least 20 of them sitting around fussing with their feathers and making a huge racket. If you have not heard cockatoos before... imagine loud cackling coming from your radio and turn up the volume by 2 notches. Thats how loud they are. Multiply that by 20 and oh boy....

The cockatoo on the right looks a little banged up.

Before coming to Australia, I never really understood how people caught the hayfever. Now that I have seen the extent of wind and the concentration of pollen flying around here, I fully get how easy it is catch it. Just the other day, the wind was constantly going and it was sweeping up ball after ball of pollen. There were so many balls in the air that it was impossible to not have any land on me. I had to grab something off the clothesline and I did a quick duck to grab it before running into the house. I wasnt quick enough and in one quick gust of wind, I had one ball of pollen land right on my nostrils. I didnt have any hands to push it off. I had to huff and puff to do it without breathing anything in.

Finer than fur balls, whiter than cotton

So far I havent got the hayfever. But I have been told that the sensitivity develops after a couple of years of being in Australia. I sure hope it doesnt happen to me. Nasty thing....

cheryl

Our short weekend in Melbourne

We had a short trip to Melbourne two weeks ago. It was a 4 night break for us just to roam the city and enjoy some light hearted travelling. We made no plans and just went with our whim. As usual, food was a major part of our trip. I definitely put on some weight from that weekend :p

We stayed at the Metro YHA for all the 4 nights. I was really iffy about that plan initially, my mind picturing stained carpets, stained walls, funky smells and wet toilets that usually goes hand in hand with youth hostels. But I must say, I was really pleasantly surprised. Our room was fantastic and we had our own private toilet. The communal kitchen was neat and organised. The hallways were clean with no funky scents. The YHA was a short walk to Queen Victoria market and trams. It was great. Anyone heading down to Melbourne and looking for a good place to stay can consider the Metro. Internet access was only $1 for 15 minutes and THAT is a fantastic price in Australia. The communal dining area has nice couches and a big blackboard that has a activities planned out by day for the entire week. So if you dont know much about Melbourne, this board is a great help. The activities includes free rides to St. Kilda beach plus free wine and cheese nights at the YHA meant for guests to mingle and meet other people who are staying there too. If you dont feel like eating out in some restaurant, the kitchen has a menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner at affordable prices. If you feel like cooking, the kitchen comes equipped with ~10 fridges, multiple stoves, sinks and plenty of plates plus cutlery. You just need to clean up after yourself and label your goods in the fridge. This place is not just for young people. It is also great for small families as it has family rooms with 4 beds and a private toilet.

I am really promoting this place eh? But I will say that I was quite pleased with the place that it will definitely be on the books as a place of accommodation the next time we head down to Melbourne.

Lotsa pictures coming up.. starting off with the Queen Victoria Markets. We stayed about a 5 minute walk from the market. I like looking at their food section :)

Stacks of dough - so quaint!

Sandwiches, croissants, bagels, scrolls...etc

Spoilt for choice - cheese, cured meats, sauces

Alex enjoying our very relaxed holiday

As the saying goes, a lady can never have too many bags, she can also never have too big a purse

We took the train to St. Kilda beach on a fine warm morning. There are rows of shops close to the beach and I spotted a small Polish bakery called Monarch Cakes, established since 1934. Most of the recipes of the cakes in this shop were passed down through the generations, originating from Eastern Europe. I wish we could have tried everything in that shop but our tummies wouldn't permit it. The display of cakes at the store window and the old decor, trapped in a time warp vibe the shop emanated really attracted the attention of not only my tastebuds but also my curiosity of an old shop.

Going back in time at the shop

Salivating over the cakes in the shop

Our cakes in a paper tray in a paper bag - perfect for the beach

Beach flowers

A spot of pink and yellow

St. Kilda walk

Cake time! From left: The infamous Chocolate Kooglhoupf slice, Continental Custard slice and Baci Royale.

We also managed a visit to the Melbourne Aquarium. We didnt have anything else to do around the city and since we had a buy one get one free voucher for the admission tickets, we figured why not? I felt like a kid once again, in a world of glass and water.

Seahorses

Alex in his glass bowl.

Fish: How does that make you feel now being stared at everyday? :)

Jellyfish

More jellyfish

Pretty in pink jellyfish

Many pairs of adoring eyes looking at me at the Melbourne Aquarium gift shop

We also went to the Melbourne 360 also known as Rialto. Again it was a buy one get one free voucher so it was a good bargain. Every ticket allows the visitor two admissions. So we went once in the morning when the sky was clear and again at night when the lights of the city came on.

City in the day

City in the evening - Telstra Stadium and the Melbourne Eye

Melbourne night lights

If you are ever in the city and yearning to have some Vietnamese beef noodles, do hop into this restaurant the Mekong. Its just a short walk from Flinders Station. I have been told this shop is well known for its noodles and is quite packed through all hours of the day. This shop has been visited by many a Hong Kong film star and it is evidenced by the photos hung on every empty wall space in this tiny restaurant. I spotted Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Damien Wan Siu Lun and some other stars I don't remember names of.

Glass mirrors lining the walls of the shop. Even the glass was not spared of celeb pictures.

I did say we ate quite a significant bit on this trip right? :) What is the major highlight of every trip Cheryl Yu takes? FOOD!

Chinese food in Melbourne is SO much cheaper.

Big portions of roasted pork and duck - my favourite combo!

Can you believe I have ever had the combination of red bean and evaporated milk? So yummy!

Ham and cheese on toasted foccacia at the Queen Victoria Market.

Italian mini pancakes at the Queen Victoria Market - This was SO delicious!

I went back to Toto's for some Italian food. This was the Family Pasta Mista. From left: Canneloni, tri-colored mushroom fettucini and seafood gnocchi.

Vietnamese Fried Chicken and Beef with rice

Our glowing faces after all the eating

cheryl