ANZAC Long weekend Part II - Footscray Mkt & Feast @ Sofia!

The long weekend weather was literally damping any other plans to do anything outdoors. But we did make full use of the rented car anyway, travelling to places otherwise too far to go!

One of the destinations was at the Footscray market. Footscray is the lil' Vietnam of Melbourne and you can find all things asian and Vietnamese here! It was a whole different experience from the typical Aussie suburb. We felt like we had gone to Thailand or JB in the late 90s! The Footscray market was truly a wet market by Singapore standards and totally different from the likes of Queen Victoria or South Melbourne market. But the prices made it all worthwhile =) In the end, we bought our 2 weeks' worth of groceries for half the price we normally pay at South Melbourne market! 2 large pieces of salmon for $10, 1 kg of tiger prawns for $11, fresh live baramundi for $10 and more! We also bought fish tofu, bee tai mak and other yummy steamboat stuff. That week, we had yummy steamboat for dinner - tom yum base (thanks to Pee for the stock!) and chicken base! Shiok!!!


Our yummy steamboat dinner! Thanks Jan for giving us the mini steamboat! Best house warming gift!!

Unfortunately, it didn't feel very safe to take photos (and look like tourists) so there are no photos of Footscray! You'll have to see it for yourself!

To end off the long weekend break, we drove to Camberwell in search of Sofia restaurant for phenomenally large portions of Gie's fave food - PASTA! And huge, it was at Sofia's! But the wonderful thing is that the quality is still there, even though the quantity is extremely generous! Price is extremely reasonable too so it sure gives La Porchetta a run for their money! Definitely highly recommended for the big appetites and incredibly hungry!


Ready? We thought we were too hungry to wait for the entrees so we started with garlic bread!

Then the food arrives, curry chicken with seafood and Sofia pasta!


Get Set! (The scared face)


Eat!


Push on


Finally had enough.

We wouldn't recommend the curry like chicken dish with seafood though. It was just too much! But the pasta was really nicely done! At the end of our meal, we just couldn't eat another prawn and Gie never rejects seafood! But they were just too generous with the ingredients and we shouldn't be complaining! So people visiting us, this is a definite must go and will be on our itinerary (until we've had enough)! Something to look forward to ya?

Current big meal favourites:-
Moskito
Sofia

ANZAC Long Weekend!!! Part I - The Grampians

Yayy!! It was another long weekend and this one we were definitely not letting go without a drive out of the city! Woohoo! Although, from our previous blogs looked like we did have quite a few "adventures" outside of the city... oh well! It felt like a long time since we had a car and got out of the city!

The weather wasn't looking too good but we decided to waste no time and headed off early in the morning on Friday (to maximise the good weather!) It was quite a drive to the Grampians, almost 3 and a half hours by the most direct route. We stopped by Ballarat to confirm our directions and have a sneak peak around. We did spot a castle on our way there, just outside of Ballarat so that one we will definitely go back for , one of these days...

After what seemed like an endless drive, we finally arrived at the Grampians!


Destination reached!

Bearing in mind that the forecast was "late showers", we headed straight for one of the main attractions at the reserve - MacKenzie Falls!


Beginning of the trek.


Remember to take the left route next time, left leads to base of falls.


Burnt trees to the falls.


Japanese wannabes.

We brought tuna sandwiches along on the trek and Choc overload kit kat for dessert!


Sandwich at the falls.


Have a break have a kit kat.


Small falls.

We then drove around, making stops at wherever there were signs hinting at new sights. One of the really impressive stops was at the Balconies, a lookout point overlooking the Grampians and the lil' town Halls Gap that sits below the mountain. The roads were abit too curvy and the lack of sweets made Gie a lil bit car sick!


On top of the world!

Here's another of our stops, hoping for some more big waterfalls! But...

Long Kang chui... where does the water go to?


Can you spot the kangaroo?


Try again!


Stuck in the tree

Finally, we ended our visit with one more stop at Halls Gap for some really good ice-cream!!! yummm... we'll definitely crave the ice-cream there!


Ice cream anyone?

Fashion Parade at Colllins Place!

Time for some updates. Midweek, we went for a fashion show! There was this fashion event at Collins Place and Jem's company got complementary VIP tickets. We were first greeted by Champagne followed by light snacks, it was packed with about 600 people and held at the Sofitel ballroom. At first we did not know what to expect but later we realized that the brands that were paraded were all the shops in Collins place. There were some interesting pieces of clothes that caught Gie's eye but I guess we were there more for the experience. Seating was not very fabulous and we had one of Jem's colleague's Jana for company throughout the night. All and all it was a good Wednesday night out.


Jana, Gie and Jem at the Fashion Show.


Sitting in front of the big screen.


Ladies strutting their stuff.


Nice shot of the Sofitel ballroom.


Did you know you wine can be modelled?


Friday night dinner out at a Japanese place along Russell Street.


Another take.


We came across this very interesting big advertisement in Melb Central. We had to take a photo!


They are advertising an event held in our homeland!



Nice colourful photo at Melbourne Central.


On Sunday we went to the National Art Gallery of Victoria, quite an educational trip, not!

Soccer night out at the Telstra Dome- Melbourne Victory vs Gamba Osaka!

The biggest club soccer event in asia, Asian Football Champions League is currently on, Gie and Jem had the privilege of being part of this spectacle! It was all thanks to Jem's company giving out compimentary tickets since there was a Japanese club in the competition. The soccer game was between Melbourne Victory and Gamba Osaka! The game was held at the Telstra Dome (a short walk from where we live) and the atmosphere was great with a crowd of more than 20,000 people attending. The game was really exciting, with both teams taking the lead at one stage or another. The score was even with 2 goals a piece at half time. At that moment, we already thought we had our moneys worth after watching 2 spectacular goals from each team but the second half brought more entertainment. More goals followed and Gamba Osaka put the game beyond Melbourne Victory's reach with a goal in the dying minutes. All in all, we were happy because both of us were the minorities that were supporting the Japanese club, heehee. Oh well, it was a great evening and here are some of the photos taken that night!


Getting there early to take some photos in the Telstra Dome.


At the sidelines of the field.


Cheering with the small group of Japanese fans.


The line up Melbourne Victory in dark blue and Gamba Osaka in White.


During the game, we had pretty good seats.


Gamba killing the game in the dying minutes.

ATTENTION MR X

I've got an interesting story to share with everyone and a message. This is the real Gie writing... no more speculations about what I think or who I am for the benefit of those who presume to know me.

It all started with a simple "you all go ahead with dinner" one Saturday evening (Refer Post entry 23 March 2008)...

Does anyone see anything wrong with that picture? Not really, unless you are one super sensitive person and you are not in that picture. For anyone wondering what exactly I am talking about, let me tell the story of that night to you:-

Sharon and I went shopping that afternoon whilst our boys went to play soccer (does it sound repetitive? Bear with me..) Around 6.30pm, we sat down for some iced chocolate & coffee and I got a call asking me if I would like to have "kuey chap" for dinner then. Since we had just bought our drinks and not really feeling like "kuey chap" that day, we politely declined the invitation. No one asked if we wanted to eat something else at a later time, so we just left it at that and went for Korean dinner about an hour and a half later.

Who would have thought that a simple picture like that could cause so much distress and misunderstanding. Not on our part, no... we had a blast that night, chatting and getting to know each other, stretching our dinner easily to 10.30pm! Then, later that night, a phonecall call came and accusations started flying around...

"Why cannot have dinner together?"
My ans: Just bought my drinks, not ready for dinner and don't want to eat "kuey chap"
Frm another view: The girls hate me and are talking bad behind my back. That's WHY they don't want to have dinner together...
HUH???

In the first place, why would you think that you are being disliked? Would friends think that of their other friends if they went out to dinner together? Must a bunch of friends call on everyone when they want to have dinner? We've had dinner just the 4 of us alone together before and didn't invite the rest. Does that mean we are out gossiping about the people not present or we dislike them? Maybe the reason you think like that is because that's how YOU work and that's what YOU do.

OR. Deep down inside you know that you have done something wrong to give reason to talk. So, the feelings and imagination about things going on behind your back, triggers off in your mind. Furthermore, you are the expert in psychology so you KNOW people and can read their minds, know their character without the need to actually get to know them.

Maybe if you stop hiding behind your psychology world, you can wake up and see the world and its people for who they are. It's sad coz you practically live in your own mind and thoughts. It's dangerous to others coz you have the power to influence and impose your perceptions on those who trust you. Like you once said, you have the ability to tell people what you think and convince anyone of anything... I always took it with humour but believe that now as I witness the mind games you play.

That fateful night triggered of a series of events and happenings but the next big thing happened when we went for Comedy night without checking with you. You once told us that you never liked live performances like plays or movies. We didn't realise that stand-up comedy was not in the same entertainment group as the mentioned, so no one thought it would be a big deal not asking you to Comedy night. Apparently it does matter because your other half wanted to go. Just to let you know, we ALL did want to ask, but the message got lost. Maybe you want to reflect on this.. if you are such a generous, big-hearted, warm personality, why are the plans not including you? BUT, I'm not here to judge although I do feel that it was unnecessary to blow things up to such a scale. I feel that a more "normal" reaction to finding out that your friends went out without you to something you are interested in would be more like "Oh you went for that? How was it? I also want to go so count me in next time"..

Want to know what happened when you found out? You know, but not all my readers know. Your reaction was "Angie is evil and influencing everyone to exclude me", "I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore", "that's the end of the friendship" (I dun friend you liao?).. what are you? 10? In all fairness, I am probably not quoting your exact words but the gist is there. I have to cover myself in case you say you never said such things... but you sure implied them.

Are you bored yet? I'm almost done with my story... here's the ultimate bit..

You call Jem and tell him you are angry with me and that I am.. well.. to sum it all up, a b*tch. You dislike me and don't want to see me anymore and we don't have to include you in our plans going forward. Thanks for that. Now you have given me the go-ahead to cut you out from our lives. Do you really think Jem will keep this all from me? Do the people around you know that you called MY BOYFRIEND and told him that you hated his girlfriend? Now now.. that's not very nice is it? Who does things like that? I don't tell your girlfriend all the nasty things you do, do I? Wait... all the things you tell Jem are based on your own thoughts and perceptions.

This is the best part... I hear you say I am a self-centered and selfish person and probably said to Jem that he deserves better. (You probably said alot more but I shan't speculate.. I reckon this is enough to talk about) What on earth did I do to the love of my life to warrant such judgement? Before you point your finger at others, do you have a right to judge anyone? I think not. Cliche as it sounds, I hope you realise that 3 other fingers point back at you. I strongly suggest you keep your opinions and judgements to yourself.

I guess I don't really want to achieve anything from this post, aside from saying my peace and hoping I get my point across to those I consider friends. You don't even want to confront me directly and now, I don't want to try either. It's not like we didn't try to make things normal again with organizing the picnic or at least try to act like adults and put this all behind. Actually, what am I saying, I've got nothing to put behind coz I didn't even know all these issues existed until your call with Jem. I guess it's you who needs to "get over it" and try to act your age for once. I guess my objective is to provide some great gossip and entertainment and hope that those around him not just take his words as the truth but see for themselves what the world really is. I don't want to cause anymore hurt or misunderstanding or unhappiness. I hope we can all let this go and get on with our lives.

Good night and hope you enjoyed the read!

Bytch*fyd G*eggles

Sunday Brunch @ Albert Park Lake

The weather for the weekend was perfect for some time outdoors and so we invited everyone for a picnic at Albert Park Lake on Sunday. Not everyone could make it so looks like we have an excuse for having another one! The lot of us had a really good time enjoying the fresh air and clear skies and home-made picnic food.

After all the food, we had to get up and move around... So, we also tried a game of frisbee, which proved challenging with the winds and kicked around Sai B's football, playing "Monkey"! Having Gie guard the side with the lake was almost a big mistake since Sharon had kicked the ball towards her and she couldn't catch it! The ball flew into the lake to our dismay and bobbed around happily in the water teasing us! Gie rushed to grab the longest object she could find, which was the marketing trolley to use to fish the ball out of the lake. Luckily, the waves brought the ball closer to the edge of the lake where Jem's long legs picked up the ball. Gie actually thought that Jem was going for a swim to get the ball! It was quite a sight and funny on hindsight..!!


Flying boys!


Frisbee rocks!


A perfect spot at Albert Park


Gourmet brunch of Doritos, sandwiches, sausages, fruits.. yumm


Happy campers


Clear blue skies with cloud writing "Grrr!!"


Look at Maddy fly!

Comedy Fest

It's Comedy Festival in Melbourne! It was a Friday night that we planned to catch Stephen K Amos' stand-up act at the Capitol Theatre (opposite Melbourne Town Hall). We didn't even know there was a theatre opposite Melbourne Town Hall as it was hidden by small shops forever having sales! The act was at 10.30pm (since the 8 o'clock one was sold out) so we had a Nandos dinner and walked around the Fed Sq before the act. Stephen's act was pretty good and his jokes were easy to catch, although Jem expected much more from it. All in all, it was a nice night out with Maddy, Sharon, Sai B and Kelvin!


Nice photo

The girls

Jem and Gie also had a nice Sunday afternoon that weekend, shopping at bridge road, strolling around the stalls at Fed Sq before heading for church. The weather was cool and the atmosphere relaxing. Here are some pics from our touristy walk that day...


Stand-ups and performances were show cased at such cute "circus" stalls scattered around Fed Sq


Touring the Parliament house


Flowers at St Patrick's cathedral

Tonight, Jem and Gie went for another round at the Comedy Fes. This time, catching a really unique performance by the Umbilical Brothers. Dinner was supposed to be at this Japanese restaurant recommended by one of Jem's colleague, but we couldn't find it so ended up eating sukiyaki at Kenzan. It was one of the Good Food awardees and the sukiyaki was quite nice but we found it abit too salty. Nevertheless, it was a really nice, intimate dinner out =)


Sukiyaki cooking

Jem and food

All in a snap shot

The queue to get into the theatre was crazy. There were people from an earlier show trying to get out and we were already late for ours - together with a few hundred other people! It was madness.. We did manage to get in eventually and disappointingly, our seats suck! We were at the 2nd last row in the stalls and the people sitting in front of us were tall! If straining trying to watch the show was bad enough, it certainly didn't help that the people next to us kept talking amongst themselves.. grrr... eventually, that pissed off the people in front as well and after a small argument, the people in our row left. The rest of the show was pleasant enough and we can't help but feel that if we had better seats, we would've had a better time. Without a doubt though, the Umbilical Brothers is a MUST-SEE! We still had a great time apart from the seating problems...

Waiting for the show to start


Here's a map showing all the Comedy Fes spots! Watch this space for more Comedy acts!