Meowww

Meowww by tian-zhou featuring animal wall art

Chicnova Fashion cat print dress
chicnova.com

Rag & Bone rag bone shorts
$245 - montaignemarket.com

Flower shoes
converse.com

Brown backpack
overland.com

Ray Ban ray ban eyewear
revolveclothing.com

Animal wall art
etsy.com

Excelsior Jones

Brunch..ah, it's just one of those things you do when you become a couple. Sunday mornings, lazy and slow. I personally really enjoy brunch, it's such a weekend thing to do. One of my girlfriends recommended to come and try Excelsior Jones, apparently their 'Breakfast in a bowl' is pretty awesome. Situated in a very residential street in the middle of Ashfield, I've been told that it gets packed real fast. Before you even go in, you can smell the bacon, coffee and baked goods drifting through the air. The kitchen is small and compact, the water is served in a recycled glass jar instead of a bottle. "Very hipster for Ashfield" is the first thought that popped into my head and it is in fact, very hipster. One might imagine this kind of place to appear in Newtown or Darlinghurst perhaps but Ashfield? Regardless, the first impression wasn't bad. The menu is separated into breakfast and lunch, I got the Pork hash with pearl shallots, fried buckwheat, poached egg & fresh herbs. Jules got the smashed mint peas with bacon on toast. I'm a soy latte sipper and most of the time the milk is burnt, I can confidently say that my soy latte from Excelsior Jones was just perfect. 

My pork hash looked glorious, you can tell that the egg is poached just right simply by looking at it. The potatoes are roughly crushed and pan fried, the skin crispy while the inside is still moist and fluffy. When you break the yolk of the egg, the gooey yellow centre oozes down and mixes with the potatoes and pork. The pulled pork is so satisfying to munch on, especially when paired with the potatoes and the caramelised shallots. The buckwheat adds a nice crunch. Jules' one was nice to look at but in terms of taste, mine would win for sure. 

This place did surprise me a lot, not only did I have the best soy latte here, I also have found my favourite brunch dish. If only it was in Burwood...oh well, regardless, highly highly recommended!

139A Queen St, Ashfield

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Fav Finds - June 2014

Half of the year is gone already, time passes too quickly! This month I would like to dedicate fav finds to geeks because there is a bit of a geek in everyone of us. 

1. Spiderman Potato Head from ThinkGeek - I know Spiderman doesn't have green hair coming out of his head but hey, this is cute ok.

2. Portal Turret LED Flashlight from ThinkGeek - "Is anyone there?" 

3. "Seven" LED watch from Kisai - Screw normal watches with their hands and numbers, what you need is this ultra cool, ultra futuristic watch. 

4. Saber the flavour shaker ser from Modcloth - Not a Star Wars fan myself but I can imagine someone who is a fan would really love these. 

5. Spock and roll USB drive 8GB from Modcloth - This is just too cute, practical too!

Mary's oh Mary's

On my birthday I decided I wanted my favourite food, fried chicken. So on the hunt for new places to eat fried chicken, I came across Mary's in Newtown. Set inside what was once a sexual health clinic, tucked away in an alleyway in Newtown.

Newtown is home to many wonderful places to eat, a lot of American diner style restaurants have popped up all over Newtown in recent years which is awesome for me of course. It's also the hipster capitol of Sydney, here you will see people from all walks of life, mainly hipsters. So it's not surprising to find Mary's to be exactly that. The building has no signs at the front, just a blue light above the front entrance. As you walk into the building, the loud music hits you first and I mean, it's loud. The place looks very cool though, wall murals of skeletons in Satan suits and high ceiling lights, very Newtown. There's a bar downstairs but if you want table service you gotta go upstairs. There are no menus, everything is written on walls or ceilings. Reading the drinks menu on the ceiling gave my neck a workout. It's also very dark upstairs, lit up only by candles. The menu is simple, burgers, fried chicken and mash and gravy.
 
You have 3 choices for burgers: Cheeseburger, Mary's burger or Mushroom burger for the vegetarians. You can add 'trashcan bacon' (bacon grilled in a old trashcan) to your burgers. For fried chicken you can get half a bird, whole bird or larry bird which is 2 whole chickens. 

For our visit I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon, Jules got the Mary's burger with bacon. Half a chicken, mash and gravy, I also ordered a cocktail called "red shot". The service was great, our waitress was very pleasant and knew all the drinks well. The music again, was very loud, we had to yell at each other to have a conversation. The cocktail was very strong, it was like drinking straight gin so I only had a bit. 

The food however, was worth slowly getting deaf for. When our food arrived, we were already starving so it's no surprise that we finished everything in less than 15 minutes. The cheeseburger was everything a good burger should be, the pattie was moist and juicy. The bun was super soft and sweet, accompanied by mustard, tomato sauce, tangy cheese and the bacon grilled to perfection. There was no talking, we ate our burgers in silence and finished it within 5 minutes. Then I started on my love, fried chicken. Oh fried chicken oh fried chicken how I love thee. Mary's fried chicken was crunchy on the outside and extremely juice and tender on the inside. I was too busy eating so I didn't take a photo of the bitten chicken (I'm sorry...). Some might find it a bit too salty but I didn't care at all, it was the best god darn chicken I've ever had and I've had a lot of fried chicken! Next time, I'm getting a whole chicken. The mash and gravy was very creamy and delicious, gobbled up by Tian and Jules in less than 2 minutes. 

Would love to go back again, unless I find another place with better fried chicken. Highly recommended, come for their eclectic decor and energy, awesome food and great service. Distinctively Newtown? Absolutely!

Take Me To Where The Mountains Are Blue

For my birthday this year I decided to go travel alone, not too far though, just to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains got its name from the blueish tint as you look over the valleys and mountains. It was June and boy was it cold. While I was not fortunate enough to catch the snow, I did get to experience the beauty of foggy mountain view. I always stay at Leura, which is this very charming village with a lot of character. 

Apart from Leura I didn't go anywhere else this time as I only had 1 and a half day but I still did most of the things I wanted to do. Leura village centre/Leura Mall is basically a main strip of road filled with restaurants and shops. There's also a Woolworths so it is very convenient if you want to cook your own dinner. There are a lot of really nice and quirky shops here selling stationary and homewares. There are also shops that sell things made by local artists and a really nice chocolate place called Josophan's fine chocolates, I love the waffles balls they sell here, goes perfect with hot chocolates. Next to Josophan's is a art gallery showcasing some really cool wooden sculptures and artworks. You can spend half a day shopping and browsing here easily. But most importantly of course, let's get into the food. Leura has some of the best food I've ever eaten. 

Le Gobelet French Restaurant

I had the best french food ever here, too bad it's up for sale now so I couldn't have the pleasure of tasting their food one last time. From memory, the crab crepes was the most outstanding dish. The duck with cherry sauce was also devine, I very much regret not been able to fit desserts in after all that food. The place is actually a house with the living room tranformed into a dining hall. The owners are one crazy pair, the last time I was here, I could hear the chef banging and swearing from the kitchen. We had to wait 2 hours for our food to arrive but man was it worth it! It's such a shame to see this place go, I am truly saddened. 

Red Door Cafe

You have to try their coffees, best in Leura I'd say. The food here is also awesome, simple but tasty with local ingredients. Most of the time I get breakfast or brunch here, their sausages are excellent and so is everything else. 

Bon Ton

First time trying this one, located at the end of the street I've always walked past it but never actually went in. But after seeing Le Gobelet closed I really wanted french food and so in I went. It was the first time I've eaten at a proper restaurant by myself, the thought of it always weirded me out but actually sitting and eating by myself wasn't that bad at all.  I got the Escargot cooked with parsley, garlic, eschallot butter and freekah crust. A fricasse of chicken, leek and mushroom pie, served with roasted eschallots and spinach. I really like escargot especially with a lot of parsley and butter, if it comes with bread for dipping then even better. These escargot were a bit too dry for me, while the snails themselves were very tender and juicy, I found the crust to be a bit lacking in taste and dry. The pie however was marvellous! The crust is cooked to perfection, encasing the chicken, leek and mushroom inside. Full of flavour and texture, I also really liked the accompanying spinach and roasted eschallots. It was a very satisfying meal to say the least, well worth a visit in the future.

Bygone Beautys

Technically a teapot and antiques museum but I came at a wrong time because they're currently expanding so all the showcasing teapots were moved. But the other antiques and teapots are still on display which you can also buy if you want to. The place is a bit cramped but I came here for the Devonshire tea. Served with 2 homemade scones, it is the perfect way to spend your afternoon by the fireplace. I love my scones smothered in cream and jam. The scone melts in your mouth along with the sweet strawberry jam and cream, yum!

Another place I visited during my stay was the Toy and Railway museum. From the look of their website it seemed quite a awesome place to visit but from my experience it was far from that. It is inside a 100 year old house which looked quite nice from the outside, once you go in, the entrance fee is $14, that's pretty steep for just a look around the house and the garden outside. You are also not allowed to take photos inside the house, a bit weird but ok whatever. The house is pretty old with creaky floorboards, there are several rooms, some you are allowed in and some not. Toys from all ages are showcased here, mostly creepy dolls and toy trains. 

After wondering around the first floor I went upstairs and I felt so uneasy up there I had to come down again. Maybe it was just my imagination but the air upstairs was so dense and uncomfortable I just didn't want to stay another second. Outside in the garden is the train displays. Some of the old railway station signs and etc are on display, that's about all that's interesting here. I probably wouldn't recommend you coming here, maybe if you're truly bored and have nothing else to do.

I used to think travelling alone would be boring and lonesome but now that I've actually experienced it I would definitely do it again. Just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely, I think everyone should try it at least once in their lives. 

Well then, till next time, bon voyage! 

:)

Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Leave Me

Let's talk about something rather interesting today: Love & Marriage. Couple of days ago I read an article that goes: according to current statistics, couples of our generation (born in the late 80's) would have a divorce rate of more than 68%. That means 7 out of 10 married couples will end up getting divorced. Scary isn't it?

Let's not go into too much detail about why people get divorced, obviously every couple is different. But have you ever thought about what if you just don't get married?
When I was younger, maybe about 10 years ago, I thought the idea of marriage was rather stupid. I thought it was something that society has forced onto us because it was the 'norm'; it is what is expected of us. Now, approaching the good ol' 30's mark in my life, the thought of getting married no longer seemed 'stupid'. I guess like everyone else, I do not want to be alone. So, because they don't want to be alone, a lot of people chose to get married to someone they do not love, for the sake of getting married. There's also the stigma of not marrying, people will start to judge and question if there's something wrong with you. I find the idea of being in a loveless marriage lonelier than actually being alone, but that's just me. 

I used to work with a lady who never got married or had any serious relationships; she was in her 50's and just simply did not give a damn. Her spare time is filled with yoga classes, mahjong nights and social outings; she was one of the happiest people I know. So I guess it is possible to be alone and happy, or at least I'd like to believe she is actually happy.

Love! Everyone wants to be in love. But falling in love is the easy part, it's everything else that is hard. 

Love makes us blind, deaf and stupid. We willingly hand over our hearts, when it gets crushed, some of us learn to move on and some of us don't. All is fair in love and war, right? Wrong! Love is never fair, there will always be one person who is in deeper than the other. 

There are also those people who seem to be stuck in the same pattern when it comes to relationships, every time a relationship ends they blame everything and everyone else except for themselves. Too many times I've heard girls say "why can't he be more caring? Why can't he do xx or xx for me??" Well, if you don't tell him what you want how would you expect him to do it? He can't read your mind for one. I know a lot of girls who also have this mindset of "because I'm a girl so he has to do all the work to please me and make all the moves", please, it's the 21st century, girls can make the first moves too now. 
 
Physical attraction is important but it will fade, when the initial excitement of a new relationship is gone that's when the problems start. The happiest couples are the ones who see each other as their best friend first and then lovers, it's them against the world, they've got each other's back no matter what. 

Relationships are important life lessons, most importantly you learn something about yourself every time. When I became single last year, I made a mental list of the kind of guy I was going to be with from then on: smart, handsome, charming, good job, caring etc. The kind of guy that every girl wants essentially. Funny enough, someone like that did come along and I'd be lying if I said I was not tempted. He ticked all the boxes and we had a lot of fun together. But gut instincts told me not to trust him and I think I only hung around because he met my expectations. Then I realised, I don't actually like him. Just goes to prove that you can have all the criteria you want, but you can't choose who you fall in love with. I know a lot of girls would think I'm extremely stupid but thinking back on it now, he was all sweet talk and compliments but never actually did what he promised. Life sets these lessons out for you but whether you learn anything from it well, that's up to you. 

Sometimes the right one for you is not someone who says they love you out loud but the ones who show you that they do. It might be things like giving you their jacket when it's cold or letting you have the last piece of food every time. But these things, as insignificant as they are, say they love you more than anything. The most romantic thing I've heard was not "I'll die without you" or "I'll love you to the moon and back" but rather "I'll try my hardest to give you the life you want now that I have you". 

Love doesn't always have to have fireworks and intensity, sometimes just having them there is enough. People get hurt but they dust themselves off and try again, I believe that finding true love is worth the effort no matter how grim it might seem at first. It takes a lot of courage to make yourself vulnerable to another person. While it's understandable why some people might choose to be alone for the rest of their lives, sometimes when we stop looking, the right one just happens to appear. Perhaps that's what makes life so beautiful.