AU2010 - Gourmet Terrace Cuisine

Having dinner at the Gourmet Terrace Cuisine Chinese Restaurant is probably my first time eating so many dishes with bitter melon.

 

 

Surprisingly, this is also one of the only few restaurants around Sydney that has a Chinese-only menu.

 

 

Anyway, back to the bitter melon story, other than the Pork Intestine Soup (yummy!!) …

 

 

… everything else contains bitter melon. Its in our stir-fried vegetables …

 

 

… pork ribs …

 

 

… and even dessert. Ever tasted bitter melon jelly?

 

 

It was so bitter that we actually need to add condensed milk to it.

 

 

Yes, bitter melon (also known as a bitter gourd) is a healthy vegetable-fruit that offers medicinal properties for some ailments, such as blood disorders, cholera, diabetes mellitus, eye problems, hangover, piles, psoriasis, respiratory disorders and toxemia. So, if you have any of the above ailments, I strongly recommend you to try bitter melon. And for those who think that its not bitter enough, I strongly recommend ordering a pot of bitter Chinese tea as an addition to the meal.

 

 

Hopefully, this will be my first and last “bitter” meal. Hahaha…

P/S: Do keep in mind that over dosage (maximum of 2 bitter melons per day) could also cause abdominal pain and diarrhea.

AU2010 - Matt Zzang Korean Restaurant

Since Strathfield is like a little Korean town just 14kms west of Sydney, I suppose, a visit to a Korean restaurant is a must?!?!

So, while dropping by Strathfield for lunch, we decided to try out Matt Zzang Korean Restaurant, one of the only three Korean restaurants on the main boulevard. Here, we tried their Ramen …

 

 

… Spicy Seafood Soup (?? can’t really remember the name) with rice …

 

There's a hell lot of tofu in there!

 

… Spicy Cold Noodles (Bibim Naengmyeon?)…

 

 

… Dumpling Soup with Rice Cake …

 

 

… and Seafood Pancake.

 

 

Overall, other than there were too much tofu in the soup, the dumpling soup was a bit too powdery, and the pancake took a while to be served, it was a great meal with a group of new friends.

 

 

Photo credits: Chrys

 

AU2010 - Vivid Sydney

Between the 27th of May and the 21st of June 2010, the festival of lights, music and ideas, also known as Vivid Sydney, was unleashed across Sydney city.

 

 

Consisting of seven sub-events, the two greatest highlights were Lighting the Sails and Macquarie Visions. Over at The Rocks, …

 

Nice colour tones from a blurry picture

 

… the Lighting the Sails event shows spectacular illuminations, using the Sydney Opera House sails as a projection screen …

 

 

… turning the World Heritage-listed structure into a piece of art. And looking back into the city …

 

 

… the colourful lights complemented the projections very well. It seems as though most of the companies actually took part in the event to light up their own respective buildings.

Next, we drove along Macquarie Street for the Macquarie Visions, where Sydney’s most historic buildings came alive with lights. We thought that St Mary’s Cathedral’s illumination was the best among all since it actually looked like an illuminated Disney castle.

 

 

Thanks to the event, I think, during the month-long event, Sydney city became more lively and colourful, …

 

 

… even with the light rail tracks!!!

AU2010 - Nan Tien Dining Hall

While visiting Nan Tien Temple over the weekend, we decided to check out its Dining Hall …

 

 

… to see what’s on offer for lunch.

 

 

It seems that they usually serve vegetarian lunch every Tuesday to Sunday between 11.30am and 2pm (or 2.30pm on weekends). Being curious of what kind of vegetarian food is being served, we decided to give it a try.

 

 

For $9 per person, we get vegetarian curry, steamed vegetables, tempura vegetables, two pieces of fruit and a choice between white rice or stir-fried noodles.

 

 

I would strongly recommend trying their curry, which tasted really good (it somehow reminded me of the canned Ayam Brand Curry Chicken). And upon finishing, customers are then “invited” to remove their plates and utensils to the cleaning trolley.

 

 

During our meal, it was observed that a waiter would constantly walk around the place, pushing the chairs back under the table. Maybe they should just add another line to the sign above saying, “Please also restore your chair back to their original position!!!”, which will then save someone from walking up and down the room every minute. :p

AU2010 - The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive

Reading an email from Nuffnang about the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive took me years back to my primary school days when my parents allowed me to adopt a stray white Pomeranian puppy.

 

Image source: Google Images

 

Being kids, we named her Doggy, and had her for about 13 years. Unfortunately, she fell sick and we had no other choice but to put her to sleep.

Since then, we happily had several new additions to our four-legged family in Malaysia (mostly adopted from friends), …

 

 

… and more recently, a litter of their puppies, which will eventually be given out for adoption among family and friends.

 

 

Unfortunately, back here in Australia, we are not allowed to have any in our rented apartment. Otherwise, I could foresee a cute puppy running around in my living room, possibly messing up the place.

 

 

Anyway, for all the pet lovers out there who are currently looking for a dog, why not check out the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive webpage to search for and adopt a dog?

 

 

Or, if you already have a dog, do consider purchasing merchandises …

 

 

… or donating to PetRescue via the webpage to help other homeless dogs.

 

 

And lastly, for those of you who, for whatever reason can’t have pets, or even if you just bump into this post by accident, you could still help out by clicking on “Like” in the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive Facebook page. By doing so, Pedigree will actually donate a bowl of dog food on your behalf to them.

 

 

So, what are you waiting for? Go click “Like” now!!!

AU2010 - Outback Steakhouse

Instead of having a Chinese-styled round-table family dinner, this weekend, we opted for a Western-styled rectangular table family dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

 

 

Having called several hours before arriving at Outback, it still took us a 30 minutes wait at the bar before being seated at the table, due to the several birthday parties booked in for the night. While waiting, we decided to indulge in Outback’s specialty drinks such as The Wallaby Darned (Down Under frozen wonder with peaches, DeKuyper Peach Schnapps, Sparkling Wine, Smirnoff Vodka and secret mixers) …

 

 

… Barrier Punch (made with Malibu coconut rum, Midori Liquor, freshly squeezed orange juice and Cranberry Juice) …

 

 

… Bondi Ice Berg (a tropical blend of Vodka, Peach Schnapps, freshly squeezed orange juice, pineapple juice, sour mix and topped off with sprite) …

 

 

… Fair Dinkum Daiquiri (Succulent Strawberry blended with secret mixes to give an awesome daiquiri made with Bacardi light rum) …

 

 

and Pineapple Martini (a refreshing mixture of Stoli Vodka, Malibu Coconut Rum and pineapple juice).

 

 

The only disappointing thing about the drinks was that the colours did not turned out as colourful as shown in the menu.

Anyway, as soon as the buzzer rang, we were lead to our table and the first dish that we were served, which is also a must try, was Outback’s Bloomin Onion. Due to the shrinking size of onions, we were served two plates to compensate for the size.

 

 

Next, we were served the Walkabout Soup, which happens to be Pumpkin Soup for that day, as well as a loaf of Outback’s yummy Bushmans Garlic Loaf (we did observed that most people did not really finish their bread. Any idea why?).

 

 

When all of us started to feel full, we were then attacked by the mains. First up was the Grilled Chicken on the Barbie …

 

 

… followed by Baby Back Pork Ribs …

 

 

and Jackeroo Chops.

 

 

Obviously, being in a steakhouse, I suppose its a must for us to at least have some beef. So, we also ordered their Slow Roasted Prime Rib …

 

 

… and Outback Special.

 

 

After all that food, guess what? There’s still room for dessert, and so, here comes the highlight of the dinner, which was of course the Chocolate Thunder, Outback’s most celebrated dessert.

 

 

Coupled with a tiny little candle, this dessert then became Shin’s birthday cake for the night, which all of us finished in less than 5 minutes.

 

Happy Birthday, Shin!!!