salted caramel

JOY cupcakes from a friend. 

Don't dream too far. Don't lose sight of who you are. Don't remember that rush of joy. 

I had a good sleep last night considering i only got two hours the night before and had to wake up early for work. Thank you Jacky for the 12am-2am physics lesson. You are much more interesting than the textbook. 

I think i'll pick up swimming again. Not the hardcore 6am, 7am training but just every now and then like straight after teaching my own kids how to swim. I don't think i push them THAT hard but there is no excuse for stopping every 3 metres even in a 10m pool !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The cycle of uni and weird sleeping patterns start again tomorrow.... And i don't even know where half my lectures are (well i just found out that the Veterinary Science and BIO21 institutes are outside the campus and next to royal women's hospital >_>)

handprint

Okay, so I've decided that there's no point in delaying out a new post after a really big one. I clicked the Stats button on my dashboard and saw that a multitude of mini hiatuses like said had suddenly accumulated into a drop of 1000+ views every month compared to mid last year. 

oh nooooooo.. so from now on i will try to blog as much as i did before or whenever i just feel like it. 

Anyway, i woke up yesterday with a hand imprint on my face.... what an attractive sleepmark. And good thing one of my orientation kids called me at 8am because she rescued me from a dream where a T-Rex was chasing me in a Maccas playground and then i escaped to go buy blue curtains for $1 and was forced to give a $10 tip what the hell??? 

This week has been so busy. Going out again tonight...  

what we did

hallo :D I just made brownies for my orientation group so they better attend host catch up like they said they would or......or....... us hosts will just finish them off anyway :D hehe 

This is a very late post on how Farn and i spent our Valentines. It was basically a normal day out but with more exploring and presents :)

After buying sushi for breakfast and a few shopping errands, we headed off to Kinfolk Cafe for lunch.

Situated on 673 Bourke Street (very close to Southern Cross Station), this not-for-profit cafe channels its earnings into charitable projects. So when you finish your meal you're asked to pick which charity to support by placing a coffee bean in any of the four jars :)

Source: theage 

I think it was the quirky and arty decorations that initially attracted me to this cafe... and its affordable prices. 

Except when we went the seating was  more communal.. so there was a long table in the middle with milk crates covered in hessian cloth as seats.

Which was great but made taking photos more awkward because it looked like i was stalking someone on the table... 

But the food lived up to my expectations - everything was fresh and full of flavour and i really liked how our water came in a Hendrick's Gin bottle. rofl we were like is this water or not...

According to the handwritten menu that changes daily, we had Gravalax Trout with Goat Cheese Croutons and Chicken Terrine with House Pickle and Sourdough Bread. 

Man, this is starting to turn into a badly written food review now...  

 Then we trammed down to ACMI in Federation Square to check out the Disney Exhibition YAYAY. It's $12 for concession but we weren't allowed to take any photos inside :( And we got sucked into this free (yes.. blame this word & our asianess) curator talk about the exhibition until we decided to leave after ten minutes to go see the actual exhibition ourselves... sitting in the front row can be so embarrassing sometimes LOL

 LOL this picture cracks me up.. not sure what he was thinking. 

Anyway, the main goal of the day was to camwhore as a couple more. Because we have so few pictures together that finding a photo to paste in his card became alarmingly difficult. 

So off to the park we went... because who doesn't love grass as scenery...  

But first we stopped off at Tiffany & Co. for my present. Thank you for the ring Farn :)  

I have a headache why didn't i post this a week earlier. Who knew cramming could improve my short term memory at the cost of my long term memory... 

Yes... so where are the couple pictures you ask? they're coming they're coming.. 

We actually went looking for Beetroot Cafe for some Hot Chocolate with Persian Fairy Floss but found this place - Cafe Giraffe - off Little Lonsdale Street instead.  

Again, the interior design made me like the place immediately despite its slightly slow service... 

There are even board games to play with (due to the slow service...?) and i think the place is Korean despite hearing most of the customers speak Cantonese. 

This was Japanese Gyoza with Soba Noodles.. not bad but that White Tomato korean place next to Passionflower had better soba noodles.  

 And to finish off our afternoon tea (at er... 6pm LOL) we had Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Icecream. 

Sorry for all the writing.. but we did do a lot that day and i hope that this post was detailed enough for those who requested it.  

I have to pack my bag for tomorrow now...  

 Bye :)

orientation

hehe hello :) 

This week is O-week at Melbourne Uni and I made up for missing out on my own orientation last year (woke up the time it started...oops) by becoming an Orientation Host :D yayyy 

so Science was Emerald Green this year... and my shirt was still too large despite asking for a small.. how fat do they think people are?? i guess it will become another pj top hehh. 

yay for freeeeebies. oh, and my throat feels itchy/burnt now... what on earth did i eat or do.... 

After finishing my tour, I sat around with Fiona and Kristen and chatted about lots of things. I think that was nice :) 

is this what you do?

Humid humid humid. Today i ran out of the house and my shorts fell down because i forgot to button them up. Great. I hope the builders didn't see that wardrobe disaster. They probably think i can't even dress myself now. 

Called up most of the people in my Orientation Host group today. I think i see a few potential friendships coming along in the future. Or i hope rather. Because that would be niceeeeeeee and it's also interesting how much you can learn about a person just by talking over the phone... But in person is always nicer :) 

Other than that... Laura and i just baked some brownies.

And i'm looking forward to tomorrow's delayed Valentines :) YAY!

rise of China

Hello.

Just thought i'd share this video "Martin Jacques: Understanding the Rise of China" with you.

well...

So i took a break from physics (yay!) and chanced upon this.. article/essay "You Should Date an Illiterate Girl" 

Sounds like a very bitter chap to me. And it's two pages by the way. 

 What are your thoughts? 

no

Feeling guilty, oh so guilty. My shadow is now not of my own but of Guilt's. 

Why do i constantly avoid preparing for GAMSAT? Is it because undergrad/grad entry into veterinary science doesn't require GAMSAT and so i haven't been able to find a true purpose for taking this exam? Maybe, but it's still worth giving a shot at. 

I admit that relearning Physics seriously fascinated me and kept filling in the gaps from first year but i just don't want to study right now. Instead i want to read, read and read. So right now i'm reading "the boat - nam le" which i bought for only $5 at the Melbourne Uni Bookshop and it's pretty good so far. 

I will start studying very soon. 

mini bamboo

I think i'm starting to like driving by myself now... The balcony has been retiled. Now half of the living room ceilings needs to be taken off and replastered. And i need to buy more self raising flour too..... 

What do you think of this jumper? I hope it goes on sale soon or i won't buy it ($50 is too much). 

But in the meantime i think i will be visiting Camberwell Sunday Market and Queen Victoria Night Market sometime soon..... Who wants to come too? 

goo perfection

I like to clean and bake instead of studying for GAMSAT. 

I relearned like one topic in Mechanics and gave up after. So unmotivated......... and then Laura came back home from school and we made Banana Bread with Prunes and Walnuts :) Good thing you can't really taste the prunes though yayyyy lots of cinnamon sugar gives a crunchy topping! 

How does she make them so attractive??? Mine look like... goo.

My dad bought 7L of milk yesterday.... what dish can i make that involves a lot of  milk???? 

Time to keep studying physics...... joy........... I would so much rather be cleaning my room............ i wish i could cram this in like usual but nooooooooooooo.... 

flan

So many choices. 

Which breadth subject to do? Should i pick this facial cleanser or not? (I ended up trying Palmer's Cocoa Butter "Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub" [it has milk proteins ooooh] over my usual Clean & Clear Morning Burst) What should i do with my dry skin now? When to eat this piece of food... oh screw it i'll eat it now because it's the same as eating it later on anyway. (Maybe i really should take up this "Food for a Healthy Planet" subject and learn about nutrition....) 

Or is it too many choices? But I would still rather too many over none.... 

Do i want to be the best Orientation Host ever? YES. Do i even know what Orientation is/was like? No..... i woke up the time mine started xD

I don't really know how to study for this......................

dark pools of gold

Happy Chinese New Year :)

I made Dan Tart (egg tart) today... and although they may not be the prettiest (nor flakiest in terms of pastry) things in the world, they still tasted pretty good for a first attempt! So if you want to learn how to make them then let us venture into the world of baking..... 

I couldn't find any mini metal tart tins because the supermarkets/asian grocer i went to didn't have any, had sold out or were too expensive to buy in bulk at specialty cooking stores.

So to celebrate CNY at its cheapest  best i just bought aluminium patty cases from the $2 shop LOL... and used two for each egg tart for extra support.   

aluminium patty cases with paper lining...

 1. Set aside the eggs and (unsalted) butter at room temperature for a while.

2. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees fanforced. 

3.  Sieve 200g of plain flour (~1.5 cups) and 50g of icing sugar (0.4 cups) into a large mixing bowl.

4. Add 100g of diced unsalted butter to the bowl and lift the butter and flour up high above bowl as you rub them together with your fingertips to incorporate air and therefore ensure a light pastry. You should end up with a coarse breadcrumb texture. 

kneaded dough about to be gladwrapped and refrigerated

5. Make a well in the middle and pour in one beaten egg. While gently working the dough together with your hands, add in one tablespoon of cold water. 

6. Lightly flour the bench and tip your dough onto it. Finish kneading the dough but try not to overwork it to avoid a tough pastry. Add more flour/beaten egg if necessary. 

7. Gladwrap your kneaded dough and refrigerate it for 15 minutes. 

the egg filling before being sieved

 8. After dissolving 60g of icing sugar (~0.5 cups) into 100mL of hot water, add in 100mL of milk to a measuring jug or bowl. Mix well. 

9. Beat in three eggs one by one to the mixture. 

10. Pass the liquid through a sieve into a measuring jug (yes the picture on the right confirms my stupidity...) for pouring into the egg tart moulds later on.  

prick the base of each tart mould

11. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll small pieces of it into balls. 

12. Using your two thumbs, press each ball into a mould and trim off any excess dough. Due to my fake tart tins, I had to mould the dough in the muffin tray in order to maintain the crimped shape of each tart.

13. Prick the base of each tart mould to allow steam to escape while baking.  

14. Carefully pour the egg filling into each tart mould. Do not fill to the top. 

15. Bake for 20-25min. Let them cool on a wire rack and eat them while they're still warm :)

 Okay.. you may have noticed a few caramel tinges on a few of my dan tarts... either the sugar hadn't fully dissolved and dispersed through the mixture (and therefore had more chance of burning) and/or the oven temperature was too high. Since some of the dan tarts were still uncooked (runny) i had to cover the tray with aluminium foil and lower the oven temperature for a few more minutes. Luckily most of them stayed completely yellow. 

Also, if you want a flakier pastry, Laura says to add in a LOT more butter (room temperature) and fold it through the flour and sugar instead of crumbing it. Except this takes a lot...more....time....... 

my tummy is talking to me

Okay, I have finally decided to teach you guys how to make White Radish Cake (Lo bak gou) on the eve of Chinese New Year. If i procrastinated any longer it would become embarrassing and also set back what else I have in mind to blog.

lightly panfried

I'm sorry if my recipe sucks... because i actually don't have one HAHA oh dear. My mum and i just read through many online recipes like this one and went by taste and past knowledge of the ingredients. 

...picking at the steamed radish cake ><

1. Peel and then coarsely grate around 3 or more large white radishes. You can choose to squeeze out the excess moisture using a muslin cloth but we left it so that less water would be added later on while it cooks. 

2.  Let the grated radish simmer by itself in a large pot for 5 minutes with the lid on. Then stir and check if any more (hot) water is still needed. You want it moist - not too dry but not swimming in its own...juices xD

resting on a wire rack after steaming for an hour

3. Slice some chinese sausage (lap cheung), dried shrimps, spring onion, mushrooms... basically whatever you want to put inside. I can't remember anymore but chinese sausage is essential!

4. Stir those ingredients into the pot as well and let it simmer for a few minutes longer. Add more water and/or season with salt/chicken powder if necessary.

5. When it is well mixed and you can start to smell the aromas of each ingredient coming together, take it off the heat. 

6. Okay, this is the most vague part... The recipe said 225g of rice flour (from asian groceries) but i think we only used half of that. Slowly add the sieved rice flour to the mixture while stirring until it becomes sticky but neither runny nor too solid.. It comes with experimenting i suppose.

7. Lightly grease a casserole dish with vegetable oil and scoop the mixture into it. Spread the batter evenly across the dish with a spatula.

8. Steam for 40min - 1 hour in a large steamer/wok. Insert a skewer into the mixture and if it comes out clean then it's ready. Let it rest on a wire rack to cool.

9. You can eat it steamed or panfried. After cooling, slice the cake into rectangles and you can coat them with corn flour for extra crispiness before panfrying.

Enjoy :) 

P.S- Next up... New Year Cake, Dan Tart... who knowssss wheeeeeeeee

being cheap

I liked this cover so much i decided to download it off Youtube yayyyy :D Now i appreciate this Britney Spears song even more. So give it a listen!

Okay, before you scroll down anymore... i have to admit that i suck at outfit posts. And I'm not ready to show my face even though someone told me to do outfit posts of what i purchase for a change... because it's really hard when there isn't anyone to take it for you!!! And self timer annoys me !!!! Especially when you don't want the builder renovating the balcony to catch you and think you're that vain :(

 TOKITO sweater // Majora skirt

...so i moved back to the bathroom after giving up outside.... HAHA 

:(

Anyway, thankyou Jacky for giving your Myer voucher to me :) You are the coolest friend ever!!!!! 

Which meantttttttttt... i only got this for around $30 :) hehehehehe 

I will dedicate this sweater (or is it a jumper WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE???) to you (Jacky) and wear it all the time around you until you get sick of it! LOL... 

I had to go up a size for this because my shoulders are too tank for it. 

 Except i don't even train anymore to use 'swimmer shoulders' as an excuse anymore so... 

I guess my shoulders actually had a fat day instead.. nuuuu haha

:(

Betts "Festival" Clogs 

Yay another bargain ($110 to $39)! My mum bought these for me but i still haven't worn them out yet... 

Bardot tee ($10 sale)

Okay... so i did pose for photos in this top outside but they were too awkward... I promise i will do better outfit posts (if ever...) next time :DDD 

StyleSofia.com

I am also in love with this blue skirt... her whole outfit basically. I wish i had something long to swish around!!! 

And if you're wondering why i'm so fixed on shopping bargains it is because i am saving up for an acoustic guitar (second hand preferably) for my Riffs subject.