Urban burgers & Hot chocolate = Yummy Sunday

A pigging Sunday.

Plan was to go with Aileen to collect her goodie bag for her marathon today (stuck in the jam so were too late as the shop closes early) + to visit this hot chocolate place that she wanted to introduce to us.

• Lunch at Urban Burger at Hampton.

Cute bf looking so stiff.

My Brie Twist.Beef 'n' Onion+ Mushroom Melt (not pictured here)

Aileen & bf shared the two beef burgers.

Not really much of a meat eater :]

I took a bite of the Mushroom Melt tho. But I must say I still prefer Carls' Portobello Mushroom burger. Furthermore, I get to change the meat to chicken! (accordingly to the time before I leave for Melb)

That is not the main reason why I prefer Carls' Portobello Mushroom burger because I've tried it with the beef too. It's just more saucy and the mushrooms were omphf!

Nevetheless, the beef from Urban Burger was yummilicious.

Tender even tho they used lean beef.

They cannot anyhow claim ok! So they really do use lean beef.

I love the basil pesto on my burger though I prefer it if they used chicken leg instead of the breast meat. They have this healthy concept and somehow Aussie prefer chix breast. It's cheaper to get chix legs here. (Yay! Good for us)

& I wonder why.

In comparison to GrillD?

Both are equally yummy.

**

Then the Highlight of the Day and the REASON why we were there.

To try out..Reminds me of San Churros. Only cheaper.

I was kinda expecting it to be like Ganache style... so, my taste bud was already set for Ganache.

Yup.

Not as good as Ganache.

Not too shabby.

Will definitely drink it again if I'm around that area. I mean, ya. I wont purposely make a trip there just to have a cuppa their hot chocolate.

The photo above was the thick version.

And

because the place is FAR, and its a rare opportunity for us to come here AGAIN.. I have decided to try the thinner version too.
Yes.

Two mugs for me.

How horrible can I get. D:

Anyway,

the thinner.. or rather, lighter version tasted kinda like the one near my place.

I would prefer that if its after a meal.

From yesterday's sinful indulgence (and plus the many other days)

I'm officially a chocolate pig.

**

On the way back..

Beautiful Brighton beach..

Victor, Bryan's cousin - Ben (who is Aileen's husband) used to have a hugeeee house facing the beach.

Sucha rich guy. $______$

More updates!!!

The other day when Claud was in town..

• Lunch at Grill'D
• Desserts at Ganache
• & lotsa shopping! along Chapel Street.

Us at Ganache.My loots.

**

Then, she insisted on trying out my cooking. So I prepared something for her on Thursday as it had been quite a bad week, packed with quizzes and asssignments.

Cook cook cook.Some simple Terriyaki Chix dinner.

+ mini Teppanyaki (portabello mushrooms ONLY)Lovely.

Had fun gossiping.

& thank you [both you and 'Ong Paid' (Claud created that name for her friend that I am not able to recall her friend's real name)] for the yummilicious Moscato wine, mangoes and mushrooms.

Oh. and the company toooo.

Awww. She left just last Friday.. COME AGAIN SOON, OK?

**

The other day Bf & I had two steamboat dinner on 2 consecutive days.Food for Steamboat #1

Food for steamboat #2

Kind of brought back the memories on the day we got together..

We had steamboat at Parkway Parade.. and that day (09 March 2006), he just grabbed my little finger.

That's how I got cheated by my scheming bf.

D:

Ok, am actually glad that he did. (:

**

Shall end this with a sinful indulgence from Ganache that we finally tried.

Double Mousse

YUMS.

Belated Updates.

Hi People!

Before I start with my almost-daily mini skipping exercise while watching "Sex & the City" (2.25am) airing on TV, I thought that I could probably do a little very belated update.

**

Life's been pretty ok for me.. except that there are some things that kept me pondering for quite awhile.

I'm not too sure about that yet because I'm still feeling very lost over it. It depresses me quite a

bit.

I just hoped that I'm just thinking too much.

**

Sad things aside!

On a lighter note, let me tickle your taste buds with food.

The other day, we tried another Meiji's product.

Ocha Ice-cream

The fragrance and tangy bitterness of the green tea perfectly complement with the richness of the cream. And it's just so smoooth.

Meiji never fails me!

To my Aussie friends, you can grab it at any Asian Grocer (I think!)

**

The other day, about a month back?

The day when I had my virgin hair-cut in Melb,

we tried this place called

"Tokyo Teppanyaki"

http://www.tokyoteppanyaki.com.au/

along Chapel Street.

I had their scallop seafood set. And it was so yummy! (salivating at the thought of it)

Their signature meat is apparently beef, like most teppanyaki shops.

Initially I had wanted to substitute beef for some other seafood.. but the waitress suggested that I should try. & am glad that I did.

The meat was tenderly soft and I swore that there was no marbling in sight (or too little to be noticed?)

It was cooked right in front of us thus I was able to make that statement.

Perfect.

The set came with a choice of drink ad I stupidly chose English Breakfast in a jappo restaurant.

Smart bf had green tea and..

Look!

I think it's really cute to be served in this style.

& the green tea was good!

It's really nice to just chill-ax with this pot of green tea.

The waitress and the guy who cooked our food were very friendly.

And!

We got this as a complimentary!I think she probably thought I was doing some kind of 'advertising' as I was busy snapping photos. She even asked me about it :P

But nevertheless, she was really friendly

&

To ALL MY FRIENDS in AUSSIE,

You can get DISCOUNTS on your VISIT!

Just look for "Ena" (i think its spelt that way.. but it has the same pronunciation) & just quote MY NAME - 'Ee Ling'

**

Yup. A little snippets of the Japanese salon that we went to.

http://www.tsumikidesign.com.au/

& we chilled at Ganache thereafter!

**

Wanted to show a picture of my hair... but I think it was so badly taken.

Anyway not much of a difference. Still the same long hair only neater.

I still think the money's worth ok!

**

Shall end this post with bits & pieces of other food!

A kebab at Melb Central basement.

Was decently good. Will definitely eat them again if I'm eating in Melb Central.

**

My favourite fries shop in Melb.
They have a monthly sauce thing.. and for November,
YUMS.

Anyway, its a privilege to be a girl! Love it.

That day when I bought the fries, it was an Aussie guy tending the stall and he just 'piak' few massive load of sauce on my fries. Was very friendly too. (Extra sauce for an additional charge)

The past few girls who have served me before werent that generous. But then again, I'll just take it that the girls are probably watching out for my figure! YAY.

p.s. im not much of a fries girl.. but the fries were pretty good! and it's deep-fried in canola oil (low in saturated fats but high in monosaturated fats). Furthermore they changed them everyday (or so they claim).

Some Tiny Facts

Ok, I know. How healthy can fries be.. right?

The greasy fatty fries deep fried in a pool of oil.

It's not, just that I THINK, LOTF is slightly healthier (just a teeny weeny bit so it's still not good to eat them alot) - considering the facts that they don't use oils that have reached the smoking point OR some other cheap vegetables oil (not all vegetables oil are healthy!)

Most commercial F&B stalls uses Palm oil (they love to blind consumers in thinking that THEY ARE HEALTH-LOVING SO THEY USED ONLY VEGETABLE OILS.) True enough, probably less(er) saturated fats but MOSTLY, those vegetable oils that they used have high trans-fats, like McDees. Because those have been hydrogenated.

But anyway, there were new research done on the verdict that those healthy oils causes inflammation, which is true because of Omega 6 (polyunsaturated fats). Accordingly to my lecturer, it is important to balance it with Omega 3 (polyunsaturated), which reduces the inflammation. Whatever it is, it's all about balanced.

Just a little tips for those who aren't following the OIL-Y NEWS. :)

my heart is... crying.

WHERE'S THE CLAUD!

so tired x______x

waiting for claud to discuss about tomorrow!

Hello Everybodyyyyyyy

TODAY'S MY LUCKY DAY!!

except spilling Ganache's hot chocolate on my pants (like, AGAIN) but better than on my shirt or my Burberry bag.

Anyway, here's why I flagged today as my lucky day (one of my lucky days)

• One assignment.. DOWN!
• I had intended to skip my morning class today because I had to finish up my report... and it turned out that the lesson was cancelled today! WHEEE.
• I found a thumbdrive (gonna return it though. im nice k)
• I found a nice black umbrella! (not the ah ma's flowery ones.. or those with company's name)

I know it not like it's anything fabulous... but isnt it good to find joy even in the simplest thing?

I hope that your day has been good for you! Cos mine sure is.