EXPECT NOTHING, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING - UNKNOWN.

Less than 2 weeks lefts till I board the plane for my annual 'once a year' travel trip. 

As a kid I hated Sydney. Felt that I was restricted to it's borders and no where to go. The world was limited to where I could go which to be honest is not much when you're still young and with not much money in your bank account. However, as I grew older (though not necessarily wiser) and ventured out to the other worlds I could access, I realised that Sydney is pretty damn beautiful. I've learnt to appreciate it more. 

Seeing other cities is amazing. Learning their different culture is fascinating. Getting lost in their streets and meeting strangers who become friends is a lifetime blessing. Though among all that, there is still that little bit of tug in the heart that we called 'homesick'. Moments, very small moments that would make you think "oh, we have this back at home", or "I wonder how my family and friends are doing", and even "I miss the the food back home", little things like these makes me miss home. I felt it the most these last couple of months when going out with friends to play Pokemon Go. Yes, laugh away. I grew up on Pokemon so I am not ashamed to admit that I do play. Anyway, the point is that while playing, I ended up exploring Sydney more. Running around looking for Pokemon ends up with me finding new places in Sydney that I would have never stumble upon because we are such creatures of habit. From finding new places to eat to finding different views of Sydney.

At the beginning of the year I went Pokemon hunting with a few friends and we stopped over at Le Renaissance Patisserie and Cafe. A while back I had ordered some cakes from here for my friend's birthday. This time I went in during our hunting session for a quick break.

YOU'RE A HUMAN BEING, YOU LIVE ONCE AND LIFE IS WONDERFUL, SO EAT THE DAMN RED VELVET CUPCAKE - EMMA STONE.

Brunch makes me happy. 

That and spending it with awesome friends. It was over the January break that I caught up with a really good couple friends of mine. Technically watched them from strangers to friends and now partners, so yeah its a very good feeling.

The girlfriend happens to also be friends with another group of friends of mine so what I can only say is that this world is very very small. Or at least in Australia it's just small. Anyway, she and I love our foods, especially taking photos of our food first. We have this saying in our group that "the camera eats first" which is pretty much self-explanatory. Although sometimes the food does go a little cold when everyone in the group needs to take a shot.

Anyway apparently there was this red velvet craze and my friend suggested we go to LOCAL MBASSY. 

Firstly, we ordered the red velvet latte.. now this looks amazing on camera as per below but for me it was overly sweet. I drink my coffee without sugar and I prefer my hot chocolate dark. My friend also ordered the red velvet pancake.. for me the sound of it is just overload of sweetness. I ended up with the toast with a fried egg. Have to say these plates looks amazing on photos and the thing is, this is all taken on my phone. I didn't even bring my SLR so yeah pretty happy with how well the pictures turned out even on a cloudy day.

EVERY FLOWER BLOOMS IN ITS OWN TIME - KEN PETTI.

One of my favourite places for brunch has got to be - The Grounds of Alexandria.

I hear they are opening a - The Grounds of Sydney in the CBD soon. Hopefully it's just as good. Though the reason why I like The Grounds of Alexandria is its country rustic feel.. not sure if the city can achieve such a feel.

A little while back.. more like at the beginning of the new year some friends of mine came down from Brisbane to visit and I played host for the good morning half. As we all know, life these days are all about brunch. All about looking for that aesthetically appeasing lunch that would look good on Instagram. We all work hard, long hours and long days, dealing with clients and customers and so really life should have a balance. Work hard, play hard. Or in this instance more like work hard, treat yourself hard. 

Happiness does not fall from above and land on your feet. Happiness have to be gained with your own hands and so we should do things that makes ourself happy. Spending time with friends, having yummy food, read a good book.. there are so many things in our lives that makes us happy so why not?

I'M THE HERO OF THE STORY, I DON'T NEED TO BE SAVED - REGINA SPEKTOR.

Apologies for the blog title.

To be honest, I was struggling to find to a quote that works well with this update. A while back I went to Hero Sushi train in Stockland Mall Wetherill Park. Had a light meal with a friend while we catch up. I was going through my phone gallery and realised that I had taken some photos of the plates of a few of my favourite dishes. 

I'm sure I don't need to go on about what type of dishes they are so just thought I'll share some food porn for you all.

THERE IS NO SINCERE LOVE THAN THE LOVE OF FOOD - GEORGE BERNARD SHAW.

I am going to double post today.

Going through my photo collections I realised that last year I really did go on many adventures. 

Good food.

Good friends.

Since my birthday is coming up in a few days I'll most likely be too busy celebrating that if I do not post much these days I might not ever catch up to current events.. that would be a nightmare. Plus there is my long awaited Japan road trip.. I really do need to catch up on the back log of posts.. 

Some time ago, like some time last year I dragged my friend out to go brunch with me all because I wanted to try this little corner cafe that my friends kept raving about. 

Something For Jess.

It really is a cute little corner cafe with a lot of salad options and the coffee is not bad either. You can see that I asked for some extra slices of bacon on my plate especially as I could not help it once you smell it in the air.

Of course, after brunch it's all about chilling. Shopping we went!

 

 

Bought myself a origami inspired panda snapback and a double leather choker and then it's off to my favourite little chill cafe for some nice hot chocolate to end my day.

LIVE FOR THE MOMENT THAT YOU CAN'T PUT INTO WORDS - ANONYMOUS.

When I came back from Bali last year I met up with my friends for some drinks and dinner. 

Has anyone been to KITTYHAWK? I personally really like the atmosphere there, and the scent of those truffle fries... mhhh just writing about it now makes me want to go back and indulge in them. It was really good to come back home from an awesome trip to seeing friends and just chilling with them. I have to say I am extremely blessed and grateful to these pals! 

 

 

I really want to share with you guys photos from our dinner venue Restaurant Hubert but alas my phone camera just did not do them justice.. I guess that means I will need to go again and make sure that this time I bring my camera.. hehe

I HAVEN'T BEEN EVERYWHERE, BUT IT'S ON MY LIST - SUSAN SONTAG.

It was a spur of a moment adventure.

My friend had send me a link on Whatsapp telling me about the special travel deals and in a moment of a second we agreed to go. Thus, starts the planning. To be honest I'm not much of a planner when it comes to holidays and adventures. I've always been more pick a place, go travel and see where I end up. Too much planning creates disappointment and stress when not met. Surprisingly, I like the idea of getting lost in a foreign country where I go exploring. 

Anyway, as we were going to Bali for the first time ever, I thought it would be safer to had my luggage wrapped.. it is afterall a death sentence over there if you are caught carrying suspicous items. When one hears about such things it's best to be safe. Hence, my little red suitcase looked like it's all wrapped up for a slimming spa treatment. I can't remember how much it cost me to get it wrapped at the airport but the peace of mind it gave me was worth it.

I can't believe how much flying I did in 2016. From HK - Brisbane - Bali and a couple of road trips. It really did feel like 2016 was a year full of adventures. One thing I love about flying these days are the movie and drama selections. As we were going to Bali we flew - Garuda Indonesia and I couldn't believe my eyes that 'If Cats Disappeared from the World' was showing on my flight! It's definitely an art film that had moments you can't help but get teary eyed.. or maybe that was just me.

Airplane food. Can't really complain when they are getting yummier these days. Plus they have the Weis' mango. I ended up eating both since my friend didn't want hers.

 

We stayed at Samabe Bali Resort and it was amazing! My friend had bought these accomodation coupons that meant, once we arrived we got complimentary massage vouchers and meal vouchers. For the first night we went for a feast though very quickly we realised that due to the heat we lost our appetite very quickly. Still the place was beautiful and it was really nice to just slow down.

"Sweet Dream"

29.9.16 - Day 1.