The BEST BEEF RIBS ever!@Hurricane's Grill Steakhouse, Sydney

It was our final day in Sdyney. Gloomy feeling indeed. Even the weather mourned with us. The day was cloudy, drizzling, cold. The fun trip would be ending in a couple of hours. We went to the Darling Harbour and took a stroll across the bridge. Just enjoying the view and breeze and reminiscing the awesome things we did in the past couple of days.

We weren't hungry either but Mr Travis insisted that we must have this meal, as he saved the best meal choice for as our last. We came to Hurricane's Grill. I was surprised to see the restaurant still packed at 3 pm.

The pork sausages were... super delicious! Porky pungent power packed smell. Served with spicy chilli sauce and mashed potatoes. The tasty sausages really opened up our gloomy taste buds.

Mr Travis ordered the 2 sets of beef ribs and steak dish and 1 more set of beef ribs alone. When they first arrived, I think my jaws spiritually dropped down and hit the ground. The portion was so big, enough to feed 10 persons! The size of one rib portion was easily 30 centimetres long and 20 centimetres wide.

We felt like modern barbarians celebrating over a great victory, with the immense amount of meat we had on the table.

The smell of the heavy chargrilled, wood, smokyness were absorbed into the ribs and steak, and you could taste all these flavours in every single bite!

My hands down, to the BEST RIBS EVER! I thought the best ribs was in Hard Rock, Barcelona. But THIS, made Hard Rock's version dropped 10 spots.

Sexy female barbarians. Just look at the size of the ribs. Madness! Madness from having a too delicious meal. Phew.

A great meal to end a great trip!

Chocolate madness@Max Brenner, Sydney

Max Brenner: a famous local joint for Sydney-ians, especially students, to gather, catch up, "Lim teh" (as what Malaysians love to do during in the evenings) over gooey delicious chocolates : drinks, waffles, cakes, pastries, etc. We came here, about an hour after the crazy sashimi loaded lunch. In normal eating circumstances, the sashimi meal itself was already too filling. In holiday circumstances, there's always room for more interesting food! *burps*

My eyes widened with excitement when I saw the display of chocolate pastries. Could almost hear them calling out to me ,"pick me! pick me!"

The chocolate sauces were melted in a big pot, hidden somewhere. There were pipe linings above us, apparently funneling all the melted chocolate to the tip of the nozzle, located next to the cashier machine at the counter. The waiters will turn on the nozzle to drizzle the hot chocolate sauce all over our food. Much like a bartender pouring a mug of draft beer. We had a mixture of chopped fruits, banana cakes and marshmallows to dip into melted dark chocolate and milk chocolate. IT WAS AMAZING! Chocolate dipped banana cake chunks were like the most sinful yet most tasty one. Brrrrrr. Shivers of sin!

Need I say more. The picture itself tells the whole story in one glance. The waffles were so buttery, fluffy and warm, absorbing in all the melted milk chocolate drizzles. On top of that, creamy vanilla ice cream to complement the chocolate and for 'slightly' healthier people, fruits as an option to complement the waffles.
The best waffle I've ever had. Much thanks to the chocolate.

The face of guilt. Mr Travis's sugar high face. Miss Joy, shaking her head, while looking through our pictures from Day 1, to Day 4-after-Max-Brenner-face. 4 days and we all turned CHUBBY!

As our trip is coming to an end, we talked about life, relationships, future travel plans.. and our next group holiday aim : flights to Goa, India. Or flights to Japan. Or flights to South Africa. Or re-visit flights to this gorgeous romantic city, Sdyney.

Till next year, Joy, Travis, Neets!

Swordfish burger and fried seafood goodies@Bondi Beach, Sydney

The houses, apartments, shops and cafes along these hilly winding roads along Bondi beach really give out the sense of holiday-ing-all-the-time feel. I will never forget the first glimpse of Bondi beach when we reached the tip of one of the hilly slopes. Although you can't see much from the picture which was taken from one of the slopes, believe me, the view was outstanding. Those people staying at the apartments nearby are so lucky to be waking up to this view, EVERYDAY.

My friend who is also a frequent traveller says that Bondi beach is quite similar to Kalkan. I've never heard of this place before but apparently it is located on the Turkish Mediterrenean coast, known to tourists as a place for fine beaches too. Greeks used to live in this place before the war between both nations started and since then many Greeks had left, leaving Kalkan almost disappearing from the map. Luckily, some rich merchants back in the 50s decided to preserve the place and today, it has become a famous tourist destination and the Kalkan property scene has since hit sky high. Similar shops, houses, apartments, cafes located along the hilly roads complementing the scenic view of the beaches.

What an interesting FYI. Turkey, hopefully my future destination and Kalkan will definitely be one of my must-visit places.

Ok! Back to the foodies!

When we were finally here, I was really awed by the scenic view of the splashing blue waves, and baby blue clear sky. Breathtaking! Not to mention, lean, mean, machine surfers to make the view, more sassy!

The place my friend had been raving about since we first arrived. Swordfish burger!

These guys are so lucky to have fresh seafood served daily. And it is so affordable for them! Argh.

Deep fried calamaries and fries. Yummylicious! The squids were nicely marinated with pepper and paprika. I'm salivating already, looking back at this picture.

Grilled tuna and swordfish. The fishes were fresh, but a little too bland for me. Healthy dish! Minus the fries of course.

Finally, the long awaited swordfish burger! This is definitely a much healthier option of a burger if you are indeed craving for one. The breaded crumb fried swordfish was delicious of course, but it wouldn't have been good alone, without the fresh vegs and the delicious tartar sauce. The diametre of the burger was about 6 inches. Phew!

Fried scallops. Yums! The only downside, was the batter. Didn't stick well to the scallops and they were too thick. We dug out the batter and ate the juicy fat scallops on their own. Good enough!

Say hello to my foodie friends. Only 4 days and nights of food and we all ballooned up. Aiyaiyaiyaiyaiyai!



Sashimi frenzy@Sydney Fish Market

Free flights to Australia for Miss Foodventura, anyone? Particularly Sydney! Am missing the sashimi from Sydney Fish Market terribly now. It's only been a month..

Mr Trav, a sashimi expert, was in charge of all the food ordering. We ordered a balance between raw salmon, tuna, swordfish sashimi, scampis, oysters, prawns......

to deep fried soft shell crabs, baby octopuses, grilled unagi slices and fries. Madness! So much food for only 4 tiny tummies. The sashimis were by far the freshest I'd ever eaten in my life. Mr Trav, however says that Japan is leading when it comes to fresh seafood.

Even the salmon roes, were really fresh, and crunchy. Each sashimi slice was dipped with wasabi and soy sauce, and with a finishing coat of salmon roes. Bliss!

Initially, we wanted to eat our lunch by the pier, enjoying the gorgeous view and cool breeze. The view looked peaceful right? But we were attacked by gigantic fiercesome seagulls. Dozens of them were hovering over the waters and benches. One of them dashed towards us and pecked on our plastic bag. Crazy! We moved back into the market, not risking any of our delicious sashimis to these predators.

They tasted as fresh as they looked! My favourite, were the scampis! I had never eaten them before and this first opportunity surely did not disappoint! Sweet, tender, fresh. Yums! The next in line was the prawns. I must admit, when the steamed red prawns came in a plastic bag, it looked a little unappetizing. Little did I know, the prawns were fat, juicy, tender, and complemented so well with the tartar sauce. Best cocktail prawns ever! Total damage: AUD 50/head. It was all worth it! So... free flights to australia? sydney, anyone? I want fresh sashimis... fresh seafood...pretty please?

The Best HotDog, like everrrrrr@Harrys De Wheels, Sydney

Although it was only 6pm, the sun had already set and the temperature dropped to nearly 10degrees. Brrrrr!

Mr Trav brought us to eat the ultimatum-hotdog-of-the-century. At Harrys On Wheels.

The shop didn't stand out, just like any normal van stand with bright lights. When we went near, we saw many framed photos hung on one side of the stall, featuring celebs dating back, possibly 50 years or so.

The hotdog was about 8inches, with one fat, chewy, flavourful sausage lying on a heavenly pile of
minced beef, beans and sauekraut. Drizzled over mustard and bbq sauce. Aud 6.50

My first bite ( had to open mouth really wide). Kaboom! The best hotdog I had ever had in my entire life.

Forget the calories, the sin, the guilt. I, myself finished the entire 8inch of deliciousness. yikes!

P/S: not a meal on a first date, especially if you wanna score a kiss and more future dates with this guy. Why?

Mouth stank from the garlic and saurkraut. Then, the sight of you gobbling it up like a barbarian, sauces and minced meat smudging your face.

It was just too delicious to eat it like a decent fair lady!

I turned blonde!@Sydney Harbour

The weather was strikingly sunny and after a round of camwhoring all the way from the cruise point to the opera house, our legs started feeling shakey...

Time for some noontime booze!

My first time sipping icey cold pure blonde, Aud 9!
Crisp, dry, slightly flowery. Perfect as a thirst quencher.

My two gfs on the other hand went 110% girly sipping Malibu. Aud 11

Ahhhhh... Booze at 2 pm. With a great view. Pure awesomeness!

Greasy breakfast after Campos Coffee

Following an awesome coffee at Campos, we walked down the street and stumbled upon a tiny cafe by the corner. Our aim was... "BACON and EGGs" which Campos dóes not serve. I couldn't recall the name of the cafe, but its theme was orange. Walls painted with bright orange, giving a sense of freshness and coziness for a scrumptuous breakfast! The portion was gigantic. Boy oh boy, the scrambled eggs were delicious!

Even my giant croissant, nicely toasted to crunchy perfection, served with butter and strawberry jam was yummylicious! Sinful....

After a grande breakfast, off we go! To the Sydney Opera House and harbour area!

Campos coffee oh so good!@Sydney

Our gracious host, Mr Trav says that this place serves the best coffee ever. That strong statement got us caffeine addicts excited altogether. This cafe is located in the viscinity of colleges and universities, hence packed with students, lecturers and then ...us!

A cuppa costs between 3-5 AUD. All 4 of us have a specific coffee preference. Myself, long black. Joy, latte. Neets, double shot cappucino. Trav, ice coffee with a scoop of ice cream, if possible.

Mr Trav was right. By far the one of the best brews I'd tasted. A little bitter yes, but the aroma was fragrant and the most importantly, the coffee wasn't burnt which happens quite regularly on long black nowadays.

When I took a sip of Neet's cappucino.. fuh! Deliciouso! Besides the perfectly roasted coffee beans, I believe the other key ingredient was its fresh milk. The milk in Australia is unlike the crappy, thin skimmed milk we get back home. The creamy, frothy milk really made the cappucino cuppa star quality material.

I'm missing Campos already!

They sell their beans too, if anyone wishes to barista in their own backyard. Some pastries and desserts were also sold there to complement a good cuppa coffee. We skipped the pastries, as our next destination..... big greasy fatty breakfast with bacon and eggs!

First Sydney lunch@Lumiere Cafe, Sydney

Finally, the long awaited all-girls trip had finally arrived! The 8-hour flight on the AirAsia A330, was horrendous. Too cold and too tight. But it was all worth it when we finally stepped on Sydney soil. The first meal we had was in Lumiere Cafe. And boy oh boy, the awesome food totally fired up our Sydney mood!



Neets, with her all-time favourite eggs benedict. Based on her facial expression, this must have been one chart topper egg benedict. Do not be fooled by the eggs and holondaise sauce camoflauge, hidden underneath were thick layers of bacon. OMGOSH. AUD 19.

All I know was that, I NEED COFFEE. Without a single dose since we arrived, I was alive, but mentally asleep. And finally, a long black! Kau kau style. A waking booster right away, alright.

Joy and I shared the BigBreakfast. At first she was reluctant to share, hunger pangs. But luckily I succeeded persuading her to share the meal with me. The portion was so big! The thick layers of bacon were hidden underneath the greens and beans. Tastewise, 9/10. YUMS! Total damage was quite bad though: 22 AUD.

This was the STAR dish. By far the best cheese cake I've ever tasted in my life. It was nicely thickened, slightly sourish only to match the sweetness of the strawberries.. and most of all, it was SO creamy. Thumbs up!

Here goes my buddies with our gracious host, Mr Travis, bred in Sydney for nearly a decade now. Without him, Lumiere would've missed us and we would have missed one of the greatest cheesecake moments.

Kudos to all!

Melbourne Trip 2007

Dogma and I took a break away from work. We decided on Melbourne as the location for our 1 week holiday. It was a noteworthy trip as we had a balance of everything, dined like the rich and ate like the poor, drove like a local and walked till our muscles tore, strong wind chills and sweaty foreheads, fine chocolates and on-the-rack chocolate bars, and the list goes on. I'm truly grateful to have a wonderful companion along to make this trip fully complete. Here are some pictures of the food we had tried during our 1 week here.

St Kilda's Monarch CakeShop :

Demona: I'm addicted to the mocha. Never once a cafe, throughout my trip here, selected on random failed me in terms of good coffee. Nothing beats sipping coffee while indulging in a thick, rich, slice of homemade cheesecake. Mind you, we just had Big Breakfast (as seen below) an hour plus before this. BURPS.

Demona: Look closely, at the right bottom corner, two round looking cakes with a hole in the middle, those are called Kugelholfs. Monarch's trademark pastries. They tasted excellent, with a spongy cake taste on the outside and on the inside (here's the best part: thick, sweet, packed with calories) chocolate cream. We bought some mini Kugelholfs back, to give our parents. Not cheap btw. A mini K cost us 6 AUD.

Apollo Bay's Fish & Chips:

Demona: We drove into Apollo Bay town. Heard so much about their awesome fish and chips. We camped here for the night, bought some fish, calamari and chips as take away, dropped by the nearest supermart and bought a bottle of Watershed's Chardonnay, and pigged the hell out in the motel room. The second pict showed the Cheddar cheese which we bought from Victoria Market, in Melbourne city. Awfully sinful meal.

BeachComber's Calamari Rings@ St Kilda:

Demona: The best calamari I ever hard. Check out the size of the rings. No way you can find one this size back home.

Demona: The smoked salmon pizza. Salmon was good, but we made a mistake. Should have ordered another type of pizza as we had ordered the grilled salmon already.

Demona: Grilled salmon. Check out the chunk. YUMS!

Whey Cheese factory:

Demona: G.O.R.G.E. Choc Factory was closed. Fortunately, Whey Cheese sold their products as well. We managed to get a taste of it, Raspberry liqourish coated with white chocolate. It was tasty! We tasted all kinds of cheese at the factory, from pepper cheese, smoke cheese to down right funky coffee cheese. Dogma bought a slice of smoked cheese home. Guess it's still in his fridge today.

Port Campbell:

Demona: My lunch: Special Australian hot dog. His lunch: Beef burger. And a cuppa cappucino to top it all.

Melbourne city, near the airport transfer bus station:

Demona: Finally back in the city. It was a Sunday evening. Thus, most shops were closed. We walked everywhere to look for food within the viscinities of the airport transfer. But nothing interesting...until we stumbled upon... Krispy Kremes! By luck. Gosh. I heard so much about it. Had always wondered how one tiny lil' donut can drive so many people crazy.

And ...The 'so-many-people' out there were right. The donuts just melt in your mouth. The orgasmic feeling's something like eating Siang Malam's toast with butter and kaya.

We bought 2 dozens back home. People were so into these sinful O-shaped ring pastries that throughout our way to the airport, we were constantly asked on where we bought them from. All the way back to Malaysia. Kinda made me feel like I was a "legal" drug trafficker. All those donut addicts out there.