Akin - Lavender and Rose Repairing, Anti-Oxidant Night Creme

'Natural' products in Australia is a big industry.

Glancing through my local organic supermarket's skincare shelves, I counted about 5 or 6 different brands. The products range from handmade soaps to face care, body care, hair care and aromatherapy. Some even claimed to be 'vegan'??

Akin (Australian) and Trilogy (New Zealand) are two brands that caught my interest. I have tried some samples and liked them immensely.

When David Jones did a 20% off on all Akin range, I quickly grabbed the Repairing, Anti-Oxidant Night creme. It also claimed to be anti-aging and restructuring the skin's damage surface. Sounds like a miracle cream, no? How does a cream allege to do so many jobs??

On application, I can feel instant tightness to my skin. Normally that happens when a cream is too drying on my skin. But eh, I don't feel my skin drying out, just tight. No peeling on the cheek. Mmmm, anti-aging, tick. The following morning, rushed to the mirror after waking up. No peeling? Good sign. Start touching the skin, wow, smooth like Princess' bottom. Repairing, tick, restructuring, tick. Anti-oxidant, how does one test??

I am glad I found a solution for my dry and irritated cheeks. It is so bad I have to reapply calendula cream repeatedly over my usual face cream (I used Jurlique and Avene) and woke up several times during the night because of the itch on my dried and peeling like crazy cheeks. With Akin, I never need to reapply anything. Even good news is the cream is only A$35. I will be looking into the day cream next. Guess PH Advantage will have to wait....

OPI Lacquer

Miniature OPI

The Australia collection has the prettiest colours. I first bought the nude colour 'Canberra without you', a pinkish shimmery nude. I went crazy after putting it on my toenails. Oh so pretty, so pretty! Rushed to David Jones the next weekend to grab these little babies.

What's in the box?

Dark dark red - Suzi loves Sydney (so dark I feel vampire-ly)

Perfect pink - Didgeridoo Your Nails? (so pretty it makes me feel)

Elegant brown - Don't Melbourne The Toast (so elegant I want to accesorize it with my bubble quilt)

Rapidry top coat (best topcoat ever)

All for only A$25. Siao if I don't buy.

Eating mantou

Fate brought me to Brisbane. I am so in love with this city. Great weather, great food, great people, great everything!

Quite a number of Taiwanese migrated to this part of Oz so I am able to find good baos and mantou (made with fresh milk) and my beloved chinese crullers (youcharkway) quite easily.

I prefer to eat the mantou plain with a dollop of butter. But for lunch, I would eat a bit more 'luxurious'; bacon and egg and sometimes sausage (way too 'luxurious' for the waist :D) is normally my preference to eat with doughy goods. Princess will eat hers with egg only.

Eh, baobei, where are the eggs??

[Brisbane bakery] French Twist

No bakery escapes my scrutiny if ever one is in my way. Small, big, fancy looking, hole in the wall; I love them all!

French Twist at Westfield Carindale

With various location across the city/state (Queensland), this is the most decent looking and up-market bakey/patisserie in the complex. I've been eyeing the display chiller for god knows N times before I finally made up my mind what to get. They ain't cheap, when is anything cheap in Australia?!


Bonaparte millefeulle

It's got to be none other than millefeulle (aka vanilla slice). The kung-fu of the sifu is in the pastry making.



The guy at the counter taught me how to slice this notoriously flaky pastry. Neat trick. I must have looked totally clueless back there. When it comes to french desserts, my eyes shone brighter than lightning, head giddy and heart pounding with excitement when so many goodies were presented in front of me and I don't know which to choose, wanting to bring home ALL. Hoo hoo, I am a dessert monster.

Oooh, back to the millefeulle. A classic french bake goody with custard sandwiched between puff pastry. Doesn't sound interesting, I know. But once tried, the addiction never go away. It's hard to come across one well made. French Twist's version is alright, definitely better than your average neighbourhood bakery's vanilla slice. But it's still nothing compared to my no.1 Laduree version. Ohhhh, how my heart weep from the memory of taste but not being able to savour one now.....Heartache, heartache......

Well....Princess loves it.....she told me,'let's have it again tonight' with big grin on her face when we polished off the slice, licking her finger.

I said,'but we finished it all, cannot have it again tonight, bo liao.'

Princess pondered for a while and responded,'tomorrow we eat again ah.'

Brisbane's Westfield Carindale

While Big King was away in France, I have access to our only car during the day. So I brought Princess jalan-jalan.

The shopping centre has these children rides dotted all round the complex. Heaven to children, nightmare to the parents! One ride costs A$2!

It was school holiday when we went and there was a live performance from tv personalities 'The Crocmen'. The surrounding stage was fully packed by highly enthusiastic children who sing and dance along with the crocmen.

After the show, we went in search of the sweet stuff. Hehe, my purpose of this visit.

Breakfast at MacDonald

Normally I wouldn't step anywhere near a McD compound. But the breakfast offerings changed my mind. Oh, I just couldn't stay away from hotcake/pancake/waffle. McD's hotcake didn't disappoint.

Light and fluffy, even Princess gives the thumbs up (she won't eat the pancakes I cook :( and told me to put back in the fridge to eat 'later'). She's also digging the hash brown, keep saying she wanted to have it again the next day.

Comfort food - risotto

I love cooking and eating risotto. Perfect winter warmer.

The blog...got neglected cos Rabbit is super busy with Taiwan's Superstar [超级星光大道] , I watched all the episodes over and over and over again. But I haven't forgotten to seek out good food in Brisbane!

[Brunei] Ambuyat

If there is any dish Bruneian can proudly proclaim uniquely Brunei's own, look no further than ambuyat. Oh, if you must know the history and how it was invented by a Princess, please google it up.

Made from sago flour and boiling water, ambuyat is taken with a two head prong. You dip the prong into the gruel, give it several twists and dip the formed ball of gruel into a spicy and sour condiment, either binjai (fermented mango chutney?) or tempoyak (fermented durian chutney). Personally I prefer to mix the two with extra sambal, more intensio flavour and more kick as the gruel itself is tasteless.

Side dishes to go with the ambuyat

There are quite a few to choose from and the above are my usual order. Clockwise from top left: ulam (raw vegetable salad served with sambal), stir-fried pakis (fern indigenous to Borneo Island?), deep fried fish and ayam masak merah (chicken cooked in spicy and sweetish sauce).

The above sells for roughly B$20 a set.

Aye, a bargain.

[Brunei] RMS Diner

I've been downunder for a little over a month and I still haven't finish the Brunei post. Just this and one more....

For starter, we shared a salt and pepper calamari served with tartare sauce. I have a thing for salt and pepper squid/calamari/tentacles. I've just got to order it soon as I learn it's on the menu. Lovely tartare sauce with lots of bite. Calamari was a tad overcooked but we quickly cleaned the plate. I was hungry!

For mains, Big King had spicy cajun chicken strips with fries on the side. I had to have the burger, for B$5.00, it's too good to pass eventhough I don't normally eat beef. Love everything in the plate, the soft toasted bun, the coleslaw, the caramelised onion, the salad leaves in the burger. Everything was super fresh. But I've got to say Swensen's burger patty still rule in my book.

Dessert was fresh mango crepe served with vanilla ice-cream in a pool of mango sauce. Crepe is too thick but the mango serving was generous.

I enjoyed the food so much so that I returned with sis and a friend within a week!

Attack of the double C

I better post this before sis die of anticipation.

Bubble quilt in oh so delicious choco brown

Yes!! Finally I am the proud owner of one of the all time classic!! Woohoo! Ok ok, so I am a shallow designer bag freak in case you don't already know. I own less than 10 including the 'small goods'. It's not really a big collection if I dare say.... Awww please don't kick me.....

Model - Pocket in the city, small double flap

What is an old lady bag?

Yesterday I was on the phone with Big King who was in Deauville, France. We were talking about bags and suddenly I told him I am going to bin my Longchamp dumpling bag.

He laughed out loud and said it is an old lady bag. Hello?? A sexy lilac mini dumpling bag with leather handle? It's all the craze among them Jap ladies. Or until it became the craze among the above middle age ladies in town.

Oh well, mine is tatty looking already. Sis keep asking when I'm gonna bin it. I can't bear to part with it, maybe I'll just keep it in the darkest corner of the drawer. I can use it when I venture into the Valley so I can just smile it off when it was jerked away from my grasp and disappear with the pitiful thief FOREVER.

[Brisbane] Cafe Mi

Cafe Mi Sunnybank
Foodcourt
Sunnybank Plaza
Mains Rd
Tel: 07-3219 6288
10:30am - 10:00pm


Photos taken with Nokia E65

A Hong Kong style cafe famed for it's barbeque pork. I have tar-powed the char-siew twice and I can vouch it's quite good, albeit without the beautiful marbling but the meat is still moist.

We had initially wanted to have dim-sum, oh, I was craving for salt and pepper squid. We got number 60+, while the number being called out were 40+. Sigh...it would be a long wait, maybe 45 minutes. We left and went inside the plaza for food. We settled on Mi as the turnover was quick. Within couple of minutes we were seated.

Big King ordered the 'Golden Rice' (A$10.80); deep-fried pork cutlet with fried rice topped with fried egg. The rice is cold and the pork cutlet is dry, obviously over-fried. But taste is ok.

I ordered '5 Treasures Rice Noodle in Fish Stock' (A$9.80). 5 treasures were fish beancurd, fishball, fish springroll, cuttlefish ball and lobster ball. The so-called treasures could be bought frozen fromChinese supermarkets. Well, what do I expect from a cha-chan-teng when instant noodles were on it's menu. To make-up for the frozen ingredients used, soup stock is actually tasty.

I spied a covered tray laden with egg-tarts near the entrance and they were going for A$3.50 for two. Ah, why not, it's Princess' favourite. She was so eager to put it in her mouth, shouting she wanted tan-tart and fingers pointing vehemently while we peruse the menu. After I cannot tahan and shove some into her mouth, she diam-diam finally. When I tried to feed her some again, she said, 'mai bah, chin tee bah (no, very sweet)'.

[Brunei] Emperor's Court

Where: Hua Ho Mall at Jalan Muara, 3rd floor

We celebrated Chloe's second birthday with a dinner with family at Emperor's Court.

We had mixed hot and cold platter (lusted after the shark's fin scrambled egg), fried chicken in ginger sauce (for the fussy niece), claypot beancurd with seafood (crowd pleaser except the niece of course), braised lamb shanks with buns (restaurant's specialty) and spinach cooked in broth with salted egg yolk, century egg and fried ikan bilis (I love this dish! No photo, lost).

We finished with honeydew sago pudding blended with vanilla ice-cream and a beautiful Torte de Mama (chocolate custard sandwiched in between chocolate hazelnut sponge) from Sheraton.

Nothing except the shark's fin had pleased the guests with the served cake only half eaten and left ever so lonely on the plate. Mind, the cake is delicious and cost a bomb. I was secretly pleased that I had cut each a small piece and tar-powed the rest for my sisters and brother. It was gone within a day.

[Brunei] Dim Sum Cafe

Where: Same block as Trader's Inn Gadong, corner end close to Scouts Centre (pork free)

Usual suspects in a dim sum joint:

Top left to right Fried sesame balls with red bean filling and egg custard (very good)

Bottom left to right Steamed chicken in black bean sauce and chicken char-siew rice sheet roll served with fried shallots and sambal

Top left to right Fried hockkien noodles (it's sooo good) and dry fried noodles

Bottom Stir fried spicy sambal radish cake (yum, a Brunei delicacy)

[Brunei] Roti for breakfast

Roti canai (Indian bread) is one of my favourite breakfast item. It was invented by the Indians after migrating from their homeland to south-east Asia. I tried ordering it in Indian eateries in England and was told they had never heard of it!

My favourite roti joint in BSB, Seri Complex.

Dedicated roti maker in action.

Roti telur (Bread with egg) served with curry gravy (chicken/beef)

I always order teh tarik kurang manis (pulled tea, less sugar) to go with my roti.

A satisfying breakfast, all for under B$2.00!

Hiccups in Lion City - No 1

Location: Paul & Joe counter at Wisma Atria

After being left to wait around for like 20 minutes while the pregnant sales rep chit chat to her friends and endless attempts to try to catch her eyes as my polite "excuse me please" fell on deaf ears; she finally found time in her busy 'work' schedule to attend to me.

Me: " Can I get one of your crayon sharpener please?"

She looked at me momentarily, no speech uttered through her faded lipsticked lips.

Oh, give me to me like NOW. Can't she see I am now pretty desperate.

After like an eternity.

Her: "One of your............?" She looked at me blankly, not understanding my request.

Oh for f%$@'s sake!

Me, took the sharpener off the display counter and hold it up to her eyes:" I want this, one please."

Her:" Just one?"

Why!! Instruction not clear ENOUGH?? Why on earth do I need TWO??

Does she want me to show her how to do her job?? (I used to be a mobile sales rep, vacation job)

Maybe next time I should mimic them and do the Singlish thingy. They might end up calling me Ah Lian soon as I turn my back. Sigh....

[Singapore] Okonomiyaki from Takashimaya Food Court

I have been eyeing this for a long time. Seeing it prepared and devoured on TV sets my tongue drooling.


Hiroshima okonomiyaki S$5.00

Essentially it's just fried noodles encased in a batter topped with fried egg and bacons and some greens.

I harboured great expectations but the experience left me vowed never to touch it again unless I am in Japan.

There are better options in the food court.

[Singapore] Sweets oh sweets

I love all sweets, no, not candies but serious desserts.


Teh tarik and matcha red bean from Haato


Black sesame and matcha parfait with sweet potato crisps from Azabu Sabo


Inside the AS shop at Marina Square


Canele

Top left Canele
Top right Le Royale
Bottom Trio of ice-cream

Canele Patisserie at Robertson walk is my must visit everytime I am in Singapore. Chef Pang is one person I give my utmost respect to for churning out such delectable work of edible art in this part of world.

Canele is my favourite baked goody and they do a mean version. Wouldn't named after it for no reason. My cousin had the Le Royale but I personally prefer Jupiter. Ice-cream is good with nice texture and flavours. I especially enjoy the chocolate ice-cream which I normally shun. But my oh my, this 66% is SO GOOD I wanna lick the plate clean! Also had 'Nougatine' and 'Candied Chestnut'. Nougatine is good but not WOW. Candied chestnut is weird, they served it with blueberry coulis which totally didn't go together. It was way off. NOOOOOO. Ah well, to each it's own.

[Singapore] Dian Xiao Er

A convenient restaurant with reasonable prices to match. You are bound to come across a branch in most major shopping centres in Singapore.


Taken at Vivo City branch


The ambience


The food

I enjoyed the spinach cooked in chicken broth with century egg and salted egg yolks while Big King liked the sparerins the most. Princess ate TWO bowls of rice and 1 bowl of soup plus nibbles of all the dishes @@

Rabbit in Sunshine State

We are here finally after a long wait. It's now winter. Grrrrrr. Heater's on full blast throughout the night.

It's been a pain looking for used car for sale and a place to live. Now that's all over, I can start to enjoy some peace now, that is, when princess is not ee ee oo oo aa aa by the side.............

I think Australia is a gourmand's paradise. Numerous delis, exquisite cafes, gourmet farmers' market all dotted around the whole country. I have found paradise!