dubai: photo diary

We didn't do much in Dubai. Between the heat, our discovery of Sega theme park in Dubai Mall (wheee!)and getting over our jetlag, we didn't get to see as much of Dubai as we hoped. Then again, we did head into the Gold Souk to check it out. I had a whole different picture in my mind - open marketplaces with a lot of colour and atmosphere and a lot of haggling going on here and there. I think we might have ventured into the wrong souk for that though. I mean, who is going to be displaying their gold wares out in the open really?

Pigging out at Aroos Damascus for breakfast. We picked a few things from the menu but it looks like we've ordered everything here! There was sooo much food! We got tabouleh, hummus, falafel, chicken (which hadn't arrived when I took this picture) and some bread. Yummy yum yum. It set us up for the day before we crashed at check in time.

The light in our room. Pretty ain't it? I want one for my apartment!

And finally, the view from our room. I'm glad we choose to have that room with the Burj Khalifa view. We crashed as soon as we checked into our room that afternoon so didn't get to see the Burj shining in the night. I woke up quite early to get this shot though. So tall!!

sydney: bistro papillon

We caught up with some friends over dinner right after my exam the week before we left for the UK. Phew! That was a long explanation! It was at this very French chic bistro in the city called  Bistro Papillon. I was feeling happy and light after my exam and got all dressed up for our double dinner date too. Except I decided to wear a sleeveless thin dress in autumn. What was I even thinking? I had on a coat over the top but I thought that the bistro we were going to was going to be big and warm and toasty. Turned out it was small and cosy so everytime the door opens, a gust of chill autumn wind would rush in. I ended up leaving my coat on the entire night. Not that in mattered too much but I did feel a lil silly.

The interior

Escargots de Bourgogne.
Burgundy Snails baked in Garlic and Parsley Butter served with Baguette
This was lovely! We hardly get snails in Sydney restaurants, let alone awesome ones like these! Having these brought back good ol' memories of our time in Paris a few years back. We had snails just like this!

Pate de Foie de Canard
Homemade Duck Liver Parfait, Orange & Red Capsicum Relish & Baguette
Our friend actually got this for his entree but I ended up polishing it off like a greedy lil girl. It was amazing! And I usually dislike pate. I was crestfallen when the waiter came by and took it away. He was so quick, we didn't even realise when he did it. I wanted to keep it for later. :(

Salade de Chevre Chaud
Grilled Goat's Cheese Toast with Walnut and Pear Salad
This was just okay. Ryan got it and he kinda expected more. It was pretty much cheese on toast presented on a plate.

Papadelle au Canard
Braised Duck Papadelle Pasta with Mushrooms, Pancetta, Herbs and Baby Spinach

Poisson du Jour
Freshest Catch from Sydney Fish Market

Supreme de Caille au Poivre Vert
Roasted Quail Breast wrapped in Pancetta with Green Peppercorns and Mushroom Sauce
This was my main. Two of my favourite ingredients, peppercorns and mushrooom so it was a no brainer from the beginning that I was going to love it. And then you have the quail, wrapped in pancetta, in that awesome sauce - need I say more?

Filet de Boeuf Sauce Marchand de Vin
Pan Fried Beef Eye Fillet with Eschalots and Red Wine Sauce

Classic Creme Brulee

Tarte Tatin aux Pommes
Apple Tarte Tatin with Maple and Walnut ice cream

Profiteroles
with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce

It was a good night of delicious food and great company. Already, I can't wait to go back for our next meal. That duck pate is calling my name!

trendy clutches

via here

via here

via here

There seems to be a big clutch trend going around right now and I have to say that I'm in love with it. I'm still on a self imposed shopping ban until I find a job (boo!) but it doesn't count on holiday!! :) Bright colours seem to look good but the classic neutral will go with everything. Decisions decisions! Or maybe we'll just get both colours. What do you think? Loving the trend like I do? 

leaving on a jet plane

via

We're off to the UK tonight for two weeks for a friend's wedding. It's been really hectic at home trying to organise everything before we go away. We're so excited - we're stopping over in Dubai for a night and are looking forward to tucking into some local delicacies. Hopefully, we won't be too jet lagged for it. Then it's onwards to the UK catching up with friends and family before, during and after the wedding! Can't wait!

looking smart

Miss Selfridge dress, Country Road sweater over the top, Witchery boots, Leona Edmiston pins

Ryan wasn't too pleased that I didn't inform him that I was packing smart for our trip to Tasmania. He was quite upset saying that he "looked like a tramp next to me since I was dressed up all smart". I didn't think I was all that dressed up but I guess anything other than my usual get-up of t-shirt and jeans would be considered dressed up.

port arthur: felon bistro

We weren't expecting such a fantastic meal at Felon Bistro, seeing that we got a dinner as part of our Ghost Tour at Port Arthur. But it was blimmin' fantastic!

For our entree, we shared the locally farmed Ranonch quail, perfectly grilled and served with a fresh salad. This was surprisingly good and very brave too. There was no sauce or gravy to complement the quail which meant that you were having the quail as it is, which is why I thought it was very brave.

Ryan had the Tasmanian blue eye dusted with cajun spices and served on a hot bed of bacon mash with a delicate lemon beurre blanc and he reckoned that the bacon mash was awesome.

I had the Tasmanian porterhouse steak with a red wine jus and accompanied by fresh salad and locally grown vegetables and it was quite good. Would have preferred just a bit more jus to go with the steak though.

And for dessert, their decadent chocolate pudding served with plump local berries, hot chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream was heaven on a plate. The chocolate pudding was pure chocolate. Ryan and I had to fight it out for the last bite!

back to tasmania

Two Easters ago, we mossied on down to Tassie and drove down the west coast from Launceston to Hobart. We stayed up in the Cradle mountain national park one night and it was amazing. We had our own little cottage, woke up to wombats and rabbits scrambling around the property, and had a old fashioned wood fire to warm us up at the end of a long day hiking. Oh, and it was fur-ree-zing cold.

This Easter, we continued our journey from Hobart up the east coast and once again we had the time of our lives. The scenery was a lil different. Lots of farms and seaside towns with breathtaking coastal views. And it was fur-ree-zing cold! It was probably not the ideal season to visit these places seeing as we wished at each stopping point that we could don our swimmers to enjoy the dazzling blue-green waters and sink our feet into the powdery white sand, but we stayed rugged up instead and just enjoyed the view as it was just too cold to do any of that! We're lucky that we're only a 2 hour flight away. Mr. Gary must have flown a fair bit further to get here because he was the only one game enough to brave the freezing cold water at Wineglass Bay while the rest of us watched in amazement.

We'll definitely be back for another roadtrip one day. I reckon, east coast in summer and the west coast in winter would be the ideal combination.

Anyhoo, here are some of the antics we got up to while we were there.

Marvelling at Tasmania's wonderful scenary. There is something undeniably beautiful about Tasmania. Somehow, everything feels like it has come right out of a fairytale, like you're going back in time to a moment before modernisation had reared its ugly head and taken over the world.

In the Separate Prison at Port Arthur. It was quite eerie being in there, even in the day. 

We capped the day off with a Ghost Tour that night. That was one spooky ghost tour and I'm still a lil weirded out by it. Ghosts don't follow you home back to Sydney right?

Day 2 saw us driving up towards Bicheno. We randomly decided to stop at Spikey Beach and well, look at that! That's one amazing view there!

Blackberry ice cream @ Kate's Berry Farm. Yum!

Day 3, we were up bright and early to get to Freycinet National Park. The photo above was captured looking down towards Wineglass Bay from a lookout point. The walk to get there wasn't too bad and it could have been our easy peasy exercise for the day. But no, the husband said it's beautiful down there on the beach so why don't we go down there and check it out now that we're here. It was far! 300 steps one way, mind you.

So I pretended to take pictures like this one on the walk. Really, it was to catch my breath and give my poor unfit heart a break.

But oh, the view was amazing. And look at what we found. A wallaby hanging around the bay.

Quite unperturbed by all the attention it was getting, even basking in it!

And the view. Pretty spectacular, isn't it? I guess it was worth those 300 steps down to the bay. But golly, the walk back up was surely a killer!

Did you know that oysters have no cholesterol in them? I didn't know that! I grew up thinking they were chock full of cholesterol and can only be eaten on special occasions to limit the effect of the cholesterol on me. Imagine my delight when my doctor told me that they have no cholesterol! A well deserved treat after the walk. :>

Another random stop, this time at Friendly Beach. I don't think you will ever go wrong with any random stop. They are all just as breathtaking as the last!

This was a lighthouse at a different lookout point in the Freycinet National Park - we stopped there and did a short walk around the base with great views of the cliffs below and wineglass bay off in the distance.

Marveling at the Bay of Fires

Fish & chips for dinner on our last night. yum yum!

And digging into Mt Elephant Pancakes for brekkie before flying out. It was unfortunate that there was a power cut that day as we dying to try their special of smoked salmon, camenbert and mushroom savoury crepe but we had to settle for one of the dessert pancakes instead. Never mind though as the desert pancakes were very nice too, I had a blueberry one and Ryan went for Black Forrest.