An Assortment

Today was another good day - I am again being reminded of my Lord's goodness in blessing me with friendships and a life in Melbourne. I spent the day with a friend I went to primary school with. We spent hours reminiscing the ol' silly days over a good cuppa, hot chocolate and some good savoury bagels from Manchester Press. 

I came home & looked through my photo albums and thought, why not just upload photos of some good looking food?! I don't know about you but I am usually attracted to the physical outlooks for my food haha

 (This is my mum's homemade custard egg tarts in celebration of the beginning of Spring!)

My Mexican Cousin by St Ali, South Melbourne $21

 (Yet another gorgeous dessert put up by my mother - Lemon Meringue Wedding Cupcakes) 

Hopetoun Tea Rooms, Melbourne

There was a massive hype about Hopetoun for the past year and a bit but I think the craze has died down this year when Asian/Taiwanese dessert parlours invaded the streets of Melbourne. Anyhow, a couple of friends and I rocked up at Hopetoun hoping to taste delicious cakes and tarts but I think we left pretty disappointed because the quality of their desserts didn't match their looks. No doubt Hopetoun's desserts looked fantastic with all the vibrant colours especially accompanied by colourful freshly cut fruits but unfortunately their Black Forest cake was crumbly and the layers of their Vanilla Slice were tough as rock - we couldn't even cut it neatly and it was just so messy. However, their Lemington which looked beautiful also tasted pretty good.

永和豆浆大王 (Yong He District, Soy Milk and Chinese Crispy Crullers, Taipei)

Ze all-time famous Taiwanese breakfast - 豆浆油條 (soy milk and crisp chinese crullers)!

The BEST thing about travelling around Asia is waking up to amazing amazing AMAZING variety of breakfast every morning! I'm personally not a fan of bread (although I do love pastries and poached eggs) so having a small bowl of soup with some rice or noodles are my fav!

When I was in Taiwan, I came across 永和豆浆大王 while exploring the city. It has one of the BEST 豆浆 (soy milk) - I've tasted plenty of soy milk this trip (Malaysia, Singapore, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung...) and 永和豆浆油条大王 definitely trumps the rest with its fresh, silky soy milk. Because of the cold weather that day, I tried the hot soy milk which was equally as good as the cold - no curdles and so ever silky! The 油條 (crisp chinese crullers) were not too bad, but I found they a tad bit oilier than the others I've tried. But on a general level, they tasted really nice. One thing I've noticed is 油條 tastes different in different countries! Malaysian 油條s are generally more crispy and if anything, a little bigger, in Australia (you can find them in Richmond), they're just generally not too good because they're soaked in oil, tough and tasteless and HK's 油條 is one of the best, on par with Taiwan's  - crispy yet not oily!

Anyway, 永和豆浆大王 sells all kinds of breakfast goodies - sweet, salty pastries, stuffed with red bean, green beans, munk beans, hot steamed buns and snacks for people on the roads, all very affordable (pricing between TWD 30-60) 

If only I wake up to breakfasts like these every morning....... ahhh bliss....

Chatuchak Market, Bangkok : Thailand 2013

It's been 5 months since my epic 3-month Asia trip to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Being back is always good; home is always the best but I reckon I'm feeling the itch to travel again. After an hour of deliberation and a good airasia promotion, I booked flights to Korea!

So I finally had the time to edit, resize and upload my Thailand photos :) I spent 4 days in Bangkok back in February and although it did feel like a pretty short trip, it was rather productive and chillax! Good and cheap shopping, food and massages! That's all we really did - wake up, eat breakfast, shopped, lunch, shopped, dinner, shopped, supper, massage, bedtime. Bangkok was pretty amazing for a shopping holiday but the only downside of that city is its scorching hot and humid weather.

We had deliberately chosen to visit Bangkok over the weekend because of Chatuchak Market - which is only open on Saturdays and Sundays - famous among the locals and tourists for the sale of its wide range of cheap goods and food! We spent 5 hours there and still couldn't cover the place!

The best thing about Chatuchak Market is (obviously) its price. It's cheaper than Platinum Mall or Baiyoke Night Market and what's even better is most stall owners allow people to try on their clothing before purchasing them.

Cheap drinks, cheap food, cheap singlets everywhere!

It's extremely important that you grab/print a map of the market before you head there because the place is huge and is made up small alleys like this (picture below) - so it's really easy to lose your way!

If you do go to Chatuchak, you have to try these freshly squeezed mandarin juice - so sweet, so cheap, best drink to quench your thirst in that heat.

We had lunch at this really famous duck noodle store - forever so crowded and only have limited seats - you basically sit, order, finish eating and leave - no room and time for chatting. And, because it's so small and crowded, be prepared to squeeze in and share tables with complete strangers.

The highlight (for me) of Chatuchak Market is this: COCONUT ICE-CREAM! It's soooo amazing, I could have eaten five portions! Til today, this is the one thing I really miss and still love.

Placed in the heart of Bangkok's bustling city, Platinum Mall is (almost) every tourist and local's favourite place. The multilevel shopping mall offers a huge range of clothing, shoes and accessories - every girl's dream! There are a number of shops for men too - so no fear males, you will not be bored! 

It is vital that you plan before you start shopping at Platinum Mall - it has numerous floors and each floor is filled with shops. If you see something you like, just get it because you probably won't have time to revisit the shop. So, it's better to devote a whole day for this place and work your way up each floor or the other way round. 

Price

Platinum Mall is generally a little more expensive compared to Chatuchak Market or Baiyoke Night Market. However, Platinum has a wider and more modern range of clothing, shoes and accessories compared to Chatuchak but they are usually more expensive. 

No Trying On Policy

Most shops in Platinum do not allow customers to try on their clothes before purchasing them. I personally do not like this policy because I like to try things on to see if they fit and etc... So, just be aware of this and if this is an issue for you, try bringing a measuring tape to measure clothes to check if they'll fit you. 

Air conditioned!

The best thing about Platinum is it is air conditioned! After having spent a whole day at Chatuchak the day before in the sun, I realised how the weather plays such a huge factor in my mood when I go shopping. At Platinum, you can shop in comfort :) 

Crowd

As usual, the place is super crowded - be prepared to squeeze your way through in, out of shops and while you dig racks for clothes. 

Bangkok women seem to love studs. 

A huge tip to surviving Chatuchak would be to constantly hydrate yourself - drink lots of water and juice! I was amazed at how much liquid I consumed within that 5 hours at Chatuchak. 

Today's entry is focused on one of the stalls we coincidentally found when we were desperate for some water and a resting area. (Don't even ask me where it is, I have absolutely no idea - I only remember it being opposite stalls selling flowers and some accessories).  We were so thankful that they had a couple of empty seats and wasn't as busy as the other food stalls during lunchtime - it's probably because it was located away from the main entrance. 

We ordered their famous (according to their menu) Fish Ball noodles in clear broth and Thailand's famous Mango stickyrice! We were so glad we stumbled upon this place - their fish balls were so fresh and they tasted so yummy! I don't usually fancy fish balls because they have a weird texture and usually tastes 'fake' but this was really good. Their mango stickyrice was equally awesome - Thailand has the sweetest mangoes and they are so cheap! We probably only spend about AUD 4 for that meal - AMAZING!!

Chatuchak Market Part II, Bangkok

Who knew shopping could be THIS tiring. Coupled with Bangkok's scorching hot weather, outdoor shopping was such a challenge - the minute you walk out of the shower, just wanna head back in again! But shopping at Chatuchak took it to the next level - it was especially hot because there were not many trees providing shades and even if you shop along the shaded stalls the humidity is just suffocating.

A huge tip to surviving Chatuchak would be to constantly hydrate yourself - drink lots of water and juice! I was amazed at how much liquid I consumed within that 5 hours at Chatuchak. 

Today's entry is focused on one of the stalls we coincidentally found when we were desperate for some water and a resting area. (Don't even ask me where it is, I have absolutely no idea - I only remember it being opposite stalls selling flowers and some accessories).  We were so thankful that they had a couple of empty seats and weren't as busy as the other stalls during lunchtime. 

We ordered their famous Fish Ball noodles in clear yet flavorsome broth and Thailand's famous Mango sticky rice! Super happy that we stumbled upon this place - their fish balls were so fresh and they tasted so yummy! I don't usually fancy fish balls because they have a weird texture and usually tastes 'fake' but this was really good. Their mango sticky rice was equally awesome - Thailand has the sweetest mangoes and they are so cheap! We probably only spend about AUD 4 for that meal - AMAZING!!