Busy Weekend

Twins will always be twins. Not only do Jane and I were born on the same day but we also had a little gathering at our place on the same day. In different countries though...

We didn't plan together. We found out about it when I mentioned to Jane that we would have a potluck at my place on Saturday. Then she screamed "ME TOO!" What a coincident!

Dad and Mum were away from town at the weekend and I took this rare chance to demolish my mum's empire - her years of creation; her collection of food in the kitchen. Like Jane, I kinda regretted for making myself so busy and exhausted! I actually spent two days tidying up the kitchen! Yup, that's how much things we have in that little kitchen alone. I couldn't even bring myself to think about cleaning the whole house. It will be a nightmare for sure!

In between, I had to get ready for the potluck too. Hundreds of recipes went through my mind. I really wanted to turn those gourmet meals I've imagined all these years into reality but due to time constraint and my limited cooking skills, I made Coleslaw and Sago Milk. They are not as easy as expected OK. A lot of time and skills are still required. I slided my fingers into the blade when I did the carrot *ouch* [got my blood & sweat!]. Also, I manually extracted the coconut milk with hands.. *hard work*

I almost gave up half way through the cleaning and cooking. Doing two things at one time was really not fun! Why would anyone bring this onto oneself? Because...... to achieve many things in one go! Greedy but the end-result is satisfying provided you do not quit half way. And, Jenn is no quitter! :p

I did manage to shrink my mum's empire a bit. Found many gems during the demolition process. And we all had a lot of fun (& food) last night :) Just look at the food we had. It's making me hungry all over again ;p

Looks like somebody is hungrier than I'm

My Hobby. My Passion.

I don't know about other people but I find supermarkets an exciting place, like kids finding playground a place full of fun....

A local supermarket near our apartment in Melbourne

I visit a supermarket even though I've nothing to buy. Weird I know. It's like a hobby, a passion of mine. People can understand if it's window-shopping for clothes. But this??? Nobody can understand. Wait, probably my mum can ;p It's just pure fun to check out what's new, what's popular, what should've been a hit but not and what's on offer.

Jane hates going to the supermarkets with me because I ALWAYS take ages to come out from the maze. Hehe, I get lost easily in mountains full of all kind of interesting products from all over the world. How can one not when there are so much to see and think?!

'Just what do you do in the supermarket?' Jane asked me when we were in Melbourne. 'You just went to one yesterday, why do u want to go again?' 'Huh? You have things to buy, AGAIN?!'.... Shhhhh, Jane, you are distracting me! You asked too many questions! ;p

Supermarket is like a Disneyland to me. I touch everything I see and examine stuff with interesting labels/packaging. It's fun I tell u. I read the labels and imagine how it would taste in real life. Then I do a little modifications of mine in my mind - what would go well with it, what else to add in to give it an extra taste, when to eat it, how to eat it.

With things I see, I make up a 5 course meal in my mind. I do sound like a very pro chef, don't I? Sadly, in real life, I am not a very good cook BUT I'm a very good eater. I just love to eat :)

Very often, I stand there with my mouth watering, dreaming about eating the stuff I just make up. Hey, I get to eat 5 course meal without paying anything and what's more, I don't have to worry about gaining weight :)

Ahhh... I kill two birds with one stone! Wanna join me next time? Creative imagination required though :)

Cherished Moments

Family trip to Melbourne was great. Wish it never had to come to an end *dreaming*

When people asked me what we did during the trip, I found myself speechless and thinking very very hard til my brain hurt.

We didn't have a fixed itinerary like we had for other trips. No plans, no rush basically. Sometimes, we didn't do much in a day. Everyday, we would go somewhere for a stroll. When mum got tired, we would rest in our apartment or a cafe/restaurant. Then we would go somewhere and when mum got tired, we'd rest again. Then out and rest again.....

I would say this trip is about family and FOOD. Lots and lots of food. Like, eating 7 times a day! From sunrise til sunset. Each time mum felt tired, we would find a cafe/restaurant and had something to eat. Anything.

I ate so much til I puked (what a sinful act!), had upset stomach and lost my appetite. Despite all these conditions, I continued to eat. It was simply not right to sit there and watch my family enjoying food!! It was crazy but heaps of fun!

All my family members love food and it only makes sense that we spend quality family time by doing our most favourite activity :) Now I know why I love and enjoy food so much. The mystery is finally unveiled!

Some of my favourite holiday pictures:

Steak Attack!

Waiting for lunch to be serve at Chandon, Yarra Valley

Enjoying scones, milkshake, Cappuccino, hot choc &
each other's companionship near a park at Healesville
(Right after lunch at Chandon)

Gigantic Burger at Port Campbell

Jane - while waiting for desserts to be served

Jenn - playing with drinks while waiting for my grilled honey-glazed pork ribs & nachos!

Happy family - Paul, Florence and tiny Isabelle

1,2,3... JUMP!

This one is funny.
It's like we are doing groovy dancing moves behind my mum's back

"Look! Desserts!"

A surprise (& very early) b'day cake for Helena!
Queen Victoria Market
Red capsicums are damn cheap in Melb.
Ate so much that i now look 'orange-y'

Forever together

Jenn's Snack

I'm very into chickpeas lately. So, I roasted some last Saturday.

Taste pretty good! Love the crunchiness! Yummm....

I finished the whole thing in no time. Ahhh... roasted chickpeas... i can eat lots and lots of those. Without feeling guilty ;)

Does anyone have a can of beer that I can 'borrow'?

Robbed

It's a very unlucky day for my mum today. She got robbed! ROBBED in broad daylight!!

Both my sister and mum were in the car when it happened. Mum who just got into the car felt very hot so she had the window fully down. Suddenly, a black arm came in from outside and 'gently' took away her handbag!! Gently, like it didn't require any effort at all....

Instinctively, my sister chased after the motorbike. And mum who desperately wanted her handbag back, instinctively wanted to catch the snatch thieves so she ordered my sister to hit the motorbike. And the scary part is, my sister took her order and did manage to hit the bike with the car but not hard enough to cause them to fall down. The thieves escaped of course.

I am thankful that both my mum and sister are okay and that they didn't kill the thieves (although they deserve it). At least there wouldn't be a headline in the newspaper tomorrow - 'Mother & daughter put in jail for reckless driving'.

p/s: gotta be careful these days. This is the month that thieves are most active because Hari Raya is just around the corner. Sometimes I wonder, how do these ppl have the strength to steal during fasting month....

On & On i go about Sapa, Vietnam

Here. My last post on my Vietnam trip.

VERY outdated I know hehe.... Still, I must talk about it. Just to give my Vietnam trip a proper closing. My previous posts about Sapa can be revisited here and here....


Tan Van - Ze Zhao - Sapa Town

I woke up just in time to see the sun burning a hole in the sky. The day of the farmers and buffaloes had already started and were already working hard in the paddy fields. As it was still hours from our breakfast, we took a stroll to the morning 'market' which is a few kilometres away from our cottage. We stopped by a grocery store (aka someone's living room) where we bought Vietnamese popcorns (plain and chewy), rice bubbles (sweet & crunchy) and 10 farm chicken eggs (fresh & energy booster) . All were great!

6am - An older Brother lovingly taking care of his younger brother

Older brother left crying brother behind...
He did come back for him & gently wrapping his crying brother's hand in his

After our pancakes with bananas breakfast and our free range chicken eggs, we left our cottage to the Village of Red Zhao tribe.

Up & UP & UP we climbed *puff*

Jenn, staring into the beautiful scenery

In Red Zhao's house. Grandma Red Zhao beside me

After 4 hours of climb, it was finally time for lunch! While waiting for our tour guide to cook for us, a Black H'mong gal kept asking me to buy something from her. I must have looked very friendly because everyone seemed to like to ask me to buy things! haha... Her persistence paid off. I bought a handmade belt at a very cheap price. So cheap that I almost felt guilty ;P She spent 3 months making it!

Gigantic Jenn, Littler Belt Maker & my new belt

Vietnamese noodle + fried egg. Simple yet satisfying

After another hour of climb, we finally arrived at the main road where we sped thru the winding road back to Sapa town in a jeep. It was hard to believe that our 2 days of jungle trekking = short 10 mins car ride! But then, it's worth every sweat to jungle trekked in the hot sun. It's the journey that makes everything interesting. The Chinese is right 读万卷书不如走千里路 (reading millions of books can't beat travelling thousand miles). One definitely learns more by seeing the world in person!

I'm a person who keep my words. After a fresh and relaxing shower in our hotel, we headed off to Highlands Bakery where I had a hard time choosing what to indulge in. Everything looked so bloody tasty, esp after such a long climb! So in the end, we decided that each of us should order something different so we could try as many varieties as we could. It was a heavenly feeling to finally realise my wants! :)

Just fresh out from the oven. The fragrance of baked bread - Heavenly!

Our very 'French' looking hotel

Cat Cat Village

It was drizzling on the our final (3rd day) day in Sapa. Despite the wetness, the scenery remained beautiful.

Beautiful Cat Cat Village

Waterfall in Cat Cat village

Local Family

Me waiting for my BBQ Potato. Hurry Up, I'm starving...

Crossing thru rice paddy terrace

Heaven Gate

Getting up there requires a lot of strength and it wasn't easy if you'd just done a 15 hours of intensive jungle trekking earlier on. If you miss this, you will regret. The place is simply heavenly, just like its name! It was so misty up there that I felt like I were a little fairy in heaven! Where are my wings?

This way to the Clouds... That way to Heaven...

The Gate to Heaven behind me!

At Cloud Yard. That's Sapa town behind me

I don't mind taking an 8 hour train ride + 1 hour of bus ride to Sapa again. It truly deserves all the effort :)

Food Spree in Melb

Jenn is home. So sad that our family trip has ended - the part I hoped wouldn't happen.

We all had a crazy time in Melbourne. Mum did what she always does - stuffing us with food every few hours. Hearty homecooked breakfast at 8am; breakfast in local cafe at 10am; dim sum in Chinatown at 1pm; cakes and hot chocolate at 3pm; dinner at 7pm; more cakes and drinks at 9pm... So well-fed til all of us look like stuffed turkeys

Mum's fat kids

- Luckily we were behind our bro ;p

There were a couple of times when i felt sick at the sight and smell of food! I can't believe I felt that way because I live to eat! But maannnn.. When there is no more room for more food, it's torture.

Everything looks so finger-licking good!! Everything screams 'eat me!'! And there i stood, feeling sorry for myself. Why did God give cows 4 stomach and only 1 for human beings? Life is so unfair....

A cake shop at St Kilda
We took AGES to select
How to choose when i want everything?
There are MORE in the store

Waiting for food at Lucky Chan (owned by Jacky Chan)
How come he didn't come over to say HI?

One of the restaurants in Crown
My White Flounder on gigantic white plate
Looked so plain and unappetising....
(quite tasty lah :>)