KIN by us.

last friday was technically my last day of holidays since i had work on the weekend before uni started, so i decided to make the most out of it by going out to eat (:

finally contestants from a cooking show has opened a cafe in sydney. i've been watching master chef and mkr continuously, 7th year this year, and no one has opened a cafe in sydney after they left the show. uel and shanelle from last year's mkr opened up their cafe in macquarie. it's a short walk from macquarie centre, and since they're youth workers, it's opened mon-sat 7am-3pm.

we got there a bit after 2pm, and they said they weren't taking anymore people since they have no food left. after some pleading to get in since i know i won't have time to come here when uni starts, we got seated, but were told we could only get toast and coffee, which is what we ordered initially. the person said that food runs out at around 1pm, and it's best to get there at 11am.

fully open kitchen

decor

too excited and didn't realise this photo was out of focus until i got home...

after we ordered the toast, a person then came to tell us they still had enough to make one more congee and salmon, so we ordered them even though they're the more expensive dishes. we then wanted to cancel the added egg on the toast since those dishes have egg, but uel said they alread made it but would take it off the bill. in the end it wasn't taken off since he forgot to tell the person getting the bill for us. normally i would complain, but since it was their third day of opening and they let us in when they weren't taking anymore people, and managed to still make the last meals of the day for us, i didn't want to cause trouble over a $2 egg.

toast: homemade coconut jam-$7, onsen egg-$2, capp-$3.50, mocha w/melted choc-$5.50

the most expensive piece of toast i've had so far, but this coconut jam was so good. the last time i had this was when devon cafe visited out uni last year with their pandan magic muffins topped with a bit of coconut jam. this toast was slathered in it-could eat this jam every morning. added the egg since i wanted to try more things as they only allowed us to get toast. the coffees were a little bit on the runny side, but not too strong. mocha wasn't sweet which was nice. do not understand how the waitresses balance the coffee, since they're on wooden board on one side, which isn't light and can easily spill since it's not centred when you pick it up...

miso yummy: miso salmon, sesame spinach, onset eggs, sourdough-$17

this dish reminded me a bit of devon's salmon dish. the salmon was a bit on the small side but was cooked perfectly. would have preferred more miso flavour. loved the runny eggs on the bread.

congee-$17

quite pricey for congee. in HK, you can get a super large portion of authentic congee for $15HK ($2.50AUD). you can tell the difference with this since their chicken broth used was so rich and full of flavour. tasted better than MSG without actually having MSG (i hope). the quail egg inside was quite big. the congee itself was a bit more watery than what we normally have, but i guess it's their style. loved how they fried off to finish with their chinese doughnut. it's a lot more doughy inside, compared to HK version of super brown and more hollow inside. heaps of people ordered the congee.  in hatted restaurants, congee cost over $30, so everyone does their own take of congee, with an added price...

lunch for 2 (:

super cute and good idea for the sugar. just poor it out instead of using your spoon. my mum wanted to buy one haha

loved this cafe, staff was super friendly and food was delicious. i got a photo with uel and shannelle, but the person taking it didn't focus it...

spent the morning finding $20 gift vouchers from T2 (:

Third Year

once again, i am grateful to have made it to another year and another semester. can't believe we're already in third year.

bro started uni today and was like "never going to catch the same bus as you," turns out he ended up catching the same bus as me.

having another mini dilemma-not sure whether to do my 2nd gen ed subject during this sem. the one i found is from the law faculty and is fully run online, but there are over 20 pages of reading each week, online discussion and over 1/2 hour videos plus weekly quizzes. over 3 hours needed, and i just don't know what to write. even though the finals are online and open book, i'm not sure if i can structure my answers properly. science assignments are similar to med assignments, but i probs can't use the same type of "feel" in a law essay...the subject is interesting, but i have a feeling i won't be able to do good in it, which is a problem...

definitely don't want to do my gen ed during 4th year, so another option is to do it during summer, but i want to work/go on holidays during the summer which you obviously can't do during uni.

and it's vital to pass 3rd year. so it's ideal to only do 3 subjects this sem. what's worse is that originally one of our subjects didn't need you to pass the final to pass the course. last year, everyone put in their CATEI that was a positive that the finals wasn't a hurdle. now they've changed it for our year to make it a hurdle since everyone was studying for the other optom exam. screw you previous 3rd years, just made our exam a lot harder. apparently for that subject last year, only 3 people turned up to the last lecture, which means the optom exam and contents is going to be super hard. so not sure if i should just stick with 3 subjects for now, the do something during summer, but miss out on holidays ):

decisions, decisions.

spontaneously went to tom n toms today. finally had their toast

garlic with cheese and honey butter bread $8.80 each 

i normally don't eat whipped cream, but this tasted pretty good, and loved the cinnamon in it. the garlic one was nice but i like the honey one better, not overly sweet and still yum. i do prefer taiwanese style honey toast though...

Internet-finally!

for the past 10 days, our internet has been capped for on peak, and our new internet company finally activated today!

can't believe we reached the limit halfway through the month. our whole family had to survive without wifi internet for 10 days. didn't help that i only had 100mb of phone data to last me for the last 7 days as well.

seriously, this month in february consisted of 4 days road trip, then working for the last 3 weeks, yet we already reached our limit. i streamed a bit, but not that much. on the other hand, my brother has been home most of the month...even went to uni the other day just for the wifi and doing enrolment stuff which couldn't really wait until today when our internet activated. our house can't get cable, but that's another story for another time. been so busy that i don't even have time to write up on my travels...

don't even have time to update my laptop...

so much to catch up on. already behind in uni when uni hasn't even officially started. why do i already feel this stress D=

The Boatshed, Balmoral Beach

Happy chinese new year! nope, don't really celebrate it. had work last night, but i don't mind. i don't understand any chinese traditions...

anyways, got called to not work today. was planning to go to a bbq, but spontaneously drove to Mosman. I've been wanting to go to the Boatshed for a long time. my parents went a few weeks ago, but I had work that day so couldn't go.

basically it's kind of like the grounds, but sea-themed. heaps of crowds even on weekdays, and hard to find free parking. plenty of ticketed parking on weekdays, but not even on weekends. ended up parking up a hill, about 5 min walk because parking at these places isn't cheap.

love the view

you have to find a table first, then you go up to order and pay. there aren't a lot of tables, and each table doesn't have many seats. like you can fit around 2 more people on each table. on the bigger tables, it mainly seated 2 people each, but could have seated more. so it's a lot more spacious compared to the grounds. food is pricier here because you're paying for the view and location

mango smoothie-$8, cap-$4

wasn't a lot of mango flavour but still nice and thick. probably because mango season is ending...the coffee is nice for those who don't like their coffee to strong. love the anchor design. but i wished it was in a blue cup instead of red lol.

burger and chips-$24

this was super duper feeling, even though i had half of it (didn't even eat dinner tonight). the chips here are better than the grounds, and my mum prefers these as well. they're slightly more oily, but less brown and more golden. the potato melts more in your mouth. each table has himalayan pink salt and organic pepper! this didn't need any extra seasoning, and normally i don't add extra salt/pepper to my food, but it's such high class stuff here for a cafe, so i added a tad

veggie plate-$22

zucchini flowers!

it doesn't look filling, but it was. yay for zucchini flowers! not sure what falafels are made of, but these were a bit dry. luckily there was avo so it actually complemented it nicely (: doesn't look like a lot of falafel, but there was more than enough to dip the crackers in it. i think it's always interesting to try vegetarian stuff, since i don't have it at home, and it's good to cut back on the meat at times

open kitchen!

only saw 4 chefs working, but the food came out so quickly

burnt butter and vanilla cake-$6

takeaway is $5, but eat in is nicer. loved how it was actually quite a light cake, instead of a buttery dense cake, and not too sweet. the icing sugar wasn't that sweet either. had to have dessert even though we were super full since we did come all the way out here. apparently there other popular cake is their carrot cake, but not a big fan of that. 

mostly outdoor seating. luckily not too sunny today!

mainly the place was filled with young (but you can tell they were rich) mothers with their babies, grandparents with their grand kids, or non-working wives. almost all tables ordered bottles of wine. it's that view that you would drink to. 

what a massive house and waste of land space. houses here in mosman are pretty cool

all that land wasted for statue things. the house goes even further down, so it's quite big irl

Anita Gelato and The Potting Shed (The Grounds Take 3)

driving in the city in peak hour is the worst. buses going in and out of their bus lane to their bus stops, taxis stopping in the middle of the road, pedestrians crossing without looking. 

had to do some stuff today with mum in the city, but finally walked time to had for Anita Gelato, and first time going to Central Park. actually, we just went there for the gelato, no time to actually look around the shops. hardly ever pass this side of the city.

jumbo size: cookie man, blueberry with meringue, chestnut-$8

the cookie man flavour was recommended by that guy, and i do love it! texture wise, this gelato isn't as smooth as cow and the moon, and also not as flavourful compared to Messina. it was nice, but portion wasn't that big. the person didn't spoon it out nicely, that presentation =/

had to pick some stuff up and passed The Grounds along the way back. i've been wanting to go to the potting shed for a long time now, and i guess today was good timing since the grounds were closing up for the day, whilst the potting shed is opened until late. it's a different atmosphere, and i love the decor! menus on copper clipboard with hand tools, pottery-like cups, toilet with purposely rusting taps and looking super old. even more plants around the place compared to the normal cafe/outdoors.

Toiler's tonic-$16

description, as if i can remember all that

when you sit down, they confirm with you your at the potting shed and no coffee is served here. i think many people before have given up waiting in line at the main cafe then go here, but then are disappointed that there's no coffee. they have heaps of drinks here, and since it was hot today, i decided to try a cocktail. wanted something sweet, but kind of wish it was sweeter. the ginger beer was quite subtle, and the basil gave it an interesting kick

kurobuta pork belly sliders-$15

on the pricey side, but it was yum. the kim chi was surprisingly nice with that sour flavour and a good amount of chilli, well the amount where i can handle which is slight chilli and no water needed to give the whole slider a kick. for other people, you probably won't even taste the chilli in there. the crackling was so, so crunchy, and pork was soft, but not melt in your mouth. first time having charcoal buns, but lucky no charcoal after taste.

slow cooked grain-fed angus short rib with sweet and sour glaze, spiced eggplant-$23

the beed was so soft, but would have preferred if there was less fat on it. the sauce was amazing-not your typical asian sweet and sour sauce (obviously), but it elevated the whole dish. the eggplant was too charred for our liking, and would have liked more spice. did you know i use to hate eggplant. actually, i only eat eggplant when i dine out since just plain eggplant is still kind of gross for me. i love most foods, just eggplants was one of those foods i answered to "most disgusting food" when i was younger.

the potting shed is more pricey, and portions weren't massive. the idea is to share your food, so without asking, they gave us these really cute pottery/ceramic bowls. it is a different experience with the whole bar. even in the afternoon, there were quite a few people dining there with a few drinks. i think i still prefer The Grounds Cafe.

driving around the city and surrounding place, and going past all these place i wanted to eat in surry hills/newtown, but no time/place to stop to try something from places which i have been wanting to go for a while...oh well, the thing with doing a degree which is 5 years gives you more time to try out places instead of wasting money frequently eating out, if that makes sense...

bills and The Lobby Lounge

finally met up with Shirley after a long time. so good catching up on holidays and talking about fashion over food (:

been wanting to go bills for a while since it's by Bill Granger who is a celebrity chef, but not a massive one, which does explain why the cost of stuff here is a bit pricier than your average cafe. also, my parents have been here before, so I wanted to try it...

ricotta hotcakes, banana and honeycomb butter 20.00, regular coffee: flat white and cap: $3.90

the pancakes were quite fat and filling, with bits of ricotta inside, but i guess it wasn't amazing, and wished there was more maple syrup...these were more dry/fluffy compared to your normal butter pancakes.

zucchini fritters, deep fried egg, haloumi, parsley salad, tahini yoghurt and pickles $23.50 

we chose this since we both haven't had zucchini fritters and deep fried egg before. wished there was a runny yolk inside...the fritters were nice, but again not amazing. was pretty full from that meal, probably because of all that oil in deep fried stuff and butter from the pancakes.

dessert at the Lobby Lounge!

citrus tart-$5, Anna's mess-$9.50

really get disappointed when food looks bigger in photos than irl. the Anna's mess looked really cool with those holes, but was quite small and probs a bit too much white chocolate. the inside had a mousse, but would have preferred the rose flavour to be a tad stronger. 

the citrus tart was quite nice, but had a super tough cookie base. i liked how it wasn't too sweet and balanced nicely with the lemony, grapefruit (?) mousse. yay for meringue pieces!

i think i mentioned this before, but nowadays i can't each as much as i used to ): what happened to my stomach space...so this made me super full until dinner, where i only had a little bit to eat. getting old.

this day has yet to mean something special.

actually got to work late today since i was trying to fix my alarm clock last night, but then it screwed up and didn't work this morning ):

thanks for the surprise visit yesterday Dandelion and Happy Apple! aww, so thoughtful of you guys. blessed to have friends like you. even only seeing you guys for a bit. yay for perfect timing! just got back from work and changed, then you guys arrived (before I left again).

yay choc roses

so like Happy Apple, my Opal card came yday. too bad i needed it in 30min from when i got back home to see the letter to when i had to leave, but it takes 60min to activate! damn you opal card activation. why is australia so slow in everything? it's actually around 50c more expensive for a single bus ride to the city, since it's just one bus to the city. only if i take 2 or more buses in one go it'll be cheaper. should still buy a travel ten for these single bus journeys only to the city....but just tapping off will take some getting use to...

met up with friends whom i haven't seen in maybe a year. green peppercorn again.

pad see we with beef-$12.90

it was way too salty. only reason i took a photo was because the sauce looks cool, but it made it really salty. i shared this with someone, so i only ate half, and it was still pretty salty. also had a pandan creme brûlée, since the last 2 times i was here i also ordered that...so it's kind of normal now to order that for dessert here

the flower shop today extended it's opening hours (obviously). when i walked past my local italian restaurant, i thought it was odd that it was quite empty for 5pm. on closer inspection, i realised all the tables were reserved lol.