Sake Jr.

Pitt St Mall food court on level 5 has changed quite a bit recently. On their first day of opening they had  500 bowls for free, and I made it just in time to grab a freebie and try this place out.

It's kind of a new concept with Japanese food (not run by Japanese), and a modern fusion of other cuisines. You line up to pick a base, a protein, a sauce, and then unlimited veggies and other toppings/ garnish and they fill your bowl in front of you. Each one costs $15. They also have other sushi, juices and snacks available,

so many choices...

Bao bun, black bean wagyu beef, beans, sweet corn, seaweed

There was quite a lot of stuff going on even though they didn't feel the bowl to the brim. They gave me 3 bao buns, and chose this since I haven't had them for a while. The bad thing about them is that they soak up too much of the sauce/drssing so because soggy after a while rather than moist. The guy tried to get the beef from the bottom since the top was dusted in chilli in the serving bowl. Beef was tender, but tasted like normal beef rather than wagyu. It was quite oily and saucy as well. Veggies were well dressed in their own sauces/dressings, plus the apple soy ginger, hence at the bottom of the bowl you have all this liquid. I think udon would have been a better choice, or else try to pick things whivh aren't already cooked in sauce to avoid a mix of saltiness when you reach halfway. 

This was surprsingly not sweet. The cookie was really thin and soft without being crumbly, and chocolate layer was quite thin. Red bean strawberry flavour was subtle, but better than being artificially sweet. Would actually recomment this ice cream sandwich, probably the least sweet one I've had. I have a sweet tooth, but when you combine a sweet cookie plus sweet ice cream it's too much (unless it's not artifically flavoured...)

Gaynetto

This time of year when we start stocking our 4 fridges with ice cream, hehe.

It's even more disappointing than the ice-cream. They are on sale at woolies, 4 for $5 (normally $7), but they're only 70g each, so super light compared to normal Cornettos from my childhood days...Couldn't taste much of that crumb which is pretty much the best part of a normal Golden Gaytime. There was too much chocolate sauce on top an too much chocolate at the bottom of the cone. The ice cream itself lacked flavour. Even the tub version has more of that toffee and vanilla flavour, although the crumb is weirdly soggy. The original paddle pop remains the best.

The sermon today was a really good reminder of God's grace. Just like a download, if it stops at 1% or 99%, it has still failed. No matter what how great or small things we have achieved or not achieved, we have all fallen short, and only through God's grace we are not lost but saved (:

Four Ate Five

This place had been on my list to eat for over 3 years, and finally decided to come here for a long overdue catchy up!

2xbaked eggs and 2xcapps

baked eggs: almonds, feta, moroccan tomato sauce, toast-$18

this yolk was good (the other a bit too cooked)

I heard good things about the baked eggs here so was keen to try it, and my first and last baked eggs for Winter. The first bite was good, but after the second, I knew it was going to get even more salty. I think the feta was a nice addition to add some creaminess, luckily they did hold back since it would've gotten even more salty. Loved the almonds for a bit of crunch. One of the eggs were cooked well, and both eggs looked like it covered the whole dish, but I thought there was a bit too much tomato in proportion with the egg. There was a good amount of spice in the tomatoes, just too much salt, not enough acidity or something to break through all the salt. The bread was toasted nicely, but not enough bread to help balance out the sauce as well.

regular cappuccino-$4 (soy behind, extra 50c)

Coffee was decent, and price of $4 is expected for Surry Hills, but we were a bit disappointed that both coffees weren't filled to the rim. Where is the lovely nice layer of foam you would normally find in a capp? It was a good drinkable temperature, but I think it could have been a bit more milkier. Flavour of the coffee wasn't overly strong.

iPhone 7

Looking back at my blog posts, i actually did give some thoughts on previous iPhone 4s/5/5s and various iOS, but not 6 and 6s. I guess things did change with Steve Jobs passing, and although I completely love Apple and iPhone, it's not as innovative as I would've imagined. Also still sticking to my current iPhone 5 because of it's nice size which fits into pockets, and small pockets inside my handbags and wristlets/pouches.

Finally a water resistant iPhone! Not water proof though...so not sure if I can take photos underwater with it...I'm used to having one port on my current MacBook, but at least there's a separate headphone jack. Even though I'm the weird person who doesn't listen to music, I still like to watch my Snapchats  vids with earphones, and half the time I use my noise cancelling earphones to block out surrounding sounds. People are definitely gonna lose those $200+ AirPods. Also for once, the iPhone isn't slimmer. It used to get slimmer every year until the iPhone 6. I guess they have to change other features, and pause the thinning process for now. The Jet Black looks super shiny on the website, wonder what it'll look like irl.

Apparently there's not gonna be a 7s next year, rather an iPhone 8 since it'll be the 10th yr of the iPhone. 8 is one of my fav numbers (because August and other stuff), so hope my phone can last till then...

Forced myself to go swimming this morning but couldn't go for long since I had to rush back to shower then catch up hourly bus to uni. Had an ulterior motive: exercise then eat burgers and chips for lunch.

Not sure if you guys read this, but thanks to my Optom girls for the tde and Pandora! The latter was unexpected haha. Can't wait to use them! The packaging is so on point as well. With presents, it's always the thought that counts, so thanks <3

It was a good surprise after another long day at uni, to the point I didn't even have time to unbox the gifts until I got back home. Was so tired yday that I wasted a practice session since I didn't get a patient...

I know I screwed up mid sem (my one and only for this sem) yday. Got all the 'easy' questions wrong, and changed answers to the wrong ones... wasn't thinking straight.... At least I recognised the words unlike first sem where there were all these drug names which I haven't seen before...and we're technically supposed to know the stuff from last year...Regret not getting a coffee since I was so close to sleeping in the exam. I knew I didn't try/really study for the exam, so can't really complain that much. You know when you try your best and then still do bad, then that feels worse, which wasn't the case this time round...goodbye easy marks...

I think I'e been oversleeping...so tired each day...

The Tea Room-High Tea

I haven't been here since 4.5 years ago, so it was nice to be back again to celebrate a friend's birthday. The Tea Room was my first authentic high tea experience, and one of the best I've been to. This visit was just as lovely.

decor goals

Afternoon high tea set-$45pp

Vanilla tea

I fell in love with chai tea here all those years ago, since their chai was one of the best. I was actually a bit sick that day, but still wanted something strong and flavourful since my senses were a bit down, so opted for this black tea. I was expecting more spice and vanilla in it, but this tea was a bit subtle. Only pouring the second cup (and before refilling the tea pot), the flavours where there. Otherwise, the flavours really disappeared towards the end when I refilled it over 3 times (some good tea leaves are still able to retain their flavours even if you rebrew it a few times).

scones (plain or with raisans) with scone or jam

It's a bit different when dinig with large groups, since they put 3 sets onto one stand, and combine all the tea milks for half the table (which gets a bit inconvenient). You have jam to share between four, and have to pass the scones around. 

savouries

Last time I remembered have this spinach and cheese pastry, and another buttery pastry. This time it seems healthier and there's more of a fusion of Eastern flavours. We had Peking Duck, which didn't really havy crsipy skin, but there was a decent portion of duck (one of my fav proteins), leek and spinach quiche and a tomatoey biscuit (I was too excited with the food I didn't really here the explanations of what each thing was exactly). I think I prefer 3 small savouries rather than 2 big filling ones.

finger sandwiches: curry chicken, egg mayo, tomato and cheese, cucumber and cream cheese (for those who are allergic to egg), mixture of white/wholemeal/multigrain bread.

The main change is that they offer complimentary sandwiches after you finished the ones you have initially! How exciting, but as I'm getting older, unfortunately I can't eat as much..but did have more than the standard 3 sandwiches....I quite like the curry chicken, not too spicy/ Also the cream cheese w/ cucumber was super refreshing and surprisingly light. The egg was good as well, but you do feel quite full after it. The cheese one had a bit too thick layer of cheese in comparison to the tomato. last experience had 2 flavours of sandwiches, but they were bigger portions. I also like smaller but more variety.

dessert tier

strawberry and passionfruit cheesecake

Most of use liked this dessert the most. Strawberry jelly layer with a good balance of slightly acidic passionfruit. The cheesecake itself wasn't too dense. The fruit tart was average, custard not too sweet and pastry shell relatively thin. My fresh raspberry was sweet whilst my friend had a sour one, so can't really predict it, but that's what fresh fruit is like.

blueberry and pistachio macaroon

I was most disappointed when they didn't have macarons but macaroons (I think they only have macarons on weekends or just some days). Macarons are pretty much my favourite dessert item, but I guess it's good to try something different. Macaroon is a coconut based dessert, and this was quite light without it being too crumbly or sweet.

chocolate gateau

Saved this at the end, and pretty much we were all in a food coma. I can eat a lot, but even for me, I was struggling to finish this dessert. it's quite rich and a bit on the sweet side, not enough bitterness from the dark choc. The bottom layer of hazelnut was quite hard to cut into. Managed to finish it in the end since I hate wasting food. Last time there were 6 desserts rather than 4. I guess they didn't have a cheesecake last time. (Not going to link my previous post 4.5 years ago because the photos and blogging style, well, quite different back in those high school days...)

Service was good, although at times it was hard to get their attention since we were in the corner. They did frequently top up our tea pots/water (previous experience here we had to ask them rather than they checking our tea pots and coming around).

It's a classic high tea place to go to, with a bit of history and lovely decor. Won't be disappointed if you haven't been high tea before and don't know where to go (:

Rotation 3: Internal Meltdown

Stressed and it's not even optom related.

This week I realised I can never be one of those people who spend hours on the phone each day. Spent over 5 hours on my phone this week, and also experienced  4 days without internet.

So last week we upgraded our plan to have my data, and they said that we could get cable. The technician never came, and before we knew, they cut our ADSL line on Monday. Luckily I had night clinic on Monday night which didn't really affect me much, but the phone calls during those few days could've been spent study/doing assignments.

Scheduled another technician to come, only to go to our neighbours house even though they were supposed to come to our house, and they said we provided the wrong address. I ALREADY CONFIRMED THE ADDRESS TWICE, SECOND TIME THE NIGHT BEFORE. How can they even get the address wrong when we just automatically upgraded our plan online??? Then called again since our internet was still down, and scheduled another guy, who didn't even turn up on Wednesday.

By this time, I came to the realisation I'm going to do badly in my mid sem next week, and under so much stress. My brother/mum called and managed to schedule a guy for Thursday. THE GUY CAME, but he was the same guy who came last year when we initially joined Telstra and said we weren't eligible for cable. But head office says we are, and our neighbours have cable, which meant the guy was just lazy to install it. So after some persistence on my Mum's part, and getting him to provide his ID number and going to make a compliant since he was like, 'Oh, I might come back on Saturday with some new cables.' But who freaking installs stuff on the weekend, esp those big companies who only work Mon-Fri? and that'll be a full week without internet at home, and apparently ADSL connection codes take a few days to activate once they turned it off.

I WAS SO FRIKKEN ANGRY I COULD STRANGLE SOMEONE. WHY WERE WE NOT INFORMED OF SOMEONE CUTTING OF OUR INTERNET, AND WHY DO WE CALL BUT NOTHING EVER HAPPENS OR PEOPLE DON'T SHOW UP???

The guy actually came back on Thurs afternoon, probably because I was calling at uni and got transferred to the complaints officer, who was the 4th person I talked to that day. Was on the phone for a full 2 hours and my battery drained quickly. I am 99% sure after 9pm, all the calls get transferred somewhere else (like India, because all I heard was Indians talking, not being racist, but they don't seem like they know what they're doing). So pissed that I couldn't be bothered dealing with crowds to get freebies on VFNO.

Then we finally got cable installed! Since they had to go to our roof and had to do extra work/bring extra people, they probably ceebs the first time round. 

By the way, Telstra people pick up the phone ASAP, but they are so messy with their admin work and transfer you to a million people.

Lesson learnt: always get the employee name and ID number, and reference telephone number. Never got a reference telephone number, but if you ask those details, they're more inclined to do stuff.

Cable is indeed fast, and doesn't slow down when there's rain/wind (I live in the Hills so can't avoid big winds...).

I personally called at least 10 people, and my Mum/Dad/bro also called at least 3 people each, and none of them seemed to follow up on each other or make notes on our file about what was happening. Like I was getting a quote from a contractor to instal cables, but at home they were already installing stuff. Please, talk to each other! Overall, called at least over 20 people.

The billing is still screwed up even though they said we got some credit from the whole ordeal. I'll deal with that later. And the Telstra Air app is screwed as well, since it says activated on the account, but I can't log in to the app. Again, worry about that after the exam. 

There's more to rage on about, but I should spend this ranting time studying...

Then there was today. My laptop doesn't automatically connect to the wifi without entering the wifi password every time. Noooo, why does all this have to happen the week before my only mid sem which I haven't even started studying???

phoning Apple Support

Normally when I call, my problems get resolved pretty quickly, but this time stayed on the phone for over 1.5 hours, after getting transferred to 2 people, and problem still remains unresolved and I have to call them again tmr. Whyyy. All the other devices connect automatically in the house

The only comfort in this whole week was getting some free food (which I'll try to blog about once I actually get some study done and complete my never ending assignments)

Sake Jr: rice bowl

ice cream sandwich

$5 pho

Apart from spending my morning/most of the day this week making phone calls, I think I'll come to like this rotation. 5:30am wake up then arrive back home at 10.30pm, but can wake up after 8 from Tues-Fri (which kind of means wasting study time sleeping).