Tennis 2016 exactly the same as 2013, but just shorter with only 3 sets. It's kind of funny that Murray is again a runner up, although you do feel a tad sorry for him...Lucky it was a short match since I haven't started to pack anything...First time packing for 2 seasons and it's pretty hard. Not sure what to bring and what not too bring while leaving a tad bit of space for shopping...

Finally it feels like holidays! Although it hasn't hit me yet, feels like I'm still going to work...

A lot of food posts too come...don't think I'll have time to blog about each day, it's pretty amazing how some of you guys blog as you go!

First time sleeping by myself at the airport (I've slept at the airport before, but wasn't alone haha). Shall be an interesting experience. I think I actually have to sleep on the plane this time to avoid jet lag...

Sergio's Cake Shop

Another cheap eat during work down on level 1. I actually didn't get any of their cakes or biscuits, but might try it one time, so many on display!

Lunch special: Chicken Lasagna and coffee (capp)-$9.90

(Yes, I'm the person who takes photos of everything)

Not bad for a cheap eat. Super filling, and lasagna was decent (a lot bigger than my previous lasagna brunch encounter). Not too oily or cheesy, with some chicken and tad bit of veggies scattered. It was slightly spicy, maybe due to the sundered tomatoes. They heated it very quickly and I only waited around 5min. Coffee was a bit too hot to touch at first, and hotter than normal. Would have preferred more milk in it, but overall cheap and filling lunch. 

So much heartbreak tonight. Goodbye Federer you did well, but won't be seeing you in the Aus open finals )): So glad I'm not going to see the finals this year, don't want another repeat of 2013 and seeing Murray. Still don't like him, never will. Federer has played so well, just not well enough. He is 6 years older than Djokovic, so definitely explains it, but still so sad ):

Tokyo Ramen

Decided to finally try something at the food court for lunch break at work. Understand why lunch breaks are half an hour, by the time you decide on something, line up, wait for it to cook, then try to enjoy eating it, half and hour easily goes by.

Kitchen is open with three tables inside the shop


menu

Negi-Shoyu Ramen: stir fried roast pork and shallots (without chilli)-$12

Technically it's not really a cheap eat, but you can definitely tell between good and bad quality by looking at it without tasting it. All that oil kind of put me off, and when you ate it, just the gross oily feel lingers on your lips. Bits of pork and quite a lots of the shallots were burnt. Probably msg seasoned, but I guess that's what you expect for food court style here (unlike Chinatown food court with more authentic broths and ramen). Opted to have no chilli in this. The popular options were more Chinese than Japanese dishes. They have quite a lot of typical Chinese food here as well. This ramen was just too salty, oily.  I guess it was a big portion with quite a lot of meat, but still quality isn't good.

Did a first aid training course today (my other one expired a few years ago). It actually was pretty interesting, although I was so tired that I dozed off a tiny bit...Some parts were so boring as well...but hey, easy open book test, full marks and certified.

Cappuccino-$3.50

During lunch I did some shopping, and then decided to finally try this coffee at World Square. I think there's only one size...some places only do one size since it's the perfect balance/ratio. Mocha was an extra $1 so decided to just get a capp. It is so good! I see why it's always so popular. The coffee was the perfect temperature, hot enough but not too hot to touch/burn your tongue. First sip was smooth froth with a tiny hint of chocolate, then not too strong coffee, and milk incorporated well so not watery at all. Yum. I feel like this can turn me into a regular coffee drinker....We actually have a capsule coffee machine at home which we recently got, but no time to make it...actually getting the milk frother out and cleaning it takes the longest...

The dinner at night at My Memory of Shanghai in Eastwood with family and parent's friend. Ceebs  blogging about that place because I am over 10+ post behind. It was surprisingly clean and not too salty/oily for Shanghainese food. The xiao long baos could have been soupier...Currently in a food coma...Shared 8 dishes between 5 people...so much for 'losing weight' before next week. 100% not happening at this rate...

So physically exhausted the past few days...guess getting 6 hours sleep each night just doesn't cut it

Haven't worked so hard in so long compared to the past 2 days. Retagging/price changes is the worst. Have to find the frame, find the new tag, rip off old tag an put on tag labels before putting the tag itself. The tags are ordered randomly, and the frames are just displayed everywhere. Opening, packing, unpacking, lifting, walking, moving, carrying, chucking things for 2 whole days. My back actually does hurt...No break for me until next week...

Unfortunately, did nothing on Australia day apart form work. Ended up staying back 2.5 hours...

Btw, pls don't be stupid like me and post something for 70c and not $1. My letter with contents of $50+ will be forever lost. Didn't have time to put tracking on it ))):

Char Char Food Truck

Food trucks seem to be all the rage recently. Char Char Bar and Grill is from Woollongong, but recently they have a food truck which goes to different parts of Sydney (unlike other food trucks), which is a high plus for me in the Hills area. Last week they were in Norwest/Bella Vista, and I was finally free that night to drive up there.

Food truck

menu

that line at 5:45pm (they opened at 6pm)

Service was quick and efficient. They ended up opening 10mins earlier, and waiting for the food only took about 5mins after ordering. Mainly because everything is cooked and they just need to assemble/heat/pack it. 

milk crates for seats in the car park

foood

Ribs w/ chips-$15

You get a quarter of a rack (3 ribs), which isn't cheap for the price, considering ribs are around $20ish/kg, but then again it's a food truck, and it's obviously it's marinated. They provide you with bibs, wet wipes and tissues, but I ended up taking it home to eat since it started raining and there wasn't any shelter there. The ribs didn't have as much meat as I would have liked. The marinade wasn't as sweet or sticky compared to other ribs. Tasted earthy with more spices and not too salted. There is a difference compared to your normal ribs, but I think I prefer it with more sauce and a sweeter marinade. The chips were pretty bad unfortunately, way too oily, don't think they drained the oil when they deep fried it a second time.

Pulled Beef Burger-$10

Pretty expensive for a take-away food truck style burger, and it was very light in terms of weight as well. I was pleasantly surprised with these flavours in the beef. When they said there was chilli I was worried, but this definitely had a good hit of chilli which I could tolerate which enhanced the flavour of the sauce. It was quite saucy but not drowned in it. The coleslaw was nice and creamy as well, but would have preferred more veggies in it.

Black Star Pastry Strawberry Watermelon Cake for dessert (:

Bar Luca

The original plan was to go to the In and Out Pop up after uni today, and we would've made it at around 11.30am. Thanks to social media, they said they handed out all wristbands available at around 11:15am, so decided to not go. It's better to not try than to line up in almost 40deg heat and then get disappointed when they run out of tickets to give. I was keen, and if i didn't have uni, I would have started lining up at 11am, and 10am the earliest, but there were people there from 6am, which I can't compete with. I would rather go on a plane to America...just need to find the time first

Ended up staying on the bus to go to Bar Luca. We got there before 12pm, and outside (unreserved) seating was all packed. We got seated inside on a high table (since all the low tables were reserved). Did not expect it to be that popular...half the tables were reserved, and it's only lunch on a weekday! I guess it's definitely a favourite for the office workers around here, and I can see why. Been wanting to try this place for a while, so yay!

Wagyu Beef Burger: 200g wagyu pattie, streaky burger, American cheddar, tomato, lettuce, pickles, aioli, house made ketchup-$14

that lettuce

Decided to get this one since I wanted a burger with a bit of everything-meat and veggies. It's decently priced for a place in this part of the city with decent ingredients. The meat wasn't too oily, and surprisingly lean for wagyu, and good too perfection. Not too heavily seasoned, but a good salty flavour from the cheese. Bacon didn't have too much fat on it either. Would have preferred a tad bit more sauce since it was a bit dry compared to the other burger...Bun nice and soft and not too heavy, could definitely squish it down, but presentation and layering (:

Blame Canada: 200g wagyu beef pattie, maple glazed streaky bacon, poutine & maple aioli-$15 w/ shoestring fries-$3

Ended up sharing burgers, and the flavour in this burger is on point-understand why it's their most popular one. Poutine is basically chips with some cheese and gravy. There's also maple bacon which wasn't overly sweet, but it did make this burger super messy to eat. Sauce flowing down from all sides and across your hands. The real way to eat a burger is with your hands, and that's part of the experience. Flavours worked really well together, without one being too salty or sweet. The chips were sprinkled generously with rosemary, but a bit too much salt for my liking. Not too bad for an extra $3.

Sweet potato wedges w/ chipotle aioli-$8

Was hoping for a larger serve, but sharing it between 2 is enough. It's also been covered in rosemary and a bit in the batter for some crunch, which does make it a lot more oilier and unhealthy compared to other sweet potato chips. The chipotle wasn't too spicy since I could handle it. 

pink! <3

foood

Apparently it's just as busy at night. We were in and out in less than an hour since we ordered before that lunch time rush. I guess this makes up for missing on in and out.

Never knew booking restaurants was so hard, even if you have the money but they don't have space ): Regret not booking a restaurant 3 months ago, I only knew I was going overseas a month ago...next time I'll make sure to book ASAP. 

Booking places to eat isn't as easy as one would normally think...

#fwp. Have money to eat but no time to eat 

I drove my friend's (parents) car yesterday with a turbo engine, and I can definitely see the appeal in those type of cars. they are so cool! from stand still, then slamming on the accelerator to activate the 'turbo' mood, it goes to 70km/h in about 2 seconds. it can also park itself for kerb side parking, and it's very good/close to the kerb, so those hard city spots would be super easy with these cars. every time you stop the engine turns off, which feels weird since once you move, the engine starts again. it makes the car super quiet since it's off whilst you're waiting at traffic lights. also, after around 5-10km/h, the doors automatically lock (my mum has a thing with always locking car doors). and i though 4wd/awd were powerful, but those turbo engines are definitely cool.

hopefully one day i can get a car to park itself #cargoals.

should start to studying this week...been so distracted with food, work and watching stuff...

Gelato Messina-Surry Hills

Decided to use my vouchers from a Messina event as we were in the area, (and before it expired). Even when it opened at 12pm, there was already a few people waiting to get gelato.

 

 

2 scoops in cone: $6.80

Lemon Meringue Pie

Salted Coconut and Mango Salsa

I had the LMP, and it was good, but would have preferred more meringue. Loved the tanginess of the lemon curd in it.

The salted coconut had a more subtle saltiness compared to salted caramel, and the mango was more on the sweet side, but still tasted good.

The other specials: ispahan and tropical storm that week were too sweet for my liking (and I have a sweet tooth). 

La Boca Bar and Grill

First ever Zomato meet up and first time having Argentinian food made this dinner last night super exciting! I actually had an exam the following morning, but couldn't give up such a good opportunity to meet up with some foodies and try new food, so no regrets (test ended up being alright). I was too excited throughout the night, so don't remember the exact ingredients in drinks/methods of cooking.

La Boca is actually located inside a hotel near Mascot (next to the airport). It's a 10ish walk from tha station, but they're doing construction around the area, so it's a bit muddy...Got there alright in the end.

open kitchen

I love an open kitchen! Shows they have confidence in their cooking, and also gives some entertainment (: You're not supposed to go up on the stairs, but we ended up taking a closer look at the food. Almost everything is grilled/cooked and plated there on the spot. The have sides prepped and their meats on the side ready to go.

meattt

side wall murals

menu

Loved how it was a selection of their main menu, since it meant more variety to try.

sangria

Good hit of alcohol in it and some fruitiness. Would prefer it to have more fruity pieces in it, but it's fancier with a slice of lemon.

Head Chef: Nicolas Arriola from Adelaide, explaining the cured meats

Plating up

Cold Picadas: Homemade dry chorizo, prosciutto, home cured pork scotch slices with cheese

Picadas Nick explained how it was all made, which I unfortunately forgot (should have taken notes haha). Their chorizo isn't spicy like Spanish one, definitely not as salty but well seasoned. The prosciutto was actually the least saltiest, and the flavour mainly came from the sliced cheese, which was soo creamy and delicious. The other cheese in a block was average. The pork scotch slices which were apparently from a pig's head and compacted down to be cut up, was surprisingly delicious. Hard to explain the flavour, just one of those weird things you have to try. The bread was very hard to cut up, didn't eat much of it since too much carbs...

Seafood Picadas

Fresh oysters w/ criolla sauce

Smoked scallops with sweet tomato pesto

Grilled prawns with garlic and lemon sauce

So they not only do meats, but the seafood was amazing. The stand out was definitely the pesto sauce, which have similar ingredients to a pesto sauce, but not as green or herby. The tomato definitely brought out the sweetness, and completed the scallop perfectly. Could it spoonfuls of that sauce if I knew how to make it...The prawn was a bit tricky to eat since the sauce covered the shells and hard to cut the prawn out of the shell even though it was butterflied open. Sometimes you would eat a piece of the shell, or end up weirdly trying to get it out of your mouth...Oyster was filled with toppings, and definitely fresh. For those who don't like the 'seafood' taste (I don't mind it), you'll find the toppings cover that taste, and slightly  reduces the 'slimy' oyster feeling. 

Cocktail with mains: ginger beer, lime, rosemary, other stuff, alcohol

Yes, I forgot what exactly was in it, but it tasted like a not as sweet and more sophisticated version of ginger beer. There were more flavours, and not too fizzy either. First time having a sprig of rosemary in a drink. Maybe I should pop some fresh ones at home the next time I have ginger beer...

Mains: Mix of Asador cooked meats

Woodfire beef, suckling pig, lamb

that crackling

The pork was my favourite, such a lovely crackle to it. It's not your normally crispy pork belly with the bubbled up orangery skin, but it achieved the same effect. There was quite a lot of fat on it though, which is expected since they cook it for so long. Most meats are put at around 9am without marinating, and just slowly cooking it in their wood fire. The puree of pumpkin was nice and smooth. The beef was unfortunately way too dry and didn't have enough jus on it. I guess it was very lean, hence the dryness compared to the pork. Also wished the lamb had more sauce on it, but it was served pink so it was alright. Never had such a long wooden board before.

Dessert: traditional chocolate and coffee cake.

I love my desserts, and this cake was mind-glowingly good. On the menu it sounds boring, but once it arrived it's a whole different story. It's not too sweet, rich, heavy, creamy or dense, yet still encapsulated a bit of everything. The texture reminded me of tiramisu combined with some mousse and moist cake. The dulce de luche definitely made a difference in terms of flavour depth, kind of like condensed milk but not as sweet. I'm not a big chocolate fan, so was so happy with it wasn't the milky  chocolate type of flavour, rather it had a good dark choc flavour. Biscuits in the cake were finely blended, so the cake went down your throat smoothly. It was balanced with some bitterness from the coffee powder and the reduced slightly alcoholic, berry sauce. The berries on the side gave it good acidity and made it real refreshing. Normally berry sauces are just sugar, but this one had more alcohol than sugar, so can't complain (: I wish I could have taken my unfinished piece home...I couldn't finish it since I was that full, which is saying something...It was a massive piece though, as warned by the chef.

Dessert wine: some alcohol and other ingredients shaken up with egg white

This drink reminded me of some medicine, definitely has a unique and interesting taste. Again, I was too full so couldn't even finish the dessert wine.

We also got to take home some of their homade chimichurri sauce, which is jam packed with herbs and other flavours. Excited to eat it with my bread and meats. 

Such a delicious and fun evening! The staff there were super friendly. Hope to have the opportunity sometime to attend another of these events. Going to places I would normally never go to, and trying food from different cuisines!