Yayoi Garden

Decided to come here before my Dimmi Voucher expires, and before I'm out of Sydney for the last half of the year. This Yayoi is more expensive compared to the other ones since it's at Circular Quay, and at lunch time, you see all these office people have 'meetings.' Like how do you actually have meetings when you have food in front of you, and your laptops are closed, and paper put away...Idk how corporate meetings work cause I'm not in that field.

Yayoi Gozen-$33 (Dimmi $20 off)

Back row: seaweed salad, tuna sushi, salmon sashimi

Middle: tonkatsu, beef, veggies

Front: rice, jellyfish, miso soup

2 pieces of tonkatsu

beef and some veggies

It's cute how everything is in little portions on nice plates and in their own compartments. The portions I think were pretty small, if only they gave a bit more of everything. Like other sets with only tonkatsu or beef had a lot bigger portions. They were nice but not amazing. Like I've had much better tonkatsu elsewhere. If you guys go Tokyo, there are some nice hidden family run places opened for heaps of years. Sashimi was fresh and the sauce accompanied it was nice but it was tiny. Miso soup wasn't too salty. I guess this is good for trying bit of everything but I wouldn't pay full price for it. They did see I booked under Dimmi so didn't have to remind them and they automatically took the money off. Quite a lot of other tables also used a Dimmi voucher.

Hiroba and The Smelly Cheesecake

This place is conveniently located next to the station. It's a Korean run Japanese restaurant, and has a mix of Jap and Korean food, so was glad when they had sides.

Sashimi and udon-$16

It is pricey for what you get since it's a bowl of udon and some raw salmon. Fish was fresh thankfully, since sometimes small shops sashimi might not be as fresh, which is a problem if you ate not super fresh raw fish. Udon soup was well seasoned without being salty and always reaching for water.

sides

Vegetable Tempura (large)-$15.50

It could've had a lighter and crispier batter, but it was decent and had different veggies. Thought the large size would've been bigger though.

Agedashi Tofu (medium)-$13.50

This had a nice firm skin on the outside, and the sauce with it wasn't too salty.

Cheesecakes-$23.50

Been here a few times. Didn't get the individual prices. I've had the matcha souffle and the blue cheese cheesecake before, so opted for other flavours this time.

Parmesan cheesecake

Nice and light cheesecake with a good amount of cheese and not too overpowering. It had a tiny bit of sweetness which worked. This one was our favourite.

Camembert cheesecake

Super dense cheesecake, and had a nice cheesy and slightly salty flavour. Good to share since probs way too hard to eat by yourself.

Mixed berry cheesecake 

I liked how it had seperate layers in this, and it was quite light. It wasn't sweet compared to your average cheesecake, but in comparison to the other 2, it was sweet. Would've liked more acidity from the berry flavour.

Rotation 2 Week 3 ft Dyson Supersonic

Halfway through the rotation! It does and it doesn't feel like it. It was all ok up until yday where I died, could've died even more but didn't hit rock bottom, just died but not fully dead. It still hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving in three weeks. This is going to be the first time I'm away from home for so long by myself, and also the first time I have literally not planned anything apart from flights and accommodation. If you know me, I plan holidays right down to the hour (yes, there are some leeways, and sometimes things are shuffled around), but majority of the time I do complete my list of places to eat and things to see. This time, I think I'll only have time to plan while waiting for the plane lol. Oh gosh, first time for everything I suppose.

Exam in just over a week and haven't started studying, well I have, just can't memorise anything.

What a week it has been. From saying I can't get sick to getting sick beginning of this week (luckily it wasn't a super noticeable sick or else would be low on numbers), to buying stuff online sort of spur of the moment. My MacBook battery has also been acting up since about 2 weeks ago. Goes to 60ish % in about 2 hrs. It used to last about 10 hrs before charging...Just more annoying not having my laptop for about a week next week, and just need to continue to do my logs and reports.

 

Overpriced $500 hairdryer ft Dyson Supersonic

at least it came with a free case and free shipping

inside

Early birthday present from the parents (but of course it's a shared household item). First time going to be spending my birthday overseas. Sort of excited but sad since I won't have time to get cake, no candles and will probs sing to myself lol. It first came out at $600, and now $500, and got a case worth $40 and free shipping, so in my head, I sort of didn't pay full price lol. Also is equivalent of like 5 days worth of accommodation overseas, so if I didn't go on holidays, would've bought a lot more hairdryers lel.

Maybe it's a placebo affect, but I do think my hair is shinier after blow drying it. I hardly ever blow dry my hair and normally let it air dry, but in winter it's too cold, so I blow dry it normally was like a minute (to keep my head not soaking wet). Even then, the cheap one, it smells 'burnt' and hair dryer hot to touch, and hair is also hot to touch, and hair quite coarse as well.

This hair dryer is so damn powerful! It's got this crazy force of directed wind, and it's warm not hot, and it does dry so quickly! Hair is fully dry in about 5mins. Even though I have thin hair, if I was to use a normal hair dryer, it would take me over 20min, and keep in mind, after the first min I smell a burning smell from the heating element. This one is relatively quite and quite light weight. I love the design how it has a hole in the middle. Haven't used the styling attachments yet, but also love how it's magnetic. Mum and I were like, why did we not get one earlier lol. It's an investment, but with super bad hair quality like mine, I guess you'll try other things to help preserve it. I've never done any permanent straightening or coloured my hair, it's just naturally not smooth, grows slowly and thin. Funny how after I bought it, I see the ads of this everywhere on bus stops. Went with the OG pink/fuchsia instead of the fancier colours. 

Would recommend this, esp with late night finishes, I can actually wash my hair at night without waiting for it to half air dry then half blow dry. Next investment maybe will be an over priced Dyson fan. They're so chic, and I'm sure it'll save more electricity than my air con lol. 

Went to the July exhibition at Carriageworks. A lot of lights, and projections and different sounds. Had to take off your shoes since the ground is also a projection. Quite trippy. I'm glad Sydney has spaces to host some international artworks, since our museums are nothing like overseas where they were able to hoards hundreds of years of stuff.

the projection loops every 10min

next door had building blocks but in human/life size.

 

Still need to move on with my reports and focus on study rather than procrastinating on social media.

Sometimes I think the world is moving too fast. Literally every month since like last year, someone on fb is engaged/married/pregnancy announcement/baby born etc etc. Here I am, just trying to graduate, and literally trying to not fail.

Chef's Palette

It’s a nice cafe in Eastwood which is relatively spacious and has decent amount of seating. Nice place to just relax and chat over coffee and cake. Both times I went they mixed up the flavours of the cakes I wanted, but I’m not really picky in this sort of setting. 

Taro and matcha crepe cake-$7.95 each

The crepes could be thinner with less cream, but it’s decent for cafe standard and not too sweet. It also had a good height. Would have liked more matcha flavour, but the taro flavour was more distinct. Favourite crepe cake is still from Lady M, which is available overseas (like all good food, haha).

Taro Gelato Shake-$5.80, Iced Irish Cream Latte-$5

Souffle cheesecake original-$7.95

Taro shake was nice and thick, and loved the taro flavour in it. The other latte had some coffee flavour, but was more on the sweet side. I'm not sure what makes it Irish. The souffle cheesecake wasn't your typical souffle or as light as your Jap style cheesecake, but not heavy either like NY cheesecake. Still quite filling and it's good to share. It has some cream cheese without being too overpowering and not too sweet. 

upstairs seating

PaletTé and Gong Cha

There seems to be a lot of new milk tea places popping up, and some trying to be more different than others. I love the whole sort of pastel coloured themed with and modern decor and lighting, plus a flower wall at the back, most likely for all those Insta foodies out there (yes, I'm guilty of this lol).

Strawberry and watermelon cheese foam fruit tea-$7.50 

 

It's pretty pricey for a drink, since it's essentially watermelon juice, plus blended strawberries and watermelon. I couldn't really taste what sort of tea this was, was there even any tea? Just tasted liked a more watery smoothie. I chose this since I wanted to try the cheese foam, since I can't make that at home. It's got an interesting saltiness which cuts through the sweetness from the watermelon, and makes the drink a little bit creamy. It's definitely an acquired taste like sea salt ice cream.

Other teas in pretty see through bottles

Brûlée Pearl Milk Tea (large)-$6.50

Maybe if I drink this I won't fail... (failing is the story of my life...) I thought the yellow stuff was jelly but it's like a custard flavoured cream. It was quite rich if you ate it by itself, and had a slight salty taste to it. The salt helps to cut back the sweetness ( opted for 20% sugar), but I think it tasted a bit odd. Didn't really taste any brûlée flavour, guess they were trying to use cream for the custard flavour? The cream helped thicken up the milk tea as I found this didn't have enough milk powder (do they even use real milk?) Pearls could be a bit chewier. 

I feel like all these milk tea place popping up are similar/owned by the same guy. I think they do save on packaging with this cup + lid style plus sticker for brand since they don't need the machine to make seal the plastic lids like in other places. I like how the 'layers' are more 'abstract' here when looking through the cup.

  

Buy one get one free

L: Gong Cha signature tea-milk foam green tea (regular) -$5.80

R:Earl grey milk tea with 3Js (pearls, pudding jelly, grass jelly)-$6.40

Coincidentally walked past this Gong Cha at Steam Mill Lane since they were opening. I only drink this stuff if it's discounted/free. Lately there's been a lot of milk tea places opening up, and I conveniently walking past to get a freebie. The green tea one did have a nice hit of tea, and luckily I did opt for little sugar, since even with it, it was still bit bitter. The milk foam made it a bit creamy, and a tiny bit salty, but not like the cheese foam in the other drink.

I really love pearls (even though apparently it's carcinogenic), and the different jellies in drinks. Opted for no sugar in the earl grey. It just tasted like milk tea, and couldn't taste that distinct early grey flavour. I guess I do like my earl grey bitter which was masked by the milk and toppings.

    

Rotation 2 Week 2

I think for now I'll just do weekly updates (inb4 no more updates until after Preceptorship in Sept lol). The older I get, the more I understand #TGIF. Until next year where weekends won't exist.

Thanks to BW for getting me my own domain: wordtography.com and the .au version hehe.
One day I'll make this blog fancy, if I ever bother uploading all the stuff I ate, since the food posts to come are all from the first half of the year...Or if I learn how to use my camera first rather than just using an iPhone...

So far 6 PC patients in 2 weeks. Saw 4 patients across 3 clinics yesterday. So tired. Well, not physically, and it wasn't too mentally draining (more confused about kids...), but my poor throat. Only had a 600mL bottle from 6:45am till 6.30pm when I FINALLY had time to fill up my bottle. Throat was so, so sore, and could feel the pain from 3pm onwards. Normally in 12 hours, I would've had at least 1.5L of water, so dehydrated. Also had 10min for lunch which I scoffed down my sandwich, but better than no lunch. Dreading week 5 Thursday since I have 9-8pm WITH NO BREAK AND AN ORAL EXAM. Back to back clinic so literally no time to eat lunch, or dinner cause of night clinics, and no time to even get water, plus at night we have an spoken exam, so throat is literally going to croak. There's another group the week before who also at 9-8, but at least they don't have an exam that week. I will rant to everyone about this because I feel like it's illegal, but optom makes everything legal with their own rules (and their rigged marking systems #stillabitsalty).

Speaking of the exam, I am super duper screwed. Can't finish my reports fast enough. Getting home at around 10pm, then next morning waking at 6:15 is pretty draining. Thank goodness Tuesday is my no patient day to recover, and today was only totes so also no patients and can save my throat. I dunno if my sore throat is from yday or I'm actually getting sick. Can NOT afford to be sick during internals (or overseas, or this year or when I'm working etc). I guess that's why a reason for people to drive is to avoid all the sickness floating around in public transport, since it's such a confined space.

Domestic airlines within the US are so sneaky, since linear luggage size means it's a medium sized luggage. Someone else is like me with 2 large and 1 small carry on suitcase. Ended up getting a medium suitcase, and found one we bought last year. Thank goodness I have friends who read fine print, cause I don't. All those 'agree and sign here form' yep, never read them. I feel like the only time I'll ever read those forms is if I purchase either property or an optometry practice (both highly unlikely LOL).

Also admist my break from writing up my logs, purchased the one and only overpriced hair dryer. Can't wait for it to come to try it out. Normally I would've gone in store to try but who has the time? Word of mouth is good enough for me. Sucks to have really thin and bad quality hair.

I must admit, when the Apple Watch first came out I was quite skeptical. Like, do you even need a smart watch? People did fine before the days of wearable electronics. Then BW 'lent' me his one, and although I don't use all the features, TripView is by far my fav to use. I have this worry of dropping my phone when it's in my hands, esp when I'm walking (so I can use maps whilst walking but not walk and text). So when running for buses, it's good to see how many minutes I have left on my watch, rather than looking at my phone...The timer is used during paeds clinic as well. Haven't really discovered the other functions. Heart rate doesn't show you from the watch screen, since you have to tap the heart so not as handy as fit bit lol, I like how the watch face adjusts to brightness in diff lighting. I know you can set that on laptop and phone, but I like to keep it a constant light, whereas for watch it feels more natural when it adjusts to surrounding light...I guess I still use my other watches on the weekend, or if I go out for shorter parts of a day...

I guess the contact hours isn't as bad compared to the next 2 rotations since those are full 8-12hour working days. Just need to power on with these reports and start memorising all these contact lenses...

Pablo & Rusty's

Situated in the middle of the CBD, walking in you feel like every table is having a meeting of some sort. It’s quite busy even after lunch time, as people just come here for coffee. 

food spread

 

Capp-$4, Daintree sticky chai-$6

The coffee was average with decent foam. The chai was quite nice served in a pot with heaps of spices. It could be a bit more 'spicier' but it wasn't too sweet.

Grilled halloumi, red quinoa, kale and almond tabouli, beetroot baba ganoush, zucchini flowers and vincotto-$22

I’m not a massive fan of halloumi, but I do like zucchini flowers, so when the waitress recommended that this was one of their more popular dishes, decided to give it a go. I liked how this halloumi had a little bit of sweetness to it from the vincotto sauce, and the kale went really well with the slight sweetness from the beetroot. The quinoa helped make this dish quite filling.

Galbi jjim beef short rib, brown rice salad, daikon kimchi, pickles & gochujang ketchup-$26

The ribs were quite nice and had decent chunks of meat. The marinade had a nice sweet taste without being overly salty. The Korean ketchup was too spicy for me. I did find the kim chi a little bit spicier than usual. There was a good amount of rice which made the dish again quite filling.