I'm living my dream everyday.
J in Melbourne - Day 1 | Wednesday, June 1, 2011 @ 7:25 PM
J's recent trip to Melbourne marked his second trip down under to spend time with me :)
J boarded his flight to Melbourne on the same day he returned from Phuket with his army buddies. He was only allowed a two-hour sleep at B's place to recover from his jet-lag state after I picked him up at Southern Cross station two Fridays ago. I conclude that my boyfriend is the laziest tourist on this planet. His laziness can be attributed to the cool weather, and/or the fact that it's his fourth visit down under. Thus, the magic of Melbourne had more or less fizzled out. We didn't do any day trips because we covered most of the tourist attractions together with my Dad last year.
We had a great start to the first day! We were given free milk cartons at the station. Nobody loves freebies more than a true blue Singaporean. Having been at Southern Cross station several times on an early Friday/Sat afternoon (say 1pm or so), I've observed that Big M does frequent giveaways for its milk products. I like the sweetness of its honeycomb milk :)
We had a great start to the first day! We were given free milk cartons at the station. Nobody loves freebies more than a true blue Singaporean. Having been at Southern Cross station several times on an early Friday/Sat afternoon (say 1pm or so), I've observed that Big M does frequent giveaways for its milk products. I like the sweetness of its honeycomb milk :)
We took a short walk to Docklands and had lunch on the dock at Fish Bay, which I reckon is a tourist trap given its convenient location and overpriced items.
We had a meal combination of chips, onion rings, fried calamaris, char-grilled prawns, fish and scallops! Our meal was decent but not fantastic. Another characteristic of a "tourist trap" food joint: You have to pay for your choice of condiment sauces.
Thereafter, I brought J to Costco, which is the biggest warehouse-like hypermart in Melbourne. Before the visit, I'd psyched him up repeatedly, knowing how excited he would be by the massive variety and portions of meat and seafood that are sold here. True to my prediction, the place left him in awe! It is great to shop at Costco for those with a big household because everything is upsize. You can count on Costco for its quantity and quality.
"BIG, BIG, BIG"!
Even J's army buddies know how much of an UPSIZE lover he is, especially when it comes to beef and the like. Both of us seriously over-indulged in meat during his time here :*(
After shopping, we needed to quench our thirst. I thought it was too good a deal to pass when I saw that a cup of fruit smoothie cost only $2.95 at Costco's cafeteria. It turned out that the smoothie was made from concentrated syrup. In retrospect, I can't fathom why I loved 7-eleven's frozen Slurpee back when I was a primary school kid. I used to get a kick out of mixing different flavours into a giant cup, putting the cap on, and then filling it to the utmost brim through the tiny, circular hole of the cap. I showed early signs of auntie-like habits in my younger days.
Obviously, we both weren't impressed by the quality of our cheap smoothie.
I bought a huge pack of Eclipse mints for a friend back home. Costco sells it at 25AUD for a pack of sixteen, which is a good deal even after the currency conversion. Other good deals include dried cranberries (1.2kg for approx 10AUD) and freshly-baked muffins (12 muffins for 9.99AUD). I'm returning to Costco to grab more bottles of Manuka honey (20AUD for a 500g bottle of UMF 16+ as compared to 72SGD back home) before I return home :) I would take in more orders -as if I'm a wholesaler- if I could manage but I'm lugging home a lot of items this winter break since next semester marks my final uni semester. Sorry guys! Do get your friends who are visiting Melbourne to get it for you but note that you'll need a membership card to make a purchase.
A time when muscles came in handy.
With widespread feminism going on in the world, there are many women who claim that they do not need a man in their lives. Seriously? I wonder if they ever caught themselves wishing for an extra pair of helping hands when they're struggling with a heavy load. Let's face it, we need their brawn just as much as they need our brains. Hahaha oops, I made an unintentional dig in my last sentence.
No matter how worn out J was after an exercise or a long day, he never once complained about shouldering my extra baggage - not even when they included shopping items. For this, I am ever thankful. I guess this is one of the things that I can always rely on J to do for me - just like nagging at me to stop shopping.
We bought a tray of fresh oysters from Costco. 11AUD for a dozen oysters makes for a decent deal.
I half-heartedly consumed an oyster, and was reminded again why I hate them. Not even the squeezed lemon juice and tabasco sauce combo could mask the unpleasant flavour that overwhelmed my taste buds.
I brought J to my favourite gym at B's place! Hehe, couldn't resist taking a photo of us :)
Read my review of Foggiare's floral crochet top in black here.
Together with B, we headed out for dinner at South Yarra.
We settled for dinner at Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, which is located a stone's throw away from the train station. I reckon it's twenty steps away from the exit of the station. I love to camwhore before the start of a meal because I don't have to worry about messy hair / greasy lips/ food stuck between my teeth/ food stains on my face and what not :) It's too troublesome to be a vain pot.
Not surprisingly, we over-ordered for dinner, which is the joy of indulging in food anyway!
Clockwise direction: Chicken Flautas, Beef Enchilada, Fiesta Combo (their specialty dish which we enjoyed tremendously), and Tostada Supreme. The first three dishes are definitely must-try items on their menu! The final dish, pictured here with a generous topping of cheddar cheese, was overbearing in flavour after the initial delicious spoonfuls, no thanks to the huge dollop of sour cream.
I've rekindled my love for Mexican cuisine! Some people might dislike Mexican rice because of its dry texture but I'm not complaining because the richness of the sauces that accompany the dishes makes up for it :) Mexicans really love their sour cream, salsa and guacamole sauces! This meal reminded me of a pleasant Mexican dining experience at Holland V with Ang a couple of years ago. Miss you babe!
The rainbow-coloured pinata that hung down from the ceiling was too cute for me to resist a shot. Check out the immensely satisfied expression on B's face while tucking into our shared dessert!
We enjoyed Fiesta's take on the Bread and Butter Pudding, which was served with vanilla bean icecream. Hold your drool right there!
After our heavy dinner, we took a short walk to find the guys and headed to Sou Soul bar for Kai's birthday celebration. He turned 25 two Fridays ago :) I'm not sure if he'll see this but HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI!!! You still owe me a 10km run before we return home. No 10km run, no going home!
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J snapped several photos of the fireplace throughout the night. I think he might have been bored and tired. Anyway, I thought it was an awesome artificial fireplace but B pointed out to me earlier today that it's the real deal. Hahaha, which explains the amount of warmth that it radiated...
This gorgeous cake doesn't belong to Kai! He celebrated his birthday with two other girlfriends who turned 21.
Presenting the 25-year-old birthday boy, in red lippie no less.
Justin, Chai, Bernice ~
So everyone was made to slick on red lippie to leave a mark in the guestbook. What a novel idea!
Bernice gave me red puckers despite my vehement protests and kept encouraging me to plant a kiss on J's cheek. She wasn't even feeling high from alcohol ^^ Anyway, I am more convinced than ever that red lippie doesn't go well with my puckers, which are nowhere nice or sexy to begin with. I can't pull off the sex siren look nor channel the classic look well. I am contented with my colourless lip balm :)
I credit myself for the nicely-formed lipstick mark on J's left cheek :)
I might actually miss the good times in Melb...
Star of the night
Food makes chewy happy and I'm in love with my boy's smile :]
J snapped and likes this shot of me. Me too! Here's a toast to everyone who is mugging hard for their exams. I will enjoy doubly hard on your behalf :)
I'm really enjoying my freedom. My only gripe is my dysfunctional body clock that refuses to allow me to sleep early at night. Well, it's not like it'll be all play and no work for me. I shall attempt to start on my research essay, which is due on June 13, in a couple of days' time.
I'm sooooo glad that my home Internet is running normally again! Let's hope that it will run on normal speed until 23 June. I haven't skyped with anyone in ages...Goodness golly. I miss you guys so much and can't wait to see y'all soon!
God Bless :)
♥ Serene
Labels: Celebration, Daily Musings, Food, Friends, J, Melbourne