The Misadventures Down Under 3: Down the Valley

My grandma, auntie and maternal cousins are here in Melbourne for a week. So since we can't really think of anywhere else in the CBD to bring them, we decided to rent a car and take a road trip to Yarra Valley ٩(^▿^)۶

The Yarra Valley is just a short distance away from Lilydale, nice place known for its vineyards and wineries. Typical countryside sort of place with blue skies and rolling pastures. Yes I am romanticizing slightly... (U.U)

Early that morning while sis and I had class, the others went to rent a shiny new 1-year old Hyundai iMax 8-seater. And straight after class, we hopped on and drove out to the Valley.

Sigh... I am a female and I wished that women would shut up while others are driving...

First stop, Rayner's Stonefruit Orchard.

The welcoming committee.

They have orchard tours which run daily. For $22 a person, you get to explore the orchard and know more about the various fruit planted there, and the best thing is, you get to pick the fruit fresh from the trees, taste them or bring them home! (For a price of course...)

Farmer Len in his tractor.

Clingstone peaches!

Big juicy white peaches.

Kiwifruit!

Plums. According to Farmer Len, this is the worst species of plum on his orchard. And we didn't believe him... (─‿─) Apparently, the white stuff on the plums is a form of starch which serves as the fruits' natural sunscreen. When choosing a plum off the tree, go for the "sunburnt" ones, with little dents in them. They get more sun and are sweeter.

The second best plum species... Slightly redder, and much much sweeter.

The golden plum, looks like a mango here... (=_=)


It was only when we tried it we finally knew what he meant. Sweet and juicy with a hint of floral fragrance! o(╥ω╥)o

We also saw some fruit which we had never seen before.

And also play around in the elevator... Machine... Thing...?

The welcoming committee followed us all the way (•ω•)

After the tour, we also got to sample their oven roasted quince and fresh fruit ice cream! (︶ω︶)

Next, Warratina Lavender Farm.

Lavender was already starting to dry up, but the whole place was still so fragrant!

Dat lavender scent... I'm going to sleep here... (-.- ) zzz

By the time we had finished, it was already 5. So we went back.

Such a brief trip. o(>﹏<)o Hope to come back again!

The Misadventures in the Muddy Conflux: Reunion

Had a fun afternoon attempting to sing our lungs out but failed due to the exceptional punctuality of Red Box in The Curve. Then back to EL's house for hand exercises which are vital for... The overall health and well-being of the body? *Cough cough* (｀∇´)ψ

It finally felt like home, a sense of belonging, seeing everyone here again. Not everyone was here though. ╥﹏╥ It's so hard now that everyone is busy, having their own schedules, scattered across different countries. The next gathering when everyone will be present... When will that be...

Most of them had plans for dinner, so MY, YQ, KY and I went to Publika to try out the Red Beanbag Cafe. Named as one of the top cafes in KL, this place seems to have a myriad of conflicting reviews. We decided to check it out and decide for ourselves.

The menu:

I seriously want to pull all my hair out... I can't look at the name "Benedict" without stifling a laugh now dammit (=_=)...

Bella and the Jets:  

Chorizo, mushrooms and rocket greens on some toasted sourdough with balsamic dressing and a poached egg on top. Bread was nice and crusty and the rocket oh so refreshing on the palate! 

The runny yolk was a beauty.   

The Atlantic:

Poached eggs on fluffy French toast with some mushrooms and baby spinach, and of course smoked salmon and caviar (♥‿♥), and a generous dousing of Hollandaise. The dish was made to resemble two fishes, so adorable! ζ°)))彡

Skyscraper:  

Pancakes drizzled with chocolate. Nuff said. But the pancakes were so fluffy (♥ω♥) Grr butter y u no melt quick? o(-`д´- )

Verdict: 9/10, and based mainly on the food. Place is nice as well though.

We decided to do dessert at Mad About Coco. It was a nice little cafe with a pastel coloured interior. We ordered dark chocolate mocha, brownie and the Undercover Cookie Monster (?) crepe.

Brownie:

Doesn't really hit expectations for such a high price, but since it's chocolate, no one complains much besides the brownie being too sweet, the ice-cream being some cheap supermarket product and the fact that we'll have to run 30 km daily for the next 3 days to burn off all the calories and our guilt mainly.

Verdict: 6/10. Extra marks given for deco... 

Was a day well spent with the gang. Looking forward to more days like this.

The Misadventures in the Morning Calm: Day 7

I... Am... FREAKING LAZY TO EDIT ALL THE FREAKING PHOTOS...

We're officially leaving Kimchee today (╥﹏╥) Gonna miss this place and the cute 오빠 who works here... We could still leave our baggage in the little storeroom there, so we'll be back for the last time to pick up the rest of our bulky luggage.

Started the day with cold noodles at a shop in Daehyeon-dong. Yes, I know what you're thinking, it's freaking winter and we're eating a freaking bowl of freaking cold noodles with freaking ice flakes in it... Well you know what they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do... Or in the case, as the Koreans do...

냉면, which is literally translated into cold noodles. Noodles were nice and chewy, and the pear was so sweet!!! o(>▽<)o

We were served a nice teapot of broth on the side.

They say when visiting Korea, one thing which must not be missed is the local beef 한우, so we ordered that as well. Just plain boiled thin sliced beef, no seasoning, no spices. Sounds pretty bland, but you can taste the beefy (insert youdon'tsay.jpg here), meaty sort of taste without anything interfering with it, and the marbling really gives it a nice texture. (*^^*)



I prefer my meat a tad bit chunkier though...  (@・・@)

Off to the parks near Hangang, or Han River?

A little old lady saw me playing around with my camera and came up to me saying there's a bunny yonder.

 갸ㅑㅑㅑㅑ!!! 토끼!!!

Right across the road there was another park which overlooks Hangang.

At sundown, we headed to Itaewon.

First stop, Passion 5, A very upscale sort of patisserie. The array of cakes and pastries was enormous! ~(˘▾˘)~

We finally settled with strawberry earl grey cake and strawberry stack.

The cake didn't taste enough of earl grey, but the texture was good enough to have itself redeemed. So light and fluffy! o(╥ω╥)o

EL preferred the strawberry stack, which was sweet and crispy but, for me, a tad bit difficult to eat kekeke.

9/10, extras for the ambience!

Hmm... *shoulder tap*

We debated on going for dinner or another cafe. Finally decided on Bada restaurant, which is very popular for its 부대찌게-Army base stew. The stew comprises of spam, sausages, some vegetables, cheese in a spicy thick broth, a very nice meal to have in winter. One serving is 19k won and it is enough for 2-3 people.

Once you go in, you can't help noticing all the autographs on the wall. Even the YG artists come here!

After dinner, off to Cheongnyangi Station to catch a train. First class seats at 23.2k won per person to watch the sunrise!

Goodnight! See you in Gyeonggido!