Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
This blows.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
a quickie
have you read the news? fantastic, tell me I won't even be able to trip around Bangkok and Chiang Mai now
30 seconds after getting into the car:
"You asked your parents if I could speak English"
(burst of laughter from me. I miss being a kid)
30 minutes later:
"Sadist"
(all I did was to play with the meat on the barbeque and mutter 'sizzle'. I swear.)
1.5 hours later:
"You used to bathe in the big basin in TR"
(up until I was ten maybe. the things people remember)
I found a recipe for almond croissants. It sounds promising, like the ones I had in QV. It involves sugar, butter, almonds, egg, and rum. Yo ho ho and a bottle full of rum! Oh and croissant of course. Tomorrow tomorrow..
Why the fuck is it this cold in late November? A bit of heat, please? thanksloveyoubye
I hate packing up a life. Grumpy. I'm starting to feel KL mode creeping into me. I can't write that way and I certainly can't find the center in that mode. The fatwas don't help either. Screech. I want ink. Or something else with three letters. Let's run through the list: pot, sex,
my brain stops there. Dammit. I need an electric choker that zaps me everytime I think dirty thoughts. Then again, I might get used to that. Oh behave! Rambling.
bye!
30 seconds after getting into the car:
"You asked your parents if I could speak English"
(burst of laughter from me. I miss being a kid)
30 minutes later:
"Sadist"
(all I did was to play with the meat on the barbeque and mutter 'sizzle'. I swear.)
1.5 hours later:
"You used to bathe in the big basin in TR"
(up until I was ten maybe. the things people remember)
I found a recipe for almond croissants. It sounds promising, like the ones I had in QV. It involves sugar, butter, almonds, egg, and rum. Yo ho ho and a bottle full of rum! Oh and croissant of course. Tomorrow tomorrow..
Why the fuck is it this cold in late November? A bit of heat, please? thanksloveyoubye
I hate packing up a life. Grumpy. I'm starting to feel KL mode creeping into me. I can't write that way and I certainly can't find the center in that mode. The fatwas don't help either. Screech. I want ink. Or something else with three letters. Let's run through the list: pot, sex,
my brain stops there. Dammit. I need an electric choker that zaps me everytime I think dirty thoughts. Then again, I might get used to that. Oh behave! Rambling.
bye!
Monday, November 24, 2008
bang bang
Sometime between sleep and waking this morning I had this brief illusion that my heart had been replaced with a block of pale wood and that an unseen hand was pounding it with an invisible hammer.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
ish
I'm kicking myself for this. I think, I almost know that I'm changing my mind about going dirty backpacker in December. I just don't want to admit it yet.
A month ago I was certain about doing this; go travel, rough it out without the usual luxuries, go at it alone, see new places, have new experiences. But now that I've booked my flight and have gotten down to the little details - transport, budget, accomodation, things to do - I'm chickening out. I don't really want to rough it out. Been there, done that. I've gone without hot water for a month, collected a layer of dirt on my skin so thick that I could rub it off in the shower, stayed in places that were so filthy the bathroom soap had pubic hair encrusted on it, had my bones shaken and bum bruised by 7 hour long bus rides on dirt roads. With no air conditioning. In the hot and dry Indochina season.
It was fun, I liked playing that role. And I've been wanting to do it again for the past few months (not so much the filthy guesthouse thing though). But do I want to do it now? I don't think so. I am not relishing the thought of going dirty backpacker now and not very enthusiastic about doing it alone. I like my creature comforts and I don't want to be alone with only myself for company. No Internet, no cellphone, no communication with the 'normal' world. And I hate to admit it but lying to my mom about having a travelling companion is killing me. It is safe to go alone, I know that from everyone I've talked to who's been there and who lives there but there is no way she would let me go alone. Which is why I have to lie to put her mind at ease. Knowing that doesn't help with the guilt though, and each time I speak to her about the trip it gets harder and harder.
So I'm re-examining my reasons for wanting to go.
i. final fling (kind of) before having to work and be responsible. Throw off the shackles of everyday life and just wander.
- I don't feel the same urge to do it anymore. I'm content. I'm not quite ready to go back to KL yet but taking a side trip doesn't hold the same appeal it did before. I've done it before so it's not a novelty. And I don't want to abandon civilization any more. The shackles of everyday life are actually very comfortable.
ii. see places, eat things
- I do still want to do this, but the list of places I want to go to now is considerably shorter. Bangkok is obviously still on the list, Chiang Mai is a probably, I would still like to check out Luang Prabang. But Phonsavan, Vientiane, Si Pan Don etc. not so much. I want a lazy chilled out holiday. Rushing from one place to the next isn't lazy, it is stressful.
iii. an interim between KL and Sydney to heal and be alone
- I don't need this anymore. Melbourne did me good and I think being alone with myself for three weeks might actually undo that.
Sigh. I am truly a fickle little twit. I'll probably rebook my ticket to shorten the trip. A week or two maybe. Bangkok is a must, Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang maybe.
A month ago I was certain about doing this; go travel, rough it out without the usual luxuries, go at it alone, see new places, have new experiences. But now that I've booked my flight and have gotten down to the little details - transport, budget, accomodation, things to do - I'm chickening out. I don't really want to rough it out. Been there, done that. I've gone without hot water for a month, collected a layer of dirt on my skin so thick that I could rub it off in the shower, stayed in places that were so filthy the bathroom soap had pubic hair encrusted on it, had my bones shaken and bum bruised by 7 hour long bus rides on dirt roads. With no air conditioning. In the hot and dry Indochina season.
It was fun, I liked playing that role. And I've been wanting to do it again for the past few months (not so much the filthy guesthouse thing though). But do I want to do it now? I don't think so. I am not relishing the thought of going dirty backpacker now and not very enthusiastic about doing it alone. I like my creature comforts and I don't want to be alone with only myself for company. No Internet, no cellphone, no communication with the 'normal' world. And I hate to admit it but lying to my mom about having a travelling companion is killing me. It is safe to go alone, I know that from everyone I've talked to who's been there and who lives there but there is no way she would let me go alone. Which is why I have to lie to put her mind at ease. Knowing that doesn't help with the guilt though, and each time I speak to her about the trip it gets harder and harder.
So I'm re-examining my reasons for wanting to go.
i. final fling (kind of) before having to work and be responsible. Throw off the shackles of everyday life and just wander.
- I don't feel the same urge to do it anymore. I'm content. I'm not quite ready to go back to KL yet but taking a side trip doesn't hold the same appeal it did before. I've done it before so it's not a novelty. And I don't want to abandon civilization any more. The shackles of everyday life are actually very comfortable.
ii. see places, eat things
- I do still want to do this, but the list of places I want to go to now is considerably shorter. Bangkok is obviously still on the list, Chiang Mai is a probably, I would still like to check out Luang Prabang. But Phonsavan, Vientiane, Si Pan Don etc. not so much. I want a lazy chilled out holiday. Rushing from one place to the next isn't lazy, it is stressful.
iii. an interim between KL and Sydney to heal and be alone
- I don't need this anymore. Melbourne did me good and I think being alone with myself for three weeks might actually undo that.
Sigh. I am truly a fickle little twit. I'll probably rebook my ticket to shorten the trip. A week or two maybe. Bangkok is a must, Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang maybe.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Mecca cosmetica is evil
I walked around the city with my nose stuck in the crook of my elbow today. Saffron, coriander, pepper, amber, and musk smells much better than cheap tobacco and the stink of the masses. It was a warm day.
And I did buy it at the end of the day. It looks like a giant gold nugget sitting on my dresser. And a rosy saint, and a gipsy. Rubberized casing gets me. Major wallet burn. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like my heart of stone has been wrapped in a fur. PETA begone.
We had pastries and coffee, chased with roasted pistachio gelato. And there's pate and sourdough sitting on the counter waiting for me. Purrr
And I did buy it at the end of the day. It looks like a giant gold nugget sitting on my dresser. And a rosy saint, and a gipsy. Rubberized casing gets me. Major wallet burn. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like my heart of stone has been wrapped in a fur. PETA begone.
We had pastries and coffee, chased with roasted pistachio gelato. And there's pate and sourdough sitting on the counter waiting for me. Purrr
Thursday, November 20, 2008
overheard
"fe le lo ro shay"
guess what was being referred to. we then spent the next ten minutes mocking these little (Singaporean/ Malaysian) Chinese boys up and down the aisles.
I'm going to hell, I know. (psst. I don't believe in it so that's okay)
was going to pose a twisty conundrum here but when i started writing it i forgot what the point was. and it wasn't that tricky to begin with. brains scrambled from results. oof. shoo you, unless you're going to metaphysically celebrate with me. kidding.
i am content for now
guess what was being referred to. we then spent the next ten minutes mocking these little (Singaporean/ Malaysian) Chinese boys up and down the aisles.
I'm going to hell, I know. (psst. I don't believe in it so that's okay)
was going to pose a twisty conundrum here but when i started writing it i forgot what the point was. and it wasn't that tricky to begin with. brains scrambled from results. oof. shoo you, unless you're going to metaphysically celebrate with me. kidding.
i am content for now
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
book worm
I have a stack of books to devour. I love UNSW's library (when the books aren't missing or out on loan or otherwise untraceable). A selection of classic (more or less) titles:
G. - J. Berger
Story of O - P. Reage
Story of the Eye - G. Bataille
The Marquis de Sade: The 120 days of Sodom, and other writings - M. de Sade (the copy of Justine was lost)
blame intellectual curiousity. will be back after I'm done. with summaries, or not. most likely not considering the content (because you should read it for yourself!)
I'm halfway through G., 20 pages into Story of O (couldn't put it down when I started in the library) and 3 pages into Story of the Eye. I started reading the latter while having lunch and had to stop. It seemed like a good idea. The acts of eating and sex are both sensory pleasures/ necessities (take your pick) and go so so well together. Certain foods are believed to be aphrodisiacs, both activities involve sight, smell, touch (meals eaten with your hands are remembered better than those with utensils), and taste. Ideally. Sex also involves sound, which is optional when you're eating unless you count the sound of chewing or conversation, which is exterior to eating but sometimes enhances a meal. I digress. Short attention span. My point: full sensory experiences. Oh and my ideal partner must have an appetite. I'm going to draw up a list of essential characteristics one day.
Back to the books.
The Story of the Eye however, does not go well with food.
No.
Big No.
Should have read the synopsis first I guess.
G. - J. Berger
Story of O - P. Reage
Story of the Eye - G. Bataille
The Marquis de Sade: The 120 days of Sodom, and other writings - M. de Sade (the copy of Justine was lost)
blame intellectual curiousity. will be back after I'm done. with summaries, or not. most likely not considering the content (because you should read it for yourself!)
I'm halfway through G., 20 pages into Story of O (couldn't put it down when I started in the library) and 3 pages into Story of the Eye. I started reading the latter while having lunch and had to stop. It seemed like a good idea. The acts of eating and sex are both sensory pleasures/ necessities (take your pick) and go so so well together. Certain foods are believed to be aphrodisiacs, both activities involve sight, smell, touch (meals eaten with your hands are remembered better than those with utensils), and taste. Ideally. Sex also involves sound, which is optional when you're eating unless you count the sound of chewing or conversation, which is exterior to eating but sometimes enhances a meal. I digress. Short attention span. My point: full sensory experiences. Oh and my ideal partner must have an appetite. I'm going to draw up a list of essential characteristics one day.
Back to the books.
The Story of the Eye however, does not go well with food.
No.
Big No.
Should have read the synopsis first I guess.
Monday, November 17, 2008
quote unquote
I was skimming an article in the times and came across this Palin quote:
My concern has been the atrocities there in Darfur and the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about Africa and some of the countries there that were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators and the corruption of some collapsed governments on the continent, the relevance was Alaska’s investment in Darfur with some of our permanent fund dollars.
And, she concluded, “never, ever did I talk about, well, gee, is it a country or a continent, I just don’t know about this issue.”
Eyargh! All my favourite traits rolled into one. Incoherence, ignorance, pretension (to awareness), bad bad BAD grammar. In a person who stood to hold the second most important post in the most powerful country in the world. shudder. I going to read The Story of O to erase this from my head. >)
My concern has been the atrocities there in Darfur and the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about Africa and some of the countries there that were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators and the corruption of some collapsed governments on the continent, the relevance was Alaska’s investment in Darfur with some of our permanent fund dollars.
And, she concluded, “never, ever did I talk about, well, gee, is it a country or a continent, I just don’t know about this issue.”
Eyargh! All my favourite traits rolled into one. Incoherence, ignorance, pretension (to awareness), bad bad BAD grammar. In a person who stood to hold the second most important post in the most powerful country in the world. shudder. I going to read The Story of O to erase this from my head. >)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
chew the cud
So i was thinking about this in the shower. it's been in the back of my mind for awhile now but I've skirted the issue deliberately, not wanting to have to change my habits. but ultimately, I believe that this is something no thinking person can avoid confronting. it's a small step to take from purchasing food to wondering where it came from, who made it, under what conditions, and at what cost (not in the dollar sense but in an environmental and social sense, which could and should be translated into economic value but I'm not the person to do that). whether you acknowledge it or not, the answers to these questions have a direct relation to you.
Once these questions have been asked, the answers are easy to find. Michael Pollan is a good place to start, as is Peter Singer but there are other writers out there I haven't read who have written on the subject. There is too much to go into here and I can't pull the facts out of my head automatically but trust me on this (and if you don't, investigate for yourself) the issue of ethical food matters. Where was your food grown? How far has it travelled to get to you? Who grew it and was s/he paid a fair wage? What is in your food (this is particularly relevant when you're looking at processed foods)? Under what conditions was your food grown and are these conditions sustainable? These are the questions that ought to be asked.
It's funny that it took a bar of chocolate I picked up out of curiousity to lead me to this point. See I started thinking in the shower about the trade-off that I make as a consumer in choosing to purchase that expensive ($5 for a 40g bar, to compare $5 for a 250g block of commercial chocolate) piece of chocolate. Simple math, if you look at it from a purely economic angle but then think about what was on the back of the 40g bar. Organic. Fairly traded. Locally made (if using imported cacao). A short, explicit ingredient list (I had a packet of Dove chocolates around. Ingredients: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk solids, emulsifier, flavours, Note the ambiguity of 'flavours', 'emulsifier'. Dove chocs are made by the Mars company too so that means that the cocoa used was not fairly traded).
The bottom line is, I can eat the expensive local, organic, fairly traded chocolate with a clear conscience knowing I have not contributed to a company which condones unfair trade and does not practice full disclosure to the average consumer of its products. Instead of giving money to a large corporation which prioritizes its growth, I'm giving money to a company which funnels it to a community which has worked for it and needs it. This I can live with, even though this chocolate costs 6 times more than the other. I don't need to eat that much more chocolate and I'm willing to cut back on my intake of what is essentially a luxury since the little that I will consume has been ethically produced. It won't make a difference to my food budget (don't really have one, but hypothetically speaking now) because I'll be spending the same amount on chocolate. Less of it, to be sure, but of ethical origins. Extending this to other food groups means that in some, maybe many cases, what I pay for will be of better quality and better nutritional value (fresh produce gets main mention here).
Coincidentally, I'm painting my nails a shimmery rich chocolate. yum.
Dinner: tortilla-base pizza (because the one thing I baulk at is yeast. Especially when I'm hungry) with prosciutto, rocket, bocconcini and tomato. I have some prosciutto to use up and it's too intensely flavoured to eat in a sandwich. shouldn't have bought so much. damn DJs. d-oh. melons and bocconcini and I'm set.
There was a woman in the bus today with a funny hiccoughing laugh. haha. stop. haha. stop. literally. at some point on the way to the city this woman in a suit scooted into the empty seat in front of me. i was distracted for awhile by the hiccup-laugher and then spaced out like you do on bus rides. then i noticed that the woman in front of me appeared to be sleeping, leaning against the side of the bus. she must have had a rough day. since it was 1 in the afternoon, maybe she had to work really early too. as i exited the bus, i glanced at her. puffy faced and tired-eyed. a twinge of sympathy.
Once these questions have been asked, the answers are easy to find. Michael Pollan is a good place to start, as is Peter Singer but there are other writers out there I haven't read who have written on the subject. There is too much to go into here and I can't pull the facts out of my head automatically but trust me on this (and if you don't, investigate for yourself) the issue of ethical food matters. Where was your food grown? How far has it travelled to get to you? Who grew it and was s/he paid a fair wage? What is in your food (this is particularly relevant when you're looking at processed foods)? Under what conditions was your food grown and are these conditions sustainable? These are the questions that ought to be asked.
It's funny that it took a bar of chocolate I picked up out of curiousity to lead me to this point. See I started thinking in the shower about the trade-off that I make as a consumer in choosing to purchase that expensive ($5 for a 40g bar, to compare $5 for a 250g block of commercial chocolate) piece of chocolate. Simple math, if you look at it from a purely economic angle but then think about what was on the back of the 40g bar. Organic. Fairly traded. Locally made (if using imported cacao). A short, explicit ingredient list (I had a packet of Dove chocolates around. Ingredients: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk solids, emulsifier, flavours, Note the ambiguity of 'flavours', 'emulsifier'. Dove chocs are made by the Mars company too so that means that the cocoa used was not fairly traded).
The bottom line is, I can eat the expensive local, organic, fairly traded chocolate with a clear conscience knowing I have not contributed to a company which condones unfair trade and does not practice full disclosure to the average consumer of its products. Instead of giving money to a large corporation which prioritizes its growth, I'm giving money to a company which funnels it to a community which has worked for it and needs it. This I can live with, even though this chocolate costs 6 times more than the other. I don't need to eat that much more chocolate and I'm willing to cut back on my intake of what is essentially a luxury since the little that I will consume has been ethically produced. It won't make a difference to my food budget (don't really have one, but hypothetically speaking now) because I'll be spending the same amount on chocolate. Less of it, to be sure, but of ethical origins. Extending this to other food groups means that in some, maybe many cases, what I pay for will be of better quality and better nutritional value (fresh produce gets main mention here).
Coincidentally, I'm painting my nails a shimmery rich chocolate. yum.
Dinner: tortilla-base pizza (because the one thing I baulk at is yeast. Especially when I'm hungry) with prosciutto, rocket, bocconcini and tomato. I have some prosciutto to use up and it's too intensely flavoured to eat in a sandwich. shouldn't have bought so much. damn DJs. d-oh. melons and bocconcini and I'm set.
There was a woman in the bus today with a funny hiccoughing laugh. haha. stop. haha. stop. literally. at some point on the way to the city this woman in a suit scooted into the empty seat in front of me. i was distracted for awhile by the hiccup-laugher and then spaced out like you do on bus rides. then i noticed that the woman in front of me appeared to be sleeping, leaning against the side of the bus. she must have had a rough day. since it was 1 in the afternoon, maybe she had to work really early too. as i exited the bus, i glanced at her. puffy faced and tired-eyed. a twinge of sympathy.
reading material
-raw organic activated almond & purple corn dark chocolate-
62% raw cacao
single origin from Satipo Peru
our cacao is fairly treated
** organic chocolate bars are handmade in Melbourne. the organic cacao we use is raw, which means our chocolate has up to 4 times as many antioxidants as conventional chocolate. We use organic agave syrup (a natural, low GI sweetener) instead of sugar to create this delicious chocolate bar.
Ingredients: organic raw cacao butter, organic raw cacao powder, organic agave syrup (dark), organic activated almods, vanilla beans, purple corn extract, himalayan crystal salt.
taste. apparently much better than cacao nibs (I haven't tried, JY has). a bit coarser than commercial dark chocolate but with a more complex flavour. maybe the soft bitty bits were cause it's raw... ooh, himalayan crystal salt, agave syrup. i'm a sucker for new stuff. and packaging. and
fair trade. the makers of this chocolate reportedly observe the spirit of fair trade more than green & blacks and, obviously, the big guns (incidentally, cadbury owns g&b) and definitely more than Lindt, Nestle, Hershey, and the Mars company (crap. boo!! off my safe eating list, you lot.)
more here
62% raw cacao
single origin from Satipo Peru
our cacao is fairly treated
** organic chocolate bars are handmade in Melbourne. the organic cacao we use is raw, which means our chocolate has up to 4 times as many antioxidants as conventional chocolate. We use organic agave syrup (a natural, low GI sweetener) instead of sugar to create this delicious chocolate bar.
Ingredients: organic raw cacao butter, organic raw cacao powder, organic agave syrup (dark), organic activated almods, vanilla beans, purple corn extract, himalayan crystal salt.
taste. apparently much better than cacao nibs (I haven't tried, JY has). a bit coarser than commercial dark chocolate but with a more complex flavour. maybe the soft bitty bits were cause it's raw... ooh, himalayan crystal salt, agave syrup. i'm a sucker for new stuff. and packaging. and
fair trade. the makers of this chocolate reportedly observe the spirit of fair trade more than green & blacks and, obviously, the big guns (incidentally, cadbury owns g&b) and definitely more than Lindt, Nestle, Hershey, and the Mars company (crap. boo!! off my safe eating list, you lot.)
more here
barf
seriously.
these fuckwits can't control their own urges and resort to regulating the life out of women. pathetic. Dahling, your beloved council is the security threat, not the NGOs.
these fuckwits can't control their own urges and resort to regulating the life out of women. pathetic. Dahling, your beloved council is the security threat, not the NGOs.
revival
I walked through a carpet of purple flowers this morning. It's been raining since last night and the winds blew down half the flowers on the trees.
So this is my new project/ revitalized dormant project: to cook properly.
It started yesterday, really. I made mayonnaise from scratch, using a hand whisk. And it was good. See there's this site with pictures of food that link you to individual blogs. One of the pictures brought me to a blog where the author had made mayonnaise. I had everything the recipe called for at hand, time to kill, and besides, I'd wanted to make mayonnaise for yonks now. It had always intimidated me though - stories of the mixture curdling and separating put me off. I don't like the prospect of failure.
But this, this seemed easy. And it was! Piece of cake. I only had Cobram Estate's EV olive oil in the cupboard so the mayo has a strong bite to it; peppery and fruity. It is also really thick. Like pudding. Could have thinned it out but I got a kick out of seeing it jiggle. My mayo has character. Hah.
A third of it got turned into aioli, the rest was unadulterated. Dolloped onto smoked ham and sandwiched between toast for dinner. Yum. Now I've got to use it up within a week but that shouldn't be hard. Now I've got to try making hollandaise to go with poached eggs (picked up a little metal egg poacher in Melbourne. It is shaped like an old-fashioned bathtub with legs. Only it has holes in the bottom so it can't hold water. And a stem. Adorable)
Today's project is undetermined.
I'm re-loving my macchinetta
So this is my new project/ revitalized dormant project: to cook properly.
It started yesterday, really. I made mayonnaise from scratch, using a hand whisk. And it was good. See there's this site with pictures of food that link you to individual blogs. One of the pictures brought me to a blog where the author had made mayonnaise. I had everything the recipe called for at hand, time to kill, and besides, I'd wanted to make mayonnaise for yonks now. It had always intimidated me though - stories of the mixture curdling and separating put me off. I don't like the prospect of failure.
But this, this seemed easy. And it was! Piece of cake. I only had Cobram Estate's EV olive oil in the cupboard so the mayo has a strong bite to it; peppery and fruity. It is also really thick. Like pudding. Could have thinned it out but I got a kick out of seeing it jiggle. My mayo has character. Hah.
A third of it got turned into aioli, the rest was unadulterated. Dolloped onto smoked ham and sandwiched between toast for dinner. Yum. Now I've got to use it up within a week but that shouldn't be hard. Now I've got to try making hollandaise to go with poached eggs (picked up a little metal egg poacher in Melbourne. It is shaped like an old-fashioned bathtub with legs. Only it has holes in the bottom so it can't hold water. And a stem. Adorable)
Today's project is undetermined.
I'm re-loving my macchinetta
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
aiya
CdG 8 88 - love at first sniff.
TF Black Orchid - black truffle. ohh
I need to cultivate less expensive taste.
TF Black Orchid - black truffle. ohh
I need to cultivate less expensive taste.
melbourne pt.1
I spent most of the trip eating, or at least it felt that way. JY insisted on paying for every meal we ate together as her graduation gift to me. In return, I made pancakes. I know. Breakfast was mostly at her flat - coffee and whatever else was on hand but I couldn't not trip down to the QV markets for pastries (and coffee) at least twice.
Gill's Diner - gnochetti with tomato and calamari, duck confit with lentils
some Japanese place - sword tataki with ponzu, spicy prok mince ramen
QV - almond croissant (lovelovelove. it wasn't the type you find in KL with a sprinkle of almond flakes on top of a normal croissant - this had chunky marzipan running through the pastry and on top, with a thorough dusting of icing sugar to make sure everyone know you've been eating sweet stuff)
mussels in white wine (home cooked)
Cafe Vue - lunch box. Cafe Vue is a more casual branch of Vue de Monde and the lunch box we both ordered is a genius idea. The contents change daily so you don't know what you're going to get and it comes in a sturdy red cardboard box designed by someone or another (printed on top, did not register. preoccupied with contents). Perfect for the indecisive. Let the chef decide what you should eat. Inside, there's a little menu to tell you what you've gotten. We got a starter of pork rilette with fennel seed crackers (rather Asian), a salad of haricot blanc and chorizo, tuna nicoise roll, and a dessert of chocolate mousse with baked orange cream. How sweet is that? And the disposable cutlery they supplied with it was made of wood. It kinda reminded me of toy kitchen sets, you know those plywood forks and spoons. I liked. There's a picture of me admiring the cutlery (just because they were such a novelty. no splinters either)
Laksa me - Khao Sao Gai. Not sure if this was Thai but it was yummy - dry fried noodles with a chicken curry.
QV (again) - coffee scroll. I'd seen this the first time I went to QV and put it on my to eat list. It had coffee in its name, can't go past that. Turns out, it's like a coffee cake - it doesn't actually have any coffee in it but it goes perfectly with coffee. More like a giant cinnamon bun. Damn. Not coffee.
Hooked - grilled fish, salt and pepper calamari, a mountain of chips (I shit you not. a mole hill, at least)
Fritz gelato - ruby grapefruit and blood orange. Blood orange...
smoky bacon and spiced plum sausages with broccoli. We picked up these sausages at QV and baked them. Smoky bacon really tasted like smoky bacon. I kept trying to taste plum in the other one because it intrigued me but it was fairly subtle. You could taste a slight fruitiness in it but it didn't overpower the meat. Yummy, very yummy. By this point I wanted to up stakes and live in Melbourne just because it has QV. But then the weather is kind of shit and it was really the central location of the flat which got me.
lamb and cheese gozleme at the Sunday arts market. Like pide, but thinner bread and less filling.
Grill'd - Hot Mama burger. I know there's a place in Kl with the same name but it's not part of this chain I think. The Hot Mama had harissa (love harissa. want to smuggle a tub back to KL with me), roasted peppers (another love), tzatziki (love, but a bit less), pickle and cheese. Oh and some salad too. It was at least 3 inches thick. Squish squish squish and it fits! chomp.
Animal Orchestra (love the name) - Baked eggs with chorizo, black pudding and tomato. I need to get a baked eggs recipe. Also shared a sticky date pudding with vanilla bean ice cream (it rhymes. say it really fast now: vanillabeanicecream vanillabeanicecream) and caramel sauce. Should also find a good recipe for this. Dammit, why are all the things I love hard to find in KL.
Dainty Sichuan (I swear, I'm not making these names up) - so not dainty. This is real sichuan food (I've been told). Sichuan peppercorns do this strange thing to your tongue and lips where they have a numbing effect. So it doesn't sting the way spicy food usually does. Instead, you just lose sensation. Hmm.... I glanced in the mirror when we got back and my lips were fatter than usual. It looked strange. Sichuan food works better than lip plumpers and doesn't sting like lip plumpers. The peppercorns themselves look slightly alien. It's like someone took regular peppercorns and covered them in tiny white zits. Oh right, the food - beef on toothpick (that's what it said on the menu, don't scold me for not remembering!), chilli chicken, and leeks with tofu. Both meat dishes came in a mountain of dry fried tiny chillies. Not sure if they were cili padi but there were a hell of a lot of them. I think they reuse the chillies - we had to wait a really long time for the chicken to come out and it was only after another table which had ordered it had left. Tasty, spicy and fascinating.
Nobu - sashimi tacos (shared), lunch bento box and suntory whisky cappucino (shared). Ok, so you've probably heard of Nobu. If you haven't, google it. The sashimi tacos were delicious. They put cubed tuna, salmon, crabmeat, and prawns (separately) into mini crisp taco shells and plonked a little pot of salsa next to it for you to dab on. South America meets Japan. Loved the contrasting textures and the different flavours. The tacos were a bit too tasty (salty) but it's all good. The bento box was huge. Stacked oblong bento box with 5 compartments. It came with a portion of black cod with miso (signature dish), tuna sashimi with a sesame-black pepper-maybe a bit of ponzu but i'm not sure dressing, various sushi, mixed vegetables on rice, citrusy shrimp tempura. And miso soup. And I finished it all! (except for most of the rice under the veges). The whisky cappucino was the best bit of the meal. It's actually a layered dessert in a cap cup. bottoms up: chocolate covered coffee bean bits, coffee creme brulee (not really a creme brulee, just custard), milk ice cream, whisky foam. I want this every day for a month, Then maybe I'd get sick of it and not crave it.
gnocchi with shrimp and peas in a creamy white wine sauce (homecooked and bloody good. easy too)
enchiladas and meatballs from DJ's food hall.
there. now I'm hungry.
Gill's Diner - gnochetti with tomato and calamari, duck confit with lentils
some Japanese place - sword tataki with ponzu, spicy prok mince ramen
QV - almond croissant (lovelovelove. it wasn't the type you find in KL with a sprinkle of almond flakes on top of a normal croissant - this had chunky marzipan running through the pastry and on top, with a thorough dusting of icing sugar to make sure everyone know you've been eating sweet stuff)
mussels in white wine (home cooked)
Cafe Vue - lunch box. Cafe Vue is a more casual branch of Vue de Monde and the lunch box we both ordered is a genius idea. The contents change daily so you don't know what you're going to get and it comes in a sturdy red cardboard box designed by someone or another (printed on top, did not register. preoccupied with contents). Perfect for the indecisive. Let the chef decide what you should eat. Inside, there's a little menu to tell you what you've gotten. We got a starter of pork rilette with fennel seed crackers (rather Asian), a salad of haricot blanc and chorizo, tuna nicoise roll, and a dessert of chocolate mousse with baked orange cream. How sweet is that? And the disposable cutlery they supplied with it was made of wood. It kinda reminded me of toy kitchen sets, you know those plywood forks and spoons. I liked. There's a picture of me admiring the cutlery (just because they were such a novelty. no splinters either)
Laksa me - Khao Sao Gai. Not sure if this was Thai but it was yummy - dry fried noodles with a chicken curry.
QV (again) - coffee scroll. I'd seen this the first time I went to QV and put it on my to eat list. It had coffee in its name, can't go past that. Turns out, it's like a coffee cake - it doesn't actually have any coffee in it but it goes perfectly with coffee. More like a giant cinnamon bun. Damn. Not coffee.
Hooked - grilled fish, salt and pepper calamari, a mountain of chips (I shit you not. a mole hill, at least)
Fritz gelato - ruby grapefruit and blood orange. Blood orange...
smoky bacon and spiced plum sausages with broccoli. We picked up these sausages at QV and baked them. Smoky bacon really tasted like smoky bacon. I kept trying to taste plum in the other one because it intrigued me but it was fairly subtle. You could taste a slight fruitiness in it but it didn't overpower the meat. Yummy, very yummy. By this point I wanted to up stakes and live in Melbourne just because it has QV. But then the weather is kind of shit and it was really the central location of the flat which got me.
lamb and cheese gozleme at the Sunday arts market. Like pide, but thinner bread and less filling.
Grill'd - Hot Mama burger. I know there's a place in Kl with the same name but it's not part of this chain I think. The Hot Mama had harissa (love harissa. want to smuggle a tub back to KL with me), roasted peppers (another love), tzatziki (love, but a bit less), pickle and cheese. Oh and some salad too. It was at least 3 inches thick. Squish squish squish and it fits! chomp.
Animal Orchestra (love the name) - Baked eggs with chorizo, black pudding and tomato. I need to get a baked eggs recipe. Also shared a sticky date pudding with vanilla bean ice cream (it rhymes. say it really fast now: vanillabeanicecream vanillabeanicecream) and caramel sauce. Should also find a good recipe for this. Dammit, why are all the things I love hard to find in KL.
Dainty Sichuan (I swear, I'm not making these names up) - so not dainty. This is real sichuan food (I've been told). Sichuan peppercorns do this strange thing to your tongue and lips where they have a numbing effect. So it doesn't sting the way spicy food usually does. Instead, you just lose sensation. Hmm.... I glanced in the mirror when we got back and my lips were fatter than usual. It looked strange. Sichuan food works better than lip plumpers and doesn't sting like lip plumpers. The peppercorns themselves look slightly alien. It's like someone took regular peppercorns and covered them in tiny white zits. Oh right, the food - beef on toothpick (that's what it said on the menu, don't scold me for not remembering!), chilli chicken, and leeks with tofu. Both meat dishes came in a mountain of dry fried tiny chillies. Not sure if they were cili padi but there were a hell of a lot of them. I think they reuse the chillies - we had to wait a really long time for the chicken to come out and it was only after another table which had ordered it had left. Tasty, spicy and fascinating.
Nobu - sashimi tacos (shared), lunch bento box and suntory whisky cappucino (shared). Ok, so you've probably heard of Nobu. If you haven't, google it. The sashimi tacos were delicious. They put cubed tuna, salmon, crabmeat, and prawns (separately) into mini crisp taco shells and plonked a little pot of salsa next to it for you to dab on. South America meets Japan. Loved the contrasting textures and the different flavours. The tacos were a bit too tasty (salty) but it's all good. The bento box was huge. Stacked oblong bento box with 5 compartments. It came with a portion of black cod with miso (signature dish), tuna sashimi with a sesame-black pepper-maybe a bit of ponzu but i'm not sure dressing, various sushi, mixed vegetables on rice, citrusy shrimp tempura. And miso soup. And I finished it all! (except for most of the rice under the veges). The whisky cappucino was the best bit of the meal. It's actually a layered dessert in a cap cup. bottoms up: chocolate covered coffee bean bits, coffee creme brulee (not really a creme brulee, just custard), milk ice cream, whisky foam. I want this every day for a month, Then maybe I'd get sick of it and not crave it.
gnocchi with shrimp and peas in a creamy white wine sauce (homecooked and bloody good. easy too)
enchiladas and meatballs from DJ's food hall.
there. now I'm hungry.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
frown
Back from Melbourne and refreshed. Sniffed much, ate more, walked less.
I love staying in the city centre. Clean, modern apartment. Hardwood floors. No cooking odours. Good, intelligent company. Perfect. More to come on the trip.
The good-bad thing about spending time with my cousin is that my judgemental tendencies and intellectual capacity resurface. While this means that I've pulled it together because I cannot stand having weaknesses, it also means that the trite makes me shudder once again and I'm tempted to disavow anyone who spouts banalities and unnecessary adjectives.
Reconciliation: People have the right to be as inane and insubstantial as they want. Just as I have the right to scorn them and dismiss them with disdain. Yes, I am arrogant.
Also the flat stinks of curry. Ugh.
I love staying in the city centre. Clean, modern apartment. Hardwood floors. No cooking odours. Good, intelligent company. Perfect. More to come on the trip.
The good-bad thing about spending time with my cousin is that my judgemental tendencies and intellectual capacity resurface. While this means that I've pulled it together because I cannot stand having weaknesses, it also means that the trite makes me shudder once again and I'm tempted to disavow anyone who spouts banalities and unnecessary adjectives.
Reconciliation: People have the right to be as inane and insubstantial as they want. Just as I have the right to scorn them and dismiss them with disdain. Yes, I am arrogant.
Also the flat stinks of curry. Ugh.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
omifuckingod
this one - such a bastard. so much for being friends when you can't be there for me the one time I ask you. I could be a grown up and pretend it's alright but you've done nothing to deserve decent treatment. this is you being pushed out of my life. bye now.
---
Melburn tomorrow. Hope to restore my appetite there. Strangely I haven't been hungry for the past two days. I've been eating around friends, not because I'm hungry but because it is expected of me. Dinner last night was after having an apple and coffee for lunch (not by conscious choice, there was a lot going on). And despite the intrigue of a fluffed-up piece of roti canai (think an irregularly shaped ball made by someone who has never seen a ball) and the first roti in months, I ate it with a semblance of enthusiasm. Because I was supposed to.
The same thing happened at lunch today. C and I shared a panang curry and pad thai at one of the best places in Sydney (conveniently close to home too) and I just pretended to be hungry. Dinner was a few strawberries because they needed to be eaten before I left. Nothing in between but a latte. Still not hungry.
Here we go again.
In less than 24 hours Dubya's successor will be known. I'm going to miss G W actually. The gems he's come up with are priceless. You could put a dyslexic with tourettes on stage and he still wouldn't be able to top G W. ah good times.. (if at the cost of international regard and basic competence)
---
Melburn tomorrow. Hope to restore my appetite there. Strangely I haven't been hungry for the past two days. I've been eating around friends, not because I'm hungry but because it is expected of me. Dinner last night was after having an apple and coffee for lunch (not by conscious choice, there was a lot going on). And despite the intrigue of a fluffed-up piece of roti canai (think an irregularly shaped ball made by someone who has never seen a ball) and the first roti in months, I ate it with a semblance of enthusiasm. Because I was supposed to.
The same thing happened at lunch today. C and I shared a panang curry and pad thai at one of the best places in Sydney (conveniently close to home too) and I just pretended to be hungry. Dinner was a few strawberries because they needed to be eaten before I left. Nothing in between but a latte. Still not hungry.
Here we go again.
In less than 24 hours Dubya's successor will be known. I'm going to miss G W actually. The gems he's come up with are priceless. You could put a dyslexic with tourettes on stage and he still wouldn't be able to top G W. ah good times.. (if at the cost of international regard and basic competence)
Monday, November 03, 2008
burn
I wonder what it would be like to go out with a normal, decent man. For a change. Bring me one? After I detox that is.
I don't know where to start with the day's events. I don't know if I should, so I won't. Strangely, it doesn't hurt the way you would expect it to. It's already reached saturation point I guess.
On the upside (or maybe more on the strange side as well), it was another day where people kept smiling at me. In the faculty corridors, on the road. Whatever.
I saw whales for the first time. They were just off the shore at Maroubra and I could see their tails flipping and occasional spurts of water. Also got burnt (thank you impromptu-beach-trip-without-sunscreen-at-noon). The straps and the hemline from my dress are on clear display. Genius.
-walks around the house muttering ow ow ow ow-
IT has been read by people other than my supervisor by now. Duncan told me that today was the date all theses were to be passed back to the Honours coordinator. After this the two different markers' scores will be tallied and there will be the Honours committee meeting to discuss the results before they are released. The thought of other people reading, having read it terrifies me, just a little. It has been put out there for strangers to see. An open book.
Dinner was good.
I miss my people.
I don't know where to start with the day's events. I don't know if I should, so I won't. Strangely, it doesn't hurt the way you would expect it to. It's already reached saturation point I guess.
On the upside (or maybe more on the strange side as well), it was another day where people kept smiling at me. In the faculty corridors, on the road. Whatever.
I saw whales for the first time. They were just off the shore at Maroubra and I could see their tails flipping and occasional spurts of water. Also got burnt (thank you impromptu-beach-trip-without-sunscreen-at-noon). The straps and the hemline from my dress are on clear display. Genius.
-walks around the house muttering ow ow ow ow-
IT has been read by people other than my supervisor by now. Duncan told me that today was the date all theses were to be passed back to the Honours coordinator. After this the two different markers' scores will be tallied and there will be the Honours committee meeting to discuss the results before they are released. The thought of other people reading, having read it terrifies me, just a little. It has been put out there for strangers to see. An open book.
Dinner was good.
I miss my people.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
week end
I got drizzled on at the market. It was an overcast day and I got there past 10, which is early by my standards since I had to wake up at 8.
The smell of food grilling floats through the open air market. You know the way they draw odours in cartoons, those wafting wispy strands of scent leading people forward by their noses? Yeah. First stop was for confused eggs (fancy egg and bacon roll) - eggs scrambled on a grill plate, smoky bacon, rocket and barbeque sauce on a chewy bun *love*. The sisters made a special request for the pomegranate balsamic vinegar that they got when I took them there back in June. M swore it turns the simplest salad into gourmet fare. It's funny how I'll shell out 20 dollars for a tiny jar of truffle salsa but wince inside at paying 22 for a bottle of balsamic (limited ed granted). Being the dutiful and loving sibling I am, I scored the last bottle available for them and a good pack of bush dukkah too (again, another easy gourmet maker). Plus a smaller packet of dukkah and tayberry jam to bring to JY in Melbourne.
'What's tayberry?'
A cross between a blackberry and a raspberry it seems, and possibly the most curious item at that stall. A minute after I asked, a couple came up and asked the same thing after glancing over the jams and tarts on display. The jam itself is slightly tart (raspberry genes?) but pleasantly so. (note to self: finish off stash of jams in fridge - strawberries and champagne, lemon curd, cherry, err.. too many. slight jam addiction maybe)
And that was it. That's all I got because it started drizzling while I was polishing off my brunch and I was wearing a dress and it was cold. >( The drizzle paused for awhile but it came back as rain later by which point I was trapped in the closest mall.
The walk to and back from the market along the harbour carried so many memories. The last time I had been there was in June with the sisters, happy and anticipating. Every visitor to Sydney has been brought to Darling Harbour to play in the random miniature fountains and try to get to the middle of the water swirl structure without getting their feet wet. It's this circular installation of sorts where alternating panels descending to a platform with a sphere in the middle have water flowing down towards the center in a spiral. Hard to describe. Takes too many words, but you know which one I'm talking about. I remember walking on the bridge overhead with B, S, and others, friends.
I just realized this afternoon that the goodbyes have begun. Friday's lunch was probably the last time I'll see that friend for a long time. Dinner with Duncan and his wife tomorrow will be another goodbye. And Tuesday brings another possibly last dinner. And as for the city itself, I'm slowly, reluctantly saying goodbye to it. There's a list of favourite haunts to visit before I fly. Some of them are everyday favourites, on campus, in Randwick. Others are more specialized - the art gallery for a dose of culture and calm in the storm, my secret place really, Coogee to doze and watch the waves roll in (some of my books are testament to this - sand between the pages), the train ride from bondi to circular quay just for the view pulling into the station, bills surry hills for the food and perfect brunch ambiance. One by one.
---
Last night doesn't bear talking about. I'm still seething/ stewing. You can tell me it'll drive you crazy after I leave if we start again and whisper that you'll miss me. Yet you don't want to make the most of the time I have left here. Because it'll drive you crazy after. Spineless. Allow me to express my contempt for you once again.
i'm losing my favourite game. my heart is black and my body is blue.
---
Reading: The Ethics of What We Eat - Singer and Mason.
I prefer Pollan's writing style, it's more polished and does not have the agenda these two have. But it is a good read nevertheless. Like Pollan, they raise serious questions about the food we eat, usually without thought. I might turn vegetarian for ethical reasons eventually. If my ethics ever hold up long enough to have their existence verified, that is. More on this later.
pack for melbourne! triptriptrip
The smell of food grilling floats through the open air market. You know the way they draw odours in cartoons, those wafting wispy strands of scent leading people forward by their noses? Yeah. First stop was for confused eggs (fancy egg and bacon roll) - eggs scrambled on a grill plate, smoky bacon, rocket and barbeque sauce on a chewy bun *love*. The sisters made a special request for the pomegranate balsamic vinegar that they got when I took them there back in June. M swore it turns the simplest salad into gourmet fare. It's funny how I'll shell out 20 dollars for a tiny jar of truffle salsa but wince inside at paying 22 for a bottle of balsamic (limited ed granted). Being the dutiful and loving sibling I am, I scored the last bottle available for them and a good pack of bush dukkah too (again, another easy gourmet maker). Plus a smaller packet of dukkah and tayberry jam to bring to JY in Melbourne.
'What's tayberry?'
A cross between a blackberry and a raspberry it seems, and possibly the most curious item at that stall. A minute after I asked, a couple came up and asked the same thing after glancing over the jams and tarts on display. The jam itself is slightly tart (raspberry genes?) but pleasantly so. (note to self: finish off stash of jams in fridge - strawberries and champagne, lemon curd, cherry, err.. too many. slight jam addiction maybe)
And that was it. That's all I got because it started drizzling while I was polishing off my brunch and I was wearing a dress and it was cold. >( The drizzle paused for awhile but it came back as rain later by which point I was trapped in the closest mall.
The walk to and back from the market along the harbour carried so many memories. The last time I had been there was in June with the sisters, happy and anticipating. Every visitor to Sydney has been brought to Darling Harbour to play in the random miniature fountains and try to get to the middle of the water swirl structure without getting their feet wet. It's this circular installation of sorts where alternating panels descending to a platform with a sphere in the middle have water flowing down towards the center in a spiral. Hard to describe. Takes too many words, but you know which one I'm talking about. I remember walking on the bridge overhead with B, S, and others, friends.
I just realized this afternoon that the goodbyes have begun. Friday's lunch was probably the last time I'll see that friend for a long time. Dinner with Duncan and his wife tomorrow will be another goodbye. And Tuesday brings another possibly last dinner. And as for the city itself, I'm slowly, reluctantly saying goodbye to it. There's a list of favourite haunts to visit before I fly. Some of them are everyday favourites, on campus, in Randwick. Others are more specialized - the art gallery for a dose of culture and calm in the storm, my secret place really, Coogee to doze and watch the waves roll in (some of my books are testament to this - sand between the pages), the train ride from bondi to circular quay just for the view pulling into the station, bills surry hills for the food and perfect brunch ambiance. One by one.
---
Last night doesn't bear talking about. I'm still seething/ stewing. You can tell me it'll drive you crazy after I leave if we start again and whisper that you'll miss me. Yet you don't want to make the most of the time I have left here. Because it'll drive you crazy after. Spineless. Allow me to express my contempt for you once again.
i'm losing my favourite game. my heart is black and my body is blue.
---
Reading: The Ethics of What We Eat - Singer and Mason.
I prefer Pollan's writing style, it's more polished and does not have the agenda these two have. But it is a good read nevertheless. Like Pollan, they raise serious questions about the food we eat, usually without thought. I might turn vegetarian for ethical reasons eventually. If my ethics ever hold up long enough to have their existence verified, that is. More on this later.
pack for melbourne! triptriptrip
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