Monday, May 3, 2010

One fine saturday

Perfect with sunlight and warm breeze.

Perfect for dressing up in florals and going out without a destination in mind.
As usual I take every opportunity to put on my colour lenses and be all happy.

After all colour lenses mask the effect of additional weight (I truly believe so).

We drove all the way to Collingwood for a Japanese breakfast place discovered by WenJi. It was quit a long drive and all for a nice Japanese breakfast. I was really intrigued as you see a lot of Japanese restaurants but none specialising in breakfast! Immediately I was having flashbacks on the yummylicious breakfast we had in Hakone last year!
The cafe is called CIBI. Nested in between of what must be warehouses (?), CIBI is easily miss-able. In fact there is no big signboards, just a humble little standing board. But, people bustle in and out of this place.
It took us some time to get a table as they do not accept bookings there. Once in there, I realised that it is actually a Japanese+Western fusion cafe. You see a few Australians serving the tables while a few Japanese ladies tend to the kitchen.

They offer a range of teas and naturally I chose one of their green teas.


Quirky ornaments adorn the whole shop. In fact there is an art gallery consisting or glassware/porcelain/ traditional Japanese toys atttached to the cafe.

An excited pro-Japanese cuisine Alice Springs inhabitant.


Puffer fish.

See in real life I do laugh like this. Wah the first very 'ladylike' picture of me!! Even for that very milisecond I was a lady!

It was almost like a girl's day out - just almost.


A day before Alice Springs was on his itinerary.

This is the Traditional Japanese Breakfast.
Isn't it lovely? Although not in little bowls and containers or a tray, they small portions and variety definitely reminded me of Hakone.
The salmon was amazing, really really amazing. In fact, one of the best I have ever had. The omelette was great too and I love my Japanese omelettes.
Ray ordered a Tofu Burger in Teriyaki sauce and it was the bomb! The bun was crispy but chewy in a good way and before you think of the tofu being bland as compared to a huge-ass chunk of beef or fried chicken, let me tell you that it was not but in fact bursting with flavour. Definitely a must-try!

CIBI is a good place to just hang out and talk with friends. The casual and easygoing vibe they offer really makes a difference. I am contemplating to bring my Lowena to CIBI instead of Mart130 for breakfast hmmmm.
So much so that we made a trip to Alexandra Gardens for a second round of catch up.
This is what happens when you think the sun equates warmth in Melbourne. You under-dress and suffer and risk appearing un-macho.
Parks and gardens are always lovely on a sunny day. What makes it lovelier must be french fries, chocolate cakes and scones.
A half eaten florentine biscuit was momentarily forgotten as conversations continued on. . .

There is something devilish about how sharing food makes you eat more.

According to Jess, something seems very wrong in this picture. Pay attention to the extensive number of hearts. And for the ease of everyone's mind and justice to Ray, the phone is mine.

In my defense, I am usually a very nice girlfriend and Ray was smiling.
Friends I have, taking pictures of me like that.

Guess for the rest of my life I will just have to take pictures of myself :(

Ducks and eels swimming under the sun.



Autumn is definitely approaching :)
A whole table of Iphone freaks.

It was a normal and mundane day. But what I would give to live it all over again :)

Lakes Entrance

This marked the begining of our journey to Lakes Entrance.

"An artistic picture" (according to Ray) of "Malaysian Chipsmore" (according to me).


I realised that will be what happens when I hand him my camera.

Because after 1030393439 years I finally had a chance to drive an AUTO car and really drive Ray somewhere in return.

You know how I complained last time that he never took decent pictures of me? Well, I think he decided to prove otherwise, or maybe rebel.

#1 Macro shot of my hair.


#2 Not enough? Macro shot of my goosebumps.

#3 Still not enough? Un-macro shot of my injection mark.

Have I justified my reason to complain, ladies and gentlemen?

And to think that I take absolutely amazing pictures of him! Like this one in the Fish and Chips store in Lakes Entrance. How did he repay me?
With this. Grrrrrrrr.

But nevermind. Seafood basket was grrrrreat. So everything was forgiven.
According to Ray, seafood in Lakes Entrance is super. So the plan was to start off casual with fish and chips, and end glamourously with a fancy seafood dinner. In between all the eating action would be fishing and paddle boating.


The sun was shining bright and warm despite it being a bit wet earlier.

It was even warm enough for us to share an ice-cream.

And bright enough for me to appear half a shade fairer under natural sunlight!

And then we stepped out of the car to see.

Gloominessssssssssssss.
It was quite a damper. In the end, we did not end up doing an fishing or paddle boating - no one was able to. Luckily, Lakes Entrance offers quite a beautiful and tranquil scene. We ended up just walking aroung and taking in the scenery.
There were really graceful swans along the shore. . .
. . . until the started scavenging for food in the sewage pipe.

The worst part was the patchy rains. We were walking whenever the sun shone and looking for shelter whenever the rain took over.

One of our shelters. Bridges like this remind me of Sandakan :)

Now for the big surprise!

Voila. Right after we stepped out of what must have been our 3rd shelter.

Different from the tranquility offered by the gloomy skies, Lakes Entrance was then looking serene. Really really beautiful.

Walking along the bridge, one can't help but be mesmerised by the instantaneous change of colour of the water - from grey to blue (reflecting the weather).

Just after the bridge, there is a beach. I love beaches over here.

The millions steps before us.


The sunset was gorgeous. See my orange face haha. It was not fake tan gone bad, I swear.
Ready for the gorgeousness of sunset at Lakes Entrance? Go!





I just love looking at the colourful reflections of the clouds on the water surface. Swwwooooooon.
The night was cold and windy so I was reaaaaaallllly looking forward to the glamorous fancy seafood dinner as aptly described by Ray way early before the trip.
BUT. Every single seafood restaurant was booked out. We were literally walking from door to door asking for a tiny table for two - but to no avail sniff sniff - sniff both as in sobbing and snivelling from the cold.
In the end we went to a random cafe and had erm, supposingly-cheap-but-not lousy cafe dinner. But it was a good laugh.
The next morning we went to this place called Buchan Caves. Located just a good 20 minutes drive away from Lakes Entrance, these are limestone caves filled with stalagtites and stalagmites and underground rivers carved by the nature through the flow of time.
Lemme tell you, it was amazing. Makes you really appreciate the creations of nature and the beauty of it.


Shimmery fairy dust.

In the dark, they really look like a hill of fairy dust. Tempts one to make a wish.








Not willing to give up on his planned glamourous seafood dinner end to this trip, Ray went back to Ferryman's Seafood Cafe for the meal he deserves!
And ooh la la was it good. Behold.



Two dishes I forgot the name to. Sigh. Anyway, it was awesome - fresh, crunchy seafood bursting with flavour!

And here are the jelly fish waving us goodbye and till we meet again, Lakes Entrance!