In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m still in Sydney. Saucer and I went on a trip to Taiwan just before I left for Sydney and I thought I should start posting our travel stories in case they become outdated. First and foremost, accommodation! That is usually one of the, if not the most expensive part of a holiday. Since we were going to be in Taipei for 7 nights, we had to find a place which was convenient and economical. After searching high and low, we settled for CityInn Hotel Plus right smack in the shopping area of Ximending. From the airport, we took a bus that dropped us at Ximending, where we only had to walk 5 minutes to the hotel.

Double bed room

Checking in was a breeze because we already pre-booked our stay. It is wise to book online for the best rates and to guarantee your room, because the rooms at CityInn sell out very quickly. In fact, we only managed to book 5 nights out of our 7 nights stay there since the other 2 nights were fully booked. But that’s another story for another post. We managed to get quite a good rate of about RM170/night online and it was the best value hotel that we’d ever stayed in.

Sofa and study desk

Our room was clean and fully air-conditioned, with all the amenities that we needed, and more. There was a 32-inch LCD TV on the wall with more channels that we could watch (more than 70!) and free internet access 24/7. Everything in the room was modern, including the switches. Instead of the conventional switches, they had the touch panel switches with labels and backlight – perfect when you have to turn on the switch in the middle of the night on the way to the loo, yes?

Electronic safe

Backlit switches

Minibar and complimentary drinking water

The bathroom was spacious and clean, with a rain shower of good water pressure. I didn’t expect to have the full set of toiletries (including toothbrush and paste) considering the rather cheap rate we paid, but we were given that and more, refilled daily. For ladies, you’d be amused to find that they even provided a sanitary pad in the set of toiletries, and for men, a condom!

Clean bathroom and toilet

Sanitary napkin given

We stayed at 2 different rooms in the hotel since we had to break our stay due to the fully booked period in the middle. Our second room was very colorful, but just as comfortable.

Double bedroom #2

Study desk

At that point, I was throughly pleased and happy with the room, even though small, but very modern and functional. But I was to be pleasantly surprised when we went down to the basement where the common area was. The common room was spacious and clean, with comfortable couches and a TV for the comfort of the residents. Next to the lounge was a dining area with plenty of tables and chairs, perfect for eating that take-out meal or the cup of instant noodles.

Lounge in common area

Dining area

On the same level was the pantry with a microwave, hot and cold drinking water and, wait for it, a coffee machine! Seeing a coffee machine there immediately sealed the deal for Saucer, since he loved a good cup of hot coffee every morning we’re there. The hot water and microwave proved to be extremely useful when we bought cup noodles for that midnight snack too! Speaking of which, there was a 24-hour convenience store located just opposite CityInn.

Pantry area

Coffee machine and hot water

Microwave

Just next to the lounge was another area for internet-surfing.

Complimentary use of internet

And if all that is not enough, here is something that will blow you away. Well, it did blow me away – the hotel provided free use of washing machine and dryer! That was honestly the first time I came across such facility, which was extremely useful when you’re there for a long period of time. Knowing this beforehand allowed us to pack less clothes and allocate more space for shopping! We used the washer and dryer twice during our 5-day stay and were absolutely satisfied with the results. Since we were there during the cold months of spring, the warm clothes from the dryer definitely provided us comfort.

Complimentary laundry facilities

Weighing machine for your luggage

If you can’t already tell by now, I am absolutely smitten with this hotel and would highly recommend it to anyone going to Taipei. They truly have travelers in mind with all the facilities provided free of charge. I mean, there was even a weighing machine at the lobby for you to double check your luggage just in case it is overweight! Oh, did I mention that aside from all the wonderful facilities provided, the one thing that makes it perfect is its location. Not only is it walking distance to the shopping district of Ximending, it is only 2 minutes away from the train station, which makes it absolutely convenient to go to anywhere in Taipei. My advice? Book early to avoid disappointment. And no, this is not sponsored.

CityInn Hotel Plus at Ximending

Getting there: Take MRT to Ximen Station, go to Exit 3 and CityInn is on your left.

CityInn Hotel Plus
No.63, Baoqing Rd., Zhongzheng Dist.,
Taipei City 100, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Tel: +886 (2) 7725-2288
Fax: +886 (2) 7725-2799
E-Mail: service4@cityinn.com.tw
Website: www.cityinn.com.tw/EN/Cityinn4/index.aspx

I guess deep down inside, I’m a true blue Asian, for every once in a while, I do crave for a good bowl of noodles. I love all sorts of noodles, be it ramen, soba, wantan mee or even spaghetti! That fateful night was supposed to be a night of ramen, so a few of us went to Ichi-ban Boshi to queue for a table. And boy was the queue long! Even though we were there relatively early at 6pm, we must have waited for more than an hour for a table. Standing and waiting with empty stomachs was definitely not fun. Perhaps that was why my expectation went just a bit higher since I waited that long.

Tantanmen

Ichi-ban Boshi is apparently the go-to place for ramen in Sydney. I was at first mistaken by the name, thinking that it was the same chain as Ichiban Boshi in KL, but it was clearly just a coincidence that they are both sharing the same names. The establishment here focuses mainly on ramen only with some selections of rice (don) and several side dishes. One of us ordered the Green Tea Latte which looked quite fancy but to me was a tad bland. The green tea lacked flavor and the milk seemed diluted.

Green Tea Latte

To start, we shared the Deep-Fried Chicken, which came with an exceptionally strong and pleasing aroma. It was perhaps more pleasing since it was the first dish to arrive and we’re all famished. The chicken was well-marinated, deep fried to perfection and was deliciously juicy within. I definitely wouldn’t mind a second helping of this.

Deep-fried Chicken (AUD$8.50)

Another common entree in Japanese restaurants is the Gyoza, or pan-fried dumplings. I have had my fair share of gyoza back in Malaysia, so I thought it to be rather weird that the gyoza here was served wet. I’d prefer them to be crispy and dry, so I wasn’t quite used to the presentation here. Taste-wise, it was quite one-dimensional and not impressive.

Gyoza (AUD$6.50)

Last but not least, the main reason that we were there – ramen! I was looking forward to order the Tonkotsu ramen but was told that they ran out of it. It was common to run out of Tonkotsu since they only make a limited number of bowls daily. Therefore, I settled for the Very Hot Ramen, being in the mood for something spicy (always). The size of the serving was pretty huge, perhaps enough for 2 small eaters. The soup was spicy, but that was it. It was not exciting and in some ways, boring. It was just spicy. I suppose the Tantanmen that my cousin was having would taste better. The saviour of the dish was the ramen, for they were springy and chewy, just like how I’d like ramen to be. The piece of pork belly (Char shu) was tasty too, although I couldn’t judge much based on just one piece of it in the bowl.

Very Hot Ramen (AUD$11.90)

Springy ramen

To be fair, I don’t think I can judge a restaurant just by trying one type of ramen alone. I would probably return to try my luck with the tonkotsu ramen some day. But based on the visit on that evening alone, it was definitely not worth my one-hour plus wait in the queue. Oh, did I mention that I felt thirsty the whole night after? Must have been the MSG in the soup.

Ichi-ban Boshi

Long queue at Ichi-ban Boshi

Ichi-ban Boshi
Level 2, The Galeries,
500 George Street,
Sydney NSW 2000,
Australia.
Tel. No.: +61 (02)9262 7677
Opening Hours: Daily (11am – 9 pm)
Website: www.ichibanboshi.com.au

If you ask me what AFL was last week, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But it’s funny how fast one can get into the life of down under, because just a few days ago, I had my first taste of the famed Australian Footy. AFL, short for Australian Football League, is undeniably one of the biggest professional sporting events in Australia with regards to football. Having heard so much about footy, I couldn’t help but to experience it live with a few of my colleagues when the chance came up.

View from my seat

The cheapest tier tickets were sold out by then, so we only managed to get the Gold-tiered tickets at $40+ each. The good thing about watching a game here was the weather! Since it was an outdoor stadium, I can’t imagine how hot and sweaty it would be had it been in our tropical country. The weather that evening was cool with clear skies, perfect for an outdoor game. Our seats were quite close to the field, so we had a good view of the players.

Sea of spectators to my right

View to my left

The game that evening was between Sydney Swans and Melbourne, held at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The atmosphere was quite amazing. According to the host, there were more than 21,000 people in the stadium that night! I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to understand the game at first, but it was actually quite straightforward. We really just need to know that when the ball goes in between the centre 2 posts, then a goal is scored and 6 points given. If, however, the ball misses and goes in between the poles on the left or right, the team will get 1 point for scoring a behind. Simple!

Melbourne supporters

The match that night was rather single-sided, with the Sydney Swans leading the game by a huge margin. There was a group of Melbourne supporters nearby and when their team scored, they would stand up and start dancing with their flags. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to do that many times that night.

Sydney Swans supporters

Of course, being the home ground, the Sydney Swans had the majority of the supporters in the stadium that night. Their fans could be easily recognized by their red and white outfits. In fact, they reminded me of Santa Claus colors – so festive! Every time the Sydney Swans scored a goal, the cheer was deafening. I suppose that is the big difference between watching a game live and watching it from the TV.

Kick to Kick

After more than 2 hours of watching the match, Sydney Swans won by a whopping margin or 101 points (138 vs 37). At the end of the game, it was announced that ‘Kick to Kick’ was on that night, which meant that the audience had the chance to go down to the field and had a shot at playing football there! Many football fans brought their football with them, and took their time playing and kicking it around.

Getting a taste of football in the field

Is he going to catch it?

First experience at a footy game

Watching Australian football was very much like watching soccer, where everyone went after a ball and tried to shoot it past the goal. The biggest difference is perhaps how tackling is allowed and in some cases, could be hazardous. It was overall quite an interesting experience for me, although I did wish that the game was more competitive. With such a big margin of win, there was no question on who the winner would be after the second quarter was played. There’s always the chance for another match, especially when Saucer is here.

Score of Sydney Swans vs Melbourne

Some updates about life in Sydney! Yes I have started working for close to 2 weeks now, and recently found a place of my own to stay! Believe me when I say that the rental market here is extremely competitive! I had gone through at least 5 rejections before finally landing this apartment but I have no complaints. This place is close to work, clean and is not too expensive. Perfect! Now after being here for more than 6 weeks, I do have cravings for Malaysian food. Thankfully, there’s Sambal to the rescue. The restaurant that boasts of Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine is my favorite joint to cure my char kuey teow fix.

Penang Char Kuey Teow

Located along Lane Cove road just minutes of walk from the Macquarie Park train station, Sambal is always packed especially during the weekends. They have weekend specials during lunch, with different dishes offered every week on the month. KL Hokkien Mee is one of the dishes that is only offered during the weekends, so we gave that a try. Fried to a silky black finish, I found the noodles to be a tad too sweet. The noodles were chewy and nice, although slightly different from the ‘dai lok min’ we usually have. I think it would have been much nicer with some pork lard? But I realize that in Australia, generally people are more health-conscious and food tend to be less oily.

KL Hokkien Mee (AUD$14.80)

The Mee Rebus was commendable, with actual egg noodles being used and all the usual deep fried suspects present. The only thing I found amusing was that they used lemon instead of lime for the dash of sour. I thought the combination was slightly weird at first, but grew to accept it. Apparently it’s quite hard to find lime here, hence the replacement by lemon.

Mee Rebus (AUD$13.80)

My favorite dish of all has to be the Penang Char Kuey Teow. There was a choice of either mild, medium or hot that one could choose from, and being me, of course I went for the hot option. I didn’t regret it. I have always liked my char kuey teow to be spicy and hot! The version at Sambal was spicy enough and had a nice aroma. I thought it was done pretty good considering I did not find any pork lard used. The only difference was the flat noodles ‘hor fun’ used here was thicker than the ones found in Penang. That perhaps affected the flavor and texture a little, but it’s quite close to the real thing. I was definitely satisfied.

Penang Char Kuey Teow (AUD$12.30)

Teh Tarik is another of Malaysia’s specialty, so it was also offered here. This was a little lacking in terms of the flavor from the tea, for I only tasted the milk instead. I found that the tea from another Malaysian restaurant called Mamak, was much better and thicker too.

The Tarik (AUD$4)

Last but not least, we shared a bowl of Cendol for dessert. When the bowl was served, I didn’t expect much but it turned out to be pretty good. The cendol pieces were fat and chewy, not starchy like how some would be. Most importantly, the gula Melaka or palm sugar used was fabulous. It was very aromatic and went extremely well with the santan. They were definitely not stingy with quality ingredients.

Cendol (AUD$6.50)

Overall, I’d say that the Malaysian food here is surely above average and Sambal deserves a pat on its back for doing such a good job. The dining environment is fairly spacious and comfortable, service is prompt and food is genuinely Malaysian. I’ll be back to try out their roti and nasi lemak, when the craving comes.

Opening Hours

Sambal along Lane Cove Road

Sambal
285-297, Lane Cove Road,
North Ryde 2113,
New South Wales, Australia
Tel No.: (+612) 9889 7977
Website: www.sambal.com.au 

There is no question that girls have a sweet tooth, and that includes me. So during our Singapore trip, I couldn’t resist from ordering some cakes for the few of us to try out. What was supposed to be a coffee session ended up to be more like a cake session, for we ordered more cakes than we could finish. And we did all that in Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie in Paragon. To be honest, we randomly picked a cafe that time, and we chose Canele because we were attracted to their colorful display of cakes on their store front.

Strawberry Shortcake

Canele’s menu

The first cake that caught my eye was the Triple Chocolate Cheese Cake. What I saw from the display was chocolate, nuts and cheese! What’s not to love? Taking a bite revealed a layer of chocolate ganache mixed with nuts, covering a thick and dense chocolate cheese that was almost too rich to down. Almost. It was filled with chocolate flavor and proved to be a tad sweet after several bites. This was definitely meant to be shared. But I did enjoy the creamy and smooth texture of the cheese, which reminded me of chocolate mousse.

Triple Chocolate Cheese Cake (SGD7.65)

Glorious rich chocolate cheese

The Cake of the Day was also a piece of cheese cake,sandwiched by dark chocolate on the bottom and milk chocolate on top. Again, I could find no fault with the texture of their creamy, fluffy and smooth cheese. If I wasn’t careful, I would have ended up gaining a size bigger just based on that meal.

Cake of the Day (SGD7.65)

The favorite of the group turned out to be the Tarte Citron, an eye-catching piece of yellow tart that was not only pretty but delicious on the palate too. This was the least sweet dessert among all, but also the most interesting, for the play of flavors was quite brilliant. The lemon curd on top was smooth but not overly sour, while the almond pastry at the bottom was crumbly and sweet enough to neutralize the tanginess. It was somehow a combination that worked and it was also the cake that was finished the first.

Tarte Citron (SGD7.10)

Citrusy and creamy

Last but not least, we had the Strawberry Shortcake, perhaps the lightest dessert of all. It was generously filled with huge strawberries amidst light cream in between layers of sponge cake. Even though I would have preferred the strawberries to be sweeter, this was quite a delight to eat.We finished this second after the tart. Either that, or it’s a nice change after taking bites of the other overly sweet cakes.

Strawberry Shortcake (SGD7.65)

Staying true to our original mission, some of us did order Cappuccino. I took a sip to find the coffee to be too bitter, in fact, with a hint of burnt smell. My guess is that their beans were over-roasted? I had certainly had better coffee.

Cappuccino (SGD7)

Stressed = Desserts

Canele’s dining environment was comfortable, rather spacious and not overly noisy, even though it’s smacked in the middle of a busy shopping mall. Couple that with above average cakes, I can see why this place is fast becoming a hit, even among the visitors from overseas. I am definitely one of the returning customers.

Canele sells chocolates too

Canele at Paragon, Singapore

Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie Cafe
Paragon Shopping Centre
290 Orchard Road #B1-K8
Singapore 238859
Tel No.: +65 6733 8893
Fax: +65 6733 8896
Opening Hours: Mondays to Sundays (8am to 10pm)
Website: www.canele.com.sg

When a Singaporean is asked to name their ‘national’ food, 2 dishes are bound to come up – Hainanese Chicken Rice and Chilli Crabs. Well I have tried the former years ago, so I was determined to try the latter during my previous trip there. Googling would reveal that Jumbo Seafood is the go-to place for your chili crabs fix. Since we stayed in Clarke Quay,we opted to visit the branch there right after our tour at Skypark Marina Bay Sands. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the riverside restaurant, we were told that it was fully booked and that we would not have a place even on standby because they were booked until their last order time! Imagine my disappointment! Fortunately, we were told that there’s another branch across the road at The Riverwalk, and we could try our luck there.

 Red Hot chilli crabs

 So we walked and walked towards Jumbo, amidst the crowded Clarke Quay on a Saturday night. Thankfully, we managed to get a table there, it didn’t matter that it was already 10pm. We placed our orders and put on the cute aprons; someone even brought a cover for my handbag. How thoughtful!

Going through the menu

The apron and red cover for my handbag

Obviously, we ordered Chilli Crabs, being the main reason we were there. The name might be misleading to some, for the crabs were not all that spicy. They were mildly spicy, savory and with a hint of sweetness to it. Somehow, the whole combination was really tasty and agreed with my tastebuds. Dipping the deep fried mini buns in the gravy was the best! I couldn’t resist from ordering a second serving of the buns for they absorbed the delicious gravy so well.

Deep fried Mini buns (SGD0.50 each)

Chilli Crabs (SGD48/ 1kg)

Speaking of crabs, did I mention the sheer size of it? They were definitely not your average size crabs. The claw/pincer itself was so meaty that it made the effort of peeling off the shell worth it. Really. The meat was fresh, succulent, sweet and juicy. Really, one could not have asked for fresher crabs or better gravy. At least, that was how I felt that night. I enjoyed the crabs very much and would have been satisfied if they were the only things we ate that night.

Crab claw/ pincer

Size of the claw

But they were not the only things we ate, for we also tried the Pork Ribs. These ribs were sold individually, with a minimum of 2 ribs per order. So we had no choice but to order a pair of them and we did not regret it. The ribs had crispy and savory skin, with a tender and juicy interior that was oozing with flavor. The accompanying sauce was sweet and sour, bringing out the best in there ribs. It was suffice to say that both bones were licked clean that night.

Pork Ribs (SGD7.80/ each – minimum 2 orders)

Last but not least, for some greens, we had the Broccoli with Scallops. Scallops being the expensive ingredient here, we didn’t expect to see much of them in the dish but lo and behold! There were around 10 pieces of them served! And they were pretty sizable too, not to mention succulent. We were indeed pleased with our orders that night, with one dish impressing us after another.

Broccoli with Scallops (SGD22)

Even though the prices were not cheap (considering we had to convert from RM), I thought that it was one of the best meals we had in Singapore. The experience was somehow very satisfying, and perhaps I’d go to the extent of saying it’s worth every cent spent. Speaking of which, Chinese tea and wet towels here are complimentary. And they are very useful when your hands are all dirty from peeling the crabs! If we ever return to Singapore, this is one of the places that I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

Free wet tissue

Jumbo Seafood Gallery

Jumbo Seafood Gallery
The Riverwalk
20 Upper Circular Road #B1-48
The Riverwalk Singapore 058416
Tel/ Fax: 6534-3435/ 6536-3836
Opening Hours: Lunch (12pm – 3pm) & Dinner (6pm – 12am)
Website: www.jumboseafood.com.sg

After our visit to Ku De Ta in Singapore, we patiently waited for the sky to turn dark so that we could feast ourselves with the gorgeous night view of the Singapore skyline. This post will be featuring mostly pictures from the Skypark, from the daytime view to the moment just before it turned dark until it’s completely night time. Warning – overload of pictures coming up!

Singapore night view from Skypark

To get to Skypark, we took the MRT to Bayfront station. From there, we walked past plenty of high end retail shops as well as the casino, at the same time passing by some celebrity chef restaurants.

Marina Bay Shoppes

All ready to get up the Skypark

On the way to Marina Bay Sands hotel

TWG Tea House

ArtScience Museum

The signature cantilever design of Marina Bay Sands

At the ArtScience Museum

The person who took photos of me

View from the ArtScience Museum across the river

Another angle of the ArtScience museum

Across the bridge

witch and Saucer

Getting closer to the Skypark

Singapore Flyer

Pretty soon, we reached the entrance of the Skypark and purchased entrance tickets costing SGD20 each. This only allowed us to entrance to the observatory deck and not to the swimming pool. There’s a guided tour to the pool everyday but it was fully booked by the time we reached.

Tickets to Skypark

The view from the Skypark was pretty spectacular. Even though the sky was not very clear but the feeling of being the top of the world, or in this case, Singapore, was quite something. It was also extremely windy up there, so it was probably to a good idea to bring a cardigan if you decide to wear sleeveless dress like me. Here are some of the pictures I took with my trusty LX5 in the evening and during night time.

Singapore skyline in the evening

View of the harbor

View of the Singapore flyer

Night view of Singapore #1

Night view of Singapore #2

Night view of Singapore #3

Night view of Singapore flyer

Yes we were there for almost 3 hours just to wait for the sky to turn dark but it was all so worth it. The night view was more magnificent than the day view, I think and adjusting the shutter time on the camera could do wonders! Stay tuned to the next post as we went around hunting for dinner in Singapore!

No, that was not a typo error. Amazing is becoming AMei-zing now that the Taiwanese super star A-Mei is going to rock Malaysia in her world tour concert. Known in the music industry for more than 16 years, she has the nicknames of “Pride of Taiwan” and “Taiwanese Madonna”. This artist that can entertain with her singing and energetic dancing is wildly popular during our visit to Taiwan just recently. Most of our Taiwanese friends would gleam with pride whenever we mentioned that we knew and loved A-Mei.

AMeiZING World Tour Live in Malaysia

For fans of A-Mei, guess what? The superstar will be in Kuala Lumpur on 5^th of May for her AMeiZING World Tour Live in Malaysia concert. Her concert will definitely be filled with stage theatrics, crazy performances and lots of her big hits. For Celcom customers, enjoy 20% off on A-Mei concert tickets with your choice of any seating tier. Isn’t that another amazing deal?

Energetic performance by A-Mei

But if you’re like me, who wants to watch the concert but is short of money, why not try to get the tickets for FREE? It’s simple! Just get on The Cube by logging on to www.thecube.my, and check out all the cool content that you can subscribe in.

• You can send personalized Voice Messages and dedicate A-Mei’s song to your friends. Just dial *005<recipient’s mobile number><song code> and press call.
• You can also subscribe to The Cube’s MMS Puzzle. Type ON AMEI and send it to 22229 and you’ll get an MMS Greeting Card plus a contest puzzle for FREE. You would have to rearrange the jumbled A-Mei picture by sending in the correct picture sequence.
• On top of that, you can connect with all your social network friends via Facebook SMS and Twitter SMS. For Facebook SMS, type ON F and send it to 32665 while for Twitter SMS, send ON T to 29800.

By subscribing or downloading any of these contents, you stand to get 2 tickets to the A-Mei concert worth RM298 each!

A-Mei the Taiwanese superstar will be in KL!

As if that’s not enough, you have the chance to win the BIG prize of an all-expense paid trip to watch A-Mei live in concert in, guess where? Hong Kong! With a friend! This unforgettable trip can be yours with a download of A-Mei Call Me Tones from 20^th March – 15^th May. There is really nothing to lose – great tones and a chance to win a free trip!

To download A-Mei Call Me Tones, dial *888*<Call Me Tones Song Code># and press “Call”. Here are the songs you can subscribe to:

RM1. 50/week for each song (a small investment for such a humongous prize)

Speaking of which, there’s only less than 2 weeks before the contest is over. Quickly head to www.thecube.my for more details.

*Note: This is a sponsored post.

Who would have thought that in Australia, one would find the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern hemisphere? It’s true, Nan Tien Temple, also known as the Southern Paradise, is located about 80km from Sydney and aims to focus on the interchange of western and eastern cultures. During my first few weeks in Sydney, I was lucky to visit this place on a bright sunny day. On the way there, we stopped at a lookout point called Bald Hill to be mesmerized by the excellent views of Stanwell Park and Wollongong in the distance.

Bald Hill

The blues and the greens

Bald Hill is a famous location for hang-gliding sport, but since we reached there rather late in the afternoon, most of the hang gliders had already left. It would have been exciting to watch people flying off the cliff into the ocean! That aside, the view from here alone was breath-taking and enough to free our minds of worries and thoughts, if only for just that few minutes. The waves of the ocean were soothing and the gentle breeze so cool and comforting.

Relaxing by the cliff 

View from Bald Hill towards Wollongong in the distance

From Bald Hill, we continued our journey towards the temple but not before driving through the gorgeous Sea Cliff Bridge. Driving along this bridge offered spectacular views of the ocean, with an option to walk on the footpath if you like.

Sea Cliff Bridge

Soon, we turned into Berkeley, where the Nan Tien Temple is located. We reached there around 4.30pm, just half an hour before the temple closed, so it was pretty deserted. I have to admit that I was really impressed with the size, the design and the landscaping of the temple. If you showed me pictures of this temple, I wouldn’t believe that they were taken in Australia itself.

The majestic Nan Tien Temple

 Main shrine

Eight statues near the entrance of the main shrine

Well-kept garden

Even the attention to the smallest detail was given here, noting the animal figures on the roof. They reminded me of the imperial palaces that I visited in Beijing and Seoul.

Pagoda

Animal figurines on the roof

To get to the main shrine, we had to climb up a flight of stairs, which incidentally meant that we are taking steps to gain enlightenment. Cameras are not allowed inside the shrine, so the pictures were taken from outside instead. There were 5 magnificent Buddhas inside the shrine, with one laughing Buddha greeting us at the entrance.

The Buddhas in the main shrine

Praying area in the main shrine

Outside the shrine was a huge bell, an auspicious symbol in Chinese tradition. Sounds of the bell ringing would fill the air during prayer sessions by the devotees.

Large bell at the main shrine

Visiting this temple really opened my eyes on how different cultures not only make us unique, but they bring us together. The famous Nan Tien Temple is a popular spot for tourists who visit Australia from around the world. It is indeed a place to find calm, peace and possibly, enlightenment.

View from the main shrine

The Southern Paradise that is Nan Tien Temple

Nan Tien Temple
180 Berkeley Road,
Berkeley, N.S.W. 2506, Australia.
Tel: +61 (2) 4272 0600
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday & all Public Holidays (9am – 5pm)
Website: www.nantien.org.au 

You asked for it, now here it is! My very post on Australian food, Sydney to be exact. Yes, I know I have told most people that I was supposed to fly to Melbourne but due to a certain twist of fate, I am now in Sydney and have been here for the past one month. It’s funny how things change only at the last minute, but when they turn out to be the best thing to happen, who’s complaining? For the past month, I took some time off to visit nearby suburbs, restaurants, places of interests, etc. And by gosh, Sydney is filled with Asians, and I don’t mean it in a bad way. But I certainly have no problem fitting myself in here, while enjoying the cool weather and blue skies.

Brunch

One thing that many of my new found friends do over the weekend is to have brunch. Brunch, being the meal in between breakfast and lunch, is very functional – it allows us to sleep in for that extra couple of hours, and also saves one meal in a day. How economic. A popular place for brunch in Sydney is Surry Hills, where many artsy cafes are located. We visited one of the notable cafes there one weekend, Reuben Hills, only to find ourselves having to queue for a table. The place was packed to the brim. Fortunately the wait was not too long and we had our table within 20 minutes.

Cappuccino ($5)

Ordering was easy since they only had a one-page menu that included food and drinks. My cousin had the Cappuccino which he praised well. Apparently,Reuben Hills also roast their own coffee beans upstairs. I must bring Saucer here to try their famous coffee.

Wagyu salt brisket, pickled slaw, melted manchego and horseradish cream ($16)

My cousin also had the Wagyu salt brisket sandwich, which was really delicious! I was given some to try and I didn’t have any expectations since it looked like a normal sandwich, but the combination worked wonders. The wagyu was very well-flavoured and savory, the slaw was slightly sour and the horseradish just tied everything together with the warm toasts like a nice present. I ended up liking this more than what I ordered for myself, so I’ll definitely return to get a whole portion of this for my own next time.

Balaeda with pulled Pimenton pork ($13)

I had the Balaeda, which, according to the menu, “originates from El Progreso Honduras and is one of the most original and popular food there. It’s really a wheat flour tortilla, often quite thick, folder in half and filled with an array of fillings.” My order was filled with pulled pork and salsa, and even though it didn’t look like much from the picture, it was pretty filling. The pulled pork was soft and flavorful, while the salsa was sharp and spicy. It was quite a nice combination although it did get a little boring halfway through. Still, I would consider this as a filling meal that could replace both breakfast and lunch, without the feeling of guilt.

Glorious pulled pork with salsa

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the quality of the food here, and I most certainly enjoyed their environment. It was very laid-back, casual and fuss-free, with an interior that looked like an old warehouse. But it certainly had its own charm. Or there wouldn’t be such a long queue even after we left.

Reuben Hills at Surry Hills, Sydney

Reuben Hills
61 Albion Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Australia
Contact No.: +612 9211 5556
Opening Hours: Daily (7am – 4pm)
Website:  reubenhills.com.au