Kayaking

Following our Chez Drè lunch - read about that here, we went to Studley park to make the most of the nice warm weather and go kayaking. Yay!

Personally, I love kayaking,takes me away from my busy lifestyle and let's me relax with nature. Not forgetting that it's also a great workout!! Boy, did my arms hurt afterwards.

As Chris and I have kayaked before, we told Cassy and Ethan to come with shorts and sandals as there's a high probability that they'll get a little wet from the splash back when you move your oars. We all got changed, slapped our sunscreen on and booked 2 two-seater kayaks for 1 hour, put our life jackets on then off we went!

 Our plan was to go 35 mins one way and 25 mins back (since coming back is a lot easier once you're familiar with the technique) but that was not the case with Cassy and Ethan. The both of them kept circling around and the two were so brave that they started rocking the kayak to get it to move. Thankfully they did not capsize!

They got a little better after the crash course from Chris and I but in the end, we thought we should start heading back earlier since they might meet so trouble on the way back to the boathouse.

Chris and I were so far ahead of them that we lost sight of them so we decided to get out at the one hour mark (so we can get our deposit back).

Afterwards, we got milo ice cream to re-energise then went for dinner and movies. We watched 'Gravity'. Lucky me got a buy 1 get 1 free voucher on my movie card. Yay! We enjoyed the movie and company a lot.

Studley Park Boathouse

1 Boathouse Road, 

Kew, 3101,

Victoria, Australia

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24

It was my birthday 3 days ago (Oct 3rd). Been busy catching up with family and friends the last few days. 

We don’t really celebrate birthdays in my household (apart from a small dinner every year) but this year I felt so loved on my day. I actually took the day off work to spend with my parents. I don’t have the privilege to see them much lately because all our working schedules clash L

After my wonderful sleep in, I woke up to find two red eggs on the table with a card from the family. So loved ♥

The weather was horrible that morning so dad and I just stayed at home and watched dramas the whole morning until he had to head off to work. Mum came home about 3.5 hours after that and she took me out to have coffees and muffins. Nice catching up with her, love her so much!

For dinner, my boy planned to take me out on a surprise dinner and he even prepared two gifts for me that night. Was so surprised because he usually finds it hard to keep secrets but I was thoroughly impressed (even though not everything went according to plan). He told me that he was taking me out for a dinner for two at a restaurant his sis recommended to him. I was really excited.

When we finally found parking, Chris was told that they actually gave our table away because we were late (doesn't help when the restaurant don't answer their phones - not impressed!!). I suggested we go to a different restaurant but Chris insisted that we go to this restaurant (even if there was no table for us). I started to think something was up and then Chris finally couldn't hold it any longer so he blurted and told me that my two good friends were there waiting for me!! ♥

 

The restaurant - Cookie - ended up preparing another table for us. They seated us in the bar section which was a lot noisier and had no table service but the food was amazing!

I had such an amazing night, haven't been so happy in a long time. Finished the night off with some nitrogen ice cream. Yumm~

Thanks to my friends and family for all your birthday wishes and gifts. I am really blessed to have you all in my life. I love you all very much x ♥ 

Also, special thanks to Chris for spoiling me rotten and planning so much for my day and thanks to Cassy and Ethan for surprising me x

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Simon's Peiking Duck

Chris and I caught up with our friends, Cassy and Ethan for a dinner over Peking Duck. We decided to go to Simon's Peiking Duck. This is one of those places where their speciality is Peking Duck and everything else on their menu isn't all that great. The restaurant is really busy, so busy that they had to split into two dining sessions - 6pm and 8pm. We booked almost 2 weeks in advance for the 6pm session on a Saturday night. We decided to order 2 ducks for the night between 4 of us (as recommended by the waiter upon booking). You have to order the ducks beforehand otherwise they'll have no ducks for you and you'll have to order something from their menu. 

There are two duck sets available, one with noodles and one without. Duck soup, bean sprouts and peking duck is included in both sets. We decided to have one of each set. (Since it was Cassy and Ethan's first time dining at this restaurant, they wanted to try a bit of everything.) Ethan didn't try much since he came a whole hour late and had a super big and super late lunch so wasn't all that hungry.

If you're expecting 5 star service, this is definitely not the place for you. It's really loud - like a typical Chinese restaurant (also proven with the incorrect spelling in the name of the restaurant) and lacks service - no body cares about you unless you call them over. The owner, Simon does have a sense of humor though, he goes around table by table to teach you how to fold your peking duck - and don't you dare wrap it incorrectly!

Another thing I didn't like was that they tried to get us to eat faster so they can prepare the tables for the next session. We weren't even done with the first part of the meal and they kept piling the food on our tiny table. No time for us to sit around and enjoy the good food and the company.

Oh, and this place is cash only - another boo! But definitely worth trying.

Simon's Peiking Duck

197B Middleborough Road,

Box Hill South, 3128

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Homemade Italian

It's not everyday I get to cook for my family. Usually, when I come home from work, my mum has already prepared dinner or I don't even make it home for dinner at all.

This particular day, Chris and I decided it would be nice to whip up something special for my family. We decided on a 3 course Italian meal - a bit ahead of ourselves there! Luckily, we had the whole Saturday evening to prepare. We decided that the menu would include: Pumpkin Soup, bruschetta and lasagna! All made from scratch - delicious!

Below are the final products, yummmy ~ Success!

 Notice: my dad's inner Asian - tomato sauce and chilli sauces to accompany everything! Even Italian --" 

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Dinner Date

Went on a dinner date with the bf since it's been a while since we last went out one on one. Initially the plan was to go to Melbourne city to enjoy dinner and a romantic stroll along Southbank but on the way there, the traffic was insane and we were starting to lose patience - everyone else was probably on the way to the footy, after work drinks or to club their working week away!

So we decided to visit one of our all time favourite Thai restaurants - Kunyit (which happened to be located at the next freeway exit after we decided we didn't want to drive all the way to the city - how convenient!)

The ambience of this place adds a romantic touch to your dining experience, the seats are super comfy, lights are dim, food is awesome (!) and their staff are really F R I E N D L Y.

 

 

 Their famous Thai beef salad 

one of the main reasons I love this place is they are never stingy with their servings, you truly get what you pay for.

 

Red duck curry with Roti

To die for. Seriously.

They have a very diverse menu and if you prefer a Vegetarian option or more/less ingredients in your favourite dish, they offer you this flexibility. You can also edit their buffet options (nothing worse than being stuck with something you don't really want to eat.)

I was so impressed with the food that as soon as I arrived home, I gave my parents their business card and take out menu! Will definitely recommend.

KUNYIT restaurant

Greythorn Village

283 Doncaster Road,

Balwyn North, 3104, VIC

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TGIF x Pacific Rim

Chris and I caught up with Cassy and Ethan for the first time in almost a month. Decided to dine at TGI Fridays as you can never go wrong with their Jack Daniels Ribs!

So insanely good!

Their serves are huge and we learnt the hard way last time so this time, we only ordered one serve between the two of us.   

 'Gold Medal' Smoothie - Not worth paying $7.50 for!

Banana with berries, pina colada etc. Wasn't all that special, taste like something my dad whips together to get my brother and I to reach our daily fruit needs. 

 

 Cassy's half ribs and shrimp

 Ethan's calamari salad

Always eating so healthily 

 

We then went to watch Pacific Rim - based on its IMDb score of 7.5/10, we decided it would be worth watching. 

Initially, I was a bit hesitant as I had no clue what the film was about and when I found out it would be about giant robots beating the crap out of weird looking monsters, I still wasn't sold.

I decided to go ahead with it though as the others were keen and I guess majority wins, right?

 

Got to admit, there were some moments where I felt like I could just close my eyes and enter into lalaland but then again, that could be because of my jam-packed working day. I tried my very best to follow - I picked up on the main story line of - Kaiju (monsters!) fights Jaeger (gigantic robots that are controlled by two pilots entering into each other minds).
In the end, it wasn't all that bad!

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