Memories Treasure Chest

Ortiga, Fortitude Valley Before you start reading, pardon me if this post wasn't written well. I feel so embarrassed because my vocabulary is so limited to only delicious, good, or yum. I wish there are more words that I can use to describe the amazing dinner I had in Ortiga. The pre-birthday celebration I had In Ortiga with G was really spectacular!  Lets begin the food culinary experience! Ortiga wine's menu Few days before my birthday, I made a booking for dinner in Ortiga and unfortunately 8.30 pm was the only time available on Saturday. Oh well! Just make sure that I don’t stuff my tummy with other food before dinner then … hehe … actually, I did (I will explain in other post!) Bar (upstairs) with glass cabinet of cured hams My housemate, G and I got there by 8.30 pm and I was lucky to find a parking spot on the street beside Ortiga. As our table was not ready yet, both of us were waiting in the spacious bar. During the wait, I was practic...

Freestyle Tout, West End Freestyle Tout, located at the intersection between Boundary St and Melbourne St, is famous for their desserts they offer. All at a fixed price of $15.90. In the current menu, there are about seventeen varieties of desserts to choose from (tarts, puddings, cheesecake, sundae ...) Besides that, there are specials that they offer last Friday: yoghurt and apricot cake, spiced banana & date pudding, White chocolate & raspberry cheesecake, and Cocoluscious sundae.  Four of us YL, AL, R and myself had quite a hard time deciding which dessert to order. Finally, we decided on these three desserts to share: Vanilla Creme Brulee  Vanilla Creme Brulee topped with fairy floss & served with mixed berries, nut biscotti & raspberry sorbet There was a crunch when R snapped the caramelised sugar of the creme brulee. The custard was creamy and the sweetness was just right. However, the creme brulee can be perfected if it ha...

A Big Happy Birthday to myself! Yesterday was the end of the 5 x 5 cycle and today, I am welcoming the beginning of the 6 x 5 cycle; anyway that's what Sara said. :) I am getting older each year and that means that my beloved family members too. Ageing and being sick are part of the life cycle and unfortunately, we can't escape from these realities. Recently, I was informed that two of my relatives (aunt and uncle) had minor strokes. Thankfully, they are both fine now. Both of them treat me very well since young; especially aunt who treats me like her own daughter. I am indeed very fortunate... Life is too short and I should start living life to the fullest (I'll try!). Thes e past few days I have been trying to create a list of  '27 new things to try before my 27th birthday' which is inspired by  Yes and Yes blog . These are what I came up with (no particular order): Run 5k Participate in Bridge to Brisbane (10 k) Try ice skating Learn a musical piece by ...

Three Monkeys Coffee & Tea House, West End After dinner, the eight of us headed to Three Monkeys for dessert. Be expected to park a few streets away on a Saturday night! Nested around the corner, it seems like a small cafe but walked further in and you can find more sittings in the backyard. Although it was a busy night, we managed to find a longish-log table and squished ourselves around the table. These were the cakes we had: Almond Biscotti Lemon Lime Cheesecake Banana Macadamia Pudding Latte Brownie Cheesecake They were delicious! If I have to choose, my favourite would be the 'Almond Biscotti' followed by 'Latte Brownie Cheesecake'. The cream served along the cakes were fresh too.

Yum Yum Peking Duck, New Farm It was a friend's birthday (TQ) on Sunday and a group of us (8 in total) went to Yum Yum Peking Duck for dinner. HL, who was the organiser had already made a booking for two sets of Peking Duck ($55 each).  The Peking Duck consists of two/three course meal: - First: crispy Peking duck skin, cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce wrapped in a thin slice of pancake - Second: an option between duck 'Sang Choy Bow' or duck cooked in plum sauce - Third: Duck bones' soup Since we had ordered two sets of Peking Duck, we managed to try both the second course meals. Peking Duck The first course:- Peking duck wrapped in pancake. Pretty good! The duck's skin was roasted well and quite crispy. HL, who had been to Yum Yum Peking Duck in Darra said that this was not as good as the one there. In between eight of us, I think each of us had about 3-4 portions of the peking duck. Duck Sang Choy Bow Sang Choy Bow is...

No plans on a Friday night and not wanting to sleep yet, I decided to bake something. The usual suspect to go to is Joy the Baker. Browsing through her recipe index, I decided to bake 'Crispy Toasted Coconut Cookies'. Crispy Toasted Coconut Cookies Recipe (adapted from  Joy The Baker ) 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut 2 cups plain flour  3/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 cup of unsalted butter 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract The recipe asked for salt and almond extract, but I omitted both of them. Methods : Preheat oven to 150 C. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and bake for about 5-8 minutes, stirring once, until the coconut becomes evenly golden. (Keep an eye on the coconut because they darkens quickly). Set aside to cool and increase oven's temperature to 180 C. Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, ...

PourBoy Espresso, Brisbane CBD I have been itching to go somewhere for breakfast and I know that PourBoy Espresso has been 'Talk of the Town' for ages. The night before I asked G whether she has been to PourBoy and what would she recommend? Coincidentally, she said that she is going to PourBoy too in the morning. Yay! *Hungry minds think alike* So, we made our way to PourBoy at about 9.15 am. G told me beforehand, the cafe is very simple and don't expect too much about their settings. She's right! It looks kinda plain but the workers there are very friendly. Known for their good coffee (G concur!), I ordered flat white and G, her usual cappuccino. Skinny Flat white - $4 Cappuccino - $4 As confirmed by G (better coffee expert than I am), the coffees were good. They were smooth and strong. Near morning tea, you can see a throng of officeworkers waiting for their coffees. Oh man, I feel so underdressed in that cafe; most people with their officewear... For bre...

His name is Doug and I just met him for the first time on Saturday He looks so cute! I took my time before getting close to him Finally ... I introduced myself and  he seemed happy to have company Good sign! Don't you think he is cute? ~ Doug The photo probably don't do any justice since I was trying to take his picture with my iphone. He is probably a cross between Labrador and Golden Retriever. I really like him very much but too bad I can't bring him home. He seems to be a very gentle and caring dog, doesn't mind me hugging him or rubbing his belly. I feel so happy and at ease hugging him, felt like I've known this person for a long time.  Doug can be quite selfish, he doesn't want to share his toy with me the whole time I was with him. :) Will I see him again?  In a way, I hope not.  Hope that a good family has adopted him I'll miss you, Doug!

Makanan Indonesia, West End Finally the three of us (MXM, AQ and myself) had time to catch up over dinner this weekend. We were supposed to have a get together last week but I was away that time. There's not too many halal restaurants you can found around here and luckily, 'Makanan Indonesia' serves halal food. Makanan Indonesia's Menu It took quite a while for us to decide what to order. I'm really not familiar with Indonesian food at all and I don't think they are the same as Malaysian food. Finally we decided on... Chicken satay - $ 10.90 The satays are definitely not as good or even similar to the ones I had back in Malaysia. The peanut sauce is sweet (can see some kecap manis) without hint of spiciness and the chicken is marinated differently.  Chicken koay teow goreng / Fried koay teow - $ 11.50 This dish was pretty good, it was MXM's favourite. It's a simple stir-fry of flat rice noodles, with chicken pieces, bean sprouts a...

Two weeks ago, I had a break and took the opportunity to re-visit the place where I used to stay five years ago... that is on the west side. It was only a four-day trip and I was wishing that I don't have to go back to reality. It was an enjoyable and relaxing trip, although I was quite exhausted being sleep deprived. Swan River The day started with jogging and walking by the river. Jogging along and some dogs came to me. So happy! It was a good time reminiscing the past... can't believe it that so many years have passed by! After that I took some time walking around my old neighbourhood and my old uni; some things changed but some still the same... saw the lovely old Indian couple who go to Kongs every Sunday and saw the schizophrenic guy! =) Wicked slush drinks I got the Adult one, with alcohol! Hehe! My friend, HRH and I  went to 'The Broadway Musical show - WICKED'. It was wickedly awesome; good acting, singing, funny ... they have it all! I saw...

  Hamptons Home Living, Paddington It's Monday and my timetable says 'Holiday!'. So happy! MXM came along with me to try this new place out. First step into the cafe and you can feel that you are walking into someone's home... It has a really 'homey' feeling and I like it!   Enjoy their interior designs below: Some of the items they sell in the shop - dishwasher brushes, towels, cute mice, etc...   I like that board: HELP OTHERS LAUGH AT YOURSELF BE CONFIDENT BE HAPPY HOPE ... DREAM ... BELIEVE   Their Menu We ordered coffee first, MXM with his cap and skinny flat white for me. Again, not a coffee expert, I think it was all right. The coffee is smooth but not that strong, in comparison to the one I had in Grub Street. Skinny Flat White - $3.5 Cappuccino - $3.50 It took quite a while (25 min?) for the dishes to arrive. I was starving!   MXM ordered the vegetarian baked eggs (the other version has choriz...