By Blackbird: Again!

Christmas is, without a doubt, my second favourite holiday season (first being Chinese New Year that is). There is something so magical and warm about snuggling by the fire with an eggnog in one hand and a good book in the other, whilst listening to Christmas carols play throughout the night. Not that I want to start a fire in summer, here in Adelaide, but the thought of it makes me feel fuzzy!! Maybe I'll spend Christmas in winter in the near future, ey?

Ok, enough rambling/ dreaming from me. Enjoy the following pictures from my most recent visit to Blackbird.

It's not Christmas without the signature red and green baubles hanging around:)

Ham and cheese quiche~ I am obsessed with their quiche..

Chocolate tart topped with "jewels"~ a few nuts and glazed cherries. Too pretty to eat:)

Nanyang Cafe

Having not been back to Malaysia for approximately 2 years, I often crave for Malaysian hawker fare here in Adelaide but not many are open whenever I pop by in the city. Aside from Mamak corner and House of Pearl , I can't think of any that opens up late for dinner.

However, I can think of a few places that do open for lunch service and one of them would be Nanyang Cafe. It used to be my go-to cafe when I need a quick fix before/ after university classes. Service can get a tad messy at times but in terms of food, it is decent and sufficient to temporarily keep my craving at bay.

Roast duck in tossed noodles~ reminds me of wanton mee noodles but instead of the wanton (aka dumplings), you get a nice cut of roasted duck. From memory, this only costs about $12 (I think) and was a good portion size to keep me filled.

Seafood wa tan hor~ prawns, fish cakes, crab sticks and a few bits of squid in fat rice noodles, drenched with thickened chicken stock. I like having this with some green pickled chillis as the chillis would make this mono-flavoured dish more flavourful (if that's even the correct way to describe it lol).

Raj on Taj

I have been to a few good Indian restaurants in Adelaide and so far, have not been disappointed with any of them yet. Raj on Taj was no exception to the list and not only is it a good place to mellow down with some friends, but they also do home delivery in case you prefer to have a quiet meal at home with your loved ones;)

The looking at Raj on Taj's interior design, I wonder if customers feel like a Maharajah whilst dining there! It is a good spot to dine and the waiters are very efficient and attentive.

Mango lassi~ I have never found one that I dislike and I doubt that I would anytime soon.

Lime drink~ very refreshing and not as sweet as I have expected:)

Butter chicken~ marinated chicken fillets in gingered cream tomato, capsicum and cardamom. Not too spicy and had a really nice blend of spices in it.

Garlic naan~ you do have the choice between naan or rice to go with your curry but I always like having naan as it tends to absorb the curry well:) Rice would be ideal if you need more carbohydrate to keep you fueled.

Pappadum~ I have never got this at any Indian restaurant in Adelaide before and was impressed with how much it resembles the ones I had from Malaysia.

Overall, I enjoyed my dinner despite not being able to taste everything on the menu. Would definitely be a good place dine if you have a group of friends who have no idea what to have for dinner. Rocking up without reservations may be fine on some days but do book to be sure! And if all fails, there's always the home delivery option!!

November favourites.

It has been awhile since I last wrote a blogpost using pictures snapped from my phone. I have recently upgraded myself to an iphone and as usual, took every opportunity to capture interesting moments. Here is a compilation of my daily activities throughout the entire month!

When strawberries were cheap, I snagged up a few punnets and ate them with milk on a daily basis. I did use some for baking too!!

My sister's colleague gave her some healthy snacks and because I'm such a nut freak, I must have finished off most of them on her behalf!

Every now and then, my thoughtful siblings would cook up a decent meal during my stay at their place. Broccollini, cauliflower and baked fish.

After I was done with my oral exams, I had to treat myself to some macarons. I found a few shops that sells Cacao macarons (which are THE best ones I have had so far) but unfortunately, they didn't taste the same as the ones I got from Melbourne:(

I got this perfume sample from my friends and it was one of my favourite scents a few years ago when it was first released. At that time, I couldn't afford it and soon forgot about it.

How awesome are my friends. They knew exactly what I wanted needed!! I have been scouting for Opi nail polishes a lot last year but ended up not getting any as it out of my budget range. But now...I got 10 mini ones and I absolutely love them:))

I started off with a pinkish base colour and added white spots to it. Not only did the nail polish paint dry up really quickly, but it can be easily removed!

Just last week, I painted my nails with white colour as the base and dabbed on pink, green and purple spots which I had swirled around to create a somewhat artistic design. Pretty cool ey? I got the pink nailpolish from the boy, purple nailpolish from The Face Shop and the green nailpolish was the $2 ones I grabbed from my pharmacy (only because I was obsessed with pastel colours at that moment hehe)

Cookies and creme frappe from Gloria Jeans~ something to quench my thirst after wandering around Harbour Town:)

Lovemore is a popular Taiwanese facial brand in Singapore but because my skin is quite sensitive towards foreign ingredients, I only got a face mask to start off. Packaging is very pretty and my skin didn't get inflamed after leaving it on for 30 minutes:) woo hoo

Second visit to Maggie Beer's farmshop and got to sample more ice cream flavours. Really yummy and probably a tad cheaper from the supermarket. Nevertheless, a relaxing atmosphere:)

When watermelon costs 99cents/ kg, I obliged to buying a whole watermelon, of which, I ended up eating for 2 whole weeks. With great difficulty, I halved my fruit and stored it in my tiny fridge.

I was very hydrated on most days, as you can tell hahah

There is something about Ikea's restaurant that never fails to draw me in. I love having their meatballs for lunch followed by a slow browse in their furniture department, a different type of retail therapy;)

Popping candy cadbury chocolates~ a fun way of eating chocolates:)

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm all hyped about the decorations hehe

After re-organizing my room, I realized I do have quite a few mini perfume samples which I have kept for some time. Makes me wonder if people think I stink-.-

More homecooked food from home!

My brother was nice enough to prepare some steak for his lovely siblings. They did not have any problems finishing it off.

Salmon and cauliflower, also prepared by the siblings.

If I have to choose a favourite body-care brand, it would be Crabtree and Evelyn. I like vintage-inspired items and that's what I get from them. Their body lotions, perfumes, hand creams and even fragrance diffuser  smells sooooo good. It is also a cheaper to get it here compared to Malaysia. Not that I have actually owned any of their products before. I  just browse around and test their sample products hehe.

I bake just about every week to relax myself emotionally and also to binge on some sweet delights. At least I know what goes in them:S

Reorganized my perfume cabinet. Much more neater now and probably a lot more accessible?

I think I look good in yellow hahahaha.

Cheese platter at work aka leftovers from event night. I had so much cheese that week and got to taste smoked, cheddar, parmesan and fruit cheeses. So so good that I didn't have to get lunch.

Spaghetti bolognese by the siblings again.

My chicken soup with celery and onions. Lazy day food.

Ending this post with a char siew pau!!! I miss yumcha but nobody wants to go with me:(