Not so daily treats

Hey guys,

Uni is about to start and gosh I need to make friends but it would help if I knew more people who could then introduce me to their friends (readers help me out here), sigh I'm currently contemplating about what it would be like to go to UNSW where approximately 80% of my cohort is studying along with many of my family friends and out of school friends.

Alright enough rambles, I did have a point in all of that (seemingly) and that was about clubs and societies which I had yet to join because I had a driving lesson today so I was too lazy to go to city. Btw guys I'm on double digits!!! Anyway, I wanted to join the Tea Society with Bro aka Average but I'm not sure if we can tomorrow because of the lovely weather that has fallen upon Metro Sydney. Others include the Polo Appreciation Society- only if it centres around an appreciation of polo tops and not the sport which I have no association with what so ever, Chinese Law Society- I need friends and potentially help, Tennis Club but it'd better be on a social level because I know I suck at the sport and finally the Fashion and Beauty Appreciation Society which I doubt I'll end up joining partially because I have a narrow view when it comes to those topics.

So one of my favourite treats is green tea latte, it is divine. I personally get my from Pishon over Starbucks however there is this new cafe open in Burwood that sells it and I might just head over there to give it a go. Also if someone finds a cafe selling Taro latte in Sydney please tell me because I wasn't in the mood for it at Melbourne and I've been regretting it ever since.

 This one is taken from inside Cheeky Chocolate in North Strathfield, earlier that day Better and I went to Reebonz's sale at Sheraton on the Park and when I left the city it began to pour. First I sought refuge at Pishon before going to the Cheeky Chocolate for round 2 of hot drinks whilst waiting for my godparents to get home.

 Photo is so bad but they a really good hot chocolate

 Finally had Snag Stand on Tuesday and Batter you were right they're fries are so good, I shall ask for reduced salt next time. 

 Also so I ordered the German Bratswurst sausage ($8.90) with chips ($3.90) and truffle aioli dipping sauce for the chips ($1). Although the sausage was promoted as being gourmet I really don't see what's so good about it, I mean yes they give you more leaner meat and less fat and the crap that goes with it but it's a bloody sausage. It's like on MKR and how that QLD couple continue to rave about sausages, I seriously don't see why they're so popular. The chips on the other hand are so good and you can actually see the little specks of truffle in the aioli sauce which leads me wondering whether or not that's actually truffle because it is really expensive. So if you're in Westfield Sydney Food Court on Level 5 do go to Snag Stand for their fries and you can try their sausages at your own risk and don't go to Charlie and Co for their chips because they are below average. Better if you're reading this confirm for me if we ordered the parmesan and truffle fries or just the parmesan fries because they're two different things on the menu so that's why I was confused when I saw that.

 Shaved ICE- I am literally addicted to this stuff and unfortunately the only place where I can get my dose of shaved ice is at ZenQ which in my opinion offers a rather limited range of flavours. The lemon and green tea option would be my favourite so far and do try the fig jelly (it's interesting).

Watermelon flavour which was very subtle and bland

Sights of Melbourne- Part 2

New blog skin, I have mixed feelings about it and it was a bitch to change and to find a decent one online that wasn't the left overs of some kpop fangirl (not even kidding here). So if it hurts your eyes or if you'd rather the old theme then just it and it'll be gone because I want to try my hands at photoshop to make a banner for this blog.

Picking up where I left over, after walking around the CBD and then lunch at Fenix we caught a tram back to the city to go play tourists (in our own country) but visiting the Crown Entertainment complex. So being underage I wasn't allowed to enter the casino, so I got ditched to go wander by myself but hey there's tonnes of luxe shops to browse and ofc Crown convenience store which stocks Sugarpova (:

 Selca with the candy as proof because I bought my online off DJs so this was my first time seeing them up close. They're technically 5c cheaper than DJs if you're interested.

 In the background there is the restaurant tram that was making its rounds

 And because Melbourne transport on weekends only costs $3.50 we decided to get our money's worth by making a trip down to St Kilda to see the beach (which was boring) and a side stop at Luna Park which for the record is older than the Luna Park in Sydney (I wasn't sure so I read the sign there).

Overall I think the Luna Park in Sydney is better. 1. Location it's hard to outdo Sydney Harbour, 2. Everyone knows that 'Bigger is better' and whilst Sydney land is more expensive, Luna Park in Sydney is also bigger and it has more rides/games/food stalls

Took a while for us to decide on a place for dinner, in the end we opted for this newly opened Chinese Vegetarian one on Swanston St, btw this was after we sat down at the Chinese restaurant downstairs only to get up to head to the elevator we failed to take earlier.

 I have to say that the decor was really nice, the waitress' outside was very cute as well. Real flowers^, they're gerberas 

 That's our bowl there, careful though because that's glass right there and in the hands of clumsy waitstaff it gets broken regularly. In fact we heard several glassware being broken while we ate. Also if you order tea (which you should because it's expensive there), it comes with a clear teapot like those sold at T2 and an oil burner stand so you can put a candle underneath it to heat up your tea pot when you're not drinking it.

 The lighting at our table, pretty cool right, the sink in the toilets was similar to this. I mean I would've taken a photo but who brings a camera to the toilet just to take a photo of the sink.

We ordered this mixed plate which looked nothing like the photo but that I mean they downsized. Can you believe that that plate cost roughly $50 yeah and several of those dishes were ridiculously spicy and when I say it was spicy it was bordering on unpleasant spicy meaning all you taste is 'hot, hot, HOT' and nothing else.

All in all while the restaurant looked nice, the food was mediocre, ordinary and insanely overpriced (a bowl of fried rice cost $16 and these peach like buns were $3 each for a bite, just a bite). Alright that's it from me, more pictures of Melbourne are up on my other blog including the AusOpen finals!

Bitter's Top 5 Picks- My Deals of the Day

Hi Guys,

I must confess I am an impulsive (big spending) shopaholic, let's not even mention taobao because I've been too addicted to Ebay at the moment to even consider taobao but when I do lock away your credit cards please and instead brainwash me with dramas. So some of my recent purchases include a Vintage Gucci handbag and some vintage leather belts, the first was a steal and a spur of the moment decision but I remain adamant that it was a good deal. The later was something that I had wanted to purchase for a long time except I never really found the right one in store, something about the leather bugged me unless it was ridiculously expensive and hopefully my soon to be purchases will include a Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater and a pair of Stuart Weitzman and Valentino heels.

Now you probably might be thinking of how much I'm paying in total however these are all pre-owned with some minor wear. Thrift shops and buying pre-owned items may not be for everyone but if you overlook some flaws then you can definitely find a good bargain and it's way cheaper than buying something from the actual store itself because when you walk out you practically lose 30% of its initial value.

Onto my top picks now
1. L'Occitane Shear Butter Hand Cream. If there exists a heavenly touch then this is it, we all know how shear butter works wonders when massaged into our hands but you seriously must try this. It's so thick, non-greasy with a touch of fragrance. Now in store it costs $37 (AUD) for 150ml and because it's their second best-seller you shouldn't expect it to be on special but Sasa is currently selling it for $27 (AUD) and free world-wide shipping for orders over $39 (US) so be quick because they might just go out of stock

2. My Beauty Diary Mask
My Beauty Diary is a Taiwanese company and they have taken over the mask world, being an Asian, I love my skincare and it's only given that I would love my masks as well. Let's just say that after using them my skin feels much more invigorated and refreshed and to prove my love of mask let's just say I bought a shit load.

Well.... I just bought 7 of the above as well as other flavours not included in this picture

Mask heaven

3. Charlotte Olympia- She Sells Sea Shells
I take back what I said earlier, after Christian Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti is Charlotte Olympia in the heels pecking order. After that I'd say it'd be a mix of Valentino, Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman and I'm being biased here but Rene Caovilla as well.

Basically these have been a pair of shoes that I first saw back in May/June last year when I was looking at shoes for formal except given their (approx) RRP $2000 I did not dare to even consider buying them but they still forever remain in my list of what covet.

I think that this photo is good for admiring the detail on this shoe because admit it, it's exquisite.

Now onto the sad part of this story. So I just found it on ebay for roughly $500 including shipping, the only problem is that it's a size 36.5 and that's roughly a size 6 not a size 5 (i.e. me) so I can't even consider it. I hate it most when I found something adorable on ebay but it's not in my size because I'm tiny and you rarely get lucky. BUT it is still available on the Outnet.com for approx $700 (AUD) and even that is a dramatic mark down from the original price but because it's on sale all that's left are the bigger sizes so size 35 is gone and there's only a size 36 left 

T_______________T but if you love it as much as I do and it's within your budget then I urge you to get it and who knows maybe you can message or comment to tell me about it.

I thought I'd show you these as well from Charlotte Olympia

4. Cage Heels

Okay this is loosely a pick of mine because I am a lover of the cage heel and by that I do not mean those gladiator style heels with the cage wrapping all around your foot , no! This is a heel that is see through and an actual cage. Of course, the inventor of this is the best god damn shoemaker in history, Salvatore Ferragamo but unfortunately it is a discontinued line so unless you're a VIP and personally ask them to make you one then be like me and dream on.

A few years ago however Ferragamo did release a limited edition one off pink Vara bow, cage heels for a charity auction in Singapore to raise funds for Breast Cancer research. However at that time I could barely even comprehend how women walked in heels let alone appreciate the beauty in them.

Personally for me this is the best shoe ever but then again it is also ridiculously expensive because it's bedazzled

Moving on

This is something that you can actually buy online or in stores

Charlotte Olympia Birds of Paradise Cage Heel 

I think the bird in the cage is very cure and quirky but that's where it ends for me. I think the front is a tacky and disjointed for the heel

5. Happy Lab

This is a shop that we went to today after our Single Ladies Luncheon, it's a shop for those who have a sweet tooth and foodies alike. I would definitely recommend their jelly beans, salted caramel popcorn and tiramisu karma nutra and hazelnut creme karma nutra

Purchases today are all for one lucky person. The test tubes in the back are actually sitting on a clear test tube and are filled with jelly beans. I chose (from the left) vanilla, hawaiian pineapple, strawberry smoothie, blueberry pie, butterscotch and cafe latte (:

Fenix Review

Fenix is a restaurant owned by Gary from Masterchef, I would say that it's a big step towards fine dining but it just isn't quite there yet. For one, its location, situated in a developing area which boasts IKEA as it's biggest attraction with the Yarra River running nearby which for the record is green.

So Elisa (she's a fan of Masterchef + they had a 50% everything special for January only) dragged us to Richmond which is a few minutes outside of the CBD, passed by this long street of Vietnamese food that made me crave pho pretty badly and then to a somewhat remote location.

Walked in and although we had a booking we still ha to wait a few minutes after several conversations with the wait staff. So service for me was a bit of a let down. Food though was amazing and I think it tasted better because it was so much cheaper (:

Something to share:

 Pressed pork belly, roasted cauliflower puree, Japanese scallops $18

Although the cauliflower was far from being a puree, they just seemed a tad steamed before being put onto the fry pan. The scallops and pork belly however were relish, the pork, juicy, tender and yeah melt in mouth feeling. My only ask is to load that plate up with more pork belly.

Sweet corn and gruyere 'cigars', tomato relish $14

For something to be shared, it was a bit hard unless you're dining with two. Crispy pastry though, and the gruyere and sweet corn filling went well with the accompanying salad and tomato relish

Mains:

 Rotisserie 'du jour', cabbage and nashi pear salad, jus gras $35

I picked this one out from the menu (yeah trust me to go for the expensive option), when it arrived on the plate the waiter asked if I had order Moroccan chicken and I was thinking 'I clearly don't remember seeing that on the menu' so we clarified it by asking if the salad was correct which it was. The jus gras is the accompanying sauce or juice (jus is the French translation) reminded my mum of this medicinal tonic that I drink when I have the flu. I think I ended up being slightly afraid of the jus gras after she mentioned that

Ricotta and basil gnocchi, king brown mushroom, peas, porcini oil $25

I think that gnocci isn't really for, just a personal reason here mostly because I don't have a fond affection for a dish that is mostly cheese based but I am however a lover of fungi so the king mushrooms were definitely to my liking. It was also interesting to have king mushrooms cooked in a Western style dish because I've only had in done Asian

Menu:

Didn't like how the menu was just a double sided piece of paper

Dessert:

Mango and macadamia "Bombe Alaska" $15

First ever bombe alaska and I must say that I am not a fan of meringues, fun and relatively easy to make just far too sweet even for my standards (I love my desserts), the rum sauce however did help

Inside the Bombe Alaska

All up the bill came to $55 not bad for 3 people stuffing themselves however in hindsight I regret not ordering more desserts because it was really cheap.

Sights of Melbourne

Hi Guys

I thought I'd revive this dead blog. Gosh it's been so long since, sorry.

Also NYFW is on for those of you that care.

I'm kinda of lost for words at the moment, I just want to regurgitate all these words onto this post just in a pleasant manner if that makes any sense to you.

I'll just start chronologically. Also someone teach me how to get a macbook to recognise my DSLR like it does with any other device because the way that it is programmed sucks so for all you Apple hater this is an argument for guys (btw these are photos taken on 25th and 26th January because the other ones are on my compact camera which I have yet to touch).

 Views from Apartment also no photos of Australia Fireworks because this one building blocked like 90% of the show and ask Elisa for the lobby photos, it's practically like a hotel

Okay these are from Australia Day because most of the 25th was spent at Melbourne park so I'll do a separate post for that

For some reason there are lots of these animals on a pole around the CBD

 The shop on the left is called Miss Louise and I have fallen head over heels for it. Basically the sell designer bags and shoes such as Celine, Balenciaga, Chloe, and my personal favourites Rene Caovilla and Giuseppe Zanotti. They're both italian shoe designers and I adore their creations in fact what I loved most about Miss Louise was their prices. Of course the newly arrived items have a heavy price tag but when they're discounted I just cannot resist. Elisa and I found a lovely pair of Giuseppe Zanotti leather flats on sale for $395 marked down from $995 which is a steal. The only catch was that they only had one pair left in each size from 35-38 (?) and the one on display from memory was a 36 (my size) which had lots of stretch marks. So I contemplated for a long time because I'm pretty sure that the only retailers that stock Giuseppe Zanotti in Sydney is Varese shoes, a boutique in QVB and maybe one or two boutiques in Paddington. I ended up walking away because one I can't justify the purchase yet (wait till I get a proper job) and two I feel less guilty and burdened if I use my Dad's credit card so yeah I was crying inside for the rest of the day and I really wanted to show you guys the flats but I can't seem to find it online so I'm just going to describe it. They're two-toned ballet flats with tan leather and a black (kind of simple) Aztec pattern along the sides. All in all simple, unique yet mesmerising.

 Also we trekked all the way to Tom Turtle which is an ice-cream/dessert house, their speciality is ice-cream cubes (just google them or have a look at their facebook page). The only problem was that they were closed ): btw click on the photo and hopefully you can see how fail their sign is because things never go as planned nor did they bother to inform their customers on their facebook page about this minor problem.

 Walked around CBD, went to DJ's to see if they had any Sugarpova and turns out they sold out that very morning

Second time I saw this lady, the first time was outside Queen Victoria markets. She basically stands like a statue and moves when you pay her. 

My mum went up to her and from then onwards this lady made lots of money from busking because everyone started to give her money after

She gives you some glitter