Tuesday 14th July







Our dessert plan tonight was Lindt, through Groupon we bought the $22 Lindt Dessert Platter with Hot Chocolate for Two. I just realized that we rarely go to Lindt without an incentive. 



Lindt does one of the best hot chocolates, that comes in milk or dark, but not white. Last time I checked it was $6-something, but now has risen to $7.50. Making it one of the most expensive hot chocolates in Melbourne. 

Freud had the milk as always, while I had a 50/50 combo of milk/dark. I defintely prefer milk, but am open to trying new/different things, that I don't order often.





Freud had a macaroon, a nibble at the two cakes, ice cream (his favourite thing on the platter) and the Lindor balls. I ate the rest. And did not feel good afterwards. My diet sometimes can be described as an unchaparoned child at a birthday party - not that I've ever invited to parties, even as a child. I'm wildly unpopular, other than with those who want something from me.  



The 'Lindt Chocolate Cake' made with Lindt Excellence 70% was sprinkled with pure cocoa nibs. I do not like nibs, as to me they're like wood chips or plastic. But the cake (the oval shaped one) while it wasn't a sponge it was the most light & fluffy chocolate cake I've ever had, without being dry. Though my favourite chocolate cake is still the Black Forest Cake from the Green Refectory. 

Brownies with roasted pecans and finished with a glaze of Lindt Excellence 70% Chocolate was also delicious,  very rich and moist. Perfect served with the cream and ice cream. And the sizing, a triangle per person was the perfect size. 

Why are the chocolate shaving incoviently placed under the ice cream? I prefer it embedded in the cream or on top.

I felt the pot of chocolate on the dish wasn't necessary as the cakes were very good on their own, without a sauce. And so with the pot of chocolate I made my 1.5 hot chocolate, after purchasing a thing of milk (full cream) for $2 extra. An idea: use this voucher for two people, but have a 3rd person just buy milk. That way you can get 3 hot chocolates.





Service was very good, and it got busier throughout the evening. Clean up was slow though and all the water glasses were dirty, that they had to provide plastic cups. Initially my cup was dirty too, but I asked for another. These things needs to be washed in a washing machine rather than hand rinsed. 

We also asked about the salted c hot choc, to which we discovered it's a caramel drink, with no actual chocolate. Sad. But I did buy a box of salted c lindor balls for le beau. :) Obviously I had forgotten that we are no longer together or speaking, despite we're still crazy about each other, or so his brother tells me.



Hello Lindt Bars were on sale for $1 though not with a near by expiry date so we grabbed a couple of those. At 2.50 normally we rarely ever buy them, I'm a bit of a bargain hunter and a fan of couponing. 










I love Lindt, but we only visit a couple times a year, because it's quite intense, drinking pure chocolate. Also it's expensive and we only go with group deals. It's a great spot for hot chocolate after dinner though. Date idea noted.

Tuesday 14th July



Shanghai Street within the past couple months has opened up a second restaurant out on Chapel St near Jam Factory opposite San Churro. A huge restaurant in comparison to the original Shanghai Street with lines coming around the corner at lunch. One winter's Tuesday night after work conveniently within walking distance we stopped by for dinner.



The menu was different, no longer contained on a double sided A4 laminate it was a book. Though not to worry they still have all the classic XLBs and dumplings. Along with different dishes, and a slightly higher price tag. Oh and dessert! Tonight we already had dessert plans, next time. 





I had soup, it was bigger than the average bowl which was what I expected. With minced chicken and grated corn it was good, but nothing amazing. I prefer New Shanghai for this dish. 

There wasn't anything on the menu that appealed to me, other than the soup & XLBs.





I was surprized this dish didn't come with rice, and that had to be ordered as a side. The dish itself was of very generous size though, perhaps to be shared. While the rice bowl was smaller than standard. Though it was a dish that Freud was happy to consume without rice. He liked it, except the vegetables - because he doesn't eat vegetables. The sauce was very good, not too salty, though I found the beef too fat and chewy. I'm used to lean beef, while he is not. Opposites can be a good thing we later discover. 

Freud is a picky eater. He says the best people are. No, or at least not at his level. He enjoys soda, McD and KFC. No to sushi, seafood, vegetables and trying new things. 

He wasn't going to help take notes either, till I emptied half my luggage on the table to get my notebook.

Spending time with other people and on my own makes me really appreciate le beau.



Service was good, though better with some than others. We were offered a choice of water or tea (I have a feeling it was because one of us is asian and the other ain't) though not the bottle to refill. And Freud being Freud refused to ask for more, he is the type of guy who would wait till he's busting and we go by McD to go to the bathroom rather than having ask at the restaurant where we were to go there.

Our waiter was great, no I don't know his name, but it's the asian guy with the glasses. On a Tuesday night, cold and wet, it was about 50% full when we left around 8.30pm. We'll be back for XLBs and dessert!



Note that Shanghai Street is located between two train stops and between two traffic lights. Good Luck crossing the road. Oh and Benny & Jerry's is also close by, on the left.



 

Monday 13th July

A long day as I barely slept last night, I know a memory can't hurt you but I didn't want to close my eyes and see him... A shot doesn't taste better even if you get cream, marshmallows (white ones only) and sprinkles. But it sure works.

Got lost on the way to work, secret hidden entrance in the carpark. Set-up, pack-up, watched the suits on stationery bikes and then watched them build one - Ikea style. Then we went around to fix them.


Looking up Crown...

• There are over 4 million light globes
• 43,000 staff uniforms are cleaned every week
• Employees receive complimentary meals, staff restaurant open 24/7
• 3,500+ employees eat at the Crown’s staff restaurant every day (21,000 per week, 84,000 per month and over 1 million complimentary staff meals per year)

That's pretty cool, Crown is on my top 3 list, I'd like work with a venue or catering company. Met a guy who finished events before me, he says there are no entry level jobs because they're now all 4 day unpaid internships. Exploiting people who need experience. I agree to some degree, the exception is with NFP charities. But if you're up at 5am doing showbags you need to re-evaluate your life. Same goes for setting up weddings. Weddings are 120% profit. It's just free slave labour there. 


For lunch we got 10% off as staff. Roasted pumpkin, ricotta and rocket salad with a dressing. It doesn't sound like much, but was so filling! Dinner was also a healthy choice of sushi. Not made just for me, warm from the blow torch though - that's how I like my sushi. Though I prefer not to get sushi from Safeway. Sadly Purple Peanuts was cash only.

From work we went to dancing, it's 11.30 and I'm still up. :P Only micro-napped on the train.

Out of the 300+ people at work I was the one that picked up a box and a staple went into my finger! One that came from a staple gun! I could feel the blood and life flowing out of me! It hurt!

Tuesday

Two meetings, lunch in between, dinner and dessert. 

Meeting One - It's amazing how much you lean on the job, as oppose to in class. Class is pure theory and no practice (except for one event). This is great when your client asks you to sit an exam rather than plan an actual event. :P

Meetings over coffee, she had tea and I had hot chocolate, I think I ordered the white one but couldn't taste it. $4.20 made from syrup. No marshmallows as they were out. I asked for cream, but forgot to mention I liked it whipped. As cream for hot chocolate is always whipped isn't it? Service was iffy, they were slow and forgot.


The hot chocolate itself was average. This is what it looked like after a few sips, as interrupting the meeting to take a picture wasn't cool. I tried not to take a picture but couldn't resist. 

Lunch was take-away from PappaRich. Whenever possible I prefer to eat in, to have silverware and atmosphere. Also plates, I prefer using plates rather than takeaway containers. Everything also looks better with good light and settings. :P



Until last week I've never had roti before, or kaya. Roti looks like naan, but it's not as oily and very soft, less savory bread like and more sweet. The roti was surprisingly sweet! And it was delicious! I could eat this just on its own! Though I had it with the chicken curry, which had about 3 pieces of chicken and a lot of skin... I don't like skin. It was also a bit hot, and while it had lots of spices it wasn't as good as actually getting a curry from an Indian place. I'd get roti again for sure, but not the curry. 



I love kaya! And steamed buns. As we got takeaway we got everything at the same time, so this as dessert was cold/room-temp as oppose to being served warm, ideally. But still it was very good, not as amazing as the kaya roti though. Also why was there slices of butter in the bun? I prefer it if they had melted rather than eating pieces of butter. Kaya is delicious!

Meeting Two - Venue Inspection. Very nice. Would I get married here? Err no. Not unless I use the room as an empty space and all curtains on the walls, chandeliers and all. It'll be even nicer with our lighting set-up.



Freud like my unmarried friends he's constantly broke. And also I have some issues with him, that he knows about. 

e.g. When a "Man" Is Left Holding the Bag

Le Beau - "I'll hold it, because she's not going to leave without me". But he always holds my bag without being asked or any hesitation. It does help that my bag is never tiny and pink though, it's always big-very big and black. 

Jas - "I'm not your boyfriend." But he'll hold it anyway, but not for extended times. Only when I'm trying to get something out of it or going somewhere and need him to hold it. 

Freud - "Place it over there *points to a spot about 4 feet away*" treats it like a suspicious package.

Friday

While I knew I'm not a morning person, lately I haven't been an afternoon person either. I'm a midnight person.

Tonight's plan was to drive 100km (one way) to Geelong for a show and then back. Clearly I have no idea how far it is :P on the train it doesn't seem that far. So that didn't happen, instead we stayed in the city and had dinner and dessert. 

I love Greek food, I don't know much about it though, and the only person I know who's Greek is my former (?) SIL, the surgeon. I do know that I love sovas and am always on the hunt for good groupon deals for Greek Restaurants.

Craving souva we went to Jimmy Grant's at the Emporium. I love it, but it's more than I normally spend on a main. For a meal you'll need 2x souvas ($20) + a side or two ($14-ish) costing $35 for dinner making it $$$ on urbanspoon's old money rating, with <$15 = $, <$25 = $$, $25> =  $$$. That's for mains, I'm not sure what the new measure  means. 

Jas had 'Mr Papadopoulos' my first economics lecture. Lamb, mustard, aioli, chips, onions and parsley. $10. No picture as he waited more than an hour for me to get there, and consumed it pretty fast. I have late because I was stuck in bed. Where I've been spending the past few weeks.


In an attempt to try new things I had 'The Patris' with prawns, honey mayo (yum!), cucumber, mint and coriander. It was very yummy but I think the lamb or chicken/lamb combo is better. It's to me more traditional. 

Our side was 'Parmesan & Truffles Fries' $6 from Charlie & Co Burgers, which doesn't seem to have a website? This side has been on my list for a while, since Esme recommended it, though not being a burger person it's not high on my list. 


The fries were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, yes they were very good. I correctly identified the Parmesan, while Jas identified it as jack cheese? And Esme has no idea, as she's not a food person, instead she likes man food, and reviews can be delivered in one sentence. It's good or not and spicy or she'd say something about the flavour. 

Would we get them again? No. There's a fish & chip place (Sea Salt) a block away from the apartment and they do great chips too, at $4 and it serves 2-3 people. We can get better/similar chips other places cheaper. Jas knows more about truffles than me and he said he couldn't really taste the presence of it, so that's a second no. 

But we'll be back to try more burgers (I had three last time - sliders) and milkshakes for a complete review.


Dessert was open late and conveniently only a couple blocks away, after you find your way out of the maze that is the Emporium. Loving the lift that goes all the way down. 

Dex2Rose is our go to ice cream aka gelato place. Why? You can eat in, service is always good, location and changing menus. There's something for everyone, from your picky eater toddler to those who are more adventurous. 

Jas works like an adult 9-5 though I don't think is quite an adult yet :P Working much longer hours than me calls for coffee during the evening. I have no idea how Brad (morman's new name) does it, or Hector, work, wife, kids/dancing, they can do it all. 



Cold brewed coffee that’s out of a beer tap. Charged with nitrogen gas, Nitro Brew comes with a creamy head of foam that locks in the wholesome fl avour, and a whole new mouth feel. Jas said the coffee was a bit sweet with honey. Nay or yay? Nay.


Made with our special in-house blend of Belgian crafted chocolate containing 51% pure cocoa, our lightly spiced hot chocolate is sure to warm you right up

A lightly spiced overall light hot chocolate was one perfectly melt-in-your-mouth marshmallow. Yum! I'd had this before though as a part of the $16 smoking set. 



SALTED CARAMEL gelato mixed with crunchy sugar shards for that perfect blend of taste and texture. Topped with caramel popcorn and nut clusters with our famous small batch salted caramel sauce.

I've had the caramel before and while I liked the gelato I wasn't a fan on the shards of glass embedded within, jas is though. Since I've had it last Jesse has added nuts. 


Scarlet Slam $7 - A scarlet slam is what happens when you cross RED VELVET cupcakes with a TIM TAM Slam. Featuring rich chocolate Tim Tams smashed into smooth creamy red velvet gelato, this decadent combination is served with cream cheese frosting. *OBLIGATORY RICH CHOCOLATE WARNING* Contains caffeine.

I love Tim Tams! In fact I have about 7 packs in the pantry :P (It was on sale.) Lola had this one last time and she liked it, so do I! Yum! Needs a bit more cream cheese, but other than that I'd recommend this one and get it again.

While we were invited to review Dex2Rose we have been back many times, and shall be back again, for the Strawberry Cheesecake & Pandan next time. 

Saturday

I can barely what happened on Saturday, as the day was going well until I had a panic attack. I recall vaguely running, and I didn't stop till I got back to the office, this was from Melb Central to Flinders, it wasn't that close. 


So instead of memories, Saturday is recounted from the pictures I took. We went shopping, had a cupcake, cendol (green coconut drink with pandan-like jelly), and dinner on the way home from Mantra Lounge. Vegan Curry w Rice & Salad. Healthy but still good. Also had chatime and obtained a red balloon along the way.






At some point we watched most of the panels from Comic Con! I've very excited about OUAT and Agent Carter! Evil Emma I don't like her look, the diamonds are pretty. That is what the heart turns into right?

I take a lot of pictures, though I only share the best, and sometimes some pictures get left out, or they don't fit in at the time I'm working on a post because it's work in progress, that or it's a bit of a case of photo overload per post. So here are some pictures I meant to share, but it hasn't happened till now.



I'm not a glove person, the way it feels between your fingers isn't very nice, and so I have yet to buy leather gloves, but this pattern was just lovely! It reminds me of Mrs Claus. At $2.80 it's also the cheapest gloves you'll ever buy, but it does get caught in key rings, jump rings, necklaces, everything that has a metal ring.






A decorative teacup that used to house a rose wax candle. I forgot some chocolate in that cup and now it's rose infused! Which means I don't think I should actually use this cup. But isn't it lovely? 




























I'd like that one in the corner. But the claw is designed to work/become stronger for one go once it swallows up enough money, usually $20-30, so you need 10-15 gos to get it.

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