We were surprised to be given an opportunity to visit Melbourne twice last year.  The first one was to celebrate the Husband’s birthday and the second was a mix of business and pleasure. 

Here are some photos from our December trip which reminds us how much we love (and probably won’t get tired of) Melbourne.

This place is always camwhore-friendly. Whether in the streets, in an alley or in a restaurant, there’s always an attractive backdrop somewhere.

Melbourne - December 2010


Melbourne - December 2010


Melbourne - December 2010


Melbourne - December 2010



You’ll always discover a place to have brunch, whether in the city or in the suburbs.  On our last trip, we spent more time in the suburbs than in the city.  Loved this cafe called “liar liar” where we had Saturday brunch. 

Melbourne - December 2010


“liar liar” also served syphoned coffee which made me very happy.

Melbourne - December 2010



Chocolate will always be part of the agenda.  We love Koko Black so much, we just had to go back and have afternoon tea there.

Melbourne - December 2010



It is also a place for discovering an old favourite.  The biggest surprise we found in one of the suburbs we visited was “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf”, one of my favourite cafes in the world. 

Melbourne - December 2010



Being reunited with my beloved Spanish Churros is another big treat.  We had to stop over at Flinders Station on the way to the airport because I can’t leave Melbourne without having a bite. 

Melbourne - December 2010



And of course, being with our friends.  Melbourne, we believe, is like a second home to us because we know that whenever we visit, we will always be in great, fun company.

Melbourne - December 2010


Melbourne - December 2010



Lastly, the trip was an opportunity to capture a special event in our friends’ lives. 

Melbourne - December 2010


I wonder when we’ll visit again. 

We usually celebrate Valentine with the “Kolokoys” (the name we gave our group of friends) but since we all had a busy December and January, we decided to give ourselves a rest from all the partying that we’ve done. 

This year, the Husband and I turned Valentine’s Day into a Valentine’s long weekend.  We decided to in sync our day-off today so we’ll have an extra day of just staying at home.

We never usually go out on Vday.  I remember when we were still going out as boyfriend/girlfriend in Manila, we’d go home early, order take-away food from a restaurant and have dinner at home.  Our way of avoiding the crowd in restaurants and the traffic.

Since Vday’s eve was a Sunday, we went to church as usual and dropped by the mall to have lunch and do some grocery shopping.

The only “special” thing we did was eat at this not-so-new Thai restaurant at the mall for the first time.  Hi Thai had been opened in Blacktown for awhile now but we never had the great urge to eat there. 

Hi Thai


Hi Thai


Hi Thai



We had the Mixed Entree which was the only dish from Hi Thai that I liked.  All four components on the plate: puff pastry, spring roll, fish cake and satay chicken were very tasty and flavourful. 

Mixed Entree



Their Pad Thai and Chicken Barbecue were average, not good enough for me to come back soon.

Pad Thai


Chicken BBQ




Today, we just rested and enjoyed the quiet of our home.  An ordinary day turned extra-ordinary not because it’s Valentine’s day but simply because we are together.

How was your Vday?

The other night, my dear friend shared on her FB status that she can’t find her rogar estate wine opener so instead of drinking wine, she turned to eating ice cream instead.  How funny!  Oh well, I can relate to her especially when I’m in need of a good drink at the end of the day.  They say that drinking wine at least once a day is healthy so my Husband and I do stock up on a few bottles of wine at home.  We don’t drink everyday but we drink often enough even if there are no special occasions.

Like my friend, we sometimes take wine openers for granted when it is an important factor in drinking wine. We have wine openers at home but how I wish one day we can have proper ones like those of Rogar’s champion wine opener and estate wine opener.

Stocking up on quality wines at home are an investment but setting good quality wine openers are just as important too.

This is our dinner tonight! 🙂 


Adobong Pusit

What you need:

1/2 kilo Squids
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Bay leaf
1/4 tsp Pepper
4 cloves Garlic, mashed
1/3 cup Vinegar
1 tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup Water
3 tbsp Canola Oil
1 Onion, diced
Red Chilies or a dash of Chili flakes/powder (optional)

What you need to do:

1.  Clean the squids by pulling out head, tentacles, innards and transparent ribs from body of squids.  Discard innards and transparent ribs.  Wash bodies and tentacles.  

2.  Marinate squids in salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, water, sugar and bay leaf.  Leave for an hour.  After an hour, drain and set aside the marinade.

3.  Saute onion in hot oil.  Add drained squids and mix for about 10-12 minutes (or until juices evaporate).  Strain your marinade then add to sauteed squids.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  If you want your Adobong Pusit spicy, add chopped red chilies or a dash of chili flakes/powder.

Serve Adobong Pusit with steamed rice.

What’s your dinner tonight???