Ibyang
Ibyang

Aussie Life

Christmas Celebrations with Family

Our Christmas week holiday was as balanced as I hoped it would be as we had time for ourselves, family and friends. We are so grateful the Husband’s office shutdown coincided with mine. Our last day of work was on the 21st December so we welcomed the holiday by partying with friends the following day and watching “Les Miserables” on Sunday.

Dates with the Hubby. If we’re not hanging out with people, the Husband and I spent time at home, catching up on sleep, movies and episodes of American TV series. This is the most relaxed of all our Christmas holidays as we didn’t do any major de-clutterings at home (just a few mini de-cluttering of this and that). We went to the nearby mall and had gelatos as we window shopped and do grocery. 
We were able to watch “Les Miserables”, a movie I’ve been waiting to watch. I love it! I have got to say that this I was in awe of the direction of this movie. I admire director Tom Hooper for turning a musical into a wonderful film. Hugh Jackman, Ann Hathaway and Sacha Baron gave stellar performances.

Christmas Party with Relatives. Our family get-together on Christmas Eve was doubly special because we celebrated the 50th birthday of my Auntie Bess. It was a busy but fun day surrounded by family. We left the party feeling very blessed from all the love of our relatives.

Christmas Day was rainy and gloomy. To us who were partied out, it was the perfect weather to stay at home and catch up on sleep. With less than three hours of sleep, we woke up early on Christmas morning to attend mass. 
Our Christmas morning breakfast which consisted of Baked Ham, Egg and Rice, Puto Bumbong, Kutsinta and Ripe Mangoes. So delicious! 
Spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day at home but on the 27th December, we went out to do some shopping. After dinner, we went to see “The Hobbit” with our relatives. We all loved the film! It was three-hour long but we didn’t notice and all of us are now looking forward to the next one.
Koreatown with Family. Shared our love for Korean food with relatives over the weekend. We met up at Strathfield, had BBQ lunch at Won Jo, coffee at My Sweet Memory, shopped at Morning Glory and even had our photos taken via their funky photobooth and had yogurt dessert at Yogurberry. We had so much fun!!! Can’t wait to do something like this again.
Now this ends my Christmas 2012 series. It’s been a love-filled Christmas. The Husband and I are grateful for everyone who’s been a part of it.
READ MORE

Christmas Celebrations with Friends

We’ve been blessed to spend time with all of our friends during Christmas. During the month of November, my friends and I try to finalize the dates of our Christmas get-together(s) so that by the time December comes in, we’d all be ready to just party. Our parties are usually just spent at home with everyone pitching in for the food. Most common of all the three parties this year: BBQ! Who doesn’t love an Aussie BBQ Party?
with WaWies
with Kolokoys

with Tweethearts
A great bonus was that most of our friends spent Christmas here in Sydney so during our Christmas week holiday, we were able to have lunch with them at Cabramatta. We had coffee at Cafe 86 and then lunch at Pho Viet.
We also had lunch with of my former workmate and friend Mari. It was our chance to catch up and for her to meet Chris for the first time. We enjoyed a Yum Cha lunch at Parramatta Phoenix. 
Discovered this Mango Crepe Roll that tasted so good. It was sweet and refreshing. 

Oh what fun and joy to be surrounded by friends during Christmas season. I look at our parties as a way to honour our friendship with them and also a way of thanksgiving.

READ MORE

Koreatown Fri-date

We’ve been hanging out at different suburbs lately so we’ve missed our favourite Koreatown in Strathfield. We took a day-off last Friday and decided to have brunch there amidst the rains, wind and gloom. Such bad weather that it was tempting to just stay in bed and sleep. But our love for Korean stuff proved to be much stronger so as early as 10:30am we were already there hoping to find a place to eat.

We found a cafe and restaurant called “Beauty and the Beast” (39 The Boulevard, Strathfield NSW) that serves Korean, Japanese and Western food. They have a wide range of dishes from snacks, lunch, dinner and even happy hour. I’ve never been more glad to find that they serve Club Sandwiches. They’re my favourite snacks (think Tropical Hut Philippines) since I was a kid and it’s not commonly served in cafes here in Australia. The Husband and I ordered a Club Sandwich with Chips, Kimchi Stew with Pork and Tofu and Pork Katsu–one for each cuisine. The servings were big but we almost finished everything because we were so hungry. Enjoyed the food because it was simply delicious.
After brunch, we went to Hanaro Mart (Shop 16/11 The Boulevard Strathfield) to look at Korean goodies. We mostly bought chocolates, canned coffees and ice cream!
Dropped by Hello Happy and bought some bread. We love their bread so everytime we chance upon Hello Happy we buy a few to take home with us.

For a change, we didn’t have coffee and instead visited the newest yogurt place in Strathfield, Yogurberry. The store’s only a week-old and we even heard construction going on at the back but the place was ready to accommodate customers nonetheless. The weather was freezing cold and yet here we were enjoying a big cup of Taro Yogurt. 

Brunch, check. Korean goodies, check, Korean breads, check. A yogurt dessert, check. A short visit to Koreatown and we got what we came for and more. It was a great start to our long weekend. 

READ MORE

Woodcroft Lake Festival

Spent Saturday morning at the Woodcroft Lake Festival with our relatives where we got to enjoy looking at stalls, watching shows presented by different organizations and eating good food.

Thank goodness the sun shone brightly (it was raining on Friday night) which made the experience more enjoyable. Below are snippets of what transpired that morning.

Woodcroft Lake. A few years back, I used to live with relatives and their home is situated near this gorgeous lake. I used to come here often to briskwalk and jog. This place has changed over the years as it now has an exercise area and shaded tables for picnics.

The things that made up the festival. The whole morning we were there, a program that showcased singing and dancing from kids were being held. Kids enjoyed getting on a few rides and a mini train that goes around the lake. The Fire Department was there to let kids experience how to carry a hose. 


There were a lot of food and craft stalls that cater to different people.  One of my favourites was a stall selling doll dresses worn by Cabbage Patch Kids. I love Cabbage Patch Kids! I have one when I was a kid and my heart fluttered in glee when I saw them. So cute! 

Bought two potted flowers from the plants stall. They were cheap and sold by a Filipina who was kind enough to let us leave the plants we chose and just come back for it after we’re finished enjoying the festival.

There were a variety of food stalls that cater to different cultures but I gravitated towards the Filipino stalls. That’s basically what we came for–to eat Filipino food not cooked by us hahaha. We had Fishballs, Fried Lumpia, Pork BBQ and Turon (not in photo), then chased them up with refreshing Sago’t Gulaman. 

I shared this photo on my instagram (@ibyang) and wrote:

“Making tusok tusok the Fishballs and making sawsaw the Lumpiang Prito on the suka.”
(only a Filipino who grew up in the Philippines will understand the humour behind that)
Before we left, I made one last stop at the Fairy Floss stall and bought a stick. It was HUGE and I love it! This photo of mine below with the Fairy Floss sums up what I felt that Saturday–a happy kid!
READ MORE

Aussie Life Series: Darling Harbour on a Friday Afternoon

I’ve been tagging some of my photos #AussieLife in instagram which simply shows life in Australia. I’m celebrating my 7th year of living here next month and it still gives me goosebumps at the realization that I live in Sydney. I love this beautiful city. I love how laidback this country is. Life here is not without heartaches and struggles but I’m always be grateful for the blessing of being here.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a quiet afternoon at Darling Harbour. It is one of my favourite places in the city. It has immensely changed with the development of the Tumbalong Park and the new dining district Darling Quarter that boosts of several restaurants.

Here are few photos of that lovely afternoon. While things may have progressed in Darling Harbour, the laidback lifestyle still remains.

At Darling Quarter.  This place is a mixture of business and leisure establishments. They made this park for kids and kids-at-heart. They have two tables for those who would like to play table tennis which proves to be a good diversion for professionals during break from work.

At another park of the park in Darling Quarter. People sitting on chairs, relaxing. Some are with friends chatting, some are listening to music or reading quietly.

The Beer O’Clock Crowd. Being a Friday, some people get off work as early as 3:30pm and have a drink with friends. 

Relaxing by the Harbour. This is one of my favourite spots in Sydney. It’s just beautiful to sit here and enjoy the lovely little harbour and blue skies.

Blue Harbour. Australia’s got the bluest skies you’ll ever see. I never get tired of saying that as much as I never get tired of looking at the blue skies here.

The Seagull. He willingly paused so I can take a photo of him. You know the movie “Finding Nemo”? Those birds that kept saying “Mine, mine, mine!” were inspired by the seagulls in Australia. There are tons of them in Sydney and they like eating chips. And sometimes I do imagine them saying “Mine, mine, mine!” when we throw out food to them.


It is normal to see a stroller parked in front of a restaurant. Parents sometimes leave baby strollers in front of restaurants due to space concerns and that’s okay.

The Happy Hour Crowd. Happy clicking of beer bottles, wine and cocktail glasses are in full swing as soon the sun sets. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing Sydney in my photographs. Till next time!

READ MORE