Melbourne Fenix

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Lindsay

I realise that my blog entries have been pretty sporadic the last few weeks and I have been so busy working and travelling that it has been a little hard to do my usual posts.

I was in Melbourne last week for my brother’s graduation and for some training for work. It was a wonderful week away from the rain and heat of Brisbane. It was freezing cold on the day of my brother’s graduation ceremony and I have to say, the ceremony could’ve been a little shorter… I was a little jealous of all the attention my brother got and wished I had gone back to school to get another certificate. Perhaps in a couple of years I might go back to school and complete my masters.

The day I left, we had lunch at Gary Mehigan’s restaurant, Fenix, in Richmond. I would say the food is modern Australian. It is on the banks of the Yarra River and had a wonderful view. Unfortunately, we were kind of stuck in the corner with a column in the way of the table – wasn’t too impressed with that but either way it didn’t really annoy me too much. I opted to go for a 3 course meal to sample as much as I could. I ordered a salmon sashimi dish as my starter. It was very fresh and had a wonderful flavour that reminded me of the fresh fish dish we have with congee. Next up for my main was another fish dish, Barramundi. I liked that the fish was perfectly cooked and there were sufficient pieces of mussels. Finally I ordered a yoghurt parfait with black cherries. This was seriously an unusual dish for me. I loved the consistency of the yoghurt and the tartness of the cherries wasn’t so bad when you mixed them together. Overall, we had an enjoyable meal and the staff were really friendly. We even had a celebrity spotting with Gary the owner appearing at the restaurant. I would love to go back again in the winter to sample more dishes.

Still here, just busy

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Lindsay

Wow! It has been a few weeks since I’ve posted on the site. I apologise for that as I have been super duper busy with work and everything else in between. The Christmas season is well and truly upon us but for some reason, still not quite in the Christmas mood.

Arrived in Melbourne tonight for some training for work and after that for some R&R with the family. Looking forward to that as well as getting some work done in between. It’s going to get a bit dicey…

Well I might blog again on the weekend with some shopping finds or good eats here in Melbourne… My favourite city in Australia. Maybe with some luck I’ll bump into Oprah. Hehe…

Riding on trams

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Lindsay

I think trams are fun only when you are sitting the right way. Sitting backwards gives you a bit of a headache. Sideways isn’t too bad but not for a journey more than an hour. You get to see a fair bit of a city in a tram. You get to meet all sorts of people too.

It’s a shame Brisbane got rid of them in the 60s but I guess that is what makes Melbourne so different. Every city has their own little charm.

It’s been raining again. Boring.

You know what, this sitting backwards and blogging is making me sick. I’ve got to stop here. Till next time.

Food

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Lindsay

So tonight I’m spending by myself since I’m not meeting my brother tonight. This means I have to find myself some dinner. Now this shouldn’t be hard since Melbourne is a gastro-mecca but I’m alone, it’s cold and my god, what is good? I am almost contemplating going back to so called old faithful… Pho. We will see. But now that we are talking food, I think all I have done since I have been here is eat and work. Shop perhaps not as much as one would expect. I am amazed at the amount of food I have consumed. LOL. Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican… omg, the list could just go on and on. So far the best meal has been at Flower Drum. It is a fancy Chinese restaurant in the heart of Melbourne Chinatown. It has service that no other Chinese restaurant can compare to… they don’t throw plates at you and tell you that you don’t have time for dessert. I think we took 2 hours to eat. It was neverending… that is until we left. I hope to go back there again, when someone else is paying.

My brother and I tried the sister bar of D.O.C.S (Mozzarella Bar), the Pasta Bar. It was pretty good stuff and so quintessentially Italian. Loved it. We should be headed back to D.O.C.S again.

Well I’m finally hungry now, so I’m going to go hunt for food. Cross fingers for me!

Sleeping in someone else's bed

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Lindsay

One thing I still am not used to when away from home is sleeping on hotel beds or sofa beds. It is something about not completely being in control of your surroundings. For example, I’m now staying in an awfully cold room but the heater is out in the living area. I can’t control where the heater is placed. I should have packed some socks. I think I’ll buy some tomorrow.

I don’t completely miss home because I’m with my brother most evenings just hanging out after work. I just miss my bed and “unlimited” supply of clothes. At the moment I have almost worn out my black stockings and ruined one pair of shoes thanks to the wonderful wet weather we had over the weekend.

Less than 2 weeks left then back home and hopefully back to the office with some new work. I just hope my flight has inflight entertainment otherwise I’m not going to be happy.

Europe Trip

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Lindsay

Here are some quick pictures of my trip to Europe. Paris and London were a lot of fun. Milan was fun but it was kind of grim. I only liked the food the most! LOL.

paris