Category: trips *yeehaa*

Jan 18

Birdman Eating and The Hardware Société

I was expecting a blog post from myself last week but little did I know my ‘timetable’ was be jam packed.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent watching ‘Bottled Passion’, a TVB drama.
The habit of watching drama all day, from episode to episode is no longer in me.
Or I should say, not much drama interest me nowadays.

Saw my mom and brother watching ‘Bottled Passion’ and it looks so interesting I have to get it from my brother.
It was real good I finished it in 3 days, mainly because it’s a love story with a twist.
But I hate the ending so it kind of made me feel like I wasted my time watching it.
TVB should know by now that ‘unhappy ending’ will not make us, the audience happy.

After the drama, the rest of my days were spent outside of home hanging out with friends from Melbourne cause most of them are at KL for now. (:
Speaking of Melbourne, here is the post as promised.

Food from Melbourne’s cafe.
You see, it’s been pretty long (very damn long in fact) since I came home from Melbourne so I guess I probably cant describe how the food taste like anymore except that it tasted good wtf.
But I’ll try my best to dig out whatever I can remember from my brain.

First off, Birdman Eating.
Yes, what a name I thought to myself when Fatty first told me about it.
Birdman Eating : Odd name, simple, and brilliantly done (food and ambiance).

I do not do any research about restaurant or cafes during my stay in Melbourne (unlike here in KL) because obviously, it’s the boyf’s job while I visit him.
Apparently Birdman Eating is very famous for their baked eggs as I’ve mentioned in my previous post.


* The first thing that caught my eye when I stepped into Birdman Eating is their hanging carrots in plastic bags. What a decoration. The first one is a bird man like figure with colourful feathers, second is the hanging plastic-bag-carrots and the third are flowers in vases which they changed it on the spot when we’re there.
Very creatively done.


* One of the best Chai Latte I’ve ever tried in Melbourne which came in a rather unique red tin. Very aromatic and I really like it that way. Damn, I seriously miss drinking Chai Latte. $5.50.


* I guess we ordered baked eggs of the day which you can made your decision based on what they have on their blackboard. Just imagine, on a chilly early noon you’re served with pipping hot baked eggs with runny yolks on a metal skillet and with a sliced of buttered toast. Your day will be a wonderful one after eating the baked eggs, hah. $14.


* Soup of the day which I cant remember much.


* A picture while we were walking towards the tram station. I will definitely be back for more baked eggs, some time this year. (:

So if you happened to be in Melbourne, do drop by on a Sunday morning for some perfectly bake baked eggs.
This will not disappoint you, I swear.
It’s located at Fitzroy and here’s the address.

Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Mon-Fri 7am–10:30pm
Sat-Sun 8am–10:30pm

Next on is The Hardware Société.
Did not bother much on why Birdman Eating is called Birdman Eating but how did The Hardware Société’s name came by is from the lane itself, located at Hardware street.
So next time if you cant figure what name to give your cafe, you can try ‘Hang Tuah Société’ if your cafe is at Jalan Hang Tuah.
Damn, Malaysia’s street name never sound right.


* Another perfect place for a warm hearty breakfast. I seriously love eating breakfast in Melbourne.


* If you pay attention enough, most of the newly opened cafes in KL look like the above picture. Probably inspired by cafes from the west.
The Hardware Société’s interior actually looked much better than the picture above. I was too busy catching up with my friend and too busy focusing on food. Cant be bothered with pictures that very moment. But do google for it if you’re interested and you’ll be amaze.

Expect to see a line of people waiting for tables when you’re there, probably a very normal scene for The Hardware Société.

Do forgive me because I am not able to name a single dish here, my brain failed me.
So this time round, I’ll just say I’ll let the pictures do the talking.


* Chai Latte in a pot wrapped by a cute and colourful knit. Told you I love Chai Latte, just simply irresistible.


* My friends were not quite used to the taste and the combination of ingredients the cafe offered.


* Just take a look at the peas/beans!


* This is the best dish but I cant remember what it is.


* I was really happy when I get to meet Foon in Melbourne and that’s where we enjoyed our breakfast together.

The Hardware Société is located in CBD, in the heart of Melbourne city.

The Hardware Société
120 Hardware Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Opening hours:
Mon – Fri 7.30am – 3pm
Sat – 8.30am – 2pm

Now you see the difference between Malaysia’s cafe and Melbourne’s?
Or you still don’t?
Sometimes it just feels like these Melburnians put so much heart and effort in their food and drinks.
Damn, Melburnians can really cook!
Worth every penny you pay!

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Dec 30

How I spent my Christmas this year.

First off, a very very belated Merry Christmas to all of you.
If you follow me on twitter, you’d know by now that I went to Hatyai with my friends for Christmas.
But that wasn’t me and fatty’s initial plan.

Weeks ago, he went to Singapore with his family for a day for some reason and he came back telling me that the streets on Singapore are all decorated with Christmas lights and tress.
He told me Singapore looks really beautiful and that he would want to bring me over for Christmas and of course upon hearing this I was mad excited.

We did some research and realized that it was quite costly for the both of us to spend our Christmas there.
And as you all know, it’s Christmas which means everything will be much more expensive especially the accommodation.
The cost for a room per night itself can already cover my Hatyai trip expenses.
Which explains my trip.

We were still deciding on where to go until Gavin came up with the idea of going to Hatyai.
And off we go, the eight of us.
We departed on the 23rd, Friday midnight after our super at Jalan Alor. The guys drove for seven to eight hours, all the way to Thailand’s border.

I think we reached the border at about 11am (I was busy sleeping).
We parked our car at the duty free car park and get a van to fetch us to our hotel.
Before that, we had to line up at the immigration to get our passports stamped and the amount of people waiting in line shocked us.
We were all like, ‘Fck do we really have to go through this!?’.
Then there came a savior or money-eater we called it.
He said for Rm20 per pax we would be able to stamp our passports immediately without having to wait in the line.
Greedy man!! RM20 is hell lot and we said no. We bargained and he agreed to Rm15 per pax.
Still a greedy man but we, the lazy men agreed to it.

After getting our passport stamped we told the van driver to bring us to a famous chicken rice shop which is just along the way to Hatyai.
I researched it on the net but I do not know what the restaurant is called. Also my friend told me that there is really a famous chicken rice shop and they said it’s good.
But I guess he brought us to the wrong one!


* There’s crowd in it and I thought, ‘YES’ because I’m hungry!


* Our sugarcane drink.

One thing good about Hatyai is that there are still some people who speak Mandarin/ Hokkien and that ease the trip a little.
None of us knows how to speak Hokkien except for Ben, so whenever we’re not able to communicate we would ask him to try to speak in Hokkien and see if they understand him.
Thank god for the fat translator.


* Very dry chicken. Seriously I think the van driver brought us to the wrong chicken rice shop. ):


* But the siu yuk is pretty good. Very crispy skin they have.

After our breakfast/ lunch we slept all the way till we reach our hotel at Songkhla.
Why Songkhla is because by the time we wanted to book our hotel in Hatyai town, it is already fully book so we’re left with no choice.
We stayed at Pavilion Hotel in Songkhla and the first thing we did upon reaching the hotel is sleeping like there’s no tomorrow after the very long ride before going out for dinner.

Take note: Do not book hotels in Songkhla if you’re not as desperate as we are because honestly speaking it’s a waste of time and money.
From our hotel to Hatyai town cost us about 500 to 600 Baht and it takes about half to one hour, depending on the speed of the tuk tuk.

The first tuk tuk we took to Hatyai town is mad slow and according to Gavin who sat in front, next to the driver, he only drove like 40 to 50 km/h. Not to mention that the roof of this tuk tuk we picked is extremely low, makes it hard for the boys to sit.
Hatyai’s tuk tuk is very much different from Bangkok’s. I did not take a picture of it but here it is, from google.


* Bangkok’s tuk tuks are motorbikes which maximum can probably only fit in 3 people but Hatyai’s tuk tuk is a van or mini lorry which can fit in about 8 people.


* Fatty looks like he’s lost, haha.


* Bff


* Alvin and his girlf Mai, camwhoring?


* Gavin and Zoe, the entertainer. :D

We walked around Hatyai town looking for a suitable restaurant for us to have our dinner.
Passed by one restaurant that has chinese words all around and is very packed with people but we figured that it might be very costly because they target people like us, tourists.
As we continue walking we saw another restaurant, ‘Hong Gei’ and the lady knows how to speak Cantonese, so this restaurant it is.


* Very refreshing guava juice.


* Something you must order no matter which restaurant you’re in, Tom Yam.


* Deep fry pork knuckle, extremely delicious.

Everything from that restaurant is pretty good, from their Thai steam fish to fry green leaves.
One of the best meal we had there.


* And THIS!! Is of course, our second best meal! Extremely large prawn!

We walked around the town after our dinner, giving it some time for digestion before we head to massage parlor.
We walked into one, somewhere around Lee Garden Hotel named Sawasdee and all of us went for Thai full body massage.
That is by far the cheapest massage in my entire life. 200 Bath per hour for a full body massage.
Oh you gotta be kidding me.

We all enjoyed the massage session especially fatty.
After massaging, we decided to take away whatever we can from the street and have another eating session at Mc Donalds.
Of course, one of the must do in Thailand is visiting their Mc Donalds because theirs’ are more awesome than ours’. Pfft.
Pork burger!
But this time, pork burger isn’t the champion.
I shall reveal at the end of my post.


* Durian sticky rice that I did not try. Durians over there are HUGE, just do a comparison with that white styrofoam in the picture.

After our meal, the alcoholics bout beer and off we go back to our hotel.
We picked a different tuk tuk this time, we picked one with speakers and we party our way back to hotel.


* That’s where the party begins.


* That’s Alvin, attempting suicide haha.


* Gavin, Zoe, Fatty and me. (:

Went back to hotel and it’s time for gift exchange.
I bought a pair of monster socks from Topshop and Alvin got mine, while I got the best gift of the day.
A Starbucks tumbler. Hehehehe.


* Look at bff, that’s her present. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

We end our night with laughter and cheap beers.
I should have just down some beers and sleep soundly but I did not.
I lay on bed feeling extremely scared (yah yah I’m afraid of ghost and I scare myself often wtf), so I just grab fatty as close to me as possible and keep praying.
Amitabha!!! Thank god nothing happened, I heard too many stories no thanks to people who told me.

The next day all of us woke up feeling oh-so-okay but that 40/50 km/h tuk tuk driver has to ruin our mood!
Not knowing where to eat I asked the receptionist and she wrote us the name of the restaurant just somewhere nearby our hotel.
We were reluctant to go for that slow ass tuk tuk at first but there wasn’t any more tuk tuk for us to choose from.
And this slow ass tuk tuk is seriously a cheater because he brought us to the wrong restaurant and that bloody restaurant is bloody expensive with food that is not even half as nice to begin with.
Kena conned! We were all so pissed at that tuk tuk driver, seriously.
He should have told us that he do not know where the restaurant is instead of just dumping us just like that.
But we figured the restaurant owner is his friend, pfft!!!

After our kena-con-lunch we went to a temple located at Songkhla called Chedi Thaimongkhon.
The temple is located uphill and we have to pay 30 Bath each for the cable lift ride.
Yes, not cable car but cable lift.


* That’s how we roll.


* Me and Zoe.


* By the beach.

No pictures of temple because I was busy praying and by the time I’m done with my praying it rained!! There were so much more that I have yet to explore but it rained! What on earth ):


* This is all I’ve got, hahahah.


* Kepala senget.


* Boyf #likeaboss.


* Some floating market it seems.

After our praying x raining session we went to Hatyai again to eat and to shop.
First we went to floating market but there’s nothing floating on that day because it rain.


* Fried quill egg.


* Would you like to try some!? Worms and more worms. Disgusting!

Shopping in Hatyai IS NOT FUN and it just makes me miss Bangkok even more! Rawr!
First they have ugly clothes or okay clothes, then their ugly clothes are really expensive comparing to Bangkok’s.
I can get a dress for 10 Bath in Bangkok but in Hatyai a top cost 20 Bath!
For reals!!???

It’s okay it’s okay, fatty said we’ll go to Bangkok together in the future because he knows how much I love that place! (:

Overall, Hatyai is quite a boring place but a boring place can still be fun when we have friends around.
The whole trip cost me 4000 Bath, it should be cheaper if not for the tuk tuk service from hotel to Hatyai town.


* Mc Donald’s Spinach pie, the best pie on earth I swear!!! MC DONALD Y U IS NO HAZ SPINACH PIE IN MSIA!?

Two Bangkok post here and here if you’d like to know more.

I AM MISSING THE SPINACH PIE ALREADY!!!

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Dec 06

Penang, how I miss you.

I went to Penang last weekend and it has made an impact on me. Not a good impact I must say.
I drag going to work so much on the first day.
I just wanna be on a holiday and enjoy life.
But of course that doesn’t sound quite possible. Or you can say, DREAM ON!

I have been going to Penang for three consecutive years including this and this time round, there’s no pictures.
This is a lazy trip, eat and sleep and that’s about it.
The best food I ate in Penang was the Asam Laksa. So darn good, I feel like I can eat a bowl even if I’m mad full.
But I didn’t of course.

We stayed in BayView Resort and although the hotel is a little worn out, I still did enjoy my stay there.
The dark room we slept in.

I miss Penang and the trip already!
I miss sticking to the boyf day and night, haha fuck-his-life.
I miss all the crapping moments in the car.

It was a great trip and I cant wait for another one to come.

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Aug 30

My one day road trip in Melbourne.

Yes, I do go to road trip too, I don’t just stay in the city.
But just one road trip for the entire three months if my memory did not fail me, it was way too cold for us to go on a road trip.

Ben rented a car and off we go to Mount Dandenong. (:
First stop was Puffing Billy. It’s a century old steam train that will bring us around the mountain allowing us to have a view at the scenic Dandenong ranges.
There’s a history to it but I cant quite remember it right now, haha.
The price is slightly expensive to me but I did had fun sitting on a steam train listening to the puff-puff sound that the train makes. (:


* Say hi to billy.


* Train stop.


* And the best part is of course we get to sit at the edge and put our legs outside!


* Like this! :D


* And stuck my head outside hoping that there aint any giant knife chopping my head away.


* ‘putt-putt’


* We didn’t go all the way, we just stop at the middle, get down and snapped some pictures.


* It’s really really cold.

Went for late lunch after saying bye to Billy at a place I cant remember.
I just remember seeing lots of cows when I was enjoying my meal. Or was it lots of sheep?
The restaurant is surrounded by beautiful trees.


* Lovely branches and dried leaves. Love it!

Leave the place and went uphill to enjoy the friggin cold breeze and beautiful view.
Boyf said I sure will like this and brought me to this Giant’s Chair.


* Trying to show how giant the chair is.


* I wonder how many times he sat on this Giant’s Chair, haha.


* If only my picture can tell you how cold it is at that very moment.


* This is a tree hole ….


* …for people like me to make a wish. ‘Dear tree hole, ………’


* Of all trees, why did I picked the one that look most pathetic?


* He’d been to all these places for a few times, yet he brought me there for me to enjoy my holiday. How nice of him (:

Since the boyf bought his i4, we’ve always been taking pictures with Instagram. Especially me because it can save me lotsa hassle from editing my pictures and I took all of ‘em with his account.
He don’t really bother accepting requests or stuff like that, so three weeks back I took over and created my own account instead. muahaha!
Follow me if you wish, just look for ‘peggychow’. (:

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Aug 17

Melbourne Museum, oh-so-interesting.

The word museum do not appeal to a lot of the people I know.
Whenever I am excitedly talking about museum or how badly I wish to go, I do get weird stares sometimes.
Like why?? Museum can be so interesting!
Well, maybe not the one in KL but I believe museums outside of the country is worth a visit.
Even the museum in Malacca thrills me. Have yet to visit Baba and Nyonya museum!!

I had much fun reading and learning and seeing all the stuffs in Melbourne museum.
We went twice on separate days because on the first day while half way enjoying the museum someone called and we need to go home instantly because that someone is coming over to fix the phone line.
Gawd, hate it like why cant they inform us earlier instead of calling and requesting us to go home of all sudden. PFFT!!

So we went back again after a week or two to continue the journey.
Lack of time still, there’s still parts which I have not explore yet. ):
Sigh. It really does take a lot of time to finish every part of the museum, there’s too many things for me to explore.
When I have the chance, I’ll definitely go back for the third time.


* museum day (:


* the use-to-be-tram, looking so cute and lovely. I’d love to take a ride to Richmond in that tram (:


* there’s all types of crystals, in so many different shapes, forms, and colours. never in my life saw such crystals before!


* and there’s even glow-in-the-dark crystal. how amazing.


* the museum not only showcase dinosaurs, but their poops and eggs as well.


* bugs, butterflies, spiders, bees, ants, and whatnot. there’s tons of them.


* real living bugs and their home.

There’s sections on human body and mind which Ben likes the most, and then there’s section on planets and earth which appears to be the most boring to me.
Exploring human minds are fun, I’m always somewhat drawn to that.
Funny how the part that I missed out exploring is the part that showcase things related to Australia.
What a waste.

After exploring we have a slow walk back to the city enjoying the autumn breeze.
Autumn is one of the four season I like the most. The sight of the fall leaves are just too beautiful for me to ignore.
My nickname for ICQ ten years ago was AutumnGal, hahahahahah.
And some of my friends still have the funniest email address ever, haha.


* strolling around the park.


* just look at the leaves. now i wonder, why didn’t I lay down on it once.

Visiting the museum worth every dollar I paid, it’s just 8 dollars.
And if you’re a student studying in Melbourne, or Oz it is absolutely free. Students are under concession.
Trust me, it’s fun. (:

p/s: my guest ‘blogger’ asked me to introduce him to the whole world that he’ll be guest blogging and i wonder when will that be.

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Aug 02

Just a few of the activities in Melbourne.

Friends complained to me that I update my blog too slow, not that I don’t know.
I better be a hardworking blogger or else no one will be bother to read my blog anymore.
And also, the boyf asked me to stop blogging so much about food. haha
That too, I realise. Food post, food post, and food post.

There’s so much more pictures I have yet to post from Melbourne, especially those from my camera.
Haven’t even take the initiative to transfer the pictures, my bad.

Went to Melbourne’s free exhibition. Forget what’s the exhibition called but something to do with tv, movies and games.


* old school games (:


* ben playing sonic.


* they sell really cute stuff but too expensive for me to bring it home.


* at a friend’s place, having fun and drinking.


* haha, the boys taking off their pants comparing boxers.


* paintball session, but i did not join. tried once in KL and it gives me hell the next day. body ache and bruises all over, pfft!


* but this paintball base in melbourne is pretty nice, there’s plane and all.


* i actually slept in the car while waiting for them to finish their game.


* ending this post with this eerie creature. saw this on the street and this is one of the best performer i saw at melbourne so far.

Guess it’s about time for me to transfer my pictures from camera soon :\

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Jul 05

Sunset at St. Kilda

Sorry for the one week plus hiatus, I was extremely busy last week.
Getting up around 9 every morning, running up and down just to gather all my documents for the visa that I fail to get. ;(
I was already too late when I reached Australia Embassy, the application is full and the person in charge told me to try again next year since I’m still young.
I looked at him, blank face wanting to shout into his ears “NO!! I want it now!! NOW!!” ;(
There’s still a slight chance though, if they call me in these two weeks I might get it.
But I feel pretty hopeless already because I know that is quite impossible. Sigh, life.
For all the things that I’ve done! pfft ;(

And now blogging about Melbourne makes me miss it even more. Half of my soul stays there, in that house!!
This is the only beach Ben brought me to, St. Kilda beach. I totally forgot that I wanted to go to Brighton beach so badly, only remember it when I came back to Malaysia. Fail.

We not only went to St. Kilda for sunset, but for the cute penguins as well.
He said if I’m lucky then I’ll get to see penguins behind those rocks, after they swam back.
I was so excited when I heard funny sounds from the penguins and indeed I saw few of them hiding behind the rocks.
Cute and cuddly penguins. ;)


* It’s still Autumn when we have a little fun at St. Kilda or else I’ll be freeze to death.


* Sunny and breezy and loving it.


* And it just feels so good to lay down on the grass while the wind touches our face. Most of the couples there make out and there’s one right at the corner.


* (:


* I just wore a dress and a scarf but as time goes by, as winter visits us I wore four friggin layers and still shivers.


* Lotsa dead starfish.


* Ben sitting on rocks, no idea if he’s trying to look emo or cool.


* This beautiful sunset reminds me of Redang’s beautiful sunrise.

I had fun at St. Kilda eating ice-cream, laying down on grass, searching for penguins, looking at the sun set, and just exploring around. A very relaxing evening indeed and right now, I am so looking forward to step foot on Brighton beach and snapped tons of pictures with all the colourful huts. (;

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Jun 20

Cumulus Inc

“CUMULUS INC. eating house and bar opened in 2008 in Melbourne’s famous art and fashion precinct, Flinders Lane.”
So from what I’ve found out Cumulus Inc is run by chef Andrew McConnell and architect partner Pascale Gomes-McNabb, creating a unique eating experience by serving excellent food and of course, a great interior design to go along with the food.

And in a few years time you’ll see bloggers blogging about this ‘XXX restaurant’ run by chef Peggy Chow and architect partner Ben Tay, creating an awesome pawsome eating experience.
What!? Still not too old for me to dream right, pfft! Dream has no boundaries okay. okay. okay!?

Back to Cumulus Inc, by far this is one of my favorite restaurant in Melbourne.
Food taste absolutely delicious and it just doesn’t taste delicious, as said it does taste unique in a way.
Something different. Nothing complicated, the taste is simple yet different.
I don’t even know how to put it into words, I just love it.


* Cumulus Inc , everything is great. I guess I must have been busy eating hence there isn’t any pictures of the interior but do visit their website if you’re interested. (:


* The bread itself looks so good and soft.


* Two different types of oyster but I cant remember what is what now. Each cost around $4.


* Soft shell mud crab, this taste absolutely delicious! $20


* Scallops, boyf’s favorite. As long as there’s scallop on the menu, he’ll order it. Cant seem to get the price from their website.


* I cannot remember what fish is this, too long ago ):


* The lady who served us asked if we’d like to have salad as well, we both don’t feel like it but ordered anyway. I don’t know why. When our salad came I told the boyf we shouldn’t have ordered this but I was very wrong. This is no ordinary salad, the sauce taste so different and good. I’m actually not a salad person and they can make salad taste this good.


* Selection of Petit Fours $8, dessert was a little disappointing though but I believe they do have better desserts.

Cumulus Inc do serve breakfast too, have yet to try but I’m anticipating.
One more thing I like about Cumulus Inc is that they have open kitchen and I can sit right at the bar seeing all those young handsome chefs cooking right in front of me.
Really really like seeing chef preparing my food in front of me.

I’d definitely go back if I have the chance to step foot in Melbourne again.
Oh and the bill came up to about $100+, pretty affordable if we count dollar to dollar.
I’m pretty sure I cant get food with such quality with Rm100+ here in Malaysia.

But then again, I hope I’m wrong.
Gonna try out this restaurant that I’ve been dying to try since last year.
I hope it wont fail me since I’ve read plenty of good reviews on the web.
Cant wait (;

45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000.

+61 3 9650 1445

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