Considering that this blog post has over 60 photos in total, make sure you grab yourself a cuppa before you proceed.

Caution: very photo-heavy! I did spend almost a year there, after all.

Happened to look through old photos during my Aussie days and noticed that some pictures were still in my pending list which never got to be shared nor published! So here they are.

With my girls Bardha, Laura and Verity on our impromptu sushi night

Erin and Verity helping me bake a delicious chocolate cake!

Why the sudden nostalgic throwback, you ask? 

No particular reason, apart from the fact that my family is on a 2 week holiday in Australia now – albeit without me.

I was supposed to go with them, but they made a reasonable point that since I had already spent/experienced a year there, why spend that chunk of money to go back to the same place when I can use it for other purposes or travel to a country I’ve yet to explore?

Made perfect sense, right? Wrong. 

Australia wasn’t just another continent I explored to lay my footprints onto.

It wasn’t just another country existing to quench my wanderlust.

It wasn’t just another stamp on my passport. And it certainly isn’t just another spot on the world map where I’d say,”I’ve been there, how about you?”

The intricately spun spider web right outside my residence at uni

A closer shot.

Australia was home. My friends became family to me.

The multi-faceted culture of Melbourne city and the laidback lifestyle back in countryside Gippsland seeped into my veins like duck to water. In that year alone, my far-flung relatives whom I’ve not seen for half a decade became closer to me than ever.

The ever evolving four seasons in a day rendered me so ever-prepared for whatever the weather ambushed me with. They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. And adapting to Australia was like second nature to me.

I still fancy an arvo with my mates, having a sausage on a barbie with some vegemite on it 😛

But despite my sentiments, I didn’t end up going due to work commitments. 

A silent winter night.

(FYI It isn’t creepy at the residence but this photo is really horror movie material though!)

Meet Antonio, our favorite uni security guard. We still keep in touch via Facebook.

He lost an epic amount of weight since – it was what, 30KG if I’m not mistaken. Good job!

The beautiful red gerberas that my then-boyfriend surprised me with.

I love them!

Having my family right there in Australia as we speak made me feel a little nostalgic, especially browsing through the photos of their having a jolly good time there.

Ergo, the nostalgia led to this flashback post.

I realized I didn’t quite complete the pages of my ‘The Australian Diaries‘ life log. I have two more chapters, but here’s one today before the final one.

The living room is where I usually sit – I hate being all cooped up in my room.

I’m still like that till this very day. I’m hardly ever in my room!

My tiny little room in the student residence!

Excuse the horrid mess. I was crafting an anniversary present for my then-boyfriend.

Seeing that surprised smile on his face was super worth it! 😀

Oh and when in Australia, the vehicle plates intrigued me. 

Here, we don’t get to choose our registration number on our cars, the Road Transport Department does. (That’s RTA for you Aussies!) Car registration plates follow a strict, standardized algorithm.

Even if we do get to choose, it’s a pretty limited choice from the rare selection of vanity plates like SUKOM, G1M, BAMBee as they are only launched during special events held in Malaysia and you’ll have to spend thousands of Ringgit on it.

The only cool ones I’ve seen here are WWW, WTF, PEN, DAD or the numbers 8055 which looks like BOSS, KI55 which looks like KISS, MAF14 which looks like MAFIA, PAR15 which looks like PARIS and pardon me for this but.. PEN15 which looks like..

I’ll leave that for you to decipher 😉

Pretty lame, I know. But that’s the way things work here.

But look at some of the cool personalized ones I spotted when in Australia!

IMK1NG? I know you are King.

YUUUUU. Me?

OBAMA 1? Hello Mr. President!

You’re tasty? I’m Juicy. Nice to meet you.

Looking at all my old Aussie photos made me realize that I finally have the answer to the one question that I keep getting asked all the freakin’ time:

‘Where did you learn how to cook so well?”

I cook well? Really? I don’t think so… my expertise is only in clean meals/healthy food now; only I cook those by instinct. I don’t think I know how to cook anything else by instinct, unfortunately. 

I mean, sure, I CAN cook sinful, unhealthy food but only if I follow a recipe book perhaps?

Coming from a person who knew nothing about cooking when I was growing up, I’m surprised I ended up a fairly good cook. Can you believe I never touched neither a frying pan, an oven (or basically any crockery) nor raw food until I was 20 or 21? 

But anyway, the answer to the question is – Australia did this to me.

Everything was so expensive in Australia (no thanks, conversion rates!) and I would end up paying 3X the amount there than I would back home.

For example, a packet of Nasi Lemak would cost RM45. 

So I did as any human being would when left with no choice. I adapted.

Thus begins my foray of experimenting in the kitchen.

Trust me, it was a lot of trial and error. I cook really random sh*t that comes to mind.

Even till now, I have never used a recipe book in my life!

So when you guys ask me for recipes for the clean meals I post on Instagram, I really only have one answer – there was no recipe to begin with! Unless I create one…hmmm.

Whole roasted chicken with baked veggies on the side.

Back to the story.

So yes, in 2011, for the very first time in my life, I cooked.

Yes, I cooked and I cooked. Sure, I might suck at it being a first-timer, but I still cooked. AND COOKED. A lot. Practice makes perfect. 

Here are some of the meals I made when in Australia! Be forewarned that some of it tasted less than desirable. 

Excuse the newbie chef. These were all cooked 3 years ago!

Pizza with a lot of nonsense as toppings.

What’s with this picture? I don’t know either.

I think it was just another one of my cooking candids.

Spaghetti bolognaise on study nights.

Erin and I making dinner!

Baked chicken on lazy nights.

Vegetable stew.

Sushi roll nights with Bardha.

Beef tacos!

Vegetable penne bake!

I don’t know what this is. Some kind of chicken wrapped in lettuce I randomly made.

But we sure enjoyed it. At least I know Verity liked it!

Shepard’s Pie. Don’t chide me for how it looks; I don’t even know how to make it!

Here’s the making of it. I just felt like eating Shepard’s Pie so I just attempted one LOL

Pasta bake! Yum yum.

Credits go to buddyTodd for teaching me to make my first pasta bake!

Well actually he told me he wanted to make it and I said, “OMG let me help!”

And the rest was history.

Behind the scenes.

We made the entire thing from scratch;

all the way from Woolworths to the kitchen and onto everyone’s plates!

So happy it turned out fantastic!

Another dish I’d like to give credit to. A popular Greek dish, the Melitzanes Papoutsakia.

I’m really good at making this now, all thanks to my then-boyfie!

And one time when he was in class, I surprised him by making it all on my own! 😀

Here’s another version that we made together on another night.

Verity and I cooking dinner one night!

To my best memory, I think it was beef stir-fry with white wine!

Lemon spring chicken with noodles.

(What kind of odd combination is this LOL)

Herbal chicken ramen soup I made when the exboyfie was sick.

Baked rice with tuna & vegetables!

Simple breakfast toast with scrambled eggs and beans.

And there will be times where I would miss Malaysian food so much that I’d end up miserably attempting to cook it.

Don’t expect Nasi Lemak or Laksa. Haha! That’s apparently very hard to make… and I’ve never tried! 

Maggi Goreng!! My first attempt. I loved it so much that I made another plate.

The Malaysian in me reveled in delight and went to heaven LOL.

 Nasi Goreng Ayam Kampung! Not bad right!?

I made it look triangular too.

Apart from cooking, I baked a lot. A whole lot. 

I baked so much that my friends and I ended up getting baked by baking a bake-inducing kind of brownie too. For the uninitiated, they are called space brownies, that’s right.

Hey if it’s legal in Amsterdam, it should be legal everywhere in the world too muahahahaha. 

Baking my favorite Oreo Cheesecake!

Fresh off the oven! Putting it into the fridge to let it cool overnight.

 It was so delicious and all of us finished it in less than a day!

Damn. Looking at these photos makes me wanna bake this exact one again.

I bake cookies too! Excuse the oddly shaped ones as I took them outta the oven too soon.

These were the first batch.

Chocolate-Vanilla cake!

Made a chocolate fudge cake with walnuts.

The making of it was super duper fun too!

It was so fun that our housemate random wanted to join in.

He’s from China by the way! (I forgot your name sorry but I think I have you on Facebook?)

 Due to past experience, I fear my hungry buddies whenever I leave something delicious to cool on the kitchen counter. Hence the warning note LOL

 All done! It looks so delicious and chocolatey I feel like making this one again too.

My buddies and I cooked a lot more but I reckon they’ve already found their way into individual blog posts in The Australian Diaries.

Oh and apart from cooking, here are some of the restaurants that I didn’t end up blogging about too.

 Sergio’s Cake Shop in Sydney!

CouzzieKristy used to work here part-time while she was still a student.

A popular Mediterranean restaurant in Melbourne – Stalactites – along Lonsdale Street.

The interior decor of stalactites filled with, obviously, stalactites!

 Lamb Giros Souvlaki and the Mixed Dip (tarama, melitzanosalata, tzatziki & hommus) with Pita.

I don’t remember what the dessert was.

 A beautiful restaurant in our guesthouse atop Mount Buller in winter!

Full blog post on our winter trip: here

 I absolutely loved my stay at Pension Grimus on the Victorian Alps.

And last but NEVER the least, if it’s anything I miss about Australia the most…

It’s the KFC Double Down.

And that, dearest readers, carries enough weight to abruptly end this post LOL.

Take it from me (and all the Australians!) the Double Down IS GODLIKE. 

Actually despite how yummy it was, that was just an excuse. I’m signing off only because I desperately need to hit the sack and that annoying chiming notification telling me my laptop is low on battery.

Goodnight! 😀

Okay here's a confession: I miss Australia already.

Although I'm enjoying myself back in Malaysia to the fullest just as I always have, my Aussie mates ain't here. They're so far away but thank Facebook for blurring our boundaries!

I was organizing my infinite photo collection and noticed I still had many Ozzie photos I've yet to share.

Heaps more to upload but here goes these ones first!

At Lindt Chocolate Cafe along Collins Street

As an ardent fan of all things chocolate, I was ecstatic to be able to dine in one of Lindt's establishments.

Good suggestion, Alex! 😀 We ordered different kinds of chocolate cakes and their signature hot chocolate

Decided to do something silly with the extra chocolate I had

As expected, it was simply divine. Money well spent! 

Not only were the chocolate delicacies and beverages hot and fresh off the kitchen, they were rich, thick and creamy. 

After a cocoa-filled teatime, we adjourned to Crown Metropol Hotel to check-in for the weekend!

Trivia: The Crown Metropol, which costed $300 million AUD to build was launched on April 2011

While waiting for the check-in procedures, here's some piccies of the hotel lobby/interior!

So grand!

The pretty corridor on the way to the elevators

The best was yet to come. Once we checked into our hotel room, we were in awe.

It certainly boasted a sleek, classy and elegant feel to it.

Two huge king sized beds!

There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall

Heaps of full length mirrors everywhere!! *squeals*

I like this fancy concept!

The bedroom & the bathroom are divided only by a sliding mirror-door

Well-stocked room! More in the pantry 😀

With the boys

LOL at extremely short buzz haircut 😛

We didn't waste any time in resting whatsoever.

Why rest when we have so much to explore and enjoy in this amazing hotel?

Stripped to our swimwear and it's off to the infinity swimming pool we go!

Beautiful

Deck chairs to read/rest/relax by the pool

I love infinity pools; especially when I'm swimming backwards LOL

Wading in the pool because I can't swim anymore due to my red pigments in my hair 🙁 🙁

Yeah, I hadn't dived/go underwater since 2006

After the swim, I took the chance to check out the fabulous view.

Right from waaaaaayyy up here!

And so I began to take random snapshots of the view

Left the pool area and we decided to go for a steam room & spa session.

So the boys and I went our separate ways to our designated zones 😀

OMG the hot, bubbly spa bath was the shiznit

I began to lay there for quite a while until I *think* I actually dozed off!

When I opened my eyes I saw 2 other ladies in the spa bath with me, without noticing them entering in the first place. So heck yeah, I must've fallen asleep. It was sssooo relaxing and comforting beyond words. 

I swear I could stay in here forever!

Once done with all the water-fun, it was time to get a lil dressy and head up to the exclusive 28 lounge.

There was only ONE elevator heading towards level 28; only accessible by a special cardkey.

Behold.

Greeted by various canvas paintings of pop-art

Suddenly, it felt so warm in here. We sat by the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows near the fireplace.

It was so comfy! 

Staying warm on a rainy day

We were served a free-flow of all kinds of wines and liqour you can ever imagine.

Red Wine, White Wine, Beer, Gin, Whiskey, Bourbons, Vodka, Cognac and more!

Up sky high enjoying life from the 28th floor! 😀 😀

Pardon me for the poor quality of photos taken in 28 Lounge

Didn't bring my DSLR up from the room with me 🙁

Too busy drinking and savouring the fine, distilled spirits. 

I had some delightful glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernets, together with my all-time favorite Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch Whiskey, a Remy Martin VSOP Cognac and a Tequila Blanco.

The very next morning……

Breakfast at the 28 Lounge awaits us

Delicious and healthy!

The buffet breakfast had a wide array of delicacies

You're talking to someone who's a sucker for breakfast, to be honest.

I never live a day without having breakfast first thing at day break (read: the moment I wake up).

And to enjoy my favorite meal of the day – breakfast overlooking the Yarra Valley 🙂

Bliss 😉

I initially wanted to dine at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, called 'Maze by Gordon Ramsay' but the queue for breakfast was too long! And since we had a complimentary buffet breakfast at 28 Lounge, I decided against my initial plan.

This is good enough 😀

My favorite way to kickstart the day 

Buttered Toast and hot chocolate/mocha is love

And then comes the platter of my choice of breakfast noms

Sauteed Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Turkey Slice, Avocados, Scrambled Eggs and a glass of milk

Plate #1 of the boyfie's breakfast.

I didn't get to snap photos of his #2 and #3! 😛 😛 

Comfy lounge chairs to chillax on

Again, the warm, crackling fireplace

I can never get enough of fireplaces 

Simply because we don't have any in Malaysia – we don't need one, to begin with.

My weekend at Crown Metropol Hotel with awesome company proved to be a fantastic and memorable one.

Should totally check yourself in for a weekend of fun too, albeit the volume of $$$ involved, but should you like enjoying the finer things in life, this is certainly something to write home about! 🙂

Remember my previous sneak peak post here about the Egyptian exhibition – Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of the Pharaohs? Yup yup, here's the sequel of it!

It all began when my buncha mates wanted to check out the exhibition held in Melbourne city. 

Many of us were interested and made vague plans on going, but only Konzy and I were keen till the very end.

We arrived Melbourne at noon sharp to have lunchies and visit the Melbourne Zoo

There were heaps of banners, posters, digital ads on the Tut exhibition everywhere in the city! 

I just couldn't wait to unearth the mysteries of King Tut

and oggle over those precious Egyptian artifacts 😀

Had a delightful Greek dinner with Konzy at the famous Greek precinct along Lonsdale Street and proceeded to the Melbourne Museum

Saw this awesome building within the museum vicinity!!

So pretty. Especially all lighted up 

Approaching the exhibition 

Also, I made a new friend.

Come on, be nice and say hello.

What? Being judgemental now, are we?

He's a man of few words; or none

Konzy made fast friends with him too 😛

*dramatic cue*

It actually did start with a thunderous rolling sound with a hoarse voice welcoming us to the exhibition of King Tutankhamun. 

Seriously, that recorded speech really hyped me up for what I was about to witness!

Okay, here are only a few pictures from the exhibition.

You absolutely must check it out with your very own eyes. I'm only giving you some sneak peaks to keep you on your toes in suspense for the real thing! 😀 

King Tut's family tree!

King Tut's mom and dad!

More head statues of Egyptian Royalty!

Pretty cool right?

There were a few rooms/sections depicting different eras of the Egyptian sovereignty.

T'was so interesting; I had my eyes fixated on reading up almost every single artifact!

Statues and hieroglyphics

Spooky~

The Gilded Coffin of Tjuya

And a close up of it!

🙂 so pretty!

Hello there! This is Horus, one of the ancient Egyptian gods/deities 

If you didn't already know, his eye is tattoo-ed on my left wrist 

Check out some of my favorite miniatures on display too!

I have the exact same thing in my room 🙂

Bought it during my trip to Universal Studios in Singapore!

I pretty much love all things Egyptian. 

pretty Ankhs! 

This is where the Egyptian royal females put their cosmetics and stuff

I love this!

The Egyptian empire's intricate details and carving really impresses me

Okay that's it! 

Although what I've shared with you is not even a quarter of all the exhibits and information, I don't wanna show you anymore, you really have to personally see it for yourselves and check out what's in store for you!

As though the Egyptian relics aren't already breathtaking enough, do also listen to the audio carefully (headphones) and you will be taken away into their world 

Last but not least, the eerie skeleton inside the coffin!

Rest in Peace 

A closer look at the body, anyone? 😀

I was pretty intrigued by how the skeleton was preserved

Konzy with the skeleton

Spent so many hours in there that I didn't even realize the time when we got out!

Konzy and I sorta both lost each other mid way during the exhibition because we were too carried away reading the info on the displays and scrutinizing all the cool Egyptian relics

LOL I got scared 'cos I was lost all alone in a huge crowd of strangers and a burly female security guard had me describe him. She managed to find him and asked him something like "Do you have a lost Asian girlfriend?"

WTF "lost Asian"

Geez thanks. I felt like a little lost boat person already. -__-

Thank you King Tut (and your clan) and National Geographic for bringing us a good time!

The exhibition runs from April 2011 until mid October. So you still have time to catch it

You can book your tickets at www.kingtutmelbourne.com.au

I bought heaps and heaps of Egyptian souvenirs for myself and thefockers.

The merchandises were amazing, can't wait to put 'em up in my room! 

I went home a very happy girl 

After 2 years of not meeting up, Violet and I were glad to *finally* see each other again!

We were both in Melbourne at that time so it was perfect for a catch-up sesh

Violet and I 🙂

We didn't know where to go at first cos we were practically gushing when we saw each other!

I was happy to see her again! After walking around aimlessly for a bit, we went to Koko Black

What could be better than catching up over glorious, glorious chocolate?

The hardcore chocolate lover was simply delighted! *beams* 

James was there to join us as well! 🙂

We chatted for hours and talked about old times and what we're going and where we should go next when we meet again. So much to do together, so little time!

But unfortunately, all of us have busy schedules plus the fact that I live pretty far from the city! 🙁

Girls doing what we do best 😛

Thanks for the photo dearie! 😀

After our teatime, we went outside for some air and to do a lil shopping.

Also, it's sometimes really cool to have a guy who is into photography tagging along while we do girly stuff or whatever we do. 😛 So I passed James my camera to help me take a few shots!

Hence, we get to actually have candid shots while walking or talking to each other LOL

Thanks for helping us take candids, James 😀

T'was an awesome day catching up with them but alas, something fairly tragic happened!!

I was wearing the new pair of boots which I bought yesterday, and since I've never wore boots before (we hardly ever wear boots in Malaysia) I didn't know we needed to wear socks or stockings or something similar.

So I was badly cut and bled from above my heels. A blister somehow managed to appear in less than an hour and it hurt to the max  

pic courtesy of Violet

Hmph. And this is why I hate wearing new shoes 🙁

Thankfully, they took me to the nearest footwear section and I bought a pair of flip-flops

I also had some band-aids with me (fortunately!) and poor me had to limp back home.

—————————————————–

Our next outing wasn't as tragic as the first one, though. Phew!

We met up at Pancake Parlour this time :D

Before our food arrived!

It was funny how we actually ended up choosing what to eat.

Both of us wanted to suggest Pancake Parlour, but didn't think that the other would want to eat that. But eventually, we both found out that the both of us had Pancake Parlour in mind! @__@

So, Pancake Parlour it is! 😀

I've always been a pancake fan. If you've been a long-time reader, yall would know that if there was any pancake outlet in front of me, I'd hit it. No matter what!

The flooring reminded me of checkerboards!

I liked the interior decor as well!

Don't know why, but ambience plays a part in how much I'd enjoy myself in a restaurant

Perhaps I'm not exactly a minimalist, that's why. I like elaborate or even artsy decorations 😉

While waiting for food!

Since I'm an avid fan of traditional stacks with maple syrup, I ordered that and something savory

Violet had some Pancake Spanakopita while James opted for Blueberry Pancakes!

In the end I was so full I couldn't finish 'em!

Had a great time with them, as I did the previous outing.

Cheers to more catch up sessions the next time I'm up in Melbourne! 😀

Camwhoring against some pretty Pancake Parlour backgrounds

Love their pop art-ish concept!

Yay for good times and good food! 😀

On one of my voyages to Melbourne city during my first week in Australia, I hit up the ever-popular Southbank aka Crown Entertainment Complex.

Heard so much about it prior to my arrival, and now, I'm right in the heart of its vicinity.

The sights are even prettier at night all lit up! 😀

I could still remember being like a little kid lost in the big city on my first day in Melbs.

But thankfully, a few awesome people showed me around…

Aunt Ket included! She brought me ALL around Melb city 

At Melbourne Central.

It had a Metro Train beneath the mall! Wait a sec — I shouldn't be surprised. There's an LRT Train underneath our famed KLCC Twin Towers too.

.

Shopping at FCUK. Gawd I love this brand. Nice play of the acronym too 😛

Always works for me! (Besides the gym, of course)

We kept walking and Aunt Ket wanted to bring me to a picturesque spot on top of Burke Street Mall (or was it still Melbourne Central? I don't recall) to take pretty photos of the city from an aerial view.

And so we went to this rooftop garden!

So pretty! 😀 😀

I also reckon it's a place where heat is conserved at an optimum temperature for the plants.

The moment I stepped inside, I felt so warm! Almost like in Malaysia hehe.

Part of the city on a Saturday afternoon

We just kept exploring the city until evening. 

Oh and, funny how the sun begins to set around 5.30pm in Australia!

And by the time it hits 6.30pm, it'll be dark already

Nawwww horses along the streets of Melbourne!

There were horse carriages around. Just like the olden days.

I didn't ride it for some reason; reckon it probably costs a bomb 

Liquor shop!

Oh sorry, I forgot to warn you about this PG-13 photo,

Too bad you've already seen it! 😛

Shotbuckets on sale! Perfect for parties.

Tried on a coat with busy motifs. Liked it. Didn't like it

Liked it again. Changed my mind. Liked it again. But didn't buy it

Stopped to grab a lunch break!

Continued walking till we reached Southbank.

So pretty, right? T'was a great idea to go just before sunset.

Breathtaking

By the time we crossed the bridge to the other side, we were greeted by lots of buskers!

Some were singing, dancing, painting, juggling and all sorts of different things

Impressive street art!

Sat down inside Crown Entertainment Complex to have dinner

Yes, if you're wondering, that's all I'm having for dinner

Can't help that the Australian currency is triple times that of mine. 

How sad! It sucks always feeling like a pauper overseas. I finally how it feels like to be poor. 

Artsy shot 😀

And before we realized it, it was nightfall

We were just in time for the fire flamethrower show!

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Southbank boasts a display of flames every weekend at a specific time. I think I was there at 8pm? It lasts for about 10 minutes, tops.

Yeah, if you're ever in town, try to catch it with your very own eyes!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WWRLqEgil4

Here's a short snippet of it.

The heat was so intense at some points that you can feel a very mild burning sensation!

Everybody (especially tourists) stopped and watched it in awe

Just a nice silhouette 🙂

Southbank was buzzing with people even late at night!

Now that's what I'm talking about 😉

Lovely sights!

Stopped by the bridge to take picture but was constantly photobombed by drunk boys 

OMG leave me alone! They insisted a picture anyhow. Reminds me of what one of my readers once commented, "You always seem to attract weird men huh" LOL. That made me laugh!!! 

ZOMG! Trying not to ruin my smile.

Ok photo over. You can go now kthxbai

Gave up trying to take a solo picture as they wouldn't leave me alone unless I joined their nightly drunken crusades or left the spot.

Obviously, I politely declined their offer with an awkward smile and chose the latter. We adjourned home soon after. Phew.

Back at Flinders Street Station

So that was my 12 hour day out at the city.

Didn't feel so lost anymore when I went downtown again the following weekend!

Can't wait to go back. Countdown: 55 days!