- 15 movies watched
- 4 books / 3 graphic novels read
- Big things seen: Big Watermelon & Big Merino
It’s been lovely in Melbourne these days. I’ve achieved the critical “ear” status with Tilly (her comfort blanket), so I’ve overjoyed with that. So nice getting to spend time with these little ones and watching them grow up.
Food adventures have also continued and I got to try a new pie shop in town, who’s specialty is the lasagne pie. Give it a second and it’s super tasty! Their pastry chef studied in France and really nailed the pie dough. I also tried out the cream of mushroom pie, and man was it great. Why don’t these exist in America?! Sigh.
Cream of mushroom (bottom) & lasagne pie (top) 
Zinger pie & coffees
I’m equal opportunity when it comes to pies, so I had to try KFC’s zinger pie too. Okay, so the pastry isn’t as good but I still loved it. Just a touch of spice (zing!) and it went perfectly with a coffee.
Had some delightful date nights too! Met an old high school mate that I hadn’t seen since 1998! He’s been in Oz this entire time and I got to meet his little boy too. It was so great reminiscing. One of the things I love about international school is that there’s usually an old school mate everywhere I visit. Sure, I only get to see one at a time, but it’s still an excellent thing.
Tian and I tried out a nice fusion spot, to use my last gift card from my Bay Area book club. It was really nice and I actually got to eat wallaby! It was in a flaky pastry and it was pretty good! I think I’ll stick to see them in the wild, looking all cute and fluffy.
Tian & I post-Anchovy 
Moroccan feast with Annie
Annie and I got to try out a Melbourne institution, the Moroccan Soup Bar. It’s all veg and it was so nice having a night out with Annie. Superb fare! Seriously, the vegetarian/vegan fare here is so good. I mean options everywhere.
We piled into the car and went on a road trip up north to NSW/Sydney area for my cousin’s 40th birthday / baby shower. It’s roughly SF-LA distance, so around a 9.5 hr drive. We passed a few of Australia’s Big Things! Big Watermelon and Big Merino!
Big Watermelon has a cafe and produce market 
The Big Merino was immpressive.
It was a nice drive, that we broke up a bit staying overnight in a small town. We got to go to a Paragon Cafe, which was a series of cafes that were on the main highway along the East coast (ala Route 66 in the States). These were mostly started by immigrants and had that old soda fountain vibes. It was awesome getting to eat in one of these older diners.
This one was established in the 1940s 
Iced mocha is quite the dessert drink
Also, just a PSA, if you order an iced mocha in Australia, you’ll get something rather different from what you’d get in the States. It’s got a scoop of ice cream and whip cream on top. Also, a milk shake is literally syrup in mix (ala chocolate milk). If you want what I consider a normal milk shake, it’s categorized on menus as a “thick shake”. Things you learn.
My cousin recently bought her own dental practice just north of Sydney. It’s awesome to see her doing so well and being very pregnany at the same time. All the cousins gathered by the beach for the week to see her.
If you need a dentist and you’re living near Sydney, I’ve got your lady 
Uno for all! 
We’re at Gosford!
It was a splendid week of sun, card games and a sweet reptile park. The newest babies in the family got to meet and we had plenty of beach days. Up here the water’s mostly safe (with the standard jellyfish and all that).
Baby Joey was tired from all the fun in the sun 
Sunsmart Tilly with her watermelon pop 
She LOVES the beach 
These two are seriously adorable. Pre-beach kisses. 
The baby cousins finally meet!
Meni’s birthday is just a day before mine so I got to celebrate up north as well, with a yummy sponge cake (we’d just watched the Aussie classic The Castle recently).
It’s always awkward touching someone’s belly 
Happy 40th! 
Tilly helped me blow out my candles
We went to a reptile park just near my cousin’s place and it was where little Joey was able to meet a real joey! (Fun side fact: we found out that a joey is the name for all baby marsupials). It’s a great park! Not too big to cover it all and the koalas we saw were the most active I’ve ever seen. They’re only awake 4 hours a day and these were so alert and active. Rainbow lorikeets joined us for lunch and we got to hold a python and even baby Tasmanian devils!
Look at the brightness! 
My first time with Joey strapped to me 
I loved the cohesive theme in the playground 
Sup, Koala 
Baby Tassie Devils 
Joey mets a real joey! 
We’re holding a python!!
On my way out of town, I had a few spare hours and got to catch up with another high school buddy, Henry. It was awesome as it had been over a decade since I’d seen him too! We bonded over tasty Malaysian food, and I love how most of my high school friends and I get to eat awesome Malaysian food every where we meet.
Onto Western Australia next! It’ll be my first time to the West Coast. Excited to head to the most isolated city in the world—Perth.
What Em's Eating Now 