22 June: Winter Solstice

Yesterday we celebrated the winter solstice with some window shopping in the city area, a Japanese hotpot dinner at Meshiya Japanese Restaurant, and drinks thereafter at The Atrium Bar on 35 located at The Sofitel Melbourne On Collins. We chose a quiet little corner at The Atrium Bar on 35, next to this brightly lit tree. Isn't it pretty? It looks like a tree covered with snow, very romantic, and definitely in tune with our private mini winter solstice celebration.

Weekend Dinner & Movie

We had horrible weather here in Melbourne on Monday with strong winds, heavy rain, thunder & lightning! I was having a bath last night & the bathroom light flickered whenever there was lightning, scared the hell outta me because my thoughts started to run wild! Weather here yesterday was horrid, but the weekend weather was great. This is Melbourne for you; 1 day bright sunny cheery & warm, the next day, dark gloomy & windy. So anyways after idling the entire Saturday at home watching Korean drama, Prosecutor Princess (thanks Addie for the recommendation) whilst lazing in bed with a cup of black coffee in hand, we decided to travel to Chadstone for window shopping and a dinner & movie date thereafter!

Tamago Kake Gohan (TKG)

I was redirected to Hararie's blog when I was google-ing for bento box ideas last week and after browsing & clicking on the links she provided relating to Japanese food, I came across Tamago Kake Gohan, which I found to be a very interesting dish. Tamago means egg, Kake means mix, and Gohan means rice, hence Tamago Kake Gohan is rice topped with a raw egg and then mixed together with some soy sauce and optional topping of your personal choice, such as nori strips, furikake, spring onions/scallions, kimchi, and natto. I've never tried natto (Japanese style fermented beans) before, but according to Hararie, Tamago Kake Gohan with Natto & Nori is extremely delicious. I googled to see what Natto looks like and I was quite surprised to see how sticky & gooey it is!! I'm not sure if I'll like it, but I'll still love to try it^^

So according to Hararie, there are 2 ways of eating Tamago Kake Gohan. The 1st is cracking the raw egg on top of the rice, pour soy sauce over it, then mix together. And the 2nd is to beat the egg 1st in a separate bowl, then poured over the rice and mixed, after which soy sauce is poured over it, and then mixed again. I'm not sure if there's a difference between the 2, but I reckon it's just a personal preference as to whether u want to crack the raw egg straight onto the rice, or have it whisked 1st. As for me, I made my Tamago Kake Gohan using the 1st method. 

So from reading my previous post, you would have known that I've run out of food in my fridge & even cooking oil!>< And since my honey just completed his exams 2 days ago, he's still recuperating from the stresses of the exam period, and is extremely lazy to step out of the house! So I havent been able to grocery shop. Hence last night was an awesome opportunity to try Tamago Kake Gohan (thank goodness there's still eggs left in the fridge!!).

Japanese Fried Rice

Short Update: Lunch Box for my Honey & old Jap Dramas "Over Time" & "Tokyo Love Story"

Today i woke up around 6 in the morning to prepare a lunch box & breakfast for my honey! He has 2 exam papers today, 1 in the morning (now!) and the other in the afternoon. It's public holiday today but my honey still has to sit for his exams; no public holiday for students today; so honey not only feels stressed, he also feels that it's unfair! So to cheer him up & to show my support for him, I prepared a lunch box for him to enjoy over lunch break.

What I'm Using: Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

Hi! We had awesome weather here this weekend; approaching the 3rd week of winter but are fortunate enough to get plentiful sunlight & warmth today! Mister Sunshine is really kind to us! So anyway, here in Melbourne we're having the Queen's Birthday long weekend, so public holiday for most of us tomorrow except for university students who'll be sitting for  exams.


My honey bear is 1 of the unfortunate few. He'll be battling 2 exam papers tomorrow, 1 in the morning & 1 in the afternoon; so he's currently feeling stressed out & hard at work with his revisions! I'll be getting up real early tomorrow morning to make him a simple meal to take with him to university to enjoy over lunch. Must remember to set the alarm (i'm always a scatterbrain, forgetting to do this & that)!

So back to topic: I haven't been able to have a good night's sleep the past couple of days, it's been filled with nightmares of all sorts, for some unbeknownst reason. Lack of sleep coupled with my recent massive junk food intake has taken their toll on my dehydrated-combination-type skin, making my complexion look dull and lifeless, with visible fine lines appearing at the area between my eyes, nose, & cheekbones (i'm not sure what's that area called but i guess you know which area of the face i'm referring to!) Exfoliating my skin helps to brighten up my complexion a little and to smooth out the rough edges but i exfoliate only twice a week, bearing in mind that over-exfoliating dries out the skin too (skin usually is drier after exfoliation, so do remember to apply moisturizer or to use a hydrating mask!) What about the other days when i need help with my dull and/or tired looking complexion? I use Clarins' Beauty Flash Balm!

Korean BBQ: [su:t] & wine

Snapshot of the table setting at [su:t] and wine. We were given a choice of 3 dipping sauces for the bbqed meat, (1) a mixture of kosher salt, pepper, & sesame seeds; (2) soy bean paste; & (3) sweet soy sauce with ginger. Honey bear loved the sweet soy sauce with ginger most with the bbqed meat; I preferred the salt, pepper, & sesame seeds mixture.

Video Tutorial (by Usagi): Smiley Fried Egg & Octopus Bento Box

I'm hoping to make a lunch box for the honey bear for his exams next week! He'll be sitting for 2 papers in 1 day sometime next week (I can't remember outta the top of my head which day ><) & will need to bring along some lunch. I came across this smiley fried egg & octopus bento box idea which I think I can handle (all the rest require so much more skill, for example, this red riding hood bento box idea --> so cute but I think I'd mess it up, seems very complicated) & might test it out over the weekend to see if I can manage it well enough. I think the honey bear will be quite delighted to see & eat his lunch^^

Korean Drama: Lie to Me

T.G.I.F at Westfield Doncaster

Last Saturday i sat through a 2-hour revision lecture with the honey bear to accompany & to show him some support for his upcoming exam revision. It's his last semester at uni & he's feeling really stressed out about the upcoming exams, commencing Thursday. Having to sit through a lecture on a Saturday & to listen to the lecturer talk about stuff which i know absolutely nothing about is tortuously boring, so i alternated between playing Wheel of Fortune on the laptop & helping the honey bear out with notes taking. After the lecture ended at 4pm, we headed off to T.G.I.F at Westfield Doncaster for a late lunch early dinner kinda meal.