Day 218 - Filipino cooking newbie

Yes, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I've never attempted to cook Filipino food. I'm just so used to eating it at home that I just took it for granted and didn't want to bother trying it. I've been cooking pasta, grilling meat, stir fry dishes etc.. but when I start craving for home-cooked Filipino food, I just can't imagine making it and disappointing my taste buds.

It's so sad since my old flatmates in my first apartment had never tasted filipino food and I promised to make adobo for them. I never did :( Adobo has always been my favorite filipino food :) There are so many versions and I love them all except the ones with liver. YUCK.

Anyway, in Melbourne, my cousin made an awesome adobo that she promised to teach me with her step-by-step instructions. THANK GOD. She's really OC too so I knew I would be able to learn it quickly. So I decided to let my current Australian flatmate be my guinea pig. I made semi-dry adobo (complete with bay leaves) on rice with fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinegar for dipping :)

Luckily, she loved it :) And the best part is, I had allotted some for adobo friend rice and egg the next morning! YUM.


Compared to my friends or people I know in Sydney who are cooking aficionados, I am far far behind but no worries, I'll catch up in a few years! hahaha!

Day 217 - New obsession

I've always loved Monopoly.
Back in college, we used to play in Berchmans Hall in Ateneo during our lunch breaks.

Now they have a new Monopoly card game. I'm too competitive for my own good sometimes. Can someone buy it for me in Manila and bring it here please? :)

Day 216 - Flatmate Nights

The perks of three girls in one apartment. We have crazy nights of 3d movies in our non-3d TV :) But we make it work!

Day 215 - Australian Open

Though I went to Melbourne to visit Trish, it was also because I wanted to catch the Australian Open. Who knows when I can watch another live Open match?

Anyway, I was able to watch a Women's and Men's team and a top-seeded match to boot. It was definitely memorable and fun. The tickets were sold out for that day so we were very lucky. Our seats were awesome too!

Day 214 - The Great Australian Meal

I did a lot of things in Melbourne so I have a lot of posts to do in the coming weeks. But for the meantime, I'll definitely focus on the things I did (or tasted) that really stuck out during my trip :)

Definitely one for my bucket list is tasting KANGAROO, EMU and CROCODILE MEAT. I didn't know if I could do it because local Melbourne girls like Trish and her friends don't even want to try it!

But I wanted to prove to my friends and family that I am the perfect Amazing Race Partner! Hahahaha!


SO I DID EAT IT. I loved the emu! Didn't really like the crocodile and kangaroo but I chewed and swallowed.


They have their own version of Mercato night market on Wednesdays that include a bazaar of different non-food items like clothes, painting and jewelry. Loved it :)

Day 213 - First meal with Trish

I was so excited to see my cousin Trish. Her apartment at first glance was so homey! It was a nice mixture of vintage and modern. I wish I took a picture of her dining table!

Anyway, I was too tired that I fell asleep as soon as I got on the plane. I didn't even know that we were delayed on the tarmac for about 30 minutes. I woke up right when the planed landed in Melbourne. I thought for a sec that there was a time difference because of the delay that I didn't know about. Hahahaha *dumb blond moment.

Trish and I had brunch near her place (didn't get the name of the cafe) but it was yummy. The cafes in Melbourne are so artsy, funky and chill which is different from the city hustle-bustle feel of Sydney :)

Great combo (red necklace & Kate Spade bag)

Mackerel salad (my yummy dish)

Banana walnut bread with espresso butter

Day 212 - Jet setter with Jet Star

Here I am in the airport an hour and 15 minutes before my flight. Despite my absolute stressful booking with Jetstar, my check-in was the easiest one EVER. I swear to God, barely a minute. I just scanned the barcode from my itinerary, lo and behold, I got both my boarding passes. I've already checked in for my flight back and I'm not even in Melbourne yet.

Furthermore, it makes me really sad to think about the state of our Philippine terminals. Sydney's domestic airport is 100x better than our international airport. It took me 15 minutes to get from the city to the domestic airport by train. It was just my luck that my gate was 58. It was the 2nd to the last gate but the walkalators made it easy. All in all, a good start and now I'm patiently waiting to board by reading about how Khloe might not be a Kardashian. Thanks for the mag, Ash! Ooh, a shot of my new Michael Kors bag is in the picture too :)

And so my Melboure adventure starts :)