Chefs Gallery

Chefs Gallery, 501 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Soup Noodles (SN3) Noodles with charcoal wagyu beef dipped in a Sichuan spicy soup, $15.90

Dry Noodles (DN3) Zha Jiang Noodle - noodles with finely minced pork sauce, $11.90

(SD6) Steamed sticky rice dumpling with diced pork sausage and dried shrimp, $5.90

(SD4) Spicy prawn dumplings, $7.90

Steamed sesame 'piggy face' bun, $7.90

Anh satisfied after trying out Yogurtland

Chanoma, green tea soft serve, $2.90

Mac Cosmetic Retailer, Myer Westfields Sydney

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Medium, Mac Mineralize Blush Warm Soul,  Mac Blending Brush 217,  Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Eyeliner 005 Nude, Ecotools Bamboo angled eyeliner brush

Yesterday night, Anh and I decided that we would try out Chefs Gallery today and that was exactly what we did. To be frank, the steamed sesame "piggy face" bun that I have seen many people Instagram was what made me super keen to try out the restaurant.

I enjoyed the Noodles with charcoal wagyu beef dipped in Sichuan spicy soup very much, but being the extreme chilli eater than I am, even it was too peppery for me to handle. However, I blame only myself because the Chefs Gallery Menu had forewarned me that it was "three chillies" hot. My sister tried the Zha Jiang Noodles which tasted funky as. Despite how savoury it may look, the finely minced pork sauce was sweet and sour. To top it all of, we all had a bite of the cute "piggy bun" and it was definitely worth the try. I have never been a sesame fan, but I really enjoyed the "piggy bun" surprisingly. We then decided that we wanted more dessert, being the fatties we are, so we walked a few steps to Chanoma and Yogurtland, which are located just next to Chefs Gallery.

Aside from eating, we did some shopping at QVB and Westfields Sydney, but all I ever end up buying is more makeup. I can swear, that I have not finished anything makeup product I've bought from the Year 12 Formal makeup haul, so why do I keep hauling? I don't even know.

Anyway, cheers to me ruining my diet the day before the Optometry Masquerade Eyeball. I am so excited for it though. Stay tuned for a photoshoot tomorrow!

Day To Night

The first time I drank from a silver cup

My girls

Fried Dumplings

Fish cakes

My first drink: Mojito

The birthday girl and the beautiful birthday cake

Pass the parcel game and the dares hidden within the layers: Andy's and Mitchell's duet of 1000 miles

My classy potato :)

I had one long, amazing day today! My day kicked off with starting work experience at City Specs (Liverpool Westfield) and I have to say, working is so much fun! I guess it's because it was my first day...I probably wouldn't say that in 5 years time. My dress code needed to me semi-professional but I also wanted to wear something fitting to attend Wendy's 18th Birthday Party, so I slipped on a Zara Classic dress. It really does give me a mature look, so I am thinking of buying more dresses or skirts of similar design for work.

To sum up what I did at work on the first day: I was trained to use the computer system, write tax invoices, work the EFTPOS, sell sunglasses. I had to stand on my feet for 8 hours straight, something I've never done before, so my legs ached so much at the end of the day.

Straight after work, I went to Wendy's 18th Birthday Party at Green Peppercorn. I really wished I owned a toner or setting powder, because my face looked so oily at the end of the day. I touched up on my makeup in the car, but overdid the highlighting, so my face did appear shiny in some areas. Just remember, it's highlighter and not oily...

I really liked the restaurant as a whole - food, furnishing, atmosphere, service - despite having to eat Vegetarian dishes as I was sitting on the Vege table. I wish I took photos of every dish I ate, but I forgot to do that because my table sort of became desperate for food when none of the dishes came our way. I was so hungry after work! HAHA, so enjoy the entrees. I had my first drink for the first time too! I had a Mojito like Vanessa, because I had no clue which alcoholic beverage would taste good. I didn't like it very much, but it was cold and refreshing though. I did not get drunk! Hell yeah for good tolerance.

After the food, we formed a huge irregular circle and played pass the parcel. The parcel somehow always landed at my side of the circle...I ended up with it twice. There were little white slips of paper with dares written by Christie Duong. One of my slips read: "If you like it hot, ask Christie for a surprise". I was expecting a lap dance, but it turned out that I had to eat a chilli. I tried to be cool and chewed the whole thing, and ended up glugging down a two cups of water as well as gobbling down two Picnic chocolate minis. The other dare that I had to do was wax three boy's leg. I chose Avi, Vincent and Wilson. It was very...amusing.I really had such a day!

I rethought my initial promise of blogging everyday to blogging when I actually have something interesting going on. Recently, all I've done are chores and watch k-dramas. Nothing fun about that. So yeah, until next time then! (My new, mirror-less camera should be arriving tomorrow, so I'll start using it soon)

Hunting Bargains & Eating At Obaltan

Catching the East Hills line

Waiting for Shannen to try on her clothes

Wearing: Adidas white T-shirt, Forever New overalls, Calvin Klein belt, Urge teal loafers, Oroton body purse

My first Korean restaurant experience!

Obaltan endorses femininity

Thought this was soup, but it's pickled cabbage and lettuce

Radish that tastes like Kim Chi

Beef ribs

Chilli rice cakes

Pork belly

On the grill

Shannen (Shanini) being a cutie

I had such a great time with three of my girlfriends today at the city. Aside from Shannen who had to look for a formal outfit to wear for her first interview tomorrow, Anne, Anh and I were wondering around the City streets for no other purpose other than to get out of the house and make the most of our Post-HSC lives. Without a doubt, I can say that today was 100% worth it. Budget shopping or window shopping, whatever pleases your vocabulary list, can be pretty fun. I thought it would be a horrifying experience before today, but one thing that I have learnt about budget shopping, is that you get "cheapsake's satisfaction" and it truly is an exalting feeling. Speaking of vocabulary, Anh and I had an epiphanic moment on the train to the City today, as we realised how our English vocab had rotted away in a matter of 2-3 weeks from completing our HSC English assessment tasks. We actually struggle to think of words such as "elegant" and "tricked".

To recount our adventurous outing in short:

We boarded an East Hills train and talked about Joseph Gordan Levitt and 21 Jumpstreet for most of the time. I have to recount that Anh miraculously used her school pass to exit the gates at the QVB entrance. Good work little sister!

We tried our luck at Top Shop first, but soon realised the bargains weren't there...so, we headed to Myer. I managed to scoop two cardigans off the sale rack at Myer and they are just perfection, made for me completely. The first is a hot pink, over-sized cardi with black lace decoration and the second, is a navy blue cardi with a detachable leopard fur collar and shiny black buttons. $45 in total, sweet!

My pact with Anh is that every time we go to the City, we must buy Moochi and keep the spoon as a  memory trigger of the outing. Today, they made Green Tea frozen yoghurt, just my luck!

Obaltan was where we had lunch at. It was quite hard to find as it is situated at the end of an alleyway, and Anne and Anh can both take credit for finding the restaurant. We did vlog the whole lunch session, but I am waiting Anne to upload the video. It was my first time eating at a Korean restaurant and I really enjoyed it. Obaltan's interior design is cosy with wooden furnishings, and to critique the dishes that we ordered, we decided on an average of 8/10. I praise the rice cake dish!

I won't write further, because this will get tedious for both parties. The video will hopefully be more fun to watch. To the lazy, get out of the house and spend time with friends! I had such a great time, I mean it!

Thank you to the ladies who accompanied me today, I loved spending time with you!

A list of first times

Wearing: David Jones beanie, Ojay grey shirt, Ojay cardigan, Bardot denim jeans, Calvin Klein belt, Therapy black wedges, Oroton body purse

Makani Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar 

Chicken Udon

Seaweed in tofu skin

Anh eating her chicken kebab after 3 plates :P

My first moochi with biscotti and green tea frozen yoghurt and mochi, strawberries and kiwi topping

Wearing the Illamasqua blush

First and foremost, MY TRIALS ARE OVER. THANK THE HEAVENS!

I thought I had the rest of the week off to chill but sadly, school starts again tomorrow. Anyway, I had so much fun shopping with Vanessa, Anh, Jennifer and Ngoc and we also bumped into Vivian, Christie and Julia! Though, we all ended up splitting into shopping couplets. Shopping therapy for "all the stress" we felt during the trials. I emphasise the "stress" because I obviously didn't feel the stress I was meant to feel. My English tutor said I was being complacent about the HSC and he also just casually commented, "You know what 30-40 years olds regret the most...not studying hard enough during Year 12." 

Ughh...what are you trying to imply? :( I do try, but it's probably not to the extent of students who dream of becoming doctors and prestigious so and so. Here's my secret revealed: Success is marrying a rich husband. HAHA, only kidding. Although, I did wish I had lots of money when I was impulsively shopping with Anh at Zara, Seed, Sheike and Jigsaw. Everything was nice but everything was also so expensive...for the little pocket money I saved up. Funny how Anh and I decided to check out Jigsaw to see if they sell nice clothes. Indeed they had very sophisticated clothes and rather dear too. We walked into the store, and a fancy, sophisticated 55+ shop assistant looked at us with eyes that said, "Um, children, I think you're not in the right place." 

I went to Myers and bought the Mac 7 lashes and they are g-g-g-orgeous. Cannot wait to glamour up for formal night.  I tried on the Illamasqua blush in "Hussy" and I am in love with it. On the other hand, I am so glad I didn't buy Nars' Orgasm online, there are chunks of glitter in it. I always feel intimidated to ask to try things, probably because I feel young and unimportant.

Anh and I went to so many stores and even double up of stores and during all that shopping, I felt as though my feet were on fire. (Anh is in love with Dotti; we went back to the store 3 times :P) How smart of me to wear wedges to shop and even smarter, to wear wedges to shop in the city! Anyway, I endured the pain because I'm just simply too strong and resilient...or too cheap to buy crappy shoes, haha.

We went to Makani to eat, just Anh and I because everyone had already eaten when we called to meet up. My chicken udon was really nice - first time eating udon noodles too. Lots of first times today. First time going shopping with Anh, first time allowed to shop with friends in the city. 

So aside from loving the shopping experience in the city, I am also loving Moochi. I have not tried Noggi but Moochi > Iladyyoghurt at Cabramatta. I was being a fatty and bought my Moochi in size: BIG. This was right after lunch too. Green tea frozen yoghurt was nice. It tasted like ice-cream. After today, it'll be intensive dieting again, Anh and I promised. Whilst we were pigging out on our frozen yoghurt, a stranger came up to Anh to compliment how beautiful her skin is, and a middle aged man waved at her and asked how she was. Creepy city people. 

I am also really glad that I had an opportunity to see maxi dresses in person, because before this, I was doubting the dress that was given to me by my lovely Godmother. Believe me, I like the dress, but I just felt as though I had no chance to pick a dress myself...which is a nice feeling to have I guess.

Today really made me feel that the end is near. THE END IS SO NEAR I FORGOT THAT I HAD JUST FINISHED MY TRIALS YESTERDAY AND I FORGOT WE HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW. HAHA. Well, I guess it's back to school tomorrow. I won't be blogging again in 3 months. Wish me luck for my finale guys. Will need it. Bye for now!

Lunching At Holy Basil

Michelle, Me, Liza

Mary, Shannen, Ying and Karen

Classmates from tutor

Pad Kee Mao Vegetables in Mild

Watermelon and Strawberry Fresh Fruit Shake

Michelle having trouble handling the chilliness of the dish

I had 6 hours of tutoring today and my brain is now officially dead I think...The good thing about today was that I ate out with Liza and Michelle due to having the 1 hour break in-between our Chemistry tutoring sessions. We were joined by some friends from tutoring class because there weren't any spare tables available. They kept asking me why I take so many photos. They just don't understand that a girl can never have enough photos of herself with friends and food in a nice restaurant.

We ordered two dishes: Pad Kee Mao and Ox Tongue. I forgot to take a photo of the Ox Tongue dish. :( Pad Kee Mao is my all time favourite dish at Holy Basil because I had chosen it the first time I dined at the restaurant. Michelle was a cutie and couldn't handle the chilliness of the dish.

I've never tried the most extreme level of chilli they provide but I remember this one time, I ordered 'MEDIUM HOT' which comes after the 'MILD' level, and I had to leave half of my dish uneaten because my tongue was about to shrivel up. 

Holidays are ending soon and that might mean that this will be my last post until a very long time. So yeah...good bye my lovely readers. :(

Costco + Mixed Berries Smoothie Recipe

Wearing: Hollister Jumper, Target black tights, Red Superga 2750 Cotu Classic

Cute cups that Tania spotted

Firstly, I have a sad announcement to make. My parents have cancelled the 'Zen Oasis' outing because none of my aunties and uncles were bothered to go and my parents thought it would be no fun without them. I'm sorry guys, no more pretty pictures to share. :(

A few days ago, my parents took me to Costco for the first time and since my mum had made it sound so much bigger than it realistically is, I guess I wasn't very much surprised about its size. I've recently had a fetish for tights because they are not only comfy but they look good with my new Superga sneakers, so I tend to dress like I do (above) whenever I go to the library, to tutoring and grocery shopping. And that is basically everywhere I go at the moment, ha ha...

My sister and I also had 'diet' plans for the holidays but like always, we never keep to our words and have finished 2 cans of Poppycock popcorn, a box of Cream Puffs and we're a quarter into the hot chocolate tin. I will strongly advise my mum not to visit Costco anytime soon. 

However, I would like to share with you our recipe for making a Mixed Berries Smoothie which has a similar taste to the All Berry Bang Lite from Boost. I bought the 'Speedy Berries' at Costco and they will be the only thing I recommend you buy from there if you would like to keep watch of your weight.

How To Make a Mixed Berries Smoothie *Serves 2

Use a clean blender...

2. Pour 400mL of milk into the blender

3. Add frozen mixed berries and two tablespoons of sugar into the blender. I filled the blender with berries to the level of milk I added.

4. Blend till the mixture appears completely homogeneous

5. Serve in two fancy glass cups and enjoy!

I'm loving the hot chocolate!