Mt. Wilson Adventure

All the pretty close up flower shots that my friend (Wira Tjo) and I have took on our phone!

Something different than my other recent blogs. I particularly enjoy outdoor activities as it’s my kind of stress relief thing, especially doing the walking tracks within the Blue Mountains. This one is all about the Mt. Wilson Spring festival – where owners showcase their beautiful gardens to the public about a couple of times on the weekends throughout the year. How I found out about this event is through a great mate of mine who have visited the place before. I think they found it through Facebook events or through the community’s website: http://www.mtwilson.com.au/index.php/latest-news.html. Tickets are usually about $25.00 online bundle or $30 on the day bundle and each garden entry is about $1o on the day.

Me in the field of pink flowers (: Photo credit to Milo Yang

This was my first time visiting the place. Hence I was super excited that I actually thought it was going to be like a hike, because you know clearly it’s in the Blue Mountain region. Obviously I was wrong HAHAH! It was a lovely stroll but I didn’t expect that it would actually take a whole day to roam around freely from 6 different gardens. My friends and I didn’t managed to go through all of them as each garden space was huge and we were kind of late. Mind you living in the inner west of Sydney, it’s quite a trek to get to the destination (2hr drive at least, no pit stops) but it was definitely worth it! I don’t think you can get there by public transport, correct me if I’m wrong but unfortunately the only way to get to Mt. Wilson is by a car.

Us being super cute, surrounded by the gorgeous yellow mellow daffodils. Photo credits to Ravi Dal

I’m amazed that people (retired couples mainly) actually live there and get to enjoy the nature of earth everyday, it also made me questioned whether if they ever felt bored living away from the city. Which was answered by the lovely landlord who owned one of the last garden that we visited: “every day is considered as paradise” as she would wake up and do a short stroll around the garden. Wished that I took a picture with her, she was super sweet.

Into the Woods… Photo credit to Cindy Ly

 

Overall what I’ve learnt from this experience is firstly bring your own food and water with you – they’ve got there sausage sizzle to fund raise the local firefighter community so it’s a little bit expensive but it’s delicious and it’s for a good cause. So I was happy to spend $5 on the scrumptious sausage sandwich and $3 for soy hot coco. The second is to have a good night rest, wake up super early and get there before opening times to enjoy taking many photos as you can and visit all the gardens! Lastly don’t plan any other events afterwards, you’d never expect how tiring walking and posing for photos can be!!!

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Mt. Wilson address: Mt Wilson Village Precinct, NSW 2786

KURA KURA Japanese Casual Dining @ Haymarket

It’s been relatively a while since I’ve blog. Super busy with work, uni and all the other extra circular activities – SO HARD TO MAINTAIN A BALANCE LIFE! I don’t get how other bloggers can do this regularly – hats off to you guys. Anyway’s after with some feedback, I’ve decided to change the layout to make it all neat and easier to read. Really appreciate you all who gave honest feedback and the support to keep me going. Love ya all heaps ❤

If you’re indecisive and filling both noodles and rice, this is the option to go for! Had the dumpling udon (right) and fried fish with rice (left). It was always come with the salad, so that’s a bonus. Cost only $13.90

The Experience

I’m usually not a huge fan of Japanese cuisines due to its intense flavoursome of the broth as I believe it’s usually really sweet and salty, well more salty than sweet. This is one of the few exceptions that suits my taste buds. Kura Kura is the place to be when eating solo after or during the break from studies or work in the city. They’ve got a wide range of mains including bento boxes and sushi but I for one, particularly go for the HALF & HALF option. If you can’t decide whether you want noodles, curry or rice then this is the perfect option for you as you can have BOTH – how awesome is that!!! The place is relatively easy to be find as it’s just opposite of Haymarket City’s main entrance in the corner street and the sign is quite huge, so you can’t really miss it even if you want to.

Chicken Katsu Curry Udon – it’s a bit too soupy, wished that it was more of a sauce based rather than curry soup.

As soon as you walk through the doors, you receive a genuine hello from their wait staff and be directed to your seat. The place is quite cosy and when I mean cosy, bit squashed but that’s okay since majority of the time I visit is not at its peak hour – just so I could enjoy my bubble space. They have expanded to the upper level on the side of the main entrance which I have yet to visit, so not too sure if it’s more spaced out then the bottom floor. Music atmosphere is very cutesy K-pop or J-pop, food presentation is average but it’s worth the cost as it averages from $10 to $21 depending on what you get.

Taiyaki (red bean filling fish-shaped waffle) with green tea ice-cream. The waffle’s usually a bit burnt and quite sweet but you have the ice-cream to even out those taste buds. Costs: $7.90

Rating

• Customer Service: 4/5
• Affordability: 3.5/5
• Cleanliness: 3.5/5
• Food presentation: 2.5/5
• Satisfaction of taste buds & fulfilment: 3.5/5
• Overall experience: 3.5/5

 

Ramen noodles with takoyaki balls

Gigantic teriyaki chicken bao bun for $6.20 – Little bit difficult to eat as I only had chopsticks (I should’ve asked for knife) but it’s soooooo good, must try entree!!!

Another half & half option of chicken katsu with rice (left) and boiled egg udon noodles (right)! In the far back we’ve got some stir fried beef yakisoba noodles.

 

Overall it’s not too bad if you’re in the city near towards Haymarket and going solo or hanging out with a mate. The small downside is that they do have an minimum EFTPOS spending of $20.  But other than that quite satisfied with the cleanliness, lighting of the store and its customer service 🙂

This healthy noodle dish in sauce with fried tofu is one of the best meal I’ve had so far in my Vegetarian days!!! Now that I’ve think of it, wouldn’t mind going back for it again.

Kura Kura Address: 3/76 Ultimo Rd, Haymarket NSW 2000

White Rabbit @ Wynyard

The Experience

I have relatively mixed feelings about this place. Perhaps it was the fact I was in my gym gear and had a naked face (no make-up) wasn’t the best presentable way to walk in to a classy café/bar setting. Hence their service was not ideally to standard to some who have had much better of a positive experience. Got ignored for a bit when I entered, I guess they were probably under staff as the place was crowded but nevertheless I went in and got myself a table. A little bit disappointed with one waitress who half-heartily served me. I had to ask for the menu and table water where as other customers received it without asking and got greeted straight away.

The general atmosphere of the café/bar is quite groovy/mellow due to its light upbeat music and the dim yellow lights. Looking at the menu for cost of breakfast on average it’s about $14-$16 if you want a decent fulfilling meal, lunch about $20-$28 and beverages about $6.50 or more if you want some wine. Thus it did pinched my wallet just a little bit. I’ve ordered myself one freshly squeezed orange and ruby grapefruit juice and the irresistible ricotta and vanilla bean pancake (felt like something sweet for breakkie). The texture of the pancake was beautiful – super fluffy and light, soaked with sweet, sweet vanilla and maple syrup. The ricotta definitely helped with balancing the sweetness out when it was too much and the nuts provided the little crunchy texture. Honesly I’d say it is one of the better-end of pancakes I’ve had.

Wasn’t fulfilling enough as it was just the one pancake, wished there was more layers of it!

Rating

• Customer Service: 2.5/5
• Affordability: 3/5
• Cleanliness: 4/5
• Food presentation: 3.5/5
• Satisfaction of taste buds & fulfilment: 3/5
• Overall experience: 3.2/5

Overall it was alright, I would have preferably enjoyed my breakfast a little bit more if I felt like I was in place. Perhaps next time I’ll wear something much more decent and smart to see the difference in terms of its services.

White Rabbit Address: 28-34 O’Connell Street, CBD, Sydney, NSW

V Lounge @ Canley Heights

The Experience

This is probably one of my go-to places for a casual late night dinners. Specifically for there delicious soy chai latte – it’s one of the best so far I have had! Its cosy atmosphere creates an inviting environment for individuals or for groups who simply want to hang out to and have a nice, affordable meal. V Lounge is known for its speciality of there beverages and dessert range like deep fried ice-cream cigar rolls, unique taro/green tea crème brûlée and now recently the special green-tea brownie.

Special Green-tea Brownie without the special smoky effect (was a bit bummed, but oh well next time!): If you’re a huge sweet tooth, then this is to go for, if not be prepared to get a bottle of water!!!

They have definitely come a long way, upgrading its menu including breakfast and dinners, providing generous amount of servings on the plate.  I might dare say it is slightly better than WhattheFudge cafe as they have more varieties on the menu in terms of brunch! Customer service wise, they are friendly but at times it appears to be that they are under-staff or they out somewhere being a little bit inattentive.  The cafe is relatively clean and background music is upbeat of today’s current hits and sometimes nice old r&b songs.  Presentation of the food is average in my perspective. In terms of costly wise, there menu averages about $15.00 for a decent meal, drinks approx $8.00 and dessert $13.00 which is quite affordable for a poor uni student myself.

Thai Beef Salad: generous amount of steak and whole lot of red onions, I must say… dressing was quite flavoursome – sweet & a tad tangy!

Rating

• Customer Service: 3.5/5
• Affordability: 4/5
• Cleanliness: 3.5/5
• Food presentation: 3/5
• Satisfaction of taste buds & fulfilment: 3.5/5
• Overall experience: 3.8/5

 

Steak Sandwich w Chips and Salt&Pepper Squid w Garlic Aioli Sauce: definitely filling but wasn’t a huge fan of the sandwich, perhaps because of my high dislike of mayonnaise ruined it a little bit for me. The chips and the squid tasted average but it’s well cooked.

Overall V Lounge is a lovely place if you’re looking for something filling and affordable. Always happy to come back to try more of there menu 🙂

V Lounge Address: 239 Canley Vale Rd, Canley Heights NSW 2166