St Kilda Pier Pt 2, Melbourne!!!!

As promised here are more photos of St Kilda Pier! What else to say.... breathtaking view, scenic experience and simply just wonderful..

Counting down to my Bali trip, 5 days more and counting... weee.. I'm indeed in need of a short getaway to the beach relaxing.... :) I shall anticipate the weekends first.... haha...

The pier...


Great place for photo shooting...



Camwhoring with the beautiful beach behind... I would have jumped into the sea if it was summer...



More photos...




Ahhh I missed the place... freaking cold for sure...


Fly with the wind.. weee....





Black and white effect! :)




Imagine the weather looking like that in the afternoon?


Some restaurants and cafes you see around...


Sandy beach!


Taken using dearie's white angle lense... nice! :)


I'm a professional... taken self portrait of us with a DSLR! LOL!



The tram station... waiting for our ride back to Melbourne town...


Here it comes...


Nice lake at the heart of Melbourne...



Aussie bridge is falling down.. falling down... falling down.... :P


Last but not least, a nice photo taken by a stranger... :P Ok more photo next where I met up with an old old friend from high school and who went to the same college as me and imagine meeting up after more than 5 years? :P Stay tune and happy working everyone!

St Kilda Pier, Melbourne!

It's the end of the long long weekend... don't you just agree good times come to an end fast? I just enjoy the weekends hoping it'll never end... LOL!

Anyway here are more photos on Day 3 where we made a tour down to St Kilda Pier by tram. St Kilda is a remarkable place with sandy beaches and esplanade to enjoy fantanstic view of the entire bay...

Flinders Street Station...



Waiting for our tram ride...



The tram station....


Tada finally here...


The inside...


Auto paying machine to buy your tickets to your required destination...


We made a stop over at the branded outlet street... nothing much though...


Finally arrived at St Kilda after a less than 30 minutes ride...


It was cold and windy since the place was close to the ocean... wee... nice! :P


The signature clock tower...


No idea who is this but definitely in memorial of somebody important :P


Scenic view from the top...




The birds were posing nicely for photoshoot...


Me me me! :P



The travelling partner who was darn good with maps and roads.. haha....navigator to everything... more photos soon of the St Kilda Pier up next... back to work once again! :)

Dim Sum @ Sharkfin House, Chinatown Melbourne

You must never miss the Chinese delicacies a.k.a dim sum while you're visiting Melbourne. It has been well knowned for its huge juicy dumplings at the heart of Chinatown. Hence on day 3, we made a stop over at Sharkfin house ealy and boy there was already a huge line outside the restaurant.

Here one can enjoy a mouth-watering selection of dim sim specialties as well as enjoying an elegant interior and fast service.

Located at the heart of Melbourne’s Chinatown, Shark Fin House is no doubt the best Chinese Restaurant in Melbourne.

Chinatown...


Welcome to the Asian Food Festival... :)


Signature lion statue...


Since we were still early as the restaurant only starts serving at 11am, we stopped by at Maxim's cake for some egg tarts!





The address to yummy food! :P


Everyone was gathering outside the door waiting for the shop to open... gosh... thank god we reserved a table early...


Finally inside and having a nice hot chinese tea!


Steamed fishballs in superior soup... slurrppp!


Nice hot bowl of porridge to start our meal... soo good!


The huge "Yau Char Kwai" we ordered... perfect to go with the porridge!



Me posing with all the yummy food.. can I eat now? :P Food just make me happy... lol!


Some steam dim sums...


Prawn and pork dumpling...


Siu Mai and Har Kow that you must never miss... :)


Deep fried stuffed with minced prawn paste... this is very good.. ehhehe...


Yam cake...


A very satisfied food lover.. we were sooo stuffed after the heavy breakfast but the waiting was worth it afterall.. :) So what we did after this? Stay tune more photos up next at St Kilda! Wee...

Penguin Parade @ Phillip Island, Melbourne

After the Koala Conservation Centre, we headed towards the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, only 140 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. The area is a reserve designed to protect and promote awareness of Little Penguins.

The best time to visit is at sunset during the late evening if you wish to see the actual "penguin parade". This is when the penguins cross Summerland Beach to return to their sand-dune burrows.

Hence we were there early waiting in the cold to experience the penguins coming home. :)

2 passes for admission....


The breadtaking view on the way to Phillip Island...


Freaking windy and cold...!





The ocean rocks and moutains...





Freezing in the cold... :P



Strong currents..


Welcome to Phillip Island... This is where the penguins will be coming home...


Upon arrival it was still early, tea time at a nearby cafe...


Hot french fries... yum yum!


Hot Mocha!


You see penguins everywhere....



More souvenirs...




The parade was fantastic but not photos were allowed... so you got to go there and experience yourself! hehehe... :P Dinner time on the way back...We opted for Chinese food...



Siu mai, huge dumplings filled with minced pork and prawns...


Stir fry noodles with assorted veges, char siew (roast pork) and seafood.. *slurrrp*


Fried vegetables...


Fried rice... As usual, meals in australia is never cheap... :P that's about it on Day 2. More photos up next the following day :)

Koala Conservation Centre, Melbourne

HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO ALL!!! I'm soooo happy it's the holiday again... long stretch of break with no work... LOL! :P

After a half day tour at Warrook Cattle Farm, we headed towards the Koala Conservation Centre to visit the cute koalas.

You get to stroll through bushland and experience koalas in their natural habitat and meet koalas ‘face to face’ on our treetop boardwalks. This centre is dedicated to koala research and conservation.

The tickets....


Fake giant koalas you see... :P


The boardway to an experience with the koalas.... I don't see many koala bears here.... In fact I saw even more koalas at Gold Coast... will blog about that later :)


Hi peeps, my name is koala... lol...


The boardwalk...


Like what they say, Koalas sleeps and does very little except for eating and sleeping.. hehe... how nice! :P


There finally you see one tiny koala at the tree top!


Freezing cold...




The gift shop...


Next up was the famous Penguin Parade at Phillip Island... Stay tune... Enjoy your holidays yeah! :P

Warrook Cattle Farm, Melbourne

Here are more wonderful photos from our getaway trip to Australia.... Warrook Cattle Farm is about an hour drive from the Melbourne town and you'll be on your way to a farm's adventure and be close to nature... :)

You get to experience the farm house, cow milking, sheep shearing and many more.


The dining area where lunch was served.... grilled western cuisines..



The food menu.. yum yum...


The drumstick and steak set.. comes with carrots, beans and potato. Drenched in thick black pepper gravy.


The farm place...



Our ride around the farm house... weee..


We're sitting on nothing except for straws... LOL! :P


Travelling partner :)



Beautiful weather.... Blue sky and white clouds... :P



More scenic views...



Yeah let's feed the cows... Moooo give me more...hehe.. they were darn hungry



Milking the cow.. anyone wants to try?


Feeding time... :)


Posing for more photos ;)





Next stop... shearing the sheep...



Let me out...................


Horses on the field...Awww why are oyu looking so sad? :P


Sheep dog was well trained too...


Chasing the sheeps home...


Sheep shearing session... This is where you get your sheep fur and such for carpets and even clothings..



All shaved and clean...



Duckies you see around too...


Teatime... black pepper steak pie...



More souvenirs....


So many soft toys......... koalas and kangaroos!


A happy me! :)


More photos up next at Philip Island where we visited the penguins.... stay tune... busy busy week ahead and I can't wait for the weekends... :)

Day 2 - Menzies Creek, Melbourne

On Day 2, we went on a tour package we bought earlier in Malaysia that brought us to the following tourist destination:

• Menzies Creek, puffy billy train
• Warook Farm House
• Koala Conservation Centre
• Penguins at Philip Island

Menzies Creek Station was opened with the line on 18 December 1900. These days, Menzies Creek has an island crossing platform with a track on each side, a loop siding and also a siding into the museum. It has become one of the top tourist spot in Melbourne.

It resides quite a distance from the town, approx 50KM from Melbourne city.

Breakfast at the hotel before taking off for a full day trip!!!!

The breakfast dining area.. small but cozy...


The Gray Line coach picked us up from the hotel towards our destinations...


Menzies Creek.........


The train station...



Sepia effect! :)


More photos of the surroundings...


The dustbins...








Platform 1 and platform 2!


Here comes the train..............

More photos up nexp at Warook Farm house...... stay tune peeps! YES thank god it's Friday today... darn looking forward to the weekends... :)

Melbourne Day 1....

I previously blogged about my trip to Australia during the Merdeka week where we spent a good one week over at Melbourne and Gold Coast.

Recap in below link:
http://joanchew_1911.blogspot.com/2008/09/back-to-land-of-malaysia.html

We flew from KL to Gold Coast before boarding via jetstar over to Melbourne. We spent the first day free and easy touring around the town.

Flinders street station. The central railway station of the suburban rail network of Melbourne, Australia. Built since the year 1859 and you can see it was still nicely standing in the heart and town of Australia! :)


The huge clock! This is a popular meeting place, at the intersection of two of the city's busiest place!


We bought the ground package here in Malaysia for a 3 nights stay at Citigate Melbourne hotel. Very convenient and easily accessible to food and shopping. Just opposite the flinders street station.


Out first meal at Melbourne. Not knowing where or what to eat, we decided to have a quick meal over at Spice of India, just beside Citigate hotel. Hence our first meal was indeed Indian cuisines like nasi briyani, curries, Naans or Roti... hehe...


The nasi briyani set that came with rice and two side vegetables and a naan! This set was approx RM 30 ++. One thing I can say.... eating in Australia is NOT cheap at all after the exchange rates and such.


The naan was pretty GOOD! Freshly made and perfect dipping and eating it with your favourite curry...


The food lover :)


After the late lunch, we toured around the town for more photos...



It was pretty cold in the month of August - September though it was almost the end of Winter and start of Spring.


Shopping paradise near the Federation Square. It's a central and unifying public space, a landmark and a cultural magnet bringing together exquisite gardens, innovative architecture.



Victoria University at Melbourne... The whole campus is right at the centre of the town with China town just 5 minutes away...You see students spending their time outside just chilling on the grass with their books... Awww.... how nice eh!!!





Many Asian students and people you see around...


Night view of Flinders Street Station!


Mekong Vietnamese Restaurant @ China Town...

You must never miss the famous Mekong Vietnamese Restaurant at Chinatown that served superb authentic vietnamese cuisines. You see a wall of fame with photos of famous people who ate there.




Beef balls and beef slices with noodles in superior soup! Comes with a plate of bean sprouts! More photos up next. Stay tune for more things we did on day 2.... :)

Have a great week ahead... Can't wait for my next getaway to Bali in November :)

Sepang Gold Coast!!

During the Raya break, we made a trip over to Sepang Gold Coast for photo shooting. LOL!

Sepang Goldcoast is a Multi-billion ringgit integrated development along the famous Bagan Lalang. After the sumptuos lunch at Port Dickson, we took a 45 minutes drive towards our much awaited destination.

It was a long stretch of beach and we stopped over at the Sepang Goldcoast information centre.


The scenic view, Balinese style with palm trees and wooden crafts!


More photos of us upon arrival!! :)



The ladies.... Mei Ping, bestie & Amy!



Nice plants and flowers....






We walked around and took more photos :) Great place for photos!



There was also a massage parlour there if you're interested to rest and relax....


The beach front...


The photographer in action.... :P






Sepia effect! :)


The weather was pretty good that day, not too hot!


Development in progress...



:)



It was low tide the time we were there.


Rocks... Photo time! LOL! :P







Taken with dearie's wide angle lense.... nice effect! :P



Ok that's about it folks... enjoy your weekends... Monday again tomorrow :P

Raya Food Spree!!!

Here are more photos from our one day trip to Sepang Gold Coast. Non stop FOOD spree right from the heart of KL for breakfast to lunch time at Port Dickson, tea time at Putrajaya and dinner at Bumbu Bali Puchong.

Well you can say we ventured a whole lot of places in one day. All in all, a very satisfying trip! :P

Some preview photos of Sepang Gold Coast. More photos soon in next post! :P


The breakfast session near Pudu coffee shop... Dry Pan Mee!!!!!


I ordered my fav wantan noodles with char siew! Heavy breakfast indeed... LOL! :P


American breakfast set with grilled chinese sausage, garlic bread, eggs, baked beans, ham and salad! Complete set!


Camwhoring while stopping by for a toilet break at the highway... hahaha! Amy & me!


Approx an hour drive, we finally reached Port Dickson and had a good lunch at this recommeded place - Restaurant San Yu Soon. You can never expect to find such good food at a small town like this... hehe... definitely worth trying, famous for their seafood at affordable prices.


Some of us decided to go slow on seafood, opted for their hot plate beancurb with minced pork! Super yummy and their beancurb was home made too! :) Thumbs up!


Stir fry vegetables.. simple yet so tasty!


Some hot soup...


I love their steam fish the best! The sauce was super awesome, a little spicy and the fish was steamed to perfection!


Famous pork knuckles.. I'm not a big fan of pork but this was pretty good... crispy in the outside and soft tender meat inside...


Huge portion indeed!


The ladies after the lunch.... feeling sooo full as you can see :P



Special someone and me! Looking satisfied! LOL! Ok more photos soon... got to get back to the office today for a half day work to prep for our quarterly review.. sigh... Enjoy your weekends! :)

MGX Party @ Six Flags, Georgia

The party began at Six Flags over Georgia, a 100-acre park with awesome rides, great shows, and incredible attractions!! You can visit http://www.sixflags.com/OVERGEORGIA/ for more info!

Free flow of FOOD, Snack, concert, entertaintment and rides for employees. So there we headed on the last day of the conference for a night time life experience!

Live concert by Pink and Daughtry! Wee..............


Me @ the grand entrance! I LOVE thrilling rides... the faster the better! LOL!


The park was closed half a day just to accomodate us!



This was one hell of a ride... deep dive down the rail! hahhaa!



More photos of the surroundings...



Dinner time!!!!!!!! Bestie & me ate at a couple of restaurants....hehe...



Fried chicken and fries...


USA town!


Slyvester the cat who chases and eat tweety bird all the time.. haha...


Weee bugs bunny!


Concert time! Woo... waiting anxiously for Pink's kickass performance!


The stage!


Pink in action and her singing was totally awesome! :)



Wooing the crowd with her ballads!


The huge crowd of MS employees!


Tea time... dessert!



That's about it... the end of my trip to US! hehehe... More photos soon peeps... :)

A Trip to Atlanta!

Ahhh I can't wait for the weekends... can't believed I had to work coming Saturday! :(

Watched Eagle Eye last night starring Shia LaBeouf from Transformer and pretty Michelle Monaghan from Maids of Honor... OMG... The super was like super "gan cheong". Worth a watch definitely! :)

Back to more photos of Atlanta shall we? As blogged earlier, I was at Georgia for a week attending the Microsoft Global Exchange (MGX) Conference which was held once a year.

Flying off a jet plane from San Francisco to Atlanta... another 5 hours flight and there was like a 3 hours time difference... *yawn*



Bestie & me checked into Ritz Carlton hotel upon arriving... Nice exclusive hotel in the town with great service and people greeting you... LOL!


Upon arrival we decided not to wander out at night and instead ordered dine in from the hotel... I heard it's not safe since it was only two girls... :P


Hotdog & fries...


Grilled salmon with vegetables and mashed potatoes.. pretty satisfying... :)


Dessert to finish off the meal... hehe.. Strawberry cheese cake! Bestie had always craved for sweet stuff... LOL!


The Atlanta town centre...


Wooo Hooters... decided to camwhore outside! :P



Nice buildings...


The main street.. we were walking around sight seeing and looking for souvenirs...


The famous Coca Cola factory! A tourist attraction... I didn't went in though :P



Horses again...


We were craving sooo much for Asian food and to our surprise found this small japanese cafe called Yami Yami nearby peachstreet mall... YEAH...


I dived in and ordered some sushi...


OMG! Hot bowl of udon soup with deep fried tempura prawn... it tasted soooo good....


Tea time @ Panera bread....


Chicken salad with bread...


Seafood soup! Food is soooooooo expensive in the US! :(


The conference being held at Philips Arena where some 20,000 people attended...


Buffet breakfast!


Huh? Sweet stuff like cakes and pastries for breakfast? kidding me... no way!


As usual you can't expect much from conference food... LOL!



The main stage...


Performances!


Wow look at the crowd! Ok folks.. that's about it... Thursday today... counting down to the weekends... :)

MGX Team Dinner - Atlanta Fish Market

Address: 265 Pharr Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30305

While we were at Atlanta attending the conference, the sub organized a team dinner for all of us at Atlanta Fish Market. This place has been awarded the best seafood in Atlanta by many well knowned magazines.

So what we ate? Wide spread of seafood of course! :P There goes my high cholesterol level... LOL! I would sum it all, Great FOOD GREAT AMBIENCE! :D

It's situated out of the city, about 20 minutes drive down to Pharr Road!


Look at the entensive menu!!!!!!!!!! I'm a fish lover! YEAH! Can I have one each of everything in the menu please? :P


White wine to accompany the good food!



Fish Market Hot Tower! Comes with the following - King Crab Fritters, Spinach & Artichoke dip, crispy calamari and popcorn shrimps! Approx USD 34 = RM 100! Serving for 4 -6 person! Great starters...


Fish Market Iced Tower a.k.a the cold combination! Comes with chilled lobsters, jumbo shrimps, oysters and iced mussels! Approx USD 40! Weee fresh seafood....


I ordered something extra and decided to try out the creamy england clam and cod chowder... So rich and tasty! Suggest to share! HAHA!


BAKED ATLANTIC SALMON PARMESAN CRUSTED with Grilled Asparagus and Crispy Basil Potato Cake....


Craving for pastas? Do not miss the Gulf Shrimp “Alfredo,” Fettuccini in Parmesan Cream! I rather opt for only seafood cause pasta is just soooo filling you could hardly stuff yourself with more seafood after that. Suggest to share too :)


I have no idea what is this.... hahaha....


“SIGNATURE” STUFFED FLOUNDER WITH SHRIMP, CRAB, SCALLOPS
& Mushrooms drenched in white wine sauce... oooolalala...


“SIGNATURE” WHOLE STUFFED MAINE LOBSTER, ONE & A HALF POUND
WITH ALASKAN KING CRAB STUFFING!!! So sweetttttttt and tasty!



ALASKAN RED KING CRAB LEGS “Steamed & Cracked,” Drawn with Butter & Lemon


Cheers to more good food!!!!!!!!!! :)


Huge crowd that night...


More photos soon... omg... it's Sunday today and back to work tomorrow after a long long break... anticipating the next holiday! LOL! :)

Daddy's Birthday - Kura Japanese Restaurant

September is always the month of celebrations for me. Many friends and also families whose birthday falls on this auspicious month! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my all time favourite and most important person in my life – the greatest dad in the world! :)

The siblings decided to spend daddy for all his kind love and tender care at Kura Japanese Restaurant at One Utama hotel.

Kura Restaurant Review:
http://joanchew_1911.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-siss-12th-birthday-kura-japanese.html

It’s the same franchise as the all time famous Rakuzen. Prices and food are pretty on par. Make sure to do your reservations.

Rakuzen Review:http://joanchew_1911.blogspot.com/2007/12/family-celebration-rakuzen-hartamas-my.html

The Kura Restaurant @ 1U hotel!


Japanese Salad!!!


Salmon Maki totally RAWKS! Huge chunk og juicy salmon to feed your cravings :)


I decided to be a little greedy and opted for their Unagi set that came with a plate of fresh sashimi, appetizer, cawamushi, fruits and rice!


The set was huge!


Mummy favourite option - Deep Fried Tempura Prawns!


Udon soup...


More sushi!!!!!!!Topped with smoked salmon...


The special someone opted for their set dinner too... Grilled teriyaki chicken accompanied with Sushi!!!!!! yum yum! :P


Daddy's fav dish - Grilled salmon head!


Desserts... Strawberries frozen with vanilla ice cream fillings...


Family photos! Thanks for everything daddy.. can never ask for more :)


The 2 important person! :)


Family portrait... more photos soon... got to continue playing nintendo wii.. I am addicted! :P

MACH Global Conference - Atlanta

How was your Raya holidays everyone? My first time spending the long holidays in town, enjoying the jam free roads and I spent half of yesterday sleeping! That’s life! :D

I’M ADDICTED TO Nintendo Wii!!!!!!!!!!
The special someone finally decided to splurge and bought it last night! HAHAHA!!

Gosh I don’t want to work today but spending time playing whole day! LOL! :P
Back to more photos of the conference at Atlanta shall we? I spent 2 additional days compared to the rest of my colleagues to attend the MACH global conference held at Marriott Atlanta Marquis hotel.

In case you’re wondering... MACH stands for Microsoft Academy for College Hires!

Can’t wait to continue playing the Wii later tonight... Wait for me, I’m coming home soon! :P

Bestie & me stayed at Ritz Carlton and the conference was a 5 minutes walk from our hotel...



Wow... so high!


The bar section, Pulse!


Free buffet breakfast before the conference... Eggs and sausages again! LOL! :P


Nice settings.... the dining area!


My notebook!


Wooo Kevin Turner kickstarted the session with keynote speech!


Huge Crowd... about 300 ++ MACH hires from around the world!


My personalized tag!


The MACH Hires from Korea and Ukrain!


Team project!! LOL! Our art work!



More games we played.... analyzing business scenarios... sleepy and jetlagging.. :P



Free flow of Starbucks on the house...


Working + lunch... packed food! not good at all... :(


I don't want cold sandwiches! Can I have hot noodle soup please? LOL! :D



Camwhoring with bestie glasses! Now you now you don't! HAHA!


Snapshot view from our hotel @ Ritz Carlton!


The room was beautiful... darn expensive though and thnak god the expenses were covered! :D


Dine in pre dinner.... caesar salad topped with grilled salmon...


On our way for the MACH night time activity! Party time @Stats Sport Bar!


More photos soon... have a good weekend.... :)

Japanese Dinner - San Francisco!

Just a short post on Raya day... :P Enjoy your long long holidays and I'm off to Gold Coast later in the late morning....

p/s not Gold Coast in Australia but Gold Coast in Sepang! LOL! :P

Anyway let's zoom back to San Francisco for now, I also missed the yum Japanese cuisines we had near Saks Fifth Avenue... apologies that I totally forgot the name of this restaurant. All I remembered was us waiting in the cold for a good 30 - 45 minutes for a table... :P

Yeah hot ocha tea here I come... :P



Waiting anxiously for the food.... I was craving for something hot that time... no more eggs and sausages for me!!!! NO NO NO!


Chicken Katsu Don... nicely marinated chicken and deep fried to perfection that comes with rice!


Pork katsu don with egg!!! looks super yummmm.....


Tada! I ordered their Nabeyaki Udon soup as my main course....comes with ample of vegetables, egg, udon noodles and tempura prawn!


Bestie had this tempura don with egg... ok folks... gotta prepare and meet the rest soon... till then stay tune for more photos from Atlanta! :)