Monolids may seem like a very common Asian eye shape, but the truth is, there aren’t nearly enough makeup tutorials out there for single-lidded sistas like us! And before the days of Google, I had to bumble my way through eye makeup by looking at magazine tutorials for blue eyed beauties, and trying to tweak it for my own eyes.
Well, I’ve settled into a quick and easy method for my everyday makeup look, and I’m ready to share my secrets! Easy eye makeup for monolids is just round the corner. =)
I love tuna. Love it in all its forms. And rice. Love that too.
So when it comes time to put together a weeknight meal that’s delicious and comforting? Tuna Rice is most definitely the answer.
I love doing laundry. I’m serious. There’s just something about sorting a fresh load of laundry that makes it feel like origami and real-life tetris rolled all into one!
But socks have always been a thing of contention in my house. They come in different lengths – ankle, business, sport – and the neat freak in me just wants everything to be the same size, and fit in a grid. Well, I’ve got a solution for you, and it’s a good one!
I started photography as a 15 year old looking for a reason to use Photoshop. Photo editing was one of the first things that made me feel like I was artistically expressing myself, and the challenge of restoring old photos seamlessly really got my juices flowing.
But I saw something recently that really made me angry: An acquaintance decided to rail about how food bloggers shouldn’t be taken seriously and how they should shut up about copyrights because they aren’t “real photographers” anyway. And that, was not cool.
I first heard about Mr Wong when I attended a talk by Brendan Fong at the Sydney Living Museum. He said cool stuff, and there were fish tasters.
I was sold.
Roasted Angus beef shortrib “Shandong style”, soy, chilli and shallot dressing $38
I love the whole “you think it’s something but it’s not” experience, and the menu at Mr Wong is fantastic, creative representation of that.
“Char-Siu” roasted Australian toothfish $38
The Roasted Angus Beef Shortrib had an amazing sweet/sour sauce to be had on rice, but the Char Siu Roasted Toothfish was a clear favourite of the night. It was pretty much all the char siu flavours, but on amazingly soft and flaky tooth fish, which was reminiscent of cod. They even had the signature red ring around the white meat that char siu usually has!! Very well executed.
Sweetcorn, English spinach and woodear mushrooms stirfried with garlic butter, $19
And of course, veggies, because EAT YOUR VEGGIES! This simple dish of Sweetcorn, English spinach and woodear mushrooms stirfried with garlic butter was light and delicious, and was light enough touch to balance out the richness of the other dishes. It did feel a touch out of place in a mostly Asian-influenced menu, but it was still a delicious fit to the meal.
Strawberry ice, sheep’s milk yoghurt sorbet, strawberries, shiso and honeycomb $15
And what do you do on a lady date? Order two desserts, of course! The Strawberry ice, sheep’s milk yoghurt sorbet, strawberries, shiso and honeycomb reminded me of the Taiwanese milk ices, and was just so refreshing! Strange thing to say because a dessert is meant to signal the end of the meal, but for some reason the strawberry ice acted as a palette cleanser and I was just ready to eat more food.
Huh. Maybe it’s just really good strategy.
The food was absolutely excellent, and the service was pretty good too. Not in a “they clearly love food” sorta way, but a “they’re really trained so well” sorta way. AND we weren’t charged for rice, which is a nice surprise since, well, it IS Sydney, after all.
Amazing experience, and actually worth the Sydney price tag. Yum.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve absolutely loved sushi. My mum held sushi making parties for all our friends and neighbours, and I had HEAPS of fun rolling these delicious bites, and eating my own work!
Rolling your own sushi can seem really daunting, but I promise you with the right technique and just a little bit of practice, you can also hold your very own sushi parties!
Read More
It’s hard being a non-drinker. You get constant shocked looks every time you tell someone that you don’t drink, and entire destinations like the Hunter Valley – which plays host to beautiful vineyards and wineries – always seem just out of reach. Cause what are you going to do if you don’t drink wine, amirite?
Well, not exactly.
Christine and I – both “fuddy duddy” non drinkers – went on a girls’ weekend out to the Hunter, and had a TON of non-alcoholic fun along the way.
When I was a kid, I decided that I didn’t like noodle soups. After all, they were milder in flavour than their ‘dry’ counterparts (usually tossed in a myriad of sauces and condiments), and you had to wait so darn long for the bowl to cool off. That just stood in my way of inhaling my noodles, and you never want to stand in my way when I’m hangry.
But like I always say, there’s nothing like a good offer to change someone’s mind, and when it’s a $6 lunch in the city, you know that the cheapskate in me just can’t resist.
A child of the omnipresent Chat Thai group of restaurants, Assamm offers authentic Thai food in the heart of Sydney CBD. Located in the basement of QVB, this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant plays host to snaking queues of hungry officeworkers over the peak lunch periods. But if you’re just willing to wait a little longer, they offer $6 mini-portions between 2-5pm, and let me just say? the portions are actually not so mini.
Sukhothai Noodle Soup, lunch special
Well, unless you eat like a linebaker in the middle of training season, that is. This ‘mini’ portion more than fed me when I was in a my-stomach-is-trying-to-eat-itself state, and I would actually compare it to a regular serving size in Asia.
Grilled Chicken on rice, lunch special
The food always adheres to a certain basic standard and authenticity, to me, Assamm really brings it on their broth. There waa none of the watered down cost cutting crap that you usually find in the city. No, this is legit. The Sukhothai Noodles were my favourite, with bold flavours augmented by dried shrimp, tamarind, and a good lashing of chilli. The thin rice noodles were the perfect conduit to slurp up the broth with, and I would have been happy with just the noodles and broth, sans toppings.
In fact, I enjoyed myself so much so that I went back again the next day, and decided to brave the queues during the peak lunch hours. This, unfortunately was the downfall of the whole Assamm experience for me.
My dining partner was in the bathroom, so they wouldn’t give me a table until she got back. Fair enough, it’s a busy time. Then she came by and I thought we’d be off to our tables, but we were forced to place our order at the counter first, even though my dining partner hadn’t had a chance to look at the menu. Then we sat down, and her order came first, and mine only arrived pretty much as she was finishing her lunch. I can understand a bit of staggering when its busy, but I do think that it’s bad form that two noodle soups arrive so far apart.
Needless to say, that kinda put a damper on my Assamm dining streak. Great for the off peak dining, but maybe not quite worth the peak hour lunch. Good broth though. Good broth.
When I was a teenager, I’ve hated my eyes. Well, hate is a strong word, but I’ve always looked at women in magazines and wished that I had those wide, deep set eyes with mesmerising pupils framed by luscious lashes. I’ve since made my peace, but not before thoroughly exploring the world of fake eyelashes.
And I’m happy to announce that falsies are not just for drag queens and women with a penchant for drama. No, they are a permanent part of my beauty arsenal, and if applied correctly, can create a wearable, everyday look, with just a touch of drama. Did I mention that it also goes really well with contouring?
Read More