Asian Buffet at China Bar

Mr. C and I have been eyeing this place from the week I first arrived in Melbourne through the many times we've driven past this place.

Due to the price, we decided to come here on a special occasion like our anniversary.

However, my uncle beat us to it by treating us a couple of Sunday's ago to this China Bar, Asian Buffet for a luncheon his and his friend's family.

We arrived for the 1pm slot and parked our car at the allocated parking spot. There were many cars at the car park bay signalling a crowd.

There is a variety of food ranging from Dim Sum (otherwise known as yam cha here for whatever reasons I have no idea!) to fried koay teow and even curry laksa! There's awesome chicken rice and roasted pig, need I say more?!

I'll stop talking and let the pictures do the talking.

The food was alright but the staff was a little brash, abrupt borderline to being rude. I think they come from Hong Kong. Besides that, whoever that came out with the layout isn't very smart. Even I, a self-proclaimed not-so-smart person knows you shouldn't start a line right smack at the kitchen entrance!

The queue for the dim sum begins at the left side of the entrance going into the kitchen where else the right side is the queue to pick your 'liao' for the stir fried noodle bit. Obviously, with such a crowd, there is bound to be human traffic jam especially with Asians who are generally not courteous and who always jump queue or hogs the line. This is said based on experience and not pure biasness!

Besides, there were NO clear signs as to where the queue should begin. Usually, you would put the plates at the beginning of the line so that people can take a plate and start serving themselves with the food. However, at China Bar, they decide to be 'smart' and put it at the end of the queue and then, expect people to walk back the opposite way to queue. Genius!

The food was nice and worth the price but for the shabby treatment, Mr. C and I won't be coming back here anytime soon and neither will we bring our friends here.

It is important to have scrumptious tasting food with excellent presentation. However, customer service is essential and if the service is bad, leaving a bad taste or rather experience in one's mouth, don't expect them to patronage the restaurant anytime soon.

So, always serve others with a smile for you never know who's falling in love with your smile and serve with a giving heart for you never know whose life will be impacted or inspired by your giving heart!

Just a nice song

How irksome you are.

I don't want to ask you if the songs mean anything. I simply refuse to ask. After all, it could just be a nice song and nothing else. Simple as ABC. Simple as 123.

This could just be a case of taking a simple action and overanalysing the situation. And we know how girls are good at this. Taking a stone and turning it over and over looking for a clue or a hidden meaning.

I leave you in my past. So why do you refuse to stay put? Everytime I think the door is close, you'll open another and reappear, invading my peace of mind.

I feel like a puppet at times, dancing to your tune. You jerk this way and I follow you. You jerk the other way and I oblige.

You ask me out of the blue to listen to a song that you say is a nice song. Well, thank you for being so kind as to share with me a nice song. Silly of me to think that there is more to the song than meets the eye. Silly of me to wonder if you're telling me something.

Whatever it is, to me, it is just a nice song and nothing more. Why? Because it cannot be anything more than just a song, a nice song.

Nature and all it's beauty

Flowers are a close subject to my heart. If you notice, I love to capture pictures of flowers. The intricacies of the folds of petals. The vibrant colours. And at times, the gentle swirl of it's sprigs. Flowers are one and yet many in variety.

You can have roses but even in roses, there are a multitude types and classes- the spesies, the old garden, the modern garden and even then, it further divides into their growth habits and flower forms.

I love looking back at my flower portfolios and gazing at them one by one. Amazed once again how something small and insignificant can bring a smile to a face. The meaning behind receiving a stalk or a bouquet and the happiness followed by the gesture of love.

Side tracking off roses... there's a golden retriever that lives across us. I've yet to meet its acquaintance but it was love at first side. Sssshhh... dont' tell Mr. C that. Then again, he probably knows. We really hope to get a dog of our own. Such a big house and land for a pet to roam free but the cost of maintaining one is out of our budget for now.

We initially wanted to get a guinea pig but after checkign out cage prices together with the monthly feeding and housing, we might as well start having a kid! I kid with Mr. C that we could buy a pair of hamsters and throw them into backyard to let them breed freely... who knows? We might be able to sell them for a profit!

Being an adult can be such a pain most times!

Deep slumber

Robert Updegraff

" To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute."

Today, I woke up late. Really late. Late about past 2pm. I am not proud of it. Reading and completing my novel at 3am isn't an excuse either. Straight after I made breakfast for Mr. C and him tucking me back to bed, I slept. I slept and woke up and went back to bed. I kept waking up after 11am but somehow, I just made myself go right back to sleep. Why? I don't know.

It's as if life has not much meaning. Not much purpose. People would kill to be able to have such luxury - abundant time at their disposal and what am I doing with it? Wasting it away.

I always complain I don't have time to do things and now, with time, I squander it away. It's rather despicable in away though not the kind where you dig your nose in public or rape someone kind of despicable.

Somehow, having so much time at hand, even reading blogs after blogs or watching show or reading wedding related matters, time just passes by without anything of substance to account for.

It's time to put thoughts into actions. To stop wasting time and taking it forgranted and do something meaningful with it! After all, time and tide waits for no man and time passed by cannot be regain nor relived.

Tomorrow, after Mr. C leaves for work. I must not go back to bed! I should first start my day by coming up with my to-do-list once again and aim to at least complete three tasks!

Every time I fall as in fail to complete the tasks, I'll just pick myself up again and try to complete them. No point for regrets 'cos to do so would only be wasting time once again regretting something that cannot be changed.

And although it might seem that I am bumming or wasting time to some people, I at least have time off from the rat race and that is something most people would wish to have.

Life is never easy, never perfect but that doesn't mean we just moan and groan about things, it just means we should make the best of the situation and always do and give our very best. And at the end of the day, that is all God ever asks of us. He will never give us more than we can handle.

Iconic Flinder Street Station

A Melbourne landmark...

Carribean Market

In the first few weeks of my stay in Melbourne, Mr. C brought me to the Caribbean Market near our place at Scoresby, situated at the foothills of Mt. Dandenong. This isn't our first time at this market though. My uncle brought us here in August 2009 when we last visited Melbourne with my mother.

It's basically like a pasar malam (night market) from home in Malaysia but in a slightly different set up and definitely not a hot and sweaty affair! There are a variety of stalls selling clothes, food, shoes, bags, utensils, cards and so on.

Disclaimer : Here begins the endless pictures 'cos I am too tired to write much tonight... Well, not endless but multitude of moving pictures captured on camera!

It's a pretty fun day to just chill, take a stroll and take in what the stalls have to offer.

You have stalls selling funny snack like rice crackers..

Relatively affordable photoframes and I can't wait to go back and buy a couple for myself and my family!

Books, magazines, towels and table cloths were also sold!

I just LOVE nice scented soaps!

Prices are affordable too! Think it's one of the cheaper one's I've seen so far...

I love the smell of roses and wouldn't mind smelling like one!!

Took the Eucalyptus one, too!

Mr. C wasn't keen on my buying the mango one cos it reminds him of an actual one, and will make him hungry just from the smell of it! Hence, I got the peachy one.

Even dangerous, sharp objects were on display and for sale...

Table runners!!

Rows and rows of stalls...

Other funny and sometimes, weird looking stuff.

Even treats for your doggies!! Can't wait for the day we get ours... Golden Retriever or a Labrador you reckon??

Angry birds plush toy!!

Mr. C and his incredible hulk hands in spider man's 'gloves'.

This was taken for my Spongebob fan friend, MsJuice.

Feeling cold and need a jacket?? Get one!

Soles running out or just fancy a new pair of shoes?! Get one!

We bought our umbrella from here!! And you can HAGGLE for better prices too!! =)