*dimsumdolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Pancakes In Paradise

I had the yummiest pancakes at Surfers Paradise at this restaurant called Pancakes In Paradise. The place certainly lives up to its name with its thick and fluffy and oh-so-irresistable pancakes.

On weekends, the place is packed! They serve savoury pancakes too. E.g. with bacon and egg. You can also have your pancakes with ice cream, chocolate, banana, strawberry, etcetc. You have no lack of choices!

This is called the "Long Stack", that is, four pancakes in a stack. At first I thought that yellow scoop on stuff on top was ice cream. But it turned out to be a huge scoop of butter!!! Man, it was sinful but so damn delicious!

I know it's terribly unhealthy, but I love to drown my pancakes in maple syrup. My friends think I'm mad. But I just have a very sweet tooth and here I attempted to make a smiley face with the syrup. But the syrup soaked through and my smiley pancake looks more like a sad pancake. Oh well, it ended up in my stomach nonetheless - guess that's nothing for Mr Pancake to be happy about!

The enormous pancake that stands at the entrance to welcome visitors. And no, I didn't go for the All You Can Eat offer. I couldn't even stomach more than two so it wouldn't have been worth the money to go for the buffet. I actually shared the Long Stack with a friend. Just eating two of those pancakes left me really stuffed!

I'd recommend going to Pancakes In Paradise for a really hearty breakfast. If the restaurant were by the beach, it'd be even better with views of the beach! But unfortunately, it's not. However, it's only a three-minute walk from the beach so you can just head straight to the beach after eating!

Surfer Babe

I had my first taste of surfing at Evans Head. Three of us rose early and made our way to the beach at 8.30am to meet our two surfing instructors. Go here to find out more about lessons.
They were two very young and hunky Aussie lads in their early 20s. One very blond, the other very tan, buff and bronze. He was later nicknamed the "hunk" by M, one of my closest teammates. Haha.

Before the practical part, we were given some theory lesson on how to look out for rips, waves, tides and currents.

And then we had to practice some technique on land. Of course, it was all very well and good on land. Haha. That's me on the extreme right.

I then headed into the waters and looked out for waves and rips with the hunk by my side. He really was quite gorgeous I must say. :p

And here I go!

I managed to stand a few times but not without first falling a million times! It definitely takes a lot of practice but nonetheless heaps of fun as you ride the waves!

Ooh, I LOVE the beaches in Australia!

MovieWorld

Six girls were out on a mission to have loads of fun at MovieWorld and here are the pictures to show for it.

We went on all the roller coasters and this is one named Lethal Weapon. We were twirled up and down and by the time we got off, it felt like I was suffering from vertigo. You can't see me, but I was sitting in the second last row.

Ooh, this roller coaster was called Superman Escape. The first time only three of us went as the other three didn't want to risk their hearts. I was really scared at the thought of going on it, but decided I had to do it just to get my money's worth! And also I wanted to say that I had gone on it!

I'm in the second row of the very first cart with my other two teammates. We screamed ourselves hoarse. Our teammate who was waiting below said of all the rides, ours was the loudest and our screaming was so high and piercing! Haha!

Only four of us went on Batwaing and two of them decided to sit out as they were scared. I was scared but I wanted to try it just to get that adrenalin rush and to say I've done it! Must try everything once! That's me on the extreme right.

And up we go! We were accorded a very nice view from up above and we descended after a few seconds. The ride was over in less than a minute. Back on earth! Phew!

I screamed so much that day that I ended up with a very hoarse (and somewhat sexy. haha.) voice for the next few days!

View from Surfers Paradise

My teammates and I stayed in a two-bedroom apartment at Surfers Paradise and we were treated to splendid views of the beach from our apartment. We were absolutely thrilled at the view upon entering the apartment! We couldn't ask for more!

We raced past this part of the Gold Coast at some point in the race.

Two other teammates and I woke up one morning at 5am to catch the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful as the sun rose up from the horizon. Some surfers were already out at the beach catching the waves. There were also some joggers. I went for a jog later as well and ran for about 5km up and down the coast. It's really lovely jogging along the beach and hearing the waves lapping onto shore! Who needs an iPod with such lovely sounds???

The seagulls were also up early walking along the shore. Cute little footprints, heh?

My teammate took a silhouette of me as I stood there watching the sunrise in a pensive (and rather sleepy) mood.

Update from Australia

Hello from Sydney! I arrived in one of my favourite cities on Friday and it feels like I've never left the place. Sometimes it's just so nice to come to a place there's such a nice feeling of familiarity and I don't have to think about which new places I have to check out and going through the process of figuring out maps and transport systems.

Before Sydney, I was in Surfers Paradise, Evans Head and Brisbane. Surfers Paradise certainly lives up to its name - the weather was sunny and gorgeous, the ocean beautiful, the surfer dudes hunkalicious with their bronzed bodies. Woohoo!

I was staying in a two-bedroom apartment with four other teammates. Our apartment faced the beach and we girls were just totally in love with the apartment!

Our race went well. Even though we were second last, we were basically doing our own race. We managed to achieve what we set out to do, i.e. to finish the race below 4 hours and to make all our sea changes. There was a lot of encouragement and spirits were high. There was no negativity and it was just a fantastic feeling when we finished it. You would have thought we had won the race when we crossed the finish line as we all were beaming and cheering. The driver of the support boat we were in said he was very touched to see how our women's team never gave up and was so positive throughout the race. He has been doing involved as a support boat driver for the past seven years, but he said it was the first time he has seen a team that's so positive throughout the entire race. That was such a nice thing to say and it's so touching!

For a first race, I think the ladies did really well! Eight out of 10 of us were racing for the first time. And compared to the Australians, we are so tiny! Many of the other women paddlers look like men from the back! They were so muscular and tall compared to us. Even me, a big Chinese girl, am small in comparison. I like being in Western countries 'cos I can feel like I'm average-sized...maybe even slim! Anyway, I'm so proud of the ladies!

The days after the race were spent relaxing and having fun. Five other ladies and I went to MovieWorld for a day of fun and screaming on roller coasters! I had many doses of adrenalin rushes as I went screaming my head off on all the roller coasters. I screamed so much that I ended up with a sore throat which lasted several days. Haha.

From Gold Coast, we made our way to Evans Head, a small town in the north of New South Wales. One of my teammates is Australian and her sister lives not too far from there. She was visiting her sister so the rest of us followed her. It was a very nice change from the big city. At first we wondered what we were going to do in a small town where the main "shopping centre" is just two rows of shops. The town only has 8000 people and it was a complete change for us big city dwellers.

Like one of my teammates said, it was like being in a twilight zone to find ourselves there. Like being in a reality TV show...city girls being planted in a small town to see how they would survive! Surprisingly, we liked the change. We took everything slow, drinked wine slowly, slept in the afternoon when it was hot, went for a surfing lesson, went kayaking along the rivers, took leisurely lunches and dinners, chatted the day and night away etc. And surprisingly, time passed. It was nice to take things slow for awhile. But we all concluded that we can't stay here for long as it would drive us crazy after with the lack of things to do.

From Evans Head, we made our way back to Brisbane where we spent Thursday night. We drank a lot of wine on the last night together. We drank and chatted the night away. Definitely a good way to end the road trip. We had a lot of fun during the past few days together and it's a memory I'll always treasure for the rest of my life.

So while the rest made their way back to Singapore from Brisbane, I flew to Sydney. This past weekend was lovely. I didn't do much really. It was just a very relaxing weekend that's all.

Saturday i was out with a friend and she brought my sister and me to this island called Scotland Island. It's a small island in one of the bays in the north shore. There was nothing on the island except for private homes. The homes were really nice. We didn't know anyone on the island but we just went to have a walk around the island. It'd be lovely to own of these homes which overlooks the waterfront of the bay. But I'd still prefer a home which faces the beach. There's nothing like the sea and the sound of the waves lapping onto the shore!

It took only 40min to walk around the island. We then took the ferry back to Churh Point where we parked the car. We had lunch there and after that we drove to Narrabeen Beach, one of the northern beaches.

In the evening, my sister, aunt, two cousins and I went to Darling Harbour to have dinner. We went to a Moroccan restaurant called Sumac and the food was pretty good. The restaurant is by the harbour so we kind of sat along the waterfront.

I went to one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney's Chinatown to have dimsum today with a very close friend who lives in Sydney. Of course I was on cloud nine after leaving the restaurant! Good friends and good food - nothing can top that!

Today was also the 75th birthday of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the bridge was closed to traffic so that people could walk across the bridge from the north shore to the south. It was really crowded! I had to take the train across (my aunt's place is in the north shore) to the city so I saw all the crowds.

After having afternoon tea with my friend, i made my way back home. I was chatting online with a friend in Singapore just now and she asked me what programme i had on for the night. I said "nothing". It might seem weird, but I actually just enjoy being at the house with my aunt and cousins and just watching some TV and going on the Internet. I also enjoy playing with their dog, Biscuit, a very lovely and cute gold retriever. I miss Rex. After I got home, I got my cousins to go cycling with me! I'm the cousin who makes them go exercising all the time! Haha. So we went cycling along the road their house is on. It's a very long road and it made for a very good cycle. So yes, that's what I enjoy - some exercise in the evening, playing with the dog, followed by a homecooked meal, some dessert, watching some TV and then going to bed. I'd rather do this than go to a pub or disco.

Anyway, the week ahead will just be meeting up with friends and very soon I'll find myself back in Singapore.

The Land of Oz

Yes, I'm putting on my red shoes, putting on a blue and white dress and going to be with my my friends the Lion, the Tin man and the Scarecrow in the Land of Oz!

OK OK, the truth it's not that magical and I'm not going to meet any wizards or wicked witches, but the magic is going to lie in the beaches and waters of Gold Coast and Sydney!

My teammates and I are going to Gold Coast for an outrigger canoe race which will take place this Saturday. There will be a men's and a women's team. This 42km race is going to be a change race, meaning we will be changing paddlers in and out of the canoe. The men's team will have 9 paddlers while the women will have 10. At any one time there be 6 paddlers in the canoe. The remaining will be on the support boat (this will be a small yacht) waiting for their turn to get into the canoe.

So when you're supposed to go into the canoe next, you're going to be dropped off into the sea by the support boat some distance away from the canoe. Normally about 2-3 paddlers will change out at one time. So you have to tread water for awhile and wait for the canoe to come to you. When the canoe comes, you grab on to the side of it and get into the canoe as fast as possible while the one that was in your seat before would have just jumped out a few seconds ago. The moment you get in you start paddling while the one that just jumped out waits for the support boat to come and get them.

Ooh, I'm so excited just thinking about it. Eight out of the 10 women in the team are taking part in an outrigger canoe race for the first time so it's a mixture of excitement and nerves that all of us are feeling. I fly to Brisbane tonight and will arrive Friday morning. We'll then be taking a bus to Surfer's Paradise where we'll be staying.

After the race, five other teammates and I will be going on a road trip for a few days. It'll be an all-girl affair! Woohoo! It's beginning to sound like one of those Hollywood movies you know. Have some hot men waiting for us, please (think Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise). Heehee.

After the road trip, I'll be making my way to Sydney for the second part of my trip while my teammates will be heading back to Singapore. I haven't been back to Sydney since June 2004 and I'm really looking forward to visiting the city again and seeing all my friends. And of course, I hope to chomp on some good food while in Aust. I've already got a dimsum lunch lined up on 19 March with some pals!

Oooh, I can't wait!!!!!!!!

A Reason to Write

Ooh, olduvai has tagged me...this gives me a reason to write...I've been very uninspired of late as you can see from my lack of updates. So here it goes!

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3 things that scare me:
Being blind
Having no money
Reptiles

3 people who make me laugh:
My dog (ok fine, he's not a person per se)
Simon Cowell (I love his acerbic and caustic comments)
Any self-deluded person on reality talent shows

3 things I love:
The sea
Food
A good book

3 things I hate:
Rainy days (that means I can't canoe or do any outdoor sports!)
Working with the mainland Chinese (it's like paying penance)
People who peck at their food

3 things I don’t understand:
Men
Politicians
Life

3 things on my desk:
Bills (bleah)
My IXUS 850
A potted plant in a bright, red cheery pot

3 things I’m doing right now:
Going through my blog feeds
Eating breakfast
Listening to some jazz music

3 things I want to do before I die:
Live and work in another country
Travel the world
Take part in an outrigger canoe race in Hawaii

3 things I can do:
Steer an outrigger canoe and dragon boat
Eat a lot
Make Cantonese soup

3 things you should listen to:
Your gut feeling
Your gut (eat whatever and whenever it tells you to)
WOXY

3 things you should never listen to:
Singapore radio
Devil's advocate
Politicians

3 things I’d like to learn:
Make my money grow
Ski
Cook well

3 favorite foods:
Well-made sweet and sour pork
A mean chocolate lava cake
My mum's soups

3 beverages I drink regularly:
Distilled water
Tap water
Chinese tea

3 TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
Smurfs
Mr Men and Little Miss Series
Care Bears

3 people I have to tag:
overacuppa, monoceros, chungking express