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Brunch at Peninsula Hotel: Dom and Pavlova

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

Been a while since I’ve done a brunch review.
This was a celebratory brunch back in December of last year. It was a much needed celebration after a month of crappiness (think police, compensation and exams to boot). I got myself into a bit of pickle last year, but that’s another stay for a time when I have left the country. Best to retell that story once I’m out of Japan.

It was time to indulge and nothing says indulgence more than all-you-can-eat brunch AND all-you-can drink Dom Perignon!

The Peninsula Hotel’s Peter restaurant offers this brunch menu on Sundays only (so book in advance).

The brunch experience is unncessarily complicated, but the free flow champagne is definitely a bonus.
One of many glasses:

From Peninsula brunch

Let the brunch begin:

From Peninsula brunch

Salads and appetizers are buffet style. Easy. Knock yourself out.

From Peninsula brunch

In addition to that you can order a whole bunch of other dishes. All these dishes are all you can eat as well, but you need to order a la carte and each dish is literally a mouthful portion. So the waiting time is a little longer every time you want to order food. However, it also means that the table is full of tiny plates of bite-sized dishes:

From Peninsula brunch
From Peninsula brunch
From Peninsula brunch

The variety and quality is pretty good though, but it was rather slow service. This is definitely a slow leisurely brunch, so you better not make plans afterwards. This is a 2-3 hour eating ordeal.

The highlight here is the dessert buffet. They sell honest to goodness real Pavlova. Wow. Gobsmacked. It was damn delicious. It tasted like home. If you don’t know what pavlova is, in a word, it’s “divine”. A giant meringue nest topped with fresh fruit and cream.

From Peninsula brunch
From Peninsula brunch
From Peninsula brunch

Would totally go back there just for the pavlova.

Brunch here was very good, if not a little convoluted. Considering it’s the same deal as the Ritz Carlton, you’re better off going to the Ritz Carlton. (Just realised that I haven’t blogged about that…so I must get around to doing that. I have a huge backlog of blog posts to do! This thing called “work” is really cramping muh style.

Sydney, Intercontinental Afternoon Tea

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Another day in Sydney, another afternoon tea.
I was back home in Sydney last year for a week, from a Saturday to a Friday. During that week, I did 5 afternoon teas. Wow. 5 afternoon teas in a space of 7 days. That’s a lot now that I write that out. What can I say, this hobby is a health hazard. If only I could find someone to pay me to eat all these scones and drink tea!

Here is the third afternoon tea I did in Sydney with my younger brother. Actually, he came along and just watched me eat afternoon tea whilst he drank apple cider. My brother watches what he eats. I should do the same. I see it and I eat.

Too lazy for words, so it will be mostly pics.

Went the champagne option, of course:

From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea

I just realised it would probably be a good idea to mention the venue: The Intercontinental Hotel, Sydney, on a Wednesday afternoon. It was in their lobby lounge, which had a very businessy-suit vibe to the place.

The afternoon tea offering is minimalist (not so hearty) and modern, and served on a circular tier.

From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea

Food was good. Not spectacular. The single scone was disappointing.

Panacotta:

From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea
From Intercontinental afternoon tea

The savoury treats were the best thing about this place. Desserts were ok. And scone was very disappointing. Service not so great. Not the best afternoon tea venue in terms of ambience either. A shame really. I had high hopes for this place. Definitely has potential.

2014: New year, New Word

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A little belated, but here goes anyway.

But first off, a brief recap of last year. My word for 2013 was “new”, and true to word, it was filled with “new” things.
I started a new job at a new company. Lots of new things to learn, new work colleagues etc. It was a trying year to say the least. They say if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. It feels like as if I am going to be working forever. Work has its pros and cons. Am surprised that I survived the year. Just another 12 months to go.
One day at a time.

Along with a new job, I also got a new apartment. After months and moths of apartment hunting, I also moved apartments to accompany the new job change. Moved to a new neighbourhood in Tokyo. Have only been there for about 3-4 months now, but I really like my new apartment and neighbourhood. Apartment is a lot bigger (2LDK), walking distance to a swimming pool. I swim train a lot these days. I’ve averaging 10-12km a week. I’ve also dusted off the old road bike and trying to take up cycling. Where I live is perfect for jogging and cycling. I no longer need gym membership, because I’m able to swim, cycle and jog to my heart’s content.

There was also new friendships and disappointments.

Unfortunately, last year I didn’t do any big overseas trip which I like to do every year. I did a short mini break to Seoul, and 3 trips back to Sydney (not for leisure). But on the upside, I did accomplish something which I had been procastinating doing for a long time, so I’m glad that’s behind me as well. But I’ve done some domestic travel instead.

Also, ran into a little bit of trouble towards the end of the year which put a dampener on things. Let’s just say it involved police and put a little dent on my wallet. But things are all good now.

Trying to start off 2014 fresh.
So the new word for the year is “FOCUS”.
I need to focus on me a bit this year. Focus on my future, focus on my happiness. Last year was about doing things that needed to be done, and not necessarily for the joy of it. But this year, will be about doing things I enjoy and want to do. A large part of that focus is going to be on fitness. I have a handful of physical challenges I want to do this year, mostly around swimming. I am hoping to do a few marathon swims. That means a whopping 10km! So yep, this is going to take a lot of training, motivation and focus.

I’ve also decided to set myself 12 challenges, one for each month. 12 months. 12 challenges. The list is still a kind of work in progress.

<table style=”width:auto”><tr><td><a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8rwR0bCMuVln2bn8O67t-uEsfyARU4ej4d_Dz8cpHxo?feat=embedwebsite”><img src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LjrJljPCQqQ/Us9nMxLILkI/AAAAAAACeL0/hJaedF2xxd4/s800/focus.jpg&#8221; height=”192″ width=”262″ /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right”>From <a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/116032719585350311356/January102014?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite”>January 10, 2014</a></td></tr></table>

Life’s short: You OTTO eat good food

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A tradition whenever I visit home is to catch up with my foodie friend, Jess.
We always eat somewhere fancy. And she loves her food as much as I do. And talk about dedication, she flew up from Melbourne for 24 hours to meet me. (I have awesome friends).
We narrowed down our options and settled on lunch at Otto down at Woolloomooloo (such a fun word to spell even though I know I’ve just spelled it incorrectly. Autocorrect goes nuts).

From Otto

The weather was perfect. Welcome to spring in Sydney. Can’t beat Aussie weather.

From Otto
From Otto
From Otto
From Otto

Truer words have never been spoken: inscribed inside Otto’s menu:

From Otto

They take their olive bread seriously here. Chunks of olive in bread:

From Otto

A little shared entree to start –

From Otto
From Otto
From Otto

For entree, we both ordered the scallops. Kinda hard to resist:

From Otto
From Otto

I opted lamb for the main. Can’t get good lamb like this Japan. Gotta get my fix when I’m in Oz.

From Otto
From Otto

Alfresco dining:

From Otto

The piece de resistance of the day was the tiramisu dessert. It was practically bigger than the main meal and absolutely divine. Absolutely hands down best tiramisu EVER.

From Otto
From Otto
From Otto

A caloric orgy of cream, cake, coffee, and chocolate:

From Otto
From Otto

Restaurant review in a nutshell: decent food, busy atmosphere, service mediocre, slow service between dishes, pricey for what it is was (not the best value). It’s redeeming quality – the tiramisu.

Power Ranger Litter Patrol

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So I was on my way to work this morning, because you know, some of us have to work for a living.
And lo and behold, I saw this:

<table style=”width:auto”><tr><td><a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DqzJPTFFtG8klFE0rKrzEyerwD5wZOY1-jhDSqtRB7s?feat=embedwebsite”><img src=”https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/–E8yEBXXcBs/Uk1KI65wb1I/AAAAAAACZKw/zhx9ZT-bHEw/s640/photo%25282%2529.JPG&#8221; height=”640″ width=”480″ /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right”>From <a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/116032719585350311356/PowerRanger?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite”>Power Ranger</a></td></tr></table>

Yes, a Power Ranger picking up rubbish off the streets.
I couldn’t resist taking a photo.

But I couldn’t help shake the feeling that people thought <em>I </em> was the weird one for taking a photo of the Power Ranger picking up rubbish at 9am on a Thursday morning!

He then went on his merry way with his bag full of rubbish:

<table style=”width:auto”><tr><td><a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OAy9FKSTrisDBpoIVMppsSerwD5wZOY1-jhDSqtRB7s?feat=embedwebsite”><img src=”https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Kgjv7KDmPTg/Uk1KJOoKlVI/AAAAAAACZK4/JMpl3EUbzVY/s640/photo%25283%2529.JPG&#8221; height=”640″ width=”480″ /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right”>From <a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/116032719585350311356/PowerRanger?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite”>Power Ranger</a></td></tr></table>

Wow. Superheroes do exist. And they care about the environment.

You know it’s gonna be a good day ahead when you see a Power Ranger on your way to work.

<table style=”width:auto”><tr><td><a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XtVLu166Km7vGCISxhdXsCerwD5wZOY1-jhDSqtRB7s?feat=embedwebsite”><img src=”https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Dg5iCVZGXa8/Uk1KI2K1s7I/AAAAAAACZKo/6Cn33JeJ0JI/s400/photo%25281%2529.JPG&#8221; height=”400″ width=”400″ /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right”>From <a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/116032719585350311356/PowerRanger?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite”>Power Ranger</a></td></tr></table>

Go Go Power Rangers!

Wifi Romance

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

Gone are the days of a ring in a champagne glass to pop the big question.

There are many novel and interesting ways to propose, but wowzers, I saw one that took me by surprise the other day.
Welcome to the 21st century! Digital proposal – via a wifi network!

From Wifi proposal

I think that takes the cake for romance killer.

People always talk about looking for a “connection” when it comes to relationships, but a “wifi” connection is not the kind of connection that came to mind.

So yes, I saw this for real on my iPhone! Whilst in Sydney. I took a screenshot on my iPhone.
I captured this at Sydney airport, of all places, as I was boarding my flight back to Japan.

I wonder if the password for the wifi access was “Yes”??!!
Sadly, I didn’t try entering that in.
But most likely “Access Denied” — which sums up my lovelife (or lack thereof) in general.
Well, at least I got broadband!

High Tea by the water: Gunners Barracks

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High time for a high tea review.
I’ve been slacking on the high tea consumption recently. I think I’ve only done two in Tokyo this year. But I’ve done a few overseas ones which I haven’t yet gone around to posting.
I have replaced scones with swimming and SUPing this summer.

Today’s high tea is review is one from Sydney which I did over the Christmas/New Year trip back home. Long overdue, I know. About 9 months overdue. One could have had a baby in that time!

But better late than never, and without further ado, today’s high tea post is that of the Tea Room at Gunners Barracks (Mosman, Sydney).
There are two branches of the Tea Room (one at the QVB and the other at Gunners Barracks.)
The Gunners Barracks is a nice location. It’s on a cliffpoint that overlooks Sydney Harbour, and is a heritage building. Once a military compound, it is now a popular wedding and reception spot.

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

It’s a shame the day was overcast and cloudy.

From Gunners Barracks high tea

But still, can’t complain about water views over Sydney Harbour!

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Sydney CBD:

From Gunners Barracks high tea

There’s an outdoor terrace seating area which offers prime harbour views. You’ll need to book and request terrace seats (otherwise you might be stuck in the indoor seating area which is no fun).

From Gunners Barracks high tea

The indoor seating area:

From Gunners Barracks high tea

A piccolo of champagne to start with:

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Tea with a view:

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Quite the afternoon spread:

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Finger sandwiches (crusts off, of course):

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Savoury morsels and scones:

From Gunners Barracks high tea

Jam and cream:

From Gunners Barracks high tea

The food was very good. Probably not the best scones I’ve had.

The view though was splendid and would be ideal on a clear blue sky day.

From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea
From Gunners Barracks high tea

Open for lunch and afternoon tea. You’ll want to book as this place is popular (times may be restricted for certain functions, wedding receptions etc).

Sydney Harbour + High Tea is a great combination:

From Gunners Barracks high tea

Lake Biwa: Cycling

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Got up early on Saturday morning to travel from Tokyo all the way to Shiga prefecture.
Had planned on taking the overnight bus but the buses were booked out way in advance due to Obon and summer holidays. The shinkansen it was then.
From Tokyo to Maibara, it took about 2.5 hours on the shinkansen and then a short 9min local train to Nagahama station where I would stay overnight.
Upon exiting Nagahama station I headed straight for the west exit and to the rentacycle shop. There, I rented a bike for 2 days (for the Saturday and Sunday – only 2000yen for 2day rental plus a 500yen refundable deposit). I was going to be swimming a race in Lake Biwa on the Sunday and had to stay overnight the night before. I figured I would make the most of the weekend in Shiga ken.

The guys are the bike rental shop were super lovely and friendly. In fact, everyone I met in Shiga prefecture was super friendly. They only had electric bikes, so I made do with that. The guys were really concerned about the battery not lasting much more than 60km (I had told them I would be riding 60-70km on the Saturday alone). I would need to come back on Sunday morning to replace the battery.

Armed with my electric mamachari complete with basket, my plan was to ride to Notogawa about 30-35km away. I had found a place there where I could rent SUP boards. I sent off from Nagahama at about 11:40am. It was about 34-35 degrees. It was gonna take me a couple of hours to cycle there.

Lake Biwa is Japan’s largest lake (freshwater). It has a circumference of approx. 235km. At its maximum length it’s about 63.5 km and maximum width of about 23km.

This is Lake Biwa:

From Saturday Biwa cycling

This is how much of it I cycled in 2 hours:

From Saturday Biwa cycling

The most painful 30km ever. Cycling is not at all a comfortable sport. It was hot, I was carrying my overnight backpack, and my arse was killing me. Cyling is just nasty.

You can cycle all around Lake Biwa. There is, for the most part, an awesome cycle path that follows around Lake Biwa along the main traffic road. It is also pancake flat (or at least the portion that I cycled).
It’s a pretty easy cycling route, minus the bike discomfort factor.

Cycling around Lake Biwa in photos:

Follow the path:

From Saturday Biwa cycling

Alongside Lake Biwa:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

The lake stretches on for a really really long time:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

There are cycling road signs around Lake Biwa so you shouldn’t get too lost. I did have to detour a couple of times though.

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

There’s a tiny tiny island out in the middle of Biwako:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

Every now and then, you’ll have to veer through off the main road and away from the lake.

From Saturday Biwa cycling

There’ll be more than a handful of bridges to cross as well, as lots of little rivers run off the lake.

From Saturday Biwa cycling

Whilst I was pedaling away, this guy was just chillin’:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

Whilst the lake dominates the view on one side, you’re surrounded by rice paddies on the other.

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

After a couple of hours of cycling, and weaving in out of some rice paddies, I finally stumbled upon my destination:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

This was the SUP rental place. They went all kinds of water sporting gear here.

From Saturday Biwa cycling

Such a cool little place. You can even stay overnight there.

From Saturday Biwa cycling

It was about 2pm ish by now. Just enough time to get in a couple of hours of SUP. I’ll tell ya what though, my arse from cycling was killing me. I was not looking forward to cycling back. The guys at this shop were super super friendly. They gave me a free ice cream which was a welcome treat after that cycle. They drove me to a nice flat section of the lake where all the other SUPers were. Away I went. Doing anything but cycling, was pure bliss. Good conditions to SUP on – Lake Biwa is really flat, although the wind picked up later which made paddling a bit tough.

From Saturday Biwa cycling

The water temp of Lake Biwa was disgusting warm. About 30 degrees.
I enjoyed my time out on the water – very zen. SUP is so relaxing. For me, just being out on/in/near the water is very relaxing and recharging. The other SUPers out there were all super friendly. They were all crazy fast SUPers and compete in races. One of the guys was fast enough to win himself a Hawaii flight prize at one his races. Impressive. I also met an American guy who is the owner of a surf and SUP board store back in Chiba. Got his details, so will probably check out his shop/surf school and check out the beaches in Chiba to keep practising.

At about 5pm I had to think about heading back. Ugh. I had to cycle another 2 hours back. I’m sure my backside was wincing at the thought.

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

I ploughed back to Nagahama on the bike. Did get to see a lovely sunset over Lake Biwa though:

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

Even at 6pm it was still 32 degrees!

From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling
From Saturday Biwa cycling

It was dark by the time I got back to my hotel.
60km cycling around Lake Biwa. And Stand Up Paddleboarding on Lake Biwa.
My arse will thank me if I never have to get back on a bike again.
In fact, I’m actually tempted to sell my 1-year-old roadbike and get a SUP board instead.

HOW??

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

How do I get over my unhealthy obsession with mullets???!!!

<table style=”width:auto”><tr><td><a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YcLV7LcblQubF2hh0DAc7oZ1RoTLeDulhGIwW8y5zH8?feat=embedwebsite”><img src=”https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0fjcxxOXGiA/UdLGtM0B7mI/AAAAAAACU9Y/vwIiFfNmVdk/s800/punmullet.jpg&#8221; height=”512″ width=”335″ /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right”>From <a href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/aleishariboldi/Mullet?authuser=0&amp;feat=embedwebsite”>Mullet</a></td></tr></table&gt;

(Picture sourced from Google Images)

Burn progress pics

memoirsofaleishaLeave a comment

It’s been just shy of two weeks since my burn accident.
I’m surprised with how fast my skin has been healing. That’s not to say that the scars are going to fade anytime soon. I think I’m going to have scars for a few months.

I burnt myself on June 12, and a week later this is what my arm looked like: I had no skin:

From Burn progress

It was just red raw – and it hurt. Super sensitive to movement and especially painful to get it wet. Made showering very difficult.

From Burn progress

The area around the burn felt like it had been badly bruised.

This is how my thigh looked, one week after the burn incident:

From Burn progress

And this is what it looked like with cream applied liberally to it:

From Burn progress

I’ve only had to go to the hospital once in the last week. I have to go back again sometime this week for another check up.
I’ve been using prescribed creams. I’m on my third different cream now.

The skin on my arm is healing really well. It’s looking less raw and I can fully immerse it in water.
This was about 3 days ago:

From Burn progress
From Burn progress

And this is how it looked about 30 minutes ago (today):
It now has skin!

From Burn progress
From Burn progress

And this is how my thigh looks today:

From Burn progress
From Burn progress

Hope the scars will fade eventually. Pretty unsightly.

If you’re going to burn yourself though, make sure you do it at work. Workers Comp all the way. I haven’t had to pay a single yen for half a dozen hospital visits, medical treatment and prescription creams etc. It has been surprisingly easy to do consider I had to fill in the forms all in Japanese (my written Japanese is worse than a 3 year old) and do all the hospital visits on my own.

Hopefully will be back swimming soon. I haven’t been able to hit the pool for the last two weeks whilst my body has been trying to repair new skin.