Monday, September 3, 2018

Australia Adventure Day 13 - Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium

8 February 2018 -

Breakfast at Self Preservation - 

I was never interested in the Killiney outlets in Singapore. We have our coffeeshops and hawker centres with the same kind of food at a cheaper price. However, seeing something Singapore related overseas got me excited. This is especially so after so many days without my traditional kopi-O (black coffee). I was craving it so badly!

So actually we saw the outlet the day before and decided to have breakfast there. However, they only opens at 11am lol. I was so hungry already and we picked one cafe along the way that looks interesting. Self Preservation was our choice because of the croissants displayed by the window!






I had a toasted warm croissant with ham (A$7.50). It was so delicious and simply satisfying! My heart was still missing Lune Croissanterie. My bf had the peperonate & feta omelette on sourdough (A$16) with added chorizo (+A$4) Although we both dislike peppers, they taste pretty good with the omelette. The feta cheese definitely enhanced the taste on the whole. Yummy.
 
For once, I drank hot chocolate (A$4.50) instead of coffee. I was too uninterested in choosing a drink because the pain at the foot was bothering me too much. My archiles tendon was injured again, since the day at the zoo. It seems to happen every trip, probably due to extensive walking. It was in the worst condition that day and we were thinking whether we should cancel the Royal Botanic Garden visit and stay in the hotel instead.
 
We headed back to the hotel and rested first before we came out for lunch. We decided to visit an air conditioned place instead so I will feel more comfortable at least - The Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. 


Lunch at Killiney - 

Set meals are the best! We ordered the Singapore Laksa, Char Kuey Tiao, Fishball soup, Spring Roll, Iced Milk Tea (Teh Peng!) & Hot Black Coffee (Kopi O!) (Total A$34.50). Apparently, it works differently overseas. Usually, the hot coffee and tea are those that comes together with the set, and the other drinks you can top up to upgrade. Here, you have to pay extra $1 for the classic tea and coffee. Slurps. 


Let's talk about my most missed Kopi-O. You see my face you know already. The taste, that feeling, is there! SO GOOD. Home is indeed what we always miss when we are overseas.


The local food wise, I think the fishball soup, laksa and spring roll are decent. I requested for yellow noodles in my laksa and their noodle width is a bit bigger, so it taste funny. Otherwise, I thought that the gravy was good enough to satisfy some craving. My bf liked the fishball soup. The char kuey tiao, on the other hand, was disappointing and taste more like the morning economical kuey tiao.








To the Sealife Melbourne Aquarium -

We walked a distance and took the tram for a couple of stops to our destination. It was lunch time, and the CBD area was filled with people going around for their meals. Even Killiney was crowded with people. I wonder whether the local Australians like the Singapore style food.



Our ticket cost A$84 for the both of us. You have a choice of purchasing a set tickets inclusive of the Legoland discovery centre but that location was too far from us. And the staff also commented that it was an attraction more suitable for children.

It was a pleasant cooling place for my injured foot. I enjoy watching animals and sea creatures too, even though I don't necessarily read the information on them.

Fishes, turtles, seahorses, jellyfishes, crocodile..

















The best experience of all was to watch the PENGUINS!

Gosh, look at those furry cuties. It looks like they are itching all over when they are molting as they seem to keep scratching. I really feel like plucking out the feathers for them. During this period of time when the old feathers gets pushed out by the new feathers, the poor Gentoo penguins are not waterproof and cannot swim! This is such an interesting fact that I never knew.









I really enjoy watching and observing them. I had never knew that penguins can swim really fast too! Amazing speed when I saw it for myself. That one must be damn hao lian that it was done molting and back into the waters again!


Dinner at Shan Dong MaMa -

Shan Dong Mama seems like quite a popular choice of Chinese restaurant in Melbourne. I was attracted by their unique dumpling filling. We ordered the Fish dumpling (A$16.80), Jajiang Mian (A$12.80), Crispy Chive (A$11.80), Fried Chicken (A$12.80), 8 Treasure tea (A$3.50) & Milk Tea (A$4).
 





I think the fish dumpling is an interesting nice dish with fish paste filling, although not fantastic. The jajiang mian looks good but taste bad. It is cold and unappetizing. The taste of the crispy chive and fried chicken is quite okay, but just too oily. I liked the 8 treasure tea for it cleanses all the oil away.

As dinner was not satisfying, we had our dessert at Dessert Story nearby. Herbal Jelly (A$6.80) & Glutinous Rice (A$6.50) were yummy and very Chinesy.


Enjoyed some street performance while waiting for our tram back.




9 February 2018 -

Our very last day in Melbourne was here! We went back to Killiney for more Singaporean food. The prata is definitely the frozen instant kind haha. The dry meepok does not give the shiokness of the spicy chilli. My kopi-O seemed to have dropped standard that day too. It's okay, I can get all the food back at home soon!






We took the tram down to Fitzroy area of Melbourne. We did consider having another lovely ham croissant from Lune Croissanterie, but we were too full. The shops around the area are quite nice. Took the tram back and visited the museum nearby. Back at the hotel, we waited for our pre-arranged shuttle bus to fetch us to Southern Cross station and then to take the Skybus to the airport.







Finally, we were flying with Singapore Airlines! (Silkair, Virgin, then SIA, although all booked under SIA). I was totally looking forward to my entertainment system and my inflight meal :p. Super yummy Australia ice cream & cheese + funny Thor: Ragnarok!



Okay, I am finally done with writing on my Australia Trip!
Thank you everybody. 😆

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