F is for FREEDOM

FINALLY.

With exams officially over for me (yes, on a Saturday), I can finally spend time doing things that make me happy! Of course that includes blogging at 1am while listening to Mariah Carey's 'You're Mine'.

I've decided to put together a check-list of sorts for me to do this winter break for a few reasons.

Reason 1: To motivate myself out of bed (let's be real though, this is what I'll be doing 98% of the time).

Reason 2: So I won't look like a miserable loner when people ask me what I've gotten up to during the break. But why hide the fact that you like to sleep and watch movies all day in bed? Why deny the truth?

Reason 3: I have really bad memory and will most likely forget everything if it's not in writing.

Reason 4: To share some inspiration for your next day in/out!

Enjoy your break!

Anita :-)

Food dates: Ristretto & Co.

Since it is now the break and I don't have much to do. I might as well put some TLC into this much neglected blog.

There are so many posts in my drafts with images in them that I would like to share.

Whilst Ristretto & Co. was a cafe that I was sorely disappointed by their originality and their menu, I did enjoy their nutella hot chocolate. It was still expensive and I wouldn't return. The food offering was limited and inconsistent with what they listed. They said that a section of the menu would be offered at that time, but it wasn't. I also found out the food was pre-prepared and just toasted to be served. Perhaps that wouldn't be too bad if they hadn't taken so long to hand me a burnt sandwich at a ridiculous price point.

This is Anita. She is one of my biffles and the person I share this blog with. Sitting in the freezing cold with her and a hot drink wasn't entirely shitty because I've missed this loser.
I think the best thing about her is her ability to still think I'm a decent person after hurling insults upon insults at her. Don't get me wrong, she's a tough cookie and will throw some stones back at me.
I am constantly tagging her in cute animal videos and pictures on Facebook that I think people might think we're the most annoying bitches on the planets. I think they might forgive us after watching some of the videos though because they are so darn cute.

Maybe I should just write little excerpts about people I like on this blog as well. Perhaps I'll write more about Anita as a person and pimp her out later. Speaking of pimping her out, this was the day I decided that I would video snap my friends without them realising and captioning it 'she's single'. Why I do that? I don't know because I don't think I have many single male friends.

Oh look at my lack lustre sandwich that I regret getting.

People who aren't afraid of cold.

Decor wasn't shabby. Too bad I couldn't eat it.

This is cute. 

Ok. I think I've getting too much attitude in this post.

Peace out.

Helen x

Face - How I became conscious of how I looked like

It is stuvac right now and just like every other student who is given time to study, we procrastinate. I'm going to be writing a post that is different to all the previous posts. I want to voice my opinion about things and hopefully, in future, there will be more of these kinds of posts and, perhaps, there will be a response to them. (Is that kind of really ambitious of me considering CapitalEff only has 4 followers?? Probs.)

I like to complain a lot so these will probably be more ranty than anything else. But you do have an option to exit out of this blog. 

Why I really started writing this post is because I realised how conscious I am of how I look in public now and how I portray myself to the outside world. I wasn't always like this, I used to think if I had decent hygiene and kept myself neat, that was enough. Now, I invest time in the morning to spend time concealing flaws that I used to not think twice about. This really irks me because it means that I am letting societal expectations change how I am. 

I told Anita, my bestie who I share this blog with, about this realisation - how I'm spending an extra 15 minutes in the morning to put makeup on my face when before I would have preferred to sleep that extra 15 minutes. She told me that there was nothing wrong with spending extra time on making you look good. Fair point. I thought about this some more and I asked myself, "but does it make you feel any better on the inside?". The answer to that question, is not so much. I spend the rest of the day checking if my mascara has smudged or if, heaven forbid, my concealer melted away and my pimple, is now revealed to the world. OH THE HORROR. I have become obsessed with how my face looks.

This makeup wearing started when I started working. I guess I'm trying to impress people I don't know? So, does this mean that society is expecting us to be flawless? To a certain degree. I mean the message is pretty clear in society of how we should appear. A good example of this is the trend of 'eyebrows on fleek'. Before, I would never have played attention to this trend because it's so materialistic and shallow. You can even ask my friends, they will tell you that I said, I quote, "I don't understand the eyebrow fad". They told me it wasn't a fad and that it was a lifestyle. So, here I am today, obsessed with how my eyebrows look and also feel as sense of gratification when someone tells me that my eyebrows are on fleek. They are right, it's not a fad, it's a lifestyle that I've converted into. I think once you get sucked in, there is never really going back.

We've all been conditioned to think that we should be a certain way and I think it's such a detrimental message to send to vulnerable young women. Also, not to mention, makeup products in Australia is fucking ridiculously expensive.

This isn't really a post to say makeup is bad and that you shouldn't wear it. Like, I'm not going to discontinue my routine. I just feel like we should be more conscious of what values we are setting together in our society.

Oodles and oodles of love, 

Helen

P.S. My eyebrows haven't gotten much TLC lately because I've been too busy pretending to study - a reflection of my life?

Food: Oliver Brown, Liverpool

Oliver Brown is a fairly new chocolate focused dessert cafe with just having opened their first store in Top Ryde, Sydney in 2010.
So, you might ask, what makes it so much different from other chocolate cafes out there like Max Brenners? I can tell you that it's not much.
I have since returned to Oliver Brown because the cafe my friends and I were going to go to wasn't open for the day.
It's a popular place but I suppose that might be because of the lack of Max Brenners in the area. This is not to say there is absence of any competition. So it's probably worth the visit if you want to go to a Max Brenners but Oliver Brown is much closer. Convenience is really key for someone as lazy as me.

Hot Chocolate

The hot chocolate was rich in flavour is not for those who have an aversion to overbearing sweetness. I have a mega sweet tooth so it was absolutely divine.

Churros with melted milk and dark chocolate

You can probably get the churros elsewhere for cheaper and was pretty much the same quality.

selection of water or fruit-infused water

The second time visiting Oliver Brown, there wasn't water available nor was there a fruit-infused water. Is this because of a slowdown in business or because they no longer care? Who knows but poor form for OB.

P.S. Sorry for hiatus, will maybe come back with more food adventure posts with less pretentious commentary and more posts about real world issues. (I just have absolutely no idea what I want to do) OH OH and more quality photos!!!

Much love, Helen

(Urbanspoon hasn't listed the Liverpool store on it's site but you will have no trouble finding one)

Food Diary: The Italian Kitchen - Miranda

PORCHETTA - $23
Roast suckling pig, roast peppers, caramelised onions, olives, chilli 

LINGUINE  - $29
 Prawns, calamari, mussels, white wine, parsley, garlic

CLASSIC LASAGNE - 21
Veal ragu, mozzarella, béchamel

-Anita

Happy Australia Day mates!

Photo Diary: Night Noodle Market - Hyde Park

Pad Thai - Chat Thai - $13

Braised Pork and Double Cooked Pork - Wonderbao - 3 for $20

Phuc Khing Tasty- Messina - $9

-Anita
 x

Food: Roi Et, Mt. Pritchard

I think the quality of photos on this blog will fluctuate with accordance of equipment available to me to take snaps of food and things I find interesting. My phone is on the brink of death and I don't know how long it will last me.

Ok, this Thai place got new owners and opened 'Roi-Et Thai Kitchen'. Personally, I think this Thai place is doing a better job than the previous owners who weren't able to maintain regular patronage. Roi-Et actually attempted to send out menus to the local area. AND THEY DO DELIVERY. It neighbours Dominoes and Red Rooster, so they have hefty competition.

I quite like this place and I've had my fair share of Thai food. It's a little on the sweeter side of things but it doesn't bother someone like me who has a sweet tooth. If you really want to get every bang for a buck, then visit the restaurant during it's lunch special hours and selected dishes are only $8.50. (I'm guessing 1-3pm, Mon-Fri, I forgot to note it down). They also give really generous servings too.

There really isn't much to say about this dish because everyone has had chicken pad thai (if you haven't, what is wrong with you?) and it just ticks all your boxes for a standard pad thai.

The place is really quiet with hardly any patronage and there was a dead mosquito on our table but it doesn't really phase me. It is really an underrated place to have Thai food but I understand why this is. It's because there are so many other better Thai places around that aren't that expensive to go to and are quality authentic Thai.

- Helen

Food: Le Monde Cafe, Surry Hills

Wow, I have been slacking off with this blog so much. But with good reason! Uni just started again and I am now employed at a back-breaking fast food joint. I hope that the job is just a temporary fix for my money woes. Not only that, but I have also taken up an internship. A lot on my plate! But alas, the perks of working in the City, is the ability to visit cute restaurants.

Unfortunately, I'm back to using my broken iPhone 4s to take really poor quality photos subtly and discretely. Maybe I'll just knick a coupla' photos off the internet to compensate. Hehe, the lazy way.

This place is just a couple metres walk from Central Station. I don't know why I assumed it was a small cafe but it is quite moderately sized. It's not quite the "hipster" food place but the food is not mainstream.

Masala chai tea/latte
4

When I received this chai latte, I was so confused. I've only recently started drinking chai lattes (start of this year) and I will always order this or hot chocolate because I'm a really caffeine sensitive person and I haven't really acquired the taste for coffee. How juvenile. LOOK AT HOW MANY PARTS THERE ARE TO THE DRINK!! I prefered the simplicity of the foamy chai latte in a yellow mug at Felix (also in Surry Hills) I had last week. It came in a cute little teapot and the small metal jug was honey.
***side story: I was unsure as to what was in the metal jug and the overall drink itself that I smelt it and the waitress was like, "its honey" and gave me a funny look.***
Although it was more authentic in the brewery and taste, it was too overly spicy and watered down for my liking. Even if its technically supposed to be mainly spice tea with a side of milk. I would recommend this if you are into the authentic stuff, but if you're like me and used to the coffee-machine brewed version then steer clear.
Clearly, it was worth the $4 for the authenticity but I struggled to finish it off, offput by the spiciness.

open steak sandwich w/ sauteed onion and fennel, roasted cherry tomato, roquette, garlic aioli, brie cheese and toast
16

This was a really good sandwich even though it shouldn't be called a sandwich because its like a bruschetta on 'roids. I mean it in a good way! The beef is thinly sliced and perfectly cooked so it wasn't like I was sawing through a 500 year old tree. Tomatoes were so juicy. Fennel fresh. Brie ripe to delectableness. The flavours worked well and I would eat this again if it weren't for the fact it cost me over an hour of work to pay for. It's also worth noting that this is one of the dearer dishes available, their prices range from $8.50 to $16. 

Ah, I hate eating alone because I think nothing is more depressing. Le Monde Cafe is just fabulous for eating by yourself, with someone or with a group of people. It's an unintimidating cafe in the love streets of Surry Hills. Recommend a visit if you're in the area.

- Helen

Fashion: Surry up the Hills

Kudos to Helen for coming up with the punny title and photos!! 

I've always imagined Surry Hills to be equivalent to the likes of Newtown (that is, crawling with hipsters). And you know what? There actually weren't that many. Instead I've noticed that it's mainly the middle aged and their dogs. Speaking of dogs, if you're not looking at where you're going, there's a 95% chance that you'll step on poop. Which I almost did on countless occasions because I was either staring at fluffy dogs or the interlocking trees on the side of the road. 

Some parts of Surry Hills made me feel like I was walking down the streets of Brooklyn. Not that I've been there, but I've watched enough Gossip Girl to have a pretty good gist of what it's like...

Felt hat - The Iconic

Sunnies - Rayban Clubmasters

Striped blouse - Valleygirl

Sweater - Dotti

Paperbag Pant - Dotti (they only stock black now)

Jacket - Gas Jeans
Dress - Dotti
Purse - Princess Highway
Flats - Chinese markets

- Anita :)

Food: Rustic Pearl, Surry Hills

(finally busted out the SLR, yay!)

Let me begin by telling you how much I love the decor. I just have a thing for interior design, so I'm going to comment on the design of restaurants. Rustic Pearl, as its name suggests, features a rustic design. It's actually quite a small restaurant and so there tends to be a line. Luckily, my friends and I went around brunch time so we just beat the rush. And even though there were people waiting, the waiters didn't rush us or anything. They probably knew that these people would wait to dine there because I would.

LIKE OH EM GEE! I cannot fault this restaurant for anything but being so far away from where I live!

Avocado smoothie; topped w/pistachio
7

When it comes to avocado smoothies, I'm used to the ones with just avocado, a sugar (most of the time condensed milk), milk and occasionally, a scoop of ice cream. No, this is no ordinary basic bitch style smoothie. I didn't think it would be because it's SEVEN dollars, a lot for a drink. But I really love avocado and avocados aren't cheap. It was worth the money. Coming in a oval cup with a steel spoon straw (yes, there is a spoon at the end of the straw), it caught me off guard. You can distinctly taste the honey within the drink. Not what I'm used to, but I'll accept it. The pomegranate were sour bursts against the sweetness of the honey and pistachio gave it texture. I love the pistachio flavour in the smoothie but I prefer my smoothie smooth (just like me, ha!). 

Fresh drinking coconut; w/ fruit garnish
6.5

My friend got the coconut drink and I expected it to come in a glass, but nope.

Sucuk bruschetta w/ char grilled sucuk, melted buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomato, avocado, rocket, pomegranate molasses & soft boiled organic egg
17

Being the indecisive person that I am, I asked the waiter what I should get and he suggested this. Um, freaking delish'! Normally, I'm not a fan of large amounts of fresh tomato, but this has to be the exception. Egg was perf. Sucuk was perf. Cheese was perfectly melted. Balance of the dish was perf. I had to saw through the crust of the toast but I don't mind because it was so scrum-dilly-umptious! Initially, we thought the dressing was balsamic vinegar but it actually pomegranate molasses. Its a tangy syrup made from boiled down pomegranate juices. The best feature is the generous layer of avocado. I'm going to keep coming back for more!

pan fried free-range chicken breast salad w/ crispy bacon, chickpeas, char grilled zucchini, agresto, almond & spiced apricot dressing
18

Homemade mixed wild mushrom gnocchi w/ tomato, garlic, parsley & goat's cheese
18

We shared this dish and although it was perfectly fine, I prefer the gnocchi at Criniti's. I believe its just a matter of preference here. Its very flavoursome with tomato being the strongest flavour. The pasta was soft and wasn't quite pillowy but nevertheless, its a dish to enjoy with its assortment of mushrooms.

Smoked waygu omelette w/ buffalo mozzarella, spinach skordalia, bacon dust, tomato relish & toast
17

Overall, I love this place to bits and I am going to go back. They will probably end up taking all of my money. Well, the very little money I have left since the dishes range from 17/18 dollars and go up to 24. It's not cheap but its not expensive either, but definitely worth the money you pay. 

They also do note that there is a waiting time with ordering dishes because they are trying to assure quality and freshness. This isn't so much bother if you're catching up with friends and they do bring out drinks for you in the meantime. It will only be a problem if you're starving, in which case, you'd still wait. 

They offer gluten free alternatives for a surcharge of $1. If you read the menu, you can see that they offer quality for a reasonable price.

- Helen