Perth City, or also known as Dullsville to locals, was my home for four years of my life. The nickname came about as it is the most isolated major city in Australia - all the other major cities are on the East Coast! Ironically, I now miss Perth and find it less "dull" than Brisbane. I'm quite biased as I had an established social circle and my mother is there too.
Whilst waiting for my visa to be granted earlier on this month, and being unemployed at the time, my mother thought it would be best if I could pop over to pack some of my belongings that I had left behind and also an excuse to catch up again. Also, what better than dear old Mummy sponsoring my entire trip! Spoilt brat
Tickets were soon bought after confirmation of Mummy's registered days off and the anticipation of actually going back to Perth brought me much joy and excitement - I got to see Mummy, friends & especially the food!
Day 1: On board Virgin Airlines by 8:50am and a 5 hour plus trip to Perth. Nearly sustained Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after killing time playing games on the worst console ever. After arrival, Mummy had a surprise - a friend of mine, Aaron came with her to surprise me! We then went to Old Cathay for lunch - had to order Nasi Lemak as the first dish as per usual. After lunch, we decided to stop by the Victoria Park Hotel, where I used to play Australian Poker League (APL) tournaments every Monday night, for a beer or two. After beer, we went back to where Mummy was living and dropped off my luggage. Then, Aaron and I went to the Fuse Bar for my long over-due game of poker after a year! Managed to sit tight and scrape my way through to final table. Along the way, APL had free goodies to give out via lucky draw. I won myself a Corona bucket and a pair of aqua blue sunnies! It was also a great time to meet up with Isaac (whom I've also known through poker).
After poker, Aaron had to leave early and by that point, I've had quite a bit to drink. I convinced Isaac to go for supper at City Garden. After supper, he dropped me off. I had quite a late shower and crashed (this may seem irrelevant now, but it makes sense in Day 2).
Day 2: Headed down to North Bridge again, for a traditional Chinese breakfast for champions: Dim sums! After a year being in Brisbane, I could not believe that one of my favourite Chinese restaurants for dim sum, had shut down. Disappointingly, Mummy and I headed down to Dragon Palace instead. Service was shit - slow, ignorant staff who seemed to treat Westerners better (couldn't believe we felt racism in an Asian restaurant wtf?).
After breakfast, Mummy and I decided to walk to the city for a look-around. Aaron's girlfriend, Phoebe, was also a friend of mine who is an amazing nail technician. She was surprisingly free, for a Friday afternoon and Mummy treated us both to have had our nails done. Here's a little Mesha FAQ: I love sparkly things, so non-bling/sparkly nails was not an option. I chose Aqua/Teal acrylic nails this time. Mummy chose a more subtle, but more classy, Silver glitter instead.
After our nails were completely bling-ed up, we decided to go shopping around for my partner's one month belated birthday gift: A Phillip water-proof electric razor.
I was quite sad that I actually missed out on the annual Good Life Festival in Brisbane this year, which is like a Foodie's dream expo. Surprise, surprise! Perth had it's Twilight Hawker Market! Better than nothing, I suppose.
Mind you, "Miss Piggy" wasn't our dinner. Oh, no sir! That was just an appetizer between us! Since we had to head back to North Bridge anyways, I asked for some recommendations from Mummy. She brought me to this Chinese restaurants that sold offal dishes. It was one of the best mix pork innards (pig's ears, stomach and intestine) stir-fried in sambal! *in love*
After dinner, Mummy and I headed back. I needed a good shower after spending all day in the CBD area. HOWEVER, much to my disgust, her landlord locked the bathroom door! How rude! Apparently, I woke him up when I had a shower the night before and this is like his "revenge/teaching us a lesson" for showering too late. The worst part is that he wasn't even sleeping in the master bedroom with his wife cause he snores worse than a Snorlax.
Literally, the walls shake and we could even hear him in the bedroom down the hall (which was probably why his wife asked him to move as they had a newborn). Seriously, wtf?
You do NOT lock the bathroom door. No bloody tenant is going to want to rent if they can't even take a shower whenever they like? What if they were a shift worker, like I was as a waitress and don't finish until late? By late, in this instance, was like 10:45pm. Urgh
Mummy and I resorted to wiping ourselves with a face towel that night.
Day 3: Woke up and headed straight to the bathroom for a shower. By the time we finished refreshing ourselves, Mummy took me to the new Hippo Creek branch in Karawarra for brunch. Instead of the sit-down, proper dining menu, we ordered from the bar menu instead. The "bar" food there was bloody amazing and pretty darn cheap for the amount of food we ordered. The appetizers, we had the choice of 3 for $38, so we ordered 1/2 dozen natural oysters, 1/2 dozen Kilpatrick & Buffulo Wings with blue cheese dipping sauce. On top of that, we ordered a pizza and I had a pint of cider to myself. Boy, were we stuffed!
After this late lunch, we wandered round to Carousel shopping centre to kill some time before meeting up with D'Arcy at Malaysian Delight, for obviously more food.
After dinner, they wanted to show me the new Perth casino. It was no longer known as the Burswood casino as the famous Melbourne Crown casino took over and turned it into another Crown casino! To be honest, I was skeptical about the change and so-called renovations, thinking, how much would there be to change.
Boy, oh, boy, was I wrong.
The new Crown Perth casino is... is... omg! Totally revamped, inside and out! There was firstly, more parking and they've also created an easier access to the casino from either ends. The interior of the casino decorated with gold-related decor and it simply looked fancier and obviously much newer. Floor space was also extended, so noobs can get quite lost in there. Pokies machine galore and so many more new tables with even $5 Black Jack tables. WTF?! From a mediocre casino, Crown has turned Burswood into one of the best I've seen in Australia! (Brisbane's Treasury Casino is shit in comparison now, but news of renovation to Treasury has been going around).
D'Arcy and Mummy was lucky that night, making quite a profit. Mummy, turned $25AUD + $5AUD (contributed by D'Arcy) into a whopping $300AUD. By a pokies machine. Lucky biatches. On the bright side, Mummy decided to share the good fortune with me by giving me $100AUD as pocket-money. Definitely a spoilt brat now.
After the casino, we went home and after the same wiping-body ritual we had the night before, we soon crashed into deep slumber.
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Day 4: It was finally a day to actually sort through the crap I had left behind. Surprisingly, I thought I had two boxes full, but instead, it seemed like most of my things had disappeared, including my uni assignments, much to my despair (I had a few assignments that I had lost the soft copy and needed the printed version. Wanted it as a contribution to my portfolio, but all is gone FML). After sorting and packing, we caught up with Dominic, again at Malaysian Delight.
Can you guess what I ordered?
After lunch with Dominic, I had to rush off and drop my sorted belongings home before Mummy had to drop me off in the city to meet up with Omar and Dawson for dinner. I was happy when we all agreed to go to Sinabro, as it is one of my favourite Korean BBQ restaurant.
Happy times.
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Day 5: Last day in Perth. Spent the morning arranging and packing my luggage. Went to the city again as I had a slight problem with my nails. Had lunch prior to fixing my nails at Nao Japanese Restaurant. Saw Phoebe. Fixed my nails. Done. Caught up with Elizabeth for coffee and then some alcoholic drinks.
After catching up with Elizabeth, Mummy and I realized how long it has been since we actually went to Miss Maud's for their smorgasbord! It is not exactly the fanciest/best buffet I've been to, but somehow Miss Maud's have left quite a few good memories and I enjoy the selection & quality of the food served at the buffet. We had also invited Aaron & Phoebe for dinner.
Day 6: Had an early morning flight back to Brisbane. I couldn't believe how fast 5 days can slip right past you, especially when you're having fun.
I definitely do miss Perth, especially now, with renovations and the introduction of more restaurants and shops. What made Perth so important to me, despite it being Dullsville, is the experiences I've had living there - I started and finished university, made many friends (a huge transition from being the unpopular kid in high school into developing lasting friendships), experiences with the opposite sex, introduction to alcohol and so many more important aspects of my life.
Most of all, I miss my mother! :(
Tickets were soon bought after confirmation of Mummy's registered days off and the anticipation of actually going back to Perth brought me much joy and excitement - I got to see Mummy, friends & especially the food!
Virgin Airlines' Scrambled Eggs & Bacon breakfast option. Served with a small fruit salad & Raspberry muffin.
Day 1: On board Virgin Airlines by 8:50am and a 5 hour plus trip to Perth. Nearly sustained Carpal Tunnel Syndrome after killing time playing games on the worst console ever. After arrival, Mummy had a surprise - a friend of mine, Aaron came with her to surprise me! We then went to Old Cathay for lunch - had to order Nasi Lemak as the first dish as per usual. After lunch, we decided to stop by the Victoria Park Hotel, where I used to play Australian Poker League (APL) tournaments every Monday night, for a beer or two. After beer, we went back to where Mummy was living and dropped off my luggage. Then, Aaron and I went to the Fuse Bar for my long over-due game of poker after a year! Managed to sit tight and scrape my way through to final table. Along the way, APL had free goodies to give out via lucky draw. I won myself a Corona bucket and a pair of aqua blue sunnies! It was also a great time to meet up with Isaac (whom I've also known through poker).
I would probably class Nasi Lemak as my favourite dish. I could also probably eat this 3 times a day and still not get sick of it.
Jellyfish & Shredded Chicken Salad
My beloved Corona bucket which I had to give away due to the lack of space in my check-in luggage T_T
Me with my new sunnies!
Outside table at City Garden with Isaac
Some fucking Spicy Chilli Beef indeed. It nearly made me cry when I was dared to bite a bit off the dried chilli. Jesus, that was a stupid move.
My absolute favourite at this restaurant: Chilli & Garlic Pepper Pork Intestines. To those who cringe at eating innards, I've converted quite a few of my Western friends with this dish!
After poker, Aaron had to leave early and by that point, I've had quite a bit to drink. I convinced Isaac to go for supper at City Garden. After supper, he dropped me off. I had quite a late shower and crashed (this may seem irrelevant now, but it makes sense in Day 2).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2: Headed down to North Bridge again, for a traditional Chinese breakfast for champions: Dim sums! After a year being in Brisbane, I could not believe that one of my favourite Chinese restaurants for dim sum, had shut down. Disappointingly, Mummy and I headed down to Dragon Palace instead. Service was shit - slow, ignorant staff who seemed to treat Westerners better (couldn't believe we felt racism in an Asian restaurant wtf?).
Mummy's bored pose
Clockwise from bottom left: Siu-mai (pork dumplings), Har Gao (Prawn dumplings), Fung Zhao (Phoenix's Feet aka Chicken feet) and tripe.
Phoebe working on Mummy's nails
Absolutely love my nails! Phoebe somehow made these nails so light, they almost feel like my own nails!
After our nails were completely bling-ed up, we decided to go shopping around for my partner's one month belated birthday gift: A Phillip water-proof electric razor.
I was quite sad that I actually missed out on the annual Good Life Festival in Brisbane this year, which is like a Foodie's dream expo. Surprise, surprise! Perth had it's Twilight Hawker Market! Better than nothing, I suppose.
People, people everywhere!
One Mexican stall that caught our attention. It sold roasted corn with a combination of toppings.
We ordered "Miss Piggy"to share, which consisted of pulled pork, salsa, grilled corn and we requested guacamole as an extra. Yummy & Healthy!
Mummy & I, overlooking the Twilight Hawker Market.
Mind you, "Miss Piggy" wasn't our dinner. Oh, no sir! That was just an appetizer between us! Since we had to head back to North Bridge anyways, I asked for some recommendations from Mummy. She brought me to this Chinese restaurants that sold offal dishes. It was one of the best mix pork innards (pig's ears, stomach and intestine) stir-fried in sambal! *in love*
zomfg! So good!
After dinner, Mummy and I headed back. I needed a good shower after spending all day in the CBD area. HOWEVER, much to my disgust, her landlord locked the bathroom door! How rude! Apparently, I woke him up when I had a shower the night before and this is like his "revenge/teaching us a lesson" for showering too late. The worst part is that he wasn't even sleeping in the master bedroom with his wife cause he snores worse than a Snorlax.
Literally, the walls shake and we could even hear him in the bedroom down the hall (which was probably why his wife asked him to move as they had a newborn). Seriously, wtf?
You do NOT lock the bathroom door. No bloody tenant is going to want to rent if they can't even take a shower whenever they like? What if they were a shift worker, like I was as a waitress and don't finish until late? By late, in this instance, was like 10:45pm. Urgh
Mummy and I resorted to wiping ourselves with a face towel that night.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 3: Woke up and headed straight to the bathroom for a shower. By the time we finished refreshing ourselves, Mummy took me to the new Hippo Creek branch in Karawarra for brunch. Instead of the sit-down, proper dining menu, we ordered from the bar menu instead. The "bar" food there was bloody amazing and pretty darn cheap for the amount of food we ordered. The appetizers, we had the choice of 3 for $38, so we ordered 1/2 dozen natural oysters, 1/2 dozen Kilpatrick & Buffulo Wings with blue cheese dipping sauce. On top of that, we ordered a pizza and I had a pint of cider to myself. Boy, were we stuffed!
Au naturale oysters
Pizza & Buffulo Wings
After this late lunch, we wandered round to Carousel shopping centre to kill some time before meeting up with D'Arcy at Malaysian Delight, for obviously more food.
Le Mr. Know-It-All
After dinner, they wanted to show me the new Perth casino. It was no longer known as the Burswood casino as the famous Melbourne Crown casino took over and turned it into another Crown casino! To be honest, I was skeptical about the change and so-called renovations, thinking, how much would there be to change.
Boy, oh, boy, was I wrong.
The new Crown Perth casino is... is... omg! Totally revamped, inside and out! There was firstly, more parking and they've also created an easier access to the casino from either ends. The interior of the casino decorated with gold-related decor and it simply looked fancier and obviously much newer. Floor space was also extended, so noobs can get quite lost in there. Pokies machine galore and so many more new tables with even $5 Black Jack tables. WTF?! From a mediocre casino, Crown has turned Burswood into one of the best I've seen in Australia! (Brisbane's Treasury Casino is shit in comparison now, but news of renovation to Treasury has been going around).
D'Arcy and Mummy was lucky that night, making quite a profit. Mummy, turned $25AUD + $5AUD (contributed by D'Arcy) into a whopping $300AUD. By a pokies machine. Lucky biatches. On the bright side, Mummy decided to share the good fortune with me by giving me $100AUD as pocket-money. Definitely a spoilt brat now.
After the casino, we went home and after the same wiping-body ritual we had the night before, we soon crashed into deep slumber.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 4: It was finally a day to actually sort through the crap I had left behind. Surprisingly, I thought I had two boxes full, but instead, it seemed like most of my things had disappeared, including my uni assignments, much to my despair (I had a few assignments that I had lost the soft copy and needed the printed version. Wanted it as a contribution to my portfolio, but all is gone FML). After sorting and packing, we caught up with Dominic, again at Malaysian Delight.
Can you guess what I ordered?
YESH. More Nasi Lemak! :D
Then, there's Mr. Supposedly-Shy, Dominic
Who told us to take this awful photo of us!
After lunch with Dominic, I had to rush off and drop my sorted belongings home before Mummy had to drop me off in the city to meet up with Omar and Dawson for dinner. I was happy when we all agreed to go to Sinabro, as it is one of my favourite Korean BBQ restaurant.
This is how much food we had ordered between the 3 of us wtf. Notice the bottom right corner.
We ordered so much, there wasn't enough room on the table!
Happy times.
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Day 5: Last day in Perth. Spent the morning arranging and packing my luggage. Went to the city again as I had a slight problem with my nails. Had lunch prior to fixing my nails at Nao Japanese Restaurant. Saw Phoebe. Fixed my nails. Done. Caught up with Elizabeth for coffee and then some alcoholic drinks.
Spicy Ramen with charsiu
The lovely English lady, sipping her latte.
Just the two of us
After catching up with Elizabeth, Mummy and I realized how long it has been since we actually went to Miss Maud's for their smorgasbord! It is not exactly the fanciest/best buffet I've been to, but somehow Miss Maud's have left quite a few good memories and I enjoy the selection & quality of the food served at the buffet. We had also invited Aaron & Phoebe for dinner.
Group photo! <3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 6: Had an early morning flight back to Brisbane. I couldn't believe how fast 5 days can slip right past you, especially when you're having fun.
Mother & Daughter selfie
I definitely do miss Perth, especially now, with renovations and the introduction of more restaurants and shops. What made Perth so important to me, despite it being Dullsville, is the experiences I've had living there - I started and finished university, made many friends (a huge transition from being the unpopular kid in high school into developing lasting friendships), experiences with the opposite sex, introduction to alcohol and so many more important aspects of my life.
Most of all, I miss my mother! :(
Yumm that chili and garlic pepper pork looks so good. Your nails are amazing too btw makes me want to get mine done lol I need to...
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