Spring Break is here!!

One disadvantage of living at the other end of the globe is that the season is never in sync with more than half of the universe. Whilst other countries are experiencing fall, it's spring here down under! :) Spring's my second favourite season after fall. Main reason being the lack of cold weather. As much as I love the Sun, I love the cold a lot more. It makes more sense to be able to layer yourself up as much as possible when you're cold than ripping your skin off when you're ridiculously hot. Though I'm not complaining because I'm currently living in a season when I get to enjoy the best of both worlds :)

House Smoked Salmon, Blood Orange & Avocado

What better way to kickstart my spring break than through a good visit to a lovely brunch spot? My friends & I headed over to The Grain Store for brunch a few days ago. I have been dying to visit this place. I've heard nothing but positive reviews about the food and the ambience and am so glad I finally had the opportunity to do so :) I do love brunch so much because not only do I get to eat delicious food, but it's such a perfect reason and excuse to meet up with friends to catch up.

I have to apologise because the dessert was the highlight of this visit and quite honestly the main reason why I'd go back (this isn't to say that the main course wasn't ridiculously delicious either!). These cookies here were absolutely delicious. They top the scale of what is a perfect chocolate chip cookie.

The cookies at The Grain Store are baked on the spot so they were served to us freshly baked! These are honestly the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had before me at a restaurant. They were soft, chewy, warm and oozing with chocolatey goodness. Dip those bad boys into the milk and what you have a cookie that literally melts in your mouth the moment you put it in. I absolutely love this and recommend everyone try it if you visit!!

The Grain Store

517 Flinders Lane

Melbourne VIC 3000

Overall my rating for the restaurant is 15/10. Firstly, the service was excellent. The staff were so friendly and helpful when taking our orders and asking if everything was alright. They were also attentive to the replacement of the water jug each time it was empty (and highly quick too). I find that some restaurants fail to replace the water jug unless we ask them to. Secondly, the ambience was so romantic. It was decorated so beautifully and the atmosphere felt so classy for a restaurant like that. When we visited there were quite a few office-workers dining in. I guess this is expected considering that it's located in the heart of the business district. Third, you're advised to make a booking prior to your visit (although you are allowed to walk in, but getting a seat would then be up to your luck that day) so this increases the positive experience during your visit. There's no need to queue because you know for sure that a table has been reserved for you. The only minus point for the restaurant would be the price. It's rated two dollar signs on urban spoon, and I would like to say that I paid around AUD$19 for my main course and the cookies cost us AUD$10. Taking the entire experience into consideration, I have to conclude that it was totally worth it. 

Yum yum, I'm hoping to visit again very soon. Would like some of those cookies now...

Ahh I'm so glad spring is here! It's only one week but this break is very much appreciated. I'm hoping to get as much rest as possible this week although I do have a ton of things to revise. I realised that my life is so mundane consisting of nothing other than school that brunch trips are honestly the only things I actually look forward to. Oopsie.

Here is a photo of us enjoying a $2 matcha soft-serve. Have I mentioned my obsession with matcha? Matcha soft-serve for $2? Take my money, I'll come everyday if I can. 

To all my fellow Australian readers, have a happy spring break! :) Always so thankful to be given the opportunity to study and live in this beautiful country :)

Till next time, xx.

Friday Brunchin'

My friends and I had a day off from Uni yesterday, so we decided to head out and spend the day together. It's not very often the three of us are ever simultaneously freed from assignments at the same time, so we seized the opportunity when we found out we were free. 

The restaurant featured in today's post is: 

Duke's Coffee Roasters

169 Chapel St

Windsor VIC 3181

Mocha as usual :)

I can't remember what I ordered unfortunately, but I do know that it was the most delicious plate of greens ever served before me. There was kale, broccoli, middle-eastern seasoning and I added salmon to complete the meal. Needless to say I wiped my plate clean.

I really wish I knew how to recreate this meal at home. I'd be sure to make it everyday. *hungry*

It was a splendid day yesterday although it was slightly chilly. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through Chapel Street and window shopped for the most part. 

I'm glad I had the day off yesterday, I started my weekend back doing work. But I shan't bore you with that. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend & rest ahead! :)

Xx.

I'm on a roll with my breakfasts

Yet another breakfast post from me today! Although this time round I decided to indulge in something slightly more sinful...

Did you guess it right? :) There was some leftover buttermilk in the fridge I wanted to clear before expiry so I decided to whip up some blueberry buttermilk pancakes for myself!

Look at all that syrup

Have I tempted you? Here's what you'll need (I basically got the recipe off the buttermilk carton so I don't take ownership for this recipe):

• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp margarine (I used butter instead)
• 1 cup blueberries
• Maple Syrup / Topping of your choice

It took me around 30 minutes to do altogether and I managed to get 6 pancakes out of the entire batter. The number of servings really depends on how much of the batter you choose to use for each pancake. I used about 1/3 cups worth of batter for each and I found them to be the perfect size :)

I'm so happy now that I've started off the day right! My body is fuelled with energy to last the first half of the day at least :) Hope you're having a lovely morning! 

Xx.

My morning affair

Sunrise is getting earlier here down under, and that only means good news for me! I wake up just before the crack of dawn, and am usually always on time to see the sunrise from my place :) I do enjoy my mornings a lot, it gives me a lot of time to relax, reflect as well as go through my bloglovin feed. 

As you may know by now, breakfasts are important to me. As a student, there are days where I have lessons in the late evening, a timing that is too awkward for lunch yet ends only close to dinner. As such, on days like these I like to whip up a good breakfast that is filling enough to last me till dinner at least!

This morning, I decided to whip out my packet of oats that's been lying around for quite a while. This was my first time experimenting with oats, I never really did fancy it before because I felt the taste got too boring after a while. This time though, I have to say it was anything but boring. It was extremely delicious and yummy, and I only boiled 1/3 cup of oats as instructed but was already so full halfway! Although I think the amount of water I drank whilst eating had a large part to play for that... So for those of you who are interested, here's what you'll need:

• 1/3 cup of oats
• 3/4 cup of water/milk (I used Almond Milk)
• Raisins/Cranberries/Sultanas (I added them into the pot as the oats was boiling)
• Chia Seeds
• Cinnamon Ground
• Bananas
• Brown Sugar

There you go! So simple and easy to do :) My tummy is happy and I can start on work now!

Xx.

Breakfast for champions!

As a teenager, I was very much privileged to have my parents provide breakfast for me each morning for school.  I may not have consciously realised it, but breakfast really did help me to concentrate in school. I simply cannot stress how important breakfast is to start off the day. 

However, it wasn't until I started living alone that I realised that apart from having something to eat in the morning, what you ate was important as well. It's important that you have something that's filling enough to satisfy your stomach, but vital that it contains nutrients to supplement you for the rest of the day. I've learnt that if you pack your breakfast with the proper ingredients, it's enough to sustain you till dinner :) 

So I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite breakfast to-gos. It's extremely easy and doesn't take more than five minutes to do. Here's what you'll need:

1. Muesli 
2. Yogurt of your choice (I don't fancy Greek yogurt, so I used blackberry flavoured ones)
3. Bananas
4. Strawberries
5. Blueberries
6. Chia Seeds

I start out by pouring in muesli before layering it with yogurt. I've used these fruits, but feel free to add in what you fancy! :) I'm also obsessed with chia seeds, they just about go with anything! You may add nuts and other seeds as well.

Once that's all done, viola! You have breakfast thats enough to last you till lunch at least.

I love this because it's so easy to do. It also helps to decorate it nicely, it makes the meal taste 10x better! Is it just me, or does anyone else look forward to what they're about to eat for breakfast the night before? I actually go to great efforts to plan my morning meal as early as 3pm the day before. 

Yum! Looking forward to experimenting with more recipes. I just love walking through the aisles in the supermarket and picking out anything that would look aesthetically pleasing in my meals. 

Till next time, xx.