The final day we were in Australia, we spent most of the day at Surfer’s Paradise again relaxing and eating up a storm. We had planned nicely to leave for Brisbane CBD by 4.30pm so that we would have plenty of time to find our way around the city for dinner and then straight to the airport.
We Urbanspoon-ed a lot on our last two days in Gold Coast, and Black Coffee Lyrics was extremely highly rated and regarded amongst the Urbanspoon-ers. We arrived late, about 12pm expecting a breakfast menu but after some last-minute research we found out disappointingly that breakfast ended at 11am. Oh well, we’ll go for the tapas instead.
Pictured above is probably one of the best siew yokes I have ever tasted in my life. I can’t remember the last time something made such a huge impression on me. Granted, it was written on the menu as “pork belly” but as a Chinese, siew yoke is siew yoke in whatever form it comes in or whatever country you go to. A five hour slow cooked pork belly with house made kimchi, seared scallop, pear chutney and pear reduction. I still dream of this tiny little thing. We shared this miniscule tapas between the both of us because we were once again thinking too much into the exchange rate and decided to better save our stomachs for something else (for example Korean food which is highly recommended by everybody for some odd reason).
Black Coffee Lyrics
41/3131 Surfers Paradise Blvd,
Surfers Paradise QLD 4217,
Australia
Being avid ramen fans, the boo and I never miss an opportunity to try new ramen especially one that is highly recommended by everyone who has visited Surfer’s Paradise. Hakataya Ramen was located in a small and rather grotty corner of Surfer’s Paradise amidst dodgy-looking tattoo shops and travel agencies, but we knew we struck gold when we arrived and saw a sizeable crowd consisting of locals and Japanese alike.
What we loved about Hakataya was the refill of noodles (kae-dama) at no charge when you finish your portion, and the spicy pickled mustard greens that you take with your bowl of steaming hot ramen. The boo enjoyed his spicy noodles very much but I still think I prefer the ones at Santouka back home. Anyway, Hakataya definitely makes the second top spot of my ramen list.
Hakataya Ramen
Shop 26 Centre Arcade,
3131 Surfers Paradise Blvd.,
Surfers Paradise
The first thing that popped up on my must-eat list when faced with the prospect of going to Australia was Max Brenner. Being the chocoholic I am, I was always full of envy for my friends studying/living in Australia (and some of those in Singapore) who got to savour the delicious-ness that was Max Brenner. The boo and I braved the cold windy night and ended up in Max Brenner at Marina Mirage near Seaworld on our second last day. It was only 8pm and we were amongst the only people there, but more and more people (some in gym wear) started rolling in and by the time we left there was a sizeable queue behind us. Indeed, it did not disappoint. We only had enough space to share a Chocolate Banana Pizza between the both of us, and it was heavenly. Much better than that Theobroma and Dip n Dip stuff we get back here in KL. I swear if we had a Max Brenner here with quality as good as the ones in Australia, I would go every week.
We couldn’t finish it so we packed the rest and had it for breakfast the next morning. Only on holiday would I ever have chocolate for breakfast.
Max Brenner
Shop 24 Ground Floor,
Marina Mirage/74 Seaworld Dr,
Main Beach QLD 4217,
Australia
Remember how I said the boo and I came across a quiet beach by the name of Narrowneck Beach? It wasn’t really a deliberate find as it was really jammed up going to Surfer’s Paradise and I really wanted to go to a beach, so we just stopped by anywhere with proper parking. It was almost sundown and the weather was turning cold and windy. Strange how it got especially windy on our last two days.
The sand was so clean and the water was so warm. I think the highlight of our trip (save for the whales) was our time together on this beach, just that short hour that we spent here.
We skipped the whole Movie World and Dreamworld theme park thing on our visit to GC. I was actually pretty much looking forward to going to Movie World even though everyone assured me that it was small and I shouldn’t expect too much – but seriously, taking pictures with Batman, Bugs Bunny, Marilyn and taking all the rides (those that don’t look too scary anyway) are tourist traditions.
Since we’ve been to the original Disneyland in Anaheim (or better known as the happiest place on earth literally) the boo and his parents decided that we should skip all the theme parks. Sea World was bought on a package deal with whale watching so we went for that instead.
Before going on my trip, I sat down and had a long talk with Jon on what were the things I should be doing there. Jon being Jon gave me all sorts of outdoors-y, nature recommendations such as: hiking, glow worm cave and whale watching. Whale watching was something I had noticed myself before but the price per person was pretty steep so I put it out of my mind. However, Jon gushed about how it was the highlight of his year and that we just had to go for it. Luckily for me, the boo’s parents were on the same wavelength and they bought the Sea World and Whale Watching combo ticket.
The day we went whale watching, the sun was high in the sky. Armed with my telephoto lens, I was in high spirits. The boat we were ferried it was a solid one with luxurious leather seats and large LCD screens where animated infographics were played during our journey out to sea.
On our third day, we headed to Lone Pine Sanctuary to look at what Australia was most famous for: koalas and kangaroos! Being at the sanctuary kinda reminded me of the time I went to KL Bird Park (except Lone Pine is colder, doesn’t smell like bird poop and there were just a little bit less feathers floating around everywhere).
We started off with the Birds of Prey show before walking around looking at other stuff.
The Australian Masked Owl.
Even in the middle of winter, beaches in Gold Coast are not to be missed because what makes Gold Coast famous are their sun, surf and sand so how could we miss out on at least the sun and sand even if we couldn’t surf? Gold Coast is built right next to a long stretch of unbroken beaches, so all you have to do is walk straight towards your left/right (depending which way you’re facing) and you’ll eventually reach a beach or coast at some point. The boo and I discovered this one afternoon by accidentally coming across a beach that was serene, quiet and wonderfully clean by the name of Narrowneck Beach, but that’s a post for another day.
Mermaid Beach is famous with surfers and even in winter there is no exception as the water is surprisingly and pleasantly warm when compared to the cold wind and sand on the beach. Only issue is after you’re wet from all that seawater and a breeze blows right through you, you can seriously get the chills! On our second day at GC, we made a trip to Mermaid Beach and made a beeline for their famous seafood.
Seafoods on Mermaid is located just a stone’s throw away from the beach and serves up a wide array of seafood choices. There’s a chiller at the counter where you can pick fresh oysters, mussels or calamari, salmon or prawns. The shop is pretty small with only three to four tables, so the boo and I ended up sitting outside and freezing in the cold. :(
Except it’s pretty pathetic for me to admit that I was freezing since the locals were dressed in a string vest/shorts/slippers combo and sitting outside like it was just another warm summer’s day while we were wrapped up in jeans, shawls and stockings.
More photos after the jump.
And so I have survived my first week back with little drama and not-as-severe-as-I-feared post-holiday syndrome. It helps to have a lot of work to get on with everyday. I barely had much time to take a breather all week between the preparation of payments and AGM related materials before all the council members left for the month. =.="
Anyway, flying to Australia this time was a piece of cake. When you’ve been stuck in a plane for 16 odd hours flying to USA, anything less than that feels amateur. It’s like watch a couple of movies, have a meal, take a short nap and poof you’re there! Flying back was even better since this time the boo and I bought ourselves a neck pillow each. Why oh why didn’t I discover the neck pillow earlier. It would have saved me a lot of pain on that 16 hour flight because using the neck pillow actually help me sleep comfortable for 6 hours from Brisbane to KL. Best sleep on a plane ever.
I get really happy looking at the clouds from the window of my plane seat, and I make a point to try and stay awake to see the sun set across the horizon. Before a flight, I always do a mental calculation on the time zones, whether I’m flying towards a sun set. Watching the sun paint the sky pinks and oranges makes me feel at awe with the simple beauty of nature.
