So, this was what Lake Shore Drive looked like after the snow blizzard between yesterday afternoon and this morning. Pretty crazy. It’s the first time in the year that I’ve been at Kendall that class was canceled because of weather. It was nice to have the day off… but back to school tomorrow.

Update: OMG… no class tmr either… woo!!

Pisa

Firenze

Siena

Verona

Venezia

Bologna

Ancient Pompei

Costiera Amalfitana

Napoli

Roma

Stato della Città del Vaticano

So far I have enjoyed all the kitchen classes I have taken including baking and pastry, and the classes I particularly enjoyed were sausage making, photography, advance garde manger, and advance fish. Advance fish was surprisingly enjoyable as the dishes were delicious and Chef Elaine Sikorski is awesome! Love her anecdotes and attitude towards food and the industry. So far I’ve really had the pleasure of learning from some really cool chefs including Chef Kevin Schrimmer, Chef Mike Artlip, Chef Pierre Checchi, and Chef Walter Freund, all of whom are immensely knowledgeable and  are enjoyable to learn from.

My year end vacation this time around was again in Orlando, Florida. However this time, there was a new attraction waiting for us in Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was insane! If you are planning on visiting during any holiday period within the next year or so, be warned, it’s gonna be crazy packed with people. BUT it’s absolutely worth it to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and especially for Harry Potter fans.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located at the very back of Islands of Adventure, so walking left or right doesn’t matter although I personally think walking through Seuss Landing is shorter. If you are planning on visiting during peak periods, wake up as early as you can and head into the Wizarding World first before anything else. Once you are in, make sure you experience everything before leaving the area because getting back in is a real pain. There are two entrances into the Wizarding World: (1) through The Lost Continent via Seuss Landing, entering closest to Hogsmeade, and (2) through Jurassic Park via Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon, entering closest to Hogwarts.

If you enter through entrance (2), you will probably find yourself caught in the line going into Hogwarts castle itself. Here you have two choices, you can walk through the castle just to have a look or you can stay for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride which to me is a MUST! If you choose not to ride the ride you can ask one of the Prefects if they can let you through. If you choose to ride the ride you will be asked to store your bags in lockers that you can rent for free for 20 minutes (but honestly the 3 times I was there, the line went on for more than 45 minutes so I don’t know how that works), otherwise if you have someone who doesn’t want to ride you can ask them to hold your stuff for you. As you wait in line for the ride, it brings you through the Hogwarts castle where you will be greeted by Dumbledore in his office, and then later by Harry, Ron and Hermione. My advice is to stay and listen to what they have to say because it is part of the storyline of the ride, plus it’s fun. Just step aside as to not hold up the line. You will also be greeted by animated portraits who are gossiping about the current affairs of the castle. These portraits are amazing, just like those in the movies. Then you will finally find yourself being seated for the ride. It runs continuously on a conveyor belt so move quickly. The seating is 4 to a bench, and sitting in the 2nd seat from the left (if you are facing the bench) will let you experience most of the wrath. The storyline of the ride is based on experiencing Harry’s first 3 years of school. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are planning to miss one of their classes and has invited you to come along. Hermione has ingeniously found a way to cast a flying charm on school benches that will bring you on the ride. Basically, the ride is a moving simulator where you will experience the ride in front of both screens and traditional 3D props. There are no steep drops but there are moments where you will be held in a position almost parallel to the ground. The ride is really more psychological rather than physical, but it is really state of the art and the technology is amazing. As you exit the castle, you will have a chance to purchase a photo of you during the ride as well as other souvenirs in Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods. Here you will be able to purchase house scarves with the house crests exclusive only to this store, so if you want those scarves you have to get them here. There are also a few other merchandises that are exclusive to this shop but you can always return to this shop without having to go through the ride again.

As you exit Filch’s Emporium, the next ride you will pass is Flight of the Hippogriff. This is an extremely mild rollercoaster suitable for all ages meeting the height limit.

As you make your way through to Hogsmeade, the first store you will come across is Ollivanders (there will probably be a long line outside so you won’t miss it). If you wait in line, you will experience a short “show” that depicts the wand selection process. Other shops in Hogsmeade include Three Broomsticks (Tavern food), Honeydukes, Zonko’s, and Dervish and Banges (merchandise store connected to Ollivanders). You will be able to find Hogwarts house robes here as well as Ollivanders wands. There are who categories of wands available for purchase: (1) character based wands (wands that are replicas of Harry Potter characters’ wands), and (2) original Ollivanders wands (a selection of non character based wands). Both categories of wands cost the same but original Ollivanders wands are exclusive to Dervish and Banges whilst character based wands are available in other Universal merchandise stores. Another thing you must try whilst you are in the Wizarding World is Butterbeer. You can purchase the drink from the Three Broomsticks or 2 other vendors in the Wizarding World. The beverage is absolutely delicious, reminiscent of shortbread and butterscotch.

Lastly, there is a third ride in the Wizarding World – Dragon Challenge (formerly known as Duelling Dragons), twin suspended roller coasters that  is supposed to represent two dragons fighting. You can choose to ride the Chinese Fireball (red) or the Hungarian Horntail (green). Personally I thought the Chinese Fireball was a marginally better ride although they are supposed to be the same.

Honestly, even those who are not exactly fans will be carried away by the magic that is the Wizarding World. Both my sister and my father who know little about Harry Potter found themselves wanting to be part of the whole Hogwarts house spirit. You will see people with house ties, scarves, robes, and other merchandises… it’s awesome. I chose Slytherin myself as did my younger sister, whilst my youngest sister chose Gryffindor, and my elder sister was given Ravenclaw by me. My father was oddly undecided between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It was extremely fun to play along with the staff at the Wizarding World and other muggle visitors.

Anyway I wanted to talk a little bit about the Icheon International Airport. I took Korean Airlines so my transit stop was in Incheon. This airport is ranked number 1 this year, ahead of Changi (Singapore) and Hong Kong. This airport is in fact very pleasant and convenient. The security check for transitors is simple, just scanning hand carry items, and additional manual bag checking for those travelling to US. I personally didn’t have to take off my shoes but I saw some people did have to. The airport features a host of shopping outlets, food courts, lounges, free internet, and even some R&R activities (for a fee of course). The airport is busy but not over crowded and is in fact very quiet, and fairly clean. Toilet cubicles are a little small though, I would prefer is you were able to drag some bags into the stalls. There’s also Korean culture center where passengers waiting for flights can participate in some traditional Korean activities like fan painting for free and you get to keep the fan.

Side note – I was amazed how easily I got into the US. Immigration was a breeze, they didn’t detain me or anything just needed my I-20.

The Melbourne Aquarium

———-

I’m not really that into chocolate, especially when it’s a whole lot of it. Between Lindt Cafe and Laurent, I prefer Laurent.

Chocolate tart from Lindt Cafe (more crust, less chocolate please…)

———-

In my 4.5 years of studying in Melbourne, I had never been on the Great Ocean Road. So I decided that it was definitely something I should do during this visit. And because I didn’t want too drive, we went with Go West. The tour was as I expected it really… I’m not really that into seeing rocks and stuff, but it  provided some nice scenaries.

Bell’s Beach

The Go West tour bus

The start of the Great Ocean Road

Koala spotting

Apollo Bay

12 Apostles

Loch Ard’s Barge

London Bridge

———-

Visit to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Worth it to fork out a little more money and go for the open vehicle safari rather than the free safari.

———-

Delicious (and cute) mini cupcakes from Little Cupcake as mentioned in my Brunch-ing entry (Clockwise from top left: chocolate with cream cheese icing, cookies & cream, chocolate mint, coconut, raspberry with white chocolate icing (center))

So, I have officially graduated from my Bachelor of Commerce degree. I was a rather turbulant 4.5 years but in the end I rather enjoyed my course especially the marketing subjects. After all this time I had come to grow fond of Melbourne although there are also a lot of time that I found Melbourne rather boring. Nevertheless, I take with me many great memories and friends. I hope that the next phase of my life will be even more enjoyable.

Han Guk Guan

13A, Victoria Street

Near the corner of Exhibition Street. The restaurant is quite hidden so you may have to keep a look out for it.

———

I also recently had dinner in Hwaro Korean BBQ. This restaurant is in a sense quite the opposite of HGG. It’s modern, chic, and fashionable. The food is pretty good but the portion is really small for the price they charge. Although the lemon shouju is really nice. The staff is friendly and food came pretty quickly so I can’t really complain.

Hwaro Korean BBQ

562 Little Bourke Street

Near King Street.

———

There are also a few good ones on Victoria Street near Victoria Market. Hallah, a modern Korean cuisine restaurant, has a really nice soy chicken but the food there is pretty pricy (well actually Korean food is pretty expensive).

–

Number 1. The Quarter, Degraves Street (off Flinders Lane), Melbourne CBD.

This is the usual favourite place. It’s simple. It’s convenient. It tastes good. The Quarter is your good ol’ fashion cafe that serves breakfast and lunch. Their breakfast menu has all the basic breakfast favourites like bacon and eggs, eggs benedict, omelet, buttermilk pancakes etc., and also some less conventional ones but I don’t really look at those. My usual choice at The Quarter is eggs benedict with (extra hash brown) which uses a toasted turkish bread base instead of the traditional english muffin base but the turkish bread is exactly why I have these eggs benedict, nice an crispy!  I’ve also tried their big breakfast which was ok but nothing special, and buttermilk pancake which Fi loves but I think they weren’t actually all that great – it was a little heavy to me, I prefer my pancakes light and fluffy. I’ve also had lunch at The Quarter before and it’s pretty decent. Overall the food is acceptable, the service is decent, the coffee is not bad – an overall dependable place to have brunch.

–

Number 2. Auctions Rooms, 103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne.

I’ve only been to this place once and I have mixed opinions about this place. Food was pretty good. First thing you should know is that their menu consist of original recipe type dishes, but you can still pull together an order of bacon, eggs and toast. I can’t remember the name of the dish I has as it’s name after auction terms but it’s basically baked eggs with chorizo, and potato and carrot hash – it was pretty good. But there is one thing you should really try from Auctions Rooms, their pancake! Trust me, this is no ordinary pancake. Despite it’s size, it’s light on the inside and crispy on the outside, REALLY GOOD. Service was ok but it was really hectic. Let me put it this way, a place can be busy but still offer smooth service, but here the service was really hectic. Although the staff was really nice, so I guess I can let that slide. The down side was the coffee. Very, very disappointing. The coffee wasn’t hot?!? According to Annie, she revisited the place and asked for very very hot coffee and it can as just (maybe) hot enough. So I guess they need a new barista. But honestly, if you don’t order coffee, the food is pretty good. Plus I kinda like the layout of the cafe itself – it has an open kitchen, a back patio, and even though the place is quite cramped it feels open.

*To get to Action Rooms, catch the 57 tram from Elizabeth Street towards West Maribyrnong. Get off at stop 12 (just before the tram turns off Errol Street). Keep walking up Errol Street past Queensberry Street, it’s not far from the stop.

–

Number 3. Gattica, 223 Carlisle Street, Balaclava.

Amongst the 3, I would give this one the highest rating even though I’ve only been there once. The food is good and comes in a generous portion and apparently the coffee is just fine (I didn’t have coffee). The thing which deserves the most mention is their homemade hash browns. I had the hash stack with chorizo, homemade baked beans, crumbled feta, and fried free range egg. The other thing is that the 3 cafes essentially have the same price range but the portion in Gattica is the most generous. They also serve really nice homemade jam with their toast, you just have to ask for it. The food is indeed very good. Even though it’s a little out of the city, it’s really close to the train stop so no worries.

*To get to Gattica, take any train that stops at Balaclava Station. Get off there and turn right coming out of the station. It’s right next to ANZ.

–

I have to mention this when mentioning The Quarter. If you walk along Degraves Street towards Flinders Street, there is a little shop that makes and sells THE BEST cupcakes in Melbourne. It’s called Little Cupcakes. If you like cupcakes or anything along those lines, TRUST ME, you will want to stop by this place.

–

Another place worth mentioning, as it turns out not a lot of people seem to know about it, is Laurent, a French patisserie located at 306 Little Collins Street (between Swanston and Elizabeth). Forget Brunetti (mediocre and overrated) or Greco (average and terrible customer service). Here the pastries are actually good and none of the staff think they are better than you. However, be warned that the pastries are a tad bit pricy.

–

These are the few things that I can remember that I wanted to blog about. Until next time, itadakimasu.