Boxing Day in Sydney 2010

I forgot that malls in suburbs are closed on the day after Christmas--Boxing Day.  Due to being busy leading up to Christmas, I guess I've really lost my sense of time and forgot about when shops open and close in our suburb during Christmas holidays.  Take note that I've lived here for five years already and only this year that I forgot that we always go out to the mall on the 27th December and not Boxing Day.

My Husband and I woke up early and even planned to have breakfast at our favorite cafe at the mall.  When we arrived at the mall, it was closed and only then I realized that we were a day early.

Hungry and a bit sleepy, we went to the only place opened, McDonald's, and had breakfast there while we figure out what the heck we will do for the day.  It was raining so the Husband thought we should just go home but he took pity on me because I really wanted to go somewhere that day.  The only option was to go to City and be part of the mad rush of Boxing Day.  So off to the City we went to experience Boxing Day in Sydney.

Boxing Day (26 December) is a great opportunity to go shopping as this is the time of the year that stores in Australia give huge discounts on their merchandise.  My Husband and I save up and allot money just so we can shop on Boxing Day because the discounts are really big!

Our first stop was at the Lululemon Athletica (yoga clothes and apparel store) where I found a pink shirt for only AUD$29.00 (original price was $75.00)

And I love their re-usable bags---very inspiring!

On our way to Pitt Street, we passed by the Apple Store and noticed a lot of people inside although Apple never goes on sale even if it's Boxing Day.

Then we arrived at Pitt Street.  Before lunch, there wasn't much people yet. 

But during lunch time, the crowd grew thicker.  This was the entrance to Myer.  There was a long queue just to get inside.  And when you get inside, there were long queues to elevators and escalators, whether you are going up or down.

Street performers entertaining the big crowd.

Traffic in the city was slow.  Rarely do we bring the car when we go to the city due to traffic and parking concerns.  For us, it is best to just take public transport.

There were long queues everywhere; from going in and out of stores, up and down the escalators/elevators, food courts and restaurants, toilets and even for public transport on the way home.  If you are not in a good mood and have no sense of humour, you won't be able to endure the big crowd that Boxing Day brings. 

My Husband and I, however, enjoyed the moment while we were there.  It was challenging to shop but we got the stuff we came for.  We weren't able to eat at a decent restaurant, instead we had very late lunch at a food court.  It was the first time we experienced Boxing Day in Sydney so we didn't let anything irritate us or dampen our spirits.  We may not do this again but we will remember the fun we had on that day.

Our good buys this Boxing Day:

Christmas wrappers and cards.  The best time to buy Christmas stuff is after Christmas!  I always buy our Christmas needs AFTER Christmas.  So the stuff I bought this year will be used for next year.

Beauty products.  If you want to try a new beauty product, this may be the best time to try them out!  The L'Oreal moisturisers I bought were on sale for AUD$9.99 each (original price was around AUD$35.00-45.00) so I thought I might as well try them out.  This is also the time I replenish on beauty products such as a mascara.  I found this Maybelline mascara for only AUD$11.00.

The Husband bought new work clothes.  He only buys new work clothes during Boxing Day sale.  A few shirts and pairs of pants to last him the whole year and he's a happy camper.  I'm a happy wifey too because we saved lots from all the big discounts.  It also saves us time because we never shop for his clothes the whole year.


AFTER Boxing Day, we went to the mall in our suburb and bought a few more stuff.  There are lots of remaining items on sale and I'm glad that we found a few Tefals frying pans.  I just bought a small one because that's the only one I need.

Our After-Boxing-Day shopping loots were mostly for the kitchen:  a StickMaster Plus, pizza cutter, pastry brush set and a 20-cm Tefal frying pan.

This year's Boxing Day sales was fun and fruitful.  We got to experience something new and we were able to buy stuff we need for us and for our home.  

Christmas at Home

I'm really not that ready for Christmas this year.  I have to admit that for the first time in my life, I'm not feeling the spirit much.  If I had to choose, I'd skip it this year.  I'd go away and be on vacation and come back after the New Year.  The culprit, you might ask?  My work.  Not that I want to blame my work.  I thought the month of December would bring me a bit of peace at the office, a bit of breathing space but nooooo.  Work turned out to be more demanding as we closed down for the year.  *sigh*.

Anyway, enough of that. The 24th of December marked my last day at work.  My Husband and I made a pact that we will meet for lunch no matter what happens.  As a young family of two, we make sure that we have our own traditions when it comes to occasions such as these.  We believe it is good practice to have these traditions when we have little ones to celebrate occasions with. 

It is tradition that we celebrate the start of Christmas on Christmas Eve lunch til after the New Year. We are on vacation leave on the week between Christmas and New Year.  We only go back to work on the first working day of January.

We get off work early (half-day off) on the 24th to have lunch.  This year, lunch was at the Chefs Gallery.  After our sumptuous meal, we hung out in the city and used the time to do some last minute Christmas shopping.

We got home late in the afternoon.  I was really exhausted but the spirit of Christmas suddenly crept in on me and thought I should at least prepare a little something for Noche Buena.

Christmas Eve dinner is usually spent with our relatives but they are currently having a white Christmas in America so this year, we had a quiet celebration.

At 10:00pm, the table was set and food was ready.  We didn't wait for midnight as I didn't want to sleep late.

I just prepared a simple pasta dish and fruit salad for dessert.  We had leftovers of roasted chicken from dinner the other night and voila!  Instant Noche Buena for two.

There were no surprise gifts from both of us these year because we already gave our Christmas gifts to each other weeks ago.  We however opened gifts from thoughtful loved ones after our Noche Buena. 

Gift or no gift, we are grateful that we have special people who are great blessings to us.  Their love and friendship are more than enough not just this season of love and giving but throughout the year.

On Christmas day, we just attended mass in the morning and spent the whole afternoon sleeping.  We finally got our well-deserved rest.

How was your Christmas? 

Christmas Eve Lunch at Chefs Gallery

We've been wanting to dine at this newest Chinese restaurant in Bathurst street for a long time but every time we pass by for dinner, there's always a long queue.

On Christmas Eve, we decided that we will endure a long queue, in case there was, just so we can finally eat there.  And what do you know?  There was none.  We easily got ourselves seated with a good view of the whole restaurant and the see-through kitchen.

Chefs Gallery is a Chinese restaurant with a modern feel.  I've never eaten at a Chinese restaurant such as this.  I found it very refreshing to sit and eat in a minimalist ambience (they have zen-like interiors as compared to those heavy looking furniture flared up in gold and red found in traditional Chinese restaurants!)

There's something admirable about a restaurant being transparent when it comes to preparing food.  In Chefs Gallery, guests have the privilege of watching what goes on inside their kitchen.  Inside the glassed kitchen, every staff member wears a mouth guard for hygiene purposes.  The first thing I said to the Husband when we saw them, "Ohhh, it's like the ones we've seen on koreanovelas!!"  (Yes, we are fond of watching them).

Service was fast, friendly and attentive. We decided to order one dish in each course to try a bit of everything.  Our waiter smiled at us and told us, "I think that is more than enough for both of you" as we're about to inform him of our desire for dessert.  We only laughed as our eyes made contact that said, "We'll see about that."

This was Christmas Eve lunch after all and other than Christmas we are celebrating a number of personal milestones that day.  To wet out appetite, we ordered the Pork Belly Roll. 

This was soooo good.  Pork Belly Roll is a thinly sliced blanched pork belly rolled with carrot, cucumber, topped with a garlic and oil-free vinaigrette dressing. 

After the Pork Belly Roll, all the other dishes we ordered (except for dessert) arrived.  We ordered Chinese Tea so we can easily digest what we were about to eat and to help pace ourselves. 

Our first time to try pastry in a Chinese restaurant with this dish called Shou Zhua Bing or Fluffy Chinese Roti served with lots of pork floss on top.  This golden pastry is soft and delicious. 

The pork floss had the right amount of saltiness and made me want more.  It became an instant favorite of mine.

Since we were in Chinese restaurant, we tried the usual dishes:  Steamed Pork Buns and the Steamed Prawn Dumplings.

Sad to say, they pork buns and dumplings didn't measure up to our expectations.

Good thing we partnered the buns and dumplings with delicious Handmade Fried Noodles.  We can't resist the urge to try their handmade noodles so we ordered the Thick handmade noodles wok fried with shredded pork and black fungus.  The dish looked inviting and when we saw it, the Husband and I attacked it like there was no tomorrow.  It was delicious and very flavourful.  The noodles were cooked perfectly. 

The noodles were also perfect for our Sweet and Dark Pork Ribs.  According to our waiter, this is one of their best sellers.  I would have loved this dish if I was fond of sweet dishes.  However, "biased-aside", this is a great dish.  The fusion of sweetness and saltiness is immaculate.

For dessert, we ordered another best seller, the Steamed sesame ‘piggy face’ buns (as sumptuous to the eyes as it is to the taste buds according to the menu).  It's the cutest bun we've ever seen!!!!  What a creative and lovely idea for a sesame bun.  An order consists two piggy face buns--a male and female!

Took me awhile to eat it because it's soooooo cute!!!! I didn't want to ruin their work of art. The bun was so soft and the inside was filled with black sesame paste.  It's sweet and nutty.

Our thoughtful waiter offered to pack our leftovers for take away but surprisingly, we finished everything off. 

The Husband and I enjoyed our Christmas Eve lunch and we will definitely come back here for more. 

Chefs Gallery

Shop 12, Ground floor

Regent Place, 501 George Street, Sydney

(between KFC and the Lumiere building,

main entrance on Bathurst Street)

Tel: +61 (02) 9267 8877

Opening hours:

Open 7 days 11am-3pm and 5pm-late

Season's Greetings from "A Wife's Charmed Life"

From my family to yours, a very happy Christmas!!!!

Thank you for all the love and greetings.  

Something We Learned From Church Today

The Other Meaning of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.  Someone during that era wrote this carol as a Catechism song for young Catholics.  It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church.  Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The Partridge in a Pear Tree was Jesus Christ.

Two Turtle Does were the Old and New Testament.

Three French Hens stood for Faith, Hope and Love.

The Four Calling Birds were the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Five Golden Rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first Five Books of the Old Testament.

The Six Geese-a-Laying stood for the six days of Creation.

Seven Swans a-Swimming represented the Sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.

The Eight Maids a-Milking were the Eight Beatitudes.

Nine Ladies Dancing were the Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

The Ten Lords a-Leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The Eleven Pipers Piping stood for the Eleven Faithful Disciples.

The Twelve Drummers Drumming symbolised the Twelve Points of Belief in the Apostle's Creed.

A Very Christmas-y Hazelnut Latte

It's the season to be a little more festive in the home.  We have the usual few decors at home to brighten up the place a bit and to add more Christmas spirit in the home, we decided to buy some Starbucks Christmas cups.

The Husband chose this blue coffee mug with a snowflake on the side.

I chose this green one with a skate.

When we bought the coffee mugs, we got a free Starbucks espresso cup.

We bought a pack of Starbucks Christmas Blend and a bottle of Hazelnut syrup.  I've always been curious how their Christmas Blend tasted so finally I had a taste of it.

The Starbucks Christmas Blend is made from aged Sumatran beans roasted the way Starbucks does just once a year.  The spicy, cedary, deep and syrupy flavour of Sumatran beans are combined with the earthy beans from Asia/Pacific and lively coffees from Latin America. 

The lovely aroma filled our home on the first morning that we tried it.  The rich, earthy flavour filled us with warmth on a cool morning. 

To make the Christmas Blend coffee more special, I made a Hazelnut Latte out of it.  Two shots of espresso using the Christmas Blend, one to two tablespoons of Hazelnut syrup and hot milk and voila!  Homemade Hazelnut Latte! :)

I plan to buy one or two more packs of the Christmas Blend so my Husband and I will have Christmas-y mornings even on ordinary days.

Watch a Movie Under the Moonlight

Want to experience watching a movie in open space?  Want to have a picnic with the family while enjoying a movie?  Or maybe bring a date and have a romantic evening under the stars and moonlight?

From 9 December to 20 March, watch a movie under the moonlight at Centennial Park! 

Buy your tickets at moonlight.com.au or at the box office at 7pm.

Gates open at 7pm, screenings start at sundown (which means around 8:30ish) in December and January; 8:15pm in February and 8:00pm in March.

General admission starts at AUD$18.00 (normal movie) and AUD$21.00 (for 3D).Moonlight Cinema
http://moonlight.com.au/Centennial Park
(enter via Woollahra Gates off Oxford Street)

michaels Camera Museum (Melbourne, Australia)

I almost forgot about this wonderful experience of ours when we visited Melbourne in September but today I remembered to share it with you because what do you know?  I haven't finished sharing our Melbourne stories from our September rendezvous and here we are about to go there again TOMORROW!  How crazy wonderful is that?

One of the Husband's request for his birthday was to spend some time looking at cameras in Melbourne's camera haven.  This area is located in surrounding areas of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets.

We had a good walk along Elizabeth Street and entered one of the little streets near Lonsdale Street and found ourselves in photography gadgets heaven.  There are many stores here for your photography needs; whether vintage, new or second hand gadgets, there are lots to choose from.

Our great find that day was the michaels Camera which initially looked like a big store from the outside but turned out to be more on the inside.

We explored the ground floor and looked at everything we can get our hands on.  We didn't have plans of buying anything but we were on the lookout for sales.  They had a few containers full of polarizers and that's where I spent most of my time.  Their polarizers were on sale, some for only AUD$10.00.  I think I bought one or two.  The Husband on the other hand, spent ample time looking at films for our vintage Fujica camera and he was able to buy a few rolls.

We noticed that there was a floor above the store and so up we went to find the most amazing camera collection.  It was a Camera Museum!!!!!!  

WOW!!!!!! I've never been surrounded by so many cameras in my life! :)    Finding this place was such a happy accident.  Let me share with you a few photos that I took.  Some may be blurred because the cameras were inside glass cabinets.

Here's the Canon exhibit.....

Canon lenses....

and a Canon flash.

Here's the Nikon exhibit....

They've got Olympus.

Here's how vintage Olympus Pens looked like before.

From Germany...the Voigtlander!

I love Leica!  It's my dream to own one someday.

Once upon a time, Carl Zeiss used to create cameras.

The golden collection.

A golden Nikon.

A golden Leica.

Do you want to see a bigger version of the golden Leica?  Here it is!!!

The museum consists of some 8000 pieces (there are approximately 2,000 on display), of which about 3000 are cameras ranging from subminiature to 12x15 inches in size. Many of the cameras date back to the late 1880's through to recent times, and include early digital cameras.

The museum also features lenses; movie cameras; movie and still projectors; darkroom equipment, including enlargers; flash equipment; films & plates; advertising material; microscopes; a vast library consisting of reference books, instruction books, photographic magazines & brochures.

If ever you are in Melbourne and very much interested in photography, I highly recommend you to visit this place.  Entrance to the museum is FREE and open to the public.

michaels Camera is a one-stop photography shop.  Their services include film and digital printing, camera repairs and equipment servicing, rental and hire of photography equipment, memory card recovery services, DSLR sensory cleaning and video transfer DVD duplication and file conversion.  They also offer photography and camera classes as part of their media school.

michaels Camera
Cnr Lonsdale and Elizabeth Streets
Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia

Phone:	(03) 9672 2224
Fax:	(03) 9600 0898

Trading Hours:
Monday:	9am - 6pm
Tuesday:	9am - 6pm
Wednesday:	9am - 6pm
Thursday:	9am - 6pm
Friday:	9am - 9pm
Saturday:	9am - 5pm
Sunday:	11am - 5pm