Hello, Spring! Hello, Cherry Blossoms!

Spring is here! My favourite season when nature comes alive with colour and vibrance. Days will gradually become longer and temperatures will be warmer. Spring equates to two of my favourite things: beginnings and transitions. I love it most for the abundance of Cherry Blossoms blooming. To see its beauty is such a fleeting moment but it teaches us all to be grateful for the now. 

The Husband never gives me flowers. Instead, he brings to me to places where I can see my favourite Cherry Blossoms. I'm in love with them. I squeal in delight when I see them. I get "kilig" when I seem them on TV. So the Husband took time off work and brought me to Auburn Botanical Gardens for the Cherry Blossoms Festival. It runs for two weeks every year, usually between the 2nd to 4th week of August. That's not yet officially Spring time but it is when the Cherry Blossoms come out. 

The Contrast of Winter and Spring. 

It was our second time to come to the Cherry Blossoms Festival. Last year, we had a Sunday picnic under the Cherry Blossom trees. This year, we opted to visit on a Friday, a weekday so that there would be less people. There were a number of people that came and went in the morning but the volume wasn't as many during weekend. It was definitely easier for us to take photos.

We saw a group doing a photoshoot. The ladies looked lovely in their Kimonos.

Other than Cherry Blossom flowers, the garden had other lovely flowers. When I sorted our photos, I noticed that I seemed to have taken lots of pink flowers. 

We didn't stay long but we're happy to have experienced seeing Cherry Blossoms once again. We had fun appreciating nature, see flowers in bloom and feel the falling Cherry Blossoms on our shoulders.

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August on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I'll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

We had a great start to August as the Husband and I came out of our semi-hibernation. The weather temperature had gradually gone up and we had been blessed with nothing but good weather almost everyday. I have resumed my weekly de-cluttering sessions in different areas of our home. We're working our way towards having the guest room as neat as possible in time for my Mother's vacation in October. Although work has become more busy for both of us, I have squeezed in time and spent a day with girlfriends. Below are a few more things that made up my August.

Ramen Lunch at Ippudo Sydney

Fri-date lunch was at Ippudo. It's been seven months since we've had our ramen fill at Ippudo so we decided to have lunch here after our Cherry Blossoms exploration in Auburn. It was already late, about 2pm, when we arrived so the lunch peak hour was over.  We each ordered a bowl of ramen and their famous pork buns. 

Ippudo Pork Bun ($4 each). Braised pork belly in Ippudo sauce with lettuce and wrapped in steamed bun. The steamed bun is soft and pork belly is flavourful. 

Shiromaru Motoaji Ramen. It's a classic Hakata-style ramen that comes in their original Ippudo tonkotsy broth served with thin noodles, pork loin, cabbage, black mushroom and shallots. This was the ramen that chose that day. It was so deliciously comforting. The porkloin is so soft. 

Miso Tonkotsu Ramen. This was their winter special ramen. It is made of a special blend of miso and Ippudo's signature broth, pork loin, egg, corn and veggies. It has a lovely flavour that brings warmth. The perfect ramen for Winter. The Husband's very happy that he got to try this before the season was over. 

It came with a siding of open Sushi and shredded Ginger. The staff told us that if we want to bring more flavour to Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, we can add more ginger to the broth. The Sushi was for dipping into the ramen. Cool, huh? 

A delicious brunch and a hearty lunch that filled us the whole day made our Fri-date perfect!

Ippudo Sydney
Level 5, Westfield Sydney
Pitt Street, Sydney NSW
Ph: 02 8078 7020

Brunch at Platform No. 8 Cafe (Parramatta, NSW)

Because I wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms Festival in Auburn last week, the Husband and I decided to take a day off and go on a Fri-date! 

On the way to Auburn, we had brunch at Platform No. 8, a cafe located conveniently near Parramatta train station where we got off to take the bus to Auburn. It is inside the Level 1 of Westfield Parramatta, a few steps from the entrance. 

The name Platform No. 8 refers to a train platform as it showed on the photo on their wall. I think it's a great concept as one gets to see what Parramatta Train Station looked like then. 

Coffee was the first order of the day. The Husband had his Latte while I had my Long Black. Their coffee was rich, creamy and strong. 

We shared a plate of Eggs Benedict with Ham, then just asked for additional Bacon and Hash Browns. 

The eggs were perfectly poached. We loved seeing the ooze coming out smoothly as we sliced them open. We loved how fresh the spinach was. A little thing to improve though was adding a little more hollandaise sauce perhaps. 

The meal we shared filled us up quickly and soon we finished our plate empty. The friendly staff bid us adieu as we left with full tummies and smiling faces.

Platform No. 8

Level 1, Westfield Parramatta

Ph: 02 98938818