:: finally, out of town!

remember that i've been involved in monash peer support program? again, i was asked to lead this bunch of students for a trip to puffing billy, belgrave. i was overzealous when monash international called and asked me to go with them because i'd always wanted to visit puffing billy. and finally i got the chance to go there. thanks to monash and this program, i got free ticket including train and entrance fees. yay!

#2. Puffing Billy Railway
Old Monbulk Road, Belgrave 3160 (Melway ref: Map 75 F10)

on 30th of july, sunday morning, we met up each other at appointed meeting point for early leaders briefing. later after that, around fifty students joined us and together we walked together to catch the train at caulfield station. as usual, train timetables are very lousy on sunday so we had to change trains 3 times before we reach the final station of belgrave line. it was my first and longest trip on a train, especially zone three line.

there were only five leaders in this trip, so each leader was responsible for around 8-9 students. my own group was consisted of five students from china and four from thailand. i frankly admit that i was so nervous that i wouldn't be able to icebreak the silence situation between these two groups. i handled such a 'big indonesian only' group in my previous tour and i think i did fine. but this one, i frankly wasn't so sure. after a few gimmicks of taking as much photos as possible, finally they talked to each other! after the introductions, finally the conversation naturally flowed. pheewww...

it took an hour trip with train from caulfield to belgrave station. as soon as we reached belgrave, we went out for lunch around belgrave town. belgrave is a very typical quite and nice town you'll find in victoria. they had some restaurants/cafes and also some shops but alas most of them were close on sunday. so i and part of the group had our quick lunch at puffing billy cafe and others opt for subway. after that, we straight popped into the steam train as scheduled.

a brief story about puffing billy; it is an australian old steam train from 1926. it's been running along the mountain track from belgrave to gembrook passing through the scenic Dandenong Ranges [mainly taken from www.puffingbilly.com.au]. we took almost an hour on the train, sightseeing the magnificent ranges of dandenong and stopped at menzies creek. from the train we could possibly see some local's houses, but sightviews are mostly dominated by trees, hills and lake.

if you're after the quiteness of a small town and eye soothing view of green forest, you can try this place. unlike other public interests in victoria, puffing billy is one of the most approachable sites. with distance only around 40 kms from Melbourne CBD, driving or public transportation options are both fun.

want more pictures? take your time to click here :)

:: i've been procrastinated. badly.

let's sum up what i'd been doing last couple of weeks.

i went to several places, including some new tried cafes and restaurant, puffing billy at belgrave and art exhibition and gardens. in my case, i'm gonna write something about those new places, not that i'm doing restaurants/cafe review or something. i'm gloating.

so, around friday two weeks ago, i couldn't sleep. at all. for the whole night till dawn i couldn't even close my eyes. so around 6.30 am i decided to take a walk around city. first i went to southgate area, i swear it was a very cold morning! i took around 600+ photos that morning which i will put them in my flickr account.

that morning, i had a plan in my head to hit my new favourite cafe for breakfast. so let's start the story!

1. Cafe Andiamo
36-38 degraves st, melbourne 3000

my first experience of having egg benedict. i'm sad, i know. anyway, it was a very attractive choice for breakfast, better than the big portion of big breakfast or scrambled eggs. i really liked it though. as you can see from the photo, it really does look so tempting and it does taste fine.

for you who don't know what is Eggs Benedict [EB], i'll patiently explain. EB is poached eggs that usually served on the top of english muffin. in my case, they also put leg ham in between the egg and the muffin. and finally served it with spinach and hollandaise sauce. it looks so posh, doesn't it?

according to my cookbook reference, EB was initially created in a restaurant called Delmonico, New York City. There were Mr and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, regulars at this restaurant, who complained there was nothing new on the menu. and EB was the result.

i was so excited to try my EB for the first time. it is a genovesse coffee, and the barista is very good in coffee making. he is so quick but always never fails to create such a nice coffee and serve it in perfect temperature. it may be just me, but i do sometimes feel annoyed by some baristas who serve extremely hot take away coffee. i don't have forever to wait my coffee to cool down. but this guy is good.

and the EB? well, of course it was nice. the size is alright, the poached eggs were 'wow' and the spinach was the best spinach i've ever eaten. EB is absolutely another favourite option for breakfast menu and i'm looking forward to try it at other restaurants. for EB from Andiamo, i might be biased because this is my first time experice. no comparison. cannot complain.

quick commment: service is alright, food is okay, coffee is excellent and fairly cheap. price: $$. recommended!