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  1. Perth!

    Thursday, November 06, 2014

    Wassup!

    Am back to blog about my Perth trip! :)

    Caution: a lot of pictures coming your way! Simply cause I am horrible at filtering what's more important because to me everything is :D HEHE

    It was a 4 days 3 nights trip. From the 28th of September until the 1st of October 2014.

    Our first time ever to Perth and I was excited! VERY! Seeing new places and experiencing new things are always always exciting! :)

    Day 1

    Our flight was at 820am so I managed to catch the sunrise at the airport!

    Touched down in Perth 5 hours after that but the local time was just the same as Malaysia's time. Two hours behind from Melbourne.

    And once we arrived, Kar Kiat came to pick us up from the airport and took us to Fremantle for food! So nice and kind of him to come and pick us up! Totally appreciated it!

    He took us to this place called Bread in Common and this place is famous for their bread! Of course right... it's called "Bread" in Common :D

    White bread with olive oil. And OMG the bread was seriously so good! It's wood fired and totally yummy!




    Lunch was reallyyyyyy good! Such a good start in Perth! :)

    Then we went on for Fish and Chips! The famous thing to do in Fremantle is to having fish and chips! :D Despite that we have just eaten, nothing is going to stop us! :)

    View from where we were seating :)

    The famous Fish and Chips! There were so many different restaurants that sells these on the docks and apparently they all taste about the same. And this was pretty good :)

    Selfied while the boys went to get our food order earlier :P

    Kar Kiat! A friend since we were in Form 3 because of tuition. And a really great friend! Tho I don't see him very often but we somehow manage to keep in touch here and there. I have been empty promising him all these years telling him that I'll come and visit him Perth and now, I finally did! WHEE :D

    And of course a picture with the boyfriend ♥︎ Whom I love very much :)

    After that, Kar Kiat dropped us to our hotel and he was off to do his own stuff. And we did our settling in.

    *Our Room!*
    I LOVED IT! It was such a nice and clean and comfy room! We both loved it a lot! :)

    After fully exploring every nook and cranny of the room, we just chilled the whole time. The boyfriend had to go out around 6pm for his conference registration so I was hiding in the room doing up my assignment. Technically it wasn't a holiday for me because uni was still going on as per normal just that I didn't have classes on the days I was in Perth.

    Then I got ready to go out for dinner because we were meeting up with Chee Xun. Our SAM classmate from back in 2007. S9 FTW! :D

    #OOTN :)

    Chee Xun came to pick us up from the hotel and we went to Little Caesars Pizzeria. I specifically requested this place because I have always heard things about it :D

    It looks like an old school diner :)

    A half and half pizza. I think it was chicken curry and the other I can't remember. It was ok....

    But this was SO GOOD! I apologize for the blur picture because I was in a hurry to snap it so that everyone could start eating :D This was their Jane's Addiction pizza! Garlic prawns, mozzarella, prosciutto and cream sauce. So gooooood!

    And a dessert pizza. This place is famous for their dessert pizzas :D We ordered the Mud Cake! Basically it is chocolate everything! :P

    Dinner was satisfying! And then, Chee Xun drove us to Kings Park to have a night view of Perth City!

    The lights! The colours! I love cities at night! Everything just comes to life! :)

    I present to you, Perth City! Looks so good at night!  

    After all that beautiful night scenery, Chee Xun dropped us back to our hotel and we called it a night. Was really tired from the waking up early and all...

    Day 2

    Started my morning in bed watching YouTube videos and eating the leftover chocolate pizza for breakfast! And on a comfy bed. So awesome! :D The boyfriend had already left for his conference early in the morning so it was just me alone for all of the mornings.

    Then around 12pm I got ready to head out cause I was meeting up with Teck Wei for lunch.

    #OOTD! Love my floral maxi skirt! :D

    It was a Monday but it was public holiday. And I didn't know that public holidays in Perth means that everything or almost every single good food places are closed! Please don't come to to Perth on public holidays! It is literally a dead town....... only shopping places are open. It is my first day out in Perth ok... So I was a little shocked!

    The only thing we had nearby from where we were that was open was Dome. And did you know Dome started in Western Australia? I didn't too.. haha!

    The boyfriend had their big breakfast and I had their beef pot pie. They were not good.... Not good at all.... I think Malaysia's Dome might be better. Expensive and not good... 

    After lunch, me and the boyfriend went our separate ways. He went back for his conference and I went exploring around.

    I like the old buildings in the city. So nice to take pictures of! :D This is the His Majesty's Theatre. 

    And this is Hay Street Mall. Basically like our Bourke street here in Melbourne but this is like the only two shopping street in the city. Like literally the only two.

    And then I stumbled upon London Court! Which was one of my must see places in Perth. Had no intention of visiting that day because I still had no idea where is was but then I just so happened to have found it! Looks so quaint amongst the modern architecture. It totally stood out!

    The inside. Looks a little like Liberty's in London eh? Felt like I wasn't in Australia for a moment.

    Selfie in London Court :)

    The Perth Town Hall.

    Then I decided to go over to Harbourtown to look see and do some window shopping plus Harbourtown is near our hotel. Which my next plan was to head back to the hotel. Cause I still had finish up my assignment.

    Hope on this CAT bus to harbourtown. The CAT buses are totally free! I love this about Perth! These buses literally take you to anywhere and so many stops and 4 different lines. Basically you can get to wherever you want in Perth with these buses for FREE! :D

    Randomly snapped this on the bus stop sign :D

    Walked around the entire harbourtown and I bought NOTHING ok....... That's a very very big accomplishment for me ok... Not even something small and cheap. Basically whatever they had there we also have it in Melbourne and I seriously didn't need anything at all already. So yeaps.

    Done in slightly under an hour and headed back to the hotel. Worked on my assignment and finished it up because it was due the next morning. And the boyfriend was still at his convention plus he wasn't gonna be back for dinner. Sooooooo......, what I did was, ordered Room Service!!

    My first time EVER ordering Room Service okayyyyyy!

    And I had a crab and prawns angel hair pasta in cream sauce! :) YUMS! But of course it was expensive and I didn't know where to go for dinner. Cause of it being public holiday and all, I don't know where can I get food nearby on my own. So yeaps!

    Then the boyfriend came back around 845pm and we decided to go out and have drinks with Chee Xun. Which he again very kindly came to pick us up and took us over to Northbridge. Because it is the more happening place in Perth in terms of food and pubs.

    We settled down at the Northbridge Brewing Co. And by the time we sat down it was around 930pm. The bar closes at 10pm..... -.- WHERE GOT BAR CLOSE SO EARLY ONEEEEE ON A SUNDAY!! I wanted to order some food also cannot cause kitchen closes at 930pm.... :(

    I had a bottle of pale ale. And we sat down to chit chat a little while only lor...

    A picture with Chee Xun! Because we forgot the night before :D

    Then he brought us to the casino to have a look. Not that we played or anything. It was literally to just have a look at the place. 

    And then before we left, me and the boyfriend tapaoed Maccas for supper :D Thank you so much to Chee Xun for bringing us everywhere and spending time with us and treating us! Teck Wei hasn't seen him in at least 4 years so it was a good catch up for them. Thanks Chee xun!

    These sweet potato wedges is a limited time only thing at Maccas right now. And it yummy!! Ate this in bed while we watch Runningman together :DDD And then fell asleep... HAHA!

    Day 3

    Got ready and headed out to catch the boyfriend for lunch and also Day 3 is my exploring Perth day! To do all the touristy things!

    Went to this ramen place which we wanted to the day before but it was close. It was recommended by both Kar Kiat and Chee Xun because this place has a franchise in Fremantle and that was the first outlet. And apparently it is really good and popular in Freo at like a 40 minutes wait kind of good. So..., of course we have to try also lah right!!! Thanks to Chee Xun who told us they have an outlet in the CBD :DD

    Such a cute little place! Look at all the manga all over! You can pick it up and read it one ok! So cool!

    The shop is literally like a little manga heaven... The boyfriend found a few of the ones he used to read when he was younger. Hahaha! I have no idea cause I have never even read one :P

    Teck Wei ordered their Fried Chicken Ramen.

    And I ordered the normal and typical Tonkotsu Ramen. And OMG THE NOODLES IS SO GOOD!!!!!! The broth can be little thicker and more flavourful in my opinion lah. But the noodles were good! The meat was alright too. Pretty standard. But I am sure that this is the best bowl of ramen I've had in Australia so far leh!!

    And ordered some fried chicken and takoyaki as sides! I tell you, when it comes to the two of us eating, we never eat little, in fact we always over order and stuff ourselves to the brim :P HEHE

    A nice little lunch together! Feels like I on a lunch break with the boyfriend during his working hours. Because he was in a suit. HEHEHE

    AND OMGGGGGGGG!!! THIS FRIED CHICKEN IS SO SO SO GOOD!!! YOU HAVE TO ORDER IT!!! Prolly the best bite sized fried chicken I have ever had! So well marinated and it was crispy and totally cooked perfectly! It wasn't dry nor uncooked. Just nice! SO YUMYYYYYYY!!

    Lunch was totally awesome! 

    After lunch I went to hunt down the angel wings in Brookfield Place with the bf. I knew they had four wings but I only managed to find two. And the bf had to leave already for his conference. So I decided to just give up on it first...

    The two I managed to take picture of. It is by an artist called Colette Miller :) It was so cool and colourful!

    After that, I went on my own little touristy adventure since the boyfriend had already left back to the convention centre.


    The streets of Perth CBD.

    Thats the Bell Tower in the distance! It pretty much looks like a shard.

    Then I stepped foot into the Supreme Court Gardens.

    The Supreme Court.

    And a selfie with it :P

    To aussies it may look like a very lovely and beautiful day. But to me, it was too damn hot!! I think it was like 31-32 degrees. HOTTT! But on a brighter note, the garden is really quite pretty!

    The flowers were so pretty! This is spring time ladies and gentlemen.... Pretty flowers everywhere! 

    Whilst walking around the garden, I even had a conversation with one of the Perth City's security guard which happens to be asian and I am fairly certain he sounds like a Malaysian. Friendly and helpful because he saw me taking close up shots of the flowers and he was like "Have you been to Kings Park yet? There are more flowers there."

    And I was telling him I am planning to get there later in the day and he was kind enough to point me to the right bus to take to Kings Park using the free CAT bus system. Such kind and lovely people you meet around sometimes!

    Then I walked further along the gardens and towards the Bell Tower. Thought of having a look what the whole thing was.

    As I've said, a full on sunny and no clouds kind of HOT day. But these pretty palm trees reminded me of shots of LA's palm trees! For a moment I was dreaming of LA and quickly snapped out of it cause I wasn't... =/ But Perth is pretty good anyways. Main thing, I was on holiday! :)

    A selfie with the Bell Tower behind of me. As you can already tell, I was alone so I was my own photographer.... These kind of pictures will have to do.

    There was an entrance fee to get up the tower and it was totally not worth it. So I decided to just have a look at the gift shop and said to myself, "yeah I've been there and done that."

    The waterfront around the Bell Tower. And it's the waterfront to the Swan River.

    After all that walking around, I decided to just sit down in front of the river and just enjoy things around me. Anddd also it was getting a little too hot for me so I needed some shaded area to cool off.

    Selfie :D

    These short palm trees were on the whole stretch of this street. That's why this whole street on the waterfront/esplanade reminded me so much of pictures of LA because of the palm trees.

    View from where I was seating :)

    My trusty espadrilles throughout the whole trip! It was comfy and it was cute and it's polka dots!! Plus it was only $10 from Aldo! Love it so so much! :)

    Then I walked back into the city and had a look around the shopping streets. Because I had a $10 Body Shop voucher and the day before I couldn't find something that I wanted. So I went back again cause the voucher was expiring on the very same day.

    And I ended up getting their Raspberry Scrub! Been wanting to try this for ages! And yeah it practically looks like Raspberry jam :D

    I really like this shot! It was just at random. And I love old architecture. It just looks really nice and filled with history!

    Then I decided to head off to Kings Park. But before that, I was passing by Brookfield Place again so I was determined to hunt down the remaining wings and so, I asked the reception.

    Turns out one of the wings was just right behind the first one I took. But with the lighting and all, it is impossible to take pictures with it. So I took a picture of it instead.

    Andddd I found the last one! And it is my favourite one! Just cause I love the colour of it so much! :)

    The story behind getting this picture taken was funny. Because I didn't have the bf to take it for me, I had to rely on a stranger. Plus this wing is located on a super quiet alley way. When I saw this lady I asked her if she could help me to take a picture with it but she was like "No, no taking my picture." I guess she thought I wanted to take her picture instead.... FAIL...

    Then a kind soul showed up and immediately I got my shot! And that was it :D

    A little church out of no where in Brookfield Place.

    A random picture of the leave ring I was wearing. Love this! It's from Lovisa :)

    Then I hopped on a bus and went over to Kings Park!

    This is it! I love the super tall trees along the whole road entering the park! Looks so pretty!

    The view during the day.

    I was snapping away so many little wild flowers just in this short walk. Wild flowers can be really pretty!

    My favourite flower shot of the day! No edits whatsoever! Loveeeee the bokeh in the background!! :) So proud of myself that I managed to even get this shot :D

    The same wild flower but a different colour. Basically these flowers are only between variations of pink or white.

    *More of the Perth CBD Skyline view during the day*
    My one and only souvenir from Perth!(Which I think I have somehow misplaced it already.... =\) Bought this coin for $2 from the Bell Tower's gift shop and it turns out to be a good idea for a shot like this! So nice hor? City scapes are just my kind of thing. Period.

    I love taking pictures of lavenders! But this particular plant was surrounded by millions of bees. I was just praying I captured some good shots and quickly ran out of there..


    After walking around Kings Park for a bit, I spent my remaining time at their gift shop. I love the gift shop at Kings Park! Filled with everything flower related. From books to jewelries to homewares. I was literally looking at every single thing in the shop and held myself back from buying anything because things were really pricey in there. Plus I won't get much use out of them yet anyways. BUT I did purchase a book. Which I really love but I am not sure if I would be using it that much. But I really love it! So yeaps :)

    Then I hopped back on the bus and went to the Exhibition and Convention Centre to meet up with the boyfriend. Which we then headed into the city to have coffee with his lecturer. Weird and awkward much.... But it turned to be okay!

    The city when the sun is setting. Especially love this picture taken from Murray Street Mall.

    Then me and the bf headed for dinner. We went to Tony Roma's just simply cause I wanted to try their ribs and it was on our way back to the hotel.

    My drink. Everywhere I eat in Perth, I have to order a drink because I CAN'T STAND THEIR TAP WATER!!! It tastes funny! And I just couldn't stand it so I have to spend a little more on drinks where I eat unless I have my own bottle of water with me which is filled with mineral water instead. Anyways, this drink was rather tasty!

    The boyfriend's Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

    Our starter. It was really good! A spinach and artichoke dip, buffalo wings and onion loaf. They also gave us some chips thingy to dip with the artichoke dip.

    And our full rack of Baby Back Ribs to share! :)

    The food was alright. I think it is better than Tony Roma's malaysia. But the ribs were just so so.. The starter was good but the ribs....., we've had much better ones.

    After dinner, we went back to the hotel to chill and relax for a bit. Because I was going to meet up with Kar Kiat later in the night.

    The Perth Arena. Just right infront of our hotel.

    Then Kiat brought us to Andaluz Bar for some drinks. Because he has been busy with work I didn't get to catch up with him much except the day we arrived when he picked us up from the airport and brought us to Fremantle.

    And since it was gonna be our last night in Perth, I had to meet up with him one last time!

    I totally loved the ambience!! So chill and relax and private and dark and gloomy but classy! I didn't take a picture of the place we were seating tho.... This place reminds me like a classy cave. HAHA!

    Had a special made cocktail because I didn't know what I want because I normally go for mojito and the bartender ran out of one of the ingredients. So he was telling me about this drink he just created that night itself and asked me if I like strawberries. And I was like "yeah, I'll try something new!" It was nice but I can feel it being pretty strong hehe

    And had some polenta chips with blue cheese dip. As you can tell, the lighting of the place is not at all the best for pictures. But it was totally chilled out and I loved it!

    Such a nice end to our last night in Perth! Thanks for everything Kiat! For bringing us around and treating us to yummy food! :)

    Bid our goodbyes to Kar Kiat and called it a night. The bf was having a presentation at the conference the next day so he was doing some final preparation and we totally zonked out on the bed.

    Day 4

    Teck Wei left earlier in the morning for his conference. And I requested for a late checkout simply because there wasn't much to do that day and I just didn't want to wake up early.

    And so, I did all the packing for the two of us. Got ready. And did the last minute checks.

    All set to go.... :( Was kinda sad leaving this place cause the hotel was really comfy! I can't recommend this place enough! Clean and spacious and comfortable.

    Left all of our baggages downstairs with the concierge and I left to meet up with the boyfriend to ask him all about how his presentation went :D

    This was where he spent all of his days whilst we were in Perth.

    Then the two of us hopped on the Blue CAT bus and headed over to Northbridge. The bus hub in just below the Convention Centre.

    And we came to the Tuck Shop! It is the first on the best brunch in Perth according to Urbanspoon. So we have to try lah right???? Plus we were genuinely in the Northbridge area for something else so might as well dine at the best brunch place!

    ♥︎

    As I've mentioned. I can't drink the tap water in Perth. So I ordered for myself a glass of juice. Can't really remember exactly what was in it but it was nice! :) 

    The boyfriend's. Cheese kransky with grain mustard potatoes, spinach and a fried egg. It looked so yummy! I remember him saying it was good :)

    MINE! Smoked cod, potato and leek baked with poached egg and a cheddar toastie. SO GOOD! Totally filling and too yums!

    And we both shared a pie. The bf had more of it than me because I was totally stuffed from my own food already...

    Our brunch! It was satisfying!

    Then we walked over to Corica. The main reason why I was Northbridge. Because I wanna tapao the famous apple strudel in Perth for Aunty D.

    A family owned Italian pastry shop. And they only do takeaways. 

    People have been raving about their apple strudel since forever. Whoever that comes or goes to Perth has to buy this back to Melbourne for people. I've only tried it once and I do remember it being quite good. It was $20 for a pretty long log of apple strudel. 

    And it was seriously so good! Had this straight away after I've landed back in Melbourne and it was still so good! I can't imagine having it fresh. I didn't have time to have it fresh when I was there. So yeaps... Oh wells if one day I do crave for it, I guess I could pay $30 for it and buy it from a shop in the Melbourne CBD. This particular shop has it air flown into Melbourne every Thursday. So yeah I still do have a backup plan and don't have to fly all the way back to Perth for it :D


    And I also bought a blueberry cheesecake to have it there and then while we walked back to our hotel.

    *Our journey back to the hotel on foot*
    Spotted our hotel! It was about a 15 minutes walk from Northbridge at a slow pace. The day was super duper hot so I walked particularly slow. Eventho I wanted to reach the hotel faster but I just couldn't with the heat...

    We had a taxi booked to take us from the hotel to the airport at around 3pm. Collected our luggages and just sat and relax at the lobby for awhile first before heading off to the airport.

    At the boarding gate. First time flying with Virgin Airlines and I was excited!

    My second picture together with my love throughout the whole trip. So glad to have went to Perth with him eventho we didn't spend that much time together there but it was still nice accompanying him on trips 

    Bye Perth! :D Till we meet again next time!

    I love the Virgin flight! Everything was purplish blue and it was comfy! Wouldn't mind flying with it more IF I could get a good price for it!

    The sunset... :))))

    Our dinner on board. Beef Stroganoff. It was alright.. Decent airline food.

    Touched down in Melbourne around 1130pm and Aunty D came to pick us up. Got home, ate some apple strudel and just chilled with the boyfie in the room. I think we caught up on some runningman?

    *This is the book I bought from the gift shop @ Kings Park!*
    I love it! The designs inside are so pretty! If I ever have the time to pick up colouring again, I am sure I'll make this book prettier with colours! Saw this in one of Zoella's YouTube video and instantly I was like, "I need it!" andddd I found it!

    That's the end of our Perth trip!

    This post has been in my draft for the past 3 weeks and I never gotten around to completing it. Every couple of days I write more in it but never finished it.

    It's super long post... I know.... but I am super horrible at cutting things short and not including certain pictures because to me everything is relevant! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

    Prolly won't be back until next weekend because I have exams coming up. Be back when I can!

    Till next time,

    Lots of love,
    Shereena.