Melbourne Holiday Day Five - a reunion overseas?

Sunday, 24th November 2013

This morning we headed over to Clayton Church of Christ located a few suburbs away.  We got news of our Sr Pastor being in Melbourne a few days after us, to speak at this church as a guest speaker, so we shared this with Kelvin in case he wants to meet up with Sr Pastor.  If this didn't happen, we would have been equally happy to hop over to Kelvin's church City Life Church.

As it is, Kelvin and E Chiin decided to drive a little bit further to Clayton so they could hear Sr Pastor speak and meet up with him.  We also self-invited arranged to join a pot luck dinner for all former Malaysian church members which was to be held in that evening at a private residence.

During church celebration, Sr Pastor walked up to our two families to welcome us which was so heart warming.  We spoke briefly to Sr Pastor's wife, Aunty Doris after celebrations before rushing off to the city centre.  Kelvin and family went separate ways to pick up some grocery before heading home.

We put on the GPS with Queen Victoria Market as our destination.  We passed by Pullman Hotel along Albert Park where we stayed with Victoria way back in 2006.  I could still remember the place where we walked in the cold but only vaguely remember the hotel and hotel room itself.

We drove into the city, got stuck in the Sunday noon traffic jam because of the route directed by the GPS settings!  Oh well... parking was another headache.  Now, if we were in Malaysia there would have been ample parking, if you know what I mean.  But obviously we weren't and getting a ticket fine with an exchange rate of 3 is no joke. 

Flinders Street Station.  Passing by this place brought a little bit of memories back, where we walked and places we visited including the buffet dinner at Crown Casino, the pizza or was it hotdog that we bought for little Vic when she cried hunger, and how she chased the birds in front of QV Library.. etc

No parking along the street as it was full and there was an unidentified police car parked after the parking line to check if anyone breaks the law.  We found out when we temporary parked there to enquire about parking when a lady walked past hubby and inform him to move his car because the police was somewhere around.

We finally found an open carpark but the security didn't allow us in for whatever reason.  Hubby believes he was prejudiced against us Asians because when hubby asked about the empty parking available inside, the security guard answered, "Yea, but that's not for you" so what does that mean?

I hopped off with Vic to start our shopping spree because we didn't have much time left and hubby joined us later with William.  Trust my hubs to find another way into the open carpark.  ; )

In the first 10 minutes, Vic and I bought 5 pairs of soft sleeping socks and three tee-shirts.  Hubs later took the two kids for a late lunch and I immediately bought half a kilo of cherries as my "lunch" so that I can pick on them while shopping.  Oh, and did I mention I looooovvveeee cherries?  That's an understatement too.

If I recall correctly, these went for AUD16/kg and that was already cheaper than Woolworths 5 days ago, at AUD19.98/kg so I asked for half a kilo.  See how fresh they were

In summary, we didn't buy much and also I remembered QVM to be much more vibrant with many more stalls.  Maybe I remembered wrongly, or maybe it was a weekend, or maybe the economy did take a slide.  We took home the usual souvenirs (William picked a blue boxing kangaroo whilst Vic chose a kangaroo keychain) plus wooden wine holders, plates, soaps, and the rest I honestly cannot remember.  But I did recall buying from Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Hong Konger, but none from Australian... how ironic!

There is something about Western markets that really attracts me - it could be the relatively odorless atmosphere, or the mounting varieties, the crisp freshness and transparency in price displays that allow guiltless comparisons.  What's not to love when there's so much to see, feel and touch even if you're not buying?  Now if only there was a flea market or a bazaar to hang out too... : )

I was told that non organic vegetables here are safe to eat even after only one rinse, because of the stringent control of pesticide and insecticide levels.  Unlike back home in Malaysia, I have to use an organic vege wash, then rinse multiple times before a final rinse with RO water

Boy's mouth like got another red layer due to lack of water or maybe eat never white mouth

I love mushrooms too!  Those white button mushrooms remind me of my days as a uni student cooking in my rented house

Cheese, cheese and more cheese!!!  I could be a mouse!

Something that I don't even know how to eat...

More weird food

Aaahhh... now we're talking... look at those handsome hanging sausages!!

Types of olives... so big and fresh!

We were back in Kelvin and EC's home around 5pm-ish.  The drive back was a lot quicker as we used the freeway.  Kids headed out to the nearby playground with Kelvin.  EC was preparing a delish prawn dish for the pot bless later and I was just hanging around.  Since I wasn't much help (EC does miracles in the kitchen) I took the opp to just steal learn her recipe, hehe.  My reward?  I got to test taste the prawns before they were covered and transfered out.

We drove across suburbs to Jerrica's house which is located in a very classy, quiet and very comfortable neighborhood.  A yacht was parked at the porch when we arrived.  Jerrica's house itself is a big bungalow with an equally big field space at the back and a tennis court.  For privacy reasons, I am not able to put up pictures.  We had our fellowship with 20-30 other Malaysians who brought a variety of Malaysian food.

Everyone at the gathering were either working in Melbourne or migrated here, and we were the only family who were "visiting"... maybe maybe... But the star of the night was of course Sr Pastor, who spoke to all of us after makan time.  He shared about the impending church transition in two years' time, his retirement plans, church planting, and others.   

It was a good time of getting to know other Malaysians there, especially for Kelvin and EC.  The kids played "It" and other games in the vast back yard and then the living area.

After dinner, it was home to Kelvin's where we chatted over some fruits before calling it a night.  The next day... a full day out to Yarra Valley!