Chinese New Year 2026

 Autumn is here already. Yesterday was yuen xiu - 15th day of Chinese New Year and time to eat tang yuen. I made some black sesame tang yuen and enjoyed it with instant ginger drink (in lieu of ginger sugar water). Two weekends ago, we went to the city to watch the lion dance parade. The weather was fu fu ma ma (so so in Mandarin) so we decided to go early in the morning in case it rained later in the day. We made the right decision to go early in the morning because it did rain in the afternoon around 2pm when we left. Also, the city and the parade was less crowded in the morning. We caught the early lions at around 10am and had prime positions to see the lion dance and Dai Loong as it appeared from the Chinese Museum around to Lonsdale Street. 

There were about 10 lions all in different colours in the opening ceremony in the morning. There was also a newer dragon, doing the customary twirl trying to catch the ball of sun. The firecrackers went on forever, and was very smoky but it was much more enjoyable knowing it is once a year kind of event. I wish I brought some ear plugs along but without the cacophony of clanging cymbals, beating drums, and popping fireworks, it would not be Chinese New Year!

After the official lion dance opening ceremony, each troupe went their own ways to perform for the individual businesses that had paid them for lion dances. Two troupes with their dancers met in the middle of the street and the dancers stuck out their hand from the lion hand to shake hands. Such camaraderie!

There were also a centre stage on Russell Street where dances and performances were on but we did not stick around to watch because there were a lack of seats. There seem to be fewer stalls these year, but of higher quality and fewer food stalls. Tesla, Uniqlo, Hot Wheels were among the few I remembered. Gaz won a cooler bag from Uniqlo. We were there early, yet he had to queue up for about 20 mins for his turn to pick a gift. 

For lunch, I found a place that does not charge Sunday surcharge so we went there for lunch. More to come in the next post!

Anzero, Glen Waverley

When I think of Valentine's Day, several things come to mind. There was a year on Valentine's Day when we got accidentally locked out of our house. It was the only Valentine's Day where we had a threesome - ourselves and the locksmith. It was a very expensive date. 

There was another year where we spent 3 hours at a restaurant. The act of eating food took less than an hour, but the rest of time we were waiting for harried servers and kitchen staff churning out meals to all the customers. We had plenty of time to stare into each other's eyes which was the only advantage of the date. 

This Valentine's, we celebrated ahead of time. We went to a neighbourhood Japanese restaurant Anzero. Gaz had heard good reviews of the place and wanted to try it out. It is a small, neat and tidy place. We were ushered to a 'display table' - a table at the front of the restaurant beside the glass windows so passers-by can see us as though we were on display. 

There is a small selection of items on the menu and each item can be made into a set meal for an additional $5. The additional items in the set meal is a fried beef dumpling, an onsen egg, and some cucumber slices. Both single and set meals came with a salad and miso soup. We ordered the 150g scotch steak yakiniku ($27.50). The beef was cooked medium rare and was tender but there were some chewy parts that really tested my teeth strength. It was basically pan fried beef on rice, and while I really liked that I was eating a hearty portion of beef, the dish would benefit from some kind of sauce. The miso soup on the side helped, because it was much too salty on its own. 

The spicy beef karubi ($29.50) was good. The chilli oil sauce gave the whole dish a nice kick, but it is not spicy. The raw egg added some richness to the dish. A second egg came in the form of the onsen egg which was part of the set, so we set that aside to eat with the beef yakiniku. I think upgrading the meal to a set is not really needed because the three additional items are not substantial and are not must have's in term of flavour profile. They are good to have to add variety to the meal though. 

 The portions were on the small side, but we both agreed that we should not be eating too much anyway. The flavours are a bit inconsistent and a bit of a hit and miss - the miso soup was too salty, the beef karubi and dumpling was oily. The restaurant had only recently opened for dinner service so perhaps a refinement of the menu is in order.

Union Deli, Acland Street St Kilda

Gaz took us to a new cafe at St Kilda last weekend. He was in the mood for an American diner type food so he suggested Urban Deli on Acland Street. For lunches, there is a cart out the front of the restaurant that one can see the meats chopped up and the sangas assembled. It looks like it mainly does take aways but have several tables set up outdoors for those who prefer to eat in. I do recommend dining in because the meat plates are too good to enjoy on the go. 

We order the porchetta lunch box ($22) which came with a thick slice of roast pork, sauerkraut, pickles, stuffing, chips and sauce. The roast pork is tender and the crackling where it was crispy was delicious. Some parts of the pork was a bit dry but when I eat it with the stuffing and sauce, it was great. The stuffing is very tasty, I wished I had more of that stuffing. 

The smoked beef brisket ($18) burger had thick slices of tender and flavourful slices of beef brisket, pickles, coleslaw and chips on the side. The portions were generous and it did not leave any bit of hungry in our stomachs. That's a sign of a good lunch date.

 

St Kilda Festival 2026, Robot Song

Leading up to Chinese New Year is the big Spring Clean. Reaching into the nooks and crannies that had only seen light once a year, brushing cobwebs from vents and corners, washing the windows and doors - these are all part and parcel of the big cleaning exercise once a year. I know I would have no qualms about stuffing myself silly at the dinners to come, because of all the calories burnt beforehand!

So it would seem frivolous for me to take a break the weekend before CNY to watch a play at Theatreworks in St Kilda. The play is called Robot Song and is about an autistic girl who was bullied at school and how she and her parents dealt with the issue. It is based on a true story, which made me feel quite upset that such things can be happening in our society. To think that kids can deliberately address a letter to their classmate to wish she had never been born.. how were they brought up? Sadly, the play did not mention whether the bullies were made to understand their actions are wrong or faced any consequences.

After the play, we went for a stroll along the beach. It was a picture perfect day - sunny and clear, not too many people on the foreshore. The development of the penguin viewing platform was new to us, so we went for a walk there and even saw a penguin nestled between the rocks. Soon, it drew a large crowd but happily we managed to snap a picture before the crowd grew too big. 

The wooden jetty has been complemented by a concrete walkway which increased the capacity so more people can walk and sit to enjoy the surroundings. The pavilion at the end of the jetty remains open and is home to a cafe in addition to an extension housing a public change room, and toilets. There is a place along the jetty where people can dive into the sea and climb back up using a steel stair. It is very convenient for those people to shower and get changed at the public change rooms after their dip in the ocean.

The city skyline in the distance looks like a dream. I used to admire city skylines but nowadays I like the view of never ending green pastures and mountains better. But the view of the cerulean sea dotted with sailboats is beautiful. 

 

Ruffey Lake Park

Ruffey Lake Park is a lovely, large public park in Doncaster with a large lake in the middle of the park. It has many walking tracks with paved roads, a playground, picnic tables and bbqs, even a ninja warrior course for kids. What it is lacking though, is shade. There are barely any trees along the walking tracks, so when it is a sunny afternoon, it is not a good idea to walk the park unless one is equipped with sunnies, hat, loads of sunscreen and long sleeve shirt and pants. Riding a mobility scooter would not hurt either. The tracks have a slight gradient which makes it quite a workout. 

 There is a nice boardwalk along the lake where one could try to spot frogs, crickets and ducks. 

We walked for a close to an hour, but could not persevere under the hot sun and soon left for the comfort of air conditioning in the car and home.