Melbourne Part II

As part of our CNY festivities we went over to Daniel Gor Gor's house in the outskits of Melbourne for a reunion dinner.  Our cousins and aunties took to Asher straightaway, and he likewise warmed up to them immediately.  I was pleasantly surprised since they were all meeting for the first time!  The younger cousins, especially, had a good time playing with Asher.  Nick was happy to have another boy, and eagerly showed Asher his precious praying mantis, which Asher gamely let Nick put on his arm.  While I encouraged Asher to let the insect walk on his hand, I was myself a little wary of it walking onto mine, heh ;) 

Let's carry Asher!  Whoaaa :)

Hanging out before dinner

Since it was still a while to dinner, we decided to head for the park to burn some calories in view of the feasting to come.  Although the little excursion was meant more for Asher's benefit, I had such a good time myself chatting with everyone, enjoying the spacious expanse of grassy field, being a kid and climbing up the spider web (when I see these things I really must climb it, I can't help it!), pushing Asher on the swing, and well, just having good old fashion outdoor fun!! 

Anyway, on the way there we caught a glimpse of Asher's hierarchy of preferences.  We were kicking a ball around on the way to the park.  It's one of his all time favourite toys.  But, we discovered that his love of flowers was greater.  As he was going to kick the ball back to Nick, he spotted a flower and walked over to it, ignoring the ball completely.  I even had to coax him back to playing with the ball.  He was distracted again by a different flower at the end of the drive-way :)  A few moments later his attention was averted by the sound of chriping birds.  He was going to a kick a ball when he heard some birds singing above and started to look around for them, again ignoring the ball.  The final experiment that needs to be done is to test whether birds or flowers are at the top of his list :)

To the park!

Dinner was the classic steamboat, made even more comforting because of the cold weather.  Nothing like warm soup on a cold day.  Asher too had a tasty CNY treat, a bowl of steaming hot porridge - his first hot meal since we arrived in Melbourne.  Plus, it was made extra yummy because Lao Yi used salmon which she had already marinated with sesame oil and soya sauce for the steamboat!  So his porridge was deliciously fragrant and he happily chomped away - I know cos I couldn't help stealing a bite or two! 

 

Steamboat dinner

After dinner we were treated to a musical performance of sorts by Asher...

Drumming on Grandpa's head, much to the amusement of everyone! :)

Angie also sang a rousing chorus of the Hokey-Pokey, which got Asher all tickled :)  And Nick volunteered to be Asher's steed, giving him a ride around the house on his back while crawling on all fours!  And then there was the game of peekaboo which got Asher breaking out in infectious chuckles.  Yup, I think it's fair to say all of us had a good time - whether directly involved in the post-dinner entertainment, or as spectators :) 

I really like this shot of them :)

This is Asher the morning after, haha.  All worn out from a night of good fun :)

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Chu Yi, the first day of CNY, was spent with my dear Aunty Mui Leng :)  Since young, I've always looked forward to meeting her whenever she came back to Singapore for a visit.  Among the many gifts she's given me over the years, the one I remember best is the children's Bible I received in primary school.  It was my first Bible, and even though I wasn't yet a Christian, I loved re-reading it over and over because it was told comic-book style, which brought the characters to life.

We took the free tourist tram to Docklands - a relaxed waterfrount area lined with restaurants and bistros, and features a quaint Sunday market. 

We were heading for Mecca Bah, a Moroccan-Middle Eastern restaurant featured in the Melbourne Lonely Planet (who leaves home without it??).  We were not disappointed at all!  We had the Mecca Bah Dips and Bread (featuring hummus, ztatziki and baba ghanoush), Moroccan olive bread roll with Harissa, Lamacun (turkish pizza) topped with spit roasted lamb, rocket, yoghurt and sumac, a Harpuka Tagine, and to end, Fig and Halva ice-cream with Turkish coffee.

Asher shared lunch with us that day.  Quite a milestone for us actually, it was the first time he ate off the table with us, and he continued to do so for much of the rest of our trip :)  The produce in Australia is famously fresh, and we were convinced that given the food culture and the healthy philosophy of Australian cooking, there'd always be something suitable for babies/toddlers. 

He really enjoyed the bread and dips, pointing at the plate for seconds and thirds...and fourths...AND, he had a major treat too.  His first taste of ice-cream!  Exotic flavours no less! The fig and halva ice-cream went down well, and he happily tried dipping his Baby Bites biscuit into it as well :) 

When he had his fill he entertained himself by watching the kids behind jump of the concrete platform.  For some reason he found it really funny and kept chuckling at their antics.  But a cute girl distracted him...hmm...  When he saw her walk in with her parents, he craned his neck to see where she was heading to, and when he found she was in the outdoor area with us, decided to face forward to look and wave at her for the rest of the time we were there :)  They start young don't they?

Thoroughly satisfied, we had a leisurely stroll along the waterfront promenade.  Asher was intrigued by the collection of white sculptures, but was especially taken with one particular structure...the ever familiar, "BOL!"  He insisted on clambouring up onto it and sat most contentedly on it for a good while.  The biggest ball he's seen so far I think, maybe that's why :)

Taking the free tram back into town, we hopped off to go walk along yet another promenade along the south bank of the Yarra River.

What is it about the south of a river that makes it more vibrant than the north?  Like in London, this Southbank had a unique allure as well. 

Interesting architecture and bridges (click in to see the sculptures).  Not necessarily pretty, but interesting.

Street artists and buskers (check it out!  I got the acrobat exactly when he was leaping over the boy!)

 

A crooked bridge - perhaps Mahatir saw this and was inspired.

  

Oh, and guess what we found at the CNY street market?  Yu Sheng!  Aunty Mui Leng hasn't had it in a long time, and given it was the first day of the new year, what a better way to celebrate than have an impromptu mini-lo hei! :)

 

Later that night, Asher was trying hard to follow in Daddy's footsteps by stuffing his feet into Jon's sandals and shuffling about (just clicked a moment too late!).  But we packed him off to bed soon cos it was going to be a long drive the next day - roadtrip to the Twelve Apostles!