Wandering around the city...again

After breakfast, we went to Doncaster Aquarena to have a short swim. It was my first time to try swimming in a heated swimming pool and well, it was, uh, warm haha It was a community pool so at half past 9 in the morning, the pool was already crowded. There were kids swimming, adults taking turns swimming in the few lanes available, and elderlies and differently-abled doing their aqua exercises. After swimming for an hour or less, we decided to hit the shower before everybody else does since it is almost lunchtime.

Ate was craving for roti so we had lunch at Pappa Rich, a Malaysian restaurant chain serving Malaysian and Southeast Asian fares. Yes, I flew 3,700 miles to eat something which I could just find anytime from the canteen and hawker stalls here in Singapore. But since I love my sister, yes, Malaysian/Southeast Asian food it is.

Stepping into the restaurant felt like being transported to Singapore or Malaysia. Most of the diners were Asians who come in groups of three or more. The crew were Asians who speak English with that oh-so-familiar accent. And the atmosphere was definitely Asian, noisy, vibrant and warm. Ate ordered tandoori chicken with chapatti while I ordered sambal chicken with briyani rice. When the food arrived, my chicken came with white jasmine rice. No biggie but I was imagining briyani rice full of spices at that time.

The food was ok, albeit a bit sweet. I guess that aside from targeting the migrants, they're also catering to a wider range of clientele so the usual spiciness of the dishes was toned down and replaced with a hint of sweetness. But the milk tea with jelly tasted authentic. So generally, yes, I guess Malaysians could say it was food from home.

 



Sambal chicken with jasmin rice

After lunch, we went to attend mass at St. Francis church. It was already offertory when we came in. It is a common observation among travellers that Catholic churches abroad would usually be populated with Filipinos. Outside of Asia, I have only been to New Zealand before Australia and I can say that in Auckland, yes, this observation seems accurate. But in St. Francis in Melbourne, I couldn't say the same. The churchgoers were a heterogeneous group.

 

St Francis Church

I didn’t have the chance to take photos of the church interiors. It is made mostly of wood which gave that warmth and homely atmosphere. The interior was nice and simple which I like (I have a disgust over modern churches that go over the top in their decorations). According to their website, this church is the oldest Catholic Church in Victoria and the busiest in Australia with 43 masses and 10,000 visiting worshippers each week. There was no choir but the mass was still solemn.

We went to the Catholic bookstore beside the church afterwards. I bought a book of prayers for the kids and a novena booklet for Ate. She found a book about singles and relationships but I thought it was too pricey for an impulsive buy so I didn't take it.

The forecast today said that there were high chances of rain in the afternoon so we opted to just go free and easy again.

GPO

The whole stretch of Flinders Station

And the "It's more fun in the Philippines" ad again

We walked along the banks of Yarra River on the way to the Olympic Park area where Rod Laver arena is located. Rod Laver is the Australian champion for tennis as Manny Pacquiao is to Filipinos and boxing. He was a big name before so they named their tennis arena after him. The arena was closed that time so we just had photos outside.

Elmo, the busker

Winter scene

Bridge

Rod Laver arena

Clockwise from top left: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Olympic Park Stadium, Westpac Centre, Hisense Arena

On our walk back, we saw throngs of footy fans making their way to MCG. Black and white as well as red and black beanies, scarves, jackets, and shirts were all over the place as fans of Collingwood and Essendon show their support for their teams. It was drizzling but people of all ages were there. Ate was imagining that maybe five years from now, she and her husband would also go to one of the games with their children in tow.

Footy fans on their way to MCG

Walking along Yarra River had that melancholic vibe. Aside from the occasional kayakers paddling their way to I don’t know where, the river was serene. Some trees still had their golden yellow leaves on but most were blown away by the wind, or had willingly parted with the branches and reunited with the ground. As one looks up the dark, grey sky, one would see branches and twigs of these seemingly lifeless creatures. But as one looks closely at those twigs, especially of Sakura trees, one would see buds waiting to bloom. Yes, it's winter and cold and dark and heavy but once spring sets in, these buds would bear beautiful flowers and the trees would again grow their leaves to provide shade to birds, bees and people alike. Such is the cycle of life. Charoooot!

Yarra River

What you see while walking

Back at the CBD, we looked for AIX Creperie for afternoon tea. We forgot it's Sunday and even if it was still early (around 4 I think), the shop was already closing. So we went to Brother Baba Budan instead.



Centreplace with AIX on the left

Brother Baba Budan

I saw this place online when I was researching for my trip.  The eccentric decoration – chairs hanging on the ceiling (I could imagine my mom saying “What if they fall on the customers, they could die!”) – and the good reviews won me over so I included it in my must-go-to places in Melbourne.  Needless to say, I had high expectations of the place and gladly, they were met.

Entering the café feels like I was just stepping into a familiar hang-out place or into one of my friend’s kitchen (except for the hanging chairs).  It is small, welcoming and intimate.  There’s a dining table on the left side of the room where you and your friends could share a cup of coffee with strangers.  I found this a perfect way of encouraging subtle interaction among strangers.  I mean, a dining table exudes that familial impression that a canteen table for example does not have so drinking a cup of coffee on that table with other people, even without talking to each other, sort of makes one feel that he/she is just having coffee with his/her family or people close to him/her. Am I overthinking or what?  J

Aside from the dining table, there were two more bars with (I think) four high chairs each.  One faces a wall and the other faces the coffee machine and the assortment of pastries available for the day.  This is where we sat. 

Coffee making machines

Chairs on the ceiling

Now, the quality of the drinks.  I ordered seven seeds latte while my sister ordered chai tea latte. Im a fan of simple but tasty coffee  - not too strong, not too sweet, no whipped cream – so their coffee really worked for me.   You could taste the beans and the milk at the same time.  My sister’s chai tea latte was good too.  It’s not solely tea and milk.  We were guessing that they put a dash of chili which gave the drink that “kick” which was interesting.  My sister proclaimed that that would be her favourite coffee shop from that point on.

Seven seeds latte

Just water

What a good way to end a perfect Sunday. 



Policemen on horses