Lunch at Shanghai Tea House

On Friday, the girls I work with decided to check out Shanghai Tea House, the newest culinary addition to the Burnside Village. Located on the timber deck, the size of the restaurant is quite deceiving. It looks small on the outside, but seats about 30-40 not including the 2 private booths. That's right, private booths! They are intimate without being squishy and have a curtain you can pull across the entrance to the booths. Perfect for that business lunch?

The food is nothing like I expected. The reviews for Shanghai Tea House haven't been very favourable online, and they did colour my opinion before I'd even been. But I'm glad I did go. There are all sorts of delicious treats and lovely teas. For the Burnside Village, the pricing is quite reasonable. Lunch specials are around the $15 mark, with morning and afternoon tea specials around $10 which includes tea and a snack.

There specials are updated daily and the yum cha consists of deep fried goodness as well as healthier options. The tea list is quite extensive and a pot of tea for 2 can easily be shared between 3 people. The tea comes in little pots with the cutest little double walled tea cups. I will be sourcing these, or definitely adding them to my wishlist!

Lily wolfberry tea

The lunch specials are amazing. I went with the garlic prawns. An old favourite. I was expecting the old take away dish, a creamy, heavy sauce with 2 or 3 prawns. I was pleased to receive the below dish, a light garlic sauce, which was so very more-ish.

Garlic prawns and rice

The tea was delicious, I'm a bit apprehensive about trying anything outside of my usual black tea, but found it was light on the palate and suited the meal very much. Shanghai Tea House is also fully licenced, and judging by all the ladies ordering Moet on the day, it was appreciated!

I would definitely recommend visiting Shanghai Tea House if doing a spot of shopping over the other cafes in the village. It is somewhere I can't wait to go back and visit and will have to go for yum cha over a leisurely lunch.

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Shanghai Tea House is located at Shop 108, Burnside Village, 447 Portrush Road Glenside. Phone 7200 3063 for bookings.

Opening hours:
Mon - Wed: 10:00 - 17:00

Thu - Sat: 10:00 - 22:00

Sun: 10:00 - 17:00

Quick Review: MAC Purchase

I recently purchased some MAC from the US. MAC's pricing in Australia is daylight robbery, so I thought I would get myself some sent over.

The good news is, they're authentic! I was a bit sus about buying online unless it was from MAC themselves, but it has passed the authenticity test. I could only go by swatches online, as getting to town or Marion is a pain.

I purchased MAC Lipglass in Embrace Me and MAC Satin Lipstick in Viva Glam Nicki.

The Nicki Minaj Viva Glam is a lot more pastel in person than the swatches show. But Her Minaj-esty would be proud! After applying it, I may have broken into a loud, off-key rendition of Starships. Hey, it called for it! It feels a little drying on the lips, but I don't wear lipstick every day, so I can deal it with occasionally.

Embrace Me is a vibrant fuchsia colour. As far as lip glosses, it's sticky, but great coverage and staying power. After blotting my lips, I end up with a nice pink finish. I don't expect a lot of lasting power, but this is definitely a night out on the town colour.

I think I have the MAC bug, and might have to get some more soon!

Flaounes (Traditional Cypriot Cheese Pastry)

It's Easter eve (Holy Saturday) and after seeing everyone post beautiful food on Facebook, I decided that I should make something. But what? Sweets are covered, lamb on the spit is out main course. Why not go back to my heritage and make flaounes? Flaounes are traditionally made on Holy Thursday before Good Friday. In Cyprus, the women of the village gather together and make huge batches of these time consuming pastries. Well worth it, but some recipes I've seen call for around 18 eggs. This the cheat's way, but they are still amazing!

Ingredients

• Yeast dough
  • 750g strong plain flour (bread flour will do)
  • 1 sachet dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, water to mix
  
  
• Cheese filling
  • 250g cheese: you can use any Greek cheese, but my local Coles is small and didn't have any Greek cheeses so I used cheddar
  • 100g Haloumi,
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon crushed dried mint
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  
  
• To finish
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • sesame seeds

Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise.

For the filling, coarsely grate the cheeses, add the flour and baking powder then gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiffish paste (keep some of the beaten egg back if the mixture becomes too runny).
 

Divide the dough into egg sized pieces and roll these into 10cm discs.

Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre of each pastry disc, spreading it slightly. Pull dough up at 3 points to make a triangle, or 4 points to make a square. You should still be able to see the filling in the middle.

Press corners together to seal and leave to rise. Just before baking, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the finished flaounes.

Bake in a hot oven at 230'C for 12-15 minutes until cheese filling is puffed and flaounes are golden.

Serve warm or cold.

Makes 12, but I easily made 16.

Kopiaste and Kali Anastasi!

Celebrating Greek Orthodox Easter

So seeing as it's the Holy Week, I thought I would take a minute to explain why we Greeks (Orthodox) celebrate differently to the rest of the world. Some people think that Orthodox Easter is about lamb on the spit and a different Easter date. But why do we do things "differently"?

While Easter is a 40 day event (Sarakosti), it all comes down to Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. This is the week leading up to and celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though I don't attend church that often, I find that the ceremonies I attend are beautiful.

We also fast either for 40 days, or Holy Week. This means once you have fish as your only protein on Palm Sunday, the rest of the week we abstain from meat, dairy, alcohol and sex. With so many yummy Greek recipes, and vegan, too, there's no end to options. Lenten fasting is over after the Paschal Divine Liturgy on Saturday. To break the fast, a dish of Magiritsa is served, followed by the cracking of red eggs. The red eggs symbolise the blood of Christ and rebirth. The eggs are cracked together with another person's egg, the cracker says "Christos Anesti" (Christ Has Risen) and the other person responds "Alithos Anesti" (Truly He Has Risen). This greeting is also used for the 40 days following Easter. One thing that people do that is annoying is replying "Alithos, mate". To me, that takes away the meaning behind it.

Right, so after midnight, you've gone to sleep with a tummy full of gut soup and eggs, what do you get for lunch? That's right, lamb on the spit! The day is filled with family, friends and most importantly FOOD!

So why do we celebrate on a different date? The Eastern Orthodox Church follows the Gregorian calendar, in most years Western Christian churches and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on different dates. In 2013, for example, Easter will be celebrated on March 31 by Western churches and May 5 by Orthodox churches. But in 2011, the two celebrations occurred on the same date, April 24. The formula for Easter- the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox" - is identical for both Western and Orthodox Easters, but the churches base the dates on different calendars: Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world, and Orthodox churches use the older, Julian calendar.

I wanted to write more but I couldn't think of anything else. Maybe this should be a small Paschal series?

Nails of the Day

So being a bit of a lazy bum lately, I thought I would do a mini post on a Sunday night! I haven't done my nails in ages, and have to either run down what I have or give them away.

OPI is my preferred nail polish of choice. While I own a few Revlon polishes and a couple others, I'm not really a fan of them. I have approximately 35 bottles, with more on the way! I like the uniformity of owning the one brand, something I also do when it comes to cosmetics and skin care.

While I like the look of the Butter London polishes, and the same with Essie, I can't allow myself to buy them as it would ruin my OPI collection!

More to the point, here are today's nails: China Glaze "For Audrey" and OPI "Last Friday Night". Excuse the wonky polish application, it's been a while. And as a relapsed nail biter my nail beds are pretty stuffed :(

I should probably do a weekly OPI post, definitely a good way to wear them all!

Kosmea Spa Treatment

I had been contemplating a spa day, just to spoil myself as my skin is getting older. How it was at 15 is totally different to today at 26. When Celeste of Becoming Beautiful and Adelaide Beauty Bloggers advised us she had organised with Kosmea for us to receive a complimentary 60 minute spa treatment, I jumped at the chance!

Although I had heard of Kosmea's Rose Hip oil before, I didn't realise they had a skin care range. I also didn't know they had a Day Spa. This only opened recently. From their website:

"Kosmea is an Australian natural skincare company and an international success story, founded on the healing properties of certified organic rose hip oil.
From the earliest days the company and its products have been developed with a strong vision, determination and commitment to integrity."

I was a bit hesitant at first to go along, as I normally don't like rose scents unless they are from the rose itself. Being of Greek and Cypriot descent, we also use rosewater occasionally in sweets, but again not a fan. I also have sensitive skin, and products like Dermalogica make me break out due to the fragrances added.

Kosmea Australia's first day spa

When I arrived, I filled out a standard questionnaire, detailing any medical conditions, allergies, etc, but I find these forms pretty standard across the board. Within seconds of handing back the form, the lovely Amy came to collect me. The treatment room was so nice, it was cozy, but definitely a friendly environment. The temperature was ambient, not too cold and not too warm. The artwork on the wall was lovely, and was definitely a nice touch.

 

The chair is another of those nice touches in the treatment room

 After losing the jewellery and putting on a robe, I hopped under the sheet. I was ready for a snooze by this stage of the day! I'm glad we weren't completely quiet, Amy and I chatted about houses, kids and my nail polish addiction.

My treatment started with the Purifying Cream Cleanser, a silky feeling cleanser which Amy applied to my skin and then rinsed off. Not like a conventional face wash, it felt lovely and rinsed off nicely, no suds up my nose! After my skin was cleaned, Amy asked me to shut my eyes and used a UV light mask to check out my skin's condition. I have dehydrated skin around my eyes, to the right and left of my lower lip and under my lower lip. I have sun damage to my chin, nose, cheeks and forehead. I don't spend a lot of time in the sun, but didn't even think that I could be doing the damage when driving to work and home!

I then had a hot cloth covering my face. Love this, I miss flying Singapore Airlines just for the hot towels! After this, my covered my face with the Daily Facial Exfoliant. I was hoping I wouldn't rash up or break out. Wow! No bad reaction to my skin at all. While it was on my skin, Amy switched on a steam machine, and that steamed my face while she used a machine similar to the Clarisonic over the exfoliant scrub. I would never in a million years have thought of this! The steam got a bit too much for me at times, but it was nice and warm, and cleared my lungs and nose. After it was switched off, it was a shame, because it felt cold in the room!

The very comfortable treatment bed, which has a sheet and blanket and is so comfy!

Now that my face had been scrubbed down, Amy applied a product which I can't remember the name of, but it had fruit acids in it. While it was settling on my skin, she gave me a massage while we chatted. After asked if I wanted a soft or hard massage, I jumped on hard. Sure, it would be painful, but worth it. At first, I thought Amy was going gentle on me, but after she got stuck into my back, neck, shoulders and all the knots, I felt the pain. And it was GOOD! It was much appreciated, and I felt like snoozing then and there on the table. Absolute bliss!

Some of the products used today

My face was then wiped off and another hot towel covered it. Amy then sprayed my face with the Hydrating Rosewater Mist which smelt so nice. Then it was time to add the Rose Hip Oil to my problem areas. Under my lip, to the sides and massaged around my eyes. This felt so nice, and was a lovely way to finish the treatment. This is applied to problem areas and then you can wear moisturiser over the top. However, instead of moisturiser, Amy applied the Moisturising Lotion SPF 30+, which was non-greasy and has a tint to it, so can be worn by itself.

The cherry blossom artwork

After the treatment, as I was getting dressed, I checked the time. For a complimentary session, I had got my full hour treatment, which I was pleased with and a little surprised. From beginning to end, I didn't feel rushed. The calming decor was a contributing relaxation factor.

Throughout the whole appointment, I didn't feel rushed, and I didn't feel pressured to buy any products. Unfortunately, I didn't purchase any products tonight, but as Kosmea is close to my work, I will be happy to return and purchase the Rose Hip Oil. I think I will visit Kosmea every so often to spoil my skin, as their pricing is reasonable, and it takes a special product to not make my skin react.

My skin after, just a glow from being pampered

I would definitely recommend the Kosmea Day Spa, and I will be going back to buy vouchers for my Mum and MIL. This is how much faith I have in the Kosmea brand and their lovely staff. I can't wait to go back for my next treatment. As a bonus, while writing this review my skin smells like turkish delight and citrus.

You can find the Kosmea Day Spa at 71 Glen Osmond Road, Eastwood. Appointments can be made by calling 1300 130 320.

This service was provided free of charge but all opinions are my own.

New laptop!

So today, my lovely partner went on a recon mission to get me a new laptop. I've been looking for a while now, as my cute little Asus eee pc has just about had it. 3 years of use and abuse has been too much for it, and I've been finding what I need it for is too much for its little processor.

One thing I've been looking for in a laptop is colour. A pink Sony Vaio would have been best, buuuut money is always a thing when updating technology. So when I went to JB Hifi, I ended up falling in love with a Toshiba. In white! The problem was, it was running Windows 8 and had an i3 processor. Something that didn't bother me, but friends and family advised me against it. All good!

So while perusing the JB site today, I found this. The Toshiba C850/0G6. It is the next model up, but I have been given blessings to buy this one. I feel sorry for my Asus which is going to get wiped and sold.

The specs are everything I wanted and more, I think the 1TB HDD is a bit special, so I'm quite excited to start using it!

This is my new baby's specs - so pretty: Toshiba website

Exalt the new baby

Want it Wednesday: Oroton Emeril Handbag

Hello readers,

This week's edition of Want it Wednesday is my lemming for the Oroten Emeril Jacquard Shopper Tote. I have always loved Oroton, and as a woman, who doesn't love handbags?? I came across this one while looking at the Oroton website in their post-Christmas sale. It is beautiful, and made of love.

Currently on sale for $270, this bag only seems to be available online. The stores I have checked out have been sold out, and I haven't found an SA with any level of customer service skills to see if any other stores stock it.

There is also a matching purse, or clutch, for $115, here.

That's it for this week's episode of Want it Wednesday! This bag and purse are affordable, yes, however I always have trouble justifying expensive purchases.

This is definitely one for the wish fairy!

xo E



Want It Wednesday: XO(eco) Lunch Kit

I thought I might start a weekly thread, the "Want it Wednesday". This is where I will post about what I want, and maybe post later if I get it. Some of the future posts will be about things that I would love (want, not need), but can't afford, or can't get shipped to Australia, cause hey, nobody wants to ever send anything here!

I am in love with the Lauren Conrad XO(eco) Lunch Kit. Containing a cute lunchbox, reusable drink tumbler and hand towel. It comes in 2 patterns, black and cream tuxedo stripes, or green birds on a wire.

As someone who brings their lunch into work daily, I love the idea of a reusable lunch box, and the tumbler is too cute! I would love it to sit on my desk daily. I would probably want 2 or 3!

It is designed by Lauren Conrad for Blue Avocado, a company who have dedicated themselves to using recyclable materials to reduce environmental waste and inspire change.

There's nothing wrong with being environmentally conscious, and this would be a great way to promote recycling and upcycling.

If anyone would like to spoil me, here's where you can buy it (in green!): Blue Avocado.

x E

It's Hot (and Frizzy) in the City

Happy 44 degree weather day, everyone!! Today is not my type of weather, but even though I don't like it, doesn't mean my hair has to suffer. Today I've left my hair naturally curly, as I don't see the point of straightening my hair when I know I'll perspire. Then my hair will look disgusting, and I don't like to wash my hair daily as this is unnecessary and stresses my already bleached, fragile, fine hair.

As I said, I have really curly hair. Photos of me as a kid show I had really tight curls, and it was very bouncy. I started growing my hair longer, and then puberty hit. My curls are still there, but not as well defined. The longer it grows, I get even less definition. I find that the only time I get a true curl is when I get my period.

Anyway, so I decided before Christmas to colour my hair. Taking a natural dark brown, whacking half a head of honey blonde foils into it, was always going to stress it a bit. I haven't found THE cure, but I have worked out a way to make it look and feel as healthy as it can after being bleached.

When in the shower, I use the Evo Mane Prescription Protein Treatment after shampooing and conditioning. When you squeeze it out of its container, it looks a bit stingy and smells a bit strange. But when it goes into my hair, a little goes on a long way and it makes my hair feel so lovely and smooth, and it smells great! You can buy it here.

After washing, I use a towel turban to get the excess water off my hair. They look daggy, but they do the job! Mine is pink ;) I find this usually takes a couple of minutes, so I moisturise or something like that. Then goes in a bit of Moroccanoil, which smells amazing and makes my hair feel so soft. I then comb my hair using my (again pink!) Tangle Teezer, which I stumbled upon by mistake, and now can't get enough of. It works great on damp, curly hair or dry straight hair.

You can by Moroccanoil here and the Tangle Teezer here.

Here is where my hair goes through a decision. Do I want to straighten it, or leave it curly for the day?

If I leave it curly, after combing I'll add a drop of Tigi S Factor One Curl at a Time and leave my hair to air dry. I have tried to blow dry my hair, but can't seem to get it down pat yet. Hopefully, the use of product will aid me in this endeavour. Tigi has always been my go-to when using curl products. In fact, it was like yesterday my cousin took over my hair and used the Tigi Curl Jam in it to make my curls look as they should! The effect is a lovely, soft curl which almost smells like coming from a hairdresser. You know the smell I mean!

If the day is a straight hair day, after using the Tangle Teezer, I let my hair air dry in more than enough time to use my loved and abused GHD straightener. I think it's the second generation one, but I got rid of the box about a year ago. Before using the straightener, I make sure to spritz a healthy amount of RPR Protect My Hair Thermal Defense Spray. This smells like wildberries, and helps to give a nice shine when straightening. I find if I spray on too much, and it dries, it goes tacky and I don't get a very good straighten with it. If I want to put curls or waves in my hair, I don't use this, as it doesn't let me curl my hair properly, it kind of just sits there. I bought mine at Price Attack, but you can also buy it here.
After my hair has been straightened, I spritz on a bit of Sebastian Halo Mist, let it dry and away I go! The Halo Mist leaves a nice shine without that greasy feeling that some shine serums leave behind.

This is my daily hair. What do you do to yours?

24 Books in 12 Months

So today, I decided at night time I will put down my phone, laptop, ipad and anything that stimulates my brain, and read a book instead. I haven't read a book properly in years, and I find my creativity surges and my brain relaxes while doing so.

With the wedding coming up, I thought it would be a good way to relax my subconscious. And with the boy working night shifts, it's a different world to escape into!

Being a book lover slash collector, I thought I should start reading books I have bought because they look and sounded good at the time. What's that about judging a book by its cover?

Anyway, so I decided to challenge myself to 24 books this year. That's 2 books a month, and not totally unachievable. This isn't a New Year's resolution, this is just a self-challenge. Tonight's book was "Of All the Stupid Things" by Alexandra Diaz. You can buy it here. A YA book, but probably what I needed to get into the swing of things.

I read the whole book in just under 2 hours, and it was a nice feeling. Growing up with Mum working in a library was awesome, as I used to get given books to read almost daily. In primary school and even high school, you could usually find me with my nose in a book.

Here's a selection of what I have in store ahead of me, some very chick-lit books, but they'll be enjoyable nonetheless!!