Cats and more cats

In my first year in Perth, a cat adopted us and has since moved in with us on a permanent basis. When we moved to Cunderdin, we brought her along and she proves to be a one of a kind. She was definitely a house cat as she knows how to use the kitty litter naturally but I guess she had been wandering outside for quite a while as she refuses to be cooped up in the house for too long.

Furthermore, she is definitely a killer and she has already killed 3 snakes and brought them back home as a gift to us. Definitely could have done without it.

Yesterday, we found another kitten (about 3 weeks old) wandering around school and some people suggested that we just leave it where we found it as it was too troublesome to look after it. I was definitely against it as it was already very weak and looked like it was abandoned and I'm a soft touch when it comes to animals. My wife and I decided to keep it for the night and bring it to Cat Haven (23 Lemnos Street, Shenton Park WA 6008) which a not for profit organisation which was set up to look after and rehome cats. They have a shop, a boarding place and a vet. It's definitely better than bringing it to the SPCA as they do not euthanise the cat unless it's medically necessary. Bringing in a stray was very straight forward and if anybody wants to adopt a cat or get a new cat, I would suggest visiting that place.

Gardening

One of the many things that I like about living in Australia is the gardening culture that you have here which is lacking in Sin. Although there is a slow push towards community gardening in Sin, my aunt is into it big time, it's still seen as something that is not so important. Over here gardening is big time, be it ornamental flowers, native gardens or vegetable gardens.

Started small when I got here with some pots of herbs and in my previous house in Perth, the owner did up her garden fantastically well, considering that she is already in her 70s.

In Cunderdin, we started growing some fruit trees, Pinkabelle apples, lemon, 3 ways pear, and 2 different types of peaches, and a vegetable garden and they are growing well. We just had our first harvest of the Flat Angel Peach and it was sugar sweet. The vegetables have been harvested countless times and we'll start afresh later in Feb when we get back from our hols.

We got our trees we got them from Northam Garden Centre but usually get our things from Bunnings. They literally have everything you need for gardening and they are also there to give any advise that you may need. Bunnings can be found almost everywhere in Perth and if you are in the country or Perth, there's always Mitre 10, Home Hardware and Makit.

Renewing Visa

Our 5 years Permanent Resident Visa is up. Basically it means that if you want to stay in Aus without leaving the shores, you're fine since you are considered a permanent resident but you need to apply for a Return Visa if you want to go out of the country for a walk.

The process couldn't be any easier if you've fuflfilled the basic requirements which is live in Aus for the last 2 out of 5 years. All you do is go online, fill in the online form, pay using Visa and voila you get the visa which is valid for another 5 years.

Saturday in Perth

Went on the usual Saturday trip to Perth yesterday to do my shopping. Left at 10 in the morning and the first stop was lunch at my favourite Japanese restaurant, Kanta (U 7/76 Langford Ave, Langford 6147 (08) 9451 5720). We found the gem when I was staying in Langford. The place is run by a Japanese family and the food is pretty good and it really reminds me of the family restaurants I find when I go travelling around in Japan.

When I'm at Kanta, I'll ususlly start off with Tamago jiru which is egg in miso soup. After that I'll have the Scallop and Salmon roll which for $11 is a little pricey but a must have for me. The salmon and the scallop goes well together and frankly if not for the price, I'll be having dozens of it if I could. For the main course, I'll usually share a sushi set and another main meal with my wife. Choosing the sushi small set or the large set is dependent on how hungry I'm feeling then. The large sushi platter has 14 nigiri and 8 pieces of roll which for around $28 is pretty good. The sushi are all hand rolled and not from the machine like some other restaurants. I'll usually share a don set but yesterday we had a ramen. It was good but slightly saltish for my taste. The soup base is very flavourful and definitely not like those I have from the packet ones that I tend to have in Perth. At the end, it's definitely a satisfying lunch.

After lunch we went to Oriental Cash and Carry (junction of Bannister Rd and Willeri Ave, Cannington) which to me is one of the better Asian supermarkets around. It's the warehouse for Kong's so basically the more you buy, the cheaper it is. They'll give a discount if you buy 2, 6, or 12 of the same item. They stock just about everything you may need to cook an Asian meal but of course they don't stock everything. After living in Perth for a while, you'll find the different places to go to for different things.

We went to Market city supermarket which is down the road (junction of Bannister Rd and South St) for fruits and vegetables. Definitely one of the cheaper places to get the green stuff and the cheapest for eggs that I can find. We got ours for $1.80 for a dozen.

Satay in Perth

Just had dinner yesterday night with our good friends Chris and Cecilia at Mahsuri. They specialise in Malay cusine and especially satays. It's BYO so it's not a problem to have good food and drinks for a reasonable price. Didn't make any reservation since it was a Wednesday night but if you are going there over the weekend, I think you should just give them a call. Even if you can't get a table, Makan Makan is just around the corner.

We started with an entree which was a type of batter with prawns and squid. Just 2 pieces so if there's more than 4 of you , make sure you order more than one serving. It was actually pretty good. Ordered 2 servings of chicken and beef and they cost $8.90 for s serving of 6 sticks. Sounds expensive when compared to back in Sin but there's more meat on each stick than what we have in Sin. The owner (who has since passed away and the place is now run by his wife) used to be a chef in Sin and the taste is very close to what we have at Satay Club. The beef was very good although the chicken was a tat too saltish for my taste. The peanut sauce was good but the ketupat was way too little. I loved to just dip the ketupat and the cucumber into the sauce and eat them.

After that we had Ayam Panggang, kankong belancan and tauhu goreng with nasi briyani. Enjoyed the food a lot. Kangkong could be hotter and the tauhu could have less peanut but I'm nit picking here.

Overall the bill came up to about $95 which ain't too bad in Perth for 4 person and I'll definitely recommend it if you are yearning for good satays.

Mahsuri
313 Albany Highway Victoria Park WA

Dinner

Just had dinner with my colleagues at the local pub, Etamogah Pub. It's quite a nice pub with a very interesting architecture. The pub is based on a series of cartoon by Ken Maynard. Had the Surf and Turf and it wasn't too bad. Liked the sauce on the prawns.

The standard of food in Western Australia has definitely improved over the years and compared to 10 years ago, it's really like night and day. Not that I was here 10 years ago but this is based on what my friends have informed me. I haven't really tried that many restaurants that I would like but a lot of them have been pretty good. Specially bought the Godd Food Guide published by The West Australian and will be trying the restaurants recommended in there. So far I've been to Little Creatures and I've to say that it's good. You can see the kitchen as it is in the middle of the floor and based on what I've seen, the chef really take pride on the food they serve. I had the steak burger and the pizza and the pizza is definitely worth a try. And of course it helps that they have some of the best beer in town.

Little Creatures
40 Mews Road, Fremantle WA 6160

Back again?

Haven't updated the blog for a while. I guess I definitely have ADD but after reading some of the comments and people finding it useful, I think I should carry on doing it. The reason I did it after all is to chart what has been going on and at the same time, hope people find the info useful.

Currently I'm not really in Perth but in a small town 160 km east of Perth called Cunderdin. The population is just 850 which is less than the students I used to have back in Sin. Afterall having been in the country for the last year, I've realised that I'm a 'kampung' boy at all. You can't beat the fresh air, the quiet and the peacefulness you get here. People still live their car doors unlocked here although I don't have that practise. The traffic is amazing (there's no traffic light) so no worries about being stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work.

My parents came over and they commented on how bright the stars looked like and with no light pollution, it's not surprising. You can actually see constellations here. The photo was taken by my wife from the back of the garden of a typical sunset.

On the down side, people may say that it's boring but frankly I haven't felt bored yet. If it's the city life that I need, it's only 1 h 30 mins away and frankly that's not too bad after you get used to it.

I'll try and ensure that I update the blog regularly soon so see you around.