Dimmi online bookings

Online bookings are so convenient.

I don't really like talking on the phone in general and also because I've had heaps of issues with restaurants when trying to book via the phone, I much prefer booking online (although I despise the Momofuku booking system where they release a day's worth of tables at 10am every morning...some people don't have time to sit around the computer at 10am every morning to book a table! Anyways, just venting some frustration :P)

Dimmi provides an online booking system where you can easily select a date and a time for your booking, select the number of people and hey presto! you're done.



It's also great because it tells you automatically whether the restaurant has been booked out or not for that particular date and time :) And whether any Special deals are available for that particular date and time!

Dimmi also provides real restaurant reviews from customers which you can use in making your choice.



And the best thing? You can sign up and collect Dimmi points by reviewing the restaurant that you went to. You can 1,000 points per restaurant. Once you've reached 8,000 points, you can redeem your points for a $50 voucher to be used at selected restaurants that support and use Dimmi.





I have to say that I am yet to use the vouchers, but I will let you guys know when I do!

Although I love Dimmi, I have to admit that there has been ONE time (only once ever out of the many many times I've used Dimmi) when the booking did not go through properly and when I called them to double check they told me that they didn't get my booking! So if you want to be on the safe side, you can call up the restaurant directly to ensure the booking came through.

So if you haven't not booked using Dimmi yet, or have used it before but never collected points, go and earn yourself that $50 voucher :)

Visit the Dimmi website here.

D xx

Wonderlust #1 - December holiday destinations

At my work, we have to take two weeks mandatory leave during Christmas and New Years because the firm closes for two weeks.

Since leave at the end of a year is a given, I try to plan my vacation a decent time before the actual break so that I can get good rates on airfares and just to generally be organised!

Last year I went to Queensland, Australia to see the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest and then Korea (as I got extended leave)!  A blog post dedicated to my Korea trip will be coming soon so I can introduce everyone to places ink Korea that you must visit if you're ever there!

Anyways, visiting to Queensland was such a great experience especially because I really don't go traveling around Australia much.

So this year I decided to join my family on a trip to Tasmania, Australia for a week because I really want to see more of Australia.

Here are some of the places I want to visit when I'm in Tasmania (all pictures are from the sites in the picture descriptions):

Cradle Mountain



Bay of Fires



Freycinet National Park



Cataract Gorge



Mt Field National Park



I actually did't realise how beautiful Tasmania was until I started researching about my trip!! Hoping I can get some good Tasmanian salmon there as well hehe! (Has anyone been to Tasmania or from Tasmania? Would love to get some tips!)

So....for the remaining one week of my leave....I'm torn as to where I'm going to go! I want to go overseas but preferably somewhere close by because I only have a week (or less) to spend.

Here are some of the contenders:

Hong Kong & Macao





I've been to Hong Kong before when I was younger but because I was like underage and had no money, I didn't really really get to enjoy Hong Kong to its fullest!  So I wanna go again and have FUN (plus go to Macao to check out the casinos!)

New Caledonia



I want to go there and try out my (beginner) French skills! Bon voyage! Oui! hahaha MDR

Perhentian Island, Malaysia



I heard that this place was a diving paradise! I've always wanted to try diving....

Palau



Somewhere off the beaten track! Haha actually this is more like a wish than reality because there are no flights from Australia...so it costs like $7000 to get there via like Korea lol.

So what do you guys think? Where should I go? Cos if I don't decide... I might just end up staying at home blogging :P

If you have any recommendations, let me know!

D xx

Sweetness the Patisserie (plus other bday gifts!)

Hi all :)

I know that it's been like over a week since my birthday but I really wanted to introduce you to this amazing patisserie that my friend introduced me to because she bought me some sweets for my birthday!

The patisserie is called "Sweetness the Patisserie" and its located in Epping!  My friend says its a little hidden gem on one of the side streets in Epping - its actually somewhere you would probably never "stumble upon" and would only really go there if you've heard about the place or live near it.



So the "it" products of Sweetness the Patisserie are apparently these "SWEET mallows" which are marshmallows of every colour imaginable! And each colour has a different flavour to is as well so imagine the number of flavours!

SWEET mallow flavours: Strawberry, Raspberry, Jaffa, Blueberry, Maple & Lime, Chocolate, Toasted Coconut, Black Currant & Vanilla Swirl, Mocha, Creamy Orange, Rose Water, Passionfruit, Guava, Lime, Espresso, Sour Cherry, Lime & Coconut Swirl, Lemon, Mango, Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, Lavender, Strawberries & Creme, Vanilla Bean, Lychee Rose, Raspberry & Passionfruit Swirl, Aniseed.



To be honest I don't even know what flavours were in my pack of four that I tried because there are just sooooo many flavours! If I had to guess (and unfortunately I'm not much of a Masterchef that knows flavours like the back of my hand), it would be Raspberry, Lavender, Lemon and Lime!  My fav was the green one (I presume its Lime...)



The SWEET Mallows are super fluffy on the inside and also really soft - you really can't compare these to this typical ones you buy at the supermarket.

Next up was the English Toffee.  I absolutely love toffee and caramel so I was so excited to give these a try and boy were they yummy!!  The combination of the toffee with the chocolate and the nuts (almond I think) as superb.  The toffee was more crunchy rather than sticky so I was happy that it didn't really stick to my teeth (the usual problem when you eat toffee).



I confess - I ate the whole pack in like less than a day. It's that good.

So I'm now super excited that I've discovered this little neighbourhood gem - I live kinda close to Epping so I'll be paying a visit myself in person very soon!

You can visit their site at www.sweetness.com.au

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Now, a lot of the people that are close to me know that I'm a big fan of art (not so into contemporary art though....but that could change, who knows).

And my absolute favourite artist is Vincent Van Gogh and my absolute favourite painting is "The Cafe Terrace at Night" by guess who? Right, Van Gogh! (if you've never heard of this piece of art, I highly recommend you Google it right now!)

But I really love a lot of Van Gogh's pieces - especially the paintings with the night effects (Fun fact: "The Cafe Terrace at Night" was the first painting which Van Gogh used his "starry night" effect!).

So obviously I love "The Starry Night" by Van Gogh, which is usually regarded as his magnum opus.

And my lovely friend who knew how much I love "The Starry Night", bought me a Starry Night jigsaw puzzle for my birthday!!!!!!



It's a tiny box and when I saw that it had "1000 PIECES" I was like "oh my, how small is a piece then?!!"

And when I opened the box....there they were...a 1000 tiny jigsaw puzzle pieces........!!!!



Here's a comparison shot between a 20 cent coin and a puzzle piece:



So if I'm not blogging often, you know what I'm doing instead :P Putting this tiny 1000 piece puzzle together obviously! hehe (jks, blogging will always be a priority!)

Hopefully I'll be able to finish this in due course and then hang it up on my wall in a nice frame :D

If you're interested in purchasing some artwork jigsaw puzzles to pass time with, check out www.jigsawsdelivered.com.au for a range of jigsaw puzzles!! (although they don't seem to have "The Starry Night".....must ask my friend where this one came from! hehe)

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Lastly, for myself I bought myself a nice hand cream for my birthday :)  Since it has been so cold recently, my hands have become super cold and super dry!! :(  So I was looking around to find a nice hand cream with a nice scent because I'm quite sensitive with scents (some hand cream scents give me headaches >.<!)

After looking around the shopping precinct in Sydney CBD, I stumbled upon this wonderful hand cream by TOCCA, in Mecca Cosmetica in Myer Sydney.  It is seriously hidden because it's like on the bottom shelf near the back of Mecca so you wouldn't really notice it unless you were really wanting to look for it.

I was actually smelling the candles above it (I love candles too haha) and I saw the hand creams below and thought heyyyyyyy!



I ended up buying the Grapefruit & Cucumber scented hand cream and oh my goodness it actually smells DEVINE.  The zesty sweetness of the grapefruit goes so well with the freshness of the cucumber I sometimes feel like eating my hands haha.  The cream itself isn't too thick nor too light so it has a really smooth finish and doesn't leave your hands feeling sticky either!

So if you're looking for a reasonably priced hand cream (A$14 at Mecca) with lovely scents, check out Tocca hand creams :)

They also sell clothes and other beauty products - check them out at www.tocca.com (although they only ship to US & Canada....*cries*)

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Upcoming blog post: Buffalo Dining Club, Darlinghurst!

Stay tuned :)

D xx