Photo Credit: Pak Ming  I can't believe that Batam is just one hour's ferry ride away; so close, I'm a little ashamed to say that I'd never been to the island before. But the unbeatable allure of staying the weekend in a beach-side resort with fresh seafood and plentiful alcohol proved too irresistible. I have had big plans for Batam; I was going to go experience everything Batam has to offer! From...

It's been over a year since most of us got together, but when we finally did, it felt like no time had passed at all from when we were living together back in Melbourne. Has it really been a year? We had Chinese food at Por Kee, and then bounced back to my place for drinks.  I brought out several of my recently acquired liquors, including a couple of vodkas from my recent trip, and went in a broad direction of what we thought would...

I've been following Stella Parks, editor of Serious Eats, since god-knows-when. I'd read nothing but good reviews about BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, and I was pretty stocked to finally get my hands on a copy. The recipes come with an exploration on how these desserts came about in the backdrop of American history, and for the uninitiated like myself, it's interesting to learn how these classic recipes came...

We spent most of our next couple of days travelling from Helsinki, first catching the next domestic flight to Ivalo, and then moving northwards across the border by coach to Kirkenes, Norway.  The Kirkenes Snow Hotel crafts their houses annually from ice, a pretty elaborate affair. The main entrance is a sitting area and bar shaped from ice, and so is the flight of stairs leading to the bedrooms. Each room is...

We boarded the red-eye and managed a respectable snooze, (which was pretty much my favourite activity to do on a plane), and landed at the seaside city of Helsinki in the early AM. Despite being early spring, Helsinski's still pretty chilly and even without a breeze, the deep coldness of the city penetrated through our clothing.  Senate Square as seen from Helsinki Cathedral Finland occupies the bulk of land between...