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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

My gripes after 3 weeks in Oz

Saw Jo's Blog on starbucks and that reminded me of my "dissatisfaction" of the limited selection here in Sydney. In fact, almost everything in sydney is abit backwards (sorry i have to say this to my sydney host).


Fashion:
Generally I noticed that people in sydney are not very fashionable (i think melbourne looks better) . They are happy to go anywhere in sneakers, and their fashion season is like almost 1-2 seasons behind Singapore and HK not to mention europe. Ladies are constantly in boring 2 piece black suit for work, or a lumpy cardigan to keep them warm in winter. Plus..dun even bother to look into the lingerie shops. *Yawn*
In HK winter, Its amazing to see the vibrant colours combination on the street. Much that I think HK girls are weird in their consistent 2 layer dressing and 3 quarters tights under skirt, at least in overall, you can see some fashion sense. So now here I am, I regretfully confess my fashion has gone down the drains too. To my own horror, I catch myself happily sneaking into my sneakers when i go out now, something I would never dream doing ever since i graduated from college.... and i am guilty of abandoning my nice overcoat and slip into my track pants and columbia fleece jacket...sigh.


Cakes:
Ok not talking about restaurants here coz sydney has lotsa GOOD food and desserts.
(However, I miss my "coffee shops", "Hawkers" and "Cha Chan Teng" where there are wide selection of food and snacks and cakes. )
You know in asia where we have those cafes where those moist cakes or mousse cake that totally lure you into the stores and couldnt resist buying a few even though you know they are rich and sinful? Here in Sydney, none, and i mean NONE of the pasteries shop/ cafes has even manage to entice me to cast a glance longer than 2 secs. Its so sad. Somehow, they just look dry and uninviting. They are mainly pies, and bread stuff and the cake just lack imagination. I went to those bakeries, I went to david Jones market, I went to all the cafes in whole Bondi Junction malls. Nothing. Nothing calls out to me. I do not even have cravings anymore..
Starbucks
And starbucks, they do not even have my usual favourite "Banana- chocolate" muffins!!!!! They have it in Tokyo (the last time i was there), in singapore, in HK but NOT in sydney. When i asked, the girl thought i was silly and said "Oh that is LIMITED edition during last christmas" WTF??! Why?! Why should any good tasting muffin be limited edition? I could weep in despair. And the starbucks here doesnt carry those great tasting choc cakes as in HK do. Instead, they dish out those boring pies and sandwiches and salad. People in sydney do not know what they are missing....

Mobile Phones
Sydney has the oldest model possible ghees! The motorola razor is one of the current range they are selling now. Talk about pathetic. Even my fren from England said that they have more current models than what australia can offer. I wont even want to go into the rest of the electronics equipment models....(as you already know in my prev post, i still cannot find a humidifer in sydney which is in abundance in sg and HK.) I couldnt fathom the cause really. Is it a buyer issue? Hmmmm...

2 comments:

  1. Oh you talk Aussie and I talk NewSie. Both are the same. I was so eeuukks with the phone they used and not to mention the way they dress and the brands available. Like you, i was on sweat shirts most of the time. Hehe!! Over in HK, u need to open your wardrobe wide and think!!

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  2. It's not called NewSie, it's the Kiwi. I can't stand staying there long too, 5 years were long enough for me. The fashion is no doubt very backward. Chinese food is expensive and not authentic. The sense of humour is different. The choice for everything is limited, except for diary products, chocolate, wine and gloceries. It's just not 'asian' enough.

    However u gotta appreciate one thing there, that is the space you can have to yourself. In H.K., everywhere u go, it's so crowded, u need to queue up. Home is small, miserable and expensive. Even if u have $$ to shop, u won't have space to keep. Car is expensive to own. It's cheap in Australia and NZ. In fact, the quality of living is better if u r not particular about brands.

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