1st Day in Gold Coast, Australia

I came back from my Gold Coast trip last Thursday and suffered a major post-Oz depression over the next couple of days. It wasn't that bad this time round, I used to be depressed for weeks each time I visited Melbourne. Anyway, it was my first time taking long haul flight by AirAsia X. I learnt so much from this trip and in fact, I am in the midst of doing up a post on it to share some tips on ways to save your money while traveling with AirAsia X.

We arrived in Gold Coast at 7.25 a.m. sharp! The moment I stepped out from the plane, I took a deep breath and the familiar Aussie fresh air puts a grin on my face. The weather was fantastic, cool and windy. I always thought Gold Coast is a place as hot as Malaysia. I was tempted to take a photo the moment our passport got stamped, but then I told myself better don't get myself into trouble. Well, this trip is after all very special to us, reason will be revealed to all coming March 2009. After grabbing our luggages, we went to collect our rented car and an hour later, my beloved sis and nephew touched down from Melbourne.

Too early to check into our holiday apartment, we decided to have some breakfast. After all, the in-flight meal we had was ahem...forgettable (will tell more grandma story in a separate AirAsia X post). Breakfast was at Broad Beach at this cozy cafe called Au Bon Gateau.

Amazing how my lactose intolerant tummy could be so tolerable to the latte in Australia. Bias? Maybe. But one thing for sure, the latte here fares far much greater than what we get in Malaysia. And it is so reasonably priced, a cup here would cost no more than AUD4.50 at normal cafe. Try order a cup in KL and see how much they charge you for a diluted cup of coffee flavoured milk with froth?


The reason we chose Au Bon Gateau was because of the big signboard they put up in front of the shop. All-day-breakfast for only AUD7.80. The breakfast came with two fried eggs, a choice of bacon or sausage, a hash brown, roast tomato and toasts. We surveyed a few cafes before settling for this, and for the similar items served, others cost more than AUD10. So this is definitely value for money. (Psstt...do not convert to Ringgit when you are in Australia, otherwise, you will be starved to death! Haha!). It was a hearty breakfast as everything on the plate tasted so yummy, especially dipping the toast into the aromatic egg yolk.


My sis was eyeing on the crepe as soon as she sat down. So we shared a crepe served with big juicy blueberries drizzled with chocolate sauce accompanied with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice-cream. Mmm.....what an indulgence. A wonderful start to our Gold Coast trip!

I know Pea and Pumpkin would be very happy converting into Aussie dog! Australia is a doggie-friendly place and you get to see happy and healthy dogs wherever you go.

We stayed at Santana Holiday Resort Apartments in Broadbeach. A big thank you to my sis's generous colleague who allowed us to stay there for free. Excellent location and our apartment came with a fully-equipped kitchen. Extremely important to us to have cooking facilities, why? Read on and you will know why.

Since it was already noon after we checked in, we decided to take it easy so that we are fully charged for Sea World the next day. We went to Carrara Market, the largest market in Queensland that is open every Saturdays and Sundays. With over 500 stalls, one could find simply everything there, from fresh produce to art & craft, clothing to cookery utensils, jewelleries to live plants. A true glutton at heart, I simply love strolling at the fresh produce section from one stall to another.


Colourful veggies, fruits, squash and nuts were displayed with the sellers shouting their lungs out through the loudspeaker with their cheapest offer.

Strawberries are in season now. Big, fat, juicy and very very sweet too!

Ahh...I love avocados. Opps.....that reminds me that I still have one in my fridge. Chicken Avocado sandwich for breakfast tomorrow!

Do you have any idea what these nuts are? The shell is so hard, not even a nutcracker could crack it open. The lady seller took a hammer to crack it open for me.

It turned out to be another famous Aussie produce, MACADAMIA! Can be eaten raw and it was nutty and sweet. We ended up buying a big packet of it, so for the next few days, our neighbours would have to bear with the constant hammering sound from us. Hahaha!

Flattenned strawberries? New species? Out of curiousity, I bought a punnet to try.

I asked my beloved nephew to post for me which he gladly did. For your information, this boy is a fan of veggies and fruits. His latest record is two and a half punnet of strawberries at one go! I only had one piece and before I knew it, he finished off the whole punnet.

We had a simple lunch at one of the cafes located in the heart of the market. I ordered my favourite Iced Coffee that came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And again, my lactose-intolerant tummy was well-behaved.

I loved avocado and the moment I saw it on display, I knew I must have it. Bacon & Avocado Toasties! Yumzz!!!


This gigantic burger was such a beauty! It was as good as it looked too! Although it was huge, I find it a healthy meal as so much fresh veggies such as lettuce, tomato, beetroot and onions were used to accompany the juicy tasty beef patty.

Remember I mentioned earlier that a fully-equipped kitchen is extremely important to us? My brother-in-law actually packed some wagyu beef steak for my sis to bring over since he knew how much Hubby craved for it.


This is what we had every night for supper; pan fried Wagyu steak with bacon and zucchini. Oh, I love zucchini as much as avocado.

Coming up: 2nd Day at Sea World! (I vowed to work here one day)