It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted an entry.

If you've read Eliss's blog, you would know that we had played host to her best friend and hubby for the past 1.5 weeks or so. Besides showing them around Sydney, we ventured up north to Hunter Valley and Port Stephens.



After arriving at Hunter Valley in our humble Honda Accord, I got to see how the rich dine in style.



We had a table of Chinese sitting just outside the restaurant 20mins ago sipping wine, and the next thing we knew were 2 choppers flying off with the same people of that table of people.

Talk about style.



The weather was pretty amazing as well. While we were driving on the road, the left side was bright and sunny, the right side was having a storm.

Then we saw this afterward, it was like heaven opening up or something.



We checked ourselves into a cabin in the evening, and enjoyed the wine we bought earlier.



It was a first time for Dot and Casey to BBQ with jackets on. I'm glad they really enjoyed it.



I saw dolphins swimming in the wild for the very first time at Port Stephens, although I didn't manage to capture them on my camera.

Only got the fins sticking out of the water.



On the way back, some Japanese tourists jumped onto the net at the end of the boat for some fun.



I don't mind this sight from where I stood.



This, on the other hand is a different story.



We went to the beach and wanted to catch pipis to bring home and cook. The fine of $22,000 made us think twice.



It wasn't as scary to come down as compared of climbing up the steep sand dune. I nearly lost my breath when I tried to run up.

For this year's Valentine's Day, we travelled to the North Coast for a romantic getaway.

The weather was kinda wet, but we thought it is still going to be fun.

It was a fair drive, about 160km. Seeing the speedometer on the Skyline going past 120km/hr was exhilarating.

We reached Newcastle in the afternoon and had a quick walk around the city centre.

Interesting facts:

1) Newcastle is the largest coal export harbour in the world, exporting 88,880,000 tonnes last year!

2) Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes!

Everything was closed at 4pm on and we could only window shop. We were reminded once again what city slickers we are, and would definitely not survive living in a small town.

For dinner, we headed to Mojo's on Wilderness at Hunter Valley.



We were welcomed with chocolate hearts on the table.





We got the best table in the restaurant, with a view of the vineyard.



While waiting for the food to come, they served us their warm ciabatta rolls with special roasted olives, handmade dukkah and caramelised balsamic vinegar.



For the starters, Eliss ordered a confit of duck, served on the creamiest mash ever.



Because I had a craving for fresh seafood at the Fish Market, I chose the pan seared scallop served on polenta.



We shared the salad of rocket, water cress with a generous amount of sprinkled cheese and roasted pine nuts.





For the mains, I had a fillet of beef wrapped in prosciutto with a soft herb crust on white onion puree, fondant potato and smoked bacon and eschallot sauce.





Eliss had the barramundi fillet on a bed of salad.



Our romantic dinner at Hunter Valley.



Earlier in the day, I told Eliss that I didn't get her any present when she bought me a Braun shaver at Newcastle David Jones. How?

She asked me to kneel down and beg for forgiveness. Jokingly of course.

After we got home at night, I surprised her with a Allanah Hill cocktail bag. You should have seen that look on her face.

She's been so sweet to me all these times. How can I not give her the best?