Multilingualism

I was in Regensburg over the weekend with my amigos y amigas to enjoy the first Weihnachtsmaerkte wochenende (Christmas market weekend). One thing I discovered is that while my chums very kindly spoke English as much as possible for me, I could vaguely understand their Spanish! This has instilled a desire in me to learn Espanol....which may have to occur after I finish learning Deutsch, Francais, Italiano, Zhongwen....


But I've already started! After pointing at a merry-go-round/carousel and telling Ruben that we needed to ride it, he said to me, "Do you know that it's called in Spanish? Tiovivo. Do you know that that literally translates to? Lively uncle." When Eva complained about bizarre word translations, I noted that uncles are the most likely ones to hold you up and spin you in a circle. See? It all makes sense!

Iker likes chocolate milk

I haven't written much about my husband Iker in a while (probably because he's been gallivanting around with that floozy of another woman), but one of the great things about Stalkbook is that you can use it to stalk people.* We are friends on this website (naturally!) and he likes to keep  me updated on what's been going on. 


So imagine my surprise when he demonstrated his love for chocolate milk!

And that he also likes to snack while surfing the net. See? Soulmates :P

*I'm not really stalking him. His photos come up on my wall out of their own volition :P *cough*

Replying to comments

Normally I would reply to comments or at least, add comments when people have commented. I have noticed that for some reason, when I've tried to post comments for a few entries I've been receiving an error message in German basically saying that something is wrong with the form and it can't be posted. This is despite many tries and increasing frustration.

Basically, I don't know why my comments aren't posting but it's not because I'm ignoring them! 

Otherwise...
Dr. Wallace, I will try to get BETTER evidence of my breaking of the 10 minute barrier - but you need to keep in consideration that while the clock is stopped at 10:07, the distance is 2022 so if you think I can row 22m in 7 seconds...I'm a lot better than I thought! Also, what is your record?...:P


Pooey, I can't remember if the Kimchi was free but we definitely did not get refills!


And for the ramen was so good, I was so happy.....so...happy....

Things I have seen Germans open beers with...

This post was inspired by the Bavarian I met at a party on the weekend and how he opened his bottle of beer! It then made me think of all the ways I have seen them open beers!

• The side of a beer crate
• A spoon
• A fork
• A knife
• A cigarette lighter
• Another bottle of beer
• A bench
• A radiator
• A stick
• A rock
• A key

And of course...

• A bottle opener

And so, congratulations to German/Bavarian ingenuity and the determination to get the things they want! Just not the rest of the world anymore, k plz? (Kidding. Sorta)

Takumi Ramen!!!

Sorry NippoNoodles but I think I have found THE BEST RAMEN in Munich! 


After a gym session, I dragged Chrish along with me to Takumi Ramen to help me with my Asian food hunt. This was actually a fortuitous decision because he told me he'd been to Japan twice and was bitterly, bitterly disappointed when upon returning to Melbs he found the ramen to be beneath the standard to which he'd grown accustomed. As he parked his bike outside of the kitchen window, we noted that the scent of the stock was nice and porky! This got me excited...


Then when we went inside, we were slightly disheartened by the number of people waiting for a table but on the other hand, a lot of people inside were not only Asian, they were Japanese. We then noticed that the bench by the kitchen was free and signalled to the serving guy that it was just the two of us, so like a pair of assholes, we bypassed everyone in the queue and sat down! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!


First up, our entrees!

Gyoza...well, they tasted like normal gyoza, really.

TAKOYAKI!!!! I miss these octopus balls so much!!! And they tasted JUST RIGHT!!!

Also, they were very hot. Like they should be

For our mains, Chrish got really excited when he saw Karaage chicken ramen was on the menu and settled for that. I wanted the Gomoku ramen (with seafood) but the waiter told me it was sold out so I *settled* for the miso special. But after he was gone, I realised there was a poster saying they were having a special Tan Tan Ramen which I've never heard of before but the description made it sound a bit like Dan Dan Mian so I'll have to come back later to eat more takoyaki and try that out!

My miso special with added soy egg. 

They were both served in giant noodle bowls and were so good, the broth was so delicate and flavoursome...the texture of the noodles, al dente...*wipes away tear* And because I have a giant Asian stomach, I finished off Chrish' food so I can say that both our meals were of a high standard. And making my way home through the cold, foggy, night air, a part of my heart was warmed by the knowledge that a good authentic noodle shop is always ready to feed me when I finish gym. 

Glory Nuts of Comprehension

As a side story to the concert, it's taken me almost a year but when I went to watch George perform, I HAD MY FIRST COMPREHENSIBLE GERMAN CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH and DIDN'T SWITCH TO SPEAKING ENGLISH! 

And okay, it was about buying nuts but it's still good because of context! Basically, we got to the concert early and decided to buy some pre-concert food. Jul wanted a crepe while I wanted some sugar-roasted nuts and so we split to different stalls. I originally wanted almonds but seeing all the different nuts, I changed my mind to wanting mixed nuts. But there was a problem - there was no sign saying they were selling mixed nuts. So, we had a convo that went along the lines of this: 

Me - Hallo! Entschuldigung, haben Sie gemischte Nuesse? (Excuse me, have you got mixed nuts?)

Server - Ja, aber nur fuer zweihundert gramm (yes, but only for 200g)

Me - Oh, und wie viel kostet das? (Oh and how much does that cost?)

Server - (not given so that you don't realise I got totally ripped off). 

Me - Hmmm, das is okay. Ich moechte gern bitte! (I'd like some!)

And as I walked away with my toasty mixed nuts, I realised I'd only spoken German to her! She'd only spoken German to me! And we BOTH UNDERSTOOD EACH OTHER!!!! And because 200g was far too much for me to eat in one sitting, I took them to work the next day and shared it with the crew and told them my story! We decided these nuts were alternatively representative of glory and comprehension which therefore makes them...

GLORY NUTS OF COMPREHENSION!!!

George Michael Symphonica

Well doesn't time just fly? Many months ago, Jul and I received tickets to George Michael as our birthday present and now the time has come to go see him in person!

Look at our happy pre-show faces!

We got there pretty early (damn gps said it would take us 20minutes to walk from u-bahn to Olympiahalle - more like 5 mins!) so we sat down early and admired our awesome seats.

But the show wasn't just George singing - he was backed by quite a nice a nice light show that was unfortunately difficult to photograph because I shake too much :(

See? Fancy

Jul and I wondered how long the concert would go for given what we knew about George's increasing age and his problems with the law and addiction but you know what? It went for a good 2.5 hours! Okay there was a 20 minute intermission but that still puts performance time around 2 hours! The concert setlist comprised primarily of cover version from his Songs from Last Century album and other pieces from artists who he said inspired him or filled with personal meaning. 


Set list
Through
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Idol
Cowboys & Angels
True Faith
Going To A Town
Let Her Down Easy
You Have Been Loved
Wild Is The Wind
Brother Can you Spare a Dime


(Intermission)
Patience
John & Elvis are Dead
Roxanne
Song To The Siren
A Different Corner
Where I Hope You Are
You've Changed
Love Is A Losing Game
The Recluse
Russian Roulette
Praying For Time
Feeling Good


Encores
Amazing/I'm Your Man/Freedom 90
I Remember You


Another thing I'll say one thing about his performance and the concert book (which I buy cos I'm a sucker) - there was a lot of candour with him flat out addressing the fact that he went to prison after his last tour and had to had therapy to address his various problems and saying some songs were dedicated to his last boyfriend (his words). This elicited *awwws....* from the audience which was met with *don't worry, we cheer up at the end!* And it was like that - the concert overall was quite muted reflecting the music/instrument style but as when Pooey saw his last concert tour in Rundon she commented to me that it was like time never passed, "He opens his mouth and this SOUND comes out!" It was just like that for Symphonica. Also, he dances the same. Hehehehe.

Blasts from the Past...or Not

Going back to the gym, I've rediscovered a few late 90s/early 2000s music pearls. Well, maybe "pearl" is too strong a word but I'm remembering how much I enjoyed songs like Usher's You Make me Wanna, the Spice Girls' Who Do You Think You Are?, the backlist for the Backstreet Boys, Milkshake by Kelis and so forth. This made me want to look up the videos to share on Facebook and this blog.


Except there's something really special about Youtube in Deutschland that stops me from looking up official video clips or various artists' VEVO accounts to watch and post. Many times when looking up videos here, I'm greeted by this message:

Unfortunately, this video is not available in Germany because it may contain music for which GEMA has not granted the respective music rights.

And it's not just limited to official channels! A few months ago, Aunty MyTree posted a vid of her kids singing songs and posted it on youtube to share with the family. A day later she got an email from youtube Germany saying it violated some terms and conditions. And so the rest of the family could watch it but not me :(


It's really annoying. But I guess we can deal with it. 

NippoNoodles

Believe it or not, I woke up EARLY on a Sunday morning for no particular reason. It was actually kinda annoying. But since I was up and not feeling the effects of a big night of gemuetlichkeit, I decided to go the gym. This meant that a couple of hours later, I was hankering for a post-gym workout meal. Walking back from the gym towards the closest Maccas (I know, I know), I came across NippoNoodles, a Japanese noodle bar. As I considered it, a waiter opened the door and said to me, "We're open." In I went!

First impressions...

Other than the presence of the mass to hold the cutlery, it looked all right! 

My green tea. Green.

Also, as I was waiting for my order of butaniku (pork) ramen, I noted that as more customers came in, they looked Asian and they sounded Japanese. That's a plus! 

My delicious looking ramen.

Now, I ordered *shoyu* (soy-based) ramen but I hope they mistook what I said for *shio* (seasalt-based) because the soup stock was really salty, much more than I've ever had anywhere else. I believe it's highly possible because I had to repeat my order a few times and I noted that some of their staff didn't actually speak German. Having said that, the noodles themselves were of a lovely texture - soft, yet chewy. I ate everything but the soup with glee!


As I was paying, my waiter asked me if I had a card. Errr no, I was paying in cash. But then he took out a loyalty card, placed a stamp on it, and said if I ate 4 more times, I'd get the 11th FREE!!! Looks like I'll be coming back then! Next time, I'll try miso based :D

Christmas is coming...

Wow, time has just flown by and I've been in Muenchen for nearly a year now! This was brought to my mind when I was walking near Odeonsplatz and saw the Christmas lights were up on Briennerstr., near where I went to my first Christkindlmart!

Kims Restaurant

One of the things that still angers me is my first apartment. I loved the location of my first apartment - it was downright brilliant and perfectly suited me in terms of where I worked, my social activities, everything. If only my flatmate weren't a stupid psychobitch. I'm much happier now with my new flatmate(s) and actually, the change in location isn't that much of a hassle because it's only 8 minutes down the same u-bahn line. 

But what annoys me now about having to leave Maxvorstadt is that my gym is close to my old apartment and I've found this Korean restaurant near the gym and it's really quite good! And I know because one night I checked it out with two fans of Korean food, Other Asian (Trung) and Swiss Chris, and Korean food virgin, Jul!

We started by ordering a number of entrees...I was both too Asian and not Asian enough by eating them before photos could be taken. What I recall us having was the Korean seafood pancake,  dumplings, spring rolls, and some potato starch noodles. The highlights were definitely the noodles and pancake - while not as large as what I was used to in Aus, they tasted just the same and I was mega-pleased!

For the mains,  

Galbi! Actually, I was kinda surprised they didn't keep the bone portion on but meh, I'm learning to roll with non-authentic food. 

Beef Bulgogi. This was actually kind of disappointing because it got overcooked :(

I can't remember the Korean name for this but it's that spicy marinated pork. This one was actually my favourite (along with the pancake and noodles) and I will happily eat it again and again!

And oh hooray, we got various types of kimchi as sides!

Afterwards, we actually got dessert consisting of bean-filled glutinous rice balls (a bit like mochi) and of course, battered fruit fitters. We were all pretty pleased with the meal - except for Other Asian; he wanted more rice - and said we'd come back. Swiss Chris said he wanted to come back and eat the dishes we didn't try. I joked that since the menu was hanging in a box outside the restaurant, he should take a photo and tick off the ones we'd eaten. 

He then looked as though he was seriously considering my suggestion...

Dumpling hunt

I know it sounds like sometimes I'm just spending all my time in Munich looking for foods to comfort me but really...c'mon people, how can a city as big as Muenchen not have a Chinatown? Luckily it does have two (apparently famous) universities and research institutes. And where there are universities, there are Asian students. And where there are Asian students, there are generally el cheapo Asian eateries! Browsing around myasianmunich, there are apparently two dumpling shops in the Univiertel (uni area) area and so after admiring the colours of Autumn, I shuffled over to try some dumplings to assuage my hangover. 


I went to Akuo, where I was surprised to find the shop empty (okay, it was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon) but they were serving so I sat down and ordered 10 dumplings. While waiting, I registered that the staff spoke Mandarin, not Shanghainese but probably Taiwan. And then the dumplings came and they looked like this:

I was pretty pleased with their appearance. I mean, they're not xiaolongbaos but they look like pretty normal jiaozi to me and served with some soy with chili in floating in it. That's good. So I ate them and they were fine as well but I don't know....either the dumplings in Melb have a high meat to veggie ratio or I felt like they should have had more meat in them. Don't get me wrong! They weren't bad, in fact, they were pretty good! But they just weren't the same. Maybe I'm just being fussy. Or maybe I should drag the only other Melburnian with me next time although he doesn't understand why I crave dumplings the way I do. 


And so, the hunt continues.  

der Föhn

This is going to be a bit of a sentimental post today. As cold as it has been getting here (and it has been getting pretty damn cold), Autumn in Munich when the sun is shining is downright beautiful, especially when the sun shines, the sky is blue, and lovers are out in force (okay, the last one is a bit awkward but seriously, lots of people randomly make out on the street here). This being Germany, there is a special word for this weather phenomenon - der Föhn, which is caused by our proximity to the Alps. Bless. 


The random days of warmth led me to walk around the Kunstreal on a Sunday morning when I  had a hangover but still managed to heroically drag myself to the gym. As I walked around the gardens, I admired the contrast of the changing colours on the trees with the deep blue sky and green lawns. *sigh* I've seen the colours change before but living now in a city with primarily deciduous trees, it's a glorious sight. So naturally I did what any Asian does. I whipped out my (phone) camera.

But I still can't wait for Winter to be over. 

ROAR!!!

It took me a month of dedicated (and not so dedicated) gymming but I finally got myself back down to 10mins to row 2km! MUHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!


But now Mr. Wallace (Dr. Wallace's papa) wants a video as proof. Hummm.....

Movie review - Real Steel

Last week, we decided to enter the lucky draw that is a *Preview Screening*. For the uninitiated, one buys a ticket and the cinema shows a movie that would be opening in the coming weeks. You're not informed which movie will be screening until lights go down. And this is how I ended up watching Real Steel. My initial reaction upon seeing the trailer for this movie a few weeks ago was that it was incredibly stupid (and not in an enjoyable Transformers way), but I'd heard from several people that it was actually quite good. I believe the words "Rocky with Robots" were used. I beg to differ.



Charlie (Hugh Jackman) is a...well, deadbeat...who was a boxer and is now a robot boxing trainer and not a particularly good one at that. After losing his last robot in a fight against a bull (which I found incredibly cruel and stupid), he discovers that an ex-gf has died and he now has custody of an 11 year old son Max (Dakota Goyo) that he doesn't want but Max is (fortuitously) wanted by his wealthy aunt Debra (Hope Davis),  and negotiates with her much older husband to *sell* Max so long as Charlie takes the boy over the Summer. Max naturally doesn't want to go but changes his mind after meeting Charlie's sorta gf Bailey (Evangeline Lilly). Charlie wastes the money he got on a champion robot which he subsequently destroys by not listening to Max's advice and theyre back at square one...but things change when Max finds a robot thown in the junkyard...  




I'd seen the trailer a few weeks earlier and made the comment, "Wow, that looks like a shit movie," but I'd heard from Dr. Wallace and Officer Fisk that the movie was in fact not bad. No, from the first few minutes, it was bad. I think the scene is about 5 minutes in when three litle girls at the county fair ask if they can see his robot "PLEEEEEEAAAAASE!!!" *high pitched tone* And it just continued from cliched stupidity from there. Of course Charlie coulda been a contender...if they didn't move to robot fighting! Of course father and son will reconcile and bond! Of course the underdog robot becomes the people's champion. Christ, even Charlie's name is a cliche from all the times people sigh, "Oh Chaaarlie...." Give me a break. 


And why are the the people who are the *villians* - the Russian owner of the champion robot, Zeus, and Zeus' Japanese designer - actually the villains? Is it bad that Tak can design such a champion robot and Farra can afford to own him? Surely Charlie is more of a villain for completely neglecting his son for the first 11 years of his life, selling him, and then being so irresponsible as to LOSE the $50,000 immediately? Or how about leaving his son in the middle of the night in a junkyard? Or agreeing to have a ROBOT fight an ANIMAL?

Seriously, I disliked this movie enough that I considered walking out to get home by 1am (the screening started at 11:15) but I decided to stick it through cos I'm Asian and I paid good money. One of my companions had similar thoughts and I turned around at one point and said to him, "Are you sleeping?! If I have to sit and watch this, you have to as well!" 


Maybe I wasn't in the mood but I suspect that if I were to waste the time to watch it again, I'd still hate it. 
1/10


P.S. I just remembered that as I walked out, someone asked if the boy playing Max was the same kid as the one in The Phantom Menace. No he isn't (that kid is like...20+ years old now), but Max was JUST LIKE stupid annoying child Anakin, right down to the haircut. That memory made me take an extra point off the score. 

House of Pies

One of the things I've really missed while living in Muenchen are meat pies. This is actually quite bizarre because I didn't actually eat that many pies in Melbs, or at least, I don't think I did. The craving was partially assuaged by Pooey smuggling party pies into Europe for me (and Smee) but for times when an Aussie is not able to come to Europe with foodgoods, I've since found a stop-hold!

A while ago, Kiwi Amy and I were talking about foods we missed and she mentioned that there was a SHOP that sold TAKEAWAY PIES in the Hauptbahnhof. For those who have never been to Munich Hauptbahnhof (Central train station), it's a multi-storey bohemoth. I figured out where the shop, lovingly named *House of Pies* was located but for various reasons, every time I previously went for a pie, the store was either closed or I got lost in the various tunnels. This past Saturday, I was heading to Ludwigsvorstadt to visit a shop when I realised *Hey! I have to change at the Hbf...I can GET A PIE!!!* And so I did :D

I think I ordered a classic steak pie

It came in a tinfoil pan (tick) but the girl didn't offer me sauce (passable because I said I wanted it mitnehmen - takeaway). I paired it with veggies to make my lunch marginally healthier.

Cutting it open, I was pleasantly pleased to find it was filled with gravy which was quite nice. It probably could have had a bit more meat but otherwise in terms of flavour, I was happy. 

So now that I know I can go here to get a passable pie (as opposed to going to an Irish pub and have a dry shepherds pie as has happened previously and went UNFINISHED), I will work my way through their menu which includes sausage rolls and fruit pies. Good times people, good times.