Thursday 16 May 2019

Eating Out: Buddha's Birthday Festival (with bonus NASA at Night)

Every year there is the Buddha's Birthday Festival at Southbank, which includes a vegetarian food stall fair. Not everything is vegan, but there are a lot of vegan goodies to be found there. The majority of the food there is Asian, not surprisingly, but there are burgers and chips and what not if you are after something else. I go there for the Asian food, though I struggle every year with choosing what to eat! So much food, so little stomach space! Last year I didn't get to go, it was just on a bad weekend for me, but you can see some of my visits from previous years here and here.

It was a rainy day, but thankfully had stopped raining by the late afternoon when I met up with my friend Amy. It was perfect, overcast, cool, and not very crowded thanks to the earlier rain. Of course we started by doing a walk through and trying to pick out what we wanted. We started by sharing a classic, the Steamed BBQ Pork Bun. This stall at the festival does the biggest, fluffiest ones ever, and I have been thinking about them ever since I was there two years ago. They didn't disappoint.

BBQ Steamed Buns at Buddha's Birthday Festival


We hydrated with some fun drinks. Amy got a Watermelon Lemon Juice, and I had a Black Plum Juice. According to the sign, black plums are boiled and filtered to get the juice, then liquorice, osmanthus, and sugar are added. What is osmanthus? I just looked it up and sore it is a herb used in Chinese medicine. I don't think it detoxified my body (thanks liver and kidneys for doing that), but it was delicious.

Watermelon Lemon Juice and Black Plum Juice at Buddha's Birthday Festival


I was feeling under the weather, so some soup seemed the way to go. Especially given the actual weather! I saw a Japanese stall that had some Kitsune Udon, and that was all I could think about. And it was delicious! I also found out that stall belonged to a restaurant that is super close to my house (and is also on UberEats to my house) and has some vegan options on their regular menu. GThis is very exciting, because I love Japanese food most of all!

Kitsune Udon from Mazri at Buddha's Birthday Festival


Amy was also feeling like soup, and picked up a laksa from another stall.

Laksa from Su Life at Buddha's Birthday Festival


I was still a bit peckish, and could eat a bit more. I happened to bump into a friend there who recommended I try some sticky rice. Wrapped in a bamboo leaf and stuffed with tofu, peanuts, and mushrooms I thought this was delicious. Unfortunately, the one that Amy got seemed to be stuffed with mostly peanuts, which wasn't so much fun. Please excuse the terrible photo, the light was fading at this point.

Sticky Rice at Buddha's Birthday Festival


We weren't only there for food. It happened that this day, the fourth of May, May the fourth, coincided with a Museum At Night event for the NASA Exhibit at the QLD Museum. So after eating we headed in for an over-18 (read, no kids, hurrah_ trundle through the museum. It was a fascinating exhibit, with lots of cool stuff about space. Also a lot of photos and stories of white men, which was a bit disappointing. One small plaque with some white women. WHITE MEN ARE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO SPACE TRAVEL. Below I share a few photos, including one of me being a serious space scientist, a teeny tiny capsule that makes me claustrophobic to think about, and Jabba the Hutt. It was Star Wars day after all!

NASA at Night at QLD Museum


NASA at Night at QLD Museum


NASA at Night at QLD Museum


And no trip to the museum is complete without saying hello to our friend the Muttaburrasaurus.

NASA at Night at QLD Museum


Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Dim Sim


My best friend gifted me this wonderful soft, warm, heavy jumper. It is wonderful to wear. And Dim Sim thought she'd try it out as a blankie as well.

6 comments:

  1. That bun looks so incredibly light and fluffy!! I've never had a steamed bun.
    Sounds like an amazing day.
    Ha, looks like Dim Sim has her own pink sweater now!!

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    1. I thought she'd be all over it forever, but she just sat on it once and then went back to her regular snuggly spots around the house.

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  2. Oooh what a fun day with delicious looking food! Everything looks amazing, I don't know how I'd choose and the juices sound really refreshing. What a pretty sweater, I can see why Dim Sim would want to snuggle in it!

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    1. It is almost stressful trying to decide what you are going to eat. I kind of want to eat it all!

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  3. If you need more women in NASA here are two episodes from Stuff You Missed In History Class (I THINK the last one is about women training for NASA... sorry if it isn't.)
    https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/mary-winston-jackson-nasa-engineer.htm
    https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/interview-mary-robinette-kowal-on-the-lady-astronaut-duology.htm

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    1. Ooooohhhh, thank you! I was pretty miffed about the lack of diversity in their displays.

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