This blog is brought to you by... a monkey...?

I've been blogging for sometime now and it never occurred to me until recently that I have never formally introduced myself. You know the fundamentals- who I am, where I'm from and that I have a penchant for anything sugary. But that's really about it.

The web can be a good buffer between you and the real world and as much as I would like to remain an enigma, that dark horse, mysteriously blogging from her unassuming little corner of the world, I thought that it would be nice to actually introduce myself properly and break the ice.

Hello!

My name is Jennifer, although most people find that to be too many syllables to pronounce all at once, so they usually refer to me as Jen or Jenni. You can call me either one of those nicknames or even just call me "fer" if you want, as the other half of my name hardly ever gets a mention and I suspect is getting quite envious of the other half's over-exposure.

Right now, I am 26 years old, and always get told that I don't look my age. And because I don't look my age and merely an inch above from being a certified midget, thanks to having Asian genes, I usually get away with buying concession price train tickets and get carded every time I try to buy beer, enter a club or watch a MA15+ rated movie. It's a slight inconvenience right now but I guess when I am 80, I will probably only look like I'm in my 60's. So it can't be all that bad in a world that prizes youthfulness.

I was born in Manila Philippines, but now am a naturalised Aussie, living in Sydney since I was 6 years old. As that Peter Allen song suggests, I still do call Austarlia home and no matter where I am, I always wish I was back home in Sydney. The land of (seeming) eternal sunshine and BBQ's, where thongs are worn on your feet not on your derriere and the public holiday is a sacred institution, as much as beer and sport.

Australia is a great place to live and if you are ever here in Sydney for a visit, make sure you give me a holler. Here are a few recommendations on where to visit, foodwise.

Fine Dining- Tetsuya's, Aria's, Becasse and Astral to name a number of world class dining places.
Quintessential Sydney- Harry's Pies for a late night bite, North Bondi Italian for the signature Sydney view, Sydney Fish Market to sample the finest seafood Sydney has to offer..
Thai- Chat Thai in Haymarket, Spice I Am in Surry Hills, Sailor's Thai at The Rocks.
Bakeries/Pastries- Bourke St Bakery in Surry Hills, Adriano Zumbo and Victoire in Balmain, Brasserie Bread in Botany Bay, Epi d'Or in Kirribilli and La Gerbe d'Or in Paddington's Five Ways.
Chinatown- check out everything it has to offer.
Red Light District Bites- Hernandez Cafe for the coffee, Burgerfuel for gourmet burgers and live it up with the young, hip and happening at Favela, The Lincoln and Dean's Cafe.
Breakfast- Fifi Foveaux and Bill's in Surry Hills, an early morning bite and a walk afterwards from Bronte Beach, Campos Coffee at Newtown.

Just to name some off the top of my head.

WHY THE PRIMATE ALTER EGO?

Most of you think I look like a chimpanzee and I don't blame you. My profile picture looks a lot like a chimp. But it's not what you think. I am not hiding behind this furry face because I think I look like a hideous beast and couldn't bear showing my face in in public.

Frankly, I didn't know if this blog was going to be any good, so it was easier to go ahead with blogging and risk shame, failure and my ego knowing I had this monkey façade to hide behind. The web can be a mean place, and there are a lot of crazy people out there that pick on you for no reason. I thought having a monkey front this blog would deter people people from being too unkind.

And besides if you catch yourself abusing an innocent monkey you might want to think twice about what kind of person you really are. Look at him, how could you ever be cruel to that face?

Now that the scene seems safe enough for me to finally emerge from my cover, it doesn't seem so bad. But I still prefer to keep my monkey frontage, just because he is a little easier on the eyes.

WHY BLOG?

Hmm, that's a good question. I kind of fell into this blogging this unassumingly. I decided to start a blog without knowing anything about it and a year and a bit later, here I am still baking. I guess, I always wanted to write and never had an outlet, I always loved taking photographs although never had a chance to showcase them, and always wanted to cook but never had the courage. I guess this blog just became the perfect conduit to house all those passions. And I guess, it was the perfect way to indulge all of these hobbies anonymously, until I could safely come out, so to speak.

And besides all that, all evidence suggests that I am Asian and female, which are two very strong factors that basically predetermine that I must blog about food. Funny that, I never thought of myself as fitting into a stereotype but there it is, a female Asian food blogger- the perfect demographic for the discourse of food online.

THE PHOTOS.
I am completely self-taught, with absolutely no formal training. And I say it often and I'll say it again- that sometimes my amateur-dom does show. I don't have a fancy camera, or a fancy lighting kit, my "studio" is my bedroom, which houses a makeshift area in which I take all my food photos, amongst all my clothes, shoes and dirty laundry- tres chic!

I inherited an old SLR film camera from my dad when I was 17 and basically taught myself how to use it. So it slightly amuses me when people email and ask for photography tips because I feel so inadequate. Currently I am using a Canon EOS 300D SLR digital camera. Because I am a cheapskate, I only have the lens that came with the camera which is an EF18-55mm 3.5-5.6f Canon Zoom lens. It does the job for now, but I am planning to buy a 50mm 1.4f USM Canon lens, which will give me better bokeh and in general, prettier pictures.

OTHER THINGS ABOUT ME... THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO KNOW

I got stitches in my head when I was 4 after an accident in the bathroom.
I used to be terrified of swimming in large bodies of water.
I get adverse reactions to insect bites and eating melons.
Ignorant and stupid people along with dictators and terrorists aggravate me.
I've never won a running race but beat a bunch of boys at Tekken on Playstation 20-8. Nintendo Wii is my next frontier.
Am tone deaf, but very skilled at the triangle, tambourine and egg shaker.
Prefer to drive a manual (stick) than automatic.
I have a dog named Jack who is a constant source of laughter. He loves cockroaches and ladies perfume.

I don't know how long this zeal for blogging will go on for, but right now that desire is still raging. I will only continue to do it as long as I am loving it. So if my gusto for it will ever start to wane, then I will probably have to retire or take a short hiatus and get my bearings back.

Anyway there it is, a little snapshot of who this blogger is...