While everyone back in the U.S. has been complaining endlessly about rising food costs in the last year, it seems like it may be impacting Australia far harder, especially being so far away from most of the world. It has not been uncommon for the cost of some basic food staples to go up anywhere from 3-4x. At Bun Bun Bakery, which we visited this past Monday, I had read on Google Reviews that just three months ago, the banh mi sandwiches cost $6. When we went, the sandwiches were $8 each. that’s a 33% increase in just three months, which is insane. And I have the faintest feeling that people’s salaries are not increasing at the same rate. Living in Australia already is so expensive, and this definitely makes everything worse for the average person here.

Going through the supermarket the other day was also crazy to see how much things like fruit and meat cost; but from my perspective, since $1USD = about $1.47 AUD, it’s almost like I get about a 35% discount every time I buy something. So I have to readjust it in my head every time.

When Chris suggested going on a walk our first afternoon back in Melbourne, I thought, why not? That sounds like a good idea to get some natural light into all three of us to help our bodies adjust to local time. We buckled Kaia into the stroller and went off towards Brighton Beach just a few blocks from his parents’ house. And while a walk along the water seemed like a tranquil, scenic, and fun thing to do to help us transition, the picture I had in my head of how it would go… is not exactly how it went.

Every time I opened my eyes to see or my mouth to talk, it was like a fly was aggressively trying to find its way in. And when there wasn’t a concern of a fly going right into my eye or mouth, they were trying to make their way into my ears and nostrils. The same was happening to Chris, except with him, they love to always perch all over his back and shoulders. It’s as though they know that he’s an Australian native, so they make a “home” of him as soon as he arrives. So while we both wanted to talk, it was so awkward because we were simultaneously fighting flies off the outside AND the inside of our bodies. For whatever reason, the flies did not seem to swarm Kaia. Maybe they prefer older humans?

Chris has also had to take some over the counter allergy meds because the Australian pollen has gotten to him. He’d been free of it for the last three years given we hadn’t been back, and now his body is finally being exposed to it once again.

In addition, Chris’s parents said that because it’s been wetter than usual, the “mozzies” or mosquitoes had been swarming the house. It’s like they just wait outside until someone opens the door and immediately fly in. In the last few days, I’ve killed about 6 just in the bathroom. What joy!

Coming to Australia in their summer is a treat for many reasons, but a huge reason, from a fruit perspective, that it’s an amazing time is that it’s MANGO SEASON here. There are many mango varieties that are delicious and ubiquitous here. The most common ones that you will see in grocery stores and markets will be the Kensington Pride, Calypso, R2E2, and honey gold. The ones we usually have at home that Chris’s mom so graciously buys and cuts up for us are the first three I listed. So when we were in Springvale yesterday, we stopped by a market to pick up some produce, and of course, that included mangoes. I was surprised by one variety I saw: it was a long, oblong-shaped mango that was a pale yellow color, and it was labeled either a maha mango or a maha chanok mango. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I knew we had to try it, especially since I had never, ever seen it before on any previous Australia trip, and other than the last two years, we had been back every single year!! So we picked up three of these, plus 2 fat, fragrant and hefty sized R2E2s.

I later read more about the maha: it’s a hybrid variety that is originally from Thailand, a combination of the Sunset and Nang Klanwan mangoes that are Thai. However, the maha chanok are also grown in Australia and have been grafted onto Kensington Pride trees. It’s characterized by its unusual oblong shape, not to mention its very sweet and juicy flavor. It’s even better because the fruit has a very small and thin pit, making for the maximum amount of fruit to eat per piece. Can’t complain about that.

We haven’t cut it open yet, but I’m really looking forward to it, and potentially doing a side by side test against the other Australian varieties.

The last time we came to Australia in December 2019, we had no idea that we wouldn’t be back for three years. In 2020, we couldn’t come back because of the global pandemic. Last year, we didn’t come back because Pookie was due in December, so this visit is really like Chris’s homecoming, plus a huge adventure for Kaia Pookie since it will be her second international flight, the longest flight she will ever have been on, plus, her first time visiting her fatherland.

After spending a day adjusting at home and in the neighborhood, Chris decided our first stop outside of Brighton would be Springvale, which I wasn’t going to complain about. We checked out HS Cakes, which he discovered via Instagram about two years ago, which is supposed to be famous for their durian cakes, filled generously with D24/Sultan variety durian imported directly from Malaysia. To do a taste test, we got two items from there – a set of durian cream puffs plus durian crepe rolls. We tried a puff each right outside the bakery, and WOW! The durian hits you immediately, both in smell and taste. And the creaminess of the cream with the thick hunks of durian was actually dreamy. I never call any food “dreamy,” so this was a BIG deal. Chris wants to get Kaia’s second birthday cake from here (his mum already planned to have her first birthday cake made by her friend – mango coconut), so we’re planning to get a durian cake for Saturday.

HS Cakes owner Judy, who was there when we came and we chatted with, was really friendly and told us about Bun Bun Bakery just a couple blocks away. It’s supposed to have Melbourne’s very best banh mi. Of course, we wasted NO time walking over there. We got two banh mis – one standard mixed ham roll, and one BBQ pork with sauce. Both totally blew our minds. The bread was insanely light and ethereal yet crunchy. All the fillings were packed with flavor, super fresh, and delicious; the mayonnaise and the pate were incredible and so, so rich. We also loved the BBQ pork banh mi particularly because they separated out the crackly pork skin from the tender and fatty pork belly, so you have a really great taste and texture contrast in most bites. These were probably some of the best, best banh mi we had ever had. I’d even say they were likely better than the other two banh mi spots we love in Melbourne. Even after sharing two sandwiches, we didn’t feel even remotely heavy and went on to have bun bo hue and a pork chop rice plate from yet another Vietnamese restaurant recommendation (Bun Bo Hue Chu Le) from Bun Bun Bakery. That bun bo hue was also phenomenal, with a rich, spicy and lemongrassy broth, but unfortunately because I was getting so full, I didn’t enjoy it as much.

And to top it all off, we purchased multiple mangoes (two varieties: R2E2 and Maha Chanok) plus 3.30kg of jackfruit from a market in Springvale! The fragrance of the jackfruit just beckoned, and when a seller asked me if i was interested, I just couldn’t resist and had to say yes.

It was an eventful day eating in the delicious neighborhood of Springvale in Melbourne.

We took an AA flight from JFK to LAX today and had a separate reservation with Qantas to fly from LAX to Melbourne. On the AA flight, even though we were seated in business class, the service certainly left something to be desired. The flight attendant who was tending to us confused my tea request and gave me coffee. When I told her it was coffee and not tea, she initially insisted it was tea. I insisted again, NO, it’s coffee, and almost told her to taste it until she said she’d take it back and have it replaced. Well, the tea I did end getting was crap, but what else is new on U.S. carriers? The screen and console were not working for me at my seat, so I was unable to take advantage of inflight entertainment. I asked this flight attendant to reset it. She didn’t, and had to eventually do it after I asked a third time. But when I asked her about it 90 minutes later, she said, “But I reset it 3 times.” Well, the screen looked exactly the same. She could see it herself. And she insisted there wasn’t anything else that could be done. Chris then harped on her to write me a note to get miles back as a compensation, which she reluctantly did. Then, when I asked for my dessert, it never came until I went up to them asking for it half an hour later. The same inattentive flight attendant who was too busy chatting with her colleagues said absentmindedly, “Oh, didn’t I already give you your dessert?” Well, no. That’s why I stood up and came over to ASK you to get it for me. It’s really shocking how even if you have the highest level of status and are seated in a premium cabin on American Airlines, the service can truly be hit or miss. It’s never a guarantee to be good.

On the flip side, I can honestly say that service on Qantas, even in economy and premium economy, has been superior to American. In flight from LAX to Melbourne on Friday in business class, the flight attendants were extremely attentive: they set up Kaia’s bassinet and buckled her into her infant seat belt (what is an infant seat belt on AA? I don’t believe that exists!). They offered her endless baby food without our even asking, which American NEVER has unless you specifically request it (and even when you request it, there’s NO guarantee it will ever be there; talk about being really stupid). They gave us a massive bucket of hot water to heat up one of Kaia’s breast milk bottles. They heated up the baby food, and one of the flight attendants even tested the temperature of the food on his wrist before giving it to me to serve Kaia (WOW! Talk about service!). They proactively gave me drinks and napkins even when I didn’t ask for them. They happily and eagerly gave me ice and refreshed it repeatedly to keep my breast milk safe and cold. They offered to hold my baby to give me a break for my arms. And if that all was not enough, one of them even offered, after I finished a pumping session in flight, to WASH MY PUMP PARTS FOR ME. I nearly passed out in shock and appreciation. Who WAS this guy, and can he please, please be cloned? I certainly would never ask anyone other than Chris or a previous night nurse/nanny to wash my pump parts, as they are literally covered in my breast milk/bodily fluid, but just the mere fact that he was so gracious and kind to offer to do something like that for me just spoke to his high level of empathy and service.

It was a great flight to Oz that went really smoothly; we even departed early and landed early. Kaia slept pretty well, and she ate well in flight, as well. And as per usual, all the food, drink, and even the little snacks were excellent. U.S. carriers could really learn about a dozen or more things to improve their quality of service to passengers, especially those with families and young children on board. But given the U.S. clearly doesn’t prioritize or give a shit about families and young children, I suppose the subpar service for families in flight on U.S. carriers is just a sad reflection on the state of affairs in the country overall.

Three years ago was the last time I was at LAX’s Tom Bradley Terminal, coming in and out to go to and come back from Melbourne. Three years ago, it was just Chris and me transiting through here, and now, it’s the two of us plus one. We’re now three. And so the experience here is different now. Chris dropped the baby and me off at the Qantas First lounge while he went to retrieve our checked bags from our AA flight and get them checked into our Qantas flight.

As soon as we got in, I had to change Kaia’s diaper, so I realized right away that all the individual, full bathrooms were not only spacious, but a couple include a baby changing station, which an attendant quickly directed me to. When I entered the room, I thought, WOW! How luxurious. Everything is white and spotless, with high end skincare products, and there is not only ample room to change the baby, but also shower, use the toilet, wash up, and even sit on a nice cushion and rest! Plus, the largest stroller would fit in this room with space to spare!

The second thing I thought about was how airy and spread out the space was. There are lots of couches, plenty of outlets, and lots of open areas to park a stroller comfortably. We set up at some couches, parked the stroller so Kaia could nap, and I plugged in my breast pump so that I would not have to worry about the battery during our 14-hour flight over to Melbourne, during which I will need to pump at least twice.

There’s a menu to order a la carte, so we chose a few appetizers, which included spicy fried calamari, caprese salad, and almond cake. I wanted to feed Kaia some fresh mozzarella, but she had already passed out before I thought to ask for a high chair.

I have missed this lounge experience. And it still feels welcoming with a baby in tow.