Living Nerdy in Sydney

Christians today live in a world with non-Christian governments, working without God’s law as their moral basis. However, the bible teaches us that there is no authority which is not instituted by God and we should submit to them. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Romans 13:1-2 ESV Today, ruler of our lands tell us it is okay to marry someone of the same sex. This seems to completely contradict to what the bible teaches. However, as Christians, we shouldn’t forget the bible tells us of a clear hierarchy of power and law. We live under our rulers, who must rule under the higher power. This higher power is our God. This is NOT about church law, rather about God’s law. In God’s perfect law, he created a woman for a man. Heterosexual relationships ...

We had the privilege to travel to Singapore during Chinese New Year to spend some time with family. Undoubtedly, we took the chance to fill our bellies with the great Singaporean cuisine. Most of our meals centered around meeting friends in the East. If you're going to Singapore for a short stop-over, here are quite good places to fill up with the local cuisine. For the first time visitor  to Singapore, there are basically 4 types of eating outlets. Food Courts - These are large air-coned eating outlets normally with 8-10 stalls with a common seating area. Food Centres - These are like Food Courts but normally run by the government and are normally non-air conditioned. They are also normally larger and can have up to 50-100 stalls. Coffee Shops - These are privately run eating outlets normally on the ground floor of a block of government flats. Restaurants. This includes fast-food restaurants, cafes and bistro. Meal 1 - On the Plane We traveled from Sydney to Singapore...

The Pink Dot SG is an annual event in support of the LGBT community in Singapore. The event features attendees all wearing pink forming a large pink circle. It also showcases a concert and speeches. This event started in 2009 and has since expanded. In 2015, there were some 28000 attendees who came to form the pink dot. (Picture source: Facebook) In Singapore, it is illegal for men to engage in intercourse with another man. Homosexual marriages are not legal as well. Many Christian groups have been under fire for their seemingly homophobic stance.  However, it is innately in the Christian belief to love one another. Even the sinner. It is not true that Christians hate gay people, rather they see the act of lusting or engaging same-sex sex is considered 'sin'. It is much the same as lust or sex outside marriage between a man and woman, which is also considered as 'sin'. In fact the Christian term 'sin' is the rejection of the Christian God and His...

With the closure of the Crown Street Surry Hills outlet, we decided to venture to it's surviving branch on Riley Street, Darlinghurst for a special birthday dinner. Setting The setting in Red Lantern is somewhere a mix of 50s Vietnamese and modern. The front of house is a restaurant and the back of house is a bar (Red Lily). You will have to get a booking in advance for a table in the front of house. You might be able to get a bar seat at Red Lily, but they do serve a different menu. The restaurant is rather dark. It is mainly lit by old pendant lights above each dining space. It did make photography rather challenging. Menu There are 2 set deguestation menus one at $69 and the other at $85. The $85 menu will only be served at the later 8pm seating. It also has a optional $145 set of matching wines. There is also an excellent drink menu with exotic and interesting cocktails. Click to enlarge Drinks As it was a birthday, we decided to splurge a little on 2 cock...

Sushi Hotaru is a sushi train in Sydney CBD. Most people would be more familiar with its other branch in the Galleries of Victoria with its long queues. This branch is a much quieter one. We did not have to book or queue for a dinner seating. Setting Like with most Sushi Trains, Sushi Hotaru is mainly counter seating - where there are bar chairs along a counter. You can chose to pay individually at each chair or pay as a group. Sushi Hotaru has its menu on its electronic ordering system which is based on an iOS system. Everything from sushi, to hot food, to drinks even to tap water has to be ordered through its electronic ordering platform. The beauty of the system is that you get a picture for every dish to know what exactly you are ordering. The downside to the system is the inability to customise orders. For example, if you have a certain allergy an require something to be left out for you, you would still have to get a wait staff to assist you with your order. Drinks ...

Bourke Street bakery first started in its humble home in Surry Hills. In recent times, it seems to be popping up all over Sydney. We've returned to its humble beginnings in Surry Hills to see if all this expansion has have any impact of its first branch. Bourke Street Bakery at Surry Hills is a very tiny corner bakery with its counter nearly right at its entrance. On most days, you will find a sizable queue outside its door.  From almost a block away, you will be able to smell the great aroma of freshly baked cakes, breads and pies all intermingled. There are 3 tiny cafe tables (each seating for at very most 3) inside and a few rustic tables and stools on the pavement outside. Coffee We had a mocha and a flat white. Both were excellently roasted and the milk was frothed perfectly. The flat white came with a decent coffe heart art. Food Pork and Fennel Roll  - A roll of minced pork with a very generous mix of fennel seeds rolled up in a flaky ...

Sex education today consists of a wide array of topics in different schools. However, sex education wasn't always taught in schools. Here's a history Photo from Telegraph.co.uk Early 1900s Sex education in schools first started in the early 1900s. Girls were taught topics such as 'self-reverence, self-control and true modesty'. Boys were taught topics such as 'temptation of factor and workshop life'. 2nd World War During the 2nd World War, sexually transmitted diseases were increasing amongst the soldiers. As a response, sex education in school shifted towards the prevention of syphilis and gonorrhoea. 1950s In the 1950s, sex education in school included lessons on sexual reproduction in plants and animals though biology classes. However as back then biology was though to be a subject more for girls than boys, girls were more likely to receive sex education in school. In some boarding schools, boys recieved warnings about the dangers believed t...

Sex education today has become very varied from school to school. But should sex education be the responsibility of schools? Sex education in the past has focused on the biology. ( For a brief history of sex education, click here. ) It used to focus on sexual reproduction and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. But it started including discussion about relationships, contraception, sexuality, homosexuality, marriage equality, sexual fluidity, sexual equality, acceptance of transgender or the same-sex attracted. What if you don't agree with what your school teaches your child during sex education classes? Different cultural and religious groups have strong opinions on what sex education should comprise of. In large cosmopolitan cities like Sydney, where many cultures and beliefs meet, different groups lobby for their view of what sex education should look like. Very often, one view of what sex education should consist of gets imposed on the larger school populatio...

BBQ Galbi is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Waterloo. It is located on the Crown Square Plaza side in Waterloo near the Toyota dealer. This is one of 3 Korean restaurants in the block. Setting Like most typical Korean BBQ restaurants, BBQ Galbi is set up with tables for 4 around a table BBQ. The table is special as it has air vents blowing downwards instead of upwards. It also has a pool of water under each grill to prevent excessive smoke. Food BBQ - Marinated Waygu Beef Bolgolgi ($18) and Spicy Marinated Pork Belly ($19) Unlike most restaurants, the BBQ meat did not have rice included. Both meat were in general were quite dry particularly the pork belly. The marinade sauce of the beef was very average.  The biggest problem with the BBQ was the service. In this restaurant, the wait staff would put all the meat on the BBQ plate at one go and not tend to it. It was impossible to eat all the meat up before it started charring up on the plate. I would have much prefe...