things i wished i knew when i first arrived in Adelaide.

where do i start?

Hmm...perhaps the ones which i think r the most important???
the following list might be slightly more geared towards Asian students...

- get a slow cooker; they r awesome...congee, chinese soups, desserts, stews, chocolate fondue- very safe and easy to use

- stock up pantry with basic sauces and ingredients - oyster sauce, cooking wine, light soy, pepper, rice, canned food like tuna, salmon, frozen veggies so that you can whip up a simple meal in a jiffy

- cheese, butter, flour, chocolate are way cheaper here...if u like to bake cakes or muffins or would like to try, now is the time!! Provided u have an oven of course..all of aunty yochana's recipes come highly recommended...

- Buy your basics in supermarkets and fresh fruit and veggies at central market and farmers' markets. You'll usually be able to snatch up quite a few bargains in central market on Saturdays around 12- 2pm if you don't mind crowds. Many items go for a dollar a bag/ kg...oh and you'll be surprised at the range of asian foods you can find in central market too...i think i can find more ingredients there than in Singapore..so convenient!! I'll miss central market soo much!!!

- If you have a microwave, get a microwavable rice container. I find them heaps better than rice cookers as they don't stick as much and are pretty fuss free. Plus the microwave does many other things as well. BUT if you don't have a microwave, do get a rice cooker...Big W sells them for around 20 bucks nowadays..!!

- food blogs are great resources for recipes...personally, I love love love Lily Ng's Wai Sek Hong...every recipe there is tested..so u get kudos everytime and it really helps to boost your 'cooking confidence' ...not to mention, they re-create the 'taste of home'....it might take a little while to find a food blog you like though..through trial and error..

-following recipe faithfully the first time, making substitutions only if necessary (allergies/ religious reasons..)...i had a friend make a cheesecake and out of 8 ingredients, she substituted 6 and then asked me why it didn't turn out well...hmm..

Yeah...that's about it....and don't get too discouraged if you don't succeed the first few times, i think it took me maybe 1 year to be truly comfortable in the kitchen? :)

More suggestions welcome....!