Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder

This morning, I got the opportunity to test out my camera etiquette blogging skills for breakfast at The Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder.

I've had the luxury of going to The Larder a few times before, once for breakfast and twice for lunch. The restaurant is well set up, the Larder well stocked and the little shop a treat. But it is the food and the 'atmosphere' which draws so many to The Larder, and which, certainly keeps a few other cafes/restaurants from setting up shop.

I used to work at a shitty (and I mean shitty) cafe a few doors down from The Larder. I would often look up at the always packed front tables and the waitstaff with their elaborate aprons and always straight chairs, wishing that I worked somewhere like that where I could stretch my waitressing skills. Well - I'm a pretty dense waiter so it's a good thing I didn't.

For those not in the know (I am such an arse), The Larder is Stephanie Alexander's restaurant (I think her daughter runs it now?), open for breakfast and lunch and special occasion pre-booked dinners and private functions. Fancy Shmancy.

The first time I came to The Larder, I saw that guy from Recovery who now works for Nova radio - first 'celeb siting'- guy wearing glasses inside: oh so Hollywood. I think that sums the shmoosy people quite well.

Anyway back to the food. It really is that good. The breakfast, apart from a few dishes I could take or leave, is tough because it all looks so good.

My table of four, on this particular breakfast occasion, ordered three special breakfasts and something quite typical, all dishes include something special from the Larder or Cheese room, so it's a nice way of trying something that you can take home and use yourself.

The corn fritters - Breakfast lady, after much scrutiny decided on the Fritters with smoked salmon and RHCL chutney. I've had this dish before (without the egg). A good relish, really does make any corn dish. Breakfast lady seemed to enjoy it, but miffed (as was I) that the poached egg on top is $3 extra! Miffed, because it really needs the extra protein and smooth finish to complement the relish, and soften the richness of the corn fritters.

The Baghdad eggs - Breakfast Boyfriend A ordered the impressive looking and deliciously fragrant Baghhad eggs. With middle eastern flavors and flat bread, you gotta admit it's pretty freakin impressive (if not a bit expensive). I mean is this not amazing?! This is the sort of dish for which you come to an always packed restaurant like RHCL, something special that you will never get anywhere else- except maybe in Baghdad?

The blueberry pancakes, much raved about by Breakfast buddy Man, look and smell amazing, claimed by Lady and Buddy Man as the best pancakes in...the world!
Breakfast buddy Man without any hesitation, ordered the pancakes as he always does at The Larder. Served with real maple syrup and blood red orange curd, this is an impressive take on an American favorite. But, we must warn you VERY filling. Breakfast buddy Man could only finish one pancake while Breakfast Lady polished off the rest. After one bite I was through- no more avocado toastie for me...

I struggled over what to have for breakfast. Muesli? No too milky for one with a cold. Eggs? No, I'll have them for lunch? The Bruschetta? No I don't like the thought of trout for breakfast. I thought, for the sake of this entry, that I shouldn't order the same dish as anyone else, so opted for the avocado on toast with goats feta, chilli and basil - something fresh (always tasted better with good produce). Yummy - bit serving and yummy, but a little more feta would have gone down well.

All gone!

Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder

48-50 Bridge Road, Richmond, Victoria

Phone: 03 9421 2808

Check out the website for upcoming special events at the Larder - must go one of these days.

Question ... Has anyone been to one of Stephanie Alexander's other restaurants - Florentine or Sapore?

Friday night is laksa night

I've been thinking a lot about Laksa King lately. We usually have Laksa King on friday nights - it's pretty good laksa.

I've been thinking about it though, in terms of its so called authenticity. LK has long been heralded as offering the best laksa in town, with ques out the door. Fair enough, I thought and have agreed: it is really yummy.

Jeroxie (aka Penny) from Addictive and Consuming recently posted a review of the great Laksa King and I think it perfectly sums up the King of Laksa. Here is a little excerpt summing up her thoughts:

With the change in dynamics of the punters, the taste of the food has changed to adapt or accommodate. The broth has less heat and become sweeter and more coconut taste in recent years. Hence the change in colour from a orange red to a yellow orange broth. It still tastes good but it isn’t as authetic as I like it to be.

I think she is totally spot on, and the comments posted on her blog seem to agree that's it's not exactly what you'd get in Malaysia or Singapore but for Hawker food in Melbourne, it's one of the best laksa's you'll find. The only other place I'd consider going in Old Raffles Place in Collingwood, if I was in the area. There's is good but without the yummy eggplant and huge ques.

In my household, we've come to the conclusion that the only things we'll order are the Curry Laksa's either with seafood or vegetarian. We've tried a few of the other non-laksa dishes, which at best seem a little bland and same sameish. Last night, we tried the Fishhead laksa (with fillets), I thought the fish, though poor quality was pretty good, but without any vegies to sustain the dish it does become a little repetative. For me I'll keep going back for the vegie laksa - yummy!

Laksa King
Shop 3, 320 Racecourse Rd
Flemington 3031
(03) 9372 6383

cash only.

FIY, if your interested, Laksa King will soon be moving to a bigger location of Pin Oak Crescent, where the old video easy used to be. They've started renovations and it really is a massive space. Still in the shell/demolotion stage, it'll be a while till they move. It will be interesting to see what the new location/kitchen facilities does to the Hawker style quality of the food. Hmmmmm... what do you think?

I was sick - that's my excuse

So being the naughty sick person that I am - I sorta made the same lunch that I had a Peppers the other day. It was that good. I was down on Racecourse Rd, running some errands with Krumm and felt like smoked salmon and poached eggs.... well you know the rest.

Here is a picture of my yummy lunch, which I will also be repeating today. I feel quite naughty but it is a credit to Peppers for making such yummy food. I don't exactly think mine was better (my pepper wasn't as good and I had no hollondaise and my poached eggs were overcooked and cloudy) but it looks very pretty and hit the spot nicely.


Plain salad of rocket and cherry tomato dressed with a squirt of lemon. Steamed asparagus on top (microwave in a bag for 1 min 30.), a big slice of smoked salmon and some poached eggs.

Pepper

So as you've gathered, or already knew, Boyfriend and I recently moved to Flemington, or as I like to call it - Flemo! This is my first entry of a cafe in this area - it is our local of sorts.

Monday saw Paige and man friend, Twin A and bf, Krumm and myself at Pepper for lunch. A and I went to Peppers for our first Flemo breakfast, and have since become quite familiar with the place.

On this occasion, we all opted for the breakfast menu. I went for Peppers Special breakfast salad consisting of smoked salmon and poached eggs (thats right two eggs - none of this one egg business) on a bed of asparagus and rocket salad with hollondaise sauce.

I very much enjoyed my lunch - I'm not sure how well it would have gone as a 9am breakfast, but for a light protein rich lunch on a hot hot day it went down a treat. I was a little disappointed with the smear of hollondaise, but as it was lunch time it was understandable that they may have been running low. The eggs were poached perfectly and the serve of salmon was both fresh and generous.

There is nothing overly fancy or protentious about Pepper - good produce, fresh and largely organic/sourced locally. They serve all the usual breakfast and lunch meals with some creative non-complex treats in the mix as well. For a good meal Pepper is it.

Reasonable pricing, good service, and a nice atmosphere. With a bit of hip-hop or fine jazz pumping just to mix it up a little.

Open early till 9pm most nights, it's a great place for a glass of wine after work - just opposite Newmarket station.

44 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington 9372 2726

Horoki Casual Dining Bar

I never actually posted a follow up to my post- fifteen girls night with K.
I find myself unwilling to post if I don't any any decent photos - but as I don't own a camera, this makes life (errrr the blog) a bit tricky.

So here are my follow up thoughts of Horoki.
photo credit: http://yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/horoki_casual_dining_bar/


I got the impression that the layout of the restuarant was modern aussie bar style - you know leather stools, bottles of wine displaced non nonchalantly and deep sedar mellowing the atmosphere, well the bar at Horoki fits well within this description, except with one difference - Horoki, sits in one of those buildings with ginormous front glass windows/walls - very asian-esque. This fusion, in terms of the interior design and the food is what makes Horoki a fun dining experience, where east meets west.


After reading a number of reviews for Horoki, I was curious enough to give it a go.
Said reviews, claimed it to be a fusion of Australian, Asian and Mediterranean cuisine - I wanted to see how this would turn out.... as it turned out - very well.

We started with a couple of sapporo beers while we set about deciding on what to eat.

We decided on tuna carpaccio with parmesan and dressing, the octopus pancake, and the diakon salad with sashimi.

I didn't find the pancake especially amazing, nor was the sashimi plate fusion-amazing... but the tuna caraccio was enough to beg me to come back again.

The flavours of the raw tuna with the tart dressing ans rich parmesan was a triumph - why have i not thought of this, i thought to myself.

That's how Horoki does it - simple creations which beg you to consider how well the fresh ingredients go together and how come no one has done this before!?

There are many adventurous dishes that I want to try, many though have red meat or chicken in them, especially the tapas menu. So I'll just have to come back time and time again to sample Chef Kenji Higuchi's many interesting main dishes for myself. Perhaps this is how he wanted it? To get you to come back over and over again - sounds good to me.


Horoki Casual Dining
19 Liverpool St Melbourne 3000 VIC
Phone: (03) 9663 2227

Loser photos of my garden

Semi before and afters!

First photo of the garden 6 weeks ago....

After a new addition...

After a month...

Most recently...

The low-carb triumph of '09...

Although the ingredients are a bit of a gamble, this recipe was absolutely delicious, very adaptable and an easy impress-er for the in-laws...

Please excuse my shaky photos with poorly presented whiting... partially due to the iphone and partially because I hurriedly took the photo as A was pouring as glass of wine!

This recipe is reproduced from Neil Perry ‘good food’ page 136 (2007)

Whiting, Sicilian-style. The sweet-sour nature of this beautiful dish comes from the two-century Moorish occupation of Sicily. Lots of Sicilian cooking invlovs fruit, and cous cous is used often. Serve any of the delicous leftover sauce with pan-fried chicken, duck, or lamb. It is not always necessary to pin-bone fish before cooking, but it dos make for easier eating. Simply take a pair of fish tweezers, feel for bones with your fingers, gently press down on the flesh either side of the bone and pluck the bone out – it is that easy. This meal looks great as a banquet-style dish – serve it on a large platter with the cous cous on the side.

8 large whiting fillets, pn-boned

extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, diced

1/3 cup pine nuts, roasted

1/3 cup raisins/currents

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 handful dill, roughly chopped

1/2 bunch chives, roughly chopped

freshly ground pepper

Serves 4.

Heat a little oil in a large pan. Place the fish in the pan, skin side down. Cook for about 1 minute, then gently turn over and cook the fish for about 30 minutes on the other side. You will need to cook the fish in two or three batches. Remove the fillets and place on a baking tray, keeping them warm in the oven while you cook the others. Be careful not to overcook the fish as it has a very delicate flesh.

Heat a little more oil in a separate pan and add the onion and some seas salt. Cook until softened. Add the celery, a dash more oil, the pinenuts and the currances, then the honey, red wine vinegar, dill and chives. Grind on some fresh pepper. You should have a sweet- sour tasting vinaigrette. Place two fish fillets on each plate and spoon a generous amount of the sauce pver the top. Alternatively, serve the dish banquet style, on a large platter with couscous on the side.

I served them with a cold mushroom and avocado rocket salad and grilled asparagus with a generous squeeze of lemon and zest.

Why I'm such a failure...

Well that's a dramatic way to start an entry - now that I've got you intrigued I'll waffle on for a bit explain WHY I haven't posted any new recipes.

I've been gardening...

Alot...

...Pretty much all I've been thinking about (in my spare time - I do actually work and study) is how to make my garden(s) nicer...

And realising it...



A and I went away to the country for a few days over the Melbourne Cup weekend - good time to get outta flemo. I spent that time, drinking alot, sleeping alot, adventuring the new Bunnings in town and cooking with A's Dad (my obsessive nature did get the best of me at one point when I cleaned out the fridge...).

We had my oldest friend Paige and her man-friend for dinner and cooked up a MASSIVE greek feast. We've been snacking on left overs ever since! It was deliceous and quite the effort to put together, even with A's Dad and I both in the kitchen... hence, the mad rush to serve the food - I forgot to take any photos :(

A's mum isn't eating any carbs at the moment so a monday night dinner was the perfect occasion for a cooking challenge! Due to storms, internet was out so I had to settle for A's dad's AMAZING recipe book collection.
.. More on this great recipe in the next post...


Once home again I set myself the goal of creating a workable spare room/den for study/craft/ gym...
- going with an industrial/schoolhouse theme on a budget, not as amazing as the inspiration but we're gettin it.

A is very happy with the new $40 desk/krumm's fortress, not so happy with the futon couch and old desks sitting on front porch.



We've recently aquired two new/old bikes - no room inside, oh dear we're going to need to keep them outside... A's response, "After exams I'm going to have to build a shelter for them...", Me in response - "Or we could get a couple of tarps and I can make covers for them..."

Genius! Cost effective and easy.

Did I mention this is the last week?

In the last few days I've been running from the laundry to the gardens trying to use as much of the water from the washing machine as possible (tonight I broke my record- not one bucket wasted), pottering the house and attempting to be better at french... with the help of Renaissance Luke I'm a good 6 years from being any use... C'est la vie... I think?

Salut!

This is my owl

I've been following Claire from craft shmaft for the last couple of months. I love her blog and love her creative little sock creatures.

She's been working REALLY hard to get her etsy store up and running and once she did I couldn't wait to put my order in...

Here is my Toot Oliver....




Now he isn't as fancy as the one's I've seen other people, like Gina making and by no means is he perfect but I love him and am very much looking forward to giving him a brother or sister owl soon.

fifteen melbourne

In anticipation of tonight's trip to Horoki with bestie K, I realised that I hadn't posted anything about our little trip to fifteen a few rainy saturdays ago!

K and I are pop culture queens - well trashbags really. In honor of our wonderful US trip, we've been thinking of iconic (of sorts) things to do in Melbourne, one of them was visiting Jamie Oliver's fifteen restaurant!

After looking up the prices of the website, I realised it would be quite do-able - so off we went for a girls day out in rainy Melbourne town.


It's a nicely set out place with a big bar area and two seperate dining rooms, but it is the sort of entrance which requires you to be seated straight away; otherwise (as we were) you're just standing their awkwardly! The strangest thing though whilst standing in the doorway was the the confusion between the maitre d and a waiter. Neither seemed quite sure who would escort us to our table. We ended up with the less certain waiter, who took us into the dark room and showed us to a seat near the doorway - I feel that if you've reserved a table you should be given a good table - preferably in the light room away from walking traffic; but maybe that's just me!


Anyway after sitting at a table further from the door, we set out to peruse the menu, which was very exciting!
We decided to go for the express lunch which includes two courses and a glass of house wine.

K decided to start with the Ribollita cannellini bean soup, while I opted for the Fantastic panzanella salad of olives, baby tomatoes, capers, celery, herbs, Mt. Zero red wine vinegar and toasted ciabatta.

I, with my lovely glass of margaret river sav blanc and Kate with her red, were quite hungry. It took a while for the bread to come around, which we thought was odd because there really weren't that many people around. Our starters came, both were well presented and of good size. K, however was quite put off by the 1/2 cup 'drizzle' of olive oil sitting on top the soup. I did really enjoy my salad - a creative interpretation of everyday ingredients, certainly the high quality helped, but everything about the salad was delicate and intentional - i especially loved the balsamic ciabatta croutons.

Next for our mains! We'd both decided on the Rotolo of baby spinach, baked ricotta, sliced mushrooms, marjoram and lemon with nutty brown butter, crispy sage and Parmigiano Reggiano. Not exactly sure what a rotolo was but attracted by the ingredients - we both loved it!

One of the things I get really excited about when eating out is trying to figure out how to recreate a dish at home - this main, I would have no idea where to start!
I simply loved the crispy sage and soft parmesan butter sauce with the little pasta parcels of mushrooms, spinach and baked ricotta - it was all so yummy and delicate. I've actually been craving it since then!

fifteen melbourne

115 - 117 Collins Street, Melbourne
1300 799 415‎

After a little window shopping at DJs and Design A Space we headed for dessert at Lindt - not a big que, which moved quickly we were seated after a few minutes - but as a twosome we were seated at the dud, behind the counter bit nowhere near the apparently stunning ceiling - so make sure you get yourself in the main dining room.

We got the Volcanno mudcake, which was freaking amazing and a chocolate and custard eclair to share. Quite expensive considering the sizes but for the quality of the cake its worth it. I would have enjoyed it more though had we been in the main room! Picky picky jess...

Lindt Chocolate Cafe
271 Collins St, Melbourne

(03)9667 0900

Overall, a wonderful girls day out! Looking forward to tonight!

Zio's Italian East Melbourne

ZIO'S Italian Restaurat, East Melbourne

Cousin's gf seafood linguine

THE degustation plate!!!
With morton bay bug, smoked salmon, crab salad, an oyster, seered scallop, crumbed king prawn and lobster ravioli

My risotto - not as photogenic as I would have thought it would be with the saffron! I think I might have lucked out, in comparison to my fellow diners! I should learn never to order a risotto out... no matter how perfect the seafood is!

The cousin's lamb - he got in a bite before i had a chance to photograph!

My souffle - a bit of a wait but a light and fluffy dream pudding!

Zio's doesn't look like anything special from the front, but inside its' townhouse walls, a softly-lit white-table clothed dining room awaits.

14 Lansdowne St East Melbourne VIC 3002
(03) 9415 1224


Last night we went to Zio's in East Melbourne. A's parents have been going to Zio's quite a bit as it's a short walk from the flat.

The guy waiter is very funny and always recognises A and his mum when we walk in, which is always nice. We are also always seated at the same table - now that is old fashioned 'sopranos' style dining!

The first time A and I joined his parents for dinner at Zio's all four of us had the seafood degustation platter, it was wonderful, its always a treat to have well prepared and imaginative seafood. But after a couple of nasty experiences with seafood baskets elsewhere I decided to opt out of the degustation vote last night!

We started with bruschetta and marinated olives - both were delicate and fresh - I tried not to nibble too much though as I'd ordered the soup special, seafood chowder to start. The chowder was nice and creamy with lovely fresh mussels, prawns and scallops. There is nothing as disappointing as over cooked seafood (or undercooked) but the chowder was cooked wonderfully - i wasn't really a big fan of the red capsicum though, and might have fitted better as a main.

I ordered the saffron seafood risotto for my main, curious to see what it would be like - I think it's a good test of a kitchen if they cook seafood well in pastas and risottos.
The sister and I ordered a chocolate souffle each for dessert! Not quite sure how was I was going to fit everything in my tummy I was glad (at first) for the unexpected wait between courses. None of us were too fussed though and when our mains came everyone was happy!

In total we had three seafood degustation platters, two trios of duck, one 250g beef, one lamb, one seafood linguine and my saffron seafood risotto.

The duck eaters were both very happy, the uncle claiming it was the best duck he'd had in a long time. The cousin with the lamb said it was amazing, the three degustations were gobbled up with satisfaction and the cousin's gf adored her seafood linguine, very impressed was she with the morton bay bug on top! The linguine certainly looked yummy and photographed very well! The sister was starving so thankfully her steak satisfied!

The chocolate souffle was wonderful - what can be said about souffle really? Just look at the photo - well presented, deliciously fluffy and rich. My trick - I make a well and put the ice cream inside!

All in all, a very well enjoyed dinner - we were a little concerned with the wait between courses, but as we'd been to Zio's before and had no issue with the service, we weren't overly bothered. Because it is such a nice place to have a meal with family, eating isn't the sole reason for getting together. It's a nice and quiet place and the tables are a good size for conversation, it has a really comfortable atmosphere. I keep thinking though, they should move to a better location - somewhere in the city would be good, but I don't think the parentals would like that too much!

Have you been to Zio's - what did you think?

thankyou for the cupcake recipe!

So, I had a little dinner party last thursday night to celebrate TwinA's return to Australia (belated as with the move and all I've been slack and busy) so, taking advantage of my last week of non-teaching and non-frenching I made a tuna and corn lasagna and some dessert cupcakes.
I have to thank Agnes from off your spork for posting this recipe for vanilla cupcakes and for the pictures which 'inspired' my decoration.

Here is my recipe for tuna and corn lasagna as well:

Shopping trolley:

2 cobs corn
1 big tin of tuna
1 large jar tomoto cooking sauce (puree)
2 small onions, thinly diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
sugar
assortment of fresh herbs (from cottage garden)
4 dried bay leaves
Fresh lasagne sheets
cheese
flour
butter
4 mushrooms sliced
celery
1 tomato sliced
parmesan cheese


Preparation.
In a large saucepan slowly fry half garlic and onion until soft and clear, being careful not to burn.
Add the corn off the cobs, mushrooms and sliced celery. Stir until the mushrooms and celery and cooked. Add tomato puree and vegie stock to even the consistency of the sauce. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes, stiring occassionally.

Add the fresh chopped herbs and lots of pepper. Add the drained tuna and stir through de-clumping any big bits. Add 2 tsp of sugar and let sit for a further five minutes.

In a casserole dish layer lasagne sheets with the tuna sauce, starting with the sauce on the bottom. Make sure all of the lasagne is covered.

Finish off with a thick layer of bechamel sauce (with cheese) and sprinkle over parmesan cheese. Finish with slices of fresh tomato. Bake for 40 minutes or until goldenbrown on top and serve with salad!

It really was so yummy - the sugar helped to bring out the flavours in the tuna and corn and give the dish and warmer taste.

sorta food related

I just had to upload some pictures of my garden - those who've seen me lately have witnessed my gardening fanaticism with updated facebook photos and all!

I say sorta food related because we've planted some herbs as a border to the cottage garden. Although I don't have a photo of the garden before I started, it was initially completely bare. The whole process of planting has taken about a week of research and execution.

Notes:
I've tried to complimentary plant - herbs help keep away pests in general, as do the maragolds. The chives have been planted around the miniature rose bushes to keep aphids away. Ah clever... I've also been making concentrated black coffee to stray on and around the plants as apparently slugs hate it - not really sure how this is working. I've used two types of fertiliser - the little balls for long-term effectiveness and a seaweed fertiliser for immediate penetration. Eggshells are scattered to release nutrients into the garden, over the mulch - not sure but it looks effective!


Resources:

Burke's Backyard website link

Gardening Australia website link

mexican toastie

K and I have gotten into the habit of enjoying g&ts in the city during the week, usually at Hells Kitchen. On one of these particular evenings in early september, I came up with this dinner, disappointed that K couldn't join me for dindins. I like to call it the Toastie because of the use of a focaccia grill, but a regular saucepan will suffice!

Shopping trolley:

2 avocados, mashed
Pickled jalapeno peppers
sour cream
1 can of kidney beans
2 tomatoes, diced
4 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 small red capsicum, roughly chopped
cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
plain cornchips
lime
small can on corn
8 small flour tortillas
pre-made chunky salsa

...Best prepared over a cheeky gin and tonic (with lime of course!) and a big bowl of guacamole and chips!

Preparation.

Guacamole:
Clumsily mash the two avocados in a serving bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, chopped jalapenos, 1/2 a diced tomato and a little lime juice (from the g&t lime), mix up and dunk - half of this guac will be used in the toastie.

1. Kidney bean mix
- Fry diced onion, garlic, capsicum and mushrooms in a little oil until onion is clear and the capsicum is cooked through. Add drained kidney beans, stir to heat through and set aside in a bowl.

2. Salsa
In the same frypan fry corn on a hot temperature till the corn is sizzling and browning well, add chopped tomato and jalapeno peppers (to taste).

3. Spread half of the tortilla with guacamole, kidney bean mix, home-made salsa and cheese. Close the toastie so that you've got a half circle parcel. Cook in toastie machine or on stove until each side is golden brown and crunchy.

To serve, add a dollop of sour cream and salsa.

This is so yummy and pretty healthy really. Very little oil is used in the cooking process. Its nice and spicy and soft inside, while the crunchy tortilla adds a yummy texture.

So damn good and easy comfort food.

let us recap

(photos: beers and delicious fries, aoli and olives at Little Creatures)

Sorry readers - I have not posted in over a month, all I can do is try to explain, recap and hope to update more often.

It is not as if I haven't eaten well, because I have. In fact, I've been eating and drinking so well over the last month and a half that A and I have decided to join forces and compact the fat together!

In August, you could say I was 'between houses', a couple I know, recently relocated to Melbourne so I offered them my house for a few weeks promising I'd be fine staying at A's house. I was fine (mostly) and it was fine really, especially once A and I realised we were pretty damn good at living together. Thank god we came to this conclusion because we are now living together in Flemington! That's right people we had to move to an entirely new suburb to find some new food. (Side note: well actually, it's weird as I've discovered since leaving North Fitz, a few places I didn't know about - thanks jessho for trippy tacos - will be adventuring into the area again soon!)

So apart from the birthday in August, enjoyed at Dexters for breakfast, Little Creatures for lunch and Moroccan Soup Bar for dinner, August was the 'I'm between places right now' month. Followed immediately by September, the month of ' holly crap that was quick we've got a house and now have to move into said house!', which we did over the first and second weekend. My god moving house is exhausting isn't it?

First night in the new digs: beer and laksa king on the couch with prawn springrolls from Vy Vy... me thinks (I said to myself) I'm going to like flemington! Omg I mean I knew Laksa King was supposed to be amazing (lines onto Racecourse rd to get a table, other restaurants looking on in wonderment) but it really was. I had the seafood laksa on my first night in Flem' and it was amazing! They sure know how to do the laksa takeaway! The soup serves seperate from the vegies, noodles and seafood so nothing gets over cooked! The seafood was cooked to perfection as well, the prawns were yummy and juicy - not dry like in many laksas. A suggested we get the prawn spring rolls from Vy Vy, just a few doors away (apparently they're the best). They really were yummy and complimented my laksa perfectly. Oh what a night...

Hmm so apart from a lot of laksa (three of four friday night meals) I've ventured out for yummy Japanese in the city at Izakaya Chuji, a massive tapas style bar/restaurant with friendly service and delicious fresh food. The fried squid with mayo is to die for and the agadashi tofu is the best I've tried in Melbourne.

I've also been to Tiamo2 a couple of times, without a long wait outside, we sat down to a fastapasta - rather than indulging in my usual Don Giovanni I have been opting lately for the eggplant pasta without the meatballs - its so good, i want it right now!

So apart from some cooking adventures at home - I think that pretty much covers the last couple of months...



Moroccan Soup Bar
83 St Georges Rd Fitzroy North VIC 3068 - (03) 9482 4240
Open Tue-Sat 6pm-10pm

Dexters
123 Queens Parade Clifton Hill - (03) 9486 5192
Open all week till late (except mondays)

Little Creatures Dining Hall
222 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9417 5500

Laksa King
320 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 6383
Open from 11.30am-10pm all week.

Vy Vy
318 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 1426
Open all week 11.30am-10.30 most nights.

Chuji Izakaya
165 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Open Mon-Sat till late
(03) 9663 8118

Tiamo
303 Lygon St, Carlton - (03) 9347 5759
Open early-late all week.

Seven Seeds and other weekend adventures...

The weekend: I was supposed to lock myself inside; away from the food temptations I oh-so-very-muchly wanted to try out - but alas my appetite had other ideas...

SATURDAY - the day of semi-productivity.

A asked me to give him a lift to uni, as reluctant as I was, I agreed under the previso that I'd get atleast two hours study in before meeting my grandma for brunch. Alas, A's tummy had other thoughts on how to spend the morning. A detour to Seven Seeds was in order. Seven Seeds is the new buzz coffee place in the city - this was reinforced to us on Saturday morning when we couldn't get a table! We've been going there because the coffee is good and because its just a hop, skip and a jump away from the law building at uni. But apparently that guy from Top Chef (is that what it's called?) mentioned it in The Age over the weekend, so they were packed! The lovely Irish waitress explained how hectic it had been, I get the impression they're not exactly thrilled about all the mainstream press they've been getting.

We waited ten minutes for a seat, squeezed between an obnoxious law student impressing his date and a nice middle aged couple. A and I each ordered a coffee (they do lovely little teapots of special black coffee-yummy!) and the avocado and seeds on toast.

I have been going through a mad avocado stage lately, so I was more than happy to order the avocado on toast. I was a little disappointed however, as I’m not the biggest lemon fan and believe that salt and pepper are the best at bringing out the flavor in avocado. That, is secondary though because the yummy seeds on top were delicious and imaginative.

Despite how busy they were, the food and coffees came out quickly and everyone waiting managed to get a table. I can see why its so popular - the interior design is bright and industrial looking, perfect for the little laneway its built into. The food, yes I can also see why its becoming popular- and the coffee... well its like a wine bar - a place where coffee enthusiasts can go and comment on the underlying notes present in the beans!

'cc' sunday ...

Menu.

Afternoon tea - banana bread (recipe in last post - didnt gave enough sour cream so substituted normal cream - worked just fine! Also didnt have cinamon so used ground anise)

Dinner - 'alio olio-esqe' leftovers pasta (recipe follows)

Dessert - Apple and pear crumble - (based on Jamie Oliver's recipe from last post,but with orange juice, orange peels and anise for the syrup)

Almost made entirely from things around the house and leftovers from other meals! All were yummy and went down a treat!

alio olio-esque pasta

Shopping trolley.
1.5 cups chopped parsley
6-8 cloves garlic minced
500g pasta
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
shaved parmesan
3 pieces stale bread
2 hot chillies
olive oil
s & p to taste

Prepare.
- Decrust sliced bread and quarter. Blend until fine in food processor. Set aside
- Mince garlic and add sliced chilli. Set aside.
- Set aside chopped parsely in one bowl and halved cherry tomatoes in another.

Cook pasta according to packet directions.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan or wok - toss bread crumbs until golden brown. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in same pan and sautee' garlic mixture.
Add cooked pasta and toss to combine. Add tomatoes and parsley. Combine. Add breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese until combined. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of s & p.


Not the healthiest dinner but it is bloody good!