27

It was my birthday on Thursday and my best friend made sure that it was a day to remember. I started the day with my sister, she gave me a Herschel backpack that I have been wanting for my trip to Tokyo, and also a bottle of Crystal Head vodka. I blew out candles on a decadent, triple chocolate cake and then waited for my friend to arrive. Again, I was spoiled with gifts! He bought me tickets to see the Australian production of Les Miserables, and a shirt and a hoodie from Blackcraft Cult. I was quite pleased indeed! Onwards we went to a surprise location for lunch. We ended up at the Abbotsford Convent Bakery where I tried the most delicious and rich custard tart I have ever had in my life! The pastry was crisp but not hard, and the custard was thick and sticky and creamy. The coffee wasn't bad either.

Afterwards, we strolled the convent grounds and then decided to finally visit the Collingwood Children's farm which, contrary to the name, does not have children roaming the fields.

I have wanted to visit the Children's Farm for ages and, despite the miserable weather, found that this was a spectacular time to visit. We were the only people there, we were allowed to roam freely without the screams and frustration of children everywhere. We got to see a kid (baby goat) that was only born the evening before and could barely walk. We got to sit and stroke a cat while the rain drizzled. We watched the sheep eat and the horses play. It was such an amazing time.

Afterwards we walked to Brunswick street and sat on the balcony of Naked in Sky and drank a toast to my birthday. D.O.C was my choice for dinner and a few glasses of wine with some authentic Italian pizza sure hit the spot. D.O.C continues to impress me with their customer service, flavours and honesty. We walked from Fitzroy to Brunswick, ate too much cake and I then ended the night with idle internet browsing.

I celebrated my birthday again on Friday night with a few friends. I was quite disappointed that people who said they would turn up did not, and most people didn't even respond to the invite. I had a great time with those who attended and made the effort for me on my birthday. I will definitely be rethinking the people that I call 'friends'. All in all it was a wonderful birthday and I think my 27th year will be an excellent one.

Good food is Green Food...

Yesterday, Karl and I finally tried out Yong Green Food on Brunswick Street. The last time we tried to nab a table it was impossible so we went a little later this time, and luckily, a table had just opened up! We persused the menu, which took ages and was very overwhelming due to the sheer amount of choice. I settled on a delicious raw cacao smoothie made with, as the name suggests, raw cacao, vanilla, agave nectar and almond milk...

When I took the first sip I was absolutely blown away! The smoothie was super thick, almost like semi-melted ice-cream, and it was incredibly sweet and chocolatey. It was seriously one of the best things I have tasted in months. I would recommend it to all! I also ordered the rawsagne - Layers of zucchini and mushroom with lashings of cashew cream and tomato sauce.

This was absolutely delicious. The cashew cream was thick and creamy and the garlic flavour was sensational. It was quite filling but not as heavy as a regular, meaty lasagne. I will definitely be going back to try more of the delicious raw options as well as some of the raw desserts! The raw cheesecake and pecan pie are definitely on my "To eat" list.

So, if you're on Brunsiwck street and you want to eat food you can feel good about, I highly recommend Yong Green Food!

Day Three Through Five: Olinda

I have returned from the mountains of Melbourne, spent a day recovering, and now I come to you live from the warmth of my living room. As a belated anniversary celebration, Karl and I took the hour and a half trip to the little town of Olinda which is nestled amongst the Dandenong ranges. Olinda holds a special place in our hearts; it's where we got engaged. It's a cute little town with not much to see and an average temperature of about 6 degrees Celsius in Winter, which makes it an awesome place to sit back and relax.



And, believe me, by the time you get there all you want to do is relax! It takes about an hour, on public transport, travelling through some of the most awful neighbourhoods in town to arrive at the bottom of the mountain range which leads to Olinda. It then takes a further twenty minutes of twisting and turning on a tiny bus (which is torture with someone with extreme motion sickness to endure)to arrive in Olinda. But when you're finally there it's beautiful, and quiet, and clean, and relaxing.





We stayed in the most isolated cabin L'Ochiel could provide. It was nestled right in amongst the trees and was fully equipped with all the facilities required to relax - a king sized bed, giant spa, fire place and two balconies.




After arriving we spent three days eating beautiful food (and some not so beautiful food),





Snuggling in front of the fire, making s'mores (and other things, wink, wink),drinking wine, and tattooing ourselves...






And scouring the local stores for hidden treasures.







It was an absolutely wonderful way to celebrate the first few days of our sixth year together.

Day Two: Soda Rock Diner

On the second day of our Melbourne "holiday" we took it fairly easy: stocking up for items needed on our impending stay at Olinda, having a latte at Market Lane and preparing our two kittens for their baby sitter. But, to prevent the day being boring, we decided to head to Soda Rock Diner : A 50s style diner that serves "hamburgers just the way they used to taste". I dolled myself up and we set off.



The Diner is only about five minutes down the road so we arrived before, what we thought would be, the busiest time. Alas, when we arrived every booth was full. We waited a moment before being seated and then placing our order. I decided on the veggie burger ( a veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise and ketchup), and Karl had to have the Hub Cap (a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sweet pickle relish, mustard and mayonnaise. We also ordered some hot chili fries to start. And then it all came undone...



We waited fifteen minutes...and no fries, no burger, nothing. We waited another ten minutes, casting glances at the kitchen staff who seemed to be creating milkshakes and nothing else. We then finally got our two burgers which were hastily thrown onto the plates but no chili fries. We had to ask them for the fries, which took a further five minutes to arrive. The burgers weren't great, if this is what they "used to taste like" then I pity those who ate burgers in the 50s. The veggie patty was mashed potato and frozen peas mushed together and was really bland. Karl's burger was marginally better but honestly, if I was going to pay that much for a sub par burger I'd just get Hungry Jack's. The Chili fries were much better, spicy, crunchy and soggy all at the same time. I really enjoyed them. But the long waiting time left a sour taste in my mouth. I'd understand if it were Rock Pool or Movida but this is "fast food"! How long do fries take to make? I'll tell you, about three minutes. It was so frustrating and I was sorely disappointed.





The dessert was, luckily, something to be happy about. We ordered two sundaes: The Oreo cookie sundae and the rocky road sundae. Both were delicious! The ice-cream was creamy and delicious, there was tonnes of hot fudge sauce and the cherry on top was...well..the cherry on top.



I think if I was to go back to Soda Rock Diner I would go for dessert after eating somewhere else, definitely not for a main meal. But for those of you who have never experienced the whole 50s diner thing, I'd give it a go. It's definitely better than Misty's Diner and cheaper too!

Day One: Spoonful Cafe and Mamasita

To kick start our week of trying new things Karl took me to Spoonful Cafe on High street for an anniversary breakfast. We walked in the eight degree weather to the little cafe, it was already packed at 10am and we had to wait next door for a table. The waitress was very apologetic and sweet and we quickly got seated at a communal table. The table was covered in fresh flowers and plants and folkish containers.



We perused the breakfast menu, which was diverse and different, and decided on the Bircher muesli with baked rhubarb, apples and vanilla yoghurt and the fruit in rose water syrup.





The fruit salad was amazing but mostly rockmelon which I detest. It was refreshing and light though. The muesli was awesome, I'd never tried rhubarb before and I was pleasantly surprised. It worked brilliantly with the apples and yoghurt.

I would recommend this cafe for those in the Windsor/Prahran/Armadale area but I don't know if I'd make a special trip for it. The food was delicious though and the flat white was milky and strong.



For dinner we went to every one's favourite Mexican restaurant, Mamasita. We arrived at 6pm and there was already a line out the door and down the street (which was expected). We waited in line patiently and were promptly told that it would be an hour wait. We had come prepared and were definitely prepared to wait for what we knew would be an awesome meal. We waited almost exactly an hour before we had made it in the door and to the top of the stairs. We were seated after a further ten minuted of waiting by the bar. The place was filled was pumpin'. We ordered a jug of sangria and our starter: Elotes callejeros otherwise known as "street style" char grilled corn with queso, chipotle mayonnaise and lime.



To be honest, I didn't want to order these, Karl did but he ws convinced that once I tried them I would not stop...and he was right. These were amazing! Literally, one of the best things that has ever entered my mouth. The corn was soft and sweet, the mayonnaise subtle and tangy and the queso (chilli and cheese) was spicy and creamy. It was amazing and I highly recommend it.

Upon devouring our 'wish-they-would-never-end' corn cobs a plate of Tacos de lengua y mejilla ( Braised veal tongue and ox cheek tacos with pickled vegetables and ghost chilli mayonnaise) arrived at our table.



I've never been one to eat the tongue or cheek or face of an animal because it just creeps me out and I hate anything that has been braised so I don't know what made me want to order these. I'm glad I did order them though because the meat was delicious, it didn't taste like tongue or cheek, it tasted like roast beef that had been a little over cooked. I loved it. It was a little dry and I dipped in the hot sauce that is stationed on each table but I really, really loved it and will definitely order it again.

As a palate cleanser, before our mains, we ordered the salmon ceviche with yellow peppers, chilli, orange, lime and mustard oil.



The ceviche came in a tall glass with tortilla chips placed inside for dipping. It was more like a lime soup with delicious salmon pieces in it. It was refreshing and sweet and tangy all at the same time. We ordered some mains, which I unfortunately couldn't get photos of but they were amazing. We ordered the Cerdo en nogada (Mulato rubbed pork fillet, walnut sauce, pomegranate and tequila soused raisins) and the Estofado de cabra (Chipotle braised goat and roasted sweet corn paste) with a side of papas (roasted potatoes with serrano chilli and parsley).



The goat was not to my liking, not because it was bad but because I don't like goat (as I discovered when I tasted this meal). The goat reminded me of how my kitten's head smells and it tasted very grassy and farm-yard like. Karl loved it but the meat was just too odd for me to enjoy. I did love the sauce and the sweet corn paste though.

The pork was phenomenal! Some of the best pork I have ever tasted. It was tender and juicy with a crispy skin. I couldn't taste the walnuts in the sauce but that's fine because I hate walnuts. But the sauce was creamy and aioli-like and it worked beautifully with the pork and potatoes. If you eat anything at Mamasita it should be this meal!

It was a great way to spend our sixth anniversary: relaxing, fun and different. It was a great start to the week ahead.




Photos courtesy of: Myself, The Melbourne Gastronome, Adski, The Juganaut,, Food Odyssey and City Date

Destination: Melbourne

Tomorrow is my fiancé's (Karl) last day of work before he takes a much anticipated, and much deserved, nine days off. In a previous blog I mentioned that Karl and I wanted to take a holiday while staying in our wonderful city, we wanted to explore what we have not explored, eat things we have never eaten and pretty much become strangers in an un-strange land.



With much planning and researching we have planned an exciting and adventurous nine days in (and around) Melbourne. Each day will bring something new and different: Mexican food and brunch with a monk for our anniversary, a sojourn in the mountains indulging in s'mores and spas, and a day of retail (and jerky) therapy in a Downtown Hong Kong style shopping plaza.



We planned this week around food, we wanted a culinary adventure, in which we challenged our preconceived notions about certain foods and challenged our taste buds to go along for the ride.



It's going to be a fun week. I really feel as if we are going on a vacation to a new location, I guess we are in a way. I will keep y'all updated on our nine days of Epicurean exploration.