Looking back at 2011

Looking back at 2011

My recall of events and experiences isn’t particularly great – once I’ve done something I mentally move on and it’s out of my mind. That’s why it’s nice to have a blog where I can look back and go: oh yeah! I did that!

So in that spirit, and since it’s the last day of this year, let’s look back at 2011…

Nelson

Alastair and I didn’t really travel much this year (though he did swan off to Barcelona without me!), but in the beginning of 2011 we went to Nelson, where we had a wonderful few days hanging out with Alastair’s mum and stepdad. The plane ride to Nelson took us over the Southern Alps – so scenic.

Sydney

We also spent a long weekend in Sydney. It was beautiful, as it always is. There wasn’t much notable eats on that trip, though we did go to Din Tai Fung.

Cruise

In August I went on a cruise with mum, dad and Bro to New Caledonia. We ate a lot, drank cocktails, and just generally relaxed. It was so nice to get some warmth and sunshine in the middle of winter.

Wellington pop up restaurant

And finally, we went to Wellington. Okay, no we didn’t, but we did visit the Wgtn pop up restaurant which was almost as good.

Mornington Peninsula photos

Victoria-wise, we also ventured outside of Melbourne a few times.

Alastair and I spent a lovely weekend on the Mornington Peninsula.

La Petanque

Where we had a fab lunch at La Petanque.

Mr Carsisi

We made a visit to Kyneton, where we had lunch at Mr Carsisi.

Loam

And a 3 hour round trip to Port Arlington, when we went to my favourite restaurant of 2011 – Loam. (Yes, that post is still coming.)

Donwoori

Other notable eating out posts: my favourite restaurant find was Donwoori for their friendly staff and endless banchan top ups.

Truffle dinner

In winter, during an evening when fog descended on Melbourne, I went to a dinner where I dined on truffles.

Vue de Monde

And this year I finally made it to Vue de Monde for a not-so-express lunch. Not the super full on degustation, but it still totally counts.

The Cookbook Challenge

I started the year with good intentions of completing a second year of the Cookbook Challenge. Even though we cut it back to once every fortnight, around the middle of the year I stopped and never got back into it. Oh well!

My favourite Cookbook Challenge posts were the two recipes from Ottolenghi – one was the lemon and blueberry teacakes, and the second was the spiced red lentils (aka the best daal ever).

Meal to share

Meal to Share

I also did Meal to Share with Penny and Celeste but somehow we got distracted during the year. I really enjoyed our posts though, and my favourite one was Chinese New Year where I made egg tarts.

Baking failures

However, it wasn’t all good in my kitchen. I had some failures: such as the macaron baking day and my sad, pathetic cake pops.

Instagram photos

Instagram

Instagram

Instagram

I posted a lot on Instagram, as you saw in my weekly posts. These are some of my favourite non-food pictures.

Cisco and Shay

There were also cat photos in amongst the scenery and food. 😀

Eat smart and be happy

Finally, I’ll leave you with this very apt fortune: Eat smart and be happy. Here’s to a fabulous 2012! 🙂