Bomba

,

Bomba rooftop

Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Bomba.

Lots of things in life seem to be cyclical. Food wise, one of the trends lately is for more informal, cheaper dining, with most of the new restaurants opening lately being of a more casual nature. I’ve personally succumbed to this trend – you may have noticed a lack of fine dining on this blog this year.

In line with the more casual theme, The Aylesbury in Lonsdale Street recently closed and has been revamped as Bomba, a Spanish style bar and restaurant.

(more…)

Twenty & Six Espresso

,

Twenty and Six

Do you want to hear something dumb?

I (occasionally and only when Alastair and I are alone) burst into spontaneous jingles narrating whatever I might be doing at the time.

At the supermarket buying snacks? “Buying all the snacks, buying all the snacks, I’m at the supermarket buying all the snacks.”

You get the idea.

(more…)

Lamb pilaf with green almonds

, ,

lamb pilaf with green almonds

What’s green, furry and grows on trees?

I know that this sounds like the beginning to a terrible joke, but I do have a serious answer for you: almonds.

I’m going to be completely honest and tell you – I had no idea that immature almonds came in a fuzzy green pod. It’s not something that had ever crossed my mind. So when I saw some, I had to buy them.

Green almonds appear very briefly in early spring, and consist of a fuzzy outer shell and a soft white seed surrounded by a jelly-ish inner. After they are harvested, they eventually shrivel and harden and lose their furry coats.

(more…)

Lipton Pyramid

Lipton Pyramid

Sponsored by Nuffnang.

One of the best things about tea – apart from the fact that it’s delicious – is that there’s a type and flavour for almost every occasion.

Need a morning wake up call? How about English Breakfast?

Something slightly sweet for morning tea? A fruit infusion could do the trick.

A refreshing drink after a meal? Mint tea is good for digestion and cleanses your palate.

Or for something more general, I’m a big fan of green tea with jasmine any time of the day.

And if you’re a tea lover like me, you may be interested to know that Lipton have just released a new premium range of teas with larger leaves and real fruit pieces in pyramid shaped bags. The tea bags are different to the more common square tea bags and it’s not for novelty factor. The pyramid shape gives the tea leaves more space to expand and swirl, therefore releasing more flavour.

More flavour = better cup of tea. Excellent.

(more…)

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

,

Mallet

Fried chicken. Crab boil. Corn bread. Chilli dog. Crab burger.

If that sounds good to you, I suggest going to the front room of The Public Bar for Miss Katie’s Crab Shack for a potentially messy but delicious meal. I visited with Thanh and Alastair last weekend for an early dinner and we made a MESS. Fortunately – as you’ll be able to see from the photos – the tables are covered in newspaper, and for good reason.

(more…)

Chocolate date biscuits *

,

Chocolate date biscuits

Everyone, stop everything.

Whatever you’re doing – stop.

Because I may have baked the most delicious chocolate biscuits in the world.

And you need to stop everything so you too can experience the wonder and delight of these biscuits.

Okay, I am prone to exaggeration – they may not the the most delicious ever in the entire universe, but they are pretty damn amazing.

(more…)

Mr Nice Guy

,

Mr Nice Guy

Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Mr Nice Guy and Zilla & Brook.

Mr Nice Guy could be run by two of the nicest people in hospitality. Owned by the same people behind Middle Fish – Pla Liamthong and David Holtum – Mr Nice Guy came from a desire to do a night time trade, something that Middle Fish was restricted from for a long time.

Where Middle Fish serves more traditional Thai food, Mr Nice Guy’s focus is a bit more fusion – incorporating Thai flavours with more modern cooking techniques.

(more…)

The Quiet Man

,

Guinness

There’s no quiet in the Quiet Man.

There is Guinness on tap, some pretty good pub meals, but there’s definitely no quiet.

The Guinness is a clue to the background of The Quiet Man: it’s an Irish pub on Racecourse Road in Flemington. Alastair and I have eaten there several times, and the food is generally pretty good. The menu is quite large, covering classics like fish and chips, chicken parma, and steak, plus other dishes with an Irish twist.

Several months ago, Alastair and I had an impromptu dinner there. We were lucky to get a table – I recommend booking on Friday or Saturday nights as they do get quite busy.

(more…)

Queen Victoria Market: Foodies Dream Tour

,

QVM

I attended the QVM tour courtesy of Queen Vic Market and Little Big Marketing.

I always like to get to a market whenever we go overseas (see here, here, here, here, and here) because I’m such a food nerd that it’s my idea of a good time. (Sorry Alastair!).

Recently I did a tour of the Queen Victoria Market. I met my group and our guide, Cleve, at the tour office. It was a particularly cold and wet day, so we stayed in the shelter of the office while Cleve gave us a brief history of the Market.

(more…)

«< 10 11 12 13 14 >»