just adoring

Last week, one of my favourite people came to visit. (No, not a peacock. They're always there.)
It was important that we go, as well as Babka and Kallista, to Montsalvat.
Good coffee have they at Montsalvat. Not to mention all of this.
Love!

spring eating

Never mind cleaning. That's for later, when there is not quite so much to do.I didn't get to Dali. I don't really mind, at the moment.

Oh, Babka. I may not have loved your dumplings nearly a year ago, but still you have such a special place in my heart. In my mouth.
Luscious casual arrangement of green divinity!!

In case you're blind, or you'd like to blame my (admittedly not finest) photo, or it's not self explanatory for any other reason: Asparagus. Perfectly. Broad beans and fresh peas, likewise. Croutons obviously, ricotta, refreshing cos, and roasted hazelnuts. The dressing was subtle, and totally apposite.

For some reason, even though this was my first meal of the day, my appetite was haphazard and I had to eat slowly. All the longer to savour for. Oh, it was gorgeous.

And the chai at Babka = my benchmark, although Kallista Tea Rooms is pretty high. I also love the complimentary bread and butter, though being the wonderful euro place that it is, the butter is unsalted. I wonder why in Europe, unsalted butter is normal, and in Anglo countries we salt it?
Perhaps it was bastardising it, but I ate some and then sprinkled salt on my butter. I felt like it.

PS If you're an eggs and bacon for breakfast person, which I'm generally not, apparently it's pretty good. And they juice the oranges fresh. Tick.

ode to the pear

Pears are homely.
Pears are gentle.
Pears are sweet.
Pears are sensual.

Pear with chocolate,
pear with ginger,
pear with butter and brown sugar.

Pear and vanilla.
Pear and cloves.
Pears and spices,
pears in droves.

Pear and leaves,
pear and cheese.
PEARS! you make me weak at the knees.
Pear and parmesan,
or gruyere.
Pear with squidgy camembert.
Pear and ricotta,
pear with blue.
Pear with brie,
oh stop it, you.

Pear and grog.
Pear and cream.

Pears alone.


Pear and pastry,
pear and tart!
Pear tarts are my kind of art.
Pear and almond, walnut, hazelnut,
Pear and citrus,
pear and cake.
Pear and tea.
Oh lovely pears,
how I love thee.

tick of time

Had a look through some photos on the ordinator.Only two and a half months to go till this.
I plan to enjoy what's left of our mildish winter and beautiful spring while it lasts!

alimentari, my dear deli

It's not really my own dear deli, though I wish it were. I don't have enough money to have a local deli, and if I did, well, I probably would just be a deli shopper-arounder. Though I do love being loyal to a place and getting to know it and the people there.

Went to Alimentari on Brunswick St this morning for breakfast. Cranky staff.
Best muesli I have had in AGES.

I didn't have my camera on me. It was 8am.
They don't have chai.

(I'm tired, this is why I'm writing in short sentences.)

So, chamomile tea and a wait for a friend, and a slight ponder on the menu. House muesli came with yoghurt and a compote of pear, rhubarb and raspberry. Semolina porridge did too, and though bircher muesli didn't say so, it also did. If I'd known, I 'd have ordered it.
Glad I didn't.

Not because it didn't look good...

Mine was DIVINE.

251 Brunswick St Fitzroy VIC 3065 - (03) 9416 2001
Open Weekdays 8am-7pm; Weekends 8am-5pm
deli-cafe

Deathly Brisbane

Australia is known for its many dangers. Notably the naturally occurring ones, like snakes, sharks, spiders, jellyfish, waves, rocks, dingoes, kangaroos, koalas, and large expanses of land without water.
I was lucky enough to place myself in the hazard zone that is Brisbane recently.
You'd think it was a friendly place, wouldn't you? Midwinter, midtwenties, sunny.
Same goes for this chair. Looks welcoming. Wasn't.

Who planned that? Honestly. There's a big metal nose just where your head goes.

Beautiful Mt Tamborine...
...with, like Lamington National Park, the giant stinging tree. Well, these aren't stinging trees, obviously, but we saw some.
And seeing as we're on the cream blog, just as deadly, this cocktail at Sling on Boundary St, West End would have done well with some coconut cream in it.
It was like the hottest green curry you've ever tasted, in a glass. And no, the blurriness isn't that it was my third cocktail (first and only, thankyou, and I didn't even drink it, too much effort when it was so hot), it was just hard to hold the camera still for the 20 seconds or so of exposure in the night.
Flavours: Chilli. And kaffir lime infused vodka, Malibu, lime, death, and may have been topped up with lemonade. I didn't notice any sweetness, too busy dying. Everyone at the table tasted it and was completely gobsmacked.

I also hit my head on the metal supports for a car headrest, got lost in the wilderness, sugar overloaded at the Three Monkeys, sunburnt (should have gone with cream!) and my friend fell off her bike and damaged her knee, elbow and clothes.

One of the best weeks of my life.

Yarra Valley Saturday

A couple of weeks ago, a few of us went day tripping out to the Yarra Valley. Again, I was largely the tour guide, which again proved to be much fun. We went to...
Helen's Hill, which I think is also known as Ingrams Rd. Some odd scents, they reminded some of us of cheese. Their chardonnay was beaut.

Yering Station, where there was a fantastic cellar door assistant telling us lots of information in a knowledgeable, passionate and still down-to-earth way, who also looked a bit like David Wenham, to the enjoyment of at least two of the girls on the trip. Oh, and some delicious wines. David Wenham guy took us through all of the 20 or so wines on the list, and then a couple that weren't! I remember really liking their rosé, and an Italian-style red: think the Sangiovese was good. And a sparkling pink that exploded in your mouth, it was fantastic.

Yarra Valley Dairy, where we were going to get lunch, but the dining part was downscaled from what it had previously been, so we did a quick cheese tasting, or wine for some, and moved on.

Coldstream Brewery was where we did get lunch. Their cider was delightful! Subtle, small bubbles, and almost colourless. Beautiful.
Dad and I shared some smoked trout and potato cakes with a horseradish sauce, and this pizza: Caesar salad with calamari. Crazy, and really good.Dominique Portet, a smaller winery, was really French and quaint, straight from Provence. We met the man himself, Dominique, and all had a go at throwing a boot into a barrel to win a crepe (none of us made it). Though I wasn't blown away by the wine, I adored the place anyway. And to be honest, by this point, my tastebuds had had many many winey flavours through them and probably weren't at their most.. astute.Coldstream Hills (where the top photo is from) was our last stop before heading home, and I found pretty much the same thing as at the previous place: just wasn't appreciating the wine as much. There was a nice toasty smelling chardonnay again, though.

You can find a map of Yarra Valley's cellar door places (where you can do tastings!) here.

And that night, when we all got back, I was due to head out for dinner with two friends, one of whom was visiting from Perth. It had been rather a big day, so I declined the pre-food cocktail at Murmur and the with-food wine, and not being hungry yet, ordered a salad. We were at +39, that new trendy pizza place everyone has been writing about (oh, look it up if you want, I can't be bothered), but my salad was (excepting their exceptional tiramisu) by far the best thing we got!
Radicchio, pear, parmesan, walnut, and truffle honey dressing.
It was a very good day.