Lady Lunchalot

Ok, I know I promised I’d write more regularly, but this year so far has been jam-packed with the arrival of Bubba Lunchalot, and new houses, and new kitchens of course!

So now that my life is now dominated by feeding schedules, nappies and all the other stuff that goes with being a mum, there is the grave risk that the nature of this blog will start shifting towards mashed pumpkin and baby cereal, rather than the decadent dishes I usually blog about. So before I go any further I promise to keep this blog a relatively baby free zone.

That is, right after I post this picture.

Pretty cute, huh?

Now to the food stuff.

For six months last year, O and I were exiled from our home while it underwent some major renovations. During this time we were nomads, house-sitting for various friends while they travelled to exotic corners of the earth. Living a few weeks here and a few weeks there for six months is a great way to see your city from a different perspective, and of course I made some excellent culinary discoveries along the way. Here are a few of the gems I uncovered during our time wandering the desert.

Malvern East

Malvern East was our first stop, and it was here that I discovered the best quiche I have ever tasted. The bakers at Clancy’s Bakehouse (278 Waverly Rd, Malvern East) know the secret to a truly perfect quiche. The filling is creamy yet dense and really captures the essence of the flavourings. I looooove the caramelised onion and goats cheese quiche, though I was pregnant while we stayed here and really wasn’t supposed to be eating goats cheese. The traditonal Lorraine also deserves an honourable mention.

Now any time I am in that neck of the woods I am compelled to stop in at Clancy’s and pick up a quiche for dinner.

Bulleen

In Melbourne’s heartland of Chinese restaurants I managed to find a really good continental deli. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s at Bulleen Plaza on Manningham Rd next to the supermarket and fruit shop. It looks like just a butchers shop from the front window, but walk through the door and you’ll find a continental deli that can hold its own against anything you’d find on Lygon St.

Collingwood

Amelia and Lee’s place was right next door to an office I worked in for a year or so, so I wasn’t expecting any culinary discoveries here. I was wrong. O and I went to Gluttony It’s a Sin (278 Smith St, Collingwood) for brekkie one morning. To be honest, I didn’t find the food anything to rave about, but if you are ravenously hungry this is the place to go.

The portion sizes were embarrassingly large, even for a healthy appetite like mine. There was so much food on the plate that I couldn’t help but think of how much food that cafe must throw out at the end of each day, which always then brings to mind starving orphans and a whole lot of western-world guilt.

I’m not going to rave about this cafe, because it was really just the portion sizes alone that made it noteworthy.

East Melbourne

Towards the end of our exile, and the end of the pregnancy, we stayed in an apartment at Tribeca on Victoria Pde. I really didn’t do much other than watch Foxtel in the air conditioned apartment and occasionally pop to the Grocery Bar (412-442 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne) downstairs.

They do a great chai latte and an outstanding stack of pancakes with berry coulis. I became quite addicted to these pancakes in the last few weeks of the pregnancy when the cravings hit full steam ahead, and I ate about three or four pancake stacks a week! These pancakes were the only thing that could make me feel happy when I was two weeks overdue, as big as a house and the mercury had shot past 40 degrees celsius (that’s 104 fahrenheit) by 9am. The people at Grocery Bar even took pity on the overheated pregnant lady and would give me a big serve of ice cream to go with the pancakes.

It’s the simple things…