Lady Lunchalot

Two weekends in a row, O and I have enjoyed outstanding tapas with James and Signorina Zaloa.

I was a little worried about choosing a restaurant for the Spanish Princess because she really knows her tapas. But after a morning at the Royal Melbourne Show and a birthday barbecue at Jess’s place in the afternoon, we were both pretty stuffed. Before you ask, yes, my diet had been pushed to the back burner of my mind for the day. Tapas was the logical choice.

Movida was booked out (I really wanted O to try their churros) but I remembered hearing about Bar Lourinha, the new Spanish/Portugese place on Little Collins St. They have big communal tables and don’t take bookings, so after a couple of drinks at the Gin Palace we walked right in and were able to get a table straight away.

It was only last night, but I already have so many fond memories of Bar Lourinha!

The first dish was mussels. Perfectly plump, meaty mussels cooked in an exquisite white wine sauce. The four of us were quite possessive about the bowl after the mussels had finished; the waitress kept trying to take it and we wanted to keep dipping the bread into the sauce.

Next was the carne crudo. Raw minced beef with horseradish, seasoned to perfection. Thankfully I wasn’t eating with squeamish diners and the four of us tucked in with Spanish gusto. (Or is that Italian?)

Next up was the chickpeas. Soft creamy chickpeas with a cinnamon spiciness. Usually chickpea dishes kind of hang around a shared food table for a while, but this one didn’t last long at all. I’d love to know how they spice that dish – it was one of the most unexpected seasonings I’ve tasted.

By now, the meal was really building to a crescendo. Four gorgeous little rabbit empanadillas. So cute… Muchos guapo! I just love a good dumpling. James taught O and I some colourful Spanish colloquialisms involving the Spanish word for rabbit which I won’t go into here…

Now the cymbals were really crashing and we hit the high note: The Flaming Chorizo. One gorgeously spicy chorizo sausage that was set alight at the table! It was all very dramatic, and the chorizo had a real kick to it. Perfecto!

After the incendiary climax, we cooled down with dessert. A couple of serves of churros (O got to try them after all, but I have to say the dipping sauce is better at Movida. Much more chocolatey). I chose the pomegranate and blood orange crema.

So I can’t wait to go back to Bar Lourinha. It’s a fantastic place to go with a small group so you can try everything on the menu!

Bar Lourinha
37 Little Collins St,
Melbourne

It’s been a while since my last entry, mostly because I haven’t eaten anything very interesting over the past week or so. I went to Sydney for a wedding on the weekend and it made me realise that with only 67 days until my wedding day, I really must start paying some attention to my waistline, otherwise my wedding photos will haunt me until my dying day. So I am reduced to eating rabbit food for the next couple of months in a somewhat compulsive attempt to be a size ten bride.

You see the problem is, I have a love-love relationship with food. And it was a match made in heaven until my hips decided to join in the party and turn the romance into a menage a trois.

So I’m thinking of the next couple of months as a trial separation for the three of us: (food, me and hopefully my muffin-topping hips).

But it’s not all dietary doom and gloom. I have had some foodie highlights over the past week.

1. Last night I FINALLY bought a Fowlers Vacola Preserving kit on ebay. I’ve recently discovered preserving and can’t wait to bottle lots of yummy things this summer. It was an absolute bargain at only $22.

2. I discovered an excellent Spanish restaurant in Sydney. Encasa (I think it’s in Pitt St) is the place to go for authentic tapas that doesn’t break the bank. There were about ten of us, and we drank and ate A LOT, and the bill came to the whopping sum of $30 a head. Many thanks to Zaloa the Spanish Princess for introducing us to such a find.

3. Zaloa also introduced me to a lethal caramel-flavoured Spanish liquer called Licor 43 (aka cuaranta y tres). This drink really packed a punch (I think the “43″ must stand for the percentage of alcohol it contains) and after dinner O and I ended up at Zaloa and James’s place singing Beatles songs until all hours. I also have a fuzzy recollection of running through Queens Park barefoot in the middle of the night. Hmmm…

But I do remember that Licor 43 was made from herbs, and it was sweet and delicious, so I’ll find out more about it this weekend when they will be visiting Melbourne.