Lunar New Year: Chicken and Chive Dumplings

Next Monday 24 January we shall enter the year of the Dragon. This excites me because I was born in the year of the Dragon and can only hope that it means this year will be good.


L and I decided to have a bit of a pre- Lunar New Year feast, complete with home made dumplings. Ok well we cheated with the wrappers but really there is only so much of your Sunday that you can justify not doing the things you need to do to prepare for the week ahead! In anticipation of the feasts ahead I thought I would share our dumpling experience!

India

Just before Christmas, H and I travelled to India for a friend's wedding. We took the opportunity to visit a few other places that I have always wanted to see. So I thought I would share with you some of my favourite foods and memories from the trip!



Kolkata
The wedding was held here over four days, and the food was amazing! So much fresh fish, marinated and served so many different ways. I didn't know the names of most of the fish nor was I sure of the ingredients but when a plate came to the table accompanied by freshly cooked chapati there was no way I was going to refuse!

Cocorea

There are days at the office that seem to stretch for far longer than a day ever should. These are the kinds of days when you hope that someone suggests an activity to get you out of the doldrums. Last week we had one of those days, quickly solved by the suggestion of lunch. Cocorea was a perfect suggestion due to its proximity to both the office and an ATM as well as its price range.


Its a simple restaurant with pictures of food on the walls, a mix of Korean and Japanese food that ensures lunch time seats are hard to come by. Each table is furnished with soy sauce and the deliciousness of Korean chilli sauce.

Mmmm chilli sauce!

We didn't have time for me to take pictures of everything (also, three of five of us had Bibimbap) but the food was so good that it doesn't really matter what the pictures look like.

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

We had a nice Melbourne Cup lunch at work this year and I felt like it was a great opportunity to try a recipe I'd been eyeing off for a while- chocolate mud cupcakes with peanut butter icing and toffee. 

Anything with peanut butter makes me happy and cream cheese in the icing? Definitely a good idea! 

The recipe is originally from taste.com.au

Thirst Wine Bar & Eatery

This restaurant is one of my favourites for catching up with friends. It is also long overdue to be mentioned in a post. And now that my uni commitments are finally over I'm free to get back to the fun stuff!


A while ago bestie L and I went to Thirst for an after work catch up. Thirst does two for one Thai dishes on Monday and Tuesday which is really good value because most menu items are on the pricey side the rest of the week.


I started off with a glass of the Thirst Riesling, described on the wine list as 'bright and precise'. And I must say it was pretty delicious! Very crisp and quite fruity and it suited the spiciness of the food very well. L had a glass of the sparkling wine and it was not too shabby!

Dinner Drinks!

We got two dishes to share. The first is my absolute favourite at Thirst, the crispy fish salad or 'Yam pla gap prik'. Its a mix of crispy fried pieces of fish, green mango, mint, coriander with chilli dressing. Its crunchy, spicy and fresh all at the same time and I could eat the whole plate myself given half the chance! Beware though, when they say its hot they do mean that it is hot.

Hello Spring!

I had to share these. They were just too delicious. I can't wait for summer!

Ellacure Restaurant & Bar

Last Friday my lovely sister M celebrated her birthday and as is tradition we feasted at Ellacure. It was never intentional but somehow we have ended up here for her birthday dinner for the last four years!


Lucky for us, there were a lot of specials on that night. After settling in with a nice bottle of wine we got down to the menu selection. I opted for the Coffin Bay oysters with an eschallot vinaigrette. YUM. I am a big oyster fan and these were pretty good, especially for not being at the coast. The flavour of the oysters was freshy and sea like (rather than fishy) and they went down nicely with the tangy liquid. In hindsight, I probably should have ordered a whole dozen!

Oysters!

Pelagic Bar & Dining

Bestie L and I had been wanting to go for a nice dinner together for months. Awhile ago she snagged a great deal on one of the coupon websites and before we knew it we were booked in for a lovely dinner at Pelagic. We were quite surprised when we walked inside, it had changed so much from when it was Antigos- it now has a much nicer atmosphere and it was quite busy which is always nice (we think a few others had coupons as well!). It was a little dark for good picture taking (and there may or may not have been some pre-dinner drinks) so the pictures don't quite do the food justice.