SGC Fashion Show

I know it's not food, but in the interest of me pretending I do more than just eat all day here's a bit of lifestyle to mix it up.

On Wednesday night a group of girls from work went along to the Stolen Girlfriends Club debut of their Spring 2013 collection 'Nasty Goreng' (like Nasi Goreng- see? Everything comes back to food).

The whole night was a BMW Mini x SGC collaboration. From the Mini ads projected onto the rough concrete walls around the catwalk to the new Mini Paceman being wrapped in SGC Death Moth print, it was definitely a two man show. Certainly not the first time fashion and cars have been thrown together but I think the colab is a genius mixture of two brands that compliment each other like avocado and bacon (again!).

No food, but the Red Bull vodkas were flowing and the atmosphere was awesome.

Oh yea the clothes were pretty cool too (and there ends my fashion blogging).

Ponsonby Central - Foxtrot Parlour

On Saturday Alice and I went for brunch at Ponsonby Central before braving the weather to go and watch the boys play rugby (NB: food comes before boys).

Ponsonby Central is the perfect place for a wet day because you can wander around eating and shopping for amazing food without your hair turning into a Sideshow Bob do from the rain.

To be honest I had only planned on having Foxtrot Parlour's famous doughnuts, and although doughnuts for breakfast seemed like a wonderful idea my hunger got the better of me and I had a proper meal (yawn).

After wandering around for a bit and getting in the way of about 100 parents with strollers we settled down at Foxtrot Parlour even though the doughnuts had sold out. If anyone is looking for a new local you should give this place a go- it has cool style and decor, an interesting and well priced menu and of course the food is delish!

Even though the place was packed we were served by friendly and helpful staff which was great for two people who are terrible at making decisions. Eventually, I decided on the uncharacteristically healthy lentils with poached eggs and Alice went with the maple sryup and coconut cream waffles. Both of our breakfasts were faultless and the tea and coffee was bang on as well.

So what was wrong with the place then? Well ahh not much. Except for the obvious doughnut crisis it was pretty awesome.

Foxtrot had some amazing looking cabinet food; from huge homemade meat pies to piles of lamingtons it all looked delicious. But I went to Ponsonby Central for doughnuts and I couldn't shake them from my mind.

After triple checking they didn't have any sneaky stock out the back we scooted next door to Little Bread and Butter where they had a pile of doughnuts calling my name (the healthy juice place was calling Alice's name but I suspect that was the post-waffle guilt). With out any more delay I grabbed a cream filled, sugar coated ball of calories and set to work. 

'You've got sugar on your nose' says Alice about an hour later.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Lamb Shanks

This is a family friend's recipe which was a dinner party staple at home for as long as I can remember. Now that I'm all grown up (ugh) it's still one of my favourite dishes.

The key to lamb shanks is to cook the shit out of them, you want the meat to be falling off the bone so leave yourself plenty of time.

Lamb Shanks with Dumplings (serves 4)

4 lamb shanks

1 onion, diced

Parsnips, potatoes, or kumara (chop them up and put in as many as you can fit in the pan)

2 capsicums, preferably green

1 Tbs minced chilli

1 Tbs minced garlic

2 Tbs curry powder

2 cans coconut cream

2 cups chicken stock

a few sprigs of rosemary

I know coconut and lamb might sound kind of weird, but bear with me because it tastes amazing.

First things first get the oven going at 160°C.

Sear the lamb shanks on both sides in a super hot pan, then chuck them into a big roasting dish with all of the above ingredients and some salt and pepper.

Now for the dumplings:

8 slices of grainy bread
2 eggs
1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

Put the dumpling ingredients into a food processor and mix until combined. Squeeze them into balls and add them to the pan.

Cover the pan with tinfoil and cook for an hour and a half, then remove the tinfoil and cook for at least another hour. Ages I know, but it's worth the wait.

By the time it's done the meat should be falling off the bone and the sauce should have reduced and thickened.

This is the perfect dish going into winter, and it's pretty easy too. Get cooking yo!

Travel Diaries- Melbourne

Melbourne is one of my FAVOURITE cities, and conveniently it's only a few hours across the ditch.

It has a great culture full of arty types and hipsters (NB: must wear cool clothes at all times, or clothes so uncool that they are ironically cool. Get ma drift?).

The first time I ventured to Melbourne was on a school design trip and it won my heart. I was lucky enough to be taken to art galleries such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) and the Centre for Contemporary Photography.

All of the galleries were amazing and I thoroughly recommend taking a shopping break to check them out, but- if you're not ready to commit to all three then at least check out whats on at the ACMI in Federation Square and I guarantee (well, hope) that you wont regret it. The last time I visited they were hosting the international Disney exhibition and I spent hours and hours wandering through a history of all of our favourite childhood cartoons. To me that was more beautiful than any painting!

The real reason I go to Melbourne however, is for the food. Food, glorious FOOD! From the bustling Queen Victoria Markets to the hidden rooftop bars and restaurants- Melbourne does food and they do it well. 

I've had some of my favourite meals in Melbourne, but I'll try and narrow it down to a few of my top picks....

Number 1 (and rightly so): Tucked away on Flinders Lane Chin Chin is a must-do for Thai food lovers. It's like a cross between Moo Chow Chow and heaven. Please go. 

Number 2: Mexican foodie paradise on Collins St Mama Sita had a line out the door for a reason.This is the place to go for fantastic authentic Mex with a trendy Melbourne hipster tapas style twist. The Sangria was good too they tell me. 

Number 3: I haven't been to Cookie in over a year so I hope it's as good as I remember. Great cocktails, fantastic fusion food and stumbling down the stairs distance from Rooftop Bar and Cinema.

Honorary mentions: 

The Croft Institute - a bar that needs to be seen to be believed. With its mental asylum theme it's not your usual watering hole. Hidden down one of the many alleyways in China Town this is notoriously difficult to find but well worth the adventure. 

Madame Brussels - Yeah yeah I know it's a bit touristy but it's still pretty freakin' awesome. With waiters dressed in sailor boy outfits and jugs of pink cocktails this is definitely one for a girls night out!

I hope these tips are helpful for anyone Melbourne bound! Go to a few of these places and you'll have a smile like my friend Liv here. Happy eating!

P.S. Photo's taken on my Lomography Diana F+ with B&W 35mm film

Euro Restaurant and Bar

Over the weekend a group of us caught up for a ladies lunch at Euro Restaurant and Bar. This has been one of my favourite restaurants for a long time, and now thanks to their affordable lunch specials I can go without having to eat two minute noodles for the rest of the month! (slight exaggeration).

This month they have a $15 deal for half a cray at lunch- that shit cray (sorry couldn't resist). And last month they had a dozen bluff oysters for $15 which as a bit of an oyster fanatic I made the most of as well. These deals are amazing- get there!

My one piece of advise is to ask for the truffle fries, they aren't on the menu but my god they are good.

Just as we were about to tuck into our crays (and it got pretty messy) Simon Gault popped over to say hello. Talk about good service!

I seriously recommend heading to Euro this month for lunch- grab some friends, a few crays, a bottle of white wine and don't forget the truffle fries!