Lime tart and raspberry ice-cream

Dessert for Easter was lime tart with home-made raspberry ice-cream.  Both were delicious.  The lime set off the sweet pastry and icing sugar well... the raspberries added seedy bite and most people had seconds... Yum 9/10

Nuts in Noosa

I finally made it to Noosa and tried Massimos... I had the hazelnut and it was deliciously creamy... but contained no actual nuts... what are the icecream makers thinking when they remove the crunch from the icecream? So only 8/10 rather than a full score from me... I like my nuts (you are what you eat, or so they say)!

Note to self... start a factory making icecream with nice pieces of fruit and nuts in the mixture...

Here is the colourful display...

Brut Rose

David Jones had a tasting on Friday at lunchtime...

I am not normally fond of rose as a sparkling, but this one is nice and dry (Dominique Portet Brut Rose) made in the traditional method, bottle fermented and at $25, I thought it was a good drop and worth drinking again.

It went well with the North by Northwest film you can see on the tv in the background!

St Ali, North Carlton

St Ali is poised behind the bike shop on the far end of Nicholson Street (no. 815).  It is very busy on a Saturday morning and there are bike racks, a park, children's playground and tomato, herb and vegetable patch around the building, so everyone has something to please them.. we secured a table for 10 (this was no mean feat, as you are not supposed to be able to book, but the team at St Ali South called the chef and we were in!)... feeling like VIPs we ordered up... I had corn fritters, poached eggs (my Mexican Cousin $21), salsa and a beetroot, ginger, carrot and celery juice ($8)... 

The celebrity hubby had house made sausages...

Bean raghu, sour dough bread, house-smoked bacon, tomato, mushroom and special coffee of the day... bacon ice-cream was available, but we didn't try it...

YUM 

9/10

Meat & Wine Co Southbank

I had the lunch special... a steak sandwich with glass of wine for $25... the bun had mayonnaise on it... the meat was delicious and generous... the tomato and lettuce made me feel a little healthy...the caramelised onion was good, but it needed melted cheese...

7.5/10

Strange Wolf and salty caramel

We went to the new gelati place on Spring Street near the European... and had salty caramel with chocolate chip icecream... Sara had tiramisu too...

For the main event we went to Strange Wolf... and tried the burgers and hot dogs... it is a cool underground bar and cafe... open from 12 til late... they have live bands in the evenings... the Wolf Burger was $14... drinks (cranberry juice with lime) were $3... the burgers took around 15 minutes to come out... they were rich... my Wolf burger had gerkins and mustard with stretchy cheese... it was yum... the chips were pieces of potato... roasted... not too salty...

Dog with kraut:

 Mr Wolf Burger:

Pork belly burger:

9/10 luncheon!

Snapper

Dinner on the weekend consisted of two small Australian snappers... oven baked... and served with beans, carrots, fried potatoes and tartare sauce... They were delicious and have fewer bones than the NZ snapper, which are very large and enough for two people in one fish...

Lorne Lobsters

One of our celebrity friends went to Lorne for lobsters as part of the food and wine festival... so big and juicy... they look delicious!

Brownies, rhubarb and icecream

We were feeling hungry in the middle of South Yarra and found a cafe called "My Legendary Girlfriend" in Domain Road.

The chocolate brownie was chewy and thick... the rhubarb cake was soft and sweet... they don't normally serve icecream with these cakes, but as we were celebrities and it is grand prix weekend, they obliged...

We sat amidst the scantily clad models (on the walls) and wondered if the chef knows these pretty girls or whether the name of the cafe and the artworks were merely a coincidence...

8/10

Three flavours on Spring

After dinner at the Melbourne City Wine Shop, we tried the gelati at the new icecream parlour on Sping Street... pictured here are chocolate; spiced fig; as well as pistachio, turmeric and cardamon... all delicious, but no actual crunchy nuts, which disappointed us slightly... one flavour in a cup was only $5.50 and the servings were generous... 8.5/10

Passionfruit and mango

It may be light, but the Peter's passionfruit and mango icecream is great. Sweet, creamy and delicious (while being kind to your waistline) Pictured here in a baby cone 8.5/10

Cliffy's iced coffee

Cliffy's of Daylesford make a delicious iced coffee with icecream.

This is their ploughman's lunch:

Apricot or peach?

Can you tell the difference between apricot and peach icecream?

That is one of the funny stories in the hilarious book "The Rosie Project" (following an academic looking for a wife in Melbourne)... He has some disasterous dates with women who are not suitable... including suggesting that all icecreams taste the same... icecream is so cold that in a blind tasting, you can't tell the difference between flavours...

Do you think you can tell the difference?

Nova Cinema blueberry cheesecake choc top

Sounded great, but had no flavour... it was cold almost icey... and did not have any cheese flavour... I expected more...

6/10

Jock's

87 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park

Tried caramelised fig, lime coconut, award winning chocolate and pistachio.

Best = lime coconut
Sweetest with texture = caramelised fig
Disappointing = pistachio was smooth and contained no actual nuts
Ok = award winning chocolate

Overall 7/10 but may need to try other flavours....

Chocolate

Romantics Anonymous is a funny french film about people who love chocolate.  The best bit is where they order 2 desserts to avoid heading up to their room... they are on a work trip... and there was a shortage of rooms... Charming, funny, sad at times... worth a watch...

Eggs florentine at the European

Sensational!

No room for icecream afterwards...

Ducks in the pond

Haighs in jelly with blue ribbon icecream...



Breakfast

Breakfast with the birds

Cumulus

Cheese and ham with pickles...

After too much icecream

You may turn into a ball like this bunny...

:-)

Splendour

Take your icecream to the park for splendour in the grass...

Snifty

This snifty character is evidently looking for some icecream to cool down... spotted at the cabinet of curiosities outside Tessuti in Flinders Lane.