hello my dearies

Long time no see! Even though I haven't posted in nearly 12months, it doesn't meant I haven't thought of you everytime I visited a cafe, poked open a poached egg or munched on parmesan-encrusted polenta. Oh  I thought of you when I took five pictures of the same dish, imagining one of them ending up on these pages several hours later.

Soy Latte from The Foodrinkery

Long story short, life got busy and I got lazy. 

Shan't happen no more,  oh yes I shall keep this going, a food diary of some sorts, adding more narrative than whatever instagram is capable of handling. 

There is so much to update you on but I guess this week could be a good place to start.

Since I made sure that this year was the year that I started all things new, I have been frequenting my local gym for almost 2 months. Ever since then I have self-educated myself (through means such as friends, youtube and fitblrs) the importance of eating clean, which has resulted in a significant decline of buying work lunches and a great spike in consumption of raw carrot sticks and hummus. 

Nevertheless, I still need days to "let off steam" and have a "cheat day" here and there, which consists of eating out and not exercising. It's worked out well I guess I savour those meals more and I am doing something great for my body also. I cannot declare that I have that great biniki body, but I am still working towards it. 

So this week's cheat meals consisted of the below:

1. KBBQ at Changgo

T from work has been heckling for sometime to take her out to KBBQ and further her 'fooducation'. After much rescheduling, we finally made it happen at Changgo. I tried so many times to call for a booking using the mobile number but to no avail. D being the helpful and obliging person she is, volunteered to pop by and make a booking in person. I can't thank her enough for doing so as the queue was out the door when we reached Changgo at 6.30 on Friday night.
Here are some reasons why this place is so damn hot right now

Sunrise rice wine

After all the food we were bursting at the seams and was super surprised that the bill only came at $21 pp. 

NOTE: D confirmed that there is actually no number you can call and book on (heaven knows who's mobile myself and half of Melbourne have been leaving numerous missed calls on)  so it's best to head over in person to book and make sure you don't have to wait in the KBBQ smog for a table

2. Saturday brunch with C at The Foodrinkery

C was away from work for a few days of annual leave so it was great to catch up on the goss before we were due to meet in the office kitchen next Monday morning. 

I have been to The Foodrinkery on one previous occasion and was pleasantly surprised by the affordability of their menu. After these few years of weekend brunching, I have grown increasingly accustomed paying $20-25 for a meal and a coffee. you could almost manage this with $15 at The Foodrinkery if you play your cards right.

After much deliberation, I decide to go for the somewhat healthy option of smashed avocado, ricotta and poached eggs on toast, while C went for the croque monsieur topped with fresh avocado

So pretty and with flavours to match. C's Croque Monsieur was actually supposed to be madame topped with a poached egg, but her dislike for poached protein and runny yolks have led to the magnificent discovery of just how well avocado goes with melted cheese and ham goodness. Yum. 

With conversation flowing we had to end things on a sweet note. After taking turns going up to the counter and surveying the options on display, we decided to share a chocolate cupcake and raspberry yoyo.

The cake was more dense than we had expected to be, whilst the flavours were nice and chocolatey it was almost too stodgy for me to finish. The yoyo on the other hand was beautifully buttery and the tang in the raspberry filling made me almost want to go for another. 

As The Foodrinkery is located almost half way between our homes, C and I are looking forward to making this little hidden gem our regular catchup spot. 

3. Girls' brunch - Breakfast Thieves

In recent months, I am finding myself spending a increase amount of time and petrol travelling to Fitzroy in search of scrumptious brunch food and hip hangout spots. I find I am also increasingly trying to dress the part (ie maxi skirts, chunky knits, pale denim shirts)
That aside, F messaged me late last night asking if I wanted to join her and a few other girls for brunch at Breakfast Thieves. I couldn't reply fast enough as I have been wanting to try this place for some time now. The concept of naming dishes after famous criminals was new and the pictures from urbanspoon looked promising.

The interior was a good balance of hip and homeliness, the waiters were hip but helpful. 

The Leprechaun

The food was good but the portions were so gigantic that the wow-factor wore off before I could finish the entire plate. In true girls brunch fashion, we spent the first few minutes of our meal exchanging elements of our own plate with each other, taking some time to evaluate the different flavours of each dish. I must admit I immediately developed food envy for D's Asian influenced dish Botak Chin. The pork was cooked to perfection, melting slightly in the mouth. 

Although the dishes were slightly expensive ($16-$20), the coffee was made to my liking and I will definitely be back to order the above mentioned Asian baddie.