Monday, May 23, 2011

(some of) My Life in Pictures

My iphone is a relatively new device when it comes to this blog. Sure I've had it for over 2 years now, but how many times have I blogged during that period (ok, don't answer that). It might now be slow and clunky - true Apple genius that ensures I upgrade - but tonight it has given me a fun trip down memory lane.

I rarely carry a camera, having realised long ago that my digi-handy-cam of the occasional tourist variety didn't do much justice to the food I was eating. However, I've happily snapped here and there with my iphone with only the best intentions to turn iphone snaps into blog posts. Trouble is, I download my iphone so rarely that the snaps never make it to the blog.

Two weekends ago, on my way to Moonee Ponds to listen to Food on the Page, with Melbourne Gastronome, I stopped at The Premises for a quick bite. I'd intended to sit down tonight and write about my delicious meal, but I've been severly distracted by the trip back in recent past that is my iphone's photos.
Stretching back over this time includes the wine wall at Mr Wolf, hilariously kitsch interiors of a Daylesford Chinese Restaurant, a random cupcake from goodness knows where, the birth of my parents' vege garden and a lone tulip I managed to grow.

There's a muffin from Mart130 (circa October, based on the Melbourne Macaron comp snippet) and an intriguing bowl of cookie dough. It took me about a minute to remember that this was a Matthew Evans recipe I'd adapted to use up evey imagineable ingredient in my pantry. Perhaps it was this baking session that saw the oven dial break, warranting an email to my agent with photographic evidence.
Moving quickly to December, there are some fuzzy photos of dessert at Hare & Grace for S-bo's office Christmas party. A hilarious evening where neither the non-foodie workmates nor half the staff really got the food in general, let alone the chocolate soil presented under dessert.

The no-man's land between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve passed blissfully on Sydney's northern beaches, including the day when all the "adults" caught the ferry to Cottage Point Inn while us "kids" sipped a delicious I-forget-the-label Pinot Gris and supped away the afternoon at Barrenjoey House. It was walking home from this event that I spied Coco Juice - if anyone can explain this strange product, your comment is most welcome.Post New Year's saw a trip down to Sin City proper and a visit to Victor Churchill before gazing on this coffee collage while enjoying pastries at Baker Friday, which is apparently now called Central Baking depot. Can any Sydneysiders clarify?
There's random football photos, photos of products in my role as a Goodist, a half eaten tartine from Maison Ama Lurra (above) and indecipherable photos of winelists from some "proper" writing that I was doing. The cute little tartlettes are from Hausfrau and any foodie would recognise the pile of pumpkins from Melbourne's Metlink Edible Garden, earlier in the year. I did wonder, as I wandered, what would happen if I started eating all the plants right then and there.
I've skipped the great photos I have from mine and S-bo's anniversary weekend in the Yarra Valley. They're all scenery shots, but if I captured any food you would have seen how much we over-ate. Harvest Cafe, De Bortoli, Yarra Valley Pasta, Yering Wine Bar, Healesville Hotel and Bella Vedere might've been just a bit too much eating for a 2 night stay. Needless to say we didn't get around to tasting much wine.
And finally, testament to the randomness of my iphone photos, I come to a shot I took recently at Cafe Balderdash because I liked what they did with wine bottles and flowers. Something tells me they won't like what I did with iphone fuzziness. All of this is bookended by a shaky photo of The Premises' menu (because I panicked and didn't think I'd remember my dishes ingredients) and a delicious cauliflower salad. But, sadly, we've run out of time tonight, so I'll save my Premises photos for another day.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Golden Fields

Ok, so I don't write often. I'm just beginning to realise that this is ok, so today I'm not going to make any promises that I'll write more often. Instead I'll promise to write whenever I feel like it!

Why am I writing again? For starters, Once a Waitress mentioned my blog in one of her recent posts about Friends of Mine prompting a desire to write again. For seconds, I was lucky enough to head to Golden Fields last night-what more inspiration do I need? (Apparently a lot, because this post is taking a while and I'm struggling to articulate the amazing evening I had).

The much anticipated addition to Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc quietly opened its doors last week, revealing super clean lines and serious attention to detail - and that's just the fit-out. We particularly loved the contrast of black chairs and towering lamps against white tiling and marble. Far from being an immediate attack of extraordinary, Golden Fields revealed its quirks to us gradually. The chicken's feet coat hooks emerged pretty quickly but it wasn't until halfway through the evening that I saw the blue grouting and taps in the bathroom. Why blue? Not sure but it definitely creates a talking point (or is it just females that talk about the bathrooms?)

The food was no surprise; it was seriously good. Far from analysing every dish for the purpose of a blog post, I simply sat back and enjoyed. Standouts for me included a Kumamoto oyster served with fresh wasabi, sauteed mushrooms with poached duck egg and braised Blackmore brisket, rump cap, wasabi butter and garlic shoots. What fascinated me most were the differing perceptions around our table. The "spicy as" braised runner beans gave a serious kick to noone but me, while the sauteed mushrooms, with duck egg richness that I loved so much were a little salty for another. Overall, the food has McConnell's trademark ability to intrigue and satisfy. It's an extensive menu divided into raw, to start, salads & vegetables and meat & fish. After all the delights we sampled (I've given a mere snapshot), I'm surprised we made it to dessert but super glad. Predictably, the peanut butter parfait, salted caramel and soft chocolate rocked all socks but the real adventure was found in the green tea ice cream, pumpkin and liquorice. Yup, pumpkin. And don't forget to look for hints of refreshing ginger hiding behind the lime in the black sesame, lime and yoghurt creation.

According to metlink journey planner, I can probably get from my house to Golden Fields in a mere 20 minutes. Something tells me this could become a habit.

(As a side note, and on a housekeeping front, I dined with a vegan and a coeliac who were both easily accommodated).

Golden Fields
157 Fitzroy St
St Kilda