Darwin Delights

Last weekend I ventured up to Darwin. While I was there due to unfortunate circumstances, I still managed to take advantage of some of the local food delights.

The Darwin Festival was on during my visit so one night I made my way over to the park on the Esplanade where they had live music and food stalls. I had a lovely Malaysian chicken curry and a beef massaman from local asian food restaurant, Hanuman.

On Saturday, we treated ourselves to the Parap markets. For lunch I had chicken pad thai. The green paw paw salad is also worth tasting.

Believe it or not, Darwin is a foodie paradise. One of my favourite food memories is eating chicken satay and beef massaman on the beach at sunset at the Mindil Beach markets. Life doesn’t get much better than that really.

Check me out

I am going to digress from my food themes for just one moment to show you a picture of moi holding THE Melbourne Cup. Yes, the very cup that will be presented to this year's race winner.

Yesterday, Borders in the City had a launch of the History of the Melbourne Cup and they had it sitting outside the store! (BTW - I wasn't there for the book launch, I happened to be there because I had a 40% off voucher).

The cup weighs 4kgs and is worth $150,000. It is a shame I am not a fast runner otherwise I would have run off it.

The guy next to me is Mel Schumacher. He was the jockey who won the Cup in 1958.

Very cool indeed.

Anniversary at Anise

Last week, Mark and I celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary and to honour this occasion, we did what we do best – go out to dinner! We ventured back to our old neck of the woods, New Farm to go to a restaurant which we have never been to before even though it has been there for many years – Anise!

Anise is a small, 21 seat European style wine bar and restaurant. There are no tables and chairs, everyone sits around the bar. I must admit at first I was not too keen on this but it turned out to be heaps of fun and really added to the ambience of the place.

The bar featured an impressive wine, spirit and cocktail menu. The friendly staff were really knowledgeable about the menu and were more than happy to chat with you about the different wines/spirits and even offered a taste of anything you weren’t familiar with.

The food menu is French inspired and it changes seasonally. We were treated with the winter menu which featured a great range of warming comfort food. My dinner consisted of the following.

· Entrée: pan seared scallops with boudin noir, celeriac puree & Caperberry noisette

· Main: grain eye fillet with carrot & Swede dauphinoise, truffle honey glazed carrots

· Dessert: profiteroles with gianduia (choc/hazelnut) ice cream, praline and chocolate ganache.

Each dish was cooked brilliantly and combined a variety of different flavours and textures. Very cool.

Find Anise at 697 Brunswick Street, New Farm

Finally, a cool coffee place in Brisbane City!

Have you checked out the great new coffee shop in the city called The Coffee Supplier? Mark calls it "under the boom gate" because it is just that - it is located down a lane way (off Elizabeth St in the city), then under a boom gate and then at the end of a warehouse. The interior is very industrial with exposed bricks and wooden beams, and the original artworks adjourn the walls. The actual coffee is great and they roast their own beans. I recommend you venture down the laneway and under the boom gate!

Aria Adventures

Last Thursday, I ventured out to Aria. No not the music awards, Matt Moran's Brisbane version of his iconic Sydney restaurant. May I say that I was most impressed and the whole experience lived up to my expectations. The food was amazing and the service was friendly and efficient.

For entree, I had the Kingfish (serviced with spanner crab, avocado, harissa and a smoked tea seasoning). I am told by a reliable source (ie fellow foodie and babysitter of Colin, Jono) this is one of Moran's signature dishes. Very nice indeed and as Matt Preston would say, it was plated beautifully.

Main course consisted of a roasted rump of lamb with piperade, smoked eggplant and a roast onion jus. Everything but the eggplant was delicious. The lamb was cooked perfectly and it was super tender.

For dessert, I had the jam doughnuts with strawberries and cinnamon ice cream. I am not sure why I was drawn to this because I am not really a big doughnut fan and they had a dark chocolate tart on the menu, but I am glad I did. I am still day dreaming about these little babies and I had no idea that doughnuts could taste this good. If you go to Aria and have only one course, make it the doughnuts!!

I also recommend going for lunch as they have a set price. It is $55 for 2 courses or $70 for 3. If I went at dinner time, I would have paid $30 for the entree, $50 for main and $20 for dessert. Lunch is definitely a bargain!! Just a little hint!

Now go on and enjoy it for yourself.