Summer Lovin'

Since returning to Melbourne several weeks ago, I've been through a lot of ups, downs and downright scandalous things. In between, however, I've also played, ate, shopped and frolicked in the streets and gardens of Melbourne city. Though the weather itself has been slightly temperamental, the brilliant days of sunshine have definitely helped restore my spirits a bit. I've managed to pack my weeks with fun at home with the boys, late nights, dancing, bars, and of course, food.

Sister was recently in town for a few days between ending job A and starting job B. Whilst it was extremely nice to see her given our interactions with each other tend to amount to 3-4 times accumulatively per year, it did lead me to understand why sometimes I think it's better that Sister and I live in different cities (Sydney and, well, Melbourne of course). Nonetheless, I was very excited to have her here, and it also gave me the chance to do things I would never normally do on my own. Surprising, considering I do a LOT of things in Melbourne, both touristy and not.

Case in point: the last day she was in town, Sister and I woke up sore and achy from a night that started with "just one drink" and ended up 2am on Swanston Street considering whether or not to visit Hungry Jacks (we didn't, by the way. It was too.. just plain bad, even for me, and I am queen of eating everything, even bad food. I went home and had some homemade coconut bread instead. More on that later.). We dragged ourselves on the tram out to Chapel Street, I hidden behind dark glasses the entire way and she communicating only in groans for the entire tram ride. Brunch at a non-descript cafe involving wedges, pizza and black coffee definitely helped get our spirits up. By the end of the day, however, my shopaholic sister had gotten the best of me and I was reduced to my original state, dragging my feet as I walked. Finally, she suggested we see Prahran Market just to take a look. That definitely perked me up. I was entranced enough by the fresh pastas and cheeses offered by the delis, but I really got excited when I spotted Monsieur Truffle. I tried a bit of their kalamansi truffle as well as their original, and they are both absolutely out of this world. C once donated me a chilli truffle given to her by a lovely friend, S, and that one tiny truffle was enough to send me to chocolate heaven. This is what real chocolate should be. Eat your heart out, Cadbury. If that wasn't enough, imagine how I felt when I saw Crabapple Bakery sitting in a corner of the market. I think my actual reaction involved grabbing Sister's arm and spouting gibberish for about 10 seconds. One bite of Sister's musk flavoured cupcake was enough to send me to a further level of sugar heaven. I wasn't sure it was wise to continue with the eating, given we had reservations at Fifteen that evening. My point of this post? I love Prahran Market. But I'm sure all you Melbournites already knew about those wonders :)

Still to come: Fifteen review, my various attempts at a wonderful coconut bread recipe, Poor Man's Curry and mexican cooking classes at CERES.

A Perfect Moment

In the ever demanding world of reality, sometimes the deadlines, engagements, people, things threatens to overwhelm you and you can feel yourself bursting at the seams as the pressure mounts. And you know if you don't find release, any release, it can be difficult to go on like you did before.

My own personal release this afternoon was a stroll down beautiful Rathdowne Village on this gorgeously warm autumn day. After finding a few treasures at the library (among of which includes a copy of Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion!), I wandered in search of solitude and something to sweeten my soul. After vetoing the Rathdowne Street Food Store for its overflow of people, I discovered the delightful Sweet Source.

Sweet Source is a rustic-ly lovely little cafe, small and homey enough to sit in a corner by one self, but groomed enough to be sophisticated and beautiful - 'high art' of the dessert world. Most of the tables were half filled by mothers and children after a library expedition, couples enjoying the beautiful afternoon and people at the end of a (very) late lunch break. The food itself comprises of a mix of both sweet and savoury, and the savoury looks substantial enough for a nice meal (baguette rolls, quiches, tarts, etc.). There is no question, however, that the sweets are the main event in this place. The beautiful tarts, pies, cakes, muffins had me drooling the moment I walked in.

I ordered an iced coffee, and the waitress was nice enough not to mind as I stood around for about 5 minutes trying to decide between all the lovely sweets on display. Ooh, maybe an almond and orange friand, but perhaps too cakey. The chocolate brownie with smarties looked deliciously satisfying, but perhaps too heavy. I was very nearly tempted by the gorgeous cupcakes on display (both full-sized and miniature - so cute!), but decided in the end on a piece of the apple and blueberry crumble pie.

Oh was this pie worth it. The beautifully stained apple slices and blueberries were tart and fresh paired with the sweet crumble topping, and even better with a whip of the homemade freshly whipped cream that came in a little dish. The base was not the crumbly biscuit base I imagined, but made of puff pastry instead. I don't particularly have a preference for either, but the fruit and crumble was enough to make me love this pie no matter what. I spent a lovely hour people watching and reading Oscar Wilde and it was exactly what was needed to invigorate me. All in all, a perfectly lovely afternoon.

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Sweet Source
288 Rathdowne Street
North Carlton