Photos from the blogs we never got to do in 2010 (and stories we became involved in)

We have only 10 minutes left for this wrap-up before this becomes the first post of 2011...:)

March 2010 - FH got a decent grinder, we got coffee beans and we all did a pseudo-cupping session at her place.  We say pseudo as, let's face it, we were not conducting a real cupping session.  Nevertheless, we got to taste the differences among different grinds.  It was a fun group session, and we tried very hard not to drink so much as to end up bouncing off the walls from the caffeine we ingested.  This heralded a time of us buying more-than-amateur domestic coffee grinders, whole single-origin coffee beans and fine tuning home brewing methods.

We had a lot of weekend brunches, and we really should have given Three Bags Full a lot more writen attention than we did in the end.  Their ricotta pancakes are great, and so are their coffees.  Get there early on Saturdays, or just go there on weekdays.  FH rates this place as one of her Top 10 in Melbourne, which is saying a lot given her extensive and particular taste buds.  LS, on the other hand, sat so long at Dead Man Espresso enjoying her brunch that she budged only when somebody reminded her to turn up for a late afternoon picnic in the park...

Seven Seeds still does a mean latte, especially when Taylor is behind the machine.  Lucky are we who visit when that happens.

Of course, we had a LOT of coffee which consequentially meant that baristas around towns (yes, the plural tense, because of SL being in Sydney) had to pay just a bit more attention to petite Asian girls coming into their cafes who would glance at their coffee machines, ask about the tasting characteristics of their house blend(s) versus single origin of the day, and request for short blacks or macchiatos.  All we want is a little bit of respect.  For our coffees. 

Bar 9, South Australia - still the only place LS had three coffees in her first sitting.  The baristas there still do not know her face, which means that (a) they have bad memories; (b) she does not visit the place enough; or (c) there are so many serious coffee drinkers who visit this place that they have no chance to remember faces.

 

We also had a fair amount of cocktails and continued to visit new places in town.  Of course, we could not help visiting our favourite old haunts, especially when quality in drinks, menus and service continued to improve.  While 1806 (pictured) became the most convenient to do group sipping sessions, Der Raum and Golden Mountain earned "Must Visit Again" titles in our books.  We promise mixologists that we will try not to have to drag poor dear PN out of the place every single time...

 

We support farmers'markets but we do not neglect the other fresh produce markets.  Farmers' markets can realistically sustain us, but only so far - one can only take so much barramundi and eel...not to mention artichokes!  We cannot get sick of the glossy purple sheen of those eggplants, of course.  Bill's Farm expanded its space in QV Market, to the glee of its fans including FH.  LS realised the Bald Oyster Shucker man at her favourite seafood stall (pictured) in South Melbourne Market could recognise her (she says thanks to ML for making that happen).  SL found heritage tomatoes and consequentially Tomato Lady in Sydney.
 

We checked out little places we happen to walk by which intrigued us, like Bosisto's Wine Bar that we would not have walked in but for the nearby ramen bar being closed for the day.  We also looked upstairs, downstairs and around the neighbourhood for places like Metropolitan Eating House, which does a traditional French Sunday lunch but a modern French degustation menu at all other times.  The little chocolate cafe opposite the restaurant that was one week old helped to wash down the orange and Grand Marnier crepes...

There were the blogs we would have liked to do but did not get the opportunity to do because we got there too late (like Broodbox) or did not have the credentials to enrol (like the masterclass Gwlym Davis did when he came to town in May).

 Thus we could only drown the sorrows of our missed opportunities in desserts and wines...

Philippa's bread and butter pudding at il Fornaio, one not to be repeated now that she has parted ways with the establishment...

The Maze dessert we waited 30 minutes for.  Worth the wait, it was but we still have not been back to Maze...

What do you do when it rains in the Yarra Valley?  You go to a small winery and make small talk with the fun staff while sipping on every wine produced.  Yum.

Then there are the blogs that just came too late for 2010 and will seem a bit bizarre to do in 2011 until after the next visit.  Case in point: Josie Bones, which opened just two weeks before Christmas...

Oysters with dark beer jelly and guancale - both owner-chefs were in even though it was already 230pm...

Rolled pig's cheek with crackling and a egg+caper salad.  They do beer matching so prepare a good gut before entering...

Happy New Year gourmets and gourmands!  Watch those waistlines and blood pressure points, eat with a joyful heart and drink with good company ;)