Thursday 11th May



On our way back to the station from an event we came upon a lovely local bakery that looked fascinating. They've been here for 30yrs but have no reviews on zomato?! And only two on Yelp... But they do have a facebook presence where they announce the daily bakes. The interior has much underutilized space and makes it look like they're new.











Firebrand Bakery, a small rustic bakery on main street, that creates hand-shaped sourdough bread baked in an original 1930s wood fired oven, without using commercial yeast or additives.

Personally I'm iffy about things being unwrapped, people breathe on them, and bugs (flies touch them...) I prefer everything shrink wrapped.  

There's a large selection of unwrapped paper bagged loafs, to give that real rustic feel, some baked slices/muffins and Boscastle pies. At 1.30pm they were almost sold out of pies.











We had the chicken mushroom well seasoned and herbed without being too salty or liquidy. Delicious! Yes you can buy these in the freezer at IGA. As someone who grew up on pastries (and frozen food in general) these are one of the best I've had, with a matching price tag.



A flourless raspberry & boysenberry slice was what we're really here for. At $5 it was average price, though we were happy with the size. The slice was just like a friand! Moist all the way and delightful! Can't wait to get this again.

I would have like the option to serve it warm with cream but it's takeaway only. Though some tables outside would be nice.

Service was very friendly, unexpectedly they take card, no min. Unlike the fruit shop on the same strip.



We can't wait to return for a loaf and sourdough chocolate croissants! I think a warm loaf (even if it was warmed on the journey home) is one of life's most wonderful simple pleasures!



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Thursday 11th May
A morning tea at Ripponlea followed with a chance to explore the exhibition and gardens on a Thursday morning in mid-ish May. Ripponlea has been on the list to explore for years! Though by the time we get around to making a tour booking it's winter and there's an exhibition on. And so only the kitchens downstairs are open.



An exhibition featuring Victorian (as in the state, not era) fashion over 20 years from the early 1920s to the Moderne style of the 30s. "A time where stars, sophistication and city lights influenced the fashion worn by the well-dressed." Nowadays it's about wonder how short you can wear it without being arrested for incident exposure XD Also going out in your underclothes like tights as pants and slips as dresses... look away.



Entering the exhibition you could play dress up and borrow a dress to wear around the mansion, there's adult and kid's sizes. Nothing in my size (12-14) though, when it comes to one size fits all the reference is to sz8-10. *sigh* Also I'm vertically challenged for the women's sizing.






Downstairs is all about the 20s Night Life, our favourite time of the day! For all the wonderful things happen at night, trips to the theatre, parties (assuming we were invited). Isn't everything just lovely?! It's often made locally or sent over from England too, nothing here was made with the intention of being worn a few times to end up in the trash after a couple wears, nor was anything made in bulk. It was the relatively good old days. When things were made with love and to last. 



Upstairs featured in the 1930s. There was a most definitely shift in style from 20s beading, sequins and jazz (for evening wear only) to the more embroidery and lace trends with waists of the 30s.







After the exhibition we went for a stroll around the gardens, and climbing stone steps which may have been a mistake in city shoes. It's always a good idea to wear boots when going exploring!












There's tea rooms at the gate house! Though as we just had morning tea, and are on our way to afternoon tea we'll have to return later on! The exhibition runs till the end of July, and we shall return to share a house tour with you all!





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Thursday 11th May



A morning tea at Ripponlea celebrated volunteers of the trust, with awards (I wonder how long we've been apart of this) speeches, thank yous and a chance to explore the exhibition.




After the exhibition we went for a stroll around the gardens, and climbing stone steps which may have been a mistake in city shoes. I also missed the dress code - black with pops of colour, accessorize not a fluro skirt.



Lunch on the way at a local bakery, they've been here for 30yrs but have no reviews on zomato?! We had the chicken mushroom well seasoned and herbed without being too salty or liquidy. Delicious! Yes you can buy these in the freezer. A dark chocolate raspberry slice accompanied, it was just like a friand! Moist all the way and delightful! Can't wait to get this again.



On the way back we stopped by South Yarra to pick up some macarons for dessert. At $3 it's an occasional treat, when we buy a box to share. Perhaps quarterly? If I had to pick under pressure the lychee rose is my favorite. Jas said no to milo, the pistchio, yuzu and classic rose lychee were my favs, sour strawberry was quite good too, something I haven't had before.



Afternoon tea at a venue where the ceiling was covered in helium balloons! Lots of string dangling everywhere as the ceiling wasn't high unlike in the ballroom this morning.
Beautiful heart-warming (if I felt things which I don't) stories of volunteers who visited others who were sick. It takes very little to make a huge difference said one guy, a recipient of a years of service award. He was great at speeches, and so I'm curious what he did before he retired. He's been volunteering since before I was created! And I do love that while he wasn't American he finished his speech with god bless you all.

With balloons (7, for I couldn't really mange any more with two bags), a big bow in my hair and macaroons in my bag, I was happy. Saw my reflection in a window and realized I looked about 8yrs old XD Someone asked me what I do, and I said I'm a socialite and spend my time dedicated to various causes. Though am yet to get on a board. It's true, though I am working to find paid work as my field doesn't pay.

Back at the house we crashed. While it's true that I spent the day going to tea parties/networking it was a bit tiring. Nap time!



We made a faux risotto dish for dinner which was quite good, very good with jas as head chef while I broke the dishwasher (which he said was actually already broken...)

Friday




Egg waffles with black sesame ice cream, yum! I prefer this over the green tea, as I find that one a bit strong. Light and fluffy these were a delight that I can't wait to return for! Though at $9 they're a once in a while thing. 




Shannon Noll at Trak Bar. Firstly it started an hour late! Typical artist. Then there's way more people than seats. It's very very loud and bright! Strobe lighting. The floor was gross, and some people bought fart bombs along. Being little I couldn't see anything. So this is what a modern concert is like...



Pre-concert we had tacos at my place! It was fun and easy, I did the meet while she did the fresh salsa. We used a hard and soft taco kit, the soft ones were a bit sweet while the hard crumbed easily. The meet was mince, the spice/herb mix and some sausage meat we had left over from last night. 

Saturday




Vine Choral Symphony at Monash. It took over an hour to get here, with football crowded trains but it was worth the trip! Plenty of seats, clean carpet. Order and precision. My kinda event.

Dinner on the go was the meat left over from taco night, some black beans, the faux rice/pasta from Thursday with added sauteed mushrooms. It was delicious! My most successful and only ever left over night recreation :P 

Sunday



Snacking on lasagna bites w cheese sauce $10 for a large fries size, much than four bites as suggested. Super cheezy and yum, a try once thing. The place was full, almost as always and so the only lighting we could get was bluey purple. 



We also had $1.70 flaky egg tarts from the dim sim place, cash only with minimal English I didn't feel welcome. They had a huge variety of things to steam at home, not sold after 6pm.



Dinner at Sauced, takeaway on the way home. No pictures yet, as it doesn't look that great :P It ended being way too salty, but that's for another post.

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Thursday 4th May 2017


Jas introduced me to this place few years ago a French Creperie in Fitzroy, just to the right of Parliament a couple stops away out of the city Eastside. Should note that there's another crepe place if you go too far down the street, from the city this place is on the left at the corner of Brunswick & Gertrude. Being out of the far it has taken us quite some time to check it out. 



Damn group table, I'd like to sit by the window, because the rest of the seats are more like in a gallery.



A small but cozy place (especially in winter, for dinner) that reminded me of a cottage, with a non-functional fireplace. The set-up was a bit odd with the kitchen and work area being at the front with typical white kitchen lighting, then you step through the door to the dinning are. Being a small restaurant you'll need to book (for dinner).

With two dinning spaces we we lead to the main dinning room with two unused fireplaces. 

There's no (well minimal) sunlight in here, and it's a bit of an old style reminding me of sovereign hill with all the wooden features, cream walls, fireplaces and flag that hung upon the wall.








We had the mushroom and goats cheese, filling as cheese tends to be, and delicious. Perfect for an autumn day's lunch. Not too salty but just right.



I love the breakfast bowl style cup of sparkling spiced apple juice, it's appletizer but with more spices! We love that there's an non-alcoholic drink on the menu/on offer that isn't the standard coke/water.


Dessert, a raspberry jam crepe, those flaky crispy sides are such a delight! Folded up into a triangle the nose was soft and doughy though not dense like a pancake. The perfect crepes. Much nicer and magical compared to that stand outside City Hall.

Service was very friendly. Here's to hoping we'll return for lunch again soon! Breizoz is also open for dinner, but there's no lunch special! Definitely worth the trip, and it's not that far from the city.

During lunch about half the people dinning were going solo, which was nice.



Thursday 12th May 2016









The egg balanced out the saltiness of the cheese, a creamy companion for the soft squishy sautéed mushrooms in butter. Probably should have had a salad with that. The crepe was thin but not dry with the eggy cheese filling, save for the very edge which was to be expected. I do realize that this is the same one I had for lunch minus the egg!

These picture were taken quite some time ago, and our photos have improved much since! As you can tell/might guess I pick my dishes on taste rather than asking which will get me the most likes on instagram :P


Meanwhile jas had the duck which was really good, the onion confit was amazing, buttery onion sweet and soft. Salad was fairly bland (cucumber, tomato, lettuce) no dressing. Duck creamy and soft, melts on your tongue. - That's what he said.





Jon had the prosciutto salad in a crepe, which he said the prosciutto was soft in texture and flavours worked well with cream cheese and crepe tied together, chewy and crispy freshness of the salad. Crepe cooked very well, perfect amount of flakiness. 

I believe we have found our new +1! Alas Jon is an adult and too busy, and it's legit. 

While dinner was filling there's always room for dessert! Sweets crepes are totally our thing, and this is the first time I'd had crepes at a restaurant (we normally get them at a newspaper stand turned pop-up style place). 





Jon's pick was like peanut brittle in consistently  but almond in flavour. A crepe sprinkled with caramel candy dusk and almonds he described it as. Dry but delicious. Add ice cream if you don't like it dry. It's roasted toasted nuts and toffee. Praline is always dry, best paired with caramel, or cream/ice cream, said the manager. Though a scoop of ice cream is $4! (Standard *sigh*) 





On the specials menu was the poached pear, which jas had his eye on since the start if the night. It was really nice though needed more wine, poached in red wine, served with a thick silky dark choc sauce, the wine got lost in sauce and pear. Should have ordered a glass of wine to go with it. - Said he. Yes he's not a guy of many words, though is a Shakespeare fan.




I went for the classic salted caramel that le beau loves, with crispy edges that you could break off. A very thin crepe with salted caramel. Not so doughy as that place near town hall. Probably needed cream or ice cream to accompany so it wouldn't be so dry. Other than that it was good. 

Service was great from all the staff, particularly the manager/owner. Everyone loved Jon, with his charisma, and discussions on a marshmallow cake. While were there, there was a birthday! Small but cozy this is a place where you can take anyone. 

They also make their own ice cream, though I recently blew $80-ish on ice cream (my favorite shop was closing up shop to go travel thee world so we stocked up), so perhaps in a few months time. 












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