Australia

Well well well the title of this post is very ambitious and may be misleading. I am not going to give an extensive review of the city nor of it’s eateries and markets… I was there for three days for work and it was my first time in Melbourne and I didn’t touch a pan or a knife, nor a raw ingredient the whole time. I actually didn’t even enter a supermarket or any shopping place! I was staying downtown where our friends and colleagues live, and they showed me a bit around every morning and every evening. The one thing that I truly enjoyed is that there are plenty of options to go out for breakfast even quite early and D. took me to a few very nice places. The top of the top was Vacation, I liked the fresh and open atmosphere and where I had an amazing avocado toast made with Australian avocados. Topped with sprouted garbanzo beans and green peas it was really divine!! Of course D. also took me to Lune for the best croissants in town (it was also recommended to me on IG by @baker.kobo) and I had there an indeed delicious croissant. Going out for breakfast in a new city, when people move around is really a good way to feel the vibe and discover a bit of their habits. I found that a lot of people grab breakfast on their way or stand in to eat, there are of course some seat in places. But everywhere it is usually quick. Lune in particular reminded me of that cafe in Milano I loved to go to have a croissant and a fresh squeezed orange juice. Breakfast eateries in Melbourne offer a large panel of options with healthy bowls and fresh fruits or bacon sausage and eggs, and plenty of fresh smoothies. There’s a lot of vegetarian and vegan options too. And with strong ties to the UK they have kept the tea culture, so every place has delicious tea to offer.

Dinner wise they took me to different neighborhoods and food was great. There is one thing though I realize when we were in Brisbane last May, Australian restaurants for dinner are utterly noisy. They always have very very loud music and huge space with people shouting rather than conversing as you can’t hear each other because of the music. It makes the whole atmosphere rather exhausting after a day at work.

D. and C. also took me to see some possums living in the city near Flagstaff. They were absolutely too cute!!!

So basically I haven’t seen much of the city in these three days, and that wasn’t the point of my visit, but I know I will be coming again and this first contact was a good one! I am hoping to stay longer next time for more exploration of the fresh local food and a kitchen takeover if I don’t have my own kitchen!!!

Writing while I’m waiting to board a plane to go back home, I’m trying to reflect on this week spent in Western Australia. For the second time only in Australia I’ve found the Brisbane experience a very good one. I had the memory of a rude and rough Sidney, but it was also a long time ago… The nature and the ocean are still wild and beautiful as I reminded them from our trip in New South Wales. This time we didn’t go in any sanctuary to see and pat the animals, though I was dying to pat koalas again, they are so cute… instead we just went to see wild life in the wild, pademelons, roosters, possums, big bats, dolphins and whales along with short hikes here and there around Brisbane. To visit the city and go to work, we used quite a lot the citycycle system to avoid too much walk for my still hacking but not broken toe. It allowed to move quickly from one neighborhood to another. One thing that strikes me usually is the diversity of foreign countries but here it was quite the contrary. A lot of white people and more over blonde, a kind of Japan but whitish!!!

On the food side, not a lot of new experiences except for the already mentioned lemon myrtle that was a great discovery. A lot of local and fresh products though: delicious cheeses, fresh fruits and tropical fruits, local avocados and as it was autumn: pumpkin, sweet potatoes… One great discovery was the sunflower sprouts we bought at one of the organic store, really sweet and delicious. Very little cooking but enough to have fun and play in another kitchen.

Cooking consisted in lentil pasta with olive roasted zucchini, avocado and sunflower sprouts for dinner and coconut and buckwheat pancakes. Nothing really breath-taking but fresh and a nice change to restaurant food.

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Tag: Australia

Melbourne

Detour @Brisbane