Food: December

Breakfast with Gwyneth (what a inner west yuppie name) at Bread & Circus. This cafe is so bright and airy that it feels healthy sitting there among the produce scattered about - there was a basket of peaches and a box of pumpkins just next to our table. Along with the healthy theme I had this kale & quinoa dish which is quite simply done with chilli, garlic and onion, topped with a fried egg and some blanched spinach. I was so pleased with the simplicity of this that I made it the next week for a Christmas party. 

Sherry marinated globe artichokes with ancient grains, heirloom carrots, goats curd & beets from Bowery lane. What a mouthful - would never remember this as more than just "artichokes". I've never cooked this vegetable so have no idea what is involved but it looks time consuming. Each component was quite small and not particularly overwhelming. However when combined together the flavours were much more interesting and palate challenging.

Pandan pudding with rhubarb compote from Yulli's. We came here for a mega vegetarian dinner and practically ate everything on the menu including 3 of the desserts. This was the prettiest of them all. After dessert we had to have a second serve of gluten free moneybags just because they were black.

How I love that Sushi Masa is in my apartment block. They do simple things so well, such as the well executed kakiage udon, a cake of grated vegetable tempura with just the right amount of rubble, atop fat chewy udon noodles and a perfectly clear headed broth. They don't have many vegetarian options on the menu (I've eaten them all) but this one is a winner.

A random after work dinner at Basil with pizza, salad and nachos. Eating with vegans is easy at Basil.

90s nightmare from Brewtown. I have eaten the polenta dish here way too many times, and since they changed it to pairing with tomatoes I decided to try this mishmash which had a cute name. This was a solidly filling meal with marinated vegetables (eggplant, capsicum and field mushrooms) on pesto toast with spicy white bean mash and parmesan. I didn't eat out in the 90s enough (high school = Maccas) to know why it's called the 90s nightmare though.

Look at this pretty thing, a passionfruit curd cronut. Post nights breakfast at Brewtown usually involves several cronut rounds where a single cronut is cut into quarters and consumed by all the medical staff present... before ordering another round of one single donut. We would really order all of them at the same time, except the service at Brewtown is absolutely atrocious and this is our little game to get them back (immature I know..)

Smoked mushroom and tempeh burger from Veggie Patch Diner. It is amazing that the guys behind Veggie Patch van have opened up on this corner of Five ways (I really hope they make it!!) This burger was just so flavoursome and it's hard to imagine even the most hardcore carnivore wouldn't enjoy this. One can choose from sides such as sweet potato fries (the flat crinkly kind rather than chips) and a variety of luscious salads, here I had roast pumpkin and green bean salad.

In the month of December I was at Mary's for shroom burger three times. That's how awesome it is. I love everything from the soft sweet bun to the melty cheese to the garlicky mushroom, even the wilty lettuce. If only there was a quiet section so you could hear what your dining companions are saying.. but I guess that's what the cemetery across the road is for. 

Refreshing affogatos on a hot sunny afternoon from Gnome, with some damn amazing vanilla bean icecream.

Vegetarian dumplings from Alchemy in Surry Hills. What does a vegetarian eat in a Polish restaurant? Why, deep fried dumplings (with mushroom & sauerkraut and potato & cheese) served with sour cream and chives, of course! The waitress was rather confused when I said no to the bacon that usually comes with these dumplings, hmm...

Ricotta gnocchi with caramelised figs in a cream sauce from  Salt Pepper Nutmeg. This place surprisingly surpassed all expectations for a suburban restaurant - the gnocchi were featherlight, the figs lusciously sweet and the pesto balanced the heavy cream based sauce perfectly. A hidden gem in Roseville for sure.

When my friend's mum found out I had to work nights for a week starting on boxing day, she gave me a whole bunch of Lankan curries - dal, butter beans, cashew and eggplant. I just added some kale, rice, roti, yoghurt and pickle - an amazing meal that reminded me of why I have to visit the subcontinent again soon.

 Last but not least, when I got to work on boxing day night, this is what I found in the office - lube next to mince pies. Yes... this is where I work.