Char Siu Restaurant Meal (by Biggs)

We went to the local dive bar tonight which is next to a pretty good looking char siu restaurant. We went in, we ordered everything, everything was shit. Sooooo average - look at those 'dumplings' what the hell is that wrapper - thick doughy and awful. G is quite the spring roll connoisseur - he connoisseured that these were....not great. Satay chicken grossness and some.....er, 'traditional Chinese dishes'. Disappointing. The owner offered to bag up our leftovers however we politely declined.

Thai (by G)

Pizza (by Biggs)

I thought I'd welcome G to Melbourne with more pizza from our local pizzeria - an anchovy one and a spicy salami one, as well as some cheesy garlic bread. Twice in one week but no bad thing!

Black Bean Enchilada with Corn (by Biggs)

I only have to feed myself for one more night before G comes from Queensland to be my housemate and feed me once again so.....I went with takeaway. I thought I should check out the local Mexican place. It may have been the fault of having it delivered instead of eating in but it was fucking terrible. How did they make black beans in a tomato-y, cheesy pillow of tortilla goodness taste so awful? The corn too was a bit crap, weirdly watery, but at least it was rolled in butter!

Pies and Sausage Roll (by G)

Vegemite Sandwich (by Biggs)

Since moving to Melbourne I have been absolutely hemorrhaging money so it's time to reign it in a little. I don't have any cookware yet and haven't connected the gas but I didn't want to eat out so a sandwich it was. A vegemite sandwich.

I don't have any crockery yet either so have been eating off brown paper bags in a particularly dignified manner. The local bottle shop helpfully supported that theme in my 'glassware' by bagging up my beer.

McMuffin (by G)

Photo pending. 

Pulled Pork Roll (by Biggs)

I get to walk past the Queen Victoria Markets on my way home from work and they're doing Wednesday Night Markets so I popped in tonight and bought a pulled pork roll from BBQ Alley. Hmmm....it was fine, a bit sweet and flavourless. The fennel salad on it was night but I think I was a bit hasty in my selection. I will do better next time.

Cheese and Salami (by G)

Pizza (by Biggs)

Red came over to my new house today to eat some dinner and drink some wine on the floor. Fortunately she had some insider knowledge having lived in Melbourne for some time now and suggested we got pizza from Errols. Fuck me, if this is my local pizzeria, I am doing okay! Thanks to Nick and Steph for providing me some camping glasses we could drink out of while I'm waiting for mine to arrive from Queensland (not to mention the bedding they've provided for me to pass out in after all the pizza and wine. Thanks for the visit Red - the perfect 'first new house guest'!

Leftover Pizza (by G)

Chicken Wrap and Beer (by Biggs)

First night in our new home tonight! Exciting! I dumped my stuff, spent an hour or two working out how to get the electricity switched on then headed up the road to check out some local haunts. I chose incorrectly with dinner I'm afraid going to a local burger joint that lured me in with a nifty name. I went with the incredibly over-prices, and flavour-free bullshit, classic wrap. Disappointing but then I spied a little sign next door that said 'bar' and stumbled into the BEST DIVE BAR I'VE EVER STEPPED FOOT INTO. I think we're going to be very at home here.

Disappointing Pizza and Wings (by G)

Lamb Chops, Wedges and Salad (by Biggs)

Another Sunday night, another family dinner night but, this time, my last. A bit sad, a bit happy. I've really enjoyed Sunday family dinner night since staying with these guys.

It was a simple chops, wedges and salad combo for which I was in charge of cooking the meat. I didn't do great...I couldn't find the salt and pepper and jammed it all into an electric fry pan with some chicken thighs that needed eating.

Have I ever mentioned that I love potatoes?? I love potatoes. Lamb is pretty good too!

BBQ Steak (by G)

Mac and Cheese with Beans (by Biggs)

I attempted to go to a Food Truck festival this afternoon but it seemed to have been replaced by a construction site....it's possible I was a year or two too late. Instead I went for a big walk from Kew, through Richmond to Fitzroy stopping for a beer every half hour or so.

When I got dinner hungry I was conveniently drinking at the Tramway which I already knew does awesome food so I ordered a mac n cheese and some beans. I really need to up my vegetable intake so figured this would help.

If all vegetables are served this way in garlic butter with pecarino then I doubt I'll have any trouble increasing my consumption of vegetables. The mac n cheese was good but I think they'd overlooked my order of 'spicy'. Happy Days none the less!

Noodles and Wings (by G)

Pork Buns and Wine (by Biggs)

Dinner tonight was at Canberra airport, the choices fairly limited but satisfying enough. It's hard for me to go past a pork bun....even harder for me to go past two. The wine was average, the pork buns average but average wine and average pork buns still make me pretty happy, especially on a Friday night when I'm on my way home.

There was more wine, and some crackers, on the plane.

Chipolatas and Bread (by G)

Calamari (by Biggs)

I'm in Canberra this week for work so dinner at Griffith Vietnamese was an inevitability. When I got there it was crazy busy so I had to order take-away. As I was ordering, a few tables cleared out and I asked if I could eat in. The guy quickly said "For one?! No! Not possible!"....I'm fairly convinced I would have eaten and drunk more than any couple was going to but, fair enough. 

I ordered the special calamari because that's what Kirsten has taught me to do and it was delicious! Crispy and salty! The hotel room only had a teaspoon and a knife so.....I used my hands. 

Fish Fingers (by G)

Cola (by Biggs)

I was a touch, er....fainty on my walk home today so dinner for me was a touch of sugar and early to bed. Apologies for the evil product placement....they addicted me good.

SCTCBLT (by G)

Vietnamese Delights (by Biggs)

I'm in Canberra today so Jana took me out for a post-work beer at a Cuban bar in the city which was lovely. When we were trying to work out what to have for dinner Jana asked me what my favourite cuisine is. Apparently, it's Vietnamese. That's how I responded at least. We were coincidentally next door to a cheap and cheerful Vietnamese cafe so it all worked out.

We both picked a dish to share. I chose one that had rice noodles, pork belly, prawns and quail eggs. Like, awesome right? I did mean to ask for it dry instead of in a soup but forgot so it was a bit tricky to share. Jana's order blew mine out of the water. It was a curried calamari noodle thing that I just couldn't get enough of.

Pretty great dinner.

Supermarket Salad with Quesadilla (by G)

Dip In Cafe (by Biggs)

I headed to the movies tonight so wanted to have a quick and casual dinner after work and before the film. My temporary housemate (well, technically I'm her temporary housemate) mentioned that she'd discovered a little cafe in the city that served stuffed buns so I was keen to check it out.

I picked one stuffed with beef and lamb mince, mushrooms and hummus. Fucking delicious! I know I've thrown that phrase around a fair bit of late but, trust me, I do not use it lightly.

Pork Knuckle (by G)

Chicken, Lamb, Eggplant and Salad (by Biggs)

Another family dinner night tonight, I'm going to miss these when I'm in my own place so might need to tee up a standing invitation for the future.

On the menu tonight was some beautifully cooked lamb and tasty chicken bits as well as some eggplant parmigana. All so fucking delcious and incredibly generous servings. The highlight on the plate though was a Asian wombok salad with crispy noodles. So great!

I did my tax today so had been drinking wine all afternoon to get me through....this themed was carried on over dinner. Drinking wine that is not doing taxes.

Vegetable Noodles (by G)

Vege Burgers (by Biggs)

I don't know why this photo was taken so close up and focused on the spinach leaves but, it is what it is. What it actually is, is a fucking delicious vege burger made by my friend Mandi.

She did some magical things with legumes, grains and/or pulses to create these little flavour-bomb patties then offered up all the salad items you could possibly imagine. Everyone was left to pile their preferences on a bun of their choosing with sides of butter, hummus and sauces galore.  

I think I overheard that the patties were made from lentils, quinoa, curry powder, coriander, turmeric and the like. Really super tasty. I went with a seeded bun, lettuce (though it seems I mainly picked out spinach from the lettuce mix), hummus, tomato, carrot, cheese and plenty of white wine.

There was a dessert platter of everything that friends brought along so fruit, date slice and cheesecake. An eclectic mix but a tasty one. A really lovely night of food and board games with some excellent people. I hope to have many more Melbourne evenings like this one.

Indian Delivery (by G)

Veal Scaloppine with Chianti (by Biggs)

A really fun night tonight with one of my ex-work collegues being in town. She and her husband were down for work so a group of us headed to Lygon Street for Italian food and wine. A LOT of Italian food and A LOT of wine. Well, mainly, a lot of wine.

We had breads and chips for entree and I chose the veal scaloppine for dinner. It was beautifully cooked, the wine sauce was incredible and the crispy pancetta made me very very happy. What also made me happy was bottle after bottle after bottle of chianti being ordered. The wine, served in faux-wicker baskets, made me cringe at first but after bottle number two I got pretty charmed by the whole thing.

We ended up being those dickheads who just start drinking and refuse to ever leave the restaurant. We were still drinking at midnight with the whole place packed up around us and the staff sitting in the gutter smoking waiting for us to go. We were eventually asked to leave. Great night!

*full disclaimer: for one of the first times in blog history I may have forgotten to take a photo of dinner. This is stock footage I found on the internet. I don't know what happened but I blame the wine.

Not the Best Pie in the World (by G)

Salmon, Cauliflower and Salad (by Biggs)

Family dinner night for the household I'm staying with tonight. It was an absolutely delightful evening with everyone sitting around chatting, laughing, cooking and pouring drinks (including a round of mint julips - yum!).

Salmon was crispy fried, cauliflower cooked up in a white sauce and a crunchy vege salad was served on the side. The salad was delicious with lot of nuts and herbs through it. I don't know what else was included but I might need to get the recipe.

Pulled Pork Vegetable Smash (by G)

Spicy Salmon Aburi Burger (by Biggs)

A couple of after work beers resulted in me being out an about in the city at dinner time so I dropped into a restaurant Red had suggested - Sushi Burger - exactly what it sounds like....sushi in the style of a burger. Sounds awful right? Incorrect! It was fucking delicious.

Red had given me the heads up about the spicy salmon so I ordered that and wasn't disappointed. After my first bite I decided I was going to have another five. Though, by the time it was done it seems one was enough. Disappointing really because there's about 20 other flavour combinations available on the menu that I'm keen to try.

I shall be returning.

Musakahan (by G)

Chicken and Veges (by Biggs)

I arrived home tonight to dinner on the table.....living with a family is delightful....I should really cook them dinner one night soon.

But, for tonight, I was fed chicken thighs in a soy sauce and super garlic-y veges. DELICIOUS! Simple but perfectly what I was in the mood for. Was nice to have something green too!

Quesadillas and Guacamole (by G)

Pizza (by Biggs)

I guess it's not too surprising that pizza is ONCE AGAIN on the menu. But, it wasn't my choice this time. Sure, I was happy about the outcome.....but, not my choice.

I was on my way home from work when I got a message from the family I'm staying with in Melbourne saying "We have no edible food in the house!!!! Possibly going for pizza or something....." So, this is how I found myself out for a pizza and beer dinner. 

Twas good.....photo taken in haste as I haven't yet admitted to my new household that I have a dinner blog. Best mention that soon. Also, deep fried chicken, burgers and pizza? Best have some vegetables soon. 

Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (by G)

Beef and Bacon Burger (by Biggs)

A skipped lunch, an afternoon drinking on the river and checking out some Melbourne bands meant I was hugely hungry at dinner time and seriously craving a burger. I looked up "burgers in Richmond" and it was suggested I went to The Fish Market. Not a fish burger but a beef and bacon burger was what I picked for dinner. It was fucking great....check out that melted cheese! I also had a beer. I mean, more beer.

Breadstick (by G)

Chicken n Beer (by Biggs)

This place has caught my eye all week....every time my morning tram goes past it. How could you not be excited about a bold-lettered sign that says CHICKEN N BEER? I decided that if I did all my Saturday chores I was going to reward myself with some CHICKEN N BEER. I absolutely nailed my Saturday chores so I absolutely rewarded myself with CHICKEN N BEER. 

It was fine....well brined, well coated, well fried....kinda flavourless. The salad had some potential but was also kind of flavourless. Ah well, the beer was good. 

Pulled Pork Rolls (by G)

Poutine (by Biggs)

Tonight was my very first Melbourne 'Friday Night After Work Drinks' with Red - very exciting. I don't actually remember where we were when we ate this poutine. I do remember we were seated by a meat smoker whilst eating it and kept trying to spy what meats were being smoked so we could order them next time we were here.

The poutine looked super average but holy fuck we enjoyed it.....we absolutely ate the shit out of it. Great gravy, lots of cheese, bonus bacon. We'd ordered mac and cheese balls as well but for whatever reason they didn't appear. No matter....we just filled the void with beer.