Lovely Lol-isa has us all over for a big feast of nom-licious food.
Bev provided entree number one – cheese and tomato puffs, with ham in them for the meat-eaters.
Lovely Lol-isa has us all over for a big feast of nom-licious food.
Bev provided entree number one – cheese and tomato puffs, with ham in them for the meat-eaters.
Excuse me the Cute Overload talk – my dogs bring out the silly in me.
Jan’s birthday called us back north to “Poo-castle”, as Alec likes to call it, so we went on a road trip that was adventure plus, but relaxation zero!
On the way up we discovered this amazing French patisserie at Lindfield, directly across from the station on the Pacific Highway. We were were driving north when we passed it, and decided to turn around to go back for cake, we didn’t think about how difficult it is to do such a basic maneuver on the Pacific Highway. It took us about 20 minutes to get back to the store – so note to anyone going here and overshooting the store, just park the car and walk back, no matter how far it is!
It was storming in Newcastle, so we stayed in most of the day, and head out to the centre of town for dinner. We didn’t book a table anywhere – BIG MISTAKE! Every single restaurant was packed, and the one we wanted to go to was booked out for the night.
Strolling back down the street we passed this little Thai place. It also looked busy, but being in the mood for Thai (or at least, I was!), we gave it a go. Even though this place too was completely packed out, they squeezed us in.
We bought a mango cake from the patisserie as well – thick slices of mango layered over cream and sponge cake. OMG so delicious.
Christophe’s Patisserie Francaise
364 Pacific Hwy
Lindfield, NSW
(02) 9416 3883
Benjamas Thai
100 Darby St
Cooks Hill, NSW
(02) 4926 1229
I took Alec to experience the deliciousness that is my new fave Japanese establishment – Umaimon.
We tried the udon noodles this time – and they were amazing! The best noodles we’ve had outside of Japan.
(02) 9283 0606
I’ve had a relationship with Tiffany & Co much like a love affair. It started with instant attraction, transformed quickly into obsession, then evolved into the deep respect and admiration I have for her (it’s a jewellery store, of course it’s a “her”!) today.
My first Tiffany purchase as made on eBay. A second-hand Elsa Peretti Open Heart charm and necklace. Over the years my collection has grown, and my love for each piece has matured into a life-long passion that I fear can’t be abated.
Why Tiffany’s? Who knows. Could be the Audrey factor, could be the adorable little blue boxes, or it could be, as said by Holly Golightly about the iconic store on Fifth Avenue New York, “(Tiffany’s) calms me down right away… nothing very bad could happen to you there”.
Tiffany’s have recently opened an Australian online website that is e-commerce enabled. I’m not sure if I approve! While it makes it easier to look at prices and impulse buy a pretty piece or two, it takes away from the buying experience that is what I love about Tiffany’s – the calm, elegant store with its graceful, polite attendants and row after row of sparkly jewels.
However, the new website is how I have ended up falling in love all over again with their new range of delicate pieces. Pictured below is a bracelet that I am lusting after to be the next token of my long-term relationship with Tiffany’s – another Elsa Peretti piece coincidentally. As it’s quite $$, I think I might either save up for this one a little at a time, or wait until I feel I can rationalise taking my relationship to the next level … is it delusion that comes next?
After meeting our broker we stopped off at the New Boulevarde Hotel, Strathfield, as we were starving and it was the only place we saw open on the way to the station late at night.
It had a very unassuming front – some unkind people might say “run down”, but when we went inside it smelled amazing and had a reasonably priced menu with items to suit us both.
The food was also extremely reasonably priced – highly recommend if you are passing through Strathfield. The pub is at the Boulevard crossing – I couldn’t find the address!
This cockatoo came to visit us on the balcony. After trying to steal some pink buttons from one of my shirts, he eventually got sick of me taking photos an inch away from his beak, and flew off to steal shiny things from another balcony.
Just a cute LOL Alec created for me 🙂
A Friday night catch up with Alec and Daniel took us to Rahmen Genki Japanese Noodle at Artarmon. I tried to visit this place a month or so back with Bev and Lisa, but it was randomly closed on a Tuesday night.
On a Friday night, it was packed out with a queue to order food – which leads me to one of the quirks about the restaurant, you order at the door then wait to be seated.
Despite being super busy, the food came out relatively quickly. It was super fresh and was served in very good-sized portions, for a very reasonable price.
After eating we were peckish for dessert so head off to San Churro to introduce Daniel to their tasty treats.
San Churro change their menu frequently – and not for the better. This time they had changed their shakes and gotten rid of the milk chocolate shake that I craved. I orderd the only alternative, a dark chocolate shake, but it was far too bitter and strong. I stirred the cream into it and it was much improved, but not nice enough to order again. Very disappointing – not sure I will be heading back any time soon!
Rahmen Genki
6 Wilkes Ave
Artarmon
(02) 9410 3777
Closed Tuesdays
San Churro
Shop 609, Chatswood Westfield
1 Anderson Ave
Chatswood
(02) 9412 2276
My new Tokidoki Graziosa in Celebrazione print.