Show Time, Oscars' 2013

What a day! It was a heated 2 hours while the stars trickled through the red carpet at the 85th Academy Awards. 

It was hard to choose a best-dressed as I felt there was no clear stand out but a decision has to be made so I am going with Naomi Watts. Wearing silver sequinned Armani Privé she looked stunning. Georgina Chapman who is married to Harvey Weinstein looked incredible in her own label Marchesa. The two ladies in red Valentino Jennifer Aniston and Sally Field also looked beautiful.

I gleefully watched on as Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet nipples ablaze, praying for her own sake she didn't win Best Supporting Actress so she wouldn't have to look back at photos in her hideous dress. She won. Poor her! 

No huge massive upsets for the night, all awards really followed on trend with the others award nights for the season. I still must say I can't believe The Impossible was over looked as best picture! 

Pre - Oscar Round Up

As I have been saving this year I have been dedicating a lot of my spare time to watching the Oscar Nominated films for 2013. Not an easy task - if you have watched Lincoln you will know what I am talking about! I don't think any of the films were under 2 hours, but all were interesting and worth talking about. Below are the 9 nominees up for best picture in the 85th Academy Awards;

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

All of the films were so different I am not sure how the judges compare. Life of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild both were a bit left of centre and conceptually intriguing. Lincoln and Amour were both long, Lincoln had an interesting story & Daniel Day Lewis was very good. Amour, a French Film, for me was personally sad. I have seen someone affected by strokes and it was horrible to re-watch. Silver Linings Playbook was thrown in for a romantic comedy, although worth watching I don't think it was a Best Picture. Django Unchained was very Quentin Tarentino of which Samuel L Jackson as the house keeper was creepily good. Zero Dark Thirty and Argo were both gripping, for me a tell tale sign of a great movie. Both based on true stories and executed very well. For me the Best Picture was Les Misérables not by much though! I had never seen a live production of this musical and it blew my mind. Not for everyone with the signing all the way through Eddie Redmayne got me through it. What a dream boat. 

I also must mention The Impossible with Naomi Watts based on the true story of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. This is the best movie I have seen all year. It is so gut wrenchingly sad, but so full of how strong the human spirit is. It is amazing what people can go through in order to see their loved ones once more and the hope that this brings.

An Italian Adventure

Recently I made a life changing decision - to move to London! This is a huge leap into the unknown of which I am lucky enough to be sharing with a very good friend, cousin and god-sister all rolled into one.  We decided we needed a little holiday before settling into Londontown, we both couldn't go past Italy. Mainly as we love the food & wine that originates there. On my first trip to Roma I was a budget traveller where my budget didn't extend to decent Italian meals. Fingers crossed that this time we discover some gems. If you have any you want to share with me please do so! 

In Melbourne we have fantastic Italian restaurants, below are my most recent expeditions. Next blog post I am going to share my tried and tested favourite Italian places in Melbourne. 

Cafe é Cuchina

Cafe é Cucina sits on Chapel Street and really would have to be up there with the best food spots on the strip. I was told to have the 'spaghetti in a bag,' which was a seafood linguine cooked in paper. It was incredible! Matched with a good italian Pinot Grigio, I can only hope to find something similar in Toscano.  

I Carusi

I Carusi is an Acland Street institution. With vines hanging from the outside it looks the real deal too. I think between 9 of us we ordered nearly every pizza on the menu! All were delicious and worth going back for. On a Friday night this was a bustling place that you will need to book for. Definitely worth a visit. 

Sunny Sydney

We know Sydney isn't always sunny, but it certainly makes for a good title. This week my work took me up to Sydney for the day. I was lucky enough to have lunch at China Doll. This is my second time in Sydney in the past 6 months so I thought I would blog about some other great dining experiences I have had there. 

China Doll

China Doll is perfectly located on Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo. This was one of my best dining experiences ever. All the food was incredible; scollops, morton bay bug crudo, tamarind fish curry, crispy chicken and last but not least my favourite dish of the day Penang curry of slow braised wagyu beef shin. 

Chiswick

One thing that got me through the City to Surf : Chiswick. I had been looking forward to it for a couple of months! With a very simple menu, Chiswick is delightfully set in the Chiswick Gardens. You can sight the vegie patch in a trip to the bathrooms, these are the herbs & vegetables that land on your plate! We shared the Moran family lamb shoulder and a cocktail pitcher of gin, watermelon & cucumber.   

Bills

In a quiet street of Surrey Hills we found Bills, owned by self taught chef Bill Granger. Housed on a cosy little corner, you could see it was popular with the locals as evidenced by the full house on a Monday morning. Great relaxed fit out with lots of flowers and a huge share table in the middle of the room. I had the stock standard avo on toast & the others had the scrambled eggs which were cheesy and delicious. 

Brunch Spots

I haven't done a blog post on brunch spots for a while so here is one just in time for this weekend. As it is going to be a rainy one, it could give you something to do! 

Gypsey & Musquito

Gypsey & Musquito was named The Age Cheap Eats best Melbourne breakfast so naturally I had to try it to compare my thoughts! It is named after two Australian Explorers and the fit out is very Australian, we also went on the Australia Day holiday. Australiana all round! In keeping with the theme I ordered the camel sausage with baked beans. It tasted like every other sausage, so maybe all sausages have camel in it?! The service was very lacklustre and unfortunately by the time I got my meal my dining companions were nearly finished eating theirs. I probably wouldn't return, although I did see two Richmond players eating there....! 

Friends of Mine

This Richmond cafe is the 'it' breakfast spot. Having to wait for tables and of course wearing your running gear with make up on and straightened hair is the norm. Aside from this the breakfast was delicious. We sat in the rear courtyard which had a really nice atmosphere, I'm not sure I would want to sit inside as it was really noisy. The chilli scrambled eggs were great as were the coffee and the service. 

My Legendary Girlfriend

After a hard run around The Tan & Lawson Grove being closed, a friend and I ended up at My Legendary Girlfriend. From the outside it doesn't look as busy compared to the other cafés on Domain Road but it was bustling inside. Great decor and an extensive and varied breakfast menu were the highlights. The only thing that could do with a little work is the service. I had the special; corn & zucchini fritters whilst my friend had the Banana bread. Both were very good & worth returning for. 

Fun Summer Activities

 Sand Sculpting

On a lovely sunny day a visit to the Sand Sculptures in Frankston is worth it even though it is a bit of hike! The theme this year was 'Under the Sea' and sand sculptors from around the world came and crafted their visions. It is quite impressive that these sculptors were made out of sand albeit a brick layers sand. It is $12.50 for adults to get it. I feel it is worth the spend and day trip. 

Innocent Bystander

As my love for wine continues I headed out to Healsville for a pizza and moscato at The Innocent Bystander. It acts as their cellar door on the main street in Healsville. Although losing the views that a cellar door has on a vineyard, Innocent Bystander was still busy with a great atmosphere. We ordered 3 different pizzas, the mushroom and truffle oil was incredible washed down with their exceptional moscato.

NGV Southbank

On a perfect Melbourne day there is no better way to be a tourist  in your own city then to wander along the Yarra river at Southbank. We started at the National Gallery of Victoria to see the Ballet & Fashion exhibition (it's free!)which was short and co-hosted by Vogue & The Australian Ballet. The exhibition featured collaborations between designers such as Colette Dinnigan & Yves Saint Laurent with different ballet productions. We then finished up at The Boat Builders Yard in the newish area called South Wharf Promenade. A sunny day meant that this was great not only for tanning, but also people watching and of course having a wine with friends! 

Cheap Eats

Meatball Wine Bar

After not being able to find a park at the Queen Vic night market we had to look for an alternative for dinner. I was ravenous and the Meatball Wine Bar delivered. The menu is very simple: choose your balls, choose your sauce & if you want, something for them to sit on. I had beef, red sauce and market vegetable (broccoli) and my companion had chicken, red sauce & pasta. Both were delicious, served quickly and only $18!

Babu barBurger with Balls

Not wanting to spend a packet on dinner we headed to Babu - a new burger place on Chapel St. It is certainly a new way to choose a burger: you chose your size of pattie (150, 250 or 330 grams), how it is cooked medium, medium well or well done and which burger toppings you want with it. As the options were endless I let the menu do the talking and chose one Babu had already come up with. It was delicious: great pattie, caramelised onion, beetroot & swiss cheese with the usual lettuce and tomato. For only $14. we also tried their freshly homemade apple cider which I will definitely be going back for. If you didn't want to head into the city Babu also has a meatball option very similar to Meatball Wine Bar. 

Yo Chi

A great place for dessert, Yo Chi in Balaclava is a self serve frozen yoghurt haven. As the cost is all based on weight you can have as little, or as much as you like. Choose your fro-yo flavour, mix with fresh fruit and other toppings and pay. I had coconut frozen yogurt, passionfruit, raspberry coulis and crumble all for around $6.