Eating and more eating

Had lunch with Sylvia, Breanna and Alison at Tien Dat. Was good to catch up - hadn't seen Alison since before she left for Japan in September, and Sylvia since early November. I'm more convinced than ever that Japan is somewhere I want to visit soon. Also on the list at the moment are Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Morocco, Spain, and the east coast of the US. Depressing that I don't have any annual leave right now, but potentially could go a holiday this time next year. Something to plan ahead for in any case.

Went for dinner with Rob at Bluestone, it was fair. Atmosphere was a bit old - the restaurant was decked out in heavy curtains, thick carpets, huge gold-framed mirrors, impeccable linen and tableware, elevator background music. The crowd was on the older side, mainly 40's-50's and the place was about half-full - probably not a good sign for a summer Saturday night. On the plus side, the waiters were really cute and the food was cooked well. I had the Moroccan lamb shanks as a main, and we shared the dessert platter afterwards. The lamb shanks were substantial, juicy and melt-in-the-mouth, and came with a rich tomato-based sauce. Rob's swordfish was unexpectedly moist.

We were about to order dessert and were told that the Turkish donuts had run out - I was shattered! Instead we settled for the dessert platter, which consisted of a berry pavlova (recommended), pannacotta (acceptable), a chocolate fondant and mint-chocolate ice-cream. Unfortunately the fondant was lacking the gooey interior that we were promised! All in all a good dinner, but I probably wouldn't go back. It's definitely a tick off my "to eat" list in Melbourne... now, to try all the other restaurants on the list! :-)