Cafe Corretto and Casa Del Gelato, Lygon St

Not the prettiest looking dish, but it tasted fine and was only $12.

Casa Del has the most awesome flavours ever! I chose Apricot, Jasmine and Ricotta Cheese. YUMMY!

New Royal Garden, Glen Waverley

Chokolait, Royal Arcade, Melbourne CBD

One of the best chocolatiers in Melbourne is hidden down a narrow corridor almost directly opposite the Koko Black in Royal Arcade. I prefer it here because it's nice to not have to battle through long lines of prams and giddy teenagers. I also like being able to enjoy my chocolates without being interrupted by screaming children or having bags and backsides knock my elbows off the table.

Chokolait offers a nice and quiet getaway from the hustle and bustle of the CBD and is a rather pleasant alternative to the always overcrowded Koko Black.

We shared a chocolate fondue after my DJ's shift, before selecting some chocolates to take away.

Meat and Wine Co, Southbank

Australia Day

This year, Australia Day was spent in true Aussie style with a backyard BBQ at Uncle G's house followed by a drive to the beach. To make things a bit more interesting and reveal the culinary geniuses amongst us, J and G ran a Masterchef competition.

M and I were still on our internships and we thought we'd go with something simple and easy so we made sandwich platters. We made several combinations including: tomato & pesto and double brie, ham & cucumber & tomato and mayo, salami & ham and cheese, salmon & cucumber and mayo, avocado & cucumber and double brie.

Whilst we waited for the meat to cook, we dug into the array of side dishes that had been prepared. Some very creative ideas.

Carrots with seaseme seeds. Liked how the carrots were quite finely sliced and rather soft.

Pretty vegetable art. Very Chinese!

Someone had made spinach dip from scratch and thought

Expertly sauteed onions with lots of TLC from JF! I'm sorry that I'm such a sauce addict and splashed mustard and bbq sauce all over it. Next time, I promise to try it au natural first!

Thank gawd someone made some leafy salad! Cannot go without my leaves.

These things were so cute and so easy to eat. Each one was perfect for a single bite and provided a mouthful of creamy egg and bacon goodness.

The baked sweet potato chips were served with aioli and was an ingenious idea that I would love to try at home.

Ahhh meat... <3

Just as we thought we could not look at more food, the boys arrived back with more meat. Onto the grill they went and miraculously, our appetites slowly came back as we the meat slowly cooked away.

Not only thus, there were also party pies and sausage rolls and samosas and spring rolls, and just SO MUCH FOOD!

Some divine domestic goddess also made scones and brought along fresh cream and jam for us.

There were also two kinds of brownies and the rival brownies sat on opposite ends of the table.

And finally, J brought out her amazing jelly granita which provided a refreshing and light finish to the feast. Topped with the syrup from the canned fruits and the fruits themselves, they were delightful!

Huge thank you to Uncle G for providing his home and to both J and G for organizing the get-together!

Dinner at Joseph's, Mansion Hotel, Werribee

Breakfast at Joseph's, Mansion Hotel, Werribee

We woke up nice and early so that we would have plenty of time for breakfast and a final walk on the grounds to see the lake and the grotto. Joseph's breakfast consisted of a continental buffet and one hot option per person.

Had lots of fun taking my pick from the buffet bar and making pretty platters! The fruits were really fresh and I was extremely happy to see that they had included passionfruit. I also adored the bowl of semidried fruits in spiced syrup. It was such a simple yet fantastic idea.

As for our hot options, N chose the Joseph's version of a big breakfast which included pretty much everything. I had poached eggs and salmon topped with a dill youghurt amd accompanied by spinach and Spanish onions, all perched carefully atop Turkish bread.

Accompanied by the beautiful view, it was a perfect breakfast.