Tyranny of Distance

I'm house hunting at the moment.  This entails spending most weekends driving around Melbourne looking at houses which are ridiculously priced and bear only slight resemblance to the photographs.  Sticking pins in your eyes may just be a more enjoyable weekend activity as at least it does not include that element of hope and then disappointment.  You always know that sticking pins in your eyes is not going to be fun.

Jodhpur and Jaisalmer (Gourmet Chick in India)

As we rode across the desert dunes by camel we saw what looked to be a mirage in the distance.  There appeared to be a waiter standing with a tray of gin and tonics and a picnic set out for watching the sun set over the dunes.  As we got closer we could see that it was not a mirage at all, instead it was the setting for "sundowners" at The Serai hotel's own private sand dunes just outside of Jaisalmer.

Watching the sun set in the Thar Desert at The Serai 

How to make a perfect risotto

Last week I ate a risotto that had been cooked for me by Renato Piccolotto.  This was truly a momentous occasion as Renato is the head chef at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the most famous place to enjoy risotto in the city that literally put risotto on the map.  He has cooked risotto for George Clooney and Angelina Jolie and now Renato has cooked risotto for me.

Renato Piccolotto the risotto maestro

Top ten London restaurants

I know I am just a little bit late with this list.  Usually I publish my top ten London restaurants for the year in August but since I knew I was leaving London I thought it could wait until I had sampled and written about my very last London restaurant and then I got distracted by moving continents and all that comes with it.

Wine by the carafe and good things to eat at Polpo.  Russell Norman takes out two spots on my top ten list. 

Anyway, finally I have pulled together my top ten London restaurants.

Coda

In Chinatown often the best dishes are not even written on the menu.  It felt a little Chinatown-esque at Coda when our waiter tipped us a wink and whispered that the must order dish was the "off menu"   pork belly ($40).  Unfortunately unlike those secret dishes in Chinatown, the pork belly was a bit of a disappointment.  While the pork was pink and tender the skin was limp rather than crisp crackling.

Follow the signs to Coda in a basement off Flinders Lane

Tiffins Melbourne

If you think there are lots of bikes in Melbourne or London then you have to visit Mumbai where the streets team with cyclists.  Of course no-one in India wears fancy lycra gear or even helmets to cycle, instead cycling is a basic mode of transportation and delivery.  One of the most fascinating things in Mumbai was the hordes of tiffin-wallahs who set off by bicycle to deliver tiffin lunch boxes across the city.  The phenomenon has now come to Melbourne in an adapted form through Tiffins Melbourne which delivers a curry to your door for $12.

Kedar Pednakar, the owner of Tiffins Melbourne, operates a cycle powered curry delivery service - photo by The Saturday Age

I wrote something for the paper about Tiffins Melbourne.  Skip over to The Saturday Age to read it.

Fonda Mexican

It's Mexican mania out there in Melbourne at the moment.  If you were a Sydney-sider I guess it would make more sense with all those "south of the border" jibes.  The latest Mexican offering to join the throngs is Fonda Mexican at the top end of Swan street in Richmond.  You can spot it from the boldly painted wall which proclaims "Mi casa, su casa" or "My house, your house".  It's buzzing inside, decked out with splashes of bright orange and pink with a takeaway queue stretching out the door.  There's also room to eat in with a couple of outdoor tables street side and a tiny outdoor courtyard.

Corn on the cob with aioli and cheese

10 things to do on Valentines Day that won't make you (love) sick

I'm not really a Valentines day fan.  It's just such a cliché.  All the good restaurants are booked out weeks in advance and they are full of couples making lovey dovey eyes at each other and playing footsies under the table.  Still, I feel like I should not have to hibernate at home for the day just because it is Valentines Day.  In previous years I have advocated the benefits of going out for breakfast instead of dinner and this year I will be having a picnic with just me, MTV, some champagne and an awesome spicy Thai beef salad I am busy concocting right now.

Lychee and rose petal cocktail at Chin Chin = instant Valentines day cure

Anyway if you are similarly inclined I have written an article for Broadsheet on 10 things to do on Valentines Day that won't make you (love) sick.  Skip on over to Broadsheet to read the article.

How to make rhubarb crumble ice cream

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's the new thing on the internet.  You are probably all using it already but I have only just got onto it.  You can follow me on there at CaraWaters.  I have been posting lots about food and travel like I do on here but also about shoes and bikes and whatever else takes my fancy.  I have even started a board devoted solely to burgers.

The 10 Best Bars in Melbourne to Pick Up At

Don't worry I haven't abandoned MTV.  I consulted widely and did some extensive research to write this guide for Time Out on the best bars in Melbourne to pick up at.  After all in Melbourne it's not about who you know, but where you go...

The excellent Ponyfish Island bar gets a mention in the list - on an island underneath a bridge on the Yarra

Skip on over to Time Out to read the article.  

Nineteen Squares

Nineteen Squares is a tiny cafe but it makes a big sandwich and a mean coffee.  Everything about the place is petite from the proportions of the cafe itself wedged on the corner of Blessington and Barkly street to the child size chairs and milk crates that form the outdoor seating area.

If you eat at Nineteen Squares be prepared to perch on a milk crate

The Aylesbury

I'm not anti share plates.  I like getting to try other peoples food and I feel the pain of sacrificing some of the food off my own plate to my dining companions is compensated for by avoiding a case of food envy.  However, a lunch at The Aylesbury showcased the problems with Melbourne's love affair with share plates.

Pig and fig at The Aylesbury

Oakdene (Gourmet Chick on the Surf Coast)

Oakdene is not the sort of place you expect to find on the outskirts of Ocean Grove.  It's a winery and a restaurant alongside a fantastic sculpture collection.  It feels like it belongs on the Mornington Peninsula not on the Surf Coast.

The vineyards at Oakdene - they are also growing lavender alongside

How to make smashed eggs with avocado

You know how pregnant ladies have cravings for particular foods?  I have that all the time.  Except I'm not pregnant.  There was my obsession with dulce de leche, my infatuation with chorizo and now the object of my current fixation is avocados.  Luckily it seems the rest of Australia is currently craving avocado as well and it is difficult to find a cafe that does not feature the humble avo on its brunch menu.

Smashing the eggs