The week in carpet and cakes

Melbourne was AMAZING. We ate and walked and ate and this morning at 1 a.m. our Virgin Blue flight bounced down in Christchurch and we taxi'd home to some very affectionate cats. Of course, being on Victoria time, sleep was elusive.  Speaking of the new Christchurch airport, for some reason I'm having thoughts about the carpet (pic to the left) in the international area.

It is supposed to represent the Canterbury plains, as it looks from the air. I agree that it is a fairly realistic depiction of the area per view from an aeroplane window. I'm just not sure that it works as carpet. What do you think? 

I was impressed, however, by the new exit ramps from the air-bridge. Deplaning passengers enter New Zealand through a corridor that looks, sounds and smells like a native forest. Above and beyond, I tell ya.

Having got that off my mind, I'll commence with foodie pics from my week in Melbourne; Non-foodie pics will go on the travel blog sometime this week. As for exercise? With Kek as my tour guide it just happened naturally. The woman is a speed-walking machine. On Wednesday I was considering a morning visit to the swanky Novotel gym. Then I remembered Kek's plans to visit every museum and gallery in the city and elected to consider the continental breakfast buffet instead...

The first pic is the back of the yogurt pot from the previous post. Hefty claims for something that I'm sure was packed with sugar and covered with peanut butter cup fragments (well, that's the way I did it).

Tuesday Lunch! There is a time and place for having a lunch that consists of brownie and espresso. Day two of your christmas holiday is the time, and Max Brenner chocolatier is definitely the place.

 Later I had a salad and picked up a few snacks. Coconut water and coconut milk are everywhere. Liquid coconut products are the new kombucha.

Glen Waverley, where we were based, is packed with Chinese restaurants, all doing amazing and mostly healthy food that costs nearly nothing. Evening eating involved only strolling down the back streets and trying to choose  (..not. easy.). The meal below was in a 'cash only' establishment - small, packed with locals and buzzing.

 Mine was the ginger duck on 'dry' noodles (as opposed to the soupy type). The Programmer got some sort of noodle soup.

He made a heroic effort to keep that 'hurry up and take the photo already' look off his face. Partial success.

 Green Tea is the standard complimentary beverage.

On Wednesday Kek and I met at Doncaster Shopping Plaza, where I was wowed by the dual novelty of: a) shops that are not falling over and b) Koko Black.

Try not to drool on the keyboard, it's not good for the electronics.

 After topping up the caffeine and chocolate levels, Kek kidnapped me and cooked a salmon lunch to die for.

I think she intends to put the recipe on her blog, so I'll link it up once it's there. This dish is food magazine worthy.

Thursday, we walked a thousand miles around Melbourne, which seems to have an endless number of cute, eatery-packed streets and malls like this one.

 No words necessary really... shops like this are a visual, as well as actual, feast.

Friday was a test of physical endurance. The afternoon kicked off with gallery visiting and cafe hopping with Kek, who was looking absolutely stunning, mate. This is not just an opinion - it was confirmed loudly by a friendly man we met at Flinders Station. He was a little bit drunk, but this is not important because, by my observation, so was everyone else in Melbourne. It was at least 5 pm, what do you expect on a Friday?

 We quickly progressed to some fizzy stuff that cost a lot.

 and some fried goodies to hold us over while we waited for the boys. Then we went in search of real food.

It took a while to find a place for dinner, seeing as Melbourne is in full-on end of year party mode. We took our time, stopping for refreshments when necessary.

Finally we got on a tram and found this place. I took a picture of the sign so that I'd remember the name, but can I?  No.  Terrible photo, sorry. The claypot chicken was fantastic and the service was probably the best I've had anywhere. I tipped that waiter my last Australian $5 note.

After dinner we accidentally came across dessert at The Old Paper Shop and unanimously voted to uphold the fine tradition of Foodie Friday.

 <<< flourless chocolate cake

>>>>>>
Caramel date pudding








Lemon meringue pie
(below left)

 crazy, huh?

 It's beyond what the mind can take in.

Ta daaaah! My week in food! Just what the world needs to see!  As for keeping my waist in line, this was not a difficult trip.  I just practiced all the tips that I wrote about in the Travelling Light article and ran around after Kek.  Active friends are a definite bonus when it comes to having your cake and fitting your jeans for the flight home.