The Baths Middle Brighton

We are currently enjoying massive doses of sunshine in Melbourne. Last Saturday, Noah, Ken and I headed off to Brighton to check out the beach there. As you can see in the photo, there are some cool and colourful beach huts. And behind me were a couple taking their wedding photos there - awesome! Wish I had known about that...

Anyway, we headed off to one of the cafes in Brighton - The Baths Middle Brighton. It was around 11.30am when we got there and that's why the beach was relatively quiet because lots of people were eating in here! We managed to get a table facing the sea and although it was a sunny day, it was still a bit chilly with the sea breeze. (I know, I know! I'm from Scotland and I should be used to the cold but I'm not!)

We ordered our drinks - I ordered a pot of Earl Grey, Noah ordered a Virgin Mary and Ken ordered a latte. Finally, after 20 minutes, we got our drinks. Not off to a good start!! I tasted Noah's Virgin Mary and it tasted like cold tomato soup - yuk! My Earl Grey tea was strong - and I actually wanted to add milk to it, but none was supplied.

We didn't order food till after midday because we wanted to order off the Lunch menu. Ken and I ordered Beer battered fish and chips with tartare Sauce ($18) and Noah ordered The Baths Ice-burger with wagyu beef, Swiss cheese and fries ($17). When the waiter took my order, I specifically requested "No salt" - because for some reason, Aussie fish and chips automatically come served with gallons of salt.

Again, we had to wait for over 20 minutes before our lunch got served. I was very disappointed with this slow service...but I was EVEN MORE disappointed when the waiter came out and said, "Fish and chips with no salt on the fish." HELLO? I said "No salt" on both fish and chips!! But I was too hungry to complain. The fish was fresh and the batter was light. BUT dammit, my throat was burning with the amount of salt I consumed from those bloody salty chips.

As for Noah's burger, he wasn't that impressed either. He said "It was alright.." which translates to nothing impressive.

My Opinions On The Baths Middle Brighton

Although it is a popular place because of the location and views of the beach, I did not enjoy my lunch there. Service was slower than me doing a dump when I am constipated. It's true! And the worst thing is - adding unnecessary salt to my chips! Maybe it's a ploy to make people order more drinks? Anyway, I refuse to return to this establishment because it peed me off so much - cannot follow simple orders and slow service.

BBQ At Auntie Sooi And Uncle Bryan's

From time to time, I still get homesick and I crave family time. I miss all my family and friends in UK...but I know that my new life is in Melbourne, so although I get nervous, I am happy meeting Hubby's family. We were invited to Auntie Sooi and Uncle Bryan's home near Burwood for a family BBQ. (Note - Auntie Sooi isn't really Noah's aunt...but his Dad's cousin...so that makes them second cousins??? Who knows??)

My mouth watered when I saw the food. Yum yum yum! There was an amazing smell of sausages and chicken skewers on the barbie - which was manned by Uncle Bryan.

Auntie Sooi had been busy. There was a big bowl of fried rice, a platter of fried vermicelli noodles, salad and stir-fried green beans.

I piled some goodies onto my plate - fried rice, noodles, salad, green beans, a nicely barbecued sausage and a pork chop. At events like these where I don't know many people, I like to be polite and eat small, polite portions. I don't want people thinking I'm a greedy gut! LOL. But don't worry, I went back for seconds!

It was a lovely day so we enjoyed sitting outside to enjoy the food. After we had filled our bellies, we cleared up the tables and sat and chatted for a while. And then, it was Dessert Time!

What a beautiful fruit platter!!! It was filled with pieces of mango, banana, passionfruit, watermelon, peaches, lychee and grapes. And jelly! There was also chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake - which you can see a bit of in the photo. I didn't take a photo of the cheesecake because I am a cheese-phobic haha.

We had a lovely BBQ that day. Thank you Auntie Sooi and Uncle Bryan!

Auction Rooms, North Melbourne

Feeling adventurous, me and a couple of guy friends, Jack and Jerry, headed out to North Melbourne for some brunch one sunny afternoon. Auction Rooms is a cafe which was highly recommended by one of our girlfriends. We got there just before midday and even though it was a weekday, the place was busy, but we managed to get a table. As it was a hot day, we ordered some cold refreshing drinks - ginger beer for Jack, blood orange juice for me and an iced coffee for Jerry.

The menu has breakfast and lunch options. After a few minutes of exploring the menu options, we made our decisions and ordered.

I ordered lamb and rosemary pie with mushy peas, salsa verde, rocket and nigella jus. It was well-presented and the aroma was enticing.

The pie crust was light and crispy and the filling was hot meaty goodness! This awesome pie worked well with the mushy peas and the salad greens. I LOVED IT! It was definitely the best Aussie pie I have had so far!

Jacky ordered the opening bid - free range poached eggs, Andrew's choice smoked bacon, braised field mushroom, grilled tomato and sauteed spinach on dench sourdough (put simply, it was bacon, eggs, mushroom, tomato and spinach on toast) It looked appealing but I don't think it would have been substantial enough for my big belly!

As for Jerry, he ordered the knuckle sandwich - braised pork knuckle with piccalilli, rocket and aged cheddar in a warm ciabatta roll with pickled chilli. He said it was fantastic and extremely satisfying. He offered me a bite but because of the cheese (I am a cheese-phobic), I politely declined.

Final Verdict

Auction Rooms is a great place for brunch, but can be a bit noisy with the music (or maybe I'm just getting old!) We had no complaints about the food and the prices were reasonable - think we spent about $20 AUD each. And I will definitely return one day with Hubby in tow - he loves lamb and he loves pie so he would have loved what I ordered!

Liar, Liar Cafe, Hawthorn

Have you ever been on a double date? It is super duper fun! Hubby and I went on a double date with this lovely couple, Jin and Jessica for breakfast. I chose the time to meet and Jessica chose the venue. She had been to Liar, Liar a few times and had enjoyed her previous visits.

It was a Saturday morning and the place was heaving - that's a good sign for good food!! Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long for a table. A waitress came round to take our drinks order and craving caffeine, I ordered a mocha. The mocha was lovely - a good balance of chocolate and coffee.

My eyes automatically zoned in on this menu item - the Big Fat Liar breakfast which was eggs done the way you like with mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes, spinach and tomato relish. It was definitely right up my street. But alas, I didn't order that. Why? Because we had another double date for lunch in two hours time so I didn't want to over-indulge.

Instead I ordered the BLAT - bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato with aioli on toasted bread.

It was just right. Not too filling for me. It would have been really dry but the avocado helped moisten the dry unbuttered toast. (I would also have preferred a fried runny egg to go with it...hehe)

Hubby and Jin both ordered the French Toast - I had a small bite of Hubby's but I am not a huge fan of French toast so I was not that impressed - but both of them hoovered the French toast up.

As for Jessica, she went for the Pants On Fire - spicy Spanish style baked eggs with pepperonata and chorizo sausage. I had a taste and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't spicy in my opinion - I can eat really spicy foods. But the tomatoey goo tasted tangy and had a slight kick in it.

We had a great time in Liar, Liar - but the only annoying thing is the location of the toilets. To go to the loo, you must ask the waitress for the key, leave the premises, and walk to another building behind it. Okay, okay, it took about 3 minutes to get there, but still!!

Anyway, I think Liar, Liar is a good place to go to chill out and enjoy breakfast.

I Ate A Frog

That's a bowl of frog's legs congee! All the way from Singapore. Yes, we just got back from holidaying in Malaysia and Singapore. You know what that means right? Food aplenty! I'm hungry!!! Lots of food blogs coming soon...I pinky promise!