Here's some breakfasts!

Clockwise from left: Reese's Puffs; Cherry nice cream; Yogurt fruit & granola; Coffee smoothie; Scrambled eggs and chorizo wrap; Reese's Puffs & yogurt; Granola yogurt and fruit

Here are some work lunches. (Oops, I ate out more than I usually do - busy and lazy!)

Top: Fried rice (New Shanghai); Curry (Chilli India); Omurice (Oh Maki); Chicken-Fat Fried Egg & Rice (Mammoth) Bottom: Beef potato noodles soup (Dainty Noodle Express); Prosciutto Sandwich (Soul Origin); Cheese Borek & Zucchini wrap (Borek Bakehouse); Chicken Laksa (some place on Elizabeth street)

Some home-cooked dinners.

Clockwise from top left: BBQ at my parents' place; Chorizo scrambled eggs; Pizza Chicken nuggets & Champagne; Pork steaks & veggies; Fried feta with scrambled eggs, toast and tomato sauce

One weekend, we took a trip to Uluru! It was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend visiting, especially while the Field of Lights exhibition is still on. Here's a photo of the rock that I took myself, when we were on a sunrise helicopter tour. Breathtaking.

Uluru

I was really sad to hear that Fat Oma on Swanston street closed down. Booooo! Their ayam balado (chicken with spicy sauce) was the best! I remain optimistic that they will open again somewhere else one day, and I'll be able to eat that ridiculously spicy, super tasty, crispy chicken again. In the meantime, my Indo friend recommended Ayam Ria (248 Clarendon St, South Melbourne VIC 3205) for an Indo chicken feast of ayam penyet (smashed fried chicken). I believe they might be the same owners.

Ayam Penyet

I checked out the new Brunetti (250 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000) for a lunch with my buddy Adam. It's big, it's shiny, it's Brunetti! I really enjoyed my spanner crab lasagnette and aperol spritz.

Brunetti lunch

Surprise flowers and mince pie from Sandra. Yay!

Flowers and Mince Pie

As usually happens, we all seem to make more of an effort to catch up before the year ends. And with that in mind we hosted a couple of low-key mid-week dinners. First up was Taiwanese meat sauce on rice and a chocolate raspberry pavlova for our friends Jess and Alaina.

Taiwanese Meat Sauce on Rice

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova; Coffee, Baker D. Chirico Mince Pies

The Baker D mince pies were great, but just quietly, my fave are still the Philippa's star-topped mince pies, with their perfect ratio of filling to buttery crust.

The next night we had old friend Adri and An over for dinner, where we ate Nigella's miso-roast chicken and cucumber salad (both from At My Table). I've made these a couple of times now and they're such a great combo! And this reminds me, I need to blog about all the dishes I've made from At My Table so far.

Miso-roast chicken, cucumber salad

Dessert was a seasonally-appropriate 5-spice and cider bundt cake, also a Nigella recipe, but this time from Simply Nigella. I've made it before and it's a goodie. (Don't even think about making it without the smoked salted caramel sauce, it is the bomb-dot-com).

5-Spice and Cider Bundt Cake

I only had a mini bundt tin, I had quite a bit of batter and sauce leftover. So with the remaining batter, I made donuts. DONUTS! Look at that smoked salted caramel sauce glaze, woaaaah.

5-Spice & Cider Donuts

By a pure stroke of luck, I managed to get to try one of the Veuve Clicquot x Lobster Shack lobster rolls. I was travelling further down St Kilda road to meet a friend for lunch, when my tram stopped and we all had to get off... right in front of the Arts Centre, where the pop-up was located. I texted my friend, he was happy to travel further for lobster rolls, and it was a truly decadent lunch. Delicious.

Veuve Clicquot x Lobster Shack

And of course there was Christmas, and now we've got Sandra's parents visiting from Germany! So we've been cramming in heaps of activities - day trips, shopping, eating, the works. I'll blog about our adventures separately.

And with that I bid farewell to my Unblogged Files for the year! Happy new year to you all, I hope 2017 was good for you, and all the best wishes for 2018 and beyond!

Breakfasts!

Top row: Avo toast, granola yogurt, banana pancakes Middle: Chia pudding parfait, PB & banana toast, Reese's PB cereal Bottom: Avo toast, granola yogurt, Quark on toast

I also did lots of smoothie bowls in the heat.

Clockwise from top left: Acai bowl, dragonfruit bowl, choc-avo mousse bowl, coconut bowl

I bought a few lunches in November, but I gotta admit they weren't that exciting. So moving right along to some homecooked dinners! I almost forgot how good Nigella's linguine with chilli, crab and watercress is. Perfect summer supper!

Clockwise from top left: Pixel avo on toast; Feta & garlic roast potatoes w/ a fried egg; Jambalaya (said in a Newman voice); Palak paneer with paratha; Linguine with chilli, crab and watercress; Salmon with potato salad

Many coffees. (And lots of donuts and pastries, it would seem).

Coffee!

One night I caught up with friend Jean and Surya for a seafood feast at Claypots Barbarossa (79 Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000). This unassuming little restaurant in Hardware Lane does some seriously good seafood. I loved their garlic tiger prawns, the clams in sherry, the spaghetti marinara, and the Moroccan seafood couscous. So good!

Claypots Barbarossa

Surprise cookie delivery from Sandra! Yay! These personalised cookies are from Sweet Mickie and they were a super sweet sweet treat!

Sweet Mickie Cookies

One weekend, I took a little trip away to Launceston with two of my oldest friends. So much good food and wine! One of the highlights was lunch at Josef Chromy Winery. Blogpost to come.

Josef Chromy Winery

I'm currently obsessed with the Thai fried rice from iSpicy (Shop 19, 674 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, VIC 3122), which I've UberEats'd a bunch of times. You can choose different proteins with it; I love it with crispy pork belly. Also, their food is seriously hot, every time I order from there, I have to remind myself: "Sarah, don't be a hero, choose mild".

Fried rice

I went to a cheesemaking class at The Craft and Co (390 Smith St, Collingwood, VIC 3066), and it was really fun and informative! (Disclosure: complimentary invite). We made our own feta, marinated feta, and even quark! Look at my feta, looks totes professional amirite?

Homemade cheese

For our final Brunch Club date of the year, my friend Emma and I went to Beatrix (688 Queensberry Street. North Melbourne 3051)! I hadn't visited in a little while and they're still the best! The ciabatta of the day was the fabulous GoGo (which I assume is named after bad-ass Japanese schoolgirl assassin GoGo Yubari) - Japanese-style fried chicken with cos lettuce, housemade Kewpie mayo and togarashi salt.

The Gogo Ciabatta - Japanese fried Milawa free range chicken breast with housemade "kewpie" mayonnaise, cos and togarashi pepper salt.

We even managed to convince my friend Alaina to skip the gym and join us for cake, heh. That lemon ricotta sponge was heavenly!

Ricotta Lemon sponge; Chiffon cake; PeeStinger (bee sting cake with peanut butter custard)

Now, Sandra was away in New York for most of November (and most of October, actually), but the upside is that she came back with loads of foodie gifts for me! Hooray! Reese's! Graham crackers! Nutter Butters!

Gifts from the US

My friend Jenni was also alone at home with her partner working overseas, so we had a treat yo' self evening - foot reflexology massages followed by a decadent dinner of cheese, garlicky dips and sparkling rosé prosecco. (And yup, that's the feta and marinated feta I made myself!)

Cheese! Rosé prosecco

And I made Nigella's chocolate chip cookie dough pots for dessert. Yum.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pots

I attended quite a few events in November. I already told you about the cheesemaking class, but there was also the launch of Mama Manoush (177 Lygon St, Brunswick East 3057). This is a trendy Lebanese restaurant and bar, and even though it was a stand-up canapé launch party, there was a serious amount of food! I can highly recommend any and all dishes involving deep-fried cheese (haloumi chips and cheese and pastry cigars), and the chocolate-covered baklava. Def want to go back for a full meal!

Mama Manoush

Mercedes have recently collaborated with St Ali to launch a concept store and cafe at the base of the Rialto Towers - Mercedes me (525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000). Car enthusiasts can interact with the brand, food enthusiasts can enjoy St Ali's famous coffee and brunch dishes. We tried a range of delicious dishes at the launch event, and the standout was definitely the waffles. Here they were served as a canapé - wholemeal spelt waffles, topped with chicken liver pâté and caramelised blood orange. Incredible. So tender and fluffy! (They sell plain buttermilk waffles on the regular menu too - WANT).

Brinner! Chicken liver pâté & wholemeal spelt waffle w confit blood orange; avocado & vegemite/coffee BBQ sauce on caramelised brioche; crispy blood cake, truffle egg & chlorophyll dressing on toast; cold-smoked salmon; roe, crispy potato, dill cream, pickled shallot

Sweet & Sour - roasted portobello mushroom, green onion, potato, whipped ricotta, fried slow egg

Another great event was a launch dinner at Green Man's Arms (418 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053), a pub in Carlton doing high quality vegetarian food with an Israeli focus. (You may remember Green Man's Arms was previously The Roving Marrow). Expect food like Yemeni lamuh flatbread with crisp falafel, ethereally light and fluffy house made couscous, and smooth and creamy hummus. Highlight of the evening for me, however, were these incredible pomme frites - smashed and fried new potatoes, all crisp and shardy on the outside, and fluffy within.

Pomme frites

A truly excellent party was Reymond Communications' Christmas Party / Fifth Birthday Celebration at Neptune Food and Wine (212 High St, Windsor VIC 3181). Congratulations to Joanna and the team on a great year! (Incidentally, the food and drinks at Neptune were great - those Nduja Jaffles!)

Reymond Communications Fifth Birthday Party

Ok, back to some regular meals!

Big dinner at New Shanghai in Chadstone. I normally go to the one in Emporium for quick lunches, so it was nice to go in a big group and try lots of dishes. Obviously the dumplings are great, but so were the salted egg yolk tofu and the crispy skin chicken with garlic and chilli sauce.

New Shanghai

We were farewelling my boss this month, and we had a team lunch at Sichuan House (22-26 Corrs Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000). It had been a while since I'd smashed a giant Sichuan feast, and I forgot how much I love it! Even though it was a 35 degree day, whoops. We had spicy cold noodles, deep fried pork ribs, fish in chilli oil, mapo tofu, chilli beef skewers and fish fragrant eggplant. What a feast!

Sichuan House

And that was November! Phew! December plans? A little trip to Uluru, much end-of-year shennanigans, catch-ups with friends, and Christmas! Sandra's parents are coming for Christmas too so we'll be playing tourist in our own town! Hooray!

Breakfasts! Often I was bringing a breakfast of Greek yogurt, homemade granola and bluberries to work, but I did make some proper breakfasts at home too.

Clockwise from top le; ft: Blueberry cheesecake smoothie; Strawberry bruschetta; Blueberry porridge; Chia pudding parfait w blueberries; Avo smoked salmon toast; Granola w yogurt & blueberries x 2; Coconut smoothie bowlStrawberry chia pudding parfait

And of course there were avocados.

Avocado toast!

I tried a few new places for lunches in the city in October - a haloumi bagel and fancy Spanish coffee at Jungle Juice Bar (20 Centre Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000), and super fab katsu don at Oh Maki (1/391 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004). Also, I tried the "Italian" burger at Burger Project - a beef burger with rich tomato sauce, basil, and a crumbed fried disc of mozzarella-stuffed eggplant, and it was out of control!

Clockwise from top left: Haloumi burger at Jungle Juice; Spring roll bun at Roll'd; Katsu don at Tokyo Pop in Emporium; The Italian burger from Burger Project; Pork udon at Kenzan GPO;  Katsu don at Oh Maki

Here are some home-cooked dinners.

Top row: Salami cheese toastie; Creamy cauliflower pasta; Fried Fleischkäse w egg, asparague and Bauern Frühstück; Penang Hokkien Mee; Creamy mozzarella prawn pasta; Spaghetti carbonara

Now, I really love coffee and I know I drink a lot of coffee, but looking back over October, I really did drink a lot of coffee! Plantation, Short Stop, Little Rogue, The Providore, Jungle Juice, Market Lane, Mr Tulk...

Coffeeeeeee

My friend Duncan had us over for lunch one weekend, and it was super delicious! He made baos (from scratch!) with slow-braised red pork and pickled vegetables.

Duncan's home made gua bao

And dessert was a coffee cake with Brazil nuts, (Dan Lepard recipe), served with coffees in the Marimekko cups we got him for his birthday. Yay!

Dan Lepard coffee brazil nut cake; coffee

One weekend we went shopping in Box Hill, and had lunch at the always fabulous Hills BBQ (586 Station St, Box Hill VIC 3128). Their beef on crispy fried noodles is the best!

Hill BBQ (586 Station St, Box Hill VIC 3128)

I had my friend Alaina over for a Sunday brunch, and I took the opportunity to make a few dishes from the new Nigella book, At My Table. I'll share those in a dedicated blogpost, but I also made a non-At My Table recipe: Smitten Kitchen's gorgeous chocolate tahini challah buns. So fluffy, such sesame. It was meant to be just brunch but somehow it stretched out into a super relaxing day with champagne, a Law and Order: SVU marathon, dinner, and even Gerald's Game on Netflix. (One of my favourite books, by the way, and I thought the film adaptation was excellent, especially Carla Gugino's performance!)

Chocolate tahini challah buns

I had my parents over for dinner one night, and again, it was an At My Table feast, but I also made Nigella's Tiramisini for dessert. (These come from Nigellissima, and they're really great!)

Tiramisini

I attended a media event at Moon Dog Craft Brewery (17 Duke Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067) - lots of beers and pizza! I was seriously impressed by the quality of the pizzas coming out of that tiny truck! I also loved the Dunbar's Dream, a 9.2% passionfruit and coffee porter.

Moon Dog Craft Brewery

Friday night crabs! Miss Katie's Crab Shack (Ding Dong Lounge, 18 Market Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000). Plus fried chicken and waffles, chips, and a crunchy iceberg salad with crispy bacon. (I think Belle's Hot Chicken has the edge on Miss Katie's, but it was still an enjoyable meal, especially that delicious salad!) 

Miss Katie's Crab Shack

I received some samples from Egg Unlimited, a catering company that specialises in mini breads and treats, but who also do breakfasts, lunches, salads, and share hampers. I loved the salads (particularly the coconut-poached chicken salad), the pink lamingtons and mini chocolate cakes, and the teeny tiny sandwiches. (Just look at those baby bagels - too cute!) The day I received these, I happened to be having a friend over for dinner, so entrées were sorted!

Egg Unlimited Treats

My friend An had us over one night and dinner was a giant sushi and sashimi platter. Awwwww yeah.

It's sushi time

One Sunday my friend Alaina and I decided to visit the Cheese Festival at Prahran Market, and much like our brunch the fortnight before, it turned into an epic day of eating and drinking! (Can I also say how much I am loving the warmer weather?) We started with a champagne brunch at Wilson & Market (163 Commercial Rd, Prahran VIC 3181)...

Wilson and Market

... followed by a stroll around the cheese festival. I picked up one of these push pops from the Glace Frozen stand and it was so delicious! From memory it was mango sorbet, a cream cheese ice-cream, torched meringue and crunchy biscuit pieces. Yumtown. I really wanna visit Glace Frozen now!

Glace Frozen Tropical Push Pop

We then went to see a revival screening of Psycho at the NGV (I hadn't seen it in ages, it's one of my all time favourites, and I was so thrilled to see it on the big screen!), followed by lobster rolls and rosé at The Arbory (1 Flinders Walk, Melbourne VIC 3000). Such decadence!

The Arbory Lobster Rolls

And at the end of October, we had Halloween! I'm not really one for Halloween celebrations, but I couldn't resist these seasonal offerings from Short Stop (Pumpkin Spice Latte donut!) and Cupcake Central. A Pennywise the Clown cupcake! Yessssssss! (Also, I realise this is now two Stephen King references in the one post, woop woop).

Halloween cupcakes!

And that was October! Plans for November (most of which are already done, hah) - a trip to Tassie, lots of brunches, a few events and general fun times and hangz with friends!