Things I’ve loved about March

I think I’ll remember March 2012 as the month I went on an Asian food bender. Mostly Malaysian. I’m not exactly sure why I had such intense cravings but I think it was probably driven by a couple a food blog I follow. This blogger has been sampling and reviewing Malaysian cuisine around Sydney. His food soirées have made me lick my lips….and then I’ve gone off on my own food adventures.

I didn’t take photos of everything I ate this month, but here are some of the highlights. From left to right, there was prawn har mee,  seafood laksa and nasi lemak, all from Temasek in Parramatta. Then on the second row you’ll see won ton ramen from Ichi Ban Boshi in the City, spinach and pumpkin dumplings that I made myself and Vietnamese Bun Bi Xao Xa from Pasteur Vietnamese in Parramatta. I also went to Mamak for roti and Chat Thai for red curry.

Nom, nom, nom.

Other wonderful things this month:

• Coffee at Pirrama Park kiosk
  Pirrama Park is one of my favourite places in Pyrmont and I walk around it often. Sometimes I go down there early in the morning so I can play on the swings before kids arrive and steal them!

  In the first photo, you can see the tiny little kiosk with people sitting around the outdoor tables. I usually grab a take away coffee and then go and sit closer to the water. Can you see that tall ship in the second pic? Its old school sails made me happy. And how cloudy were the clouds on the day I took this photo?

• Dinner at Strangers with Candy
  We caught with the A team (aka, Andrew and Alissa) for a lovely dinner at Strangers with Candy. It’s a shoddy looking place in Redfern that has the most amazing food! They use really fresh, good quality produce and the service is wonderful too. I got the tea smoked Atlantic salmon and it was light, yet flavoursome. I also had the same chocolate fudge cake that I ate last time I was there. Sadly, there are no photos of the cake because it was so divine that I was caught up in a food orgasm and didn’t think to take a picture.

  

• A David & Leigh weekend
  My lovely sister and her just as lovely husband came to stay. We ate lots of yummy food, went to see the Picasso exhibition and had honeycomb coffees at Cafe Otto in Glebe. I love those two.

  

And then there was:

• My gorgeous friend Rosetta’s 50th birthday party.
• An outing with my Grandfather to the Lake Macquarie Art Gallery, plus some lovely artisan markets. I made a mammoth effort to try and reverse park outside the gallery. After trying and then failing miserably more than a gazillion times, I eventually gave up. My grandfather then told me that he couldn’t fathom how I could possibly have a licence, then produced his disability car parking pass! I laughed for a long time. And then almost killed him :)
• Seeing the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with my Aunt. A beautiful film that sort of felt like Autumn. If that makes sense.
• Dinner club with the Williams at Sydney’s best Lebanese restaurant. That Melly, I tells you, she’s a barrel of positive energy and gives me a good injection of happiness whenever I see her.
• Pump classes and other exercise with Melly. She smiles the whole way through which I find disconcerting and yet adorable.
•  Boxing classes with Husband. He forces me to have good form.
• Sheela. We have mammoth texting sessions, write long emails to each other on most days and support each other through numerous emotional meltdowns on a regular basis. I’m lucky to have her.
• Signing up for Draw Something. Husband and I play with Sheels, Kys, Ames and Kat. They are all amazing artists. Our drawings on the other hand look like they come from mentally challenged children. But it’s still so much fun!

  April is looking hectic. Fingers crossed that it’s a good month too!