Laneway Night Markets

After missing last year's markets because I can't read signs properly I was very glad to accept David's idea of heading to the OnWilliam Laneway Night Markets last night.

Instead of a rowdy Australia Day evening we went with two of his friends and strolled through laneways, stopping to look at stalls, to eat Japanese treats and basically soak it all in.

This year's Fringe World is also on at the Cultural Centre so there were plenty of people milling about. I love going to that side of Northbridge at night so its a real treat when there's fun things to see and nice places to plonk yourself down and have a drink

The only problem is I went with boys so it made it very difficult to stop and look properly (especially at all the beautiful vintage clothes which were all reasonably priced and well presented) but I still managed to get myself a little treat.

At 8 o'clock we stopped for a few minutes to watch the fireworks over the city. It's incredible how loud they are when they reverberate through the city and I love how people will just stop what they're doing to watch them. 

I feel like sometimes I just write things on this blog that are like "oh Perth is so great, everything is amazing" but using Northbridge the way its is being used currently just reaffirms its a great place to be. Sure there are still seedy elements and by 9 o'clock there is the usual trail of blokes in heinous dress shoes and girls in shoes they can't even walk in but that's ok. Sitting at PICA bar and watching the world go by is probably my new favourite way to spend a Saturday evening.

My little treat to myself 

Jamie's 15 Minute Lamb Tagine

Cooking has been something I've grown into recently and while I'm still horrendous at it, I like Jamie's style of meal because you can be as messy and all-over-the-shop as I am and still come up with a finished product that is pretty damn delicious.

David got me the Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals recipe book for Christmas after I stole the 30 Minute Meals recipe book I gave to my dad for Christmas last year and I've really enjoyed trying out all the yummy meals I've seen Jamie cook on the telly.

The drive home from Rockingham each day can make the thought of going to the shops, preparing the food, cooking the food and finally sitting down for a meal a little daunting, but that's exactly what I like about 15 Minute Meals. I've got no excuse anymore- time isn't a factor and I don't have to wait hours for dinner because it's ready so quick.... albeit perhaps not in under 15 minutes.

All the gear 

Browning the sesame seeds, pistachios and cumin seeds while the spiced lamb cooks

Getting the tomatoes, spring onions and lemon cooked and charring the eggplant

Finished- served up with the cumin crunch, couscous (which has become my new best friend lately) and yoghurt 

Hint- don't get rid of the juices around the lamb and the veggies. I didn't serve mine up and my couscous got a bit try. Would've been beautiful to have those flavours oozing through the couscous. 

I got all inspired post dinner (which was messy but delicious) and made myself a dessert using some of the Margaret River Chocolate I'd picked up in Margaret River a few weeks ago. 

Melting the chocolate over some boiling water

Chuck in some frozen berries

Dollop in some Greek yoghurt and you're good to go! 

All gone. 

All in all a yummy Tuesday night dinner! 

Dinner Date

My very lovely boyfriend took me to Bistro Guillaume at Crown Perth last night for our one year anniversary dinner. Painfully lame subject for a blog post but I thought it was worth a look at Bistro Guillaume if nothing else.

A present for David............Gil Scott Heron's autobiography.

Woodlands Chardonnay.....which quite clearly got drunk too quickly. 

I've been looking for an excuse to head back to Crown Perth since we went for dinner at Rockpool a few months ago. I hadn't been since James Packer's takeover and I was absolutely bowled over when I walked up through the car park and was met with an entirely new vista. Gone was the horrible, stale circular driveway of the Burswood of old and in its place were modern garden beds, new buildings and dare I say it, an air of sophistication about the place.

A Chellingworth in the foyer....only a cool $300k for your troubles. 

I've never been Burswood's biggest fan, but it's shifted in my view from a place which would never warrant a visit to a place where I quite enjoy getting dressed up and heading for a meal every few months.  

David's absolutely beautiful Berkshire Pork Belly

My slightly scary but pretty delicious Whiting

Bistro Guillaume is polished yet relaxed, refined yet comfortable. I didn't feel as out of place as I tend to sometimes feel when I go to upmarket restaurants and the smiling staff definitely put me at ease. Our waitress was friendly, helpful and happy to answer all our questions. 

David's meal was absolutely perfect and left me furious that I'd passed up the Pork Belly option because I'd had bad experiences with that sort of dish before, I needn't have been so fearful.

My dish was a little scary when it was put before me, but delicious all the same. I liked the fact the food seemed to be of the same feel as the decor- polished and intricate but relaxed.

Our chocolate souffle with pistachio ice cream

My favourite, the profiteroles with chocolate sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. 

 We'd played it safe and saved ourselves for dessert and it was worth it. David has a significant sweet tooth but we both enjoyed the two desserts we shared. I liked the touch of the waiter's passing on the chef's suggestion of putting the ice cream in the souffle and the chocolate sauce on the profiteroles was rich and flavoursome.

I think it's a treat Perth has become an appealing destination for chefs Guillaume Brahimi and Neil Perry. I'm not an expert, I'm only someone who likes food but I certainly liked the food and the whole feel of Bistro Guillaume. Can't wait to go back and try another cocktail and another yummy meal soon. 


Sidenote: Thank you David for taking me on a lovely date. I like being your girlfriend. 

Pic: Magnus Newman 

Hopman Cup 2013

In an attempt to lighten my misery about being in the office on New Year's Day and an early anniversary present I booked tickets for David and I to go to the Hopman Cup tie between USA and France last night. I  had already bought David tickets to the final as a Christmas present but considering tickets to the session weren't too expensive I thought we may as well head along for a little treat. 

The beautiful blue interior

Although it's received a bit of negative press re Novak Djokovic's unfortunate injury the other day, I was again blown away by Perth Arena. I went to the opening night back in November and just fell in love with the building. I love the lines inside, I love the little additions like cup holders in the seats in front and the comfort you're offered as a guest and I especially love the fact I don't have to wait in line in any of the loos because there are plenty and they are always spic-and-span.

 We were literally in the back row in the upper tier of the arena but we could still see and hear perfectly. The stairs were a bit daunting but if you don't need to go up and down them repeatedly it's not too bad. The only hiccup was the lines for food. Although it can't be helped that there are going to be lines for drinks and food at events like this, the setup of the cash registers so close to where you file through to pick up what you're after gets a little chaotic. 

Apologies for the awful pictures, I only had my phone and even a Galaxy can't zoom that well 

We're Jo Wilfred-Tsonga fans and it was a real treat to watch him play out a reasonably comfortable win over the American John Isner. The real surprise for me though was watching Venus Williams. I'd never been too fussed with the Williams sisters before, but watching the way she plays and the power she has really impressed me. I'd always thought they were a bit over-emotional in the way they play, but it just added to the excitement of the match. You go on a journey with them and you actually feel a part of the match, not just a spectator. 

I downloaded a new  camera app during the match, here's my kaleidoscopic court

France's Matilde Johannson serves during her match with Venus Williams 

The USA went onto take the tie, which surprised me because we actually left during Venus's fightback from losing the first set of her match in the singles (it was a school night). It just proves what a talent she is though. 

After the match we walked down a misty Wellington Street, enjoying the light sprinkling summer rain and I felt lucky to live in a city where you can pop to a fantastic world-class tennis tournament in a world-class arena on a Tuesday night. 

Night Markets

A few Fridays ago I went to the Twilight Hawkers Markets in Forrest Place with my half sister Maddi and David. I'd been looking for something fun to do with Maddi while she was visiting from Melbourne and I thought I'd hit the nail on the head. Unluckily for me Maddi is EXCEPTIONALLY picky, but she managed to find one or two things she was brave enough to try.
We all tried the crowd-favourite spiral potato, but I also went for my old favourite satay chicken skewers. David tried a spicy mango icy-pole and we tucked into some Colombian stew. We finished the night off with some de-lish Polish donuts.

  

 

What struck me about the markets was the fact that finally my beloved city-centre was being utilised for something fantastic. I love being in the city at night, but since growing up a bit I've found myself going less and less because I don't go out drinking or clubbing anymore.
Visiting the Perth Arena on its opening night was such a treat to walk around the city and watch the people enjoy the space. Now Forrest Place is being opened up for families to bring their kids along, enjoy some new food and just be a part of something bigger.

The mood was relaxed, even though the lines were long people didn't mind because there was so much to see around them. Having a live band makes you feel like you're going to an event, rather than just a meal. My only criticism would be there's not much space to actually eat the food because the lines are so long. Visiting a similar market in Melbourne last month there was plenty of room to tuck in at tables but I'm sure some clever planning person will figure that out soon enough.

I think what I was happiest about was the fact that there is some logic in creating something for people to actually come to town for, not just shopping. It was packed and people were enjoying being out in the warm night sharing some dinner together. I'm truly excited for what's going to happen over the next few years when the rail goes underground and we can all come in and enjoy our city together.

Big Help Mob: Cleaning Crusade

On Sunday I joined four very enthusiastic superheroes for a few hours hard yakka, cleaning up the entire house of a Warnbro gentleman who needed a bit of a hand. Greg's got paraplegia and he needs to move into a house which is more suitable for him to look after, but before he can he has to get his current property looking a bit more spick and span. That's where Big Help Mob superheroes stepped in to help out!

We spent from about 10 in the morning til just before 4 cleaning walls, roofs, the kitchen, bathroom, outside, inside, EVERYTHING!

Greg was a really likeable guy and I won't lie, the work wasn't easy but it was fun. I've been volunteering for the BHM communications team for a couple of months, but I haven't been on a mission since the launch of the app so it was great to break free of the shackles of Useful HQ and actually do a bit of manual labour. Having David there was a blast, but it was nice chatting to the other girls as well, learning bits and pieces about them (we even had a Rockingham local in the group!) and getting on with it.

The girls who were at Cleaning Crusade have all joined up to be Unterns this summer, a project I'm really excited to see take shape. They were all lovely girls as well so they will be fantastic ambassadors for all things BHM and hopefully I'll have a brand new project to share him which will introduce them a bit further.

 David hard at work

 Bedroom cleaning

 More bedroom cleaning

 Kitchen cleaning

Vacuum boy

Good things this week:
Seeing ma gurrrrrrrrrrl (and half sister) Maddi and learning all about her YouTube boyfriend
A visit from Phoebe and her beautiful little babby Harper
Going to the physio again

Bad things this week:
Tensions headaches=day off work=lack of stories=frustration=MORE TENSION :)
Running out of time/money to get Christmas presents
Too many treats last weekend