First stop... Melbourne!
Cumulus Inc, Melbourne CBD
We were staying in the CBD and one thing we noticed was that we weren't exactly stumbling upon good restaurants left, right and centre. I guess this is kind of like walking around Canary Wharf expecting restaurants to jump out at you but nonetheless we still found some good spots. Cumulus Inc was recommended to us and we went in looking for brunch which unfortunately they had stopped serving, so given that it was the first day and we were feeling bougie we ended up having a pretty lavish lunch. What I will say is that the portions were small and the prices were high... we didn't exactly leave stuffed. The food was really creative and tasty though and even better washed down with plenty of sparkling wine..
Inventive Salads
Pate and brioche
Industrial trendy vibes
Jobabe
Mamacita, Melbourne CBD
We went here for dinner and it seemed to be a pretty popular spot, with low level lighting and a buzzing atmosphere. I am always a big fan of Mexican cuisine and I have to say the food didn't disappoint. It was slightly reminiscent of a more up-market Wahaca where you order a number of small plates and share, the food was inventive and my only complaint was that there wasn't more of it! Sharing with 5 people is pretty hard without ordering numerous duplicates which we found out the hard way. This, coupled with a lot of walking meant I left Melbourne with looser jeans than before but hey, thats probably not a bad thing...
Chips and gauc; par for the course
The difference in colour is remarkable, at this point we were "embarrassingly white"
Un quesadilla per favor...
Insane chicken tostada
Hello Byron Bay!
Cicchetti, Byron Bay
We dined at Cicchetti for Christmas Eve and it was a lovely place to spend it. Seemingly one of the more upscale restaurants in the hippy paradise of Byron, we were given a glass of Prosseco on arrival and tucked into some seafood heavy Italian cuisine. I never usually chose pasta, but I chose a chilli and seafood one (hey, it was Christmas!) and it was really tasty. They weren't exactly reinventing the wheel here, but the food was of a high standard and served in lovely surroundings.
Calamari and fried courgette, the best kind of courgette
Scallops
Seafood pasta
Christmas is better in a bikini
A Christmas message from the lightbox I carried around half of Australia
Traditional Thai, Byron Bay
This place was what it said on the tin, a laid back restaurant serving some pretty delicious Thai food. Asian food is always great in Australia due to the proximity and we were all happy with our dishes. By this point we were adopting a pretty strict "no sharing policy" (having been burnt in Melbourne) making us look like deeply uncultured Brits and much to the bemusement of many a waiter. I had a Penang curry and although I'm pretty sure Penang is in Malaysia the rich peanut and coconut flavours were exactly what I had been craving. T-3 months until my trip to Thailand and I cannot wait!
Just a laid back dude enjoying some traditional thai
Taking your shoes off and sitting on a sleigh bed was indeed very traditional
Chicken Satay, rude not to
My either Malaysian or Thai ethnically confused dish
Jobeth's dish
Bayger, Byron Bay
Bayger (see what they did there?!) was much bigged up by Jonny so our expectations were pretty high. We weren't disappointed- this burger smashed it. After a long morning of surfing and channeling Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush, I was starving and it must have been something about the sauce or the turkish bread but the burger was everything I wanted it to be and more. It even shot into Jobeth's top 5 burgers which was somewhat hasty in my opinion but there you go..
In all it's glory
Eyes rolled back in ecstasy
Burger face
Off to Manly!
Hemingway's, Manly
Hemingway's was a quirky little cafe on the beach front which served a mean brekkie. Pretty reasonable in price, this was an example of an Aussie breakfast done really well. I went for the baked eggs with homemade baked beans with chorizo and sourdough, and it tasted as good as it sounds. The full breakfast I am assured was just as good and I really liked the laid back, unpretentious but cool vibe and tasty food.
Some cool kids
What a beaut
Full English/Aussie
Capturing the scene
Jonny loving his life
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Fireworks are really hard to capture
Jonny had a few
My first beer
We be crazy
The Pantry, Manly
We had two meals at The Pantry, brunch on New Years Day when we were feeling a touch "delicate", and dinner on our final night in Aus. Both were excellent. I would go as far as to say this was my favourite restaurant of the whole trip. The location is amazing- right on the beach with incredible views, the staff were impeccable, and the food was perfect both day and night. I would definitely recommend the Pantry to anyone who happens to be in Manly.
Eggs beni with a side of my legs
Not a baaad view..
Steak with douphinoise, aka my favourite meal
Bills, Bondi
Last but by no means least, Bill's in Bondi. If you are reading this far I salute you, and I must buy you a drink sometime! I'm a pretty massive fan of Grainger's in Westbourne Grove (see my earlier review) so obviously had to check out the Aussie chef's branch in Bondi. I must admit, a slightly more picturesque setting than my beloved West London, and a consistently great breakfast. I obviously got what I always do, scrambled eggs with sourdough and avo. There were a few differences between this one and the London one, notably some spinach and less toast (Aussies must be more health conscious than us Brits!) but of course it was delicious. Well done Bill...
I must admit I was slightly peeved by the size of the toast
I been drankin', watermelon...
Oh and how could I forget! Special shout out to $5 dominos! *Pizza emoji*
I'll leave you on this photo, which should be our album cover..
A big happy new year to everyone and thanks for reading! A special thanks to Mum & Dad who made this trip possible, and big love to Jonny. We miss you! X
