Pier 24 - St Clair Resort

Went out for dinner tonight with Mum and Dad to Pier 24 at the St Clair resort. It was pricy for Dunedin, but a decent menu, and good service. It was pretty quiet in there, we were last to leave, but it was a Sunday night.

I had the gnocchi, in a nice basil sauce with pumpkin slivers, rocket, and seeds - it was very tasty and the gnocchi was perfectly cooked! Reid had the venison - also good. Mum and Dad both had the blue cod.

Overall impression: atmosphere a bit low

Rating 3.5/5


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Christchurch airport

We're at our usual spot at Christchurch airport - the pub! Having a pint of Speights and a bowl of chips before the connecting flight to Dunedin.

It was a bit of a slow start to the day, both of us with hangovers. We were a little late getting to the airport and we had to bypass the queue to check in before the flight closed - a few unimpressed looks from the people ahead of us!

There is also a new layout for customs and security. The queue for security was huge so we jumped into the air crew queue - no one noticed and we must have bypassed 100s of people!!! Plus it turns out there wasn't such a rush in the end!

Watched Surrogate on the plane (with Bruce Willis). It was pretty average!!!!

In 2017 people stay at home while the robot surrogates represent them in the real world! Crime and disease are practically eliminated, but it all goes wrong when a weapon is made that can kill a person by killing the surrogate.

The acting was terrible and plot lines were poorly developed - dialogue was used to quickly explain anything even slightly complicated.

Rating: 2/5 (but only cos the idea of surrogates seemed creepily possible)


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Location:Durey Rd,Christchurch,New Zealand

MIFF: The Ghost Writer

Tonights screening of The Ghost Writer was sold out so we arrived 30 mins early to find the queue out the door!! Still got a good seat tho :-)


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Location:Swanston Street Walk,Melbourne,Australia

Hutong Dumpling Bar

Having dinner at the Hutong Dumpling Bar on Market Lane in Chinatown!

We arrived just before they opened at 5.30pm to find a queue of people waiting outside - this must be a good sign!!

We're having the speciality Shao-long Bao - a kinda steamed dumpling with a meaty, juicy, and flavourful broth/soup inside! Plus chilli wontons and a soup - me the sweet corn and seafood, Reid the sweet corn and chicken.

They have instructions at the table about how to eat the shao-long bao. Lift gently onto your plate, dip in ginger, bite off the side and suck out the broth, then eat!! Not at all difficult!

The food is brilliant! And contrary to the reviews the service was fine! There was a steady stream of people coming through while we were there and they were fully booked for the night, so we were probably lucky to get in! On a Monday!!

Overall impression: would recommend to others!

Rating: 4/5










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Location:Swanston Street Walk,Melbourne,Australia

Great All Blacks win!!!

Fantastic rugby game tonight - All Blacks beat the Wallabies 49 to 28!!

ABs ran in a load of tries in the first half - one with a man off with a yellow card!! Australia had more possession in the second half but couldn't convert into points! Solid AB defence! Then a bonus NZ try on full time :-)

So much fun!



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What a start!!

10 mins in - 1 try and 1 penalty each!! Holy shit what a start!!! Both lucky run away tries!!

Update: 12 mins in, another try to ABs!!!


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All Blacks v Wallabies

We're at the rugby at Etihad stadium - we didn't buy the cheapest tickets but we're still behind the goal and 3 rows from the very top!

People who bought the cheapest tickets must be at a local pub watching on a big screen!

Go All Blacks!!!!


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Location:Wurundjeri Way,Docklands,Australia

Back at Grumpys Green

Off to the rugby tonight - All Blacks v Australia, and stopped off at Grumpys for dinner

I'm having the chickpea wrap and Reid's having the tower burger with vege patty

Such a great place! Great food as always :-)

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Portland Hotel Brewhouse

At the Portland Hotel Brewhouse having a quick drink before heading to Welcome to the Rileys - first movie for us at MIFF



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Location:Swanston Street Walk,Melbourne,Australia

Back at Bar None

Another nice Sunday afternoon drink at Bar None

I'm having the Tequila Mockingbird - tequila, lemoncello, cinnamon syrup, & lemon juice - quite nice!!

Reid's having a Manhattan - not his favourite!!

Plus bread & dips - eggplant and coriander


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Amici Trattoria

A couple of weeks ago we went out for dinner to a local Italian restaurant - Amici Trattoria

We had been there once before years ago and the waiter spilt a glass of red wine all over Reid - and then he was shitty at us, as if somehow it was our fault! I'm pretty sure there was no apology.

Anyway, after that we decided never to go back again!

Surprise, surprise we went back - just in case some sort of miracle occurred and it was somehow better.

I think the only thing that was confirmed was that crap Italian food really is crap.

I'm pretty sure neither dish was made fresh that day, and it seem like the type of place that doesn't make its own pasta, they just grab dried pasta from the supermarket

Overall impression: NEVER going back!

Rating: 1/5

Location: Burke Rd, Camberwell

Movies

Green Zone

Chief Miller (Matt Damon) is a solider in Iraq charged with investigating sites thought to hold WMD. Site after site the team comes up empty and Chief Miller starts to suspect that the intelligence is dodgy. Millar goes "off book" to prove his suspicions.

It was nice to watch a film, where the US army aren't prancing around with hero music in the background, and flags waving in our faces. Propaganda from the left rather than the right is light relief in this genre.

Overall impression: watchable

Rating: 3/5

Zombieland

OMG, I watched a zombie film!! Although to be fair, this was really a road trip movie with zombies.
They used the tough guy teamed with bumbling nerd formula, which I actually quite like. You get some great comedic lines from the nerd, in the way he responds to everything, from the actions of the tough guy to the generally average situations he finds himself in.

Woody Harrelson played the tough guy and Jesse Eisenberg played the nerd - great performances from both.

Overall impression: I liked it

Rating: 3/5


The Burbs

From the 80's, staring Tom Hanks, cult classic apparently. There are some films you can watch anytime and you can see why they are considered great. Other films, I think you have to watch at the time they are released, and then love forever. I think the Burbs falls into the second category - it didn't really age that well, but I'm sure if I had watched it back when it was released, I would have appreciated it more.

I'm not much of a fan of the doofus character - not that smart, has bad ideas, makes bad decisions, yells all the time, and has pretty average appearance. Examples would be Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin. The Burbs has a doofus character and that really ruined it for me - it makes everything just too ridiculous and unbelievable.

Interesting I say that about the Burbs, when in the same post I say I quite liked a zombe film!

Overal impression: I was a bit bored

Rating: 2/5

movies - Toy Story 3

We've seen a few movies recently, and some at home, which is a bit unusual for us - making that 90 minute  time commitment just seems too much! 

Toy Story 3. 

Another great film from Pixar. Unlike Dreamworks, Pixar films have a solid plot, well developed characters, and don't rely on current events to make jokes. These are all the things that make a film so rewatchable, and stand the test of time! 

It didn't occur to me when we decided to see Toy Story 3 (in 3D), that I hadn't seen Toy Story 1 or 2. 

The story stood up on it's own so I don't think it really mattered, but Reid assured me there were plenty of jokes that would have made sense if I had seen the first two. 

Andy, the toy owner has grown up and is heading off to college, he hasn't played with his toys in years, despite the best efforts of the toys to grab his attention. The toys are then mistakenly donated to a day care centre, instead of being put in storage in the attic. At first day care seems to the ultimate dream for the toys, lots of kids to play with them all day long, but that doesn't turn out to be the case, and the great escape begins. 

Of 231 reviews, Rotten Tomatos gives it 228 fresh, and 3 rotten, with and average rating of 9.1/10

That's 99% on the tomatometer

It was a great story, with plenty of laughs, and lots of highs and lows on the journey.

Overall Impression: fantastic movie

Rating: 4/5

Bill Bailey

Reid and I saw Bill Bailey tonight - the British comedian

http://www.billbailey.co.uk/

The show was fantastic - along with the comedy, there was singing, dancing, poetry, and a valuable demonstration in art history! A review a various works depicting Thomas the Doubter inspecting Jesus's crucifixion wound!

He had a great collection of instruments - including a collection of horns that looked to be straight of the front a mod/rocker's bike, and a tenori-on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenori-on)!!

http://twitter.com/RealBillBailey/statuses/18833247413

Overall impression: incredibly talented and very clever!

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Bill Bailey

It's half time at Bill Bailey comedy show - he's hilarious!! Very entertaining, engages the crowd, moves from joke to joke with ease, and multi-talented! So far has played the guitar, oud (which isn't a lute), and keyboard!

The Palais is a pretty cool venue, kinda pretend fancy. It's all decorated in ye olde style, but it's not actually ye olde.

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Location:Palais Theatre, St Kilda

Greasy Joe's - St Kilda

At Greasy Joe's bar and grill in St Kilda for a quick drink before heading to Bill Bailey at the Palais! Having beer battered chips - yum!

It's an ok place - nice and relaxed !!


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Location:Cavell St,St Kilda,Australia

Vegie Bar - Brunswick St

We're at the Vegie Bar on Brunswick St, sitting in the window, which has been perfect for people watching.

I had the curry of the day - north Indian/tomato style, very tasty! Reid had gyoza to start (ours are better), and a margarita pizza - which was big!!

The service was very prompt - super prompt in fact! But for 6.30 on a Saturday night the place was pretty packed!!

http://www.vegiebar.com.au/




Overall impression: funky

Rating 3.5/5

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Location:Brunswick St,Fitzroy,Australia

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Last night I went to see Twilight # 3 with Michelle, Ange, and Brendon. We grabbed a bite to eat from the Groove Train in Melbourne Central before hand (I had the vege burger - it was pretty good, tomato, beetroot, egg, plus roast pumpkin, eggplant, and capsicum).

The movie was good, well filmed, great camera work and action scenes, and it didn't take itself too seriously. The actor who plays Jacob looked fabulous and I was pleased he spent most of the film with his top off!!! And they were very tongue in cheek about his constant semi nakedness, which was pretty funny!

The story - well, I knew it wasn't complicated or even very good when I decide to go, so I won't complain about the plot! I think the acting was slightly better in this one than #2 - maybe because they didn't take themselves to seriously this time!!

Overall impression: good, glad I had those 2 glasses of wine beforehand

Rating: 3/5

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Lunch @ Cafe Coco on Smith street

On the way home from the gym we stopped at Cafe Coco on Smith st for lunch.

I had the spinach scrambled eggs with pesto, goats cheese, and tomato, on Turkish bread. It was very good - the combination of flavours worked perfectly!!!



Reid had a vege laksa! It was nice, could have been richer - mate needed seafood?



The service was good - although for a Sunday afternoon it was pretty quiet. It feels a bit like Burke Rd is the busiest place in Melbourne on a Sunday!! The music selection was a bit unusual, a mix of '80's TV credit music to lazy jazz!

Overall impression: menu had things that were a bit different from the standard cafe fare

Rating: 3/5

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Muttis

For Friday work lunch we ventured a bit further afield than usual, to a German restaurant called Mittus on the corner of Elgin and Rathdown Sts in Carlton.

I had the Kasnudeln – Austrian style pasta filled with potatoes, fresh mint goats whey and garlic, served with brown butter and green salad. It was very tasty and actually quite well portioned for lunch - I didn't come away feeling over stuffed!

They also have a good selection of beers and the staff were very friendly and helpful - although we were the only people there for lunch!! Apparently it is usually packed for dinner!



Overall impression: good food, friendly service

Rating: 4/5

Zombie

We're at Bar None for a nice Sunday afternoon beverage.

Reid is having a Zombie:

• Inner Circle Black Dot Australian Rum
• Meyers Dark Rum
• Appleton Estate V/X Jamaican Rum
• Mount Gay XO Barbados Rum
• Bacardi Ora Puerto Rican Rum
• Luxardo Marachino Liqueur
• Green Fairy Absinthe
• Monin Lavender Syrup
• Angostura Bitters
• Fresh Lime
• Pineapple Juice
• Build and stir to chill in a tiki mug

YIKES!!



I'm having a Tommy's Margarita - my new favourite cocktail :-)

They also have a drink called Tequila Mockingbird - hehe


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Location:Auburn Parade,Hawthorn East,Australia

Breakfast at Tom Phat

We ventured a little further afield for breakfast today.

We're unlikely to buy a house in Hawthorn, so we've decided start exploring areas a little closer to where we'll end up buying.

We headed to Northcote, only to discover there isn't a whole lot happening there on a Sunday morning.

Jumped back in the car and drove over to Sydney Rd, Brunswick to find Tom Phat - it rated well on the Breakfast Blog and has a different menu than your standard breakfast fare.

I had Sri Scrambled Eggs - spring onions, curry leaves, cherry tomatos, and roti

And Reid had the Roti Omelette with bacon, chives, and roasted tomato salsa. 

Both meals were really tasty, and the roti worked really well as a replacement to our usual toast!

The place was pretty busy and they had plenty of staff to deal efficiently with everyone. Our food arrived promptly and the service was unobtrusive. I think for the first time ever coffee and food arrived at the same time - I'm not sure if that was a coincidence, but I'll give extra points in case it was intended. 

Overall impression: would recommend to others, and would go back!

Rating: 4/5

Location: 184 Sydney Road, Brunswick

 

Wine@129

After our dumpling dinner we popped into Wine @ 129 on Auburn Rd. We only stopped for a glass but weren't overly impressed - I was under the assumption it was a wine bar, but they only had 5 reds on the list. Apparently they have jazz on a Sunday afternoon so that does win them some points!

Even though dinner was ok, and the wine bar was average we still had a nice evening! Everything was in walking distance and despite the cold it was nice to get out for a brisk stroll.

http://www.wineat129.com.au/

Overall impression: hmpf

Rating: 2/5

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Chinese Dumplings - Glenferrie Road

There is a new Chinese Dumplings place on Glenferrie Rd. It's alright for a cheap dinner out - probably wouldn't come back in a hurry. The dumplings were good - but that was probably the MSG!

For most of the meal we were the only people in the restaurant!

Overall impression: average

Rating: 2/5






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Location:Glenferrie Rd,Hawthorn,Australia

Night in the country

We spent the night at Chris Goodwin's vineyard near Castlemaine, it was freezing cold but the bonfire kept us all warm!



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Location:Guildford,Australia

Update:
Chris is leaving this Friday (18 June) for a job in Hong Kong and this trip was his chance to show off his vineyard. We went up on Friday after work for the night and all the dog owners bought they pooches along to run around.

Here are a few more pics from the night:

Birdman Eating

We're having breakfast at Birdman Eating cafe on Gertrude St that we ride past every day - both having baked eggs with mushrooms, spinach, and goats cheese!

Baked eggs are ok - not my favourite! They did have a lot of other unusual stuff on their menu, so worth coming back to try something different

Overall impression: nice place, not sure about the eggs

Rating: 3/5




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Location:Gertrude St,Fitzroy,Australia

iPad

Reid and I bought an iPad - it is fab!!

The screen is great, and the sideways keyboard in almost full size and so easy to type on, I can almost touch type with the aid of the auto-correct!! Plus it is so responsive and powerful - although that is probably because it is new and not sluggish yet.

Not many of the apps I use are in iPad size yet, like Facebook or Twitter, but I'm sure they can't be far away! The BBC has a great app, and Google maps plus street view is awesome. I quite like the mail, but only in landscape - the portrait layout is a bit weird!

Will update later when I've looked at the iBooks - mostly just reading the news website so far

Overall impression: AMAZING!!!!!

Rating: 4/5





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Location:Grandview Grove,Hawthorn East,Australia

Melburn Roobaix

Today was the Melburn Roobaix, in the spirit of the French race, the Paris / Roubaix - just more fun and less hard core!

The ride started in Pridmore Park in Hawthorn and ventured all over Melbourne before finishing at the Hotel Lomond in Brunswick.

Here are some photos and videos:
http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/05/melburn-roobaix-hell-of-the-northcote/
http://www.melbournecyclist.com/video/2010-melburn-roobaix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jq8p4hsiOs

Here are some of our pics

Melburn Roobaix - finished

At the Lomond pub in Brunswick with a beer after the Melburn Roobaix! Great day - lots of fun.

Hung out with Reid, Ange, and Jim Bob - been all over Melbourne, through the mud, in puddles, and over lots of cobbles! Even stopped for a free red bull :-)



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Melburn Roobaix - stop 1

At the Provincial Hotel - Brunswick Street



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Grumpy's Green

Out for dinner on Smith St at Grumpy's Green - Eco friendly vege restaurant/bar. They have a huge selection of boutique beers and great menu. Massive 10 points for couch booths! Plus outdoor beer garden!

Reid's having eggplant Parma, I'm having dahl - both awesome!

http://www.grumpysgreen.com/fitzroy/

Overall impression - the best!

Rating: 4.5/5



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Location:Little Smith St,Fitzroy,Australia

Soccer 2

AU score 2nd goal in dying (overtime) minute!!!! Final score AU 2 v NZ 1!!

Didn't really know what was going on - and definitely don't understand the whole falling over thing!!

Good game - I think!






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Soccer!!

At the soccer - NZ scores first . . . .



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Location:Brunton Ave,East Melbourne,Australia

Supper Inn - Chinatown

At Supper Inn for dinner before heading to the soccer - NZ v AU in a pre-world cup friendly at the MCG!

Having the prawns and seasonal vege - obviously not a lot in season at the moment! Tastes ok, not much to look at tho!

Reid's have deep fried eggplant and tofu - tastey when combined with sauce from my dish!








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Location:Celestial Ave,Melbourne,Australia

Movie: Iron Man 2

Saw Iron Man 2 tonight. The action sequences were great, especially the scene with Scarlett Johansson beating up a whole line up of baddies - well filmed and well choreographed. Not quite as witty as the first film. I would have thought that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) would be used to the action by now and a little less damsel in distress! Robert Downy Jr, charismatic as ever :-)

Overall impression: entertaining

Rating: 3/5

The Undertaker

Dinner at the Undertaker near Glenferrie Rd.

I had some sort of ricotta gnocchi - the sauce was average, and balls of cheese as gnocchi isn't that flash! Reid had steak - his love for meat seems to be waning!

www.theundertaker.com.au

The service was pretty good.

Overall impression: Okay

Rating 2.5/5



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Gibsons Wine Bar

Having a bottle of wine at Gibsons Wine Bar - it's set up with a wine shop at the back and then tables at the front. People have even bought in their take away dinner!

Overall impression: great ambience

Rating: 4/5

PS. A dude sat on a chair and the leg broke off and he fell on the floor! D'oh














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Location:Burwood Rd,Hawthorn,Australia

Vege pizza

Dinner at the local vegetarian pizza joint - Plush Pizza
www.plushpizza.com.au

I had Potato Swoon - really chips on a pizza. Reid had Primavera -like supreme without the meat!

Both nice, but not our favourite

Overall impression: good, will try again

Rating: 3/5




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Location:Burwood Rd,Hawthorn,Australia

Dual in the Sun

I've just finished reading Dual in the Sun by John Brant. It's about the '82 Boston Marathon race between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley, considered one of the greatest marathon races

The book goes on to tell the story of the challenges Alberto and Dick face in lives after the race that lead to the decline in their running careers

Overall impression: Inspirational

Rating: 3/5


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Location:Grandview Grove,Hawthorn East,Australia