ballarat

sigh been really letting myself go lately
feeling uber uber depressed
so many unflattering pictures of me popping up on facebook

i ve decided, from monday onwards i am going to start new diet regime
so that leaves tomorrow and sunday to 'cheat' before i hop right to it

yes sireee
hate winter weight :(

had a pretty awesome mid semester break!
as predicted, i didnt do much uni work at all
but yes. going to get to that, together with the dieting
i m going to be a SAINT from monday onwards.
just call me Saint Phoon.

headed to Silk Road last Sunday for a one-off clubbing event
had a really good time!
the place looked even prettier than it did the last time i went
never even noticed the chandeliers till i saw Tommy's photos recently
dance floor was small and really crowded, but to be honest, i didnt mind it as i spent more time at the various bars anyway

love it when i attend an event without the safety net of close friends and it turns out to be a banging night :)

gorgeous

getting obsessed with deciding if i have should have a 21st, and where. wonder if Silk Road is available for private functions?

had a relaxing little midweek roadtrip up to Ballarat
left on Tuesday and stayed the night at Heritage on Lydiard
nice-ish little boutique hotel with killer restaurant and deliciously warm hottub and pool
cannot believe how many photos there are!

the middle picture says 'Ballarat, the home of Mars' (as in a Mars Bar). i wonder why that is so? do Ballarat people like Mars Bars?

missing late night walks in the cold air. i wish winter would last just a little bit longer.

Was glad i had the opportunity to see some of Hans Heysen's work, my mom and i both like his landscapes. sounds weird, but i love the way he did his tree bark, the bold strokes take so much skill to produce the effect of that of a gumtree!

highlight of my trip (and reason i organised it actually) was dinner. haha, sad but true! chef Damien Jones left Circa and Vin cellar to go to Lydiard wine bar, so we went to check it out. Nice decor, good wine list, okay service.

12 course tapas style degustation, excellent value and defnitely a solid showing. off the top of my head, we had kitchen made potato bread with basil oil and mt zero olives, salmon and herb terrine, roast duck salad, red wine butter and dry aged rump steak, mushroom croquette, asian style oysters and some anchovie canape.

hated the pyegana cheddar at the end. might eventually grow on me, but was too creamy for my tastes and the aftertaste was weird .

easily my favourite were the desserts. had three to share i think?
anyway, the chocolate fondant with sherry icecream, and the blood orange jelly with cream fraiche icecream were yummy.

oh yes silly me, i even have a picture of this, the other dessert was date pudding with vanilla custard.

the fondant was delish. warm oooozey chocolate. umm.

was so full by the end of it, but in excellent spirits so even Kev telling ghostly tales on a walk to Safeway for mixers couldnt faze me. hahah.



had breakfast at L'Expresso the next morning. Pretty sure this place is a new (or recent?) addition to The Age Good Food Guide 2010, and i think it was a hit. Huge portions, very satisfying. The baked beans were a nice surprise, they were perfectly baked in a little ceramic dish with some tomato and herb accents, and not too mushy

too bad i m not much of a CD person, if not this place's CD collection would surely have had me enthralled



we then went for a short drive up past Creswick, to the Tangled Maze
stumbled through hedges for an hour looking for clues, backtracking and wandering around the maze (felt like i was Harry potter, in the triwizard tournamnet! haha)
before playing some minigolf

was such a pretty place, the minigolf course sported some pretty breathtaking views across the area

Came back to Melbourne, then had dinner at Longrain with Henny.
Bri is on a detox till monday so poor girl could only watch



had my betel nut leaf and trout thingy, which i love, along with various assortment of dishes, soft shell crab, tofu, oysters etc
Hen's favourite is the sweet pork hork.

the coconut icecream was goooooddd, now
arent i lucky i had it before i started my diet?

boy i love holidays
:)

gonna run off now, cause i have a wedding luncheon to attend tomorrow,
and OMIGOD i just looked at the clock and its 4.15 am

nights!
or morning, depending on how you swing