Daily Outfit: Saturday Casual

Today was all about getting ready for the week ahead. 

Most people, I imagine, use their weekends to relax and rewind and not to run around like a madman getting their lives sorted for the following week. I am unfortunately not such a person, and while I did find time today for one or two moments of relaxation, the majority of my time was spent running errands, doing chores, and generally getting my life sorted out for the following six days.

I didn't really get a chance to stop until I headed out to dinner tonight with the boyfriend.

Daily Outfit: Travel Jacket Trial-run

This morning the boyfriend and I braved the dreary wet conditions Canberra was experiencing, and headed to Chatterbox in Belconnen for breakfast.

I was excited because not only did I get to eat a delicious breakfast, but I also got to give this blazer that I picked up at a church fete yesterday, its first trail run. I was really skeptical about the blazer at first, and in fact I picked it up to laugh at it. However, Jiawa from Cloaset Voyage and Albert both saw something in it, and suggested that I give it a go.

I'm really glad that I listened to them now.

Daily Outfit: Lazy Lakeside Sunday

I spent the morning of this lazy Sunday lakeside, enjoying the beautiful crisp and clear day here in Canberra.

The Boyfriend and I decided to make the most of it and headed into Belconnen for breakfast at Ha Ha Bar, which is on the foreshore of Lake Giniderra. We had a relaxed breakfast, our first time for breakfast at Ha Ha Bar, and then after a brief stop at Bunnings for Blog supplies of all things, we headed home to enjoy the rest of our lazy Sunday.

Daily Outfit: Sports Luxe

I've always been curious about trying Sports Luxe as a style, and with incorporating this look into my own wardrobe.

This jersey was a last-ditch effort to try and salvage an otherwise dismal thrifting adventure (for me) that I had recently with Heather and Jiawa. My chief issue has always been that I'm just not sports savvy: It took me several Google searches to narrow down which team this jersey represents (the Dallas Cowboys) and then more to figure out which sport they play (Gridiron, apparently). Trying Sports Luxe as a look has always felt a little disingenuous to me.

Dining Out: Wonder Meals authentic Chinese cuisine, Belconnen

I have been curious about Wonder Meals in Belconnen for some time now. I had eaten at its predecessor many moons ago, and being something of fanatic for Chinese food, I was intrigued by the unassuming facade to the new place, and the crowds of Chinese patrons I've often chanced entering the restaurant as I've driven past.

With a danger to becoming one of those  occasional Foodie Bloggers who only ever say that the places that they eat at are amazing; Wonder Meals is AMAZING! 

The second I walked in the door and saw the fit-out, I was entranced. I was lucky enough to try Wonder Meals for the first time yesterday at lunch with a girlfriend of Chinese heritage, and we both had a really lovely time. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves for most of our meal, our food was brought to us promptly, everything was delicious, and it didn't cost much at all.

My friend and I poured over the menu, ad in the end ordered four dishes and a pot of Jasmine tea. The dishes we selected were:
Goutie (Pan-fried Dumplings)
Sauteed mutton with cumin
Fried snow peas with fragrant sauce
Fried eggplant with spicy salt

The dumplings were unlike any I have had before, which was a nice surprise. The mutton is the best I have had in Canberra to date, with other offerings having been incredibly greasy, where this dish was almost dry-fried and beautifully fragrant. The fried snow peas were delicious and perfectly cooked with enough crunch left in them, but I did find the sauce a little too viscous. The eggplant was again, perfectly cooked, and the spicy salt was delicious, though the batter could have been a little thinner. All in all, I had no actual complaints with my meal at all, and was eager to return and try more of what Wonder Meals has to offer. 

So eager, in fact, that I jumped at the opportunity to return this evening with a group of friends. There were nine of us in total and we ate like pigs  for little more than $30 a head, including drinks and a tip. I won't detail everything that we ate because I didn't have time to snap pictures (I was too busy wolfing down the delicious food); but I will share this hot tip: order the 'Deep-fried Tomatoes with Flavor'. This, as it turns out, is a desert dish. It is regular tomatoes you'd buy from the supermarket, lightly battered (much lighter than the picture above suggests!), deep fried, and served hot sprinkled with sugar. I hate tomatoes raw (I know, I'm a weird guy), and I had two helpings of this dish! It is kitchen alchemy! So get on it, because your taste buds will thank me! 

I really recommend that any Canberrans, but especially those living in or near Belconnen, get down to Wonder Meals and try some Chinese food that strays outside your Anglo comfort zones. Believe me, you won't regret it!

Dining Out: Temporada, Civic, Canberra.

A week ago today, on their opening night no less, I was lucky enough to have dinner at Temporada with my best friend. We had no meal plans for the evening and were seeing Wolf Creek 2 at 9:20 at Palace Electric, so on a whim after reading HerCanberra’s tweets and sneak peek at the new restaurant; we decided to try our luck and see if we could be seated for a meal.

Dining Out: A. Baker, New Acton precinct, Canberra

A. Baker has received a lot of negative press since opening in the New Acton dining precinct in late 2013, and I must confess that my first experience dining there was not ideal. From reading every available review I could find, the majority of people weighing in seemed to feel like the food was impressive, but that the service was severely lacking. I have to concede that this mirrors my own first dining experience with A. Baker in late 2013.

However on Monday last week my friend was visiting from Sydney and had not yet tried A. Baker; so I found myself returning and giving Canberra's latest problem child of dining a second chance.

And I am so pleased that I did.

Daily Outfit: Work to dinner outfit change

I had to make a quick outfit change between work and dinner tonight, which got me thinking about just how versatile my wardrobe is or isn’t.

For example, the burnt-orange chinos I wore today. Statistically speaking, I think you would find that most people view chinos as a fairly casual garment. As I have mentioned before I have a sort of mullet aesthetic to dressing myself: business up top (shirt and tie) party below (jeans, chinos or shorts).

Dining Out: Penny University, Kingston, Canberra

There have been a raft of new restaurants opening up across Canberra in the past twelve-months; and living as I do now in the wilds of Belconnen, I wasn't even aware that half of them existed.

This was the case with Penny University. I discovered it through reviews on Tara and Rachi's Blogs, and then fatefully a dear friend visited this weekend and the opportunity to check it out presented. I did not, however, foresee that I would be at Penny University twice in under 24-hours!

Dining Out: 86, Braddon, Canberra

As you've no doubt gauged from my Rubenesque figure; I freaking love food.

A key passion of mine is fine dining, not just having dinner at a restaurant, but the whole palaver of silver service, crisply presented wait-staff, and food that could easily be mistaken for some sort of post-modern floral arrangement.

Daily Outfit: Brunch

It was a nice sunny day here in Canberra, so the boyfriend and I decided to make the most of it and indulge in a little brunch.

Daily Outfit: Mr. Lobster

Today I had an appointment with my amazing Hairdresser Elise, so this meant that it was time for the boyfriend and I to have our monthly 'Date Night' afterwards. However, in light of our new attempt to eat healthier, we decided to forgo our usual Chinese haunt the Takee Roast Inn, and instead visited a Japanese place up the road for pickles, sushi, and a cheeky beer.

Daily Outfit: Sunday style

Today I headed to Yum Cha with my mother in Canberra's answer to Chinatown. It was a beautiful sunny winter day, and true to my self, I spent it inside eating Chinese delicacies and then getting my sewing room in order.

Dining Out: Only on a Sunday - Chestnuts

Today I had the great pleasure of attending the May 'Only on a Sunday' monthly lunch at Old Parliament House here in Canberra. The day could not have been more perfect for it: the sun was shining but the air remained cool, and the delicious smells of roasting chestnuts and goat filled the sublimely enclosed space of the private courtyard.

Daily Outfit: Hong Kong Garden Take Away

The boyfriend and I have developed something of a ritual, where every time I go and get my hair cut, he picks me up afterwards and we go and have dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant in Dickson, Canberra’s Chinatown.