out and about

Piccos on Peninsula Rd

Posted on September 24, 2011September 25, 2011 by bekswhoknits

On a hungover Saturday, the Mr dragged me out to dinner and away from my tracky daks and tea (hangover essentials).
The promise was pasta and pizza. The place was Piccos. I didn’t even know where it was, even though it’s just 2 minutes up the road. Turns out I used to run past it all the time.

The location isn’t idyllic, but the attention to detail inside more than makes up for the location.

From the handwritten menu on the wall, to the table numbers, to the umbrella stand, every little detail had been thought of and executed beautifully.

We were unprepared as usual, so it was water only for the table but we’ll know for next time (and there will be a next time).

After the promise of pizza and pasta, we had to choose. The pizza menu had so many delicious items, but I couldn’t go past the bbq chicken, with capsicum and onion. It’s one of my favourites.

Mr Polka-dots&Sparkles, had the linguini cabonara.
The food was good, just what I felt like. And we were able to take the rest of the pizza home (which is great because I can never eat a full pizza).

But looking around at all the different foods around us, next time I think we’ll be a little bit more adventurous.

I really wanted to take photos of everything, the whole place was just so cute.

It’s a keeper.

A footy game, a gig, and 5 days of sleep

Posted on September 13, 2011September 15, 2011 by bekswhoknits

…and you will know us by the trail of dead… was absolutely epic on Sunday night.
Words can’t even begin to describe it. That moment when you hear the riff to one of your all-time favourite songs, surrounded by people who love them aswell.
I may have screamed a little.

Between that on Sunday night and the football on Friday night I slept.
And slept.
Like Rip Van Winkle type of sleep.
I’m still not 100% but I’m back at work. I lasted at work yesterday for a grand total of 45 minutes of everyone telling me that I looked awful so I went home and slept some more (and watched some bad television).

Lets hope the new rapture album, a spotlight catalogue, project runway Australia finale, and a bowl of mac and cheese hits the spot.
Failing that a hot bath and some hugs from my man (or my dolls which now live in my clean spare bedroom).

Too expensive for plastic seats – Avenue 9

Posted on September 6, 2011September 6, 2011 by bekswhoknits

I don’t like being disappointed by a restaurant.

Last week when we were on our way home from shopping (a desk, a sewing machine, a tripod, and a wii fitness game) and it was dreary and neither of us felt like cooking.

So we pulled into Avenue 9. And I’m a bit sad to say that I was disappointed.

It was very expensive for what it was. My Thai Beef Salad was $26, and it was drenched in dressing to the point that there was a pool on the bottom of the bowl.
The beef was cooked beautifully but there was too much dressing for my taste.

The Mister had the Chicken Caeser with Anchovies. The anchovies were on the side which was nice, but it was rather unremarkable. How hard is it for a resteraunt to do a chicken caeser these days.

And it took me a few looks at the beer list to find one that I would drink, which is usually not a problem for me.

The staff were really friendly and attentive but couldn’t pronounce the special of the day.

On our way out I did offer this feedback to the staff, who were quick to suggest they could definitely put the dressing on the side next time (which perhaps I should have done in the first place) but I don’t think there’ll be a next time.

If I’m paying $26 for a salad, I don’t want to be sitting on plastic seats.

Cheeky pint at the ingie

Posted on August 31, 2011August 31, 2011 by bekswhoknits

I couldn’t be bothered cooking so we ended up at (guess where) the inglewood.

We were going to go to Alfreds in Guildford but we went the wrong way and didn’t want to do a u-turn on a busy road (so lazy I know).
But that got me in the mood for a burger.
So I had the beef burger. And Mr S was in the mood for a steak, fortunately one was on special.
And what a steak.
Before.

And after.

And my burger. Simply delicious.

And yes I finished that plate too.

Ladies who luncheon

Posted on August 26, 2011August 26, 2011 by bekswhoknits

A leisurely Friday lunch at Oxide in East Perth.

My work lovelies and I went for a spot of lunch. Walking down past Claisebrook Cove we stopped in at Oxide. It didn’t look too busy and we just wanted a quick meal.

One had eggs benedict. Poached eggs with bacon on an open English muffin with Hollandaise Sauce (but not quite enough Hollandaise Sauce).
The other lady had a Chicken and Avocado salad with balsamic vinaigrett (on the side).
And I had blueberry pancakes.

To be fair I had eaten proper lunch (carrot, celery, ham, salad) at 10:30, so I just wanted something sweet.
And it was something sweet.

Delicious hot pancakes, with a mixed berry compote which was just sweet enough. And extra berry compote to pour over the top. And just enough cream to gently coat the pancakes so they slid down my throat quite easily.
Decadent and delicious as we escaped work for an hour and watched the world go by on an almost summery Perth day.

We all need more sweetness in our lives.

Tuesday night pizza/pasta specials

Posted on August 24, 2011 by bekswhoknits

We go to Sienna’s in Mt Lawley because it’s close. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday pizza/pasta specials are an added bonus. And generally we get a good feed.

Last night, not so much. Mr Sparklesness’ spaghetti cabonara was nothing spectacular, and my pizza (chicken, capsicum, olive, and mushroom) was tasty but soggy. I had to fold it over itself to eat it without it collapsing.

The coopers on tap went down a treat though. And for a dinner for 2 for under $50 it wasn’t all that bad.

It probably didn’t help that I was in a cranky panda mood and it was rubbing off on Mr S (as he shall now be known as he refuses to be known by his initial, and Mr Musicfoodlife is silly and Mr Sparklesness takes too long to type on an iPhone).
It was one of those evenings where all the topics of conversation were disagreeable, and no middle ground could be found.

After Sienna’s we stopped at Clarences for a quick pint. It’s a new bar that just opened up, it’s a bit niche (read: wanky) but I think I better reserve judgement until I’m in a better frame of mind.

Cranky panda out.
xx

Just another lazy Sunday

Posted on August 22, 2011August 22, 2011 by bekswhoknits

We woke up in Dwellingup after a good night’s sleep on the stretcher beds.
My duffle bag did do a surprisingly good job as a pillow, J’s towel not so much.

It was a beautiful Sunday. There had been a little rain overnight but nowhere near as much as Sunday night (which luckily we were at home for, and not stepping out of a tent to 52mm of rain).
A hot cup of tea hit the spot, before a bacon, egg, mushroom, and tomato sandwich cooked on the gasmate.
A one fry pan meal means less washing up. It would have been better on the fire, but we had run out of firewood the night before.

After breakfast we went for an explore. J took me to where he went fishing last night. The river was flowing. There weren’t as many kayakers around as I expected.
We packed up the tent and went for a drive and checked out all the other places we can go.
We stayed at Baden Powell, and the time before was Lane Pool so next time (and there will be a next time) we’ll get organised and .
We turned on the The Twelfth Man and drove around, looking at the scenery. It is a beautiful place. So green and lush.

Heading home we stopped in Byford for a pie. It wasn’t great, but it still hit the spot.
It’s a good thing I love driving. Well I love sitting in the passengers seat. Listening to the football on talk back radio, knitting, and watching the world go by with my man by my side.

I had a long, long bath when we got home. Another one of my favourite parts or by-products of camping.

Dinner was Chinese Take-Away Wing Bo. It’s by far the best chinese restaurant we’ve found locally, even if we do have to walk there to pick it up.
We shared a chicken and sweet corn soup which hit the spot.
I had cashew beef with steamed rice. Which was delicious, but could have used some more cashews.
J had mongolian beef with noodles which was really tasty too. But I wasn’t allowed much of that.

Chinese food curled up on the couch watching movies (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, and then Gullivers Travels). It was a good way to end a camping weekend.

A trip to Mundaring Weir

Posted on August 14, 2011October 5, 2011 by bekswhoknits

A lovely Sunday morning drive to the Mundaring Weir about 40 minutes outside of Perth.

We stopped at a local bakery to pick up a pie, and drove to a little secluded spot in the Mundaring national park.

The scenery is always beautiful, and the weir is looking better for the recent rain we’ve had. We even found a little creek!

After lunch we went for a drive on a couple of 4WD tracks.
There was a couple of challenging parts and a couple of water crossings but we made it through.

I would have liked to have explored the Mundaring markets that were on, but we were late for my nephews first birthday.
My new modcloth skirt was perfect for a birthday, but not so perfect for exploring the bush.
It was a lovely Sunday, and I just hope we can get away further out of the city next weekend.

Footy at the ingie

Posted on August 13, 2011August 31, 2011 by bekswhoknits

The Inglewood Hotel is one of my
locals.
I pretty much know the menu, and I know it’s a good feed.

It’s not always the football result I want (my boys are having a terrible year), but it’s a good vibe and a good experience.

So my best gal and I went to watch the Hawthorn v Port Adelaide game.
A spot of lunch was in order between beers, and instead of individual meals (read I couldn’t decide) we ordered some sausage rolls, three cheese croquettes, and wedges.

I love the ingie’s sausage rolls. Lamb and fennel are a wonderful combination, I do t know why I don’t eat them together more often.

The three cheese croquettes were a little bland. The quince chutney suited it, but it sort of tasted like hash browns whereas I expected it to taste more like grilled haloumi or baked camembert.

Wedges are wedges. They’re a pub staple and the ingie doesn’t get them wrong.

I’d order the sausage rolls again, but not the croquettes, and not the wedges unless there was nothing else available.

And after losing the footy, those sausage rolls with lime aoli were the highlight.

Saturday lunch – The Royal

Posted on August 8, 2011August 9, 2011 by bekswhoknits

In the middle of a busy weekend, on the way to pick up some dry cleaning, we stopped off at The Royal for a late lunch.
Sitting in the sun, after a rainy week, was just delightful.

The pints of heineken went down very easily. J had the chicken penne, whilst I had the hand torn pasta with lamb.
It was absolutely delicious.
My lamb tasted like a roast dinner on pasta. The roast vegetables were little parcels of goodness, and the hand ripped pasta was divine.

I didn’t know what sauce was on J’s pasta, but if ever figure it out I would make it every night.
And there was still more options on the menu that we wanted to try.

I’ve been to The Royal before, mainly for after-work drinks, a few times for lunch, but this was the best food I’d tasted there.
J had never been there before and he wants to go back (always a good sign).

The views are lovely, looking out over the water.
Hopefully next time we could take the boat and stop off for a spot of lunch.
Either way, we’re going back.