A night at the zoo!

The National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra has been around since the early eighties and they have offered overnight stays at Jamala Wildlife Lodge for about ten years. I'd always wanted to spend a night at the zoo and was very lucky to stay there on Sunday night as a birthday treat. The package included lunch, tours, dinner, accommodation and breakfast. It was a spectacular experience. Here are some pics ...

Light lunch on arrival

And from the self-guided Sunday afternoon tour:

Our luxurious room, which had a lemur enclosure on one side and an expansive view of lion habitat on the other:

Lemur-viewing window

Yawning, snuggling lemurs!

Dinner:

Assorted canapes

Madagascan vegetable and tofu curry with coconut rice

Creme brulee

Mischka the white lion snoozed next to the room where we ate dinner and was still slumbering there when we reconvened for breakfast the next morning :-)

Breakfast:

Vego eggs benedict

We expected to be in a group for our guided tour on Monday morning but the other participants didn't show so Andrew and I received a very personalised tour with our knowledgeable guide, Lucy. Some highlights:

We were allowed to pat the rhino!

We had access to our room for one more hour between finishing the walking tour and checking out ...

... which meant we could watch our lemur friends enjoy breakfast

Such am amazing experience. Delightful and delicious and educational.

On the hunt for protein ...?

We all need more chick peace in our lives

(sign spotted in Sri Lanka in 2023)

I've been doing boot camp classes for almost ten years and they're great fun. I started doing them, at my then workplace, as a way to regain strength after fracturing my humerus in 2015, and enjoyed the classes so much that I continued attending even after I left that job eight years ago. (Funnily, a bunch of other regular attendees are also ex-employees. Or even spouses of ex-employees :-)

Anyway, some of the group are doing a February protein challenge where they are trying to consume extra quantities of protein this month. The mid-exercise conversation today turned to how to reach the goal, which got me thinking about recipes that might be packed with protein. I'm not much of a meat eater so dishes featuring legumes, nuts, soy and dairy products sprang to mind. Here are a few meatless ideas that might boost protein intake:

Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce

Cheese souffle

Chickpea delight

Dal makhani

Lentil, cauliflower and sweet potato soup

Mushroom, lentil and rice casserole

Nachos

Palak paneer

Peacamole dip

Rocket and haloumi salad

Shakshuka

Spanish omelette

Sri Lankan lentil curry

Tandoori tofu salad

Teriyaki tofu and veges

Vegetarian shepherd's pie

Zucchini, basil and feta fritters

and for dessert …

Chocolate cheesecake

Orange and almond cake

Portuguese tarts

Wattalapam

Enjoy!

New Zealand: the 2025 edition

Every second year or so Andrew and I go to New Zealand to catch up with my family. This time we went in late May and early June, and have made a mental note to go earlier in the year next time, as several tourist attractions had closed for the winter already. Anyway, there's not much to report. Apart from spending time with family, the trip was largely about eating, drinking, and walking. Some highlights:

Wellington coffee @ Lazy Juan

Chilli oil eggs @ Kind Wish Café, Kelburn

Whanganui River (at a rare, non-raining moment)

Tram ride! Whanganui

Virginia Lake, Whanganui

Lunch @ Tasty Indian Restaurant, Whanganui

Double decker bus in Whanganui

Dinner @ Tasty Indian Restaurant, Whanganui (yes, we went there twice)

Coffee @ Jolt Coffee House, Whanganui

OMG! Deconstructed lemon meringue pie @ Union Square

Bistro & Bar, Martinborough. A revelation :-)

Nasi lemak @ Little Penang, Wellington

More Wellington coffee!

Lunch @ Curry Heaven, Newtown, Wellington. We used to go to

their CBD branch but it closed so we tracked them down to the suburbs

The Wellington Cable Car (funicular railway)

Thanks to Andrew for (most of) the pics. He thoroughly documented the trip.

Farewell, NZ. See you next time.

Choley bhature may be addictive ...

The choley bhature at Bharat International in Belconnen is amazing. Chickpea curry, salad, pickles and two gigantic puffy hunks of bread. There are many other things on their menu, and it's all good, but I can't resist ordering this dish every time I go.

Bharat is at 1/17 Oatley Court, Belconnen, ACT 2617 and comprises both a restaurant and a South Asian supermarket.

Brekkie @ The Lott Café, Cooma

Last week Andrew and I spent three nights in Jindabyne, at the base of the Snowy Mountains. We've been there many times before. A great little town! It gets crazy busy in winter, due to the nearby ski fields, so we like to visit in autumn and spring when it is quieter. Anyway, en route to and from Jindabyne we stopped at The Lott in Cooma for coffee and breakfast. Delicious.

We started with coffee:

then he had:

A Bit Irish (Colcannon potatoes, poached eggs,

black pudding, white pudding, plum sauce)

and I had:

Avo Rosti Stack (smashed avocado, potato rosti, feta,

beetroot, snow pea shoots, chimichurri and mixed seeds)

Nom nom.

A sunflower maze in Canberra!

This blog has mainly become my online recipe book. I barely post anymore, though I often pop by for recipes. Just lately it's been pumpkin bread, rice paper rolls, peacamole and carrot and coriander soup.

Anyway … we recently spotted a story on Canberra's news blog, The Riotact, about a local sunflower maze. It's only open for two weeks (closing on 16 March) so Andrew and I bought some tickets, grabbed a picnic lunch, and headed out there today. Delightful.

Thanks to Andrew for the photos.

Brekkie @ Highroad

Well, well, well. I'd never been to Highroad in Dickson before. Not for any deep and meaningful reason, but simply because Canberra has soooo many fabulous eateries it's hard to try them all. Anyway, my friend Michelle invited me to Highroad for breakfast today. What a treat. It was delicious. We started with coffee and hot chocolate then Michelle had:

Tropical chia pudding with coconut milk, rhubarb,

dried apple, pineapple, citrus peel and strawberry foam

and I had:

Tzatziki eggs: fresh cucumber, poached eggs,

radish, sumac, evoo*, chilli oil and focaccia

Nom nom! My dish was reminiscent of the Turkish Eggs served at Stepping Stone (another wonderful find in Dickson). We ended the meal with (ahem) more coffee and hot chocolate, to give us an excuse to keep sitting there and chatting. Nice to catch up. It had been a while. Anyway, recommended! Thanks Michelle.

* yep, I googled evoo. Turns out it means extra virgin olive oil :-)

Brekkie @ Café Momo

Bruce, a Canberra suburb about 2 km from our place, used to be quite sleepy on weekends. It's home to the University of Canberra and various government departments so much busier on weekdays. That said, lots more apartments have appeared there in recent years so the range of eateries, services and shops is growing. Recently Andrew and I enjoyed a delicious Sunday morning breakfast at Café Momo in Thynne Street.

Coffee to start (of course)

Karin's choice: corn and haloumi fritters with beetroot

hummus, poached eggs and avocado salsa

Andrew's choice: apple cinnamon porridge

with maple, granola and fresh fruit

I'd visited Café Momo on a few previous occasions, for coffee or lunch with friends working in nearby offices, but it's also a great choice for a leisurely weekend brekkie! There's plenty of outdoor seating too, if you (like us) are still trying not to catch COVID-19 (again).

Tasting Singapore with Singapore Foodsters

We recently spent four nights in Singapore, at the conclusion of our Java tour, and signed up for a five-hour walking tour of several foodie neighbourhoods before we left Australia. (In hindsight, maybe this was a bit ambitious? We ate a LOT of food in Indonesia!) Anyway, the tour was run by Gerry from Singapore Foodsters, and it was the second time we'd done one of his tours. They're a great introduction to the many, varied cultures and cuisines of the city.

We were collected from our hotel and the group's first wander was around a fresh food market in Little India:

Followed by generous tastings at an Indian restaurant …

… and in a hawker centre in Chinatown:

We also enjoyed gelato and coffee (not pictured, forgot to take a photo) in Kampong Glam. Our tour (on foot, MRT trains and a double-decker bus) took us to various fascinating places and Gerry's informative commentary explained many aspects of Singapore's history.

Since our previous trip to Singapore in 2018, a bunch of huge murals had appeared!

An excellent way to explore Singapore with a local. Recommended.