Brekkie @ Kiln

It's almost spring! The well-below-zero overnight temperautres seem to have finished, for now, and there are daffodils, jonquils, wattle flowers, cherry blossoms and baby birds about. In a spring-ish spirit, Andrew and I cycled to a new (to us) cafe for breakfast this morning: Kiln at Belco Arts. We enjoyed coffee, to start:

then I had:

Dirty samosa

and Andrew had:

Belco brekkie

It was delicious. We sat inside, this time, but will sit outside in future if the weather permits. The outdoor seating overlooks the beautiful Lake Ginninderra. Nice :-)

Brekkie @ Cafe Luzon

There's a little strip of shops at North Lyneham, Canberra ... a cafe, convenience store, hairdresser, gym ... up until recently there was also a lovely organic shop, but sadly it closed down after 18 years. (Alas! I shopped there from their first day to their penultimate day. Sniff.) Andrew and I lived in North Lyneham for fourteen years before moving to nearby Kaleen, ten years ago, so have watched the comings and goings in the area. For many years the eatery was called Cafe Charisma, then it was replaced by Hide 'n Seek for about three years, then when that closed almost a year ago we wondered what (if anything) would replace it. 

Happily, Cafe Luzon opened in early 2026 and has become another favourite! The Filipino-inspired menu is diverse and delicious. I often pop in for coffee on the way home from boot camp, and today we went there for breakfast. I had:

Eggs benedikto (with pandesal and crispy kale)

while Andrew had:

Tocilog (grilled marinated pork with garlic

rice, Asian slaw, fried egg and house vinegar)

It's a warm and friendly spot and a fine addition to North Lyneham. Oh, and their cakes are wonderful too. I rarely eat sweet treats when out (can't really afford the calories) but Andrew and I shared a slab of their awesome purple ube sponge cake recently:

So gooood!

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!

Back to Timor-Leste

I first visited Timor-Leste in 2018, as part of a study tour, and last week I returned. It's a fascinating place … exotic and chaotic, the opposite of Canberra's clean, controlled streets. A bunch of people have asked to see photos and I'm afraid I didn't take many this time. Too busy soaking up the experiences and the atmosphere. You can see photos from my 2018 trip here and here and here if interested. Anyway …

Sunset on the beach in Dili

(Ahem) gin cocktails at Hotel Timor

The main event: I attended the inauguration

of a school I'd helped contribute to

Remembering murdered journalists in Balibo

Ruined building at Balibo

Watching the film Balibo at Balibo.

Very poignant.

Cute critter

Brekkie at Balibo Fort Hotel.

Mie goreng. Delicious!

Tropical flowers at Balibo

When several malae (foreigners) trekked to see a magnificent waterfall

near Balibo, a bunch of kids from the nearby village joined us. The

little girl pictured, Amana, grabbed my hand and kindly

helped prevent me falling into various streams!

Obrigada barak, Amana :-)

'Only Timorese coffee is allowed in heaven':

spotted at Agora Food Studio

Portuguese tarts at a Dili café

Timor-Leste is very close to Australia, about a one hour flight north of Darwin. A beautiful place.

Brekkie @ a bunch of places

I've been very remiss lately and failed to blog! Too busy living my life to blather on about it. But Andrew and I have continued our weekend breakfast adventures and have tried some new places and tastes among all the old favourites lately. For example …

At Frankie's at Forde, he ate:

Frank's brekky

And I had:

Smashed avo

At The Irvine Cafe & Bar, at Florey, I enjoyed:

Vegan rosti stack

while he had:

Mexican eggs

At Stepping Stone, Dickson, I finally tried something different (having become addicted to their Turkish Eggs):

Golden Goddess (spiced scrambled tofu)

while we checked out Café Cultura in Civic last weekend and were delighted by:

Turkish breakfast for two

Last but not least – and this was eaten for lunch rather than brekkie – my meal yesterday at Al Manoosh Lebanese Bakery in Mawson was spectacular:

Labne, zaatar and veggies

Three cheers for Canberra and its wonderful food options!

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.