Toasted Ham, Semi Sundried Tomato & Cheese Sandwich
Continental Creamy Mushroom Soup with Croutons
Mundella Premium Natural Pot Set Yoghurt with Honey
Chicken Mignonne & Potato Bake - last night's leftovers
I quite enjoy the drive home from work during the early afternoon. That is, if I'm not tired and struggling to stay awake at the wheel. I can't believe how much time I spend commuting between home and work but the hours I spend in the car does give me some time to think and daydream. Today was especially beautiful as I drove down Mounts Bay Road. It always reminds me of one evening when I was in Santa Monica having dinner in a restaurant by the ocean. I was thinking how lucky the locals were to be living right beside the ocean with that awesome view. It was only then that I realised that I'd spent the last few years driving back and forth along the edge of our beautiful Swan River and had taken it all for granted. Not anymore. I especially love the days when the sailboats are out on the water. I'd love to go sailing one day.Back at home I got ready to head out to Burswood with Mum. She likes to go on Wednesday nights because they have draws and give away really great prizes. Well...it was my mum's lucky night tonight. SHE WON THE CAR!!
I missed all the excitement, much to her dismay. I was having dinner with Marissa and Teresa.
We caught up for a predinner drink at the Spice Lounge. We ordered the cocktail special. I forget the name but it had something to do with 'paradise'. I remember the ingredients though - muddled lime, sugar, apple liqueur and cherry brandy. YUM! Just as we sat down, it suddenly struck me that the setting reminded me of the evenings we went to the Pavilion at the Sentosa Resort for drinks during our Singapore trip earlier in the year. I think it was the dim lighting, the comfortable chairs and the lounge singer.From there we went straight to Alure for dinner. I took a photo of the actual pages of the menu so that I would be able to specify what dishes we ordered because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember them just off the top of my head.
Just after we were seated, our waiter brought us a little expresso cup of gazpacho to help cleanse our palate. Whenever I get those at restaurants, I'm left wishing that I could order it as an entree or even a main course! That expresso cup serve is just not enough when it tastes that good!
Marissa - Tart of wild mushroom, hazelnut paste, rocquette
with Manjimup black truffle
Teresa - King prawn ravioli, champagne, ginger bisque
Myself - Pan fried scallops, chorizo, soft ink squid polenta, confit lemon
*drool* - my scallops were cooked oh so so perfectly!! We played musical plates with our entrees so we could sample a bit of each other's dishes. They were all so delicious!
Marissa - Pork Belly and Crayfish tail
Teresa & Myself - five spiced Duck breast, figs, croustillant of leg meat, orange, cinnamon
Mesclun salad with walnut dressing
Roast Kipfler potato in duck fat, thyme, garlic
Ricotta Gnocchi, parmesan reggiano
Oh My God the duck was just to die for!! There was a generous serve of juicy, tender slices of duck meat. Our mains were all served with roast pumpkin and bok choy. We ordered some sides. I finished off the salad - the dressing was nice and light. We were all a bit disappointed with the potatoes - they did not taste like they had been cooked with duck fat. The gnocchi was yummy too but I could only manage to try a few pieces since I was all 'creamed out' with the potato bake for lunch. I still prefer the gnocchi we had at the Pelle's for our Italian feast night though.
Chocolate parcel, trio of spiced chocolate mousse, boysenberries
We were a bit disappointed with the dessert. It was still nice but nothing special. We were such food critics with it! We decided that it tasted rather ordinary when you had a mouthful of the 'chocolate parcel' on its own, but if you had a mouthful with some of the 'chocolate parcel', some of the vanilla icecream, and some of the boysenberries (was like a berry coulis), the flavours all came together nicely.
We saw the table next to us order some cocktails and Teresa asked them what they were having. They told us they were Chocolate Martinis and that they were highly recommended. It didn't take a further word to convince us to order one for ourselves. It was sooooo good!! Like a chocolate milkshake!
It's a pity that Teresa and I had an early start tomorrow. We were having such a wonderful time and left rather reluctantly, especially when my mum's good luck was rubbing off on Marissa and Teresa at the rapid roulette.
No comments:
Post a Comment