Chilli mussels and garlic bread

chilli mussels from Conca's, Perth

What is the best thing to have at 9 p.m. in Perth in winter when all the shops are closed and it's cold and dreary outdoors, and your tummy is rumbling and you miss the tingling numbing kick of chilli on your lips? Chilli mussels of course. Make that a whole basin full too. Add a wedge of lemon. Thick slices of just-toasted garlic bread to mop up all that tomatoey-garlicky chilli hot sauce. Add a glass of great red. And the winter seems cheery again. Oh yes, and not a smelly mussel was found in an entire basin. I liked that.

PS. I didn't have any of the red, but I did have a chocolate milkshake which soothed the burning lips perfectly and I attained my calcium intake for the day too.

a birthday surprise

I celebrated my 29th birthday in Perth. Didn't expect a celebration of any sort as I was totally happy with getting away and spending time with D and friends. That to me was a celebration in itself for my last 'twenty-something' birthday. Maybe I was drowsy from having to blow my nose every 3 minutes for days on end, but I didn't suspect a thing. Cake, candles, 'happy b'day' cut-outs on the wall were literally prepared under my extremely blocked nose. Thanks guys.

PS. The cake was yummy. Especially liked the pecans and chocolate drizzles on top.

The nicest view on our trip - Cape Leeuwin

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, near Augusta, WA, Australia

We didn't do that much sightseeing, but the little we did was simply breathtaking. The weather that day was perfect. A little breeze, a lot of sunshine and the temperature wasn't your typical WA winter's. It was more like spring. We could climb to the top of the lighthouse for AU$10 for a tour, but are you kidding me, 10 bucks to climb 10 floors? At the ground floor of the lighthouse was a ticketing counter (AU$3 if you walk around the grounds) and a tiny cafe. Pity we were still full from brekkie, I wouldn't mind trying the home-made soup with toast. Something chunky, something creamy would be nice. The smell of the simmering soup waffing in the air, coupled with the spectacular sunshine, was just awesome. No soup for us - we had leftover sausages and buns to finish off. PS. We didn't of course. M and I shared one and the rest of the sad souls made their way back to Frank's dining table untouched in a oversized zipblog bag looking very much like a doggy bag takeaway. The boys were upset as they, according to them, 'braved' the morning chill to bbq them for our roadtrip. Well, not upset enough to eat some themselves it seems. Enjoy the view.

the lighthouse from the rocks with the winter's sun

the lighthouse upclose

motherhood

Hi bleaders (blog readers) [a term I borrowed from Julie Powell], sorry for the long absence. Yes, motherhood has arrived. Its 4 months plus and counting. Morning sickness with all the accompanying jazz hit for a month, and eating, cooking, looking at food, reading about food, blogging about food, anything to do with the action of placing food into my mouth and digesting, etc were totally out of the question, even for foodie-maniac me. Well, the worst is over (for now at least) and I'm back to my greedy foodie self as I foray into the 2nd trimester. For a while, I did forget about this comforting place called nookbistro, but was reminded by friends (Yuen, Sunny, Franks, Mel S) to get back. Thanks guys for the nudging.

So I'm back and back with a vengence. Other than my usual thoughts on all things food, I might be musing over being preggy (I can't help it!). For a start, I'll be posting a series of posts on a recent trip to Perth. Stay tuned...