a little trip to melbourne

We spent a lot of time with my uncle/aunt/cousin's cat in Melbourne!

Wow, it feels like October is over before it's begun! It's true, time does fly when you're having fun! Simon and I spent ten days in Melbourne this month, and it's been great just lazing around, and catching up with friends and family while we were there.

We had quite an indulgent time, food-wise. Dinner on the first night were these delicious home-cooked lobster noodles.

Chinese-style lobster noodles.

A big batch of bak kut teh (pork ribs in herbal broth) was also cooked at some point, and I turned the leftovers into a vegetable-studded bak kut teh noodle soup.

Bak kut teh with vegetables and thick rice noodles.

We spent most of our time out in the suburbs with my parents and relatives, but we did also manage to catch up with a few friends while we were there.

I caught up with my ex-colleagues, and we had a nice lunch at Nara Thai. My chilli-basil pork with rice was gratifyingly spicy, and I enjoyed chatting with everyone at the table and getting all the latest news!

Stir-fried chilli and basil pork with rice on the side at Nara Thai Restaurant in South Melbourne.

Delightful conversation flowed over a delicious Indian dinner with our friends at Mukka in Fitzroy. I was particularly charmed by the bhel puri, a salad-like snack consisting of puffed rice, Indian snack mix and crunchy chickpea vermicelli, pomegranate, tomato, onion, lime, tamarind and mint.

The intriguing and delectable bhel puri at Mukka Indian Restaurant in Fitzroy.

And we were treated to a pleasingly light and fresh Japanese lunch at Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya the next day. The sushi here was beautifully made, and the company of our friends was stellar. We only wished there could have been more time to hang out!

Fancy sushi rolls at Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya in South Yarra.

Since we thought we might be looking at moving back to Melbourne sometime in the future and settling down, we spent one whole day checking out property inspections in the inner-city area. In between it all, we popped by Ba'get for quick and wholesome, cheap and cheerful Vietnamese food - just the thing to fuel us for the day.

Coffee and grilled pork vermicelli bowl at Ba'get Vietnamese Eatery in the Melbourne CBD.

And of course, amidst all the hobnobbing around, we do still always take the time to chill out with the cat, and we made sure he ate well, too.

He loves the mackerel!

Also, while I don't have pictures, my parents made zongzi (large triangular dumplings made with glutinous rice, meat and beans, wrapped in bamboo leaves), and that was awesome. My dad is very good at wrapping these things! He also bought durian for me, yum yum.

In conclusion, it's been fantastic to be back in Melbourne again after more than two years away - and we hope to return soon enough!