Away from Home - Melbourne

Being away from home can be a challenge, especially if you are watching your diet. Eating out every day for every meal can be a strain on both the wallet and the waistline. Recently, Hubby and I spent two weeks in Melbourne. This post describes the meals we prepared in our ‘foreign’ kitchen: our ingredients and our meals. It also describes some of the restaurants we visited.

We did not discount dining out but wanted the option to stay in and prepare our own meals. Luckily, Melbourne was familiar territory: we lived there for 18 months, still came down occasionally for work and holidays, and Melbourne was interstate (not overseas) so we did not have to worry about sourcing places to buy our food. We stayed in a serviced apartment with a kitchenette, which included all the ‘mod cons’—microwave, cooktop, oven and refrigerator—and we were within walking distance of fresh produce markets and supermarkets. I did miss our spice rack and pantry; whatever we bought had to be consumed within the two weeks, packed in our luggage (if quarantine restrictions allowed) or left behind.

What we bought

• Bakery
• Two loaves of bread
• Pide
• Fruit and vegetables
• Apples, approximately 4
• Chilli, 1 red
• Cucumber
• Continental parsley, 1 bunch
• Garlic, 2-3 bulbs
• Lemons, approximately 2
• Lettuce, 2 bags of mixed leaves
• Mushrooms
• Oranges, approximately 2
• Onions, approximately 4
• Potatoes, approximately 6
• Tomatoes
• Fruit for snacks
• Meat
• Ham slices, reduced sodium
• Kangaroo fillets, about 300g
• Turkey mince, 500g
• Seafood
• Salmon fillets, about 300g
• Canned and packet food
• Rice crackers, 1 packet
• Sardines, 1 tin
• Sweet gherkins, 1 jar
• Can of diced tomatoes, no added salt
• Chilled and frozen food
• Cheese slices
• Cottage cheese
• Dips. We purchased a 4 pack that had skim versions of hummus, tzatziki, spicy capsicum and french onion dips.
• Frozen steamed vegetables, which are sold in packs that can be placed directly in the microwave.
• Ham slices, reduced sodium
• Spinach and ricotta ravioli
• Other groceries
• Mustard seeds
• Olive oil cooking spray

In the apartment, there were tea making supplies and salt and pepper.

We left behind the cooking oil spray, half a jar of sliced gherkins, half a lemon, a banana and a little bit of lettuce.

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Meals we prepared

Breakfast

Hubby's ‘stay-in’ breakfast was oats and two slices of toast with grilled cottage cheese and tomato.

Although more expensive, we bought sachets of oats because unused sachets were easier to transport home.

My breakfast comprised either two slices of toast topped with cottage cheese and sliced strawberries, or two slices of toast with grilled cheese and tomato.

Lunch

We usually bought our lunches—something we would routinely do at home in Sydney.

If we were having lunch in the apartment we usually made ham and salad, or cheese and salad sandwiches. For condiments we used leftover dips.

On weekends, we regularly prepare a lunch of sardines and salad on corn crispbreads. In Melbourne we used rice crackers, which were a little bit small.

To prepare:

1. Drain the sardines and mash them in a bowl with a fork.
2. Add some lemon juice and pepper.
3. Dice salad vegetables—tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms,—and gherkins, and place them in separate bowls or in separate piles on a plate.
4. Place some lettuce leaves (shred if required) in a bowl.

The sardines, vegetables and crispbreads are placed in the centre of the table and each person tops a crispbread with sardines and vegetables.

Dinner

• Kangaroo steak sandwiches with homemade tomato sauce, low-fat chips, and salad

  To make the tomato sauce:

  1. Cook diced onions and crushed garlic over a low heat.
  2. Add half a can of diced tomatoes, sugar (or artificial sweetener), and pepper.
  3. Increase heat until sauce starts to simmer and then reduce heat.
  4. Stir until some of the liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens a little.

  For salad dressings, we used lemon juice or orange juice, and spices such as crushed garlic, mustard seeds, and pepper.

• Salmon marinated in orange and mustard seeds, topped with tomato, cucumber, onion salsa and served with steamed vegetables
• Spinach and ricotta ravioli with ham and tomato sauce, salad, and garlic bread

  To the base tomato sauce recipe, I added a bit of red wine and diced ham.

• Turkey patties with apple sauce

  We had the turkey patties on two nights. The first night we served the patties with salad and low-fat chips, the second night with mashed potatoes flavoured with garlic and parsley, and steamed vegetables seasoned with orange juice and mustard seeds.

• Turkish feast served with a tabouleh-like salad

  The salad comprised parsley, tomato, cucumber, onion, lettuce (we used a rocket mix) seasoned with lemon juice, crushed garlic, and pepper.

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Places we visited

Hubby and I are not sophisticated foodies. We find a restaurant we like and then tend to return to it again and again.

This trip we visited the following restaurants:

• Gurkhas Express (Flinders St - Closed), Melbourne CBD

  When I travelled to Nepal in 2001, the food I remembered were the simple fare cooked over the one-ring gas cookers. So, when I discovered Gurkhas I was excited about introducing Hubby to the Nepalese cuisine and since then, Gurkhas has become a regular stop for us whenever we are in Melbourne. This trip we shared the Ghurka's Special for an entree (very refreshing but not really designed to be shared); dal bhaat (a lentil curry that my guide book said was the Nepalese national dish); and a goat curry. I am always a little disappointed when I discover that marsala tea is not on the menu—Nepal was where I first tasted marsala tea.

• Queen Street Rescue, Melbourne CBD

  The Queen Street Rescue was a new restaurant for us and conveniently located next door to the apartments where we were staying. The restaurant was a wonderful way to spend our last night in Melbourne: delicious dinner, bottle of wine, scrumptious dessert (palova with berries!), cocktail. A new restaurant to add to our list!

• Shark Fin House, Melbourne CBD

  The Shark Fin restaurants in Chinatown are considered top spots for yum cha but every time we had visited in the past the wait for a table was so long that we always found another place. This time we arrived at 11:00am on a weekday and managed to secure a table. The dishes seemed small compared to the dishes in Sydney and there was nothing ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ presented to us: we had the sticky rice, dumplings, char siew bau. The main rush seemed to start about midday so maybe, if we had been later, there might have been more variety in the dishes.

• Spaghetti Tree, Melbourne CBD

  The Spaghetti Tree was introduced to us by a friend when we were visiting or living in Melbourne. That's over 10 years ago! The restaurant is modern Australian but my taste buds steer me towards the pastas. I'm pretty sure this is the restaurant where we first tried chianti. I am always fascinated by the decor: the lamps, the movie theme. The Spaghetti Tree is definitely a restaurant we return to if we can.

• Sukhothai Restaurant, Northcote

  Sukhothai Thai used to be our local restaurant and if we have an extended stay in Melbourne, we always try to schedule a visit. It's about a 30-40 minute ride on the 86 tram.

  Unfortunately, one night is not enough to try all our favourite dishes. The Yum Banana Flower salad is a dish we've only ever had at Sukhothai. I also love the Hot & Cold Delight, sticky rice balls in a coconut milk with ice cream, another dish that I've only ever seen at Sukhothai. That dessert requires some planning because it is so filling: small entrees and mains are required and then possibly an orange when you arrive back at the hotel. (An Auntie once told me to eat an orange to break down a glutinous rice ball sweet)

• That Place Cafe (Closed), Melbourne CBD

  That Place was highly recommended by the online community. I love 'vegetarian big breakfasts' but we could only achieve this by ordering eggs and then adding extras such as tomatoes and mushrooms. The cafe seemed small. After we sat down, about 10 people arrived: a group of 6-8 tourists who had been out for the morning and a group of businessmen holding a meeting. That Place seems to be a perfect breakfast place for the business traveller and I must try it next time I'm there for business.

• The Quarter, Melbourne CBD

  Hubby's dietitian recommended Degraves Street to us for a previous trip and on that trip we found the Quarter. Hubby has tried the rolled oats porridge—warming and filling. Both of us have had the Vegie Brekky. I love that The Quarter offers a vegetarian breakfast but I find it strange that the Vegie Brekky does not include eggs. Eggs are the main reason I like having breakfast at cafes; it gives me a break from having to cook my own!

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