The icing on the cake..

Happy Birthday Sam!.. 26 years old and to celebrate we went to Somerset House (I've raved on about this venue heaps in previous posts - we saw Underworld and Basement Jaxx there) to go ice skating!..



After working up the nerve to step onto the ice (and after a quick warm up drink at the Savoy), thinking that I would surely stack it and get soaked by all the freezing puddles, I did actually manage to remember how to skate - or rather wobble around on the ice!!..

Eventually - after about 30mins, I was stable enough to actually enjoy my beautiful surroundings.. gorgeous.. and so festive!!..

Budapest

Well my last OS jaunt for the year was last weekend in Budapest.. me, blake, ray, pauline, josh, kath, janine and jaco set off for an adventure in a place we really didn't know much about..





beautiful place.. shame about the people.. in general they are so dodgy - trying to short change you all over the place and just no concept of customer service whatsoever... except for our cab driver from the airport who had just retired from being one of Michael Jackson's personal body guards!!.. the ride from the airport to our apartment was definately entertaining with stories of Jacko and his funny ways!!..



food was nice and cheap, - we went to this place called fatal on vaci utca - just south of the elisabeth bridge interesection - the food is huge!, cheap and good - Blake's schnitzel was the size of a dinner plate he had to get a doggy bag..!!..

it was FREEZING!!.. but we went to the Gellert baths on Monday.. was a nice relaxing soak in the warm water.. with lots of old naked women (the thermal baths are separated) but the main pool was mixed (and clothed).. very pretty.. and just nice to
be in water again.. pauline and i made use of all the facilities, the thermal baths, main pool, the sauna, some weird biddae thingy, and the cool plunge pool.. oooh invigorating!.. the boys just sat in the thermal baths and chatted...



the view from the castle at sunset was just gorgeous - we had a reallyc bright sunny day on sunday.. we meant to do a walking tour or a bus tour - but the hangovers and laziness prevented this.. so i suppose that's where i found the trip lacking - no real factual information, just a lot of walking around and looking at things - and eating and drinking ALOT!



but it was cool.. and we saw them erecting multiple christmas trees and the little huts for the christmas markets, so it got me in the festive mood - along with the light sprinkling of snow we got!!..

my sanity is restored...

i have a new ipod!...

Thanks to chooky who picked it up for me on the weekend when she was at the big Apple store in the Big Apple (NY)..

my world has meaning again...

Jamie knows the way to my heart..

My dearest and bestest friend Pauline had booked us in to Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen (the one where he takes under-privelaged young people on as trainees) for a gastronomical adventure for my 26th Birthday present (Thanks so much P!).. and last night was the first night of the rest of my double stomached pukka tukka life!!.. Here's my review of the whole 8 course adventure..

Scallop Crudo - apparently their signature dish. Basically a scallop with some funny seedy thingys (persimmon seeds?) and fresh majoram with a light vinegarette. An interesting fusion of flavours and textures, that I didn't think went well together.

Bresaola with pears, rocket and parmesan - a type of dried/smoked thin slice of pork (much like prosciutto) combined beautifully with crisp flavoursome rocket and the best parmesan cheese i've ever tasted.. so simple but so delicious!...

Buratta with cima di rape and bagna cauda - The waitress mentioned something about cream of buffalo mozzarella or something like that.. this was just indulgence - to the point where I thought I might be a little ill.. the cheese was so fluffy and creamy it just felt like a cloud of pure whipped fat had graced my mouth, the delicately light flavour combined with a little crispbread was pleasing after the first bite.. but slightly sickly by the second..

Fantastic Salad Of Speck with Clementine, treviso, mint, aged balsamic vinegar and shaved parmesan - indeed fantastic!.. you can really taste the difference that fine ingredients make.. the balsamic was rich and sweet, the leaves and herbs so fresh and flavoursome, and of course that parmesan again - fantastic!

Agnolotti of prosciutto di San Daniele with scamorza - Two little pasta parcels of prosciutto doused with a butter sauce, a heart attack in the waiting, but for bacon/pork lovers like me, an absolute treat.. The flavour was strong yet delicate, but yet again, more than 2 mouthfuls would make you feel a little on the sickly side.. the serving size was perfect..

Risotto of wild mushrooms (Yellow leg chanterlle, porcini, parasol, pied bleu) - Quite lacking in presentation, the risotto looked bland and kind of resembled what would happen if I ate much more of that creamy buffalo mozzarella.. when I finally worked up the courage to put some in my mouth I was a bit dissapointed with the lack of flavour or oomph of the other dishes we'd had.. Basically it was just a mushroom risotto, no more, no less..


A shot of Champagne jelly with apple froth - served to cleanse the palate.. and after the risotto my tounge needed it!.. refreshing and light..

Slow roast pork leg from Pete Gott's farm (10hrs) with oozy polenta, roasted beetroot, braised rainbow chard and salsa verde - Oh my God!.. This was by far the best dish on the menu!! a heap of tender succulent shredded roast pork on a bed of polenta and chard, drizzled with olive oil and salsa verde - oh yeah with roasted beetroots too!.. the meat just melted in your mouth and was so full of flavour, but combined with the light textures and flavours of the polenta and chard was just absolutely delicious!.. I was already feeling full before starting on this monstrous dish - but felt it would just be an insult not to finish such glorious food.. and so i did..


Me and my pork @ fifteen

Unpasteurised Goat's cheese, pear chutney?, pear with chunks of walnut bread - this cheese plate wasn't on the menu, so you can imagine our surprise (and our fear) when they brought it out for us.. the cheese was lovely - but by that stage i was so full that i couldn't really enjoy the experience as much as i would've liked to...

Quince & Buttermilk panna cotta with spiced poached quince, crushed amaretti biscuit and quince sorbet - Luckily, there is such a thing as a "dessert stomach".. that separate room in your tummy set aside for desserts.. but the panna cotta was a little bland for me and nothing really that special - although that could've been due to the fact that my stomached was achingly stretched!..

Caffe - after we finished our Australian Rose wine, I thought I'd try and get my metabolism going to digest that gargantuan feast!.. and wasn't let down with the fantastic coffee served to conclude our adventure..

Who the hell is Guy Fawkes?..

so November 5 is Guy Fawkes night.. and while there is some history behind it (something about a guy named Guy planning to burn down the Houses of Parliment but instead got burnt down himself).. and a couple of us decided to bar the 40,000 people rushing to get to clapham common and have our own little show on Hampstead Heath..



Our little box of fireworks was pretty lame, but we had fun and from our vantage point on Parliment Hill (so called apparently because this is where people once gathered to see the houses of parliment burn down - although it didn't coz Guy got caught) we could see all the random spurts of fireworks going off over the whole city of London ..

Trick or Treat?

Well what a night of mayhem!.. Sat night started off with some quiet drinks while we decorated the Prince of Wales for the ensuing party.. met up with the crew at The Woodman for the start of the trick or treat pub crawl, then onto The Gatehouse, The Flask, The Angel and finally for the lock in back at The Prince of Wales..

So many funny stories and fantastic costumes, I think pictures are best used to describe the night..









Best Costume award goes to Dazzler who came as a Psycho Surgeon in complete scrubs and covered head to toe in blood - also a Special Award is given for staying in costume for over 24 hours (since the fake blood didn't come off his skin very well!!)..

Best Trick or Treater award goes to TeenWolf Shayan who managed to scare the pants off several young lasses on the street, an old man who wouldn't open the door for him, several motorists, and quite a few pub-goers.. He also managed to gather a packet of Dorito's, a pound coin, and some lollies for his effort on knocking on doors with Devilish Paige..

Most Imaginative Costume award goes to Grim Rapper Ray - who came complete with Bling Bling and a rappin fine EP of Craig Maclaughlan's "You're the one that I want" (from his Grease days) hanging around his neck...

Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a fantastic night!.. Check out the rest of the photos here

Spock On!!