Hiatus. Pinterest. Baby.

Bonjour.

I have returned from a pregnant pause. Get it? Pregnant? Husband and I will be expecting our first bundle of joy in April 2016. Little Meatball. Not finding out what we're having (bucking the trend!), until she arrives. And if I call Meatball a she, it's a gut feeling.

So here I am, back after two years. I tried my hand at writing erotica. It exists somewhere on the internet. Would I show my friends and family? Hell no. It definitely brought out some unsavoury characters, but I've also spoken to some people that are lovely, and those people are different; sometimes in a good way.

So, since 2013, life has been a rollercoaster. More highs than lows, but the lows always hit hardest. Finding out we were pregnant was a blessing. The silver lining of 2015. And finding out I had gestational diabetes was a kick in the guts. So, my diet has been overhauled. Let's be real for a moment here, it's not a lifestyle change. It was a wakeup call. "Change the way you eat, Eleni. Don't jeopardise your baby's health." Oof. Heavy.

So, as you know, most women (Mormon women especially), are users of Pinterest. While browsing through the somewhat endless posts on weddings and babies, I came across the recipes. My god, American women love to cook! They put me to shame. So tonight, after eating healthy for weeks, testing my blood four times a day, and a productive weekend of cleaning and house stuff with the husband, I decided to cook.

Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

Here are my before/during/after pictures. I've never floured chicken before. I am totally sold on this. It made it completely different tasting. And the review from my husband? "It was lovely, can I eat the rest?"

A winner in my books!

Lunch at Shanghai Tea House

On Friday, the girls I work with decided to check out Shanghai Tea House, the newest culinary addition to the Burnside Village. Located on the timber deck, the size of the restaurant is quite deceiving. It looks small on the outside, but seats about 30-40 not including the 2 private booths. That's right, private booths! They are intimate without being squishy and have a curtain you can pull across the entrance to the booths. Perfect for that business lunch?

The food is nothing like I expected. The reviews for Shanghai Tea House haven't been very favourable online, and they did colour my opinion before I'd even been. But I'm glad I did go. There are all sorts of delicious treats and lovely teas. For the Burnside Village, the pricing is quite reasonable. Lunch specials are around the $15 mark, with morning and afternoon tea specials around $10 which includes tea and a snack.

There specials are updated daily and the yum cha consists of deep fried goodness as well as healthier options. The tea list is quite extensive and a pot of tea for 2 can easily be shared between 3 people. The tea comes in little pots with the cutest little double walled tea cups. I will be sourcing these, or definitely adding them to my wishlist!

Lily wolfberry tea

The lunch specials are amazing. I went with the garlic prawns. An old favourite. I was expecting the old take away dish, a creamy, heavy sauce with 2 or 3 prawns. I was pleased to receive the below dish, a light garlic sauce, which was so very more-ish.

Garlic prawns and rice

The tea was delicious, I'm a bit apprehensive about trying anything outside of my usual black tea, but found it was light on the palate and suited the meal very much. Shanghai Tea House is also fully licenced, and judging by all the ladies ordering Moet on the day, it was appreciated!

I would definitely recommend visiting Shanghai Tea House if doing a spot of shopping over the other cafes in the village. It is somewhere I can't wait to go back and visit and will have to go for yum cha over a leisurely lunch.

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Shanghai Tea House is located at Shop 108, Burnside Village, 447 Portrush Road Glenside. Phone 7200 3063 for bookings.

Opening hours:
Mon - Wed: 10:00 - 17:00

Thu - Sat: 10:00 - 22:00

Sun: 10:00 - 17:00

Lunch at Pearl's Diner

After having visited Pearl's Diner when they first opened in June 2012, my fiancé, brother and I enjoyed our burgers albeit a long wait time for takeaway. Pearl's Diner, the diner established by the guys from Burger Theory is a delicious slice of burger and waffle heaven located, or should I say hidden, in suburbia; in Felixstow. Teaming up with La Waffle, Pearl's Diner has something this foodie loves!

We visited at around 1:30 today, and Pearl's was on the quieter side, a stark change to my first visit. The food itself was amazing, and the customer service spot on. We received one on one attention and I was even discovered via my Twitter handle!

Onto the review!

Our drinks were first up. We ordered the lemon iced tea ($3.50) and the chocolate milkshake ($6). The black tea is made fresh and served with sugar syrup. It definitely kicked Lipton's butt, and was a welcome treat on a warm Summer's day! The chocolate milkshake was a very generous serve, and tasted like childhood and had a malty flavour which I loved!



Next up, we had the pulled pork bun ($7). Made up of 14 hour long smoked Berkshire pork, barbeque sauce and a soft bun, this was shared between 2 of us. I have heard so many people going to Pearl's enjoy the pork bun, and although not a big pork eater, I am so glad I tried it! It was sweet and more-ish, and next time I will get my own - no more sharing!

Lastly, the piece de resistance, was the burger itself. Being a purist, I picked Burger 1 ($13), an artwork packed with a freshly ground meat patty, cooked medium, lettuce, tomato, American cheese and the awesome truck sauce. Chips on the side were seasoned and looked hand cut, and definitely cooked other chips' butts! The bun was ever so soft, but so fresh.

Our meal was lovely and we had an excellent chat to Rob, about Fork on the Road, which I won't be able to attend, but is an excellent showcase of food trucks and local talent!

We will definitely return for the elusive mac & cheese, the fried chicken and coleslaw and the waffles! It was the perfect venue for a lazy Saturday lunch, and I do recommend if in SA, you go try it.

Here are their details: Website, Facebook, Twitter. Tell them Leni C sent you!

Bon appetit!

Growing older (and drinking coffee)

Ever since I've moved out of home, I've wanted to drink more coffee. I don't know if this is a healthy addiction, but I figure drinking coffee at home is cheaper than paying $5 a cup during work hours. That, or instant. While I don't mind Moccona, I would prefer real coffee. These are my 3 choices of a coffee machine.

Breville Drip Filter 12 cup would be my first choice. Brewed coffee is my absolute favourite, and if I could, I would drink it all day. Then I would suffer terrible insomnia :) But is it worth buying a drip filter machine if I'm the only one drinking it? This would be good in party or group situations, however, as making more than a couple of coffees would be easier! As for filtered coffee grounds, I'm not even sure where you can buy them besides at the Central Markets.

My second choice would be a Delonghi fully automatic Nespresso pod machine. Less clean up than a regular espresso machine, and makes as much or as little coffee as you need. The expenses would come in when you have to buy pods. This would probably be less scary to use for the uninitiated to coffee, as a beginner's machine. Another negative would be the cost of pods, and only being able to use Nespresso.

My last choice for a coffee machine would be a regular espresso machine. I've used these before and have been around them in my folks house for almost 10 years. I find they are ok to use, however, the cleanup after making just 1 cup of coffee can far exceed the experience. The bonus would be you'd be able to try different beans and grounds across all the brands that suit this type of machine. I wouldn't go for a Saeco necessarily, as I'm only entering the beginner's market for a coffee machine, but my dream would be to have a fully automatic $5000 Italian machine! I guess the downsides to this is, if you have a few people over, you're stuck making 2 coffees at a time.

Now I have to ask Fiance what he wants, and what we are willing to spend on a beautiful piece of coffee machinery.

What do you think blogland?

(PS: To Breville, Delonghi and Saeco, if you want me to road test your machines, I won't say no!)

Comfort food

Sometimes when feeling like crap, there's nothing better than eating carbs. Or creamy carbs. Or pancetta and roasted field mushroom carbonara with freshly grated parmesan and cracked pepper!

My tummy hurts :(