Vanuatu: Breakas

Yes, that is where we ate breakfast, one fine Vanuatu morning. I'll pause so you can appreciate the gorgeousness of that setting...

Breakas Beach Resort & Villas
Pango Road
Port Vila, Vanuatu
Ph: +678 23670
Website



Breakas is a gorgeous little resort about 5 minutes out of town, located on a strip of lovely beach with a coral reef and surfable waves. There is a wide range of accommodation in Port Vila, from the big hotels and resorts, small apartments, motels and more. We chose Breakas partly on the recommendation of our travel-agent friend who stayed there once (Hi Danny!!!), but mainly after seeing the amazing photo of its infinity pool on the website. I know, WOW. The fact that it had a swim-up bar and a no-kid policy sealed the deal. When we got there, the pool bar was closed for renovations, but everything else was just as wonderful as we hoped it would be.


The Rooms

The bulk of the rooms are these cute little individual bungalow-huts. They also have larger, self-sufficient villas with 2 levels, their own pools and more amenities, if that's your kind of thing. Our little bungalow was beach front, which meant beautiful views!

Beautiful flower/water box thing for washing sand off your feet before you enter your bungalow.

The huts were beautiful and simple - just 2 rooms. There was a fan but no air-con, but luckily it never was that hot at night anyway.
A mosquito net counts as very exotic for me.

Funky semi-outdoor bathroom!
The coral walls made it feel appealingly 'village', and you could see the sky from the shower! Lovely when its sunny, apparently not that good when it's raining. We were lucky not to encounter any great rain on our trip. I found the hot water supply to be a little erratic sometimes, but it wasn't a huge problem. The open ceiling, however, does mean you can occasionally get little 'friends' coming in. I found a small crab in our sink one morning, which, I'm not too embarrassed to admit, sent me screaming out of the hut. One of the lovely staff members got rid of it for us. (And I'm pretty sure laughed at me - the crab was less than 10cm across, haha).


The Food

The resort's restaurant, right next to the pool, is in the centre of the resort. It is where breakfast is served, and where you can purchase bar meals or dinner. (We never got around to doing the bar meal thing, as there were too many great options in town. The only time we could try a bar meal, they were doing a buffet lunch instead. Oh well!)

Breakfasts (included in our deal) were a small but satisfying buffet of fresh fruits, juices, toast, cereals, muffins, some pastries, tea and coffee.


Hot breakfasts were available, but you had to order and pay for them separately. You could purchase espresso coffee too, but I don't see why you'd do that when there's perfectly good, reliable, consistent filter coffee available. (Espresso coffees, on the other hand, are notoriously difficult to get right). We tried the hot breakfasts in the morning before a rather active kayak trip, for extra sustenance.


Eggs Benedict with roasted tomatoes, toast and "pancetta" - 950VT

Eggs Benedict in the South Pacific - could it get any more James Bond than this?

Banana Crepes - 750VT

I really liked the crepes - why does the fruit in Vanuatu taste so much sweeter?


We had dinner at the restaurant twice.

Looks a bit different at night, eh?

Champagne always equals celebration and good times.

Garlic bread - 500VT

Malekula Oysters with watercress - 1500VT

The oysters were very fresh tasty, but I wasn't a fan of the species - they were very thin and flat, and very difficult to get out of the shells.

Grilled whole poulet fish served with roast potatoes - 2400VT

This poulet fish was, unbelievably, not ordered by me, but by "she who does not eat fish or seafood". I know!! It wasn't filleted or deep-fried or anything! She even finished most of it. Very proud of you, Sandra! Before our trip, we'd read about Vanuatu's native poulet fish, so called because it apparently tastes like chicken, and Sandra really wanted to try it. (I ate it many times over the holiday, as it is served everywhere). I wouldn't say it tastes exactly like chicken, but it was very mild in taste, and meaty in texture.

Scotch fillet with prawn sauce, served with fries and salad - 2900VT

Yes, yes yes. Amazing steak, fresh prawns and creamy chive sauce. The beef in Vanuatu is amazing! It's so tender, and has the most wonderful taste, even when cooked well done. (Don't gasp, I always have my steak rare!) Vanuatu has happy organic Carolais and Limousin cows grazing in its gorgeous islands. *Sigh* I love that all the food we ate was locally grown and sourced.

Lobster - 3200VT

You can see how delicious that lobster was. Enough said.

Eaten but not photographed was a "Penang chicken curry" for 2000VT. It didn't taste like anything I've eaten back home in Penang, but it still tasted good!

Crème brûlée - 1200VT

The caramel atop the custard was a little too thick for my liking, but the custard itself had a wonderful deep vanilla flavour.


The Melanesian Feast

Every Wednesday night Breakas does a Melanesian feast. Lots of resorts, restaurants and tour operators offer similar feasts, but we got a free feast included in our accommodation package so we tried the one at Breakas. From memory it was 3500VT to pay for it separately.

The Melanesian feast commences with Kava tasting...


Kava is a drink made from the root of an island plant, which is drunk for its sedative and relaxing effect. Traditionally the liquid was extracted by getting virgin boys to chew the pulp and spit it out, but Jonathan, the customer relations manager, assured us that ours was ground by machine, hehe. It looks like dirty dish water, and doesn't taste much better. This is why you can see the plate of papaya chasers in the above photo. If freshly cut fruit aren't available, Sprite is a good substitute.

Kava bars are very popular on Efate island, designated with a red light outside the building. Lots of the local guys we met drink it almost every night. Traditionally women aren't allowed to drink it, but you shouldn't have a problem finding it in Port Vila. We even bought powdered to bring home, and my bro seems to like it a lot. He loves reggae too, what an Island boy!

There was a cultural band too. I loved the Foival piano and big box bass. These guys represent Vanuatu in cultural exhibitions around the world!


Now, the food.
Top: Baked fish
Bottom: Beef skewers, Chicken wings

Top: Amazing beef curry, Baked cassava stuffed with mince
Bottom: Baked banana laplap, Baked root vegetables

Snake beans stuffed with mince, Island cabbage stuffed with banana

Also on offer were a creamy pumpkin soup, Tahitian fish salad, potato salad, coleslaw, green bean salad and rice. Dessert was a simple mixed fruit salad.

The food was delicious, and I thought that the Melanesian feast was a great way for us tourists to introduce ourselves to 'exotic' Vanuatu food. Baked cassava, island cabbage and the national dish of laplap - a doughy mix of root vegetables cooked in banana leaves on charcoal - are all wonderful, but can definitely be an acquired taste for Western palates.


The Bar

Breakas has a bar with a small yet well-rounded cocktail list and selection of spirits. When we were there, the new F&B manager Ross was in the middle of revising and expanding the list, so if any of you guys end up going, I hope you will enjoy it!


Tusker is, of course, on the menu (550VT), and all the cocktails are pretty and island-themed - little umbrellas, fruit wedges and flowers galore!

Can't remember what this cocktail was called - Island Dream or something like that.

I'm pretty sure they can do all the standards too (Long Island Ice Teas, Toblerones etc). If the lovely barman Steve is there, ask for one of his special off-the-menu creations - delicious.


The Views and the Water

The 2-storey villas, on the other side of the restaurant/pool/reception from our hut. Check out the clear clear water.

And at night...

The infinity pool, with ocean on the right, and the (under-construction) pool bar. Breakfast/dinner tables on the left.

And at night...

The infinity pool falling into the Pacific Ocean...

Breakas is right in front of a coral reef, so it's a great spot for snorkelling, especially during high tide. We could borrow gear for free and went a couple of times, spotting lots of blue starfish and heaps of other fish. It's possible to surf further out, but I think you need to bring your own gear, as I vaguely recall reading somewhere that there are no places to hire surfing gear on Port Vila.


The Conclusion

I absolutely loved Breakas. We did visit a couple of other resorts during our holiday, to have dinner and drinks, but I am so glad we chose Breakas to stay. It's a little smaller than the big resorts (Iririki, Le Lagon etc), but I loved its friendly, intimate vibe. The staff were so nice and friendly! For example, one time we were standing outside the resort waiting for a bus at night, and the owner spotted us on his way out, and gave us a lift into town! How nice! I can't imagine a manager at a Westin/Hyatt/Shangri-La doing that; it's just a totally different style. We had a chat with him in the car, and he said he purposely keeps the resort small to maintain the atmosphere. (Technically it's 3 stars, but it feels so much more luxurious).

The accommodation package we bought was pretty good, and had lots of inclusions, like a free bottle of champagne, village tour, breakfasts, massages, the Melanesian feast and more. I assume these deals change frequently, so probably best to contact the resort or your travel agent if you're interested.

And don't forget that view...

Yes, that is where we ate breakfast, one fine Vanuatu morning. I'll pause so you can appreciate the gorgeousness of that setting...

Breakas Beach Resort & Villas
Pango Road
Port Vila, Vanuatu
Ph: +678 23670
Website



Breakas is a gorgeous little resort about 5 minutes out of town, located on a strip of lovely beach with a coral reef and surfable waves. There is a wide range of accommodation in Port Vila, from the big hotels and resorts, small apartments, motels and more. We chose Breakas partly on the recommendation of our travel-agent friend who stayed there once (Hi Danny!!!), but mainly after seeing the amazing photo of its infinity pool on the website. I know, WOW. The fact that it had a swim-up bar and a no-kid policy sealed the deal. When we got there, the pool bar was closed for renovations, but everything else was just as wonderful as we hoped it would be.


The Rooms

The bulk of the rooms are these cute little individual bungalow-huts. They also have larger, self-sufficient villas with 2 levels, their own pools and more amenities, if that's your kind of thing. Our little bungalow was beach front, which meant beautiful views!

Beautiful flower/water box thing for washing sand off your feet before you enter your bungalow.

The huts were beautiful and simple - just 2 rooms. There was a fan but no air-con, but luckily it never was that hot at night anyway.
A mosquito net counts as very exotic for me.

Funky semi-outdoor bathroom!
The coral walls made it feel appealingly 'village', and you could see the sky from the shower! Lovely when its sunny, apparently not that good when it's raining. We were lucky not to encounter any great rain on our trip. I found the hot water supply to be a little erratic sometimes, but it wasn't a huge problem. The open ceiling, however, does mean you can occasionally get little 'friends' coming in. I found a small crab in our sink one morning, which, I'm not too embarrassed to admit, sent me screaming out of the hut. One of the lovely staff members got rid of it for us. (And I'm pretty sure laughed at me - the crab was less than 10cm across, haha).


The Food

The resort's restaurant, right next to the pool, is in the centre of the resort. It is where breakfast is served, and where you can purchase bar meals or dinner. (We never got around to doing the bar meal thing, as there were too many great options in town. The only time we could try a bar meal, they were doing a buffet lunch instead. Oh well!)

Breakfasts (included in our deal) were a small but satisfying buffet of fresh fruits, juices, toast, cereals, muffins, some pastries, tea and coffee.


Hot breakfasts were available, but you had to order and pay for them separately. You could purchase espresso coffee too, but I don't see why you'd do that when there's perfectly good, reliable, consistent filter coffee available. (Espresso coffees, on the other hand, are notoriously difficult to get right). We tried the hot breakfasts in the morning before a rather active kayak trip, for extra sustenance.


Eggs Benedict with roasted tomatoes, toast and "pancetta" - 950VT

Eggs Benedict in the South Pacific - could it get any more James Bond than this?

Banana Crepes - 750VT

I really liked the crepes - why does the fruit in Vanuatu taste so much sweeter?


We had dinner at the restaurant twice.

Looks a bit different at night, eh?

Champagne always equals celebration and good times.

Garlic bread - 500VT

Malekula Oysters with watercress - 1500VT

The oysters were very fresh tasty, but I wasn't a fan of the species - they were very thin and flat, and very difficult to get out of the shells.

Grilled whole poulet fish served with roast potatoes - 2400VT

This poulet fish was, unbelievably, not ordered by me, but by "she who does not eat fish or seafood". I know!! It wasn't filleted or deep-fried or anything! She even finished most of it. Very proud of you, Sandra! Before our trip, we'd read about Vanuatu's native poulet fish, so called because it apparently tastes like chicken, and Sandra really wanted to try it. (I ate it many times over the holiday, as it is served everywhere). I wouldn't say it tastes exactly like chicken, but it was very mild in taste, and meaty in texture.

Scotch fillet with prawn sauce, served with fries and salad - 2900VT

Yes, yes yes. Amazing steak, fresh prawns and creamy chive sauce. The beef in Vanuatu is amazing! It's so tender, and has the most wonderful taste, even when cooked well done. (Don't gasp, I always have my steak rare!) Vanuatu has happy organic Carolais and Limousin cows grazing in its gorgeous islands. *Sigh* I love that all the food we ate was locally grown and sourced.

Lobster - 3200VT

You can see how delicious that lobster was. Enough said.

Eaten but not photographed was a "Penang chicken curry" for 2000VT. It didn't taste like anything I've eaten back home in Penang, but it still tasted good!

Crème brûlée - 1200VT

The caramel atop the custard was a little too thick for my liking, but the custard itself had a wonderful deep vanilla flavour.


The Melanesian Feast

Every Wednesday night Breakas does a Melanesian feast. Lots of resorts, restaurants and tour operators offer similar feasts, but we got a free feast included in our accommodation package so we tried the one at Breakas. From memory it was 3500VT to pay for it separately.

The Melanesian feast commences with Kava tasting...


Kava is a drink made from the root of an island plant, which is drunk for its sedative and relaxing effect. Traditionally the liquid was extracted by getting virgin boys to chew the pulp and spit it out, but Jonathan, the customer relations manager, assured us that ours was ground by machine, hehe. It looks like dirty dish water, and doesn't taste much better. This is why you can see the plate of papaya chasers in the above photo. If freshly cut fruit aren't available, Sprite is a good substitute.

Kava bars are very popular on Efate island, designated with a red light outside the building. Lots of the local guys we met drink it almost every night. Traditionally women aren't allowed to drink it, but you shouldn't have a problem finding it in Port Vila. We even bought powdered to bring home, and my bro seems to like it a lot. He loves reggae too, what an Island boy!

There was a cultural band too. I loved the Foival piano and big box bass. These guys represent Vanuatu in cultural exhibitions around the world!


Now, the food.
Top: Baked fish
Bottom: Beef skewers, Chicken wings

Top: Amazing beef curry, Baked cassava stuffed with mince
Bottom: Baked banana laplap, Baked root vegetables

Snake beans stuffed with mince, Island cabbage stuffed with banana

Also on offer were a creamy pumpkin soup, Tahitian fish salad, potato salad, coleslaw, green bean salad and rice. Dessert was a simple mixed fruit salad.

The food was delicious, and I thought that the Melanesian feast was a great way for us tourists to introduce ourselves to 'exotic' Vanuatu food. Baked cassava, island cabbage and the national dish of laplap - a doughy mix of root vegetables cooked in banana leaves on charcoal - are all wonderful, but can definitely be an acquired taste for Western palates.


The Bar

Breakas has a bar with a small yet well-rounded cocktail list and selection of spirits. When we were there, the new F&B manager Ross was in the middle of revising and expanding the list, so if any of you guys end up going, I hope you will enjoy it!


Tusker is, of course, on the menu (550VT), and all the cocktails are pretty and island-themed - little umbrellas, fruit wedges and flowers galore!

Can't remember what this cocktail was called - Island Dream or something like that.

I'm pretty sure they can do all the standards too (Long Island Ice Teas, Toblerones etc). If the lovely barman Steve is there, ask for one of his special off-the-menu creations - delicious.


The Views and the Water

The 2-storey villas, on the other side of the restaurant/pool/reception from our hut. Check out the clear clear water.

And at night...

The infinity pool, with ocean on the right, and the (under-construction) pool bar. Breakfast/dinner tables on the left.

And at night...

The infinity pool falling into the Pacific Ocean...

Breakas is right in front of a coral reef, so it's a great spot for snorkelling, especially during high tide. We could borrow gear for free and went a couple of times, spotting lots of blue starfish and heaps of other fish. It's possible to surf further out, but I think you need to bring your own gear, as I vaguely recall reading somewhere that there are no places to hire surfing gear on Port Vila.


The Conclusion

I absolutely loved Breakas. We did visit a couple of other resorts during our holiday, to have dinner and drinks, but I am so glad we chose Breakas to stay. It's a little smaller than the big resorts (Iririki, Le Lagon etc), but I loved its friendly, intimate vibe. The staff were so nice and friendly! For example, one time we were standing outside the resort waiting for a bus at night, and the owner spotted us on his way out, and gave us a lift into town! How nice! I can't imagine a manager at a Westin/Hyatt/Shangri-La doing that; it's just a totally different style. We had a chat with him in the car, and he said he purposely keeps the resort small to maintain the atmosphere. (Technically it's 3 stars, but it feels so much more luxurious).

The accommodation package we bought was pretty good, and had lots of inclusions, like a free bottle of champagne, village tour, breakfasts, massages, the Melanesian feast and more. I assume these deals change frequently, so probably best to contact the resort or your travel agent if you're interested.

And don't forget that view...

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vanuatu

Port Vila - amazingly sparkly clear blue water, even in Vanuatu's busiest city.

Hi everybody! We just got back from a wonderful 10-day holiday in gorgeous Vanuatu. The weather was great, the people were so friendly and the kids were super-duper cute! I am suffering a bit from the post-holiday blues, but I shan't let that get in the way of blogging! There was lots of sun, lots of swimming, and of course, a lot of good food! We ended up taking 9GB of pics (come on, don't act surprised!), so this is going to be spread out over a few posts. First up, an introduction to the lovely country of Vanuatu, and its capital, Port Vila.

Before I went, I knew very very little about Vanuatu - in fact, I chose this holiday destination quite impulsively, after seeing a Vanuatu tourism ad on the back of a bus which featured a gorgeous beach. I have always wanted to visit the south Pacific, and with flights being so cheap right now and the Aussie dollar being so high (wahoo for eBay!!!), it was the perfect time to go. Because I wanted to have a totally relaxing holiday, we spent the whole time in the capital city of Port Vila on the island of Efate, rather than travelling around the islands. We stayed in a wonderful resort 5 minutes out of town - blogpost to come!

Streets of Port Vila. The Fung Kwan Chee shop reminded me a lot of Penang, and proves my theory that no matter where you go, there will always be a little shop run by a Chinese dude.

Port Vila was a lot smaller than I expected, the main part of town being situated on a 1 kilometre long stretch of Lini Highway. The rest of the island that we saw was mainly jungle, hills, villages and bumpy bumpy roads.

During my pre-travel research and whilst on holiday, I quickly learnt that Vanuatu is made up of 83 different islands, with only 2 main cities - Port Vila on Efate, and Luganville on Espiritu Santo. The majority of the population still live in villages, and there is a lot of beautiful and contrasting countryside that can be explored - waterfalls, beaches, rivers, volcanoes and more.

Above: Post office. Below: Street.

Between Vanuatu's 83 islands the different villages speak over 115 separate languages (not dialects), making Vanuatu one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. This doesn't include the English and French languages brought by the colonisers. Understandably, this makes communication difficult, and over the years, the official language of Bislama was developed so that everyone can communicate with each other. It is a form of pidgin English, and to English speakers it can look quite funny. For example...

Sign up to Digicel and get your Fri Tok!

Whilst Bislama is the official language, pretty much everyone we met also spoke English (and sometimes French) - the Ni-Vanuatu learn both at school - so there was no problem for us Aussies getting around. (And pretty much ALL the tourists there are Aussie!) Because I love languages though, I did buy a book about Bislama - "Evry samting yu wantem save long Bislama be yu fraet tumas blong askem".

Apart from languages, another thing I love is beer! Tusker is the local brew and it was deliciously refreshing and available everywhere. 550VT at our resort, 450VT at most cafes, 200VT at the supermarkets. (You can google what the exact exchange rate is, but when we were there, 550VT was approximately $6 Aussie dollars).

Tusker blong yumi! Me wantem Tusker!

I'm not quite sure why I've got my elbows pointed out so far - either to get more sun, or because I was about to try and lift that giant beer, haha. Does anybody know where I can get Tusker in Australia?

Getting around town was really easy, as the bus system in Port Vila is awesome. The buses are just minivans with a "B" at the start of the licence plate, and they are everywhere.

Just hail one down and tell them where you want to go. There is no fixed route, and they just drop passengers off at their chosen destinations. It may take a while with a few diversions, but you'll get there in the end. Most rides cost 150VT, although it'll cost more if you want to go somewhere far out of town. If you're worried about getting charged too much (very, very unlikely - all the bus drivers we met, and the Ni-Van people in general, are super-nice!), just check how much the ride will be before you get on the bus. It's not like you'd have to wait long for the next one!

Some buses look new and sparkly!
Don't forget: Pem nomo ol seken we yu toktok!

But most buses are quite run down, some without any perceivable suspension, and with alarming (but still usable) doors without interior panel...


We never had a problem getting a bus even late at night, and our drivers were friendly and knew the city really well. Most played reggae or island-ified pop songs as they drove.

Speaking of reggae, this Lucky Dube guy was everywhere! (Well, not literally, he passed away a few years ago). I'd never heard of him, but he was really popular and there were posters of him everywhere. In the shops there were more of his CD's than Bob Marley! I bought one of his albums for my bro, who is a bit of a reggae fan.


Although we ate mainly at restaurants and did our food shopping at the breathtakingly wonderful Port Vila market (so wonderful it gets its own post), we did visit the Au Bon Marché supermarket, right next to the market. I can't go overseas without visiting a local supermarket - I find them so fascinating.

There were heaps of expensive imported goods - the top right picture looks like any Australian supermarket shelf. I couldn't resist buying the Hansel biscuits. They are soo hot right now.

One of our favourite finds was the Olympic Take Away, on Lini Highway, right behind El Gecko restaurant. This locally-run joint was one of the few places open on Sunday, and makes the best cheeseburger ever. Whoda thunk it?

Above: Wahoo with chips, 750VT. Below: Cheeseburger, 550VT. (Chips cost extra, approx 200VT).

I wasn't enthused about going to a takeaway joint for lunch, but most places were closed and we were hungry. However, this place was great and we were sooo impressed! The wahoo fish was super-fresh, the chips were hand cut, and the cheeseburger was dee-licious. (We were soon to find out that *all* the beef and seafood in Vanuatu is super-fresh and local). Juicy patty, finely grated proper cheese, crusty bun. Wow. We came back twice.

Between Lini highway and the water is a nice strip of parkland, where many locals (and some tourists) sit and chillaxify.


I totally want to borrow this little guy's boat-bike thing.

Local guys playing ball game (balls, bocce?)

In this area is the very cool Nambawan Cafe and marketplace. The cafe is popular with tourists, having a good range of pizzas, juices and smoothies, and free wireless!



It also has a great view.


The little marketplace next to the cafe sells the usual touristy stuff - sarongs, wooden souvenirs, hair braiding and so on. But please, don't get your hair braided if you don't have proper Islander hair - you'll just look like a douche.


More Vanuatu posts to come!

Port Vila - amazingly sparkly clear blue water, even in Vanuatu's busiest city.

Hi everybody! We just got back from a wonderful 10-day holiday in gorgeous Vanuatu. The weather was great, the people were so friendly and the kids were super-duper cute! I am suffering a bit from the post-holiday blues, but I shan't let that get in the way of blogging! There was lots of sun, lots of swimming, and of course, a lot of good food! We ended up taking 9GB of pics (come on, don't act surprised!), so this is going to be spread out over a few posts. First up, an introduction to the lovely country of Vanuatu, and its capital, Port Vila.

Before I went, I knew very very little about Vanuatu - in fact, I chose this holiday destination quite impulsively, after seeing a Vanuatu tourism ad on the back of a bus which featured a gorgeous beach. I have always wanted to visit the south Pacific, and with flights being so cheap right now and the Aussie dollar being so high (wahoo for eBay!!!), it was the perfect time to go. Because I wanted to have a totally relaxing holiday, we spent the whole time in the capital city of Port Vila on the island of Efate, rather than travelling around the islands. We stayed in a wonderful resort 5 minutes out of town - blogpost to come!

Streets of Port Vila. The Fung Kwan Chee shop reminded me a lot of Penang, and proves my theory that no matter where you go, there will always be a little shop run by a Chinese dude.

Port Vila was a lot smaller than I expected, the main part of town being situated on a 1 kilometre long stretch of Lini Highway. The rest of the island that we saw was mainly jungle, hills, villages and bumpy bumpy roads.

During my pre-travel research and whilst on holiday, I quickly learnt that Vanuatu is made up of 83 different islands, with only 2 main cities - Port Vila on Efate, and Luganville on Espiritu Santo. The majority of the population still live in villages, and there is a lot of beautiful and contrasting countryside that can be explored - waterfalls, beaches, rivers, volcanoes and more.

Above: Post office. Below: Street.

Between Vanuatu's 83 islands the different villages speak over 115 separate languages (not dialects), making Vanuatu one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. This doesn't include the English and French languages brought by the colonisers. Understandably, this makes communication difficult, and over the years, the official language of Bislama was developed so that everyone can communicate with each other. It is a form of pidgin English, and to English speakers it can look quite funny. For example...

Sign up to Digicel and get your Fri Tok!

Whilst Bislama is the official language, pretty much everyone we met also spoke English (and sometimes French) - the Ni-Vanuatu learn both at school - so there was no problem for us Aussies getting around. (And pretty much ALL the tourists there are Aussie!) Because I love languages though, I did buy a book about Bislama - "Evry samting yu wantem save long Bislama be yu fraet tumas blong askem".

Apart from languages, another thing I love is beer! Tusker is the local brew and it was deliciously refreshing and available everywhere. 550VT at our resort, 450VT at most cafes, 200VT at the supermarkets. (You can google what the exact exchange rate is, but when we were there, 550VT was approximately $6 Aussie dollars).

Tusker blong yumi! Me wantem Tusker!

I'm not quite sure why I've got my elbows pointed out so far - either to get more sun, or because I was about to try and lift that giant beer, haha. Does anybody know where I can get Tusker in Australia?

Getting around town was really easy, as the bus system in Port Vila is awesome. The buses are just minivans with a "B" at the start of the licence plate, and they are everywhere.

Just hail one down and tell them where you want to go. There is no fixed route, and they just drop passengers off at their chosen destinations. It may take a while with a few diversions, but you'll get there in the end. Most rides cost 150VT, although it'll cost more if you want to go somewhere far out of town. If you're worried about getting charged too much (very, very unlikely - all the bus drivers we met, and the Ni-Van people in general, are super-nice!), just check how much the ride will be before you get on the bus. It's not like you'd have to wait long for the next one!

Some buses look new and sparkly!
Don't forget: Pem nomo ol seken we yu toktok!

But most buses are quite run down, some without any perceivable suspension, and with alarming (but still usable) doors without interior panel...


We never had a problem getting a bus even late at night, and our drivers were friendly and knew the city really well. Most played reggae or island-ified pop songs as they drove.

Speaking of reggae, this Lucky Dube guy was everywhere! (Well, not literally, he passed away a few years ago). I'd never heard of him, but he was really popular and there were posters of him everywhere. In the shops there were more of his CD's than Bob Marley! I bought one of his albums for my bro, who is a bit of a reggae fan.


Although we ate mainly at restaurants and did our food shopping at the breathtakingly wonderful Port Vila market (so wonderful it gets its own post), we did visit the Au Bon Marché supermarket, right next to the market. I can't go overseas without visiting a local supermarket - I find them so fascinating.

There were heaps of expensive imported goods - the top right picture looks like any Australian supermarket shelf. I couldn't resist buying the Hansel biscuits. They are soo hot right now.

One of our favourite finds was the Olympic Take Away, on Lini Highway, right behind El Gecko restaurant. This locally-run joint was one of the few places open on Sunday, and makes the best cheeseburger ever. Whoda thunk it?

Above: Wahoo with chips, 750VT. Below: Cheeseburger, 550VT. (Chips cost extra, approx 200VT).

I wasn't enthused about going to a takeaway joint for lunch, but most places were closed and we were hungry. However, this place was great and we were sooo impressed! The wahoo fish was super-fresh, the chips were hand cut, and the cheeseburger was dee-licious. (We were soon to find out that *all* the beef and seafood in Vanuatu is super-fresh and local). Juicy patty, finely grated proper cheese, crusty bun. Wow. We came back twice.

Between Lini highway and the water is a nice strip of parkland, where many locals (and some tourists) sit and chillaxify.


I totally want to borrow this little guy's boat-bike thing.

Local guys playing ball game (balls, bocce?)

In this area is the very cool Nambawan Cafe and marketplace. The cafe is popular with tourists, having a good range of pizzas, juices and smoothies, and free wireless!



It also has a great view.


The little marketplace next to the cafe sells the usual touristy stuff - sarongs, wooden souvenirs, hair braiding and so on. But please, don't get your hair braided if you don't have proper Islander hair - you'll just look like a douche.


More Vanuatu posts to come!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Butter - Part 3

Petits Sablés - recipe and description below.

Some time ago, you may recall, I received a generous sample of wonderful Ardenne butter from @Kirkfood. It has been some months, but I have finally used it all (I know, what a chore, haha!), and would like to share the results with you.

The first time I tried it, I slathered it on no-knead bread with fleur de sel, and later I used it to make puff pastry. The puff pastry, in turn, became mille feuille and winter vegetable strudel.

When I had my friends Thanh and An over for lunch, I wanted a butter-friendly meal. I made Nigella's delicious Irish stew, which is supposed to be served with lots of bread and butter. I tried the no-knead bread again, and made a gateau Breton for dessert.


Because I was feeling especially creative and dorky, I shaped the butter into a dinky little heart shape.
Heart-shaped, topped with Murray river salt.

The no-knead bread, made in a smaller pot.

That bread is totally addictive! I explained to An how to make it, and apparently he's been baking bread himself back in Canberra. Yay!


Gateau Breton, or Brittany Cake, is a very rich and buttery affair. Nigella's version (How to be a Domestic Goddess) contains 4 simple ingredients - butter, sugar, flour and egg yolks. I thought it would be a fantastic way to try out more of that butter! Looking at the picture in Nigella's book, I thought these would be crisp and short, and I was surprised that it turned out soft and dense.


I quite liked this, but wasn't blown away, probably I was hoping for something more biscuit-like. It goes well with tea or coffee, and apparently it tastes just like German Christmas cookies! So there you go.
Diamonds of golden Gateau Breton - Thanh and I were trying to figure out ways to arrange them artistically, hehe.

The next thing I made with the butter (a few weeks later) was American-style cookies! I used the dough from this recipe, omitting the chocolate and nuts. I split the dough into two, adding chopped milk chocolate to one half.


I left the other half plain, formed them into balls, and rolled them in a mixture of castor sugar and cinnamon. My inspiration was the dee-licious cinnamon-sugar cookies from Mrs. Fields.

Sweet balls (ooer!). They have to be squished flat before baking.

The chocolate cookies turned out like this...
Does this look familiar? Just look up at my header!

And these are the cinnamon-sugar cookies!

I was very, very pleased with both the chocolate and cinnamon cookies! The flavour of the butter really came through, and the cookies had a tiny touch of salt, which really brought out the flavours. My only issue with the cookies is that they were quite cakey, and not as crispy as I like, especially the next day. I think this is because the water content in the butter makes the finished cookies soft. Apparently, replacing some of the butter in cookies with vegetable shortening can improve its texture, but that is an experiment for another day. (Whatever you do, don't do what one recipe online suggested and replace the butter with butter-flavoured Crisco. Yurgh!!!!)

The final (and perhaps best!) thing I made with the butter were petits sablés, aka little French shortbreads. I adapted a recipe I got from Duncan, who himself paraphrased the original recipe - taken from La Bonne Cuisine by Madame E. Saint-Ange and translated by Paul Aratow. What a complicated provenance for such a simple recipe!


Petits Sablés

Into a food processor, tip 125g flour, 100g butter at room temperature, 60g caster sugar, 1 egg yolk and the seeds of 1 vanilla pod.
Whizz to combine. Gradually add 1 tbs of cool water and process briefly until the mixture comes together. Tip onto a floured surface (I used glad wrap)...

... and form into a disc.

Wrap the dough up in glad wrap and chill for 30 mins.

Roll the dough into a log...

...and slice into pieces about 5mm thick. (This is easier than rolling and cutting out shapes, and excess dough can't be reworked to the same quality).

Place the biscuits onto a lined baking tray, sprinkle with extra castor sugar, and bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes. The dough should not colour more than a "nice golden tint".


Slide the biscuits onto a rack to cool. Be careful as the dough is very fragile when warm.

Ta-dah! Look how cute these little light golden coins are!

I served these to some friends for afternoon tea (with the cardamom and cinnamon buns, actually), and they went down a treat. I brought leftovers to a bloggers' dinner that night, and people seemed to like them! I was told they taste like those Danish butter cookies you get in the blue tins. I *love* those cookies, and I loved these too. I'll be making them again at Christmas! Thank-you to Duncan for the awesome recipe.

And that is what I did with the butter. Big thank-you to Kirkfood for the great butter!

Petits Sablés - recipe and description below.

Some time ago, you may recall, I received a generous sample of wonderful Ardenne butter from @Kirkfood. It has been some months, but I have finally used it all (I know, what a chore, haha!), and would like to share the results with you.

The first time I tried it, I slathered it on no-knead bread with fleur de sel, and later I used it to make puff pastry. The puff pastry, in turn, became mille feuille and winter vegetable strudel.

When I had my friends Thanh and An over for lunch, I wanted a butter-friendly meal. I made Nigella's delicious Irish stew, which is supposed to be served with lots of bread and butter. I tried the no-knead bread again, and made a gateau Breton for dessert.


Because I was feeling especially creative and dorky, I shaped the butter into a dinky little heart shape.
Heart-shaped, topped with Murray river salt.

The no-knead bread, made in a smaller pot.

That bread is totally addictive! I explained to An how to make it, and apparently he's been baking bread himself back in Canberra. Yay!


Gateau Breton, or Brittany Cake, is a very rich and buttery affair. Nigella's version (How to be a Domestic Goddess) contains 4 simple ingredients - butter, sugar, flour and egg yolks. I thought it would be a fantastic way to try out more of that butter! Looking at the picture in Nigella's book, I thought these would be crisp and short, and I was surprised that it turned out soft and dense.


I quite liked this, but wasn't blown away, probably I was hoping for something more biscuit-like. It goes well with tea or coffee, and apparently it tastes just like German Christmas cookies! So there you go.
Diamonds of golden Gateau Breton - Thanh and I were trying to figure out ways to arrange them artistically, hehe.

The next thing I made with the butter (a few weeks later) was American-style cookies! I used the dough from this recipe, omitting the chocolate and nuts. I split the dough into two, adding chopped milk chocolate to one half.


I left the other half plain, formed them into balls, and rolled them in a mixture of castor sugar and cinnamon. My inspiration was the dee-licious cinnamon-sugar cookies from Mrs. Fields.

Sweet balls (ooer!). They have to be squished flat before baking.

The chocolate cookies turned out like this...
Does this look familiar? Just look up at my header!

And these are the cinnamon-sugar cookies!

I was very, very pleased with both the chocolate and cinnamon cookies! The flavour of the butter really came through, and the cookies had a tiny touch of salt, which really brought out the flavours. My only issue with the cookies is that they were quite cakey, and not as crispy as I like, especially the next day. I think this is because the water content in the butter makes the finished cookies soft. Apparently, replacing some of the butter in cookies with vegetable shortening can improve its texture, but that is an experiment for another day. (Whatever you do, don't do what one recipe online suggested and replace the butter with butter-flavoured Crisco. Yurgh!!!!)

The final (and perhaps best!) thing I made with the butter were petits sablés, aka little French shortbreads. I adapted a recipe I got from Duncan, who himself paraphrased the original recipe - taken from La Bonne Cuisine by Madame E. Saint-Ange and translated by Paul Aratow. What a complicated provenance for such a simple recipe!


Petits Sablés

Into a food processor, tip 125g flour, 100g butter at room temperature, 60g caster sugar, 1 egg yolk and the seeds of 1 vanilla pod.
Whizz to combine. Gradually add 1 tbs of cool water and process briefly until the mixture comes together. Tip onto a floured surface (I used glad wrap)...

... and form into a disc.

Wrap the dough up in glad wrap and chill for 30 mins.

Roll the dough into a log...

...and slice into pieces about 5mm thick. (This is easier than rolling and cutting out shapes, and excess dough can't be reworked to the same quality).

Place the biscuits onto a lined baking tray, sprinkle with extra castor sugar, and bake at 180C for 10-15 minutes. The dough should not colour more than a "nice golden tint".


Slide the biscuits onto a rack to cool. Be careful as the dough is very fragile when warm.

Ta-dah! Look how cute these little light golden coins are!

I served these to some friends for afternoon tea (with the cardamom and cinnamon buns, actually), and they went down a treat. I brought leftovers to a bloggers' dinner that night, and people seemed to like them! I was told they taste like those Danish butter cookies you get in the blue tins. I *love* those cookies, and I loved these too. I'll be making them again at Christmas! Thank-you to Duncan for the awesome recipe.

And that is what I did with the butter. Big thank-you to Kirkfood for the great butter!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Post-Detox Treat

Thanks to everyone who commented on my detox post! Managed to get through a Monday without coffee, so that sets me up well for the rest of the week. Just a quick post today - I wanted to share with you my Saturday-night post-detox reward dinner, made up of food I'd been craving all week.

1. Pepper Steak
2. Baked Potato
3. Creamed Spinach

I splashed out on an organic piece of porterhouse, and cooked it using the recipe from Nigella's How to Eat, (previously made here). The sauce was made by deglazing the pan with some marsala and a tiny knob of butter. I topped the baked potato with a small amount of butter, some grated cheddar cheese, light sour cream (as if it made a difference - hah!) and chives. For the creamed spinach I just cooked some chopped onion, added defrosted frozen spinach, some flour and a dash of cream.

No wine because I rarely crave it, and it usually doesn't bother me whether I drink or not. But that meal, just by itself, was the perfect weekend indulgence.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my detox post! Managed to get through a Monday without coffee, so that sets me up well for the rest of the week. Just a quick post today - I wanted to share with you my Saturday-night post-detox reward dinner, made up of food I'd been craving all week.

1. Pepper Steak
2. Baked Potato
3. Creamed Spinach

I splashed out on an organic piece of porterhouse, and cooked it using the recipe from Nigella's How to Eat, (previously made here). The sauce was made by deglazing the pan with some marsala and a tiny knob of butter. I topped the baked potato with a small amount of butter, some grated cheddar cheese, light sour cream (as if it made a difference - hah!) and chives. For the creamed spinach I just cooked some chopped onion, added defrosted frozen spinach, some flour and a dash of cream.

No wine because I rarely crave it, and it usually doesn't bother me whether I drink or not. But that meal, just by itself, was the perfect weekend indulgence.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Detox

Hello everybody!! Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I have been on detox this week, from Monday-Friday. (Ceremoniously ended at midnight last night by the digging of spoons into tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, hehe.)

I had been feeling a bit sluggish, and wanted to kick-start some proper healthy eating - to get out of the habit of eating salami/cheese toasties for lunch at work, guzzling down coffee, or inhaling oven chips for dinner after a tiring week.

We decided on the following diet based on our existing knowledge of diet/nutrition and other bits and pieces we heard from friends and researched ourselves.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway:

I am NOT a nutritionist. This is a detox I designed for personal use and does not take into account your own nutritional needs and circumstances. This post is deigned to provide information and ideas on healthy eating, not to be a prescriptive diet. If you plan to do a diet or go on detox, do your own research and consult your relevant healthcare professional.

Haha, how much do I sound like a bank employee!

For my detox, I had no caffeine, alcohol, excess fat, meat, dairy, eggs, white rice, potatoes or flour. I also decided to go low-wheat, and still eat fish (it's good for you and I hardly eat it at all these days). When I told my friends I was doing this, the most common response was, "Well what CAN you eat?"

I present you the answer, in blog-form.

For BREAKFASTS I had smoothies made of soymilk and fruit (e.g. mango, banana, frozen berries, kiwi fruit), or black rye sourdough toast with tahini. (The black rye toast has some wheat flour in it, but this didn't bother me as I was going "low-wheat", not "no-wheat".)

As an ALTERNATIVE TO COFFEE/TEA, I drank chamomile / rooibos tea. I also drank heaps of water.

For SNACKS I ate fruit, tinned tuna (Sirena rocks!) or small soy smoothies.

Preparing LUNCHES and DINNERS is where I got to exercise some culinary creativity. I didn't cut out salt or sugar completely (you will see honey popping up here and there). I thought, perhaps optimistically, that if I wasn't going out to restaurants or getting take-away during the week that I'd be cutting down my salt intake a lot anyway. I also made larger quantities of the evening meals, so I could take leftovers to work the next day for lunch.

The first thing I made was Nigella's caramelised onion and lentil pilaf, substituting brown rice for the basmati she suggests.

The spices...

The rice and lentils...

The pilaf...

Ta-dah!

The recipe made enough for me to take a bowl to work for Monday's lunch, and to share it with my family as an accompaniment for dinner later that night.

For dinner that night we had the pilaf, with Bill Granger's watercress and green bean salad (Every Day), and roast pumpkin and red onion with honey dressing.

The salad was stunning - so simple! It's just cooked beans with watercress, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I'd love to eat this any night of the week, detox or no.

I wasn't too sure if honey was bad for detox, so I only used a scant amount of the dressing. I've made this before for dinner parties, and it always goes down a treat.

The next night I made a fabulous baingan bharta (eggplant curry) that I saw on Cindy & Michael's blog last year, and have been itching to make ever since.

As much as I adore eggplant, it can often be very greasy and definitely not detox-friendly. No such danger here, as the eggplant is cooked until mooshy in the oven. No huge amounts of oil required!

The recipe is linked to on Cindy & Michael's blog, so I'll just give a brief rundown. You cook up onion, garlic and ginger, (I only used a tiny amount of oil), then add spices, a chopped chilli and tomato. The recipe uses yoghurt, but I omitted it as I was going dairy free.

Then you add your eggplant mush and cook for a bit longer.


I thought this curry was amazing! I absolutely loved it, and it just seemed to get better over the next few days. I ate it with plain brown rice, but during more relaxed times, I think basmati rice or naan would be perfect.

Other dinners we ate but didn't photograph include Bill Granger's puy lentil soup, and a mixed veggie & tofu stir-fry (again with brown rice).

Now, WORK LUNCHES. Apart from leftovers, I made some lunches specially. They had to be tasty and filling so that I wouldn't get tempted by the vending machine!

Below we have a cold soba-noodle salad with tinned tuna. The soba recipe comes from Nigella's Forever Summer, and consists of cooked and cooled soba, with spring onions, coriander and toasted sesame seeds. The dressing contains soy sauce, sesame oil, a drop of honey and some rice wine vinegar.
It was, of course, delicious, but I was surprised by how filling this was. I'll definitely be repeating this recipe for future lunches.

This salad contains watercress, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil and finely chopped chives and red onion. Chives are brilliant for adding low-fat flavour!!! I ate this one with a small tin of Sirena tuna.
So many nutrients.

Next up is a sandwich (I slapped the other slice of bread on after taking the photo). More of that dark rye bread, some avocado, the remainder of the watercress and some sliced tomato.

So, how did it go??

It actually went really, really well! I did find myself craving sweets (cookies especially!), but giving up everything else wasn't too bad. I think it helps that I actually like soy milk and brown rice. I was scared I'd get caffeine-withdrawal headaches and be exhausted, because I do love my coffee! (Those who have been following my blog for a long time might remember I tried a stricter detox some years back and gave up shortly after). But I was actually fine! I had slight headaches on the first evening, and was exhausted on Monday night, but I felt much better for the rest of the week. I got tired on my early morning starts at work, but managed to push on through, and I found that I had heaps more energy overall! Couldn't believe it. I'm not sure if it was the caffeine or the fact that I was eating lighter food in general, but I felt great.

Because it made me feel so much better, I've decided to keep up eating healthy food, especially during the working week, and use the weekends to enjoy myself a bit. I also plan to dramatically reduce the amount of coffee I drink. (The coffee in my building SUCKS anyway!) This way I can really enjoy great coffees when I go out to cafes, rather than just guzzling it down to stay awake.

Hello everybody!! Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I have been on detox this week, from Monday-Friday. (Ceremoniously ended at midnight last night by the digging of spoons into tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, hehe.)

I had been feeling a bit sluggish, and wanted to kick-start some proper healthy eating - to get out of the habit of eating salami/cheese toasties for lunch at work, guzzling down coffee, or inhaling oven chips for dinner after a tiring week.

We decided on the following diet based on our existing knowledge of diet/nutrition and other bits and pieces we heard from friends and researched ourselves.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway:

I am NOT a nutritionist. This is a detox I designed for personal use and does not take into account your own nutritional needs and circumstances. This post is deigned to provide information and ideas on healthy eating, not to be a prescriptive diet. If you plan to do a diet or go on detox, do your own research and consult your relevant healthcare professional.

Haha, how much do I sound like a bank employee!

For my detox, I had no caffeine, alcohol, excess fat, meat, dairy, eggs, white rice, potatoes or flour. I also decided to go low-wheat, and still eat fish (it's good for you and I hardly eat it at all these days). When I told my friends I was doing this, the most common response was, "Well what CAN you eat?"

I present you the answer, in blog-form.

For BREAKFASTS I had smoothies made of soymilk and fruit (e.g. mango, banana, frozen berries, kiwi fruit), or black rye sourdough toast with tahini. (The black rye toast has some wheat flour in it, but this didn't bother me as I was going "low-wheat", not "no-wheat".)

As an ALTERNATIVE TO COFFEE/TEA, I drank chamomile / rooibos tea. I also drank heaps of water.

For SNACKS I ate fruit, tinned tuna (Sirena rocks!) or small soy smoothies.

Preparing LUNCHES and DINNERS is where I got to exercise some culinary creativity. I didn't cut out salt or sugar completely (you will see honey popping up here and there). I thought, perhaps optimistically, that if I wasn't going out to restaurants or getting take-away during the week that I'd be cutting down my salt intake a lot anyway. I also made larger quantities of the evening meals, so I could take leftovers to work the next day for lunch.

The first thing I made was Nigella's caramelised onion and lentil pilaf, substituting brown rice for the basmati she suggests.

The spices...

The rice and lentils...

The pilaf...

Ta-dah!

The recipe made enough for me to take a bowl to work for Monday's lunch, and to share it with my family as an accompaniment for dinner later that night.

For dinner that night we had the pilaf, with Bill Granger's watercress and green bean salad (Every Day), and roast pumpkin and red onion with honey dressing.

The salad was stunning - so simple! It's just cooked beans with watercress, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I'd love to eat this any night of the week, detox or no.

I wasn't too sure if honey was bad for detox, so I only used a scant amount of the dressing. I've made this before for dinner parties, and it always goes down a treat.

The next night I made a fabulous baingan bharta (eggplant curry) that I saw on Cindy & Michael's blog last year, and have been itching to make ever since.

As much as I adore eggplant, it can often be very greasy and definitely not detox-friendly. No such danger here, as the eggplant is cooked until mooshy in the oven. No huge amounts of oil required!

The recipe is linked to on Cindy & Michael's blog, so I'll just give a brief rundown. You cook up onion, garlic and ginger, (I only used a tiny amount of oil), then add spices, a chopped chilli and tomato. The recipe uses yoghurt, but I omitted it as I was going dairy free.

Then you add your eggplant mush and cook for a bit longer.


I thought this curry was amazing! I absolutely loved it, and it just seemed to get better over the next few days. I ate it with plain brown rice, but during more relaxed times, I think basmati rice or naan would be perfect.

Other dinners we ate but didn't photograph include Bill Granger's puy lentil soup, and a mixed veggie & tofu stir-fry (again with brown rice).

Now, WORK LUNCHES. Apart from leftovers, I made some lunches specially. They had to be tasty and filling so that I wouldn't get tempted by the vending machine!

Below we have a cold soba-noodle salad with tinned tuna. The soba recipe comes from Nigella's Forever Summer, and consists of cooked and cooled soba, with spring onions, coriander and toasted sesame seeds. The dressing contains soy sauce, sesame oil, a drop of honey and some rice wine vinegar.
It was, of course, delicious, but I was surprised by how filling this was. I'll definitely be repeating this recipe for future lunches.

This salad contains watercress, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil and finely chopped chives and red onion. Chives are brilliant for adding low-fat flavour!!! I ate this one with a small tin of Sirena tuna.
So many nutrients.

Next up is a sandwich (I slapped the other slice of bread on after taking the photo). More of that dark rye bread, some avocado, the remainder of the watercress and some sliced tomato.

So, how did it go??

It actually went really, really well! I did find myself craving sweets (cookies especially!), but giving up everything else wasn't too bad. I think it helps that I actually like soy milk and brown rice. I was scared I'd get caffeine-withdrawal headaches and be exhausted, because I do love my coffee! (Those who have been following my blog for a long time might remember I tried a stricter detox some years back and gave up shortly after). But I was actually fine! I had slight headaches on the first evening, and was exhausted on Monday night, but I felt much better for the rest of the week. I got tired on my early morning starts at work, but managed to push on through, and I found that I had heaps more energy overall! Couldn't believe it. I'm not sure if it was the caffeine or the fact that I was eating lighter food in general, but I felt great.

Because it made me feel so much better, I've decided to keep up eating healthy food, especially during the working week, and use the weekends to enjoy myself a bit. I also plan to dramatically reduce the amount of coffee I drink. (The coffee in my building SUCKS anyway!) This way I can really enjoy great coffees when I go out to cafes, rather than just guzzling it down to stay awake.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Happy Blog Birthday!

Yes my dear readers, today is my little blog's 5th birthday! In all these years of blogging, I've never once done a birthday blog post, so I'm sure you'll forgive me while I gush.

I started little ol' Sarah Cooks some 5 years back, when I realised my food obsession just wasn't going away. At the time, I had a personal blog, The Blog of Sarah, which my friends read. It was one of those typical teenage girl pieces of fluff - pictures of friends at nights out, complaining about uni etc. (It has since been taken down because I stopped updating it). Anyway, after a while my posts started becoming more and more food-related, and I decided I should just stop bugging my friends with my food-obession, and start a proper food related blog. And thus, Sarah Cooks was born.

My very first post was (quelle surprise!) Nigella related - Gooey Chocolate Stack. And since then I've been blogging pretty regularly, a few times a week. I started blogging about food I cooked at home, and most of my readers at the time were my buddies from the old Nigella.com forum.

In June 2006, I started Sarah Discovers How to Eat, my quest to cook all 395 recipes from Nigella's How to Eat in one year. It was a hugely fun project, and I still love that book and return to it regularly.

These days my Sarah Cooks posts are a mixture of food I've cooked at home, baking experiments and restaurant and cafe reviews. I've also made some good friends through blogging and can't see myself stopping any time soon!

Out of interest, here are my top 10 labels and the number of posts I've done about them:

1. Nigella (164 - and no, this doesn't include the 400+ posts from Sarah Discovers How to Eat!)
2. Chocolate (100)
3. Travel (86)
4. Restaurants (83)
5. Cake (69)
6. Melbourne (69)
7. Salad (50)
8. Breakfast (48)
9. German (45)
10. Seafood (43)

I wish I could say that it's an exaggeration that I cook/eat twice as much chocolate as salad (100 vs 50 posts), but there's no point in lying now, haha.

Now, about that cake! I actually made and ate that a couple of weekends ago (definitely not detox-friendly!!) in preparation for today's post. It is a Victoria sponge, filled with hazelnut-infused buttercream, topped with ganache and sugared hazelnuts. I'll blog it in more detail in the coming week, but I need to let you all know that nut-infused German buttercream is my new best friend.

Yes my dear readers, today is my little blog's 5th birthday! In all these years of blogging, I've never once done a birthday blog post, so I'm sure you'll forgive me while I gush.

I started little ol' Sarah Cooks some 5 years back, when I realised my food obsession just wasn't going away. At the time, I had a personal blog, The Blog of Sarah, which my friends read. It was one of those typical teenage girl pieces of fluff - pictures of friends at nights out, complaining about uni etc. (It has since been taken down because I stopped updating it). Anyway, after a while my posts started becoming more and more food-related, and I decided I should just stop bugging my friends with my food-obession, and start a proper food related blog. And thus, Sarah Cooks was born.

My very first post was (quelle surprise!) Nigella related - Gooey Chocolate Stack. And since then I've been blogging pretty regularly, a few times a week. I started blogging about food I cooked at home, and most of my readers at the time were my buddies from the old Nigella.com forum.

In June 2006, I started Sarah Discovers How to Eat, my quest to cook all 395 recipes from Nigella's How to Eat in one year. It was a hugely fun project, and I still love that book and return to it regularly.

These days my Sarah Cooks posts are a mixture of food I've cooked at home, baking experiments and restaurant and cafe reviews. I've also made some good friends through blogging and can't see myself stopping any time soon!

Out of interest, here are my top 10 labels and the number of posts I've done about them:

1. Nigella (164 - and no, this doesn't include the 400+ posts from Sarah Discovers How to Eat!)
2. Chocolate (100)
3. Travel (86)
4. Restaurants (83)
5. Cake (69)
6. Melbourne (69)
7. Salad (50)
8. Breakfast (48)
9. German (45)
10. Seafood (43)

I wish I could say that it's an exaggeration that I cook/eat twice as much chocolate as salad (100 vs 50 posts), but there's no point in lying now, haha.

Now, about that cake! I actually made and ate that a couple of weekends ago (definitely not detox-friendly!!) in preparation for today's post. It is a Victoria sponge, filled with hazelnut-infused buttercream, topped with ganache and sugared hazelnuts. I'll blog it in more detail in the coming week, but I need to let you all know that nut-infused German buttercream is my new best friend.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad