La Bodeguita del Medio - A Cuban restaurant behind QVB

La Bodeguita del Medio was a place that I was excited to try out since it opened its doors last year. Somehow, it never quite eventuated until now. We were there early on a week night so the restaurant was bare, although the troops at the bar got tables a lot later in the night.

$10 Cuban cocktails were the go for the night and we all started with a round of Mojitos for the table. Limey Rum, the drink was refreshing. And with eagerness we poured over the menu.

For Shared Entrees, we had:

Ceviche del Dia

Fish of the day with fresh lime, chilli & coriander $16

 A very sour dish, but actually a great way to open up your appetite, if you weren't already ravenously hungry. But the fish was firm to the bite and a good dish I'd revisit anytime.

Panceta de Cerdo

Roasted pork belly, compressed watermelon & white balsamic foam $17

 Watermelon was an interesting accompaniment. But the pork belly was done well with very good crackling.

Terrina de Chorizo

Chorizo terrine with pea puree & sautéed baby carrots $18

 I think this entree got devoured really quickly, and it was good earthy flavours of terrine mellowed by the sweetness of the peas and carrots. The Entrees certainly were good, which meant the shared Mains had to work harder to hit the spot.

Pastel de Cangrejo

Crab pie served with homemade crusty bread $31

 I picked this dish and so was rather disappointed that the bread was larger than the pie. The flavours were decent, with every bite of the pie filling full of crab, but it didn' have the wow factor after all. On the other hand, what I did not expect was for the crusty bread to have the texture of toasted brioche, and that was something different.

Ropa Vieja de Cordero

Yogurt braised lamb, black bean vinaigrette & steamed yellow rice $30

 I remembered only the saltiness of this dish. The lamb was overcooked, so it was chewy and I liked the rice, but the overpowering black bean saltiness did me in really. Especially when all I had was a mojito to wash this down with. My saltiness and sournes palate gave way at this dish I am pretty sure.

Cazuela de Cuba

Cuban casserole with pork belly, chorizo, fresh scallops, black beans & long grain rice $32

If the previous dish lost me, this one was the star of the night. We all enjoyed this casserole hands down. It reminds one of a paella with its flavours, but it was a generous dish with flavour and portion and even though we already had pork belly earlier on in the night and the pork belly in this dish was really really chewy, we still could not fault this dish and would have eaten this on its own.

I think we each had another round of $10 cocktails including the cocktail of the week/month? (I can't quite remember which) which was a daiquiri, basically a different presentation of the mojito it tasted like. I suppose I had enough of the sourness that night.

We would have gone for desserts if we didn't feel so overwhelmed with the flavours that night. The Service fell down between entree, our second drink order and mains, so we gave up and kissed each other a goodnight before it turned sour like our dinner.

I was glad we tried it, but based on the food, I am not in a hurry to visit Cuba anytime soon. Am not sure the food quite agrees with me, although of course that is not the sole reason to visit a country. Or is it?

Do you believe in Star-crossed lovers?

No really... How many times have you had to try and give a good friend (who's had their heart broken) some story about why they should not give up on love or why someone is their perfect someone and is waiting for them?

My latest story is about my real life idol who I always share with my gal friends about because she is our Singaporean Carrie Bradshaw. She is only nine years older than me but has really captivated my imagination of the world I wanted for myself when I grew up.

Because I wanted to emulate her beauty, I used her favorite cosmetics, SK II. Because I loved her jet-setting life, I studied international business. Because I adored her style and self-confidence, I always followed her antics with the greatest interest even if she was a very private person. After several relationships, and a severe battle with depression, I see her soar again now with a story that inspires my friends who at this age want to give up hope that they might ever meet Mr. Right.

My idol met her love not too long ago and will get married this year. He's bought her a penthouse and a Cartier ring and an apartment in Paris I believe the rumors were. I was so happy that her Happy Ever After was looming as we had never gotten this close before.

This isn't the princess's dream though. It isn't something you read to little girls at night. For who ever went to bed thinking one day that she will grow up to become the stepmother? You see, her package comes with kids and that she had to wait patiently for his family to accept her before all this could happen.

I suppose this shows that sometimes, the package might not come the way you were looking for, but if you kept an open mind, you'd find your Mr. Right-for-you in a way least expected by you. I mean there is no hard and fast rule as to what Mr. Right should be like, or which pool you'd find him in.

I found mine in a man who was the shoulder I needed, the strength that I lacked and the patience and wisdom of the world I never had. I was looking to play the field when he asked me to go out having been hurt in the previous two relationships and sick of it. But S was to me all those years ago, like the pastel blue unicorn I found at school that had broken off someone's pencil, an alluring piece of throwaway that I kept because I was sure I'd need it someday but was not sure right then what I'd need it for but I didn't want another to have it. Thankfully, I was curious to see what we could have and I was curious to see if He could teach me to know that Love, you know, that as Carrie puts it," Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient , consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love."

I imagined that one day I may find out that our paths have crossed before and some sign would show that we were just meant for each other. Now, it just doesn't seem so important anymore as I know our Love is just what we want to make of it.

Ebay listings and musings of life

Shopping has no more lustre whilst I am paying off my London tickets and dreaming of Boxing Day shopping there.

We did go shopping today for a MacBook Air and so Mr. HEA will not be after me for attention for the rest of the day, I'm sure.

My OOTD: Zara Studio metallic Grey Knit, Skinny Jeans, Vincci Patent flats and Printed Nine West Scarf

Outfit I tried on at Portmans: Pastel Colour block bandeau skirt; Candy collared Silk Blouse. Matches my shoes perfectly, but I didn't like the transparency of the blouse and the way the skirt accentuated my hips.

Moving and pottering about the house has been the other main focus of the days here recently. Albeit being freezingly cold, I was able to tease some colour from the garden from the Begonia, the Geranium and the Azalea bush.

I've also put in some lavender cuttings in a pot and scattered basil, parsley and coriander seeds into the garden bed behind the kitchen despite it being absolutely the wrong season to do so. Hopefully some will germinate when Spring comes and the place has been rented out. I just know I won't be here to reap the fruits of my labour, but the tenants hopefully will appreciate it (if the seeds take off).

On other moving news, I am finally coming to my senses and letting go of some of my luxury items on Ebay. There just hasn't been as much partying going on that I require this many bags for. I also have much less space moving in with my in-laws when Mr.HEA ships out to UK. So, if you're in the market for some vintage designer clutches, check out my listings:

Louis Vuitton Pochette Marelle & the Christian Dior Saddle Clutch is up for sale at the moment. A few more things to come after that as I keep culling my wadrobe I am sure.

Discovery of the day

If you catch the bus and you get to the last dip on your travel ten like I did this morning, the first thing in your mind when you see a potential newsagency would be to purchase a new MyBus card.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner on this News Stand kiosk on the corner of Martin Place and Elizabeth and realised it sold coffee and Sparkle cupcakes!




If you hadn't had Sparkle cupcakes before, you may not be lured by their plain frosting compared to the delicate and intricate counterparts available elsewhere.




Oh but give it a chance like I did on a couple of other occasions and you'll find that under its unassuming presentation, it delivers flavours true to its name and have the most gourmet fillings oozing out of its insides.

Here's the innards of my salted caramel:




I thought the soy latte was pretty good, coming out of a kiosk, but it was a novelty thing and I might not be back there everyday... picking it up as a Personal treat today though, it was sooo worthwhile. I'd recommend you head there if you were looking for a sweet treat in the morn. *wink*

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Contemporary bags lemmings

What contemporary refers to here is 'not the classic style' I suppose, or not quite the designs that have been around for ages like the Chanel reissue or the LV Speedy.
It's just that someone tweeted a picture of Bazaar's bag of the year and I just had to know what they were. A little googling led me to these:

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Don't get me wrong, they are all fabulous finds and I'd use them happily if given those for Christmas. But if I were to have to save up money for a bag this year that isn't in my Holy Grail list already, and just cannot wait till I have the income to justify the purchase because then I'd be too old possibly. Something that isn't quite an investment but I'd just have to have...*takes deep breath*
I'd side eye these beauties:

Contemporary bags lemmings by happy-e-after featuring a black bag,

Proenza Schouler leather handbag / Balenciaga black bag, $1,595 / Mulberry handbag / Chanel handbag