Tag: food

BIRTHDAY DINNER @ HOME SWEET HOME, MANCHESTER

Published on by oliviagaskill3 Comments

For the past four years, with the exception of last year because I was on the other side of the world, I’ve spent my birthday with my friend Taylor. Although a group of us were already going to Junkyard Golf on the Saturday to celebrate my birthday properly (because working life restricts mid-week drinking), I wanted to at least go out for food on the actual day. So this year when Tay asked where I wanted to go for dinner, my word-for-word response was “somewhere instagrammable”. I know, I’m ashamed of me too…

So with that in mind we chose Home Sweet Home in Manchester’s Great Northern area. I had walked past this place before and remembered stopping to drool over the cake display, whilst making a mental note to eat there asap.

The dinner menu had just started when we arrived, so I ordered the ‘Chicken in the Basket’ and Tay opted for the ‘Pulled Pork Pile Up’. It was definitely a filling dish and so tasty (I looove me some good chicken), but from the moment we walked in my eyes were on the dessert menu.

These cakes make you gain weight just by looking at them, but it was my birthday so yolo, and you certainly get your money’s worth when you buy a slice (read: 10lb chunk). I knew I wanted to try ‘Honey I Robbed the Kids’ as soon as I laid eyes on it, covered in bright blue icing and topped like a Woolworths’ pick n’ mix section, my out-of-control sweet tooth was more than satisfied. I had to take half of it home in a box because I couldn’t finish the whole slice in one go, so imagine my happiness when I opened the fridge the next morning and ate it for breakfast!

I’m so glad Taylor suggested we go out for the afternoon, and I know my relationship with Home Sweet Home will be like a revolving door (I give it a week until I’m back in there ploughing my way through the breakfast and lunch menus). So if you’re looking for a diner-like place to eat in Manchester and can’t resist eating a dessert that’s bigger than your actual meal, then visiting this restaurant should be at the top of your list.

 

Until next time,
Liv
xo

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BREAKFAST AT HUFF BAGELRY, MELBOURNE

Published on by oliviagaskill2 Comments

One thing I could eat every day for the rest of my life? Bagels. I went through an obsession in my second year of uni where that’s all I would eat, so imagine my excitement when Issy took me to a cafe dedicated entirely to bagels in Carnegie, Melbourne. Her Mum brought some home every morning for our breakfast which was super nice, and although I’m a picky eater and usually stick to plain or wholemeal, the onion and poppyseed bagels were my absolute favourite.


It wasn’t until my penultimate day in Melbourne that we actually sat in to eat. At first I thought, ‘how many bagels could there possibly be?’ and ‘will they only do bagels on their own? Or will there be proper breakfast meals with them?’. As we walked in the queue was already huge and there were no free tables in sight, but it didn’t take too long for a space to become available for us. I was spoiled for choice with the menu, ranging from sesame to blueberry and choc-chip bagels (I didn’t even know the latter two were a thing), alongside classic breakfast meals such as scrambled egg, a tuna melt, and a ‘Summer Brekky Bagel’.


Although the onion and poppyseed had been my favourite all week, I opted for the scrambled egg with a sesame seed bagel and an English breakfast tea (spot the Pommie). Even though I went with a simple option, it was still bloody delicious and kept me full for hours thereafter.


I was so sad to leave Huff Bagelry behind, so I’m hoping there’s a bagel cafe somewhere in Manchester that I’m yet to discover or someone gets the bright idea to open one themselves asap.

Until next time,
Liv

xo

BLOGMAS DAY 16: PADDINGTON CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Published on by oliviagaskillLeave a comment

It’s Blogmas day 16! I’ve found it quite difficult to find any Christmas markets around Sydney compared to all the German markets back home, so when I found out that there was a one-night event going on in Paddington I had to clear my plans and go. It rained all day yesterday which gave it a more Christmassy feel but it was still pretty warm so I popped on a cardigan and my Manchester Surf Society woolly hat and headed out.

When we walked into the hall there were a few stalls here and there, with a young guy playing guitar who was pretty damn talented by the way. Check out his Facebook page here. However the stall that caught my eye was the ‘Oh Fudge’ counter. Sold here were a variety of unique flavours of fudge and because you could try a sample before you bought them I tried pretty much all of them. They ranged from M&M chocolate, lemon meringue, Malteser, sour apple and watermelon, caramel, salted caramel, hazelnut coffee nougat, milk and cookies, and birthday cake. Birthday cake tasted like the cake batter before you put it in the oven which was tasty, but the caramel fudge tasted so much like Scottish Tablet I just had to buy a block.

As we walked around we passed a stall that sold candles with scents such as “Bondi Dreams”. I thought about buying a skull candle but then remembered it would probably set off the hostel’s fire alarm. There were a few stalls selling gift sets and soaps which were so lovely, and others selling handmade crafts and paintings. A personal favourite of mine was Bronte Goodison’s artwork, whose website you can find here. I fell in love with her paintings and would have gladly bought a load if I had somewhere to put them. You could tell how much time and effort was put into each piece, and a particular favourite of mine and Sophia’s was the world map.

I had actually forgotten that Helen was going to be working until I walked past the Massage Envy stall and saw her handing out flyers. I got a free 10 minute massage from one of her colleagues which was absolute bliss, and then headed off for some dinner at the hot dog stand with my mince pies.

Even though it was only a very small market and all I bought was food because I’m on a budget it was a nice evening out and finally something festive to do in Sydney.

Until tomorrow

Liv

xo