WORLD RESTAURANT AND BAR, MELBOURNE

For a couple who don't drink too frequently, our goings-on in Melbourne were rather out of character. Well, I should only be speaking for myself there because, regardless of the occasion, James is 99.9% of the time a simple "just a Coca Cola, thanks" kinda guy. Because the weather was so fine, the sun stayed out for, like, EVER, and I was seeing my sister for an extended period of time, every single day was a cause for celebration. Cocktails in sharing jugs were always our favourite and these "Holly Higgins" (Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, Aperol, lemon juice, grapefruit juice) marked the start of our evening at World Restaurant and Bar. Delicioso!

Speaking of delicious - don't you think my sister is a dead ringer for Hollywood cutie Anna Kendrick?

I really want to tell you that the food that night was "pitch perfect" but that would be just be plain cheesy. Because it was the day after the new year holiday, many of the cafe's around town hadn't been able to have their usual deliveries from suppliers, so many items on the menu weren't available. Sure, I was a little sad about that but it forced me to order things I may not have thought of before and gave the chef a chance to really woo us. And woo us he (or she) did! We started with the Pan fried calamari & chorizo in a capsicum and white wine sauce. Oh boy. If I wasn't gluten-avoidant, I'd have used that bread to soak up every last morsel of that sauce. Instead, I actually got a spoon to finish it off. Smoky, chorizo-ey and utterly perfect. One recipe I need to add to my collection!

Then we had the conundrum of figuring out how to share this pulled pork taco between us. We were talking too much and not reading the menu properly so it was totally our fault. We got there in the end, crafty little family we are. And our little morsels had us contemplating skipping the mains so we could keep ordering from the grazing menu for the rest of the night. 

Many carbohydrates were consumed that night. But come on, take a look at that cheese and garlic pizza bread. How could you say no to that pretty little thing?

The stars (though not visible at this stage) seemed to align that night as not only did we have palate-pleasing food and terrific company, we also had the most blissful weather that evening.

Now for the really good part: the mains! Rachel and Dan both went for the 300g char grilled Porterhouse with onion rings, mustard and chips:

We all know that you can't stop at just two onion rings so I took the initiative and ordered a whole bucket of them. I think I ate most of them to myself...

James chose the twice cooked pork belly with green apple & celeriac remoulade and fondant. Come to papa!

As for me, I figured these guys knew what they were doing with their calamari (and deep fryer) so I went for the crisp calamari with iceberg, coriander, fried shallots, sesame and lime. They absolutely nailed this one!

When I found out my sister got in to uni in Adelaide (seriously HUGE pat on the back to her!), a part of me was a little sad because it might mean less trips to the foodie paradise that is Melbourne. But there's a slight chance one of my brothers might end up living there so pleeeeeease keep your fingers crossed for him!

If you'd like to visit World Restaurant & Bar, their details are here. And be sure to have a cocktail for me!