“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.
You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Bilbo Baggins
That Lord of the Rings quote pops into my head when I pause the day for a moment, and realise we’re already at the start of August 2012. How did we get here so fast?! I feel like I’ve been swept through this year, and I need to press pause on the clock while I find my own feet.
The first half of this year has been so busy because, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned at least once, we moved into our apartment in March. Most other parts of my life took a backseat to the stress of exchanging contracts just days before last Christmas, waiting 3 months for settlement, finding our routine in mortgage world, and making our new place a home. But we are loving it here!
I have also been far more budget-conscious this year, and am therefore dining out less. However, I’ve still dined in some wonderful restaurants… I just haven’t blogged them. My mind has been focused on home, and I have been focused on recipe posts.
It was only after I’d looked back through my small number of blog posts this year, that I realised I’d only written one post about a restaurant. One restaurant post in six months, and that one post was about our anniversary from October last year. Shocking.
I’d like to amend this blogging oversight immediately, as I have experienced some wonderful dining out experiences lately; starting with a pork cooking class and lunch at Restaurant Atelier.
Our ‘Cottage on Mount View’, and a scene from Jazz in the Vines (bottom right)
Canapé, black olive biscotti and whipped goat’s curd
A selection of breads with: butter whipped with pig’s fat (I’m sure they had a nicer way of saying it, but that’s what I remember), and olive oil emulsion with black volcanic salt
Amuse bouche 
The prettiest presentation ever – like a bright, delicate garden on the plate: Salad of marinated heirloom vegetables, sugar snap mousseline, black olive and lemon balm
Marinated yellowfin tuna and shaved organic Wagyu beef, white asparagus, mushroom and chilled consommé
Confit miso blue-eye and smoked scallop, sautéed cuttlefish, cauliflower and buckwheat
Roast Palmers Island mulloway, king prawns, soubise purée and smoked crustacea emulsion
Oops, see the empty spot on the left? I started eating before I took a photo! Caramelised suckling pig and braised pork tail, roast parsnip and compressed apple
Slow cooked ballotine of guinea fowl, baby gem, almond, olive and lemon pith puree
Pot-roasted shoulder and fillet of Riverina lamb, goats’ curd, broad beans, confit garlic and rosemary
Isn’t that sweet? They wrote ‘Happy Birthday’ in chocolate! 
Buttermilk pannacotta, coriander, pain d’epice, pineapple granita
Such a unique presentation for a crème brulée and amazing flavours: Banana crème brulée, salted peanut brittle and milk coffee sorbet
Zokoko 70% Bolivia chocolate and caramel ‘cadeau’, organic vanilla and milk sorbet
Crispy Tofu Baguette: Fried marinated tofu with crisp iceberg, pickled carrot and radish, spring onion, cucumber, coriander and soy dressing
Lunch special, pork belly with carrot puree, and heirloom carrots, $25
