Hello friends, and welcome to Friday Favourites! I’m sharing some of the highlights from my first week of the school holidays—it was a fun one that flew by way too fast!
Dinner With Friends
We had a nice evening catching up with friends for our monthly get-together at the local RSL. The bistro is usually quiet on a Monday night, but this time it was buzzing with a big crowd celebrating someone’s special occasion. They’d taken our usual table, so we ended up sitting at a long one, which made it harder to chat with everyone. I sat next to the friend I’m closest to in the group, and we caught up on life. Time had flown by, and I realised we hadn’t had a proper conversation in ages.
The bistro is under new management, and this was my second time trying their updated menu. I’ve been impressed both times, even though I liked the food from the old menu. The portions were huge, and everything was fresh and full of flavour. I had the grilled fish with chips and salad.
One of our friends brought a cake to share, which is one of the great things about eating at this RSL—you can bring your own dessert, and they don’t mind. RSLs aren’t exactly my favourite places, but for this kind of casual catch-up, it works perfectly. The food is nice and reliably good, we always get a table, and it’s never too noisy, so we can talk and hear each other.
Shopping Day
On Tuesday, I caught up with my fun shopping queen friend. Whenever we go shopping, we seem to have a mission. Sometimes it’s finding the perfect lipstick, sometimes hats, and other times clothes. This time, it was to find a new fragrance. Can you tell?
This was us at lunch with all our sample cards. In the end, our noses got confused, and we aborted the mission for another time. Stay tuned!
Lunch
Lunch was so good! We tried a French brasserie called Manon, which a work friend had highly recommended. I ordered the tuna baguette, and it was so delicious, I didn’t expect it to be that good! I love tuna on sandwiches and rolls, etc., but this baguette was on another level. It had big flavours like anchovies, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, all drizzled with a zesty green dressing. The egg on top mellowed out those big flavours. Yum!
I would have loved to pick up the baguette and eat it with my hands, but that was a no-no. So I ate it with a knife and fork instead, which wasn’t easy. I was trying to keep it classy, but I felt like George Costanza eating a Snickers bar with cutlery. Have you seen that Seinfeld episode? 😂
My friend ordered the escargot and kindly offered me one. I like to think I can eat almost anything—even rocks—but I’m not quite there yet when it comes to snails. I’ve heard they are very delicious, so maybe one day.
Hot Chocolate
Then I ordered the thick hot chocolate, which, according to Instagram, is the best hot chocolate ever. As in, “don’t leave Manon without trying it.”
Umm… not for me.
It was thick—like ganache-on-a-cake thick. I added a small dollop of cream… and I’m pretty sure my arteries started hardening the minute I tasted it.
I might’ve risked a coronary if it had tasted amazing, but the Swiss Milk hot chocolate I have at home is way better. So I had a few sips and left the rest, which is totally unlike me. I usually polish off everything.
That’s okay—the baguette was great, and I’m glad I gave the hot chocolate a try.
A Sunny Walk
Wednesday was a lazy day, and it was so sunny! After doing a few chores around the house, I went for a long walk. Oh my gosh, I can’t tell you how fun it is to do chores during the day instead of rushing around getting them done before or after work. I enjoyed it!
I did a fast-paced, hour-long walk, and even though it was sunny, I didn’t feel warm until about 30 minutes in. On the way, I passed the fruit shop and picked up some apples because I suddenly started craving a smoothie.
When I got home, I made a green smoothie. It kind of looked like split pea soup, and you should have seen my husband’s face when I offered him a taste. But it was delish!
I laughed when I checked my step count after my walk—9999 steps! Just one step short of 10,000. Missed it by that much!
I was meant to go out with another lovely friend today, but I woke up with a sore neck and a headache. So, we rescheduled for Sunday. We’re planning to visit the Kirribilli Markets, and the weather forecast is promising a sunny 20ºC. I can’t wait!
And that’s a wrap for this week’s favourites. And just like that, the first week of the school holidays is over… waaaahhhh! I’m hoping next week goes by at a snail’s pace. Fingers crossed!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend.
See you on Monday!
Linking up with Andrea and Erika
The green smoothie looks good to me!
I know the Seinfeld reference!! Snails aren’t that bad, rubbery yes, but the garlicky butter make up for it!! I don’t think I would enjoy that hot chocolate either, I don’t like overly sweet and rich things.
I had to look up with an RSL is, like a veteran’s association? We have something similar called a Legion. It was one of the places to go to dance and drink in my hometown. Not sure they served food though!
Have a great weekend!
It sounds like a lovely get together with your friends. The food looks so good, it is always a worry when somewhere you eat comes under new management.
How fun trying to find a new fragrance. I would say no thank you to the snails too but that hot chocolate looks amazing!!!
I hope you are feeling better now. x
What a fabulous week of favorites; both those meals out look so delicious! I have never had a green smoothie (weird for me since I love so many veggies) but something about them is very off putting. I don’t think I would have enjoyed that super thick hot chocolate either. That just looks too thick.