We Made the Best Lamb Kofta Wraps Ever

This dish was inspired by our need to use up a left-over half head of red cabbage, and somehow turned into one of the best meals we've made in a while. Beautiful. I've never really had kofta but my general understanding is that it's minced meat on a stick cooked on a grill. Ours took the form of lamb meatballs. Above you can see our shiny new $50 Ikea kitchen table (all white errrything,) which will be on sale in about 8-10 months. I'll start the bidding at $30. 

How to Stay Full for Next to Nothing in Melbourne: A Guide

OK, maybe not next to nothing, but with a few learned tips, Charlie and I have definitely managed to cut our grocery bill! (I have no numeric proof, but we MUST be saving money.) ((This post could be a sign of my withdrawal from working at All You, a womens' value minded maga-- stop.))

Fish and Chips and Beauty in Williamstown, VIC

Such is my first post about Australia. My one month here so far has been one of searching for a home and a job. It's expensive here, and we're starting to feel the anxiety of unemployment, so the last week or so has been all about what we can do around the area for cheap. Last Saturday, that quest took us to the Prahan Market and for a walk up Chapel St., and then on a free walking tour of the CBD, the Central Business District. On Sunday, we took a little train trip to Williamstown, a suburban area overlooking the Hobson and Port Phillip Bays with gorgeous views of the Melbourne skyline and some really nice coastline paths. 

Hong Kong Dai Pai Dongs

All the cool kids in Hong Kong eat on the streets. The streets west of Nathan road in Jordan and Yau Ma Tei are lined with rickety tables and stools outside of tiny stalls selling seafood concoctions and clay pot rice dishes. We chose a spot near our room at the Temple Night Market; they all look the same and have mostly Asians eating so in that area I'd say its pretty hard to go wrong. Western tourists don't really get up to the northernmost part of the market.

Markets of Mong Kok, Hong Kong

I don't think you should say that you've truly been to Hong Kong until you've had a few hours wandering around the frenetic neighborhood of Mong Kok. Travel north on Nathan Road until you hit Mong Kok, and then let the sights and smells suck you in. Actually, it smells pretty putrid, but if you can get past that, there are some great photo opps, shopping stalls and street morsels to indulge in. 

Go to For Kee for Pork Chop

For Kee is tucked in on a back street in Sheung Wan, a quieter neighborhood to the west of Central on HK island. The menu shows shades of a typical Hong Kong cha chaan teng -- an inexpensive type of comfort cuisine that developed in HK in the 1950s and 60s and just seems bizarre to me. Think of a fusion of western foods like buttered toast with scrambled eggs or peanut butter and like spaghetti and meatballs and coffee mixed with tea and condensed milk and then think about your local Chinese take-out chef whipping these things up and ask yourself "why?" IDK. Anyway, For Kee is particularly known for its pork chop, and that is exactly what we went for.