Friday night Fruehlingsfestfun

Swisschris is back from his holidays as well and we decided to catch up in the typical Bayerisch way - by drinking bier, eating roast pork, and then shooting stuff. So we went to Fruehlingsfest :D.

It was a nice Friday (after a long and schweinelang Winter), and the place was packed. We ended up at the Paulaner Biergarten where I got the schweinerollbraten - really good!

Here I am shooting. Much to the amusement of friends and the amazement of the stall carnies, this small Asian in a dirndl is pretty good!

And I celebrated shooting this vicious tiger with a delicious weissbier.

Swisschris scored himself a Scrat (from Ice Age)

Then we went on some rides and since that was a tactical error, it was called a night. 

Champions League SF part 1.

You'd think we'd learn something after the heartbreak of last year but, NO! And so I got my red on and joined my German (and Austrian) colleagues to go watch the first semi-final in a restaurant surrounded by other Bayern fans. MIA SAN MIA! 

I'll admit, my loyalties are torn watching Bayern play Barca, especially as the Catalans were thrashed 4-0. Having said that, while there was an expectation in the restaurant expected Munich to win, I don't think anyone expected to win to that extent. Also, I have no idea what the hell the people were chanting other than the names of the scorers, the score, and *Danke - Bitte!*

 I also had this kaiserschmarrn for dinner/dessert. Mmmm, lecker.

New dress!

Probably not something I should have done at the start of a new fitness program but I wanted a new summery dress!

It looks orange but it's actually a strawberry colour.

New fitness program.

Before Pooey's wedding, we both went on a crazy, last ditch fitness program. I actually think it delivered results because despite gaining 1kg/week for every week I was back in Australia, when I got back at Easter, people were telling me how thin I was - even more so than when I got back last time!

Although I'd been going to the gym about 3-4 times a week for...years...Pooey discovered Fitness Blender online and we both started doing their workout videos. And you know, I thought I was pretty fit, or at least, not bad, but HELL!!! Their brutal HIIT workout bloody incapacitated me for a couple of days. Needless to say, I was hooked! (Incidentally, I showed this video to Markus and he said it looked like stuff he did while doing his military training.)

So now I have started one of Fitness Blender's 8 week fitness programs based on their videos. It consists of doing exercises worth 30-60 minutes 5-6 times a week for 8 weeks, and I figure it's worth a shot to make a last-ditch attempt to see if I can get abs. And since I'm more likely to be dedicated to it than everyone else, a few people have said that once I'm done and show them the results, they might also give it a shot. Wish me luck, people!

Back in Munich, back to business, back to bierfest.

One of the common jokes I made when discussing the timing of my sojourns back to Melbs was that I needed excitement time between bier festivals. Think about it! Christmas in Munich = Christkindlmaerkte and Gluehwein. Then I went back to Melbs and worked (and partied). Then I came back to Munich in time for Starkbierfest. Easter = boring time and I went back to Melbs for a fortnight. And now I'm back again and - lo and behold! - the first weekend I'm back, Fruehlingsfest starts. So on popped the dirndl and back I went to the the the Bayernland Festzelt for Ruben's birthday party. 

With Francesc, Tomas, Patri and Ruben

Ruben received this as a birthday present - a cover for his bier!

It says *Fingers off - this belongs to me!* (in Bavarian dialect).

David and his friend Rafa, who came just for the weekend all the way from Spain. 

Another international visitor - me, Ele, and Cecilia who had come from Italy.

I don't actually know who this girl is. She was German, and I think a friend of Nestor's. 

Sushi Hotaru again

Believe it or not, after we ate the burger, me and Pooey then went to Sushi Hotaru so I could fill up on seafood before flying out.

Clockwise from top! Conch, kingfish, scallops, and...I can't remember.

And the all together with mackerel on my plate :D

Spicy tuna

Mixed sashimi

I didn't really need to eat all that sushi, but hell, it'll be the last time I eat it for a while :(

Queen Vic Market

Ma and Pa had friends over at the house so me and Pooey decided to run away to the Queen Vic Market to get some stuffed animal toys for my European friends, sunshine, and hunt for the burger truck. 

What we found at the market was that Spain followed me home!

PAELLA!!!

SANGRIA!!!

We resisted the Iberian goodness and eventually found the truck tucked into a corner.

Like really, I had to ask the guy manning the truck if he really drove it in there. He said yes.

I imagine driving it in there was like this.

And the burger looked like hell, but it tasted like heaven!

Stories from the Salon

I finally got tired of my long and romantic layered flowing locks and decided to get the chop...

so here I am with a fringe/bangs!

I was thinking of getting a bob and cutting my hair to my jaw but chickened out. Also, bierfest season is coming and I'll need it to be long enough for braids.

Wedding diet - OVER!!!

Clearly, once the wedding was over, me and Pooey started really eating again. First there was Laksa King, and the Vue de Monde, but here's some more things we started eating after depriving ourselves for so long. 

Cake! There was a lot of cake leftover from the wedding. I ate at least one of these takeaway boxes of cake :D. Also, Particular Cakes for anyone needing a cake out there!

Hotdogs! Left - the Australia Fare, and my preferred one, the horseradish wagyu :D

AND CHIPS!!! Also, I'm kinda impressed by my boobs in this photo. 

Vue de Monde

My eating odyssey continued. The Vandepoons asked if I was up for the Vue de Monde degustation when I was back. My mind was a bit *phew, that'd be my third banquet in a fortnight...and it's not cheap*, but then it also went *Well, hell! When are you ever going to be back to eat there again?!* And so, BAM! I was in!!!

(As an aside, it's stuff like this that makes me understand how I gained a kilo/week when I was back in Jan-Feb.)

One thing I miss about Melbs is getting dolled up and walking into a fancy place like I own it. Not like I don't still walk into places like I own it in Munich, but I'm usually either not dolled up or the places I'm walking into aren't fancy. Or both. Also, there aren't many restaurants located on the 55th floor of skyscrapers in Munich. Taking that elevator up and walking through everyone to get there, grrr!

It doesn't stop me (and Omar) from acting like clowns though.

But here we all are, masters of the domain at the Chef's Table.

First appetiser - chips of some sort...

Second appetiser - emu jerky. Interesting flavour.

Unlike the bistro, cafe or previous restaurant incarnations, the restaurant is less classical French cuisine and more modern Australian and using largely local produce. And the kitchen are willing to accommodate dietary restrictions

such as this savoury marshmallow made just for me when I told them about my oyster allergy.

The other entree pieces were...

smoked caramelised eel with caviar. I could have eaten the entire plate of this. 

carrot marrow (as in, the centre part of a carrot) with mussel cheesy/cream thing. 

salt-cured wallaby. Too small!

These little morsels were great at whetting our appetites as we moved onto the various first course rounds.

First up, roasted marron with tarragon butter. Declared best of the night by many people on the table! It was pretty damn good, the marron, so tender and juicy, the butter, a perfect complement.

Melbourne Onion Soup featuring onions in different ways.

Duck yolk with green beans and mint.

Believe it or not, THIS was my favourite of the night. It was sweet,light, and breakfasty. I could eat this every day!

Baby sweetcorn with brown butter and truffles.

Damn, I could have eaten this everyday as well.

At this point, I was still feeling comfortable, and they set us off into the main course round.

But first! A palate cleanser - sorbet of cucumber, sage, and pineapple, on top of liquid nitrogen frozen spices.

Fish dish - barramundi with prawn, nettle, and lettuce.

Lamb dish - cooked two ways! Rare lamb and also lamb belly with crackling. This was with the duck and corn for me. I've got weird taste.

Beef dish - grilled and roasted wagyu beef with beetroot chips and bbq sauce.

Okay, at this point we were beginning to feel full...but when confronted with the choice of two or three desserts, I said to our waiter, "Surprise me!" and he skipped off happily!

Then returned with this epic cheese selection!

That is one happy smile on RachiePoo's face!

He cut a selection of cheeses for us, a variety of French, Italian, and Australian cheeses. I don't remember what they all were other than delicious. 

And they were served with a variety of breads, fruits, and preserves. Finishing the cheese and bread was a bit of a struggle, I was scared...

Dessert one - passionfruit/licorice 'beer' and iced coconut  

Dessert two - deconstructed anzac cookie! Despite my best intentions and the fullness of my stomach, I finished this. 

Dessert three - deconstructed strawberries and cream! Strawberry meringues, grated strawberry, ice cream..again, I also finished this while dying...

while still managing a smile!

Dessert four - chocolate souffle. I couldn't finish this. I wanted to cry.

OH GOD, HOW COULD THERE BE DESSERT ROUND FIVE?! Australian petit fours - cognac jelly pennies, lamingtons, musk gum leaves and eucaluptus balls. 

To my everlasting relief, that was the end. But it wasn't quite the end! Our waiter had had a pretty good time with us (I even spoke French! He complimented me on it!), and said not many groups make it over 10 course. We were pretty special. As he walked us out, handed over some showbags for us to have for breakfast. 

Tea, muesli, brioche, honey, and cookies. I couldn't eat them. Until a couple of days later.