An accidental degustation for Pixie

Degustation: "A tasting or sampling of food or drink”

Pixie arrived bright and early on Thursday morning. I whisked her away from the airport and with little ado swung by Babka for breakfast. After some gentle grazing and caffeinating in this warm and cozy bakery, the real food worshipping began. After all it was Thursday, which for this outspoken female means only one thing - Vic Market.

How delightful to take someone new on a long, leisurely stroll though this foodie Mecca. This is also a great time of year for fresh produce – with mangoes down to 99c each and thin spears of organic asparagus for a mere $1.50 a bunch. Pixie was most taken by the biggest custard apples I have ever seen and rushed off to purchase one.

The dairy hall furnished us with nibbles – luscious Kalamata olives and the best dolmades in the market. But it was the fish aisles that gave us the biggest dilemma – shall we have crabs with lime mayonnaise, oysters, prawns or a whole fish? “Oh prawns, they remind me of Australia!”’ she cried – so that was that.

Our precious cargo was taken home, the fridge loaded and more planning and touristing awaited.

But back to the food…

From the afternoon we grazed on:



A platter of raw vegetables, olives and dolmades.

Avocado and tahini dip



Steamed asparagus with wasabi mayonnaise



Fresh shitake mushroom gyozas



Oysters – with lemon (or for me, who can only face this crustacean raw every few years, I managed one with a large splash of the gyoza dipping sauce which turned out to be a winning combination)

Roasted jap pumpkin and baby beets


Prawns stir fried with garlic, chili, fresh coriander and a small dash of fish sauce

By this point we could take no more – so the tropical fruit just had to wait for breakfast.

The wine – Hamelin Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2005 (which may explain the lack of focus in some of the pictures)

Good food, wine and friendship – what more could a woman ask for?