Date #7 - Food crawl

Image courtesy: The Age

For our next date I decided to plan a food crawl for N and I, basically going to 3 different restaurants for entree, main and dessert. To start with I took N to The Little Press and Cellar  at 72 Flinders Street which is part of Press Club but is a smaller version of the restaurant. The service and food were impecable but the price was a lot more expensive than I expected it to be. We had an appetiser and 2 entree dishes to shares with a couple of glasses of wine and some mineral water and it ended up being $110. For next time I would probably just get another few dishes and go for a proper dinner than as part of a food crawl.

Next up we went to Izakaya Den, a Japanese style tapas & bar place at 114 Russell Street. After walking around for a whilst trying to find the place, we discovered it was down a discreet set of stairs. We were given a table for 2 at the bar which was good as you can watch them cook your dishes whilst you wait. I really enjoyed this place and it'd be a good place to go back for Friday night work drinks since a lot of the food is smaller snacks. We had 3 dishes and a bottle of sake, all for $60.

For our last place we went to Bar Lourinha a wine and tapas bar at 37 Little Collins Street. We seriously over indulged and had the cheese selection and chocolate and hazelnut mousse. Both were absolutely delicious, although it was so busy that we had to sit around a smaller table for about half the time that we were there, but the waiters were great and as soon as space at the bar opened up they moved us up there.

Cost:
Little Press: $110
Izakaya Den: $60
Bar Lourinha: $60
Total cost: $230

Night of the week: Wednesday

Date rating: 8/10

Verdict: Had I known it would have cost so much I may have just taken N to one fancier restaurant but still nice to try all these places.

Date #6 - Hot Springs

Image courtesy: Peninsula Hot Springs

N took me for another day date down to the Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs for a nice relaxing date. We decided to use the public springs since the private baths were a lot more expensive. We went at about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and unfortunately for us it was extremely busy! The pools were all very nice and hot but with the amount of people in them at any time you were less than an arms length from someone else, not very romantic to say the least. We found the hotter pools at the top to have a lot less people, however they say you aren't meant to spend longer than 15 minutes in them.

We also used their sauna at the end which was actually nice and relaxing and there weren't as many people in them as the pools itself.

Cost:
Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs: $35 per person (Peak)
Total cost: $70

Night of the week: Saturday

Date rating: 6.5/10

Verdict:The pools were just way too busy, if we were to go again, I'd either go at an off-peak time or pay the extra and book a private pool instead.

Date #5 - Mountain Goat Brewery

Image courtesy: Broadsheet

I took N tonight to the Mountain Goat Brewery, which is at 80 North Street in Richmond, off Bridge Road. We went on our normal Wednesday night which is the only other night apart from Friday nights that it is open. As a bonus on a Wednesday night they do a Brewery Tour at 6.30pm which lasts about 25 minutes and N and I both enjoyed as they explain their whole brewing process, including getting to taste the grains they use to make the beers from.

The Brewery is basically a big warehouse with a bar and some tables and chairs on one side and the brewery equipment itself on the other side. N and I had 2 of their rustic style pizza's which were tasty, not the best I've ever had but good for the price.


Cost:
Mountain Goat: $10 per pizza + drinks $40
Total cost: $60

Night of the week: Wednesday

Date rating: 8/10

Verdict: I enjoyed this as much as someone who doesn't drink beer but I enjoyed it more since I knew N would like it which he did. Highly recommend as a nice cheap date.

Date #4 - Healesville sanctuary & wine tasting

Image courtesy: Herald Sun

N planned this date night and once again we were busy on our usual Wednesday night so planned to have a day date on Saturday instead. On route to our destination we firstly stopped past good old Red Rooster, and got lunch. One can never go past a cheesy nugget or five!

Afterwards we arrived at our actual destination which was Healesville Sanctuary. Such a great idea! We started off looking at the birds including the broody emus. One of the highlights by far was watching the bird show which included watching an eagle catch food that was thrown up in the air with its claws.

On the drive home we saw that Yalumba Winery was open and stopped in for a wine tasting. The staff and wine were both really nice and we ended up buying 2 bottles, a Shiraz and a Cabernet Sauvignon from their Y series which are pretty well priced.

Cost:
Red Rooster: $25
Healesville Sanctuary: $25.40 per person
Yalumba Wine: $25 per bottle
Total cost: $125.80

Night of the week: Saturday

Date rating: 10/10

Verdict: Even though this was an expensive date, I really enjoyed it. It's not a date you could repeat every year but definitely worth doing at least once every couple of years.

Date #3 - Breakfast bagels

Image courtesy: The Age

For this date night we missed going on Wednesday night so this was our first Saturday daytime date. I had the idea to go to The Hardware Societe but the wait was a minimum 25 minutes to be served, which is great if you are happy to wait but we were starving so we decided to give it a miss - one to add to the list for another time.

So N suggested we try Manchester Press a bagel place at 8 Rankins Lane (Off Little Bourke St). This isn't just any bagel place, this is THE bagel place. You get a choice of bagel from plain, wholemeal, poppyseed and sesame seed and a range of different toppings. The place is very funky with both individual tables and a couple of larger communal style tables in a big warehouse. I had the soft boiled egg with smoked salmon and avocado bagel and N had the Chorizo bagel, both were delicious and around $11 each making it a pretty cheap breakfast.

Afterwards we went literally around the corner to Brother Baba Budan, meant to be one of the best coffee places in Melbourne. I'm not a coffee drinker so I had a hot chocolate which was delicious and N had a standard latte and was very impressed.

After that we did some window shopping and went for a very lazy stroll around the CBD.

Cost:
Manchester Press: $30
Brother Baba Budan: $7
Total cost: $37

Night of the week: Saturday

Date rating: 9/10

Verdict: Great date, and have since been back to Manchester Press for bagels again, definitely a great breakfast date or even a lunch date and nice and cheap too!

Date # 2 - Chinese & bowling

Image courtesy: The Age

For date night #2, it was N's turn to plan the date and we started with dinner at  Red Silks a Chinese restaurant at Level 1, 200 Bourke Street. It is a large restaurant with so many different menu choices at pretty decent prices. We shared an entree and each had a main and a glass of wine and it was delicious.

Afterwards we went to Strike Bowling at QV and bowled 2 games. Unfortunately N beat me at both games, the second game by a 3 pins, very frustrating but still heaps of fun. I always love bowling although it can add up to be quite expensive.

Cost:
China Red: $50
Bowling: $26 per person for 2 games
Total cost: $102

Night of the week: Wednesday

Date rating: 9/10

Verdict: I really enjoyed this date, even if I didn't win at bowling. It was a shame no pool tables were free after we'd finished but that would be a nice add on for next time.

Date #1 - Pintxos, Pool & Jazz Club

Image courtesy of Graham Denholm, Timeout

For our first date I took N to Naked for Satan, a cheap Pintxos place on 285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Pintxos are pieces of bread with different toppings skewered with a toothpick. The toppings at Naked for Satan range from blue cheese with an eggplant chip, to frittata to cheese and salami as well as some dessert ones. Since we went on a Wednesday night they only cost $1 per piece and they charge you by the amount of toothpicks you have at the end. It was absolutely delicious and we shared many Pintxos over a bottle of wine.

Afterwards since we had some time to spare we went and played a quick game of pool up the road at The Cue Club which cost $5 for a game. It is not the most inviting place but good for a quick game.

Then we finished the night at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, it was $15 each. The show started at 9pm and was really funky and nice to watch some very talented musicians play. There was only around 15 people in the crowd which made it very intimate. To make up for the lack of crowd the drink prices seemed to be very expensive but apart from that it was enjoyable. Unfortunately N and I were exhausted and only manage to stay till 10.45pm (such party animals).

Cost:
Naked for Satan: $24 for Pintxos + $35 for wine
Cue Club: $5
Bennetts Lane: $30 + $15 for drinks
Total cost: $109

Night of the week: Wednesday

Date rating: 9/10

Verdict: Next time I would just go to Pintxos and play pool, the Jazz Club was fun but would have been better as a separate date.