Uplifted for the moment

I was feeling slightly down today and missing Melbourne a great deal. I was all ready to delve into a serious discussion on this blog about a few topics. But then I decided to pick up the newspaper at about 9 p.m. tonight. I know, the 'news' would not be 'news' anymore... But I'm so glad I did because I came across an article in the 'Metro' section: the part of the newspaper that tells you about the goings-on in the community. Not just any old article; it was an article on a new cafe/restaurant that has opened up in KL that serves the style of food that very fondly reminds me of Melbourne and the great times, meals and friends I had there.

To provide more of a context in which to understand my emotions:

I used to read food reviews almost religiously during my time in Melbourne. When I saw a place that sounded interesting (and was within budget), I would invite my friends out for a meal. More often than not, however, it would be a little hole-in-the-wall sort of cafe, serving breakfast/brunch/coffee/muffins. Also more often than not, because not many people I know are morning people, I ended up pestering poor Ben to go and dragging him out of bed on the weekend to satisfy my curiosity (and desire for coffee and muffin). Whatever time of the day it was, and no matter whom I was with, I always enjoyed these little outings - of course, great company and food make it all the more enjoyable!

During some downtime at work today, I was surfing the website for The Age newspaper, which is a Melbourne publication. Although I no longer live in Melbourne, whenever I get the chance, I will read The Age's website, just for some news on the place I called home for 5 and a half years. Specifically, the website (and the newspaper itself) have a weekly section called 'Epicure' which contains reports and updates on Melbourne's food scene, recipes, and restaurant and bar reviews, amongst other food-related articles. This was always one of the first resources that I turned to whenever I was planning an outing, or wanted to try out a new recipe.

Today, I came across this review on 2 new cafes around Melbourne: Penny Royal, in particular, is quite close to Ben's, and is a stone's throw from 2 or 3 other cafes in the area that I've been to and love. There was no way the reviewer would have known it, but his description of the cafe was heart-wrenching for me to read:

"Two armchairs in the front window advertise themselves as the perfect spot to hunker down with the paper and a succession of coffees on a sunny morning. Out the back there's a courtyard with benched tables and lots of greenery in raised beds."

Even if you have never been to any of the cafes in Melbourne that I rave about, how could you not fall in love with Penny Royal, just by reading this review??

Of course, it got me thinking (as it has so many times before) why it is that I cannot get food here like I do in Melbourne. Or if I do, it's not in a tiny cafe that is half-hidden by trees or at the end of a laneway and/or with a barely visible signboard and eclectic furniture that was probably 'rescued' from hard garbage collection or the Salvo store. And the prices would be way more expensive here than what I'm used to paying for in Melbourne.

Loooong story short, when I came across this article in the newspaper tonight (not sure how I missed it when I was surfing The Star Online this morning), I was more than thrilled. Italian-influenced Melbourne food and coffee in KL? Bring it on!! Roast belly of pork with caramelised apples, papardelle with lamb ragu certainly remind me of dinners at The Kent in North Carlton and a birthday dinner at The Boathouse in Moonee Ponds. Even the name of the restaurant - Providore - is part of the name of another Melbourne cafe that serves great food: Replete Providore in Hawthorn. My heart melts just thinking about it! And even though I vowed to get in shape for my 2 visits to the beach over the course of the next month, I will definitely be going to try out Providore very very soon!!