and then we spoiled ourselves

I'm not entirely sure how to introduce this next part of our holiday without sounding extremely spoiled. You see, The Sparky was enjoying himself so much at Quay that he decided to see if we could, perhaps, maybe, get into Aria for lunch the next day. C'mon, a girl's not going to say no to that, right?

A little bit of internet research and a phone call later and we found ourselves sitting in another fancy restaurant for lunch the next day.

The Sparky started with scallops, which he liked so much that scallops have become his 'go to' entree order ... for someone who used to not eat seafood at all, I think that says a lot!

I stayed safe and got myself another beetroot salad. I was so very glad that I did too, not only was it pretty, it was delicious.

For main The Sparky ordered a duck and pea pie. Another step away from 'the norm' but another signature dish ... a phrase that I've learned draws him like a magnet. Weird green blobs aside, this dish really was as good as it looks.

As was my chicken dish. Unfortunately they seem to have changed the menu since we were there and I really can't tell you much about this dish except that it was stunning and delicious and stuffed with something that still makes my mouth water (and as a bonus was nowhere  near as strong as my partridge).

Back to something a bit more like I would usually expect from The Sparky for dessert (I think I've mentioned before how much of a chocoholic he is). A lovely, and not too rich, mix of chocolate and nuts and caramel and honeycomb and other deliciousness.

I went slightly out on a limb (for me anyway) and ordered the banana souffle. Part of me really, really wants to rave about how delicious it was but sadly it just fell slightly short compared to some of the other food I ate over these few days. Maybe I'm becoming a food snob but it just seemed a little ... ordinary. Elsewhere I would have found it fine but I really was expecting something with a little more pizazz.

I'll share some more of our sightseeing photos next week and will leave you here with just a little more food spoilage (in the good sense).

The deceptively named Cafe Sydney was where we ended up for dinner that night. With one dimly glowing fake candle there was no way we were going to be able to take photos of the food ... you'll have to take my word for it that it was quite nice. The view however, made up for any short falling in the food or atmosphere ...

(mental note already made ... next time we take the good camera!)