Christchurch – Day 8

Christchurch – Day 8

Didn’t write last night. There wasn’t much to write about anyhow.

The weather this morning was great! The Sun was actually out and it looked to be a great day. Though about three it turned for the worst and didn’t get better.

I went opposite Bealey to Circa today since Jacksons was closed today. I didn’t see the last time, but there was this rubber-stamp shop which sold an incredible about of rubber stamps. You could go crazy just looking at them. And then I bought about twenty bucks worth of paper and the lovely lady gave me oneof her catalogues. Really makes you realize how small art is a part of Singapore.

Went to the Art Gallery and the weekend Art Centre market today. They really had unique stuff there.

There was this green woolen jacket I had been eyeing since Wednesday and I finally decided to get it today. I mean it was hand-woven and didn’t cost much – about $89 as compared to the Icebreaker. So I rushed back to the cathedral square about four thirty and went to the stall. I was hoping he hadn’t closed yet, because they normally start to close about four and lo and behold, it was the ONLY piece he hadn’t kept!

We finally got a chance to go to Strawberry Fare. On the whole the mains weren’t fantastic – they were good but I think I’d probably rather got there for a dessert or a light meal instead. Sarah and I shared the entrée of Glazed Figs with creamy blue Castello, proscuitto and fig vincotto with crostini. Now that was fantastic. The cheese was Brie but was more like blue, strong and almost pungent. I really enjoyed the way the cheese and the figs mix in your mouth or the way the saltiness of the proscuitto cuts across the sweetness of the figs. Truly a match made in heaven. The mains were a duck confit and a sweet Briar Merino Lamb rack. The duck wasn’t what I was used to as a confit – the skin was pretty soft, like it was stewed. The texture of the lamb was only so-so but the taste was fantastic. There were two complimenting sauces – a yoghurt mint and some spiced chutney, which complimented it perfectly.

Dessert was the highlight – I had the Ultimate Chocolate Dessert, which consisted of a rich chocolate brownie, a chocolate mousse, a chocolate ice cream and another dark chocolate pudding. To top it off there was a raspberry coulis and a bunch of sliced strawberries thrown in. Sarah had the sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce.

It’s the last night. Time to pack.