Dining in the Pagoda

Yes, we are still eating our way across Australia, this time at Pauline and Michael's home. She is cutting pandan cake in the photo, a delicacy about which we'd never heard. Pandan is a leaf and the extract is used by Chinese cooks to make rice and cakes more flavorful. It has a fresh aroma, reminding me a bit of the light scent of cilantro (coriander here) but tastes a bit like Basmati rice.

Their home is beautiful with lots of stained and etched glasswork which of course I'd enjoy. Pauline is Chinese and grew up in Hong Kong so there is definitely an Asian feel to it with a decorative lion and its own lucky cricket. Michael built an amazing dining pagoda in the back yard that overlooks a park.

This is the view from the pagoda.

As usual, the meal was phenomenal! We had a tasty assortment of appetizers - stuffed grape leaves, grilled chorizo, little spicy meatballs, olives, cheeses and crackers. The main, as they say here, was grilled marinated lamb with a fresh Greek salad. Pauline had made two desserts - elegant individual pear cakes with whole pears in each and the pandan cake but her friend, Chris, also brought a traditional Aussie favorite, pavlova. Pavlova is also poplular in NZ and is based on a meringue crust and filled with fruit and whipping cream. Chris used blueberries, strawberries and raspberries and it was the best I've ever had.

Bruce and Chris were fascinating dinner companions,
having lived in several countries.

Michael is preparing to grill. What a handy guy!