Fifi Foveaux

As a person who prides herself on being able to tolerate the cold pretty well, I hate to have to admit I had to sleep in my bed socks last night, after having ditched them the last 4 weeks. It was THAT cold. But this morning, I woke up to a really nice sunny day. I approached the outdoors with a bit of scepticism at noon. It might look like a sunshiney day but was it really warm enough for just a long-sleeved tee shirt, jeans and clogs?

I was on my way to fulfil a new, self-imposed resolution. It goes like that. I live in a neighbourhood which is pretty bobo (bourgeoisie-bohemian). Quaint little cafes and not so little restaurants dot the neighbourhood. I have been devouring reviews and food blogs about these eating places and thought to myself that the nearer one lives to a certain place, the less likely the chances of one visiting. The law of inverse proportionality seems to always work in such situations. I have walked past these cafes many times, even peered in with curiosity as I go by. But I've never gone inside. So my resolution is to eat at as many of them as possible while I am living here. I will start with the cafes, in order to preserve my budget (and life savings). I like the look of these cafes, they are invariably small (at times, tiny), decorated in a variety of unusual styles - from the rustic to the baroque. They are usually good spots to just sit and people watch. And the neighbourhood is full of interesting and beautiful people (mostly gay men, unfortunately for us straight women).

So today, the first free (sunny) day I have, I made my way to Fifi Foveaux, a baroque-looking little cafe 3 minutes' walk down the road from me, with red wall paper, a red plastic chandelier and some really cool lights wrapped in what looked like gold tinsel leaves (As I was a little shy about taking photos in a small cafe which would have been blatant, I got the photo of the lights that I liked off a food review website. But I did take a quick snap of my meal.). Jazzed-up versions of familiar old French songs play in the background. I order a mushroom risotto with cheese and a banana smoothie. It was a substantial meal, the portion would have been too much for me when I was 2.5 kgs lighter in the summer, but now post-winter and 2.5 kgs heavier, it was just right. The cheese was a little pungent but once mixed into the risotto, it was perfect. The mushrooms were flavoursome and I licked the plate clean. The smoothie was a little too much and I felt bloated after I downed the giantic glass. But I comforted myself with the thought that I have been pretty deprived of bananas since the hurricane in Queensland wiped out most of the banana output and prices of bananas soared to a level unheard of in the past.

Hence, feeling satiated and pleased that I've finally eaten at Fifi Foveaux which I have been reading so much about, I ambled into the sunshine.