Five things to eat before you die

This is a meme started by Melissa from The Traveller's Lunchbox and it asks bloggers to nominate the five things that they would recommend that other's eat before they die. I have to admit that I would find this easier if it was 50 or even 10, because five really doesn't seem to be enough to even scratch the surface of all of the delicious foods that exist out there. However, I'll give it a go:

1. Sourdough bread from Silo or Bourke Street Bakery (preferably topped with vine ripened tomatoes and basil).
2. Coffee at Cafe Mint (and their lemon, pineapple and mint frappe).
3. Yum cha at Bodhi in Park.
4. Salt & Pepper Tofu at Longrain.
5. Mango and Lime Frappe from the Fruitshake shop in Vientiane, Laos.

Two points:

• One: I am sure that my list would be different if I was to do it tomorrow.

• Two: I was surprised to realise that most of my selections were from Sydney, despite having enjoyed food all over the world. I should acknowledge that the coffee in Italy gives Mint a run for its money.

Actually, I feel as though I should add some honourable mentions, in no particular order:

• Vegetarian Chinese dumplings, either from the Dumpling Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos, or the Dumpling Shop on Nathan Road in WanChai, Hong Kong. I have been craving these recently and realised that I am going to have to make some myself.
  
• Spicy eggplant, either from the Dumpling Restaurant in Vientiane, Laos, the hole-in-the-wall takeaway shop in Beijing, or from Thanh Long, Crown St, Surry Hills, Sydney.
• Vietnamese Rice Paper rolls - I like the version that I make at home the best actually, but they do them well in many places, world over.
• Orange & Almond Cake covered in Dark Belgium Chocolate from O-Organic, Crown St, Surry Hills, Sydney. (We had this cake for our wedding).
  
• Ginger "chicken" at Au Lac, Dickson, Canberra.
  
• Fresh strawberries dipped in melted organic, fair trade, dark chocolate (home).
• Vanilla Sago (Tapioca) Pudding - I also like my home version the best, but the one at Bodhi is pretty good, as is the version they do at Longrain (which is where my recipe comes from). The orange and lemon version from Iku is also very yummy - I ate one just after P and I got married and it very much helped to settle my tummy.
  
• Moroccan chickpeas (home - Mum's recipe).
• Fresh sushi with avocado, carrot, mushroom, and spicy tofu. Again, best made at home, but there are plenty of very good sushi places about, especially in Sydney.
• Carmen's Muesli (I eat some of this almost every moring).
• Strawberry, rasberry and banana smoothie - also eat this for breakfast, but sans the bananas of late due to the whole shortage thing.
• Almost forgot! Black Sesame Ice-Cream (non-dairy of course) from Green Gourmet, Newtown, Sydney.
  

OK, I'll stop now. I am hungry.

Oh, and I tag anyone who is interested. If you stick to only five, it really doesn't take that long.