This date night blew the budget… blasphemy!!! The total cost came to $46, but it was all for a greater cause – in hope of wooing the wife into getting jiggy with it in the cold of night – hidden away in public. I enjoy being cheeky, God knows I can stir the pot with the best of them, and even though I am a good boy I do enjoy the adrenalin rush of the possibility of being caught (obviously within reason). On this occasion Emma chickened out at the last minute.

The main focus of date night was to hit Melbourne’s Eureka Tower – the observation deck (88 stories high). I hate heights, it terrifies me and if you force me up high you’ll get an ear bashing for days afterwards. The Eureka Tower… not so scary.

Let it be known that heights in theme parks are not my forte and I will happily gouge your eyes out to ensure I do not make it on a ride. We learnt this the hard way.

Happy snaps of the city lights were taken, but honestly we suck at photography. My hat goes off to the professional shutterbugs that can get a good night shot! Accompanied with a SLR and a tripod – feeling like extreme tourists and complete dicks we faffed around until we got the shots that looked great on a small 3 inch screen. But now looking at the shots – hmm, not that good!!!!

Peering through the binoculars we found our apartment – and had clear view into the lounge room of “the guy across the hall.”

Well enough to see his TV flickering. If he was prancing around naked I’m positive you’ll be able to catch a good view.

Eureka Towers for two = $33. I recommend it once – but if you’ve done an observation deck once, you’ve pretty much done them all.

Although over budget, Emma still wanted Gelato – “sure… but Emma, going over budget is going to cost ya in other favours!”

With that thought implanted we chuckled over the cheekiness – walking back home along the river, gelato in hand (which do say was fantastico!!! – from some place in Southbank, upstairs near Bluetrain – hey, maybe we should add that place to the $30 Date Night list…) we searched for places that may be appropriate for you know… *a-hem*.

To be honest I knew what the outcome would be a negative but pushing Emma’s comfort circle was just as fun. I proposed a place along the river very close to the St. Kilda Road Bridge – it looked secluded – that was until we were standing on the actual St. Kilda Road Bridge looking at my proposed hiding space. Emma shrieked “It’s got a spot light pointing right into your spot!!!”

All in all – a fun date night. Nothing fancy but we did laugh our butts off which makes it a pretty good time in my eyes.

Move over Rockpool, Vue De Monde and Nobu… there’s a hidden secret out there that deserves a chef’s hat (Michelin star) from each of you. Sure I’m no food critic, but I do love my food! And yes, my opinion may not mean much, but this is it… and here it is!

Food gets me going – I love it! Colors, textures and tastes – it’s all amazing to me! I love fine dining restaurants, but I cannot stand snobby upperclass wannabies that only eat at such places. And it seems that this is the type of people the $30 Date Night site attracts – go figure?

Kind of sad tho… I just checked the stats out on the Elwood RSL date idea, and 9 voters have voiced their opinion about the Elwood RSL… 3 love it / 6 hate it.

6 crazy people!!!

I announced to Emma that I was taking her out for Date Night and that we would be dining out for the evening. Last month Emma cut me down – she cut me deep with an “apparent lack of effort into date night.” So I felt it was necessary to warn her that she should not expect too much of what is in store for her.

Her next question was “Do I need to change for tonight?” I said “No.”

(see right –> Emma was wearing jeans and some cheap-ass chequered cowboy top – geez I really hope she doesn’t read this post – or else she’ll kill me!)

Ems responded… “We’re going to the Elwood RSL,aren’t we?” I answered… “D’OH.”

The surprise element to the evening was blown, but at least she knew what she was in for = no disappointment as Em’s expectations were now low.

When we reached the RSL the place was packed. Yep, who would have thought that I needed a booking? So for your reference, here’s the number (03) 9531 4331. Remember guys, this restaurant is based in Melbourne Australia. Funnily enough, Ems was not that annoyed – hoorah! Bless the lack of expectations!!!

When seated we were given the menu – YUM. The choices – so many… do I have Steak and Guinness Pie or the Roast?

What of a dill of a pickle to be in… BOTH dishes cost under AUD$15 and they both come with garlic mash which didn’t make the choice any easier. There’s no table service so you have to go to the counter to order and pay. Easy – I’ll let the chick at the counter decide what I want…

“Sorry – we’ve run out of both the pie and the roast!” Ahh dammit!!!! I was sooo looking forward to eating both of them! Counter lady wasn’t too bothered by my puppy dog face.. she bounced back with “have the eye fillet, its only $24.”

Steak and I have this kind of bond you see… we like each other – a lot! But it takes a special kind of place to cook a good steak. Even my favourite steak houses don’t seem to get it right half the time. So I was a little dubious – AND the steak broke our budget of the $30 date night… bah, rules are meant to be broken. I went for the steak – Em’s had a burger.

The Elwood RSL had a 3 man band playing (Whisky Gypsies) which were amazing! A taste of Acoustic European – don’t ask me what that means… they played a U2 track, I guess Ireland falls into the Europe category??? But the highlight of the night was the steak… OH MY GOD!!! Cooked to perfection, this place knows what medium rare means – and the cut was magnificent! I want to go back there again tonight!

You know what – I can keep raving about this place for the next 3 posts but I’m going to stop right here… if you live in Melbourne – make the Elwood RSL your date night this week! Em’s and I had a blast, you can get away with 2 massive meals for under $30 but realistically with drinks it may cost you a little more. We spent close to $60 after buying the most expensive meal on the list as well as 4 glasses of wine… that is still amazing value!

And the tea menu was great! Beautifying teas, calming teas, happy teas, mental clarity teas… I could have stayed all day and had pot after pot!

Anyway, Yum Cha is a great date for a lazy Sunday. I’ve compiled a list of a few more for you here:

1. Breakfast Date Idea
Go out for breakfast, and pick somewhere fancy. You’ll still get away with it for about the $30 mark even if it is a well known restaurant!

2. Movie Marathon Date Idea
Have a movie marathon at home together – pick up some snacks, snuggle on the couch under a blanket and enjoy a themed movie afternoon. Select your DVDs according to actress or actor, or pick ones with a certain word in the title, that are set in a certain country (and theme your snacks to match!) or your childhood favourites!

3. Window Shopping Date Idea
Take your date shopping, let them spend the $30 on something for themselves! Take them somewhere new where you can explore little boutiques or handmade items you haven’t seen before and pick them up a little gift.

4. Jigsaw Puzzle Date Idea
Buy or borrow one of those huge 1000-piece jigsaws and spend the afternoon putting it together over a couple of mugs of hot chocolate, and some good conversation.

5. Garage Sale Date Idea
Trawl around your neighborhood’s garage sales with a couple of takeaway coffees and see what you can find. One person’s trash…

Bake Gingerbread Men together

6. Baking Date Idea
Pick up some ingredients for a yummy cake or squishy cookies or gingerbread people and get baking together in the kitchen with the music turned up loud before indulging in afternoon tea together once it’s cooked.

7. Floor Picnic Date Idea
Have a picnic in your very own house! Your choice of al fresco or lounge room floor, spread out a rug and lots of yummy cheeses and snacks.

8. Swimming Pool Date Idea
If it’s beautiful weather, go and laze in the sunshine at your local swimming pool. Take towels, snacks, reading material and enjoy an afternoon of nothing much together!

9. Yoga Class Date Idea
Take a yoga class together, or pop an instructional DVD on in the lounge and do your sun salutations in the comfort of your own home! Then drink fresh juice and enjoy the invigorated feeling!

10. The Memory Lane Date Idea
Pull out all your old photo albums and mementos and walk each other down memory lane. Tell stories from your childhood days, marvel over how young and spunky your parents used to look and get to know each other a little better. You may learn something new about your partner!

For Fun Date Ideas that can be done on days other than Sunday – Check out $30 Date Night.

We stopped off at Beechworth in Victoria (Australia). They call it
Ned Kelly country… a well documented outlaw in the late 1800’s.

Beechworth, like many other small towns rely on tourism for their economy – after the bushfires the towns are now suffering from lack of tourism. I thought my $30 will help…

Ok, so $30 is not a major contribution to the town’s economy but the experience was a brilliant contribution to our week. Great food… brilliant autumn weather and a bottle of wine which included cheese and crackers. And best of all… the bill came under $40 – amazing!

I love the country towns of Victoria – you must get out there and take a look around. Especially now in the autumn period! The produce is so

good – and the locals are lovely! The store owner of the deli store we had lunch in chat with us the entire time we were there! You don’t see that happen in Melbourne!

I haven’t been to the Veggie Bar since 1997 – things haven’t changed that much in 12 years, still the same place I remember it was. This time around it was my turn to sort out date night; Emma has been on this pescatarian vibe for a few weeks now… it’s killing me. I’ve started looking into walking a cow around with me at all times so I can have my meat fix while she’s vowed abstinence from animal flesh.

Vegietarians and I don’t mix too well – I need protein (oh, wait… let me rephrase. I need meat). Also, to add – I studied Acupuncture at University – there is no shortage of tree hugging hippies when you study Acupuncture. These frequently found themselves at the vegie bar, wore ponchos, no make up and were completely adverse to any scientific based knowledge because science has no place in acupuncture… oh, the frustration!!!

I knew the vegie bar would take me back to the uni days but I put my differences aside, parked my cow outside and happily walked into the vegie bar with Emma… the end result = yum. The food was prepared well, and the flavours definitely came through – although there was a sense of something missing.

We walked away with full bellies, two courses each for a grand total of $29! Not bad. It seems like there was no shortage of ponchos, but over the 12 years the place has attracted people other than the usual tree hugging hippy.

Emma was remarkably happy that we hit the veggie train – I had back up meat waiting for me at home just to get myself a quick fix.

Just got back in from date night at Maha Bar… great little spot that we have featured on the Melbourne City Guide dates! Now, you can get away with a fantastic bar snack for $30… the lamb, lemon and chilli Turkish pizza comes highly recommended and the chicken and almond bastille is great, tucked into filo pastry and all dusted with cinnamon and sugar… yum!

Be warned, it’s easy to blow the budget if you get carried away… an Australian microbrew beer and a NZ Sauvignon Blanc plus the irresitable Turkish delight donut dessert and you’ve done a double-date night (as in, over $60 worth!) but sometimes you just have to be a bit naughty and indulge together…