What's for lunch?

As you may or may not have noticed in July's imprint (that little panel at the front of the mag that lists the Style staffers), I'm notorious for my catchcry "What's for lunch?"

Yep, I'm always on the lookout for new lunch spots, and last week I found two beauties. Firstly, Style ed Cassie and I met up with a friend for lunch at Vapiano in the City, which I've been hearing a lot about. And for good reason, it seems. Where do you go when you don't want to go food court slumming but you don't have the time or funds for a restaurant meal? Well, judging by the hordes of city workers lining up at its counters, Vapiano is the hot ticket. 

The food's fresh and tasty. We shared two salads (Insalata Caprese, $11, and Insalata Di Rucola Con Parmigiano, $9, with prawns, $3.50), a pizza (Rucola, $13) and a pasta (Pappardelle Carbonara, $15). The desserts on display looked divine (tiramisu, naturally, among others) but we'd already overdone it so that will definitely be on the agenda for our next visit. 

What I like best is the swipe card system – you're given a card which records all your purchases, so you can enjoy your lunch with friends without having to whip out iPhones to calculate who's paying for what at the end.

Yesterday I rounded up a group of friends to join me for "Yummy Cha" at Siana Valley, which is held every Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. The food was out-of-this-world good and so much cheaper than normal. For example, the peking duck wraps (heaven on a plate) will normally set you back $19 for a plate of four, but during Yummy Cha you can order a plate of three for $10. We feasted on those as well as barbecue pork buns ($9 for 3), seafood balls ($9 for 3), pork belly ($12 for five pieces) and crispy chicken spring rolls ($6 for six pieces).

We wisely left room for dessert though – coconut fried ice-cream, $6. One word? SUBLIME. Think homemade ice-cream coated in crispy crumbs and coconut flakes, drizzled in honey and toasty flaked almonds. "A life-changing experience" was the consensus. I'm making Yummy Cha at Siana Valley a Sunday lunch tradition, starting from now. See you there.