Pies, Pies, Pies
is always there to pull into a bakery and indulge in a sly pie. While on the road with mates I seemed to be munching on them non-stop: some good, some average and some superb. The Malmsbury Bakery in Central Victoria was a favourite when I was at uni. Today its prices have polarised my mates, many of whom reckon $5 for a pie's a rip-off, but the tasty, steak filled pies I think are still the second best in the World.
I seemed to do. Australia's cafe scene is alive and well, perhaps unlike Italy - where a friend was complaining the other day of being unable to find a decent coffee!
d local produce had me salivating. The tiny town of Mortlake offered up a surprise with Jackies Coffee and Wine Bar. We were literally miles from anywhere, but Jackie did a great job serving up good coffee, tasty sandwiches and an impressive range of cakes. A favourite in Adelaide is Zuma Caffe at the Central Market were you can get a bargain priced breakfast and great coffee before browsing the market's tasty produce. The only place I couldn't find a decent coffee was in Port Adelaide, but that didn't surprise me as it's a very, very average place.
case and there are venues that take food, beer, wine and music very seriously. I've discussed the Healesville Hotel in a previous post, but I also enjoyed visiting a few old favourites in Richmond. Drinks in the London Tavern, Public House and Richmond Club helped prove that Melbourne's pub scene is definitely alive and kicking.
Restaurants
were you walk into after a year away and they know your name, were you get huge serves of tasty pasta and the BYO option makes it a bargain. Another local favourite is Satguru's where they serve up a fantastic fusion of curry, tandoori and pizza. When I was in primary school Satguru's was a pizza joint, the new owners kept the pizza oven which they use to dish up an interesting selection of Indian style pizzas and delicious tandoori. Satguru's is definitely one of the best value restaurants in Melbourne. Victoria Street Richmond is know for it's Vietnamese food, yet somehow we ended up eating Thai and I enjoyed a great, but extremely spicy meal with old friends at Ying Thai. The list of great meals could go on - pizza in Adelaide, Thai in Horsham, pub lunches everywhere.
Wineries
o Bremerton and it reconfirmed the opinion I formed on my first visit; their wines are good, but nothing special and that there are better producers in Langhorne Creek.
Home Cooked Meals
The Bendigo wine region has a scattering of excellent wineries and Balgownie Estate, which was established in 1969, is definitely one. I arrived on a quite Thursday and received fantastic welcome from the lovely lady at the cellardoor. Balgownie produces great wines from Bendigo and the Yarra Valley. First up I tried the Gold Label blends; the aromatic Shiraz Viognier 2005 was good, while the Cabernet Merlot 2005 was all about green pepper and capsicum on the nose, replaced by lovely dark berries on the palate. I was also impressed by their slick drinkability of both these wines; it was about 10.30am and I could have quite easily have continued sucking on these little numbers all day. Next was the delicious Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2006; it hints of bacon aromas, while the palate was bursting with bright, fresh cherries. The Estate Pinot Noir 2005 comes from the warmer climate of Bendigo and had awesome, intense flavours and a big slap of spice. Next was the Estate Shiraz 2004, another intense wine, but one with definite structure and classy tannins. The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 was again about structured class and I'll even say sophistication, the tannins here were good and obviously built for the long haul, as was proved by the final tasting; a museum release Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1998. This wine - with nearly ten years of age - still had good fruit flavours, but also lots of delicious spices coming through, especially cinnamon; the tannins were still there suggesting possibilities of an even longer future.
ous in doing so. We drank this alongside an tasty dried kangaroo, sundried tomato and pinenut pasta, while watching The Incredibles on TV. Justin actually reminded us a little of the evil red-headed villain in the film, but I'm just glad he uses his powers for the good of wine rather than evil.
I was in Australia and I was on the road. Two blokes, a car, an ipod full of Paul Kelly songs and a couple of spare weeks; it was going to be good. First stop was Port Fairy to visit friends. This tiny seaside town has a rich historical past and was one of Victoria's first settlements. Though there is still a large fishing fleet, today the whaling has been replaced by tourism and Port Fairy is well known for its annual Folk F
estival. It's a long way from Melbourne and while there's a couple of streets of antique shops, cafes and B & Bs Port Fairy keeps its charm and is one of my favourite places in Victoria.
First we had a couple of glasses of local beer from the Red Duck Brewery in Purrumbete; it was good, perhaps better even than Fat Nick's homebrew. The enjoyable Amber Ale was a flavoursome, honest ale, while the special release Golden Dragon was a superb beverage. It was rich and complex, but an absolute nightmare to pour; it just seemed to keep foaming and frothing. A bottle of delicious Henty Estate Riesling followed and disappeared quickly after the beer; this aromatic, well-balanced white was a perfect aperitif. Looking at the pile of reds we went with the Hochkirch Maximus Pinot Noir 2004, a good drop with tantalising red fruits and an accompanying warm fuzzy feeling from knowing it was made following organic and biodynamic principals. Alongside dinner we tucked into another wine from the Henty Estate stable, this time it was the Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. This was a cracker of a wine; complex and well structured it went perfectly with dinner and was just plain tasty. To finish we had a little sip of Chambers Old Wine Muscadelle, and though not local, it was definitely very good.
Heading for Adelaide the next day - via Langhorne Creek of course - we were grateful for a fantastic night in Port Fairy, a chance to catch up with friends and an opportunely to try some great wines from the area.
Visit Henty wine region website
kfasts and coffees. My plate was packed with mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages, bacon and some lovely fat toast topped with a couple of poached eggs. The food was good, though I thought the sausages were a little under cooked and the mushrooms were average. A couple of excellent coffees, alongside this feast certainly made facing the World a little easier.
Lazzar Winery was selected as the venue, more for its intimate nature and handy location on the edge of the thriving metropolis of Balnarring, rather than for any culinary or vino delights. The small restaurant was basically ours; a wood fireplace blazed, wattle decorated the tables and the staff were friendly. Being a winery the tasting bench got a look in before dinner; the whites seemed 
pleasant enough, with the Arneis probably being the highlight. The reds were a mixed selection; the Pinot Noir did absolutely nothing for me, while the Cabernet Merlot blend was pleasantly drinkable, the Cabernet was good, but the favourite for the night was the Tempranillo; of which the team tucked into quite a few bottles.
Visit winery website.
onal. The two Chardonnays, the Peninsula 2005 and the Estate 2005, I thought were pretty good. The Peninsula Chardonnay was clean with a hint of acidity and lots of citrus flavours, while the Estate had stone fruits, walnuts, almonds and a hint of oak on the nose; while the palate melted with honey and caramel. The Peninsula Pinot Noir 2006 was a bright, vibrant wine with fruit all over the shop; cherry, plum and red current dominating, with a little green pepper ground on the palate. I really enjoyed the Estate Pinot Noir 2006; it had the fruit flavours of the Peninsula but was more restrained and complex; the nose whiffed spice and pepper and the palate had a pleasant, savoury, green herbal thing going on. The Peninsula Shiraz 2004 had sniffs of earthiness under the initial fruit smells; the tannins and structure seemed pretty good, though the pepper and dry sour notes on the palate were a little bit full on. The Estate Shiraz 2005 was a lot more rounded, soft and classy; yes there was a bit of pepper on the palate, but there were also seductive hints of dark berries, chocolate and a little milky coffee - a good wine. Unfortunately I didn't get to sample the Reserve Pinot and Shiraz and was encouraged to call back on the weekend when they are opened and it was promised I'd be impressed.
Driving north-east from Melbourne you pass through the Yarra Valley; a fantastic area packed with some of Australia's best wineries. On our way to visit friends we stopped to checkout a couple of wineries and snuck in a pizza for lunch.
The restaurant is an open space, with huge wooden tables and views through to the winery's vats and barrels. We were served by a friendly and knowledgeable lady and decided upon a 'Calabresse' pizza topped with spicy salami, gooey cheese and fresh oregano. For $18 the pizza wasn't cheap, but it was tasty, Naomi however did comment that the base was a little thin for her tastes. I accompanied lunch with a cafe latte and Naomi had a chai; any winery that serve
s pizza is onto a winner, but when they also make such good coffee they go a long way towards impressing me.
s of vines. The cellardoor has an outside seating area that would be lovely in summer, but we contented ourselves with the log fireplace inside. The man Dominique Portet has been in Australia making wine since 1976 and comes from a family entrenched in the French wine industry.
Visit Yarra Valley tourist website
Hahndorf's is comfortably laid out with tantalising displays of tasty chocolates along the walls. Mum and I stopped by for morning coffee and it seemed the rest of North Balwyn had too; the place was crammed. Within only a minor delay I was served a decent cafe latte, which was accompanied by the usual complementary truffle, I chose a chocolate coated, coffee filled delight. While the coffee was good, the chocolate was outstanding; life suddenly seemed very worthwhile.
Posts
All Comments
