Meals in Tasmania Australia- Days 3 and 4

Day 3 Cradle Mountain to St Helens




We had a buffet breakfast at the cafe of Cradle Mountain Lodge, and then we went for a walk around the trails around the Lodge.










It was really very enjoyable. The morning mountain air was crisp and cool, and the walk took us past shrubs, bushes, trees, and a little creek. Cutie had fun.




Then it was a long drive, from the central part of Tasmania to the northern east coast of Tasmania. About 6 hours I reckon.



Tamar Valley Wine Region (north of Launceston)


We drove for about 3 hours, and stopped for lunch at Daniel Alps @ Strathlynn Vineyard, Rosevears - Ninth Island Vineyard95 Rosevears DriveRosevears TAS. It was a very well reviewed restaurant, with almost every guide and magazine recommending this place, such as Travel Gourmet, Australia's best restaurants guide etc etc.




It was pretty full when we entered at 1 pm, although there were tables available, the lady asked us to wait because the kitchen was packed.





It was ok, because we didnt mind stretching our legs at the beautiful garden / vineyard just outside.









DM and I had the spring bay scallops with leek, thyme butter and pine nut gratin SGD32. It was pretty, and generous but too salty. I didn't like it. Also the gratin seemed to have breadcrumbs in it, resulting in a crunchy topping, rather than a buttery creamy topping. It came as a surprise, and I didn't care for it because it was like crunching salt crystals.





DF chose the rigatoni with braised meat sauce, sage and parmesan (SGD29.80). It was also too salty and I found it rather oily too.





DH's choice of oven roasted springfield venison with glazed jerusalem artichokes and baby carrots (SGD29.80) turned out to be the best meal on the table. It was tender and tasty, with generous servings of potato and carrots.






After lunch, we went out and played in the sun. It was really lovely weather, and we were so lucky to be able to enjoy such sunshine during autumn. It only drizzled lightly one afternoon the whole time that we were in tasmania.




We took another 3 hours to drive to Tidal Waters Resort, St Helens. There was a long way using the highway) and a shortcut (using a minor road). Seeing that the sky was quickly turning dark, I persuaded DH to use the minor road, which turned out to be a huge mistake since it was a gravelly path, with potholes and was very winding. We had to slow down to 40 kmh, and on hindsight, I think we would have arrived earlier if we took the highway seeing that there would be little traffic and we could drive at like 100kmh.






We had dinner at the resort restaurant, which was asian fusion, and not very good. DM had the duck noodles, and DF had some asian dish too. Not that great. Since we couldn't cook for Cutie, which we usually do, we ordered 2 types of fish, so that he could eat fish with rice.





One was steamed Pink Ling, whatever that is, the other is a Roast Salmon. Both tasted rather the same to me. Very asian. The salmon had a more tomatoey sauce, the one above was less salty.

Cutie must have been hungry, he ate almost the entire portion of fish.




Day 4 St Helens to Coles Bay






Good morning! Cutie had his breakfast in the room, with DM patiently coaxing him to finish his milk.




We then set off for Coles Bay, which is next to the Freycinet National Park - a world heritage site. It is only about 1.5 hours away so we took our time to visit the various sights on the way.



Eureka Fruit Farm





Although it wasn't really in season, I was hoping to find berries at the fruit farm, but was sadly disappointed. The girl said that they only had apples and pears. We wanted to have breakfast, which the brochure said was available, but she said the cook was away so we could only have cakes or ice cream. We each had a cake, but they were rather sweet and so no photos.



Cutie had fun playing on the tractor though!


East Coast Wildlife Park (North of Bicheno)


We then went to the wildlife park to see tasmanian devils, wombats, koalas and kangaroos.



Cutie fed the kangaroos and was so brave - I was impressed! He kept saying that he wanted to feed the kangaroos himself, and petted them too. I liked this park, because most of the tame animals like geese, peacocks and kangaroos wandered around freely which allowed for easy interaction.



My facebook videos showed how much Cutie enjoyed himself.



Bicheno Sealife Centre



We stopped here for lunch - Bicheno Sealife Centre, 1 Tasman HighwayBichenoTasmania 7215.



The lobsters came in sizes - S, M, L, XL, XXL, and XXXL. We wanted a whole medium lobster but it wasn't available, so we took half an XXL lobster.





The fries are hot, but the lobster is served chilled. It was quite succulent and sweet, but rather expensive seeing that this is really a tourist place rather than a local haunt.





We then had fresh oysters with a sparkling reisling - the only wine DM enjoyed because it wasn't too dry. It tasted quite fruity so we are glad we had this.







The oysters kilpatrick (tomato sauce and bacon) were too salty so we didnt enjoy it much.





The large seafood platter came with fried fish, calamari, oysters, scallops and more fries. It was also served with some chilled seafood like mussels, smoked salmon, pate etc which I forgot to take a photo of. You might be able to catch a glimpse of it in the photo below.





We all had a good time, and although it wasn't the best meal, we did have fun eating our first seafood and lobster meal of the holiday. More to come!

Dinner at Home

We bought some groceries at Bicheno before heading for our self-catering accommodation at Coles Bay. Some milk, cheese, bread etc. We decided to eat dinner at home this time. I cooked!

We bought fresh lobster, which was our starter. Look at how red it is? It was fresh and succulent. AUD65 for a slightly heavier than 1 kg lobster.

Our main of grilled steak, sauteed mushrooms with onions, roasted potatoes and pumpkin. How does it look? It tasted pretty good!

Meals in Tasmania Australia - Day 1 and 2

I just came back from a gorgeous week in Tasmania, Australia! It was the PERFECT HOLIDAY!

It was a fantastic, wonderful trip! Cutie, at age 2 years 5 months, was endearingly excited about the trip and participated in every activity with such enthusiasm - it was infectious! Seeing Cutie have such a good time made the holiday great for all of us too! Cutie even enjoyed the plane ride! See above.

Thanks to DM and DF, who took care of Cutie, cooked his meals, generally helped to feed and play with him and babysit him when DH and I needed time... It was really a stress-free holiday this time!

This is DM playing with Cutie, and generally looking after him.

Here is DF helping Cutie to poop, at some countryside forest.

Day 1 - Launceston

We had lunch at a pub nearby. It was Sunday and most places were closed. Nothing memorable. No photos.

Dinner was at a foodcourt near a supermarket where we bought groceries to cook Cutie's porridge so again, not inspiring, no photos.

Day 2 - Cradle Mountain

It was beautiful! We were so lucky to have gorgeous weather, so we managed to walk around the place, see the beautiful scenery. Cutie enjoyed throwing stones into the lake. Isn't Cutie cute?

Lunch was at the Cradle Mountain Visitor's Centre, cafe type food like soup, sandwiches, fish and chips. No photos.

Dinner was at Highland Restaurant, a fine-dining type place at Cradle Mountain Lodge where we stayed. It costs AUD55 per person for 2 courses and AUD64 for 3 courses.

I took a 2 course meal, DH took a 3 course and we shared his dessert.

My starter of warm caramelised smoked eel, cauliflower panna cotta and salsa verde.
I originally wanted to have a starter of spiced fallow venison, but was later told by the waiter that it was raw so I changed my order. What is fallow venison anyway?

Anyhow, this was a good choice. The smoked eel was tender and smokey sweet. The cauliflower panna cotta looks like a block of tofu, but it was fantastic. I have never tasted anything like it. It was slightly savoury, and had the consistency of wobbly, slightly yielding cream pudding or jello. Even panna cotta had never tasted this good. I really liked my starter.


DH's starter of baby squid tube filled with braised oxtail, served with pink and golden oyster mushroom cream was tasty but too heavy. It was just too much - too heavy on the sauce and too heavy on the meat. DH and I both preferred the eel starter.

My main of roasted lamb with potato mash and sauteed strawberries with french beans. It was pretty well executed, tender and not over or undercooked. Exactly the way I wanted it. It was unique to have strawberries on the dish, and I thought it was quite interesting, since it added a fruity sweet element. Cooked fruit always taste sweeter, so I thought it was quite a clever way to use end of season fruit.

DH's main of grilled ocean trout on a bed of green pea mash and braised bok choy - which looked and tasted exactly like salmon! the green pea mash was undercooked, resulting in a very raw green taste which neither DH nor I enjoyed. DH thinks that we should eat seafood in Tasmania, which I agree with as a rule, but not at Cradle Mountain right, where no fresh fish can clearly be found! So I think my main of lamb was a much better choice.

Then we shared DH's choice of dessert - platter of Tasmanian cheeses with seasonal berries, tomato coulis and crackers. Typical selection really - a brie, a cheddar and a blue. I love blue cheese, I like the strong taste and the crumbly texture. Yums. Does anyone know what those red berries are? We aren't sure if they are fresh cranberries, having never seen fresh cranberries before.

Ok more updates in my next post.

Minang House @ Lucky Plaza Shopping Centre

BA brought SF and I to the most famous nasi padang place in Lucky Plaza - Minang House. It's usually packed with locals and Indonesians.

He did the ordering while we girls sat down. We trusted BA to order some typically authentic Indonesian food for us!

Clockwise, from top left: egg omelette, fried chicken, fried tofu and cow's lung. He also ordered curry spinach and beef rendang (not pictured).

My favourite was the beef lung, it was tender and tasty.

Thanks for lunch BA!

Lunch @ the Tanglin Club

I'm so lucky! PC decided to take us girls to lunch at her club today, the Tanglin Club. It's a very exclusive club and membership is non-transferrable!



This restaurant that PC brought us to, it's very proper and british. You can't use your handphones here, and there is a dress code (no slippers, shorts, sports attire, jeans) and children under 16 cannot enter.



This is a poor shot, but it was the star of our lunch. It was an excellent ceasar salad. Just the right amount of dressing, tasty and crispy.

We ordered 3 soups to share - mulligatawny, french onion and lentils. The muligatawny is, as I understand, an Anglo-Indian soup so it tastes quite asian, with some beans and some Indian spices. The lentils was ok, we thought it would be creamy but it was actually a clear soup.

My choice of French Onion was rich and beefy. The cheesy toast on top was lovely.

It was Signature laksa day (friday), and lots of patrons ordered it, so I went for it as well. It was a very large portion, and someone with a less healthy appetite would surely have surrendered before finishing the bowl. I like the quai;s' eggs in it. It was very lemak (rich with coconut milk), but didn't taste like the Katong laksa type. It tastes more... homemade?

PL's fried Hokkien mee, also touted as a hot favourite here. It was also a large portion and she couldn't finish it.

PC had a very very English meal of Calf's liver with bacon. the bacon was nice and crispy. The liver was red and a little too bloody for me, but for PC it was just right.



Thanks PC, I really enjoyed our girls' lunch!

Lunch @ Hong Lim Food Centre

I am so into kway chap right now, I have been eating it at every place, maybe cos it's been pretty cold and I want to eat something steamy and hot, but am tired of fish soup.

This is the best best kway chap I have tried. the soup is fragrant and sweet and doesn't taste too much of garlic or salt. The braised meats are tender and not salty and just right. Love it.



2nd floor of Hong Lim food centre, near the crayfish hor fun lady.

Then I always have dessert here. I walk over to this 2nd floor place, where they serve sesame paste peanut paste and all kinds of hong kong desserts, including mango sago. I always have this - almond paste with glutinous rice balls (SGD2).

lovely!

Tenshin @ Regent Hotel

Sorry, I've been really busy so I think you haven't seen many updates on this blog.

Well, DH brought me to this nice restaurant at Regent that I have been wanting to try. Tenshin @ Regent Hotel is widely acknowledged to be the best at tempura. It specialises in tempura, unlike many Japanese restaurants in Singapore which try to do everything.



DH took a lunch set that came with Japanese prawns, very crispy and sweet.

This was the appetiser of kailan stems in shoyu and topped with fish flakes I think. It was costly, at SGD3 per person, especially since we didn't order it.

DH's set also came with sashimi. Quite lovely.
We both had a salad starter, which was very very nice. It was a sesame dressing, very fragrant and very appetising. I loved it.

This was what I was looking forward to. On the a la carte menu at SGD25 each, this is uni tempura.

Sweet uni is wrapped in seaweed, lightly dusted in batter and then deep fried. It is crispy on the outside but still sweet and cool on the inside. A delicious treat.




Our friendly chef who was very good at timing our food. My set came with prawns, vegetables and I think, pumpkin. And he didn't serve everything at once. He made sure I always had one item on my plate, but not the same thing in a row, ie, prawn, veg, prawn, pumpkin, fish etc.

My set came with plain rice, miso soup and pickles. I asked for a 2nd serving of pickles and paid SGD8 for it.
DH's rice came with tempura prawns bits in it and was tossed in some dressing.

DH and I both liked this. 2 types of tempura japanese mushroom.
We ended our set with a refreshing sorbet.


It was a pretty expensive meal, I think DH's set was SGD80 and mine was SGD30.

Ma Maison @ Central Mall

This place (Ma Maison, Central Mall, Eu Tong Sen Street, #03-96) serves Japanese style western food... would it be nice? It is on the third floor, take the escalator in the corner from the santouka ramen joint.

The decor is like a little european house (the name means "my house" in French) so in keeping with the decor and the theme, they give you a metal key with a number corresponding to your table so that you can check out of the european B&B after paying the bill.

DH took the hamburg set with their signature sauce (SGD26). It comes with a small serving of salad, nothing interesting, just lettuce, tomato in thousand island dressing.

Then a bowl of cream soup. cream of what? cream of nothing. it was just cream soup.

DH wondering whether he would find clams or mushrooms in the cream of kosong soup.

I ordered the mentaiko pasta (SGD19), it's a signature dish but not available for lunch usually. The chef graciously agreed to make it for me because I wanted to try it.

This is my first time trying mentaiko pasta. My curiosity was aroused when Chubby Hubby blogged about making it. I was keen to try making it too because DH and I love mentaiko, especially when it is cooked with cheese on a hotplate. This version was disappointing however. It was salty and fishy, without any taste of little balls I was hoping for. I thought every bite would have a burst of fishy roe, creating an interesting contrast between al dente pasta and bouncy fish roe, but this was not to be.

Maybe this was just a version that I don't like. I hope to try more versions of this popular dish before I give my verdict.


DH's hamburger set was quite substantial, and quite nice too. I think there was an egg, and some sweetbreads with the hamburger, if I am not wrong. The sauce was tasty.

It was a late lunch for both of us, but the nice thing is that, whenever DH has a free moment, he would always call me first to ask if I would like to lunch together... so we ended up here to try this.

What I've been doing...

Oh I have been so busy, I haven't been able to update my blog much!

Sorry people!

I have been too busy to eat very well, since I am working on several projects at once... luckily there are always fruits in the pantry... This was my snack... juicy jambu and scrumptious strawberries... very enjoyable and healthy.

Weekend Activities

The good thing about my job is that weekends are sacrosanct and I never ever work on weekends. DH and I take Cutie out, to do fun stuff on weekends and I know Cutie looks forward to our time together.

Swimming



When the weather is nice and warm, we like to go swimming at Por Por's condo pool... doesn't he look adorable in his new scuba suit... He just outgrew the other one...

He's a bit grumpy here cos he doesn't want to pose for pictures, he wants to go swimming!

He looks so happy after his swim, with a glass of apple juice!

Driving Remember this? We used to be able to do this for 50 cents or 1 dollar at places like the open area outside Toa Payoh Library etc... Anyway, this is the Bedok South market, opposite temasek JC. We eat dinner, and Cutie drives around in a motorised car. Due to inflation and the rising costs of fuel... it now costs SGD2 for 10 minutes.

Cutie was pretty happy in his red convertible, then don't know how come, he ended up on a blue motorbike, and as he did a hairpin turn, he fell off, but didn't injure himself too badly. Sure, he cried... but only cos he didn't want to go home yet... He said he wanted to ride on the blue motorbike again... what a plucky little fella.

GYMBOREE

This is like, a darn expensive playgym / playground for kids, but it has its appeal since it's clean and padded and comfortable and airconditioned. We pay SGD8 for 1 hour of fun. But Cutie really likes the place... he asks to go there every weekend. He remembers all the songs he sings there and repeats them when we get home... And he really likes Gymbo the Clown too, picture above.

Me: What name shall we give Mei Mei?

Cutie: Gymbo!

Me: (Appalled) What? No no no!

Cutie: It's very nice you know!

Me: -_-"

I shall leave you with a video of Cutie having fun at gymboree.

Prive @ Keppel Bay Drive

DH was able to have brunch with me cos he was on leave... I was at work, but stepped out for an early lunch break...

Where should we go?

Vivocity is too boring... so I thought of Prive, that new restaurant on its own private island, near the Carribean. From my office, I can see it, and always wondered if it was nice. It was a lovely drive, down Keppel Bay Drive, which leads to the restaurant. There is Prive Bakery and and Cafe, Prive Restaurant and Prive Gastrobar (which serves drinks).

We went to the Bakery & Cafe, as the other 2 only opened after 12. They had cakes in the chiller (some very interesting ones, like Peanut Butter Brownie...), pastries, breads and muffins...

There were some salads, 2 soups, sandwiches and quiches.


DH ordered the smoked salmon and onion quiche (SGD12), above. The salad was dressed in balsamic vinegar and quite nice and refreshing. The quiche was toasty hot and fantastic. It was not too eggy and the crust was crisp and just nice (I dont like quiches to come in a thick hard crust!). The smoked salmon was not dry or salty and had a delicate bite. All in all, I really liked it.

Here is a close up of that delectable quiche.

A view of the harbour....

And the fountain in the driveway...

We'd like to come back for lunch (SGD32+++ for 2 courses, SGD38 for 3 courses, gourmet lunch at SGD65+++) sometime... it really looks quite nice.

:)