Prahran Hotel

We had a Sunday night meal at the funky Prahran Hotel, and it was good:  service was fine, food was good, prices were very reasonable (except for the wine, which was higher than you'd expect in a pub).   You get a choice of places to eat, and we chose the "dining" area, but even here there was a bit of a spill-over of music from the DJ in the bar area.  However,  this is a pub and it didn't intrude on our conversation, so it wasn't a major issue for us. 

It was nice to be able to park close to the venue but at busy times, this may not always be possible.   There's some "permit only" parking in the area (including in the evenings) so care is required.

Good Food Guide

Although at the end of the day I like to make my own assessments, I do find it interesting to compare my thoughts with what the Good Food Guide says about restaurants. 

Perhaps a little unusually, I find myself in agreement with the most recent edition's positive ratings of a couple of the restaurants in our area.

A couple of other local long-term inclusions have been dropped from this edition;  perhaps regrettable for them,  but on reflection probably under-standable.   Expectations change, and sometimes it's not enough simply to keep doing things the same way.   I think this applies to at least one (perhaps both) of the local places that have dropped out.   My impression is that they're still doing things in much the same way as they have in the past.  Perhaps this appeals to an established clientele, but it's not necessarily the way to keep your place in a guide that purports to be "up there" with the trends in the industry.

One thing about the Guide that I sometimes struggle with is the mapping.    Of course, many of the restaurants reviewed are in concentrated pockets and others are widely dispersed, so a "one size fits all" mapping layout just wouldn't work.  But the maps are a bit of a "mish-mash".  It seems to me that they could be a little clearer.

Balgownie Estate

It's nearly spring, and unexpectedly we found we had a bit of a gap in our diary, so impulsively we booked a couple of nights in the Yarra Valley at Balgownie Estate. On the way here, after pausing at a nursery, it was a minor challenge to find a winery lunch mid-week in the winter [Edit - yes the information is there, it's just a matter of having it to hand when needed!], but we ended up at Rochford where the meal was pleasant enough, although in hindsight perhaps a little more substantial than we really needed!

Driveway at Balgownie by night

I was vaguely aware of the existence of Balgownie Estate but it's larger than I realised. We opted for a “garden terrace” room which gave us all we needed (spacious, nice bathroom, good heating, internet included, “garden view” but no spa) at a somewhat more modest price than the rooms with a spa and "valley view".   Rae's Restaurant at the resort is no doubt a fine restaurant, but after our lunch, its fixed price dinner menu was somewhat wasted on us.

View at dusk from "garden terrace" room

Same view, next morning - lots of fog!

Allium

The Livingroom is no more, now it's Allium.   I read on the website that Livingroom has been around since 2007, but the owners redecorated and re-launched it earlier this year.

Allium?  It's Latin for garlic and apparently is the name for the onion family!     The dining space has been broken up with a curtain, and this, along with carpet on the floor in the lower area, has softened the atmosphere.   The menu continues to be interesting.  The prices don't seem to have increased;  in fact, they might even have dropped very slightly.  

I liked my entree which (I quote) was "Jerusalem Artichoke Entree with Pickled Shiitake and Mandarin", and the steak that followed was good too.   Favourable reports were also heard about the rolled lamb shoulder.  For desert  we shared a "Parsnip parfait".   Interesting use of a vegetable, and quite effective actually, but I don’t think I could picked it if I hadn't read the description first.  There are some good pictures here. 

The Abbotsford Convent

It was a winter weekday, and impulsively we decided that we ought to check out the Abbotsford Convent.   Of course, we knew of its existence, but it's out-of-the-way for us and a little tricky to get to (choice of the horrors of Hoddle Street or a circular route through Kew).   The closest I had ever been to it was when I worked on for the tramways during university vacations, when there was a bus yard (long since gone) on the other side of St Heliers Street, which was a meal break location for the tramway buses.


I read that the Abbotsford Convent Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.   The Good Shepherd nuns sold the site in 1975, although the Good Shepherd Foundation still has a presence at the neighbouring Church and hostel, and the farmland became the Collingwood Children's farm.






The convent itself became part of the Lincoln Institute and subsequently La Trobe University.  The University sold the site in the late 1990s, and a residential development was proposed.    However, with State Government assistance it was returned to public ownership, and the Abbotsford Convent Foundation was established to own and manage it, with a focus on arts, culture and learning.

Convent bakery

There are now numerous studio and office spaces, and what is described as an extensive program of events. We enjoyed poking around the buildings and extensive gardens.   And, of particular interest to us (!), there are a number of eating and drinking venues, at least one of which appeared to the patronised by (may I say?) "artistic" types.    We had a pleasant lunch at the Convent Bakery, and were happy with everything.   But of course, we were there at a quiet time.  I can understand that it must get very busy at times, particularly weekends, which no doubt explains the rather ordinary reviews.

The Cat Cafe

Goodness, a news report about a cat cafe?     I see from the website that you have to book, and that it costs $10 an hour (plus the cost of coffee and food, obviously). 

I had an opportunity to take a walk up that way.  It's at 375 Queen St, right up near the Vic Market.  I went past, but not in.   The cats seems to have landed on their feet, so to speak, as the building is an impressive bluestone structure.  


















Footnote - I see that the idea started in Japan, and that you get 2 hours with the cats  at the London equivalent!

Machi

Inkerman Street, St Kilda isn't our usual stamping ground, but we were with a group that included family members, and went to Machi.   I now know that this neighbourhood includes Mr Wolf and the Newmarket Hotel, (both in Good Food Guide) so perhaps the area might be deserving of closer attention in the future.

Machi gets mixed reviews on Urbanspoon (of course, it's not alone in that regard) and doesn't make it into the current Good Food Guide.   There's a bit of a Western edge to the Japanese menu (slow cooked lamb shoulder?).  As one review puts it, it has "a menu that includes traditional Japanese dishes and imaginative mod Oz creations".  But the Japanese side shone through in other ways, as everything was attractively presented and the service was certainly attentive.


We shared everything and so were able to have quite a range of dishes, but in particular we loved the prawn tempura.  The miso baked barramundi was good too, and there were good reports about everything on the seafood platter.  As for the desert platter......!

But no, it wasn't the cheapest night out we've  ever had - but this was partly because we like to have some wine, and the wines on the list (and other drink prices) are a bit on the pricey side (we weren't there on Tuesday, when apparently you can BYO).

Restaurant "attitude"

I guess this post belongs in the "letting off steam" category, but just the same....

We went for a casual meal at one of the newer restaurants in our local shopping strip.  It was a wintry week night, and there weren't many people about.  In fact, when we got to the restaurant, there was only one other table occupied, with two people on it.   But where were we seated?   On the table immediately adjacent to them, almost shoulder to shoulder!    This is a restaurant with perhaps a dozen other tables (I'm guessing), none of which were occupied, but apparently it was felt that the groups of two had to be placed at the tables most suitable for that number (all of the others seemingly seated 4 or more people).

Lots of restaurants around!

Perhaps we ought to have said something, but we made the best of the situation.    It was the attitude that "got" to me.   Why cram people up so that the small groups sit on the smaller tables just to "save" the larger tables for larger groups "in case they arrive" - which needless to say, they didn't.

The food was nice, but running a middle-of-the-range restaurant in our part of the world is a highly competitive business.


Another issue is that we weren't allowed to BYO wine, on the basis that they had a "full bar".   Errr.....yes, the bar structure was indeed nice, but there was no wine list, just a couple of choices in each category. Well, that's the restaurant's decision, but in this part of the world, BYO is nearly universal.

I won't mention names but in a strip where restaurants regularly open and close and even some of the more established places seem to have fewer customers, I'm not sure that the people running this one fully appreciate that little things matter when it comes to customer service.

Coffee, cakes and rain....

It was raining in Ballarat when we awoke, and it continued to rain for the entire trip home, via Creswick, Daylesford, Trentham and Woodend.     Bit as soon as we reached the outskirts of the city, the rain cleared - and we were told that it had hardly rained at all in Melbourne.

Creswick main street

At Creswick, unlikely though it may seem, there's a French-style patisserie (Le Péché Gourmand), so we stopped there for coffee and caramelised  pear slice.   After a quick drive-by of the Hepburn Springs to make sure they were still there, lunch at Daylesford was at the Food Gallery.  This gets mixed reviews, but we liked our meals (including gnocchi)..  However we were there on a relatively quiet and wet winter weekday, so they weren't under a lot of pressure.

Hepburn Springs - little has changed

We drove through Trentham, with coffee in mind, but none was obvious.   Since we had already stocked up on bread at Creswick so we passed on buying more at the Red Beard, but paused for more coffee and a chocolate slice (acceptable but not great) at Woodend before heading off on the last leg home.

Old railway wagons at Trentham - suffering in the weather

Ballarat

We're in Ballarat again, primarily to visit the Scottish heritage exhibition at the gallery.  More about that later.   In the meantime, Ballarat in winter hasn't changed much since we used to do it in the May school schooldays.   I guess these days the accommodation is better heated (no complaints there), but outside it's cold, showery and bleak! 

Streetscape

We used to ride the trams out to the Gardens, but the trams ceased running regular services in the 70s although there are some preserved ones out near the botanical gardens.   And although there are a few places around to eat at, Ballarat doesn't have a strong presence in the Good Food Guide.   However, we had dinner at The Lane Restaurant, and were very satisfied.   It's a bit tricky to find, because you have to go through the Lane Cafe in Lydiard Street North, but it was certainly worth looking for.

Railway station (but only buses, no trains, when we visited)

Reviews of diners

I was fascinated by Annabel Crabbe's piece in the Fairfax media a little while back that said that shared on-line reservation sites such as dimmi.com.au/ which provide central booking services for restaurants also allow restaurants to post comments on diners who use the service!   I couldn't actually find this facility on dimmi, but I guess it is in fact there somewhere.

So, we might all end up with ratings as to how we rate as diners!   What an interesting thought.   The reason we got a lousy table at restaurant "A" last night was because we only left a stingy tip at restaurant "B" the week before!





It presumably only applies if a person uses dimmi to make the reservation, although if the restaurant has signed up for this as a way of providing an on-line reservation service, I guess there's little choice.  Just the same, as with accommodation, I prefer to deal directly with the establishment if I can, which in the case of restaurants, generally involves a phone call rather than the use of an on-line booking service.  Nevertheless, it may well be that this is the way of the future:  if Trip Advisor can provide reviews of just about everything's that travel-related, what's so different about this sort of feed-back?

Last Day in Perth

We're back home now, but our last full day in Perth, after attending St Aidan's in the morning, was spent in having lunch at Trigg with I (a former colleague), a quick look at the Karrinyup shopping centre (well, it was nearby), a drink at City Beach watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean and a casual meal in the apartment having a quiet night and then packing up.

Relaxed atmosphere at City Beach!

Watching the sun set at City Beach over a drink and/or coffee seems quite a Perth pastime, especially for families with young children.  

Trigg

Big Mac house at Trigg

Restaurant at Trigg

Sunset at City Beach

Perth

We had a leisurely lunch with some relatives (kumovi), which included a catch up with baby E (now 19 months and very attentive!).  

Freshwater Bay

Then we spent a few minutes checking the views over the Swan River at dusk, followed by an early dinner at - yes, predictably? - Cottlesloe again!    This time, it was at Indiana, which was very acceptable.   Pity it was dark so the ocean view was limited to the lights of the ships out at anchor.

Old haunts

Our first full day in Perth was a bit of a retrospective! However, our first stop was the new Bib & Tucker cafe/restaurant which had been recommended to us. Well, it's part of the Leighton Beach development, and it just oozes “trendiness”. Certainly, our initial impression was that the Attitude (capital “A”) was consistent with this. As a result, we limited our orders to coffee, but on inspection the food menu looked good, as did the appearance of meals as they emerged from the open kitchen. Perhaps we just arrived at a bad time?

We moved on to check out Fremantle. The maze of streets, the “cappuccino strip” (in spite of the fact that there are plenty of other places these days that now have just as many coffee venues), the markets, the harbour area – all familiar, although there has been some incremental development. Lots of people around, which was nice to see, although my personal impression is that they're largely tourists (including probably visitors on working holiday visas). There's always been just a slight bit of “edginess” to Freo, and this is still discernible.

The Indiana - unchanged

Then back to Cott. Yes, lunch at the Blue Duck! And we weren't disappointed: a friendly welcome and efficient service while sitting on the deck. Let's clear the air about sitting on the open deck in Perth: the sun is often nice BUT the pictures don't convey that on most days there's a “sea breeze” from the south west which sometimes becomes progressively stronger over the course of the day, although it wasn't too bad today. Lunch was followed by a journey back in time, walking along the beachfront, admiring the dogs, dodging the joggers, inspecting the Indiana and the pylon, and completed by a stroll on the groyne.

On the way back to our accommodation we obviously drove down Loma St (again, only incremental changes) and stopped for a few minutes to look at the Napoleon Street shops: outwardly affluent as always (coffee shops, jewellers, travel agents, the original “Dome”), seemingly well-patronised. “The Grove” shopping centre is now “Cottesloe Central”, and of all things, Bunnings now occupies the space at one time occupied by Harris Scarfe.

For dinner, we went to Shafto Lane:    lots of activity, noisy, alive.....so there is life in Perth after dark, after all.

Busselton to Perth via Mandurah

After checking out of the Sebel (our accommodation on the outskirts of Busselton), we had a coffee at the Goose, which is one of several restaurants near the Busselton Jetty. We saw the little train that runs out along the jetty, but the return trip takes about 45 minutes, and presumably you have to add an hour to this if you visit the underwater observatory.

"Train" on Busselton jetty

So after our coffee, we headed in the direction of Perth, stopping for lunch in Mandurah where we had a good view of the dolphin that came into the estuary, presumably enticed by the food provided for it to eat (much splashing and jumping). Anything left over was taken by the pelican!

Our accommodation in Perth is quite centrally located, in Victoria Av. The central location wasn't particularly important, but car parking was, and frankly getting a less-than-exorbitantly priced self-catering studio with parking in Perth took some research. So the central location was a bonus. We took a walk around the CBD area after arriving; yes, things have got a bit busier since our time here, but there are still occasional glimpses of the “big country town” to be had, at least for those of us who are on the lookout for such things (such as, all the shops except the supermarket close promptly at 6 pm).

Ngilgi cave and lunch

There are quite a few caves in this part of the world, and we opted to visit Ngilgi Cave. When you first enter, you're guided into the Amphitheatre which is a big cave, then you're left on your own devices to explore the Main cave via a series of winding passages and a lot of steps, reaching the deepest part at Cupid's Corner. The LED lighting is subdued but the colours, while subtle, create a good impression. At the far end, there's another guide stationed who explains some of the cave's features and directs you around a loop and back towards the entrance. The whole tour takes about an hour, but since you're on you're own for most of the time, it can take a little less, or as long as you like.

 

I can't remember how many steps they told us we encountered, but it was a lot, so then we headed to Wise's Winery for a terrific lunch. The food wasn't innovative but it was done very well indeed, and the outlook over the vines and Geographe Bay was memorable.

Margaret River region

So many wineries, so little time! In fact, the choice of which wineries to visit is made easier by factoring in additional requirements: for the morning visit, there has to be a cafe to provide coffee, and for the early afternoon visit, lunch has to be available. On this basis, we visited Hayshed for a tasting plus coffee, and Cullen for a lunch platter and a little more wine. Hayshed excelled: although we limited ourselves to the reds, there was quite a range and we even tasted their $70 offering! And coffee in the stylish cafe rounded the morning off nicely.

We then headed to Driftwood, but didn't go inside when we saw a sign saying that the restaurant was closed “until further notice”. Pity, because I would have liked to replace the Driftwood cap (obtained some years ago) that I inadvertently left behind in Xian. But it was not to be. So we headed down the road to Cullen, where we had a nice up-market platter for lunch. Cullen are very much into the organic/biodynamic scene; all very commendable, but when plantings are said to be influenced by the zodiac and account is taken of which way the water swirls, I wonder if things are being taken just a little too seriously.

Following this, we checked out Margaret River itself, for a quick look around and a coffee. I can't say that I find this town particularly attractive as it's primarily a service centre.

After freshening up we headed into Busselton for dinner,and ended up eating Indian (which was fine). After dinner we walked part of the way out along the 1.7 km Busselton jetty, taking care not to become entangled in any of the lines being held by the many fishermen.

Mothers' Day

We had a lovely Mothers' Day lunch at the College Lawn in Greville St Prahran.    The food was good, the little extras the venue provided to mark the day were a nice touch, the atmosphere and service couldn't be faulted  and of course the company was great.  We must remember this place
- if only the parking wasn't such a pain!

We're now off to Western Australia for a week, so I'll do my best to post some reports from the West.

St George's Day

In the Orthodox (Julian) calendar, last Tuesday was 23 April  and the feast of St. George, the fabled dragonslayer and patron saint of many Serbs.

According to the legend, St George came upon a kingdom beset by a foul, plague-breathing dragon. To appease the dragon, they began to give it a daily sacrifice of livestock, and later even their children. When the saint came along and killed the dragon, the grateful citizens embraced Christianity.

In Serbian folklore, the feast of St George is the beginning of hayduk season - guerrilla resistance to Ottoman overlords that had conquered Serb lands in the 15th century. The season traditionally ended on the feast of Saint Demetrius (Mitrovdan), 26 October.

 
We attended Nata's slava, as St George is her family's saint.   As usual, there was lots to eact and drink.   A lot of self-restraint was needed!

  

Paringa Estate

We had Sunday lunch at Paringa Estate, and were impressed.  The food was excellent, being thoughtfully conceived and well-presented (the web-site says, " exciting and imaginative" and, yes, I'd agree with that).  The staff, too, were knowledgeable and explained each dish when it arrived.   The restaurant has a chef's hat.  I guess I can see the basis for that, as it has the seemingly obligatory "trendy" ingredients, for example, my snapper came with "beach herbs".   However, there weren't too many ingredients in this category!

Scallop carpaccio

The winery's geese

We drank Paringa wines;  not cheap, but very acceptable.  Of course, on the Mornington Peninsula, you expect a good outlook, and in this respect Paringa is right up there, even if the world outside was cold and showery.