Saturday, December 21, 2024

[Travel Tasmania] Dinner at Canton Restaurant 廣州飯店 @ Launceston

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We were in the mood for some old school Cantonese food, so I think we Googled and Canton came up in the search with rating of 4 and above, so off we went to try since we were nearby. Established in 1961, Canton Restaurant is a family-run business now in its third-generation.

It was a Saturday evening and we went at 530pm. Reason being, we weren't too sure about the weekend crowd.

restaurant entrance

The restaurant was fairly empty at that time since dinner service only began at 5pm. 

interior

menu

Similar to Lingnan, Canton's menu was also in a red leather cover with that old skool vibes. 

let's try some traditional flavours

As usual, we ordered up a feast for the 5 of us with each selecting their choice from the menu. Ivan and Tracy started with soup. Tasted a spoonful of Tracy's hot and sour soup, and it was nice. Not really spicy spicy but good balance of vinegary sourness.

Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣湯 @AUD11 (individual portion)

Egg Flower & Tofu Soup 豆腐蛋花汤 @AUD10 (individual portion)

Staff was nice and tried her best to answer to all our queries regarding the menu. And she made like 2 trips to the kitchen to clarify with the Chef on the availability of the fish for the day. Thanks!

Beef in Satay Sauce 沙爹牛肉 @AUD30.50

tender beef slices

I was always amused when Tracy tries to introduce the satay-sauce Cantonese dishes just to compare how it taste like as we varied it from one place to another. I think my Malaysian mind can't wrap around the Hong Kong styled-satay sauce.

The vegetables available on that day was rather limited in choice, so we ended up with crunchy long beans stir fried with garlic. Tasty!

Stir Fried Long Beans @AUD23

Then, there was a house special dish that's probably suited for the lone diner who would want to sample more things in smaller quantity. This special consist of cashew nuts chicken, fried rice and sweet and sour pork.

House Special 三合一 @AUD31.50

sweet and sour pork 咕嚕肉

The cashew chicken looked very pale in colour but actually tasted pretty good. But my favourite was the sweet and sour pork. Won't mind ordering the full portion of this! Fried rice was so-so.

Salted Fish Tofu @AUD29

The tofu with salted fish dish here was milder than expected. Flavourful and easy to eat, even without rice.

Steamed Snapper (~800gms) 清蒸整鱼 @AUD33.50


The healthier choice to go with steamed fish. The soy sauce flavour was on-point but unfortunately the fish was over-steamed.

The best well balanced meat dish for the night, was the steamed duck with mushrooms. Lovely herbal flavours and duck meat was tender. Skin was good. Hehe.

Steamed Duck (half) & Chinese Mushrooms 陳皮冬菇扒鴨 @AUD39

thank you lovely staff for helping to debone

For dessert, Hence ordered the 'fried ice-cream'. Have you ever tried one before? It was really popular in Chinese restaurants back in the 80s-90s, I believe.

Fried Ice Cream @AUD10

They also have Singapore Rice Noodles 星州炒米 but I can't bring myself to order a plate for that price... Haha, maybe some other day.

Overall, this place seemed to be popular amongst locals. I loved it when the restaurant welcomes even solo-diner and the left-over food can be prepared for take-aways as well.

Special thanks to the staff who took care of our table that night, lovely girl.


Canton Restaurant

Address: 203 Charles St, Launceston TAS 7250, Australia

Websitehttp://www.cantonrestaurant.com.au/

Contact: +61363319448

Business Hours:

Closed on Mon.

Tue - Thu: [refer to restaurant's website for updates]

Fri: 12–2 pm, 5–10 pm

Sat: Saturday, 5–10 pm

Sun: Saturday, 5–9 pm

Saturday, December 14, 2024

[Travel Tasmania] A Sweet Visit to Australian Honey Products

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Hence and Tracy brought us here to understand more on the various types of Tasmanian honey and it's rather cool to be able drop by for a visit as part of our 2024 road trip!

a good sign


car parked, and ready to be introduced to a world of honey


entering a world of honey~

We had the opportunity to meet Mr Lindsay Bourke (Managing Director) and Ms Yeonsoon Bourke (Director) of Australian Honey Products Pty Ltd, which is a family owned and operated business. Lindsay was rather busy outdoors while Yeonsoon introduced to us to their wonderful products in-store.

honey tasting

have you tried Leatherwood Honey?


Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey has been awarded 12 times the World's Best Leatherwood Honey! Read more about leatherwood honey from beeswiki (cute, right?). Am not a honey connoisseur but one could taste the difference in leatherwood honey with its distinctive flavour and aroma.

If you're around Sheffield vicinity during the weekdays, why not drop by Australian Honey Products for a taste of the exceptional Leatherwood Honey.

Cradle Mountain Organic Honey - Tasmanian Leatherwood



tasty

I had fun tasting the various different types of honey available.

Cradle Mountain Manuka Honey



Kunzea Honey

Kunzea Honey is also another award winning honey, that is produced from the nectar of native Kunzea flower. Tasted lovely and is said to be good for gut health.



Vanilla Honey

all things honey related

Then, there's also herbal tea. Said to be quite popular, so I had a sip as well.

curious about this herbal tea

a little bit of herbal tea

warm water

drink to good gut health!

Ok, to me, I felt like it tasted abit like a herbal-ish apple cider warm version with honey. Hmm.

However, my eyes were drawn to the other types of drinks available that's honey related. Hehe.

(left to right) Tasmanian Honey Mead, Dessert Honey Mead, Mountain Mead Gin, Whisky Honey Mead

cheers!

Then, we had the opportunity to observe Lindsay and his team of beekeepers working outdoors. 



female beekeeper in pink

Hi Lindsay~






Thank you, Yeonsoon and Lindsay for your warm hospitality and for sharing with us more about Australian Honey Products. Take care and hope to see you again!


Australian Honey Products

Address: 121 Main St, Sheffield TAS 7306, Australia

Websitehttps://ozhoney.com.au/

Contact: +61 1300 161 161

Business Hours: 

Closed on Sat - Sun.

Mon - Fri: Monday, 9 am–5 pm


Saturday, December 7, 2024

[Travel Tasmania] Lobster Shack Tasmania @ Bicheno

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This place was just 10 to 15 minutes ride from The Pondering Frog where we had snacked prior to lunch. 


we're here!

the restaurant is down the stairs

 
enjoy the cold outdoors

seaside view

I was freezing, so nope, we didn't sit outdoors. The shop feels like a fast food type of place. Order at the counter and make payment, then the food and drinks will be served to your table. We chose the cold seafood platter that had oysters, half a lobster, and prawns, and placed additional ala-carte orders for fish and chips, salmon and salad.

menu


live crabs in the tank

eyes on the prize


The staff was nice and helpful with her recommendations when we seemed a tad lost when choosing the menu.


water

We didn't wait long for the food to arrive as the cold seafood platter was already pre-packed I believe.

half a lobster, prawns and oysters with 2 dips; tartar and seafood sauce

juicy fresh Tasmanian oysters

firm tiger prawns

The oysters here were clean tasting and not too briny. Thus far, all prawns that I've tasted in Melbourne and Tasmania were pretty firm in texture.

half a lobster

After tasting the cold seafood platter, I'd say skip the rest of the stuffs like prawns and oysters and just order up your lobsters! So sweet and half a lobster is not enough!

Greek Salad @AUD12

The last  bits to arrive was the hot food. We had the Greek salad, crispy skinned salmon and the fish and chips. Hmmm, I think I liked the battered fish and chips more than the salmon.

Tasmanian Gummy Fish and Chips (Battered)

Crispy Skinned Salmon @AUD26

A nice pit stop to enjoy some lobsters.

whole lobster, next time perhaps?



Lobster Shack Tasmania

Address: 40 Waubs Esplanade, Bicheno TAS 7215, Australia

Websitehttp://www.lobstershacktasmania.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11 am–7 pm



 
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