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

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

Website: http://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

[Travel Tasmania] Lobster Shack Tasmania @ Bicheno

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

Website: http://www.lobstershacktasmania.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11 am–7 pm

[Travel Tasmania] Pre-Lunch at The Pondering Frog

This was our pit-stop for some hot food after a short wine tasting at Devil's Corner. Yes, seven early eight early at 10+am, me and Tracy sipped Tasmanian wine and now, we need to refuel our tummies.

quaint cafe

The whole place gives out a childhood vibes. Fun and unserious, possibly.

pondering about life, perhaps?

pretty extensive

The cafe was fairly busy as it was near lunch time, though still a tad early. Browsed the menu and looked like they had plenty of options and also Asian food like curry noodles (or was it laksa), and rice dishes similar to those one would find at zichar stalls (Asian stir-fry). 

Salt and Pepper Wings @AUD12

drumlets or winglets for you?

I thought salt & pepper would be 'dryer' version but eventually through out the trip, it seemed to be heavy on garlic and has sauce/glaze.

We were hungry, so ordered rice dishes to share.

Black Bean Beef @AUD20

Honey Chicken @AUD22

Rice was well cooked and the stir-fry tasty. Honey chicken had the crispiest shell and although it could be less sweet, overall very likeable. Black bean sauce was not too salty and lovely to have broccoli and all the vege in that dish.

so cute, Ivan's order

One thing that I wanted to get next at this place, was the ice-cream.

what is your pick?

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Coated @AUD7.50

It was interesting to see that the ice-cream cone were all ready packed and staff would just need to take it out from the freezer. Oh, the regular cone was huge!

hurry hurry before it melts

It was a nice meal at a nice place. Come say hi to the owner or the staff. Friendly people.

The Pondering Frog

Address: 16494 Tasman Hwy, Bicheno TAS 7215, Australia

Website: http://ponderingfrog.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily: 8 am–7 pm

[Travel Tasmania] Finding Tasmanian Devils at Unzoo, Colourful Tessellated Pavement and Lunch at Lufra Bistro

We visited the Unzoo after breakfast to see some Tasmanian Devils irl and we only had an hour or two to spare before heading towards the next destination. The tickets can be booked online but we just dropped by at around 10am and got the tickets on the spot. We paid AUD55 per pax.

Welcome to Unzoo

excited to meet the Tasmanian Devils

what's an Unzoo?

let's explore!

"An Unzoo would be a reversal of the traditional concept of a zoo."

It is a novel concept and happy to have the opportunity to experience for myself, the Unzoo in Tasmania. The lady at the counter (perhaps a member of the Hamilton family?) was really nice and her grandson was accompanying her that day. He's an adorable cutie at 4 years old.

We were just in-time for the guided tour and were informed we should still be in-time to catch Nathan (guide) for the Tasmanian Devil presentation. Ahh, so we hurried and indeed, we found Nathan talking about Tasmanian Devils with a small group of visitors.

wonder, who's looking at whom

Tasmanian Devils

Was surprised to see the Tasmanian Devils being so active in the day, as these are supposed to be nocturnal.

waddling along, everybody

hi there!

Next, we helped Nathan to feed the Kangaroos/Wallabies.

where are they?

ah, it's brunch time

up-close and personal

We'd scoop a handful of feed from the buckets that Nathan was carrying and head on towards the kangaroos/wallabies sunbathing in their small circles.

We could pet the them but do avoid places that they disliked to be touched. Ask Nathan, if unsure!

Davies Waxflower (exceedingly rare)

Nathan would also introduce some of the flora/fauna that we met along the way and it feels amazing being able to view it in real life.

look who we found

Then, it was lunch time for the Tasmanian Devils so we walked with Nathan to his next stop.

separated by just a glass barrier

Do observe the safety precautions as the Tasmanian Devils are carnivorous marsupial and feeding time means they are hungry!

 

The Tasmanian Devils feeds on wallabies carcasses and boy, we could hear the teeth crunching on the small bones of their feed. 

Next up, we were brought to Birds of the Bush presentation. It was now noon time and the sun was super hot.

Nathan, with a bottle of nectar for the birds

hopefully, they will come

So we waited after Nathan rang the little bell for the birds to come for a sweet drink. And we waited some more while Nathan shares more stories and we waited but all the birds decided that today was not the day. Hahaha, it was still a fun experience and Nathan was very entertaining, very helpful and one could just ask about anything to him.

support the conservation program

We enjoyed the visit, the interactions and the experience. Do support and visit if you're in Tasmania!

Tasmanian Devil Unzoo

Address: 5990 Arthur Hwy, Taranna TAS 7180, Australia

Website: https://tasmaniandevilunzoo.com.au/

Contact: +61362503230

Business Hours:

Daily: Saturday, 9 am–5:30 pm

Blow Hole

came across a fishing place

so many fishies to catch

mesmerized by the view

Next stop, Tessellated Pavement. According to Wiki, a tessellated pavement is a relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into polygons by fractures, frequently systematic joints, within the rock. It got its name because the fractures into polygonal blocks that resemble tiles of a mosaic floor, or tessellations. Of course, I didn't research a thing until after the visit... now you know.

Tessellated Pavement

One could enjoy the view from the top or walk a bit to the front where there are steps leading down to the pavement for a closer look.

nice view

close up view on the seaweed

enjoying nature

one last look

After we have feasted our eyes, it's time to fill-up our empty tummies. Nearby, was the Lufra Hotel and we decided to have lunch at its bistro.

We were there at about 130pm and were still in-time to order something from their light lunch menu. Staff was nice about it and we were grateful that kitchen was still open for lunch service.

guess what I ordered

But, I was super duper thirsty and opted for an ice coffee. "Would you like to have cream with it?" Staff asked. I didn't think too much of it but said yes.

iced coffee with cream

Wow, I liked that cream with a touch of choco dust. Sweet and cold! Made the iced coffee all the more yummy.

yummy cream

Lufra Seafood Chowder @AUD25

The chowder was thick and warm. Lovely with the toasted crisp pita.

Chicken Schnitzel @AUD30

let's eat

Ivan ordered the Chicken Schnitzel and I stole some of the salad to eat. Wow, am impressed. Chopped vegetable bits with a light flavourful tangy dressing. Good.

Steak Sandwich @AUD20

Lamburger @AUD20

Shermaine had the steak sandwich while I opted for the Lamburger. Yeah, let's try something new! The burger / sandwich came with the lot which means, a side of fries/chips.

The Lamburger was juicy and tender, with a tad of gamey. There's a fried egg, caramelized onions, slice of tomato, lettuce and beetroot.

Staff was  nice to let us finish our lunch at our own pace while they've already break for a rest after lunch service. Thank you!

Lufra Bistro

Address: 380 Pirates Bay Dr, Eaglehawk Neck TAS 7179, Australia

Website: https://www.lufrahotel.com/

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 10 am–2 pm, 5:30–7 pm

Sat - Sun: 10 am–5 pm, 5:30–8 pm