Thursday, October 31, 2024

[Travel Tasmania] Bruny Island - Half Day Exploration in Sniffing Out the Elusive local Whisky, Slurping Up Fresh Oysters, Enjoying Cheeses with Craft Beer and Honeylicious Treat

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We set off leisurely close to 9am to catch the ferry to Bruny Island. Lucky us as the wait for the ferry was relatively short. Hmm, there's a washroom near the smallish cafe at the ferry wait area but be quick as not to miss the queue! Hence got the e-ticket earlier and one just drives up to the queue. Need to show the e-ticket at the gantry. The ferry to Bruny Island was smaller than the one to Queenscliff.

Shermaine looking on with curiosity

peace at sea

Frankly speaking, I didn't do any research on Bruny Island on the places to visit except to view Chonnyday YT video on what they did there. Hehe.

So I went with the flow and first stop once we reached there, was Bruny Island House of Whisky. Can't imagine we start drinking this early in the morning, but here we were. At 10am. Haha.


Bruny Island House of Whisky


let's visit!


cosy classy environment

drinks of choice

feel free to look around

wine is available too

which tasting menu to choose?

We wandered freely on-premise and staff was friendly but not intrusive. Ask your questions and he will share with you freely. As we were the only visitors that early in the morning, he greeted us with a smile and offered us adequate time to decide on what we would like to do at the shop.

Eventually, we decided on the AUD55 tasting set for 3 selected whisky.

3 selection - White Label Sherry, Spellbound Wauss Harbour Bourbon Cask, Overeem Bourbon


Staff was more than happy to share his knowledge if you're interested. Being a whisky noob, I asked him if there's any particular sequence in enjoying the whisky flight. He shared his thoughts and seemed like it is pretty much up to individual preferences.

I learnt alot from the staff that day. He shared snippets on the 4 of the oldest distilleries in Tasmania, the whisky that they produced. He even voluntarily brought out bottles stored high up on the shelves for me to take a look.  

Well known distilleries in Tasmania includes Hellyer's Road, Lark, Sullivan's Cove, Overeem, Old Kempton. 

March 2021 release edition - sold out

raw, unfinished product before becoming whisky

there's some interesting stories here



Loved the time spent at this first spot and hearing all the stories from the staff there. Very interesting and educational. Thank you! 

We left for the next destination once the next group of visitors arrived.



Bruny Island House of Whisky

Address: 360 Lennon Rd, North Bruny TAS 7150, Australia

Websitehttp://www.tasmanianhouseofwhisky.com.au/

Business Hours:

Daily 10 am–5 pm








Get Shucked



It wasn't a good idea to drink on fairly empty tummies, so off we went to the next spot to fill up our tummies. It was pretty nearby so we reached within minutes.

strolling in


the question was not on which to get, but how many



Yes, one of the must do at Bruny Island? Eating oysters. The place was comfortably spacious as it was less busy that day. We went up to the counter, placed our orders and brought back drinks or prepacked stuffs to our table while staff prepped the oysters.

We only got a dozen natural, and half a dozen Kilpatrick. Am going to enjoy mine with a glass of Chardonnay. 

Natural Oysters (12) @AUD29


Devil's Corner Chardonnay @AUD10


The fresh oysters were plump, not too briny and tasted good. Plus, I was hungry. 

closer view



The Kilpatrick version needed quite some time before it arrives. An additional 15-20 minutes if not wrong. There's a sign to inform visitors on their menu pertaining to the longer time required for cooked food. So not an issue. Meanwhile, we placed additional order for fries to try try.

view from our table

Oyster Kilpatrick @AUD19


Oyster Kilpatrick has bacon and worchestershire sauce. Served piping hot, so be careful! While it was tasty, the oysters had shriveled up from the baking. Give me more of the natural ones! No, we didn't get more as we will be visiting the cheese and breadshop after strolling around.


have a  bite


Tracy went all ninja and bought a tub of chili lime salmon pate. Foie gras pate, liver pate, pork pate and for the first time, having salmon pate.



scoop it and try it


What were we going to eat the salmon pate with? Aint got no bread with us. Then, aha! Just use the fries to scoop it up. It was good. Super good!

The chips were in the form of shoestring fries style and tasted good on its own. Salted of course and served hot. It was an elevated experience to have the chips with salmon pate. Yummy!

Chips @AUD8



Get Shucked


Address: Lease 204, 1735 Bruny Island Main Road, Great Bay, North Bruny TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:

Daily: 9:30 am–4:30 pm








Bruny Island Cheese Company


Ok, it was now closer to lunch time. Wait, what... after all the whisky, oysters and it was only noon? Keke, we're fast!

car parked and in the mood for some cheese, beer and bread


The place has dining tables on-premise and visitors could see which table or section they would like to be seated, go inside the cheese shop to place order and there's a bar counter to order up some beer or ginger ale. Adjacent to this area, was the cottage/area where they make the cheeses.






One could get small taste of the cheeses first, order ala-carte or order to dine-in, or do all of the above!

Beer Paddle (bottom to top) - Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay Pale Ale, Oxymoron, Whey Stout


The Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay Pale Ale were both refreshing and thirst quenching. Oxymoron was interesting but after some months had passed, I can't really remember how it tasted. But somehow I ended up with the entire glass of whey stout since Ivan preferred the more refreshing ones. Strong flavours yet with hint of sweetness.

cheese, bread platter with added wallaby meat


The cheeses served for the platter, if I still remember correctly were C2, George and O.D.O. Loved the bread though the crumbs would be everywhere. For cheeses, all were nice. O.D.O (One Day Old) was soft and pliant to spread on the bread. Topped it with wallaby meat which, hmm does sound exotic. No funky taste and just lean meat. 

wallaby meat



I love C2 as it had a stronger taste initially but after a while, both George and C2 tasted pretty similar.

O.D.O and pickles

George


C2


One question though, do you or do you not eat the cheese rind?


The relishes were interesting as well. There's one that tasted like pickles that one usually eat with porridge. One that tasted a tad like curry. Very interesting to jazz up the experience.


Bruny Island Cheese Company


Address: 1807 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:
Daily: 10 am–4 pm








Let's go walk walk and do some sightseeing after this.





Bruny Island Lighthouse

zoom-in view


wild chooks


Going to the public washroom at the place near the lighthouse was an adventure on its own. The toilet was connected to a seemingly endless hole into the ground. Going back into the nature.




Bruny Island Honey






Didn't have much time as we have a ferry to catch to go back to Hobart. So, grabbed a small tub of ice-cream to try. It was lovely. The shop has a house-dog and he came to sit beside us.

leatherwood honey ice-cream @AUD6

peekaboo


All in all, it was a fruitful trip enjoyed with beautiful people. Thank you Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Shermaine for being in this journey!


Bruny Island Honey


Address: 2184 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:
Daily: 9 am–4:30 pm





Saturday, October 26, 2024

[Travel Tasmania] Room For A Pony @ Hobart

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We flew from Melbourne Airport to Hobart and this is marks my first time in Tasmania! WoOooHoOoo! Thanks to the meticulous planning by the boys, we hopped onto our rental and off we went in search for lunch.

Decided to go somewhere nearby our would be accommodation for the night.

going to town




Our lunch was at a place called "Room For A Pony". Staff said don't quote her but once upon a time, indeed there was a stable for pony but now, there's none.

The restaurant/cafe looked pretty cosy from across the road, with beautiful lawn where one could feel the breeze and the bright sun. Alfresco dining is available and there were two tables where guests enjoyed their lunch outdoors.

We? Hiding inside the airconditioned place, of course. Hahahaa.



bright and sunny


We decided to go for a couple of pizzas and I thought we would be doing two. Well, I thought wrong. How could this foodie gang stop at just 2 mains? Ended up with one appetiser and three pizzas for the 5 of us.

Grilled Halloumi and Tzatziki @AUD23




Napoletana @AUD25


Eggplant Siciliana @AUD30


Capricciosa @AUD32


The size of the pizza was definitely pretty huge for us. Keke, legendary again! The grilled halloumi was tasty and refreshing with the tzatziki but again, it was a huge plate.

For pizzas, one can't be too dainty when eating this. Fork and knife, if you wish but for casual dining, I'd grabbed one with hands. Easier.

can't fit onto my palm


Napoletana flavours were strong especially if you bit onto the anchovies or black olives. I like it but I think this need to be paired with beer or cider. Eggplant Siciliana was interesting as I never had eggplant on my pizza before. Smokey flavours with occasional slight bitterness and overall, very filling. With some doesn't like olives, some don't like eggplant, the crowd favourite unsurprisingly went to Capricciosa, for the ingredients on the pizza were something that we commonly choose back home.

thin crust, loaded with ingredients, packed with flavours



when in Tassie, drink apple juice


So, did we finish all the food? Answer was no. We packed the leftovers pizza to take back for dinner. Staff was really nice and friendly. It was lovely talking to you!



Room For A Pony


Address: 338 Elizabeth St, North Hobart TAS 7000, Australia
Contact: +61362310508
Business Hours:
Mon-Fri: 7 am–9 pm
Sat: 8 am–10 pm
Sun: Sunday, 8 am–9 pm





Saturday, October 19, 2024

[Travel Melbourne] State Library Victoria, Lunch at Pho Thin and Gelato at Piccolina

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steps leading to State Library Victoria


gull






Went to eat grab pho after the visit to State Library.

 

signage

lunch hour

small spaces

The shop was busy as it was lunch hour and we waited for about 15 mins for a table. Scan the QR code to order. I got myself the fatty brisket while Hence got the non-fatty version. 

The brisket slices retained quite a bit of chew and the soup was certainly comforting on a cold day. The noodles were softer than expected and pretty similar to hor fun.

fatty brisket @AUD16.50

softer than expected

fatty, indeed

plenty of greens

There's still water from the dispenser, and cutleries self-service from the counter.

fried donut (cute looking doughstick) 

pickled garlic slices

Pho Tin has another shop opposite the one that we dined in.




Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc MELBOURNE

Address: Shop 3/399 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Websitehttps://www.foodbooking.com/ordering/restaurant/menu?restaurant_uid=3336ba80-9783-40f2-977a-d49fbb815e7d

Business Hours:

Daily: 10:30 am–8:30 pm



We saw the gelato shop during the daytime but only Ivan had space in his stomach for some. Then, we returned at night for some more!

time for some sweets

guess which flavour I got

stracciatella and pistachio (double)


Staff said I made a good choice when I wanted the pistachio and stracciatella. Didn't know what's a stracciatella and thought it could be some sort of cheese  but it turned out to be vanilla with some choco bits in it. The gelato was really good and I enjoyed it. Double scoop was a good value too!


Piccolina Gelateria

Address: 43 Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Websitehttps://www.piccolinagelateria.com.au/shop

Business Hours:

Daily: 12–11 pm



Sunday, October 13, 2024

[Travel Melbourne] Meatmaiden @ Little Collins Street

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We were in the mood for a little bit of steak and one that doesn't requires us to cook it ourselves. Yeah, finally visiting a steakhouse during this Melbourne trip, yay!

It was an impromptu decision and on the very first evening of our Melbourne trip. Lucky us, Salina helped to secure a reservation to the restaurant on super short notice.

Its website stated "Meatmaiden is an underground steakhouse and cocktail bar in the heart of Melbourne where the classics are reimagined, reinterpreted and twisted."

entrance

going underground

Indeed, once we entered the building, we needed to get down the stairs to the restaurant. Somewhat exuding the dark, industrial decor yet classy.

booth seats

The place was bustling on a Saturday evening. We opted for an early dinner at 5pm otherwise the next seating was at 8pm.

menu


Selected a couple of appetisers, and two mains to share amongst the 6 of us as we had late lunch earlier at 2+pm. Staff was helpful with their recommendations as well. For the mains, we enquired about their specials (not in the menu) and Chef shared that we could opt for the Mayura Station Wagyu (full-blood wagyu) 600gm or 1kg as they have that on our day of visit. Ooh, let's try!

I needed to Google to find out more pertaining to the difference between full blood and purebred cattle. Full blood often refers to cattle that are 100% in breed purity. Purebred usually refers to cattle that are bred up fairly close to fullblood (~> 93.75%), but have the genetics of another breed.


Start


Grilled Bread



Grilled Bread, Cowboy Butter @AUD12

Oh my goodness gracious! I am impressed by the grilled bread. So so tasty with its sweet caramelized outer layer and fluffy-chewy bread, and topped with saoury-salty cowboy butter. Must try. Thank you Chef for sending these to our table.


Grilled Octopus


Charred Octopus @AUD26

Octopus was tender and paired well with the potato aioli. 


Roasted Bone Marrow


Roasted Bone Marrow @AUD24

Wow, I liked the bone marrow at Meatmaiden. More flavorful than any other bone marrows that I had in the past. Lovely combination with the raclete custard. Rich and delightful.


Burnt Ends


Burnt Ends @AUD23

Hmm, am not a fan of burnts ends as the ones that I had in the past, tend to be overly seasoned. The version here was strongly flavoured but not overly so. 


Chopped Wagyu Tartare


crisps

Chopped Wagyu Tartare @AUD24

The chopped wagyu tartare was by far, had the most interesting appearance amongst all the dishes served, with that cloak of green on-top of it. Hehe, this sure was a conversation piece. Mix it well and place a some tartare onto the crisps and enjoy. I liked the tartare with its Asian influenced flavours, without the crisps though. So good.

Again, thanks to Chef Jesse for sending the wagyu tartare over to our table for us to try!


Drinks


There's plenty of selection in their drinks menu, but I opted for red wine to complement the steak later.


Malbec, France @AUD17

Thank you the to staff who poured generously into the glass, cheers!


Mains

Smoked Short Ribs



Smoked Short Ribs @AUD54


The smoked short ribs was fork tender yet retained a nice chew for its meat. Loved the pickled cucumber ribbon on its side.


Mayura Station Wagyu Bone-In Ribeye Steak


Mayura Station Bone-In Ribeye (600 gm)


sauces: garlic & thyme jus, beef fat bernaise, three pepper sauce and wild mushroom


After having a taste, this has quickly became my current favourite steak of all-times! Well seasoned, and flavourful on its own. Paired with beef fat bearnaise for that additional oomph! Fantastic.

medium rare




Sides

Lobster Mac & Cheese


Lobster Mac & Cheese @AUD40


First time seeing, mac & cheese served with bisque.

mandatory pour-shot for the bisque


It was an interesting experience to eat the mac & cheese with the bisque.


All in all, it was an enjoyable experience at Meatmaiden where the flavours are very pronounced, and the staff were pretty good in keeping the guests well taken care of. So kudos, and thank you to the team!

Special thanks to Salina who introduced the place to us, and Gan and Jesse who made time to chit chat a bit with us.

Foodie experience with Ivan, Hence, Tracy, Salina and Shermaine. Thank you everyone as we managed to try quite a bit of things here! Legends.


Meatmaiden

Address: 195 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Websitehttps://meatmaiden.com.au

Contact: +61390787747

Business Hours:

Sun - Mon: Closed

Tue: Tuesday, 5–9:30 pm

Wed - Thu: 12–2:30 pm, 5–9:30 pm

Fri: Friday, 12–2:30 pm, 5–10 pm

Sat: Saturday, 5–10 pm




 
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