Oakdene Winery Restaurant

I can't believe my luck in eating in another good restaurant in regional Victoria again!

This time, it is the Oakdene Winery Restaurant in Geelong. It is helmed by Executive Chef Marty Chichester who also conducts Master Classes on Monday evenings.

My friend and I ordered the 2 course lunch ($55), with an eye for the dessert if we still have room for it (add another $10 per person). My Eye Fillet Carpaccio that was accompanied by Crispy Potato,
Soft Egg Gribiche, Radish & Watercress Salad, Horseradish Snow was a sublime fusion of flavours and textures. The white fluffy topping is the "Horseradish Snow ". It was so refreshing!

My main was a Pan Roasted Barramundi with Middle Eastern Coleslaw, Cumin Charred Zucchini,
Green Harissa & Mustard Seed Vinaigrette.

Oh, the Barramundi skin was fried to crisp perfection while the flesh was tender and juicy.

Any more room for dessert? No. But yes! We don't do justice to ourselves if we don't see and taste how Chef Marty applies his creativity to desserts. And the best way to do it is to order the tasting plate made up of the Lemon Meringue Gateaux, Banana, Toffee & Espresso Cream Pie,Valrhona Chocolate Delice, strawberry and mango sorbets and the Summer Peach, Kiwi & Passion Fruit Salad (add $5 supplement per person for tasting plate).

Truly, one feels that one can die and go to heaven now.

We walked out of the restaurant stuffed to our nose, but who's complaining? We will be back soon for more.

Oakdene Restaurant is only 1 hour and 10 mins' drive from Point Cook.

255 Grubb Road ,Wallington, Victoria 3221, Australia
Phone 03 5255 1255

Autumn in Victoria

The colours of autumn always mesmerise me.  While living in Perth, I didn't get much autumn scenery.
Since moving to Melbourne, I always wanted to see autumn in its glory.  Last year, I missed it completely as I spent all my daylight hours in office. I drove to office in the dark and when I got home, it was dark, again.  This year, I said to myself that I have to catch some glimpses of the autumn colours before it is gone again.

Last weekend, that desire was fulfilled in town of Kyneton, slightly over an hour's drive from Point Cook. (Living in the west saves us at least 30 mins on the drive.) The place was lined with boulevards of big trees with leaves shimmering like gold under the afternoon sun. It also has a botanical garden and a racecourse.  I chanced upon the racecourse as I drove past it. Oh, my heart leapt with joy - the road leading into the racecourse is like a grand entrance adorned with nature's golden canopy.

It is a nice place for a picnic too.

I have been told that Bright has got the most beautiful autumn scenery. But it takes more than 4 hours to get there and accommodation could be hard to book.  So, I am very pleased with my discovery in Kyneton.

It is a chic country town with two hatted restaurants - Royal George Hotel and Annie Smither's Bistro. I had an amazing lunch at Royal George.  As they were promoting the Harvest Festival, there was a special offer of two-course lunch for $35.  It was a very sincere offer. You get to pick from the main menu but the portion size is smaller. I had the tuna entree and the wagyu beef main. I ordered a side of foie gras pate for $8 to go with the beef. The combination was sublime.

Beautiful scenery and soulful food. I am satisfied.

More Lovewesters

Since starting this blog, I have found myself discovering more and more about the West and our fellow residents in the West who are contributing to better living in this beloved region.

Last week, I chanced upon a blog entitled "Beautiful Altona" by Anthony Ang who is a fellow Singaporean.  If you are looking for anything to do with Altona, its market, its beach, etc and heaps more interesting stuff about Victoria, check out the blog.  He even researched the possibility of earthquake and volcanic history in Melbourne. His blog is very informative and I think he has incidentally made himself a great ambassador for Singapore too.

There is also another blog, Footscray Foodblog, by Lauren aka Ms Baklover who "loves Melbourne's maligned western suburbs and want to reveal them as the treasure trove they really are".  Her Footscray Food Blog has been selected to be archived in perpetuity by the National Library of Australia's web archive,Pandora . The archive "aims to build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications to ensure that Australians have access to their documentary heritage now and in the future". How awesome is that!!!

The discoveries are so encouraging! I am sure the Western Suburbians will be proud to learn that there are so many hidden treasures in the West.

Farm Fresh Jumbo Eggs

Eggs are so humble, so simple, so plentiful that we often take them for granted.
If I have to live on $2 per day, I will definitely include eggs in that budget.

Imagine fried rice without eggs? Big brekkie without eggs? Cake without eggs? Mayonnaise without eggs? Not for me.

Eggs are such comfort food. When I am weary and hungry, two fried eggs with a dash of light soya sauce and white pepper, served with some piping hot white rice, would be enough to lift my spirit.

While staying home with my post-surgery recuperation, a friend brought me a tray of farm fresh jumbo eggs. The emphasis is FRESH, very fresh.  She stressed that these eggs are best eaten soft-boiled. Since I love eggs and know eggs pretty well, I cracked one open. WOW, double egg yolks! This means that the jumbo eggs are from young chooks and packed with nutrients. Unfortunately, I was so excited with the double yolks that I fried them immediately and did not remember to take a picture of them.
Here is a picture of the jumbo eggs in the box.  See the nice colour and smooth shell? Each of them is 85g.

Price : $3.80 for a dozen. $9 for 30.

Where to buy them:
Wyndham Cache
1 K Ave, Werribee South
VIC 3030
http://www.wyndhamcache.com.au/
Tel: 03 97421526

Best Pho in Footscray

Footscray is supposedly the Capital of the West.

When I first mentioned Footscray to a friend from the eastern suburbs, he was shaking his head and said that it was too dangerous a place to venture into.  Heroin you know.

I am glad I did not heed his advice and went anyway. Today, this friend is a frequent Footscray patron after I introduced him and his family to the yummy food there.

Me and my two children started our Footscray adventure with a project. The terms of reference was to try out three dishes and one drink in as many Vietnamese restaurants in the main shopping area as possible within one month. These are a bowl of rare beef pho, a plate of pork chop and combination rice, a bowl of vermicelli and a jackfruit smoothie. We started with Saigo Pho along Nicholson and ended with Pho Chu The along Hopkins Street.

And our verdict?

Best Pho - Pho Hung Vuong, No. 128 Hopkins Street and Pho Chu The, 92 Hopkins Street
Best Pork Chop and Combination - Hao Phong, No, 136, Hopkins Street
Best Jackfruit Smoothie - Hao Phong and Saigon Pho, 73 Nicholson Street
Vermicelli - no conclusion

While searching for some pho pictures on the web, I chanced upon a foodie blog by Nicolas Tan of Melbourne. He also recommended "128" for pho (Pho Hung Vuong).  Below is a picture of the pho from "128". I like to call Pho Hung Vuong simply "128" as it is easy to remember and save me the challenge of getting the Vietnamese pronunciation right.

 "128" is a very good start as you will likely feel comfortable there. They have menus to read and offer more varieties such as spring rolls and rice rolls. But if you just want a bowl of hot and flavourful pho, you really should drop by "92" (Chu The). It is a pure pho place - offering both chicken and beef pho only.  For $7.50, I get a fully-satisfying bowl of pho and a flask of hot tea.  The seating is basic and the service quick.  Most of the customers are viets - which means that it is loved by its own. They also have another outlet in Richmond which was recommended by the Age's GW last Saturday.

In some later post, we shall talk desserts after pho :)

Aldi Goodies

Having moved here from Perth, I did not know about the Aldi brand. The first venture into the Aldi at Point Cook was a completely disorienting experience - goods were left in cartons instead of being neatly stacked on shelves like those in Coles and Woolies, brands were unrecognisable. I left it and never returned. That is, until early this year.

I was at the Aust Post and Aldi was just around the corner. Why not check it out? After all, I had time to kill.

And this time, I discovered some great stuff - lilies and roses at $4.99 per bunch, tripled washed and ready to eat salad leaves at $1.99 per 100g (please note that the salad leaves that are selling for slight over $2.00 in coles have to be washed before consumption), whole chicken at $3.99 per kg,  lebanese cucumbers at $2.98 per kg, and so on.  These are items of which brand name did not matter.  I happily grabbed a trolley and started shopping. Since that day, I became an Aldi regular. And, a braver one, after gaining more confidence in their products.  Recently, my son fell in love with their organic milk ($1.99 for 1L) that tasted very creamy and full of milky flavour. I love their organic raisins which are an excellent addition to my bircher muesli ; they are not sticky with sugar coating unlike those in other supermarkets.

Every week, I would check the Coles and Aldi catalogues that come into the mail box.  For those items that are on special in Coles during that week, I will buy from Coles while the other groceries will be bought from Aldi.  I do like Woolies for its meats but have to forget Woolies since moving here as it is 4km away in Werribee and the savings may not cover my petrol unless there are heaps of goodies on sale. Since my family eats in most of the weekdays, we do buy a fair bit, and my savings per week is about $20. Well, $20 can buy a lot more!

If you are like the disoriented me on the first visit, why not give it a second chance? We all need more of the equivalent of Aldi's to stretch our dollar further.  When you do go, bring your own shopping bag and cooler bag. It does not provide plastic bags. Also, bring cash or pay by EFTPOS. There will be a surcharge on credit card.  Once you start becoming more familiar with the Aldi's layout, you will discover more and more gems. Best time to go is late morning when the shelves are filled with fresh stock. Worst time is after 3pm. By then, the stock is already low or sold out for some items.

Enjoy!