St Leonards, Victoria - Where every day is a Sunday

On the weekend (over Anzac Day) I ventured down to St Leonards in Victoria which is about 30kms from Geelong sitting on Port Philip Bay.

I was only there for one night and I went back to Melbourne on the Friday. But I got a chance to look around.

It's a cute little seaside village with a nice outlook back to Melbourne.With only a population of 2,000 people there are still a few decent cafes and restaurants in the main street along with a supermarket and liquor store. But it is noticeably quiet even on a long weekend. No wonder it is a popular spot for Melbournians.

The Main Street of St Leonards:

I ended up staying at the pub, the St Leonards Hotel and it was pretty good. Besides being one of the few options in St Leonards, having food and booze under the bed always appeals to me... but check out the view!! It must have one of the best beer gardens in this part of Australia.

The rooms were good and had lcd tv's and comfy beds. What you would call the higher end for pub stay accommodation, but obviously this area relies heavily on the tourism trade and needs to offer something nice for those quiet periods outside peak season.

Last photos - the pub food:

All in all a pleasant trip. I will return.

Back to Vietnam: I Love Pho, Crows Nest

I went to Vietnam a few months ago. I did like the food and the people and everything about the country except, once I got back I found it to be so expensive in Sydney it was almost as if I felt like I was being ripped off.

I recall being in Hanoi and being served Pho and a beer for around about a buck! The beer (fresh beer) was pretty average and I must admit I didn't feel great afterwards but the beer was probably made with water from that big lake they have there.

Anyway, I felt like eating pho again as it is a  cold night in Sydney.

We had a bit of a feed tonight at a local restaurant in Crows Nest called I Love Pho. We started with a bit of bun xao for entree (about $12), after that we had Pho Tai ($12.50), which was pretty good. It's now almost 3 month since I got back, but I give it an 8/10. The chilli was delicious and the beer was cold so I can't complain. The few times I have gone out for pho in Sydney since I got back

Also, on a side note, I always recall the stock being really cloudy when it came out and it wasn't in this time around... You could almost see the noodles ;). The 333 beer was $7 (getting beaten up on price again) but it was cold and just what I needed on a Tuesday night.

Check it out here http://ilovepho.com.au/ or at 47 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest.

Some photos:

Traditional Australian Chinese by Sun Hing, Port Macquarie

I visited Port Macquarie again. It was pouring rain and late at night so I had to make a decision quickly. Eateries close early in Port Macquarie most of the time but when it's poor weather they tend to close as soon as they can get everyone out. 

We ended up dining in at a place called Sun Hing. The reviews on the internet paint a pretty poor picture both dining in and takeaway so I was't sure if it was the right choice but I was hungry and time was running out. 

We ordered soup all round, 2 entrees, 3 mains and dessert to share, drinks and tea and all up it came to $120 split between 4 people. It seemed pretty reasonable for the amount of food and drink (no alcohol) we ended up with. We took away about 5 takeaway containers with leftovers. 

The Food

It wasn't as bad as the internet portrayed. The Aussie favourites the sweet and sour pork and honey chicken had more batter than most fish and chips but it was tasty and we seemed to get through that. The prawn toast was nice and the san choy bow was really fresh as the water cress was really crunchy and delicious. I would say that the fried ice cream was pretty coconuty for my liking but I was slowing down by this point after gorging myself for 45 minutes.

In summary I would say that this is one of those situations where someone obviously expected something other than a regional NSW chinese restaurant and has hit tripadvisor or eatability to vent their anger when they got good honest Aussie Chinese. This place didn't portray itself as a five star authentic chinese restaurant (plastic plates and decor a dead giveaway) and from what I understand this place is has been around longer than me. 

The Menu

The Contact Details

Sun Hing Chinese Restaurant
112 William Street, New South Wales NSW 2444, Australia
(02) 6583 5667

DiscGo Charger coming to a venue near you!

There is an article on the Tech Guide website reviewing a new product which is being rolled out around venues in Sydney. I have seen these chargers in action and this is one of those ideas you wish you came up with yourself. With smartphones being faster, brighter or more powerful the battery capacity just isn't keeping up. 

The DiscGo Charger is portable mobile phone charger which allows you to charge your phone whilst your at a pub without being tied to a charging station. Unlike the competition, the DiscGo has innovated the free-to-use device to save people the hassle of sitting next a power socket. I have seen the Charge Bar chargers around the place, and to be honest I don't think anyone feels comfortable in leaving their phone sitting somewhere where it could get taken. In particular these days when your whole life in synced on our phones.

The DiscGo is in quite a few pubs in Sydney and will be rolled out across the country shortly. I hope they see success with this as it would be a good thing for trains, buses and even planes. 

Some more photos here:

On The Hunt For Banh Mi In Chatswood

I wrote a post about the Banh Mi frenzy in Sydney at the moment. Whilst I love a good Banh Mi, I do get stuck in the habit of visiting the same over and over again.

I ventured up to Chatswood for a bit of a poke around. The three I had read about were:
Sweet Delight Bakery, Cherry Lane Bakery and Vina Bakehouse.

I am sure there are others up there and good ones at that, but I chose visited the suburb on a Sunday. Although very busy, there were a lot of food outlets closed. I started the adventure visiting Sweet Delight Bakery.

Sweet Delight Bakery, 224 Victoria Road Chatswood
It is down the end of Victoria Road near Bunnings and the RTA. Whilst it is a traditional Vietnamese bakery, the pork roll didn't have the expected flavours of a Banh Mi as per the Vietnamese definition. The bread was really good as it is a bakery but the combination of the fillings just didn't do it for me. As you can see the lovely lady making the roll was super enthused when it came time to adding carrot. The chilli and sauce didn't have the flavour I was used to and the pork was quite chewy. Prices started at about $4.80 which is at the higher end in my opinion.

Number two, Cherry Lane, Railway Pde was closed. Located opposite the Western side of the train station, I will get back here one day during the week and update.

Vina Bakehouse, L2 Westfield Chatswood

Last one was pretty good. Although it looked a bit pedestrian, I took the plunge not getting my fix at number two. I was expecting a ham salad roll but this ended up being quite good although expensive at $5 each. The chilli was definitely there and the pate was almost overpowering. The bread roll was also crunchy and soft at the same time.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Animals & Internet Humour

Cats have always been a part of internet humour. The people who churn this content out on the internet seemed to move to dogs for a short period. We're back to looking at cats.

There was Menswear Dog:

Let me present to you Cardboard Cat:

Easter in the Hunter Valley

A few times a year I venture an hour and a half north of Sydney with a group of close friends to taste a few local wines.

We were luck enough to have private accommodation this time around which was free and the money we saved on lodging we very easily spent on purchasing wine.

After arranging a small bus to take the 6 of us around for 4 hours I have decided this is a reasonably cheap way to get around. Even on a long weekend it was only $350 for a bus that could easily hold a dozen people. We used Newcastle Limos.

Whilst I don't proclaim to be a wine connoisseur or expert, I do enjoy drinking white, red and sweet wine.

This is how our afternoon played out.Ω

As we've visited alot of the mainstream wineries in the area we wanted to try some new ones. Although the smaller boutique cellar door we always stop in at, Ballabourneen Wines was first on the list.

BALLABOURNEEN WINES

Their catch cry, "great mates making great wines" is perfect fir for the personality of this family run winery. The wine here is always very good but the beautiful people who lovingly take you through the list are genuinely in love of their craft.

You can sit out on the deck overlooking the vines and the property whilst the cute resident dog, Matilda, hops around on 3 legs greeting people as they arrive.

The standout wine we tried was the 2010 Alexander the Great Shiraz. Also the most expensive on the list at $50. Definitely worth visiting for the hospitality coupled with great wine.

The next stop was Gundog Estate.

GUNDOG ESTATE

This was once again somewhere we hadn't visited before. And also another situation where the enthusiasm for their love of wine complemented the great product.

We were seated at a table and went down the list. Whilst the ladys name escapes me, I think she was the only female working at the time. She was so excited to tell us about each wine and what she would or has eaten with it. This was really good fun as we don't take wine as serious as some.

The Muscat was delicious and we were given some chocolate to show us the difference in flavour when matching other types of food with different styles of wine. Obscure but it was an interesting experience.

MCLEISH ESTATE

We chose this venue for a few reasons, firstly this was a dirt road up until only a few years ago so you wouldn't normally go down this way in a hired bus. Also they recently won a bunch of awards including international accolades for their semillon. The cellar door is full of cool sporting memorabilia and trophies from their decorated wines.

This is a great opportunity to try hunter semillon from various years (I think we tried about 6) which gives you a good understanding of how this variant wine changes over time. They served us up some crackers for the white and Easter eggs for the red. The family has been on this property since the early 80's so they share some nice stories with you.

LAMLOCH ESTATE

What a sensational view. This place is one of the really nice places to sit out on the deck and drink wine. The quite modern and minimal cellar door was nice and they some nice wines although I did think some of the shiraz was quite expensive. The 2009 Loch was $125 a bottle and not for tasting but we managed to sneak a taste which was very nice of them. It was a nice wine and would be fantastic to drink in a few years but a lot of money for 1 bottle. Perhaps some people have more money than me?

We had to pay $5 for a taste of the 2010 "The Loch" which was understandable as they only make a small run and the wine was $76 a bottle. They gave you a decent 50ml and a larger red glass to taste. This is worth the stop to take in the view but the wine although nice I think it is a bit expensive.


DE IULIIS WINES

This winery was so quiet. We didn't wait once to get a tasting in at any of the venues we visited all day. It was only a short drive from the main road. They seem to be a bit more experimental so the wines were different but still top notch. You will understand when you try them.

The staff couldn't wait to tell us about the bus that is about to tour around the country serving up the wine in a pop up bar called Next Generation Hunter Valley "One More For The Road" Tour. A nice touch and something different to give this winery a nice point of difference. We'll probably check this out when it comes to town.

KEITH TULLOCH

Since our last visit they have renovated this cellar door and it's pretty impressive. It looks great, but.. There is a cover charge of sorts. It now costs $5 per person for wine tasting. I can understand why they do this. Throughout the day we've heard horror stories of football trips, hens nights and big groups taking advantage of the tasting ritual. The $5 is refundable but we are with a member so it is waived for the 6 of us.

Will this roll out to other cellar doors in the future?

The Kester Shiraz is the flagship here and is fantastic. We've got some early 00's stashed away which hopefully will be a good drop soon. I will let you know.

BLUETOUNGE

Last stop was Bluetounge for a case of beer to get us ready for dinner and more wine. They have stopped bottling their ginger beer which was one of the reasons we detoured here. A bit disappointing as I always liked the ginger beer. They apparently ship it out in kegs only now. The beer garden was very full and everyone was having a great day drinking beer in the sun. I think we'll make a point of stopping here for lunch next time.

Banh Mi Bonanza In Sydney

It has been well documented how us Sydney-siders will search for good tasting food which offers value. One of the trending options is Banh Mi at the moment. I am lucky enough to live close to a few of the popular outlets, which are regarded as being the best pork rolls near the CBD. I have put together a list of what seem to be collectively the favourites.

I did try quite a few when I was away in Vietnam (North to South) but I do think the local ones here in Sydney are just as good with our local produce being of such a high standard. Also the local Vietnamese contingent seems to keep the recipe as close to the real thing as they can in Sydney.

Some of the recent news coverage in Sydney: Good Food Newspaper Banh Mi Mania. 

And the inspiration for the story was drawn from Noodlieshunt for the best Banh Mi. 

Whilst I wish I had the time to venture out and try every Banh Mi outlet in Sydney, I just don’t have the time. Also, I live close to the city so Cabramatta (where reportedly the best are sold) is an pretty big adventure for me. I have put together a list of the ones I think are worth visiting close to the city.

On the list to visit:

Cherry Lane Bakery, Chatswood

Hong Ha, Mascot

Little Devil, Broadway

Great Aunty Three, Enmore

I have already visited:

Phuong, CBD

Sweet Delight Bakery, Chatswood

Marrickville Pork Roll, Marrickville

Phuong Special Vietnamese, Haymarket

Sydney Pork Roll, CBD

Vina Bakehouse, Chatswood

My favourite at the moment: Phuong, Hunter Connection Food Court, Wynyard Station in Sydney.

Right in the heart of the city, this family run business is so busy during lunchtime it is a no brainer that people are willing to wait for the best when it comes to their pork roll. Whilst I haven’t tried the other ones in the centre I do think this is the best due to the overwhelming crowds.

The bread is fresh, crusty and not too doughy. As they all use seasoning sauce the trick is to get the combination of flavours which a nice taste without it being too salty. The chilli is very hot which I think adds another flavour to the roll.

The chicken roll is equally as tasty. The traditional Pork Roll is $4 and the Chicken roll is $4.50. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.