The Bald Critic: Food

Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

1 May 2021

Cascade Brewery and HistoryExperience. A 'Cicerone' in the Making

When checking in for your tour at the ‘Cascade Brewhouse’, each participant receives a brochure outlining the history of Cascade Brewery, the brewing process, the range of beers available and a token that entitles you to a 10% discount on Cascade souvenirs / gift purchases.

The first question the lady asked us was, if we were wearing flat shoes – to which we replied “yes”. Furthermore, the lady will instruct you where your meeting point is and what time you should be there. We were there about an hour early, so we had dinner there.

Travelodge ‘Flight Restaurant’. Hobart Airport Tourist Park

We stayed at the Hobart Airport Tourist Park, there are two restaurant options within walking distance, we had already dined at Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods (food is very nice) and the other is at Travelodge ‘Flight Restaurant’, so we thought we would give this a go.

They are opened for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, we went there for dinner, open seven days from 5.30pm to 9pm and it is table service. We wasted no time and arrived there at 5.30pm without reservations – all good, the waitstaff greeted us and walked us to our table for two.

The Teez Café Teezed Our Taste Buds

Having left Strahan for Hobart (4.5-hour drive), we found ‘The Teez Café’ in Tarraleah by accident – I was not aware of its existence.

After traveling for about two hours on the Lyell Highway, we saw this sign displayed on the path on the side of the highway “The Teez Café” and underneath it “Tasty Lunches” (literally we reached midpoint – a sign displayed on the T-Section ‘turn right to Strahan (175km) turn or left for Hobart (125km)’.

Molly's Cafe Strahan Tasmania. Jolly Molly

We were staying at the BIG4 Strahan Holiday Retreat Park and wanted something simple, quick and convenient. Molly’s Great Food fits that description perfectly and is conveniently located right next door to BIG4.

This is a great place for casual dining, where you can dine in or outdoors or takeaway. They even have a chalkboard displayed at the front of the café with specials for the day.

Hamer’s Bar & Grill. Really... Vegemite Caramel Sauce?

We actually had plans to dine at ‘Bushman’s Bar and Café’ but they had a sign displayed at the entrance of their door that it is booked out. So we strolled through town and found ‘Hamer’s Bar & Grill’, (bistro dining) no reservations required, a simple walk in (we were there about 6pm), attended to straight away, the dining area was spacious, we were walked to our table and left with a menu to look through.

Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm Café. Raspberry Inspired Meals

Lunch break at Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm Café on our travels. There is plenty of free parking available BUT… this place was overly busy with visitors. If you’re planning on having lunch at this café, please make reservations, as we were put on the waiting list. Staff told us, in the meantime, to have a stroll around their grounds and then come back to see if there are any tables available.

Their grounds is quite charming, with impressive surrounding lake and native trees / plants - we even spotted an alpaca. From a distance, you can see rows of white greenhouses, which I can only assume to be raspberry farm – you have no access.

Chocolate Made The Old-Fashioned Way - Federation Artisan Chocolate

This visit was a last-minute thought. We already pre-booked the Port Arthur Ghost Tour for Sunday at 9pm, leaving the day free, so we decided to travel from Port Arthur back to Hobart for the day.

Federation Artisan Chocolate is only a 5-minute walk from Hobart’s Waterfront. There is on-street meter parking available and it is free entry to the store.

We didn’t make any bookings but willing to pay for a tour, however their Head Chocolatier wasn’t there – as we arrived at 10am… the doors just opened for business. But Maurice Curtis, the owner of the business, was more than happy to show and tell us all he knows about the history of chocolate making and the process of how chocolate is made – from bean to chocolate, you could see a mapped process displayed, where they make chocolate, through their window into that room as well as the machinery they use.

He told us with pride that they make chocolate the way it used to be made 200 years ago. We learned a new chocolate term ‘liquor aging’, which is not what you think, ‘liquor’ is another term in the ‘chocolate world’ meaning liquid.

We found Maurice to be sweet and kind to give us a spontaneous personal tour and found him to be very passionate and knowledgeable in the chocolate industry. He assured us that he uses only genuine ingredients with no added essences or oils. He also shared with us that working in a chocolate factory had always been his dream, which he finally made his dream come true by 2014!

We then headed to the counter to buy our chocolate treats – Maurice’s wife Helen served us. She put no pressure on us and allowed us to select our chocolates in our own time. Helen was very accommodating in explaining the flavours of the chocolates individually – but still didn’t make our choosing any easier.

The chocolate display looked amazing and colourful, very hard to select just a few chocolates – if we could, we would have bought the lot. We ended up buying an assortment of moulded chocolates @ $3 each and couldn’t resist to take them back to our lodge, but ate them on-the-spot.

The verdict? Truly delectable. You could actually taste the difference between the cheap mass production and the ‘real’ process. Their chocolates are simply rich in flavour and melts in your mouth.

Indulgent experience, especially for the ones with a ‘sweet tooth’. Open seven days a week, Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm, Saturday 9am – 3pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm.

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22 March 2020

Australia's Best Fish & Chips... May Be Questionable? - Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods.

We stayed at the Hobart Airport Tourist Park but on our way there, there is a huge sign displayed while traveling on the Tasman Highway, that caught our attention “Australia’s Best Fish & Chips… As Voted Peoples Choice 2017” that made our decision easy where we are going to have dinner.

We dined at Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods during the summer school holidays in December 2019 on a Friday at 5pm (opened seven days a week, from 9am to 6pm). You have the choice of eating indoors, outdoors or take-away.

The ambience of the place was extremely busy, we ordered and paid for our meals at the counter, the service was fast (considering they were really busy – about half an hour wait), staff friendly and provides table service.

We were seated at a square table for four, just enough room for food and drinks, plenty elbow space and their chairs were reasonably comfortable.

Right beside the counter, there is a display of fresh fish, where you may choose the fish you want to have cooked for your meal. And where you enter the restaurant, just on your right, they proudly display the trophies they have won.

I wasn’t that adventurous in my meal, I ordered Fisherman’s Basket @ $24.90 (2 x Battered Fish of the day, 2 x Crumbed King Prawns, 2 x Crumbed Scallops, 2 x Crumbed Squid Rings) with the option either chips or salad – I chose chips.

My wife and my two daughters wanted lasagne but they didn’t have any, so they decided on a Beef Burger @ $10.90 (also with the option of either chips or salad, they all chose salad).

The Fisherman’s Basket was well presented, clean and fresh in appearance with a wedge of lemon - the chips were nothing fancy, just your typical frozen chips. I expected my meal to be extraordinary rather than ordinary – it was no different to any other Fisherman’s Basket I have had before at other restaurants, it was a bit ‘Blah’ experience for me.

The batter was the right thickness and crisp and equal with their crumbed fish. The fish pieces were tender too.

As for my wife and girls, their burgers were HUGE! We had no idea (nor did we ask) what a beef burger has. Well I can tell you that the beef burger had ‘the lot’… beef patty of course (but very thick, grilled to perfection and tasty), lettuce, beetroot, egg, tomatoes, bacon, pineapple ring, cheese and I’m guessing their homemade dressing / mayo.

They absolutely loved their burger but unfortunately, was very hard to hold the contents together – very messy. They had to pick pieces of food out until they were able to wrap their mouths around the burger – no complaints there, it was packed with flavour and they were able to finish the whole lot – their tummies were full.

Their salads looked very appetising, full of colours, fresh, crisp with tangy delicious dressing – a welcoming finish to their burgers.

I did have the best of both, as one of the girls couldn’t eat their salad, so I ate it myself – highly recommend their salads, if you had to choose between chips and salad.

Overall, we did enjoy our experience, their meals, walking distance to / from our cabin and we definitely walked back to our cabins on a very full stomach. The place did not disappoint and I have found the price to be fair.

19 March 2020

Super Mario Indeed - Mario's Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria

My last night stay on the Gold Coast and we decided to do Italian for dinner – it is my brother’s favourite Italian restaurant and saved the best for last.

We visited Mario’s Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria on a Tuesday night, the place was packed with the with a huge lineup along the path.

I don’t know how they do it, but they managed to churn the customers inside with little waiting time and yes… we were walk-ins and felt most welcomed.

The waitstaff were fantastic with good old-fashioned service – good to see this type of service still exists.

You do have a choice to dine either indoors or outdoors – they also offer takeaways or delivery service too.

I had ‘Pollo Cartoccio’ at $34.90 (chicken breast, mushrooms, prawns, shallots, light brandy mustard cream sauce and roast vegetables). The food was well presented, the serving was a large serving with a generous amount of prawns too and the food was tender and ever so tasty.

My friend had ‘Chicken Avocado’ at $35.90 (chicken breast, brandy, light cream sauce, avocado, cashews and roast vegetables). Again, excellent presentation, large serving and a definite ‘thumbs up’ from my her. And my brother had a pizza medium sized pizza ‘Marinara’ (mixed marinated seafood, garlic, parsley and olives) available in three sizes, he ordered the medium size at $25.90. We also had Garlic Pizza to share – yum! Although we struggled a little, we all managed to eat every single bit of our meal, as we are big eaters and washed it down with a bottle of red wine amongst us.

An incredible Italian experience, well trained staff, very family friendly, with an amazing Italian culture and atmosphere ‘Little Italy’. I can understand why it is my brother’s favourite Italian restaurant.

If you’re a lover of fine, traditional Italian dining, this is the perfect place to go.

17 March 2020

Spanish Delights At Spanish Doughnuts

While walking around aimlessly and sightseeing in the Gold Coast, a typical tourist, we happened to come across this mouth-watering place ‘Spanish Doughnuts’.

Very attractive on the eyes with a magnetic force, you just couldn’t simply walk past it.

Churros is Spanish for doughnuts. There is a plethora of churros to choose from, the original star-shaped sticks, fluffy inside and crispy outside rolled in cinnamon sugar or for the adventurous ones, the non-traditional (you will see in my photo).

It's like the display of churros are having a party. It is very hard to choose from but I decided to go for the ones that were plain on the outside with filled centres.

I love my custards and bought ‘Hot Churro Fillers’ with custard filling at $5.95 each (they also come in jam, chocolate, caramel and Nutella fillings).

As a novice, I was not prepared for what was going to happen next. I took a bite out of the churros, only to find that the custard spurted out on the other end like a fountain. Had I known, I would have blocked the other end of my churro with my thumb before taking a bite or leave it in the paper bag that was served in, instead of wasting the custard.

I wasn’t disappointed in my custard filled churro though, very delicious and served warm. The churro is cooked deliciously - fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and the custard wasn’t that plastic type of custard, it was creamy that just melted in your mouth.

Also, I am impressed that the word ‘doughnuts’ is spelt the way it should be in Australia for a change.

27 February 2020

Stepping into China from DownUnder - Royal Dynasty Surfers Paradise

For authentic Chinese food experience, I highly recommend Royal Dynasty – you have the option to dine in or outside. Greeted by friendly staff and seated promptly at our table – walk ins are accepted, which is what we did.

The service was quick and we didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. The flavours in the food are so amazing, flavoursome and fresh, servings are generous and reasonably priced – considering this restaurant is situated in the heart of Surfers Paradise.

The restaurant is very clean, spacious table with plenty of elbow room and comfortable chairs. As a group of three, we ordered ‘Sweet and Sour Pork’, ‘Garlic Beef’, ‘Honey Chicken’ and ‘Special Fried Rice’ all at $22.80 each except for the fried rice at $14.80.

I truly loved the different texture of Sweet and Sour Pork, where the capsicum retained the crunch, the pineapple wasn’t overcooked and the pork was absolutely delish, nice and tender with a crispy coating and I didn’t encounter any gristle.

Garlic Beef was so juicy, succulent that melts in your mouth – no stringy tendon bits. Honey Chicken was flawless too, nice tender pieces, coated amazingly with just the right amount of honey to give it that sweet, sticky taste and again, didn’t encounter any gristle. Not experiencing gristle during my meals is a big deal for me as it is off-putting and a loss of appetite instantly.

Special Fried Rice was cooked to perfection, I just can’t explain what I mean, but the rice has that Asian authentic flavour that you can’t achieve at home. Perhaps it’s their searing wok that is the key to their secret? The texture of the rice was cooked to perfection – fluffy and slightly dry, the peas not overcooked, scrambled egg pieces moist and prawns tender.

We also shared a bottle of nice red ‘Grant Burge Merlot’ at $38.80. Needless to say, the meals we ordered met our standards, you won’t be disappointed with the sensation of individual, unique flavours, and surrounded with oriental atmosphere – it’s like you literally stepped into Chinatown.

The staff are very friendly, welcoming and looked after us really well. We walked out with an amazing Asian experience and very full bellies! Highly recommend this restaurant without any hesitations. Great place for family and friends. Wheelchair and disability access.

#recipe #foodlovers #foodgasm #foodporn #foodphotography #foodblogger #nomnom #food #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite

Truly Amazing Italian Experience - Nardi's Shellharbour

We wanted to celebrate our eldest daughter’s 18th birthday somewhere special, local and for lunch. Our daughter had chosen Nardi’s Italian Restaurant as she loves Italian food and the restaurant is local.

Nardi’s is open seven-days-a-week but opening times is at 5pm. I sent an email to Nardi’s requesting if it is possible to open the restaurant earlier as our guests are of mixed age ranges from two months to 88 years of age. Sure enough I received a reply from ‘Trent’ on the same day explaining that they are flexible and able to meet our request as a ‘closed function’, meaning we had the restaurant to ourselves – even better!

Conditions do apply for a closed function as you need to meet the minimum number of guests for the restaurant to be opened.

We decided to go with the ‘Table d' Hote’ menu (three course meal – 3 x different entrées; 3 x different mains; and 3 x different desserts) an amazing delicious selection to choose from, giving our guests the freedom to choose one of each, unlike most places where they only offer alternate dishes – I dislike like that option very much.

The toddler had the freedom to choose whichever from the kid’s meal option and ice-cream for dessert.

Trent gave us a suggested selection for the meals but was also happy and flexible to adjust any meals to accommodate us – we were happy with Trent’s recommendations.

The only difficult task you have is to supply the names of guests with their selected dishes and send it to Nardi’s at least a week before the function date along with 15% deposit and ensure our guests leave within the required time so staff have enough time to clean up and ready for their ‘normal’ trading time – fair enough. We then received a confirmation document covering information regarding our function.

The ‘hard stuff’ was all taken care of. We were also offered the option for a bar tab or for the guests to pay at the bar as they order.

Needless to say their fast, friendly service was above and beyond, always with a smile, well-structured and all meals delivered to the right guest without any errors – showed pure professionalism.

The food looked appetising and skilfully presented, flavoursome, ingredients tasted fresh… the best Italian food experience we have had and very generous, your typical “Italian” homemade hearty servings with love and the cost is very fair and affordable.

The vibe of the restaurant has that “home welcome” family feeling on both the outside and inside of the restaurant, very spacious and clean. Ample free parking availability nearby and wheelchair / pram access.

Our daughter’s 18th birthday was truly a memorable one and her smile was priceless. I highly recommend this place and guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the service or the food.

Some of our guests said that it was their first experience at Nardi’s and definitely not their last and will spread the news of this hidden gem to their friends and family as they are not locals.

#food #foodporn #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite #plantbased #recipe #nardis #nardisitalianrestaurant #nardisshellharbour

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