Tag: Australia

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Blog Desserts

Peach Melbourne

Peaches are in season in Australia right now, and plentiful in the shops. It’s no surprise therefore that, just as Wimbledon has strawberries and cream, the Australian Open has Peach Melbourne.

The Australian Open, the first tennis major tournament of 2023, is under way at the moment, and is a pretty big deal here in Melbourne. I’ve spent a couple of days at it this week and, aside from watching the tennis, have enjoyed its Peach Melbourne signature treat.

It is of course a play on Peach Melba, the dish created in the Victorian era by a French chef, in honour of the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. Melba was a stage name that she took from her home town of Melbourne.

The three key ingredients are ice cream, fresh peaches, and raspberries. At the Australian Open, it is served (sorry, couldn’t resist that one) as a tub of whirled vanilla ice cream, covered with a drizzle of pureed fresh peaches, and topped with pieces of dried raspberries (see my main photo).

It is lovely to taste – especially the fresh peach sauce – and a welcome respite from the heat. The temperature hit 37C one day this week, and play on the outdoor courts had to be suspended. I would not be surprised if the tennis players all headed to the Peach Melbourne outlet to cool down.

Regular followers will know that I featured on ADK some ice cream creations made with my own ice cream maker, a few months back during the UK summer. I haven’t made this peach dish before but will definitely be giving it a go when I get home. Watch out for a future post.

As for the tennis, I have really enjoyed seeing the game played up close by world class players. The first day we bought a ground pass, which gives access to all of Melbourne Park, except for the 4 show court arenas. You can wander around and see who is playing, then stand or sit at a match and watch it for as long as you wish, before moving on to another. You can go fetch a coffee (or Peach Melbourne) whenever you choose, or take a deckchair on a central green watching the action on a big screen.

The atmosphere is relaxed and informal off court, if fiercely competitive on. The setting is spectacular, with the skyline of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) rising above the courts.

I liked being able to watch a match from a spectator gallery to the side of the court. The customary view on TV is from a raised camera position at the end of the court, but sitting to the side brings home much more effectively the speed and power with which the game is played at this level.

It’s also fun spotting any famous players taking their turn on the outside courts. The biggest name we saw there was the number 3 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, see below.

I knew he was a top men’s singles player, but hadn’t realised he also played doubles with his brother. There is a large Greek community in Melbourne, so the boys were receiving enthusiastic support from the fans.

It’s also possible to watch the tennis for free on a big screen, by joining these Melburnians below, at the nearby AO Hilltop – a fan fest site with decent drinks and food.

On our second day, we had evening tickets for the biggest of the show courts, the Rod Laver Arena – a lovely birthday present from my son. It was very exciting making our way to the famous 15,000 seat arena, below.

In a tense game, we saw the USA’s Seb Korda inflict a shock defeat on the number 7 seed, Daniil Medvedev.

Our session ended just after midnight – not quite as late as Andy Murray endured this week, finishing at 4am the next morning! With this in mind, our latest addition to the ADK Playlist is in honour of the gallant, battling Scot who overcame the odds to progress to the next round. This is Faron Young with It’s Four in the Morning.

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Blog

A Night at the Opera

I don’t have a bucket list. However, if I did, one item on it would be an evening at Sydney Opera House, enjoying a delicious meal and some excellent musical theatre. What’s more, after this weekend, I would now be ticking it off!

Having been in Sydney for a few days, we had already seen the Opera House from a few different perspectives. It is prominently situated on a natural peninsula extending out into Sydney’s vast Harbour, which means it is visible from most of the bays, coves, trails and look-out points tucked away around the water’s edge.

My main photo, above, is taken from one of the many public transport ferries that pass it by, on the way back to the Harbour’s main ferry interchange at nearby Circular Quay.

For the photo below, I climbed up to the dizzy heights of the pedestrian walkway crossing the (equally iconic) Sydney Harbour Bridge.

This next one is taken on the terrace of the Opera House itself, on a walk out towards the nearby green spaces of the Domain and Botanical Gardens.

The world-famous building was opened in 1973, and has just begun its 50th year celebrations. The show we were watching was Amadeus, a play with music about the life of Mozart, told from the perspective of a jealous rival composer, Salieri, played by well-known Brit actor, Michael Sheen.

The show was great, my favourite aspect being the orchestral sound – looking up at those ceilings in the shapes of huge sails, it is immediately apparent that nothing has been spared on the quality of the internal acoustics.

I also really liked the fact that the building was designed to be spacious and social. We enjoyed a pre-show meal on the huge terrace alongside the building, in the sun, in full view of the Harbour Bridge and the passing seafaring traffic. A massive visiting cruise ship was departing just as we ate, providing further spectacle.

Interval drinks were served on a balcony high up at the front of the building, with peerless views from east to west across Sydney Harbour, as the sun set and the lights were coming on.

And what, as a food blogger, did I make of the restaurant meal? I’m pleased to say it impressed as well! Our party of four shared a range of platters of what the chef calls Pan-Asian Fusion. Our selection included vegetarian spring rolls with plum sauce, a bamboo basket of steamed dumplings with black vinegar and chilli oil, beef sando (a type of Japanese steak sandwich), karaage fried chicken, katsu curry and a dish of mixed sushi. Considering the location, the bill was very reasonable as well.

My final shot of this iconic venue I took as we walked home after the show, having had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Enjoying a little night music, in a play about the life of Mozart? This just has to be the next track for the ADK Playlist: the instantly recognisable (and, be warned, hummable) Serenade in G Major from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

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Blog Drinks

Prickly Moses

As a foodblogger travelling around Australia, I have made it my mission to seek out and sample a range of local craft beers along the way. I know – an onerous responsibility, but you’re welcome. Don’t mention it.

In recent years, craft beer has really taken off in the UK, and one of the pleasures of travelling around the British regions is tasting the different brews being produced by local independents. It appears that the craft beer market is, at the very least, equally as buoyant in Australia.

On my first (post-jet lag) day in Melbourne, I stumbled upon Dan Murphy’s bottleshop (as they call it here) in Prahan, and went in to ask if they stocked any local craft beers. I was escorted to one entire wall of the store, lined with refrigerators all stocking local craft brews – see my photo below.

From then on it has been a similar story everywhere. Each town and region has its own incredible range.

A good example is the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse – a vast warehouse devoted to regional craft beer. It is in Apollo Bay, a golden-beached seaside resort on the Victoria state coast. Here’s a photo below.

Some friends had invited us for drinks and pasta at their beach house, and I wanted to find some good local beers to take along. The choice was bewildering, but with the aid of some recommendations from the staff, I settled on the Prickly Moses beers shown in my main photo, at the top of this post.

Prickly Moses is a generic name that covers a number of hardy, cactus-like shrubs that grow in Australia’s hot climate. The name has been adopted by a craft brewery in Barongarook , Victoria. In keeping with the prickly theme, their logo is an Echidna, a mammal native to Australia akin to a kind of cute hedgehog (and which, incidentally, we have already seen at least a couple of times in the wild).

As the photo shows, my selection included a good variety, from golden summer ale, red ale, IPA, organic pilsner and low alcohol. Every one tasted crisp and fresh, and went down well with the punters on the sun deck, overlooking the bay. These are probably my favourites tasted so far, based on consistency of quality across a variety of beer types.

A close second is this IPA from Port Phillip on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, which had just the right combo of colour, depth, strength and hoppy taste (see below).

This one probably tasted special as it became a regular accompaniment to barbecuing in the garden, in the evening sun!

It would be impossible to review every beer from the 740-odd craft breweries in Australia, but I hope this will at least give you, um, a taste.

The next track for the ADK Playlist, from an Australian band, was suggested to me at the drinks and pasta party. These are The Veronicas, originally from Brisbane, with Untouched.

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Blog Snacks

The Twelve Apostles

While touring Australia’s Great Ocean Road, I’ve been enjoying the Twelve Apostles Gourmet Food Trail. More about the food in a moment, but firstly let’s explore the rather special wonders of nature from which the Trail derives its name.

The Twelve Apostles (see my main photo) are a series of spectacular rock formations standing off Victoria’s southern coast, amidst the crashing surf and spray. They have been carved from the limestone cliffs over thousands of years, by the ferocious wind and waves blowing up across the Southern Ocean from Antarctica. Today they are one of Australia’s most-visited tourist attractions.

Parking up and walking out the short distance to see them reminded me of past visits to other famous rock formations, like Stonehenge in England and Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway. As with those, this visit doesn’t disappoint.

We experienced first hand just how dramatically changeable the conditions can be. My main photo shows how beautifully clear the skies were on our visit, but within 1 – 2 hours a thick sea mist and rain had descended. This isn’t called the Shipwreck Coast for nothing, with many hundreds of sailing ships having met their fate along this stretch of water.

There is a gorge named after one of them, the Loch Ard, which left England in 1878 on its three month journey to the new world. On sighting land, passengers and crew held an End of Voyage party, only to find the next day that conditions had dramatically worsened, the ship being washed up on the rocks with many lives lost. A reminder, if one were needed, not to celebrate any kind of journey in life until you have actually crossed the finish line.

My photo below shows the rock formation known as London Bridge. Originally a long, arched promontory extending out across the water, it was given its name due to its supposed resemblance to the British landmark spanning the River Thames in England’s capital.

However, in a rare case of geology mimicking a traditional folk song, London Bridge has, literally, fallen down. In the 1990s the stormy waves brought the middle section crashing into the surf, leaving two bemused tourists stranded on what was then Australia’s newest off shore island.

These days, a network of clifftop boardwalks and viewing platforms protect the fragile landscape, and make the outstanding views safe and accessible to all, whatever your level of mobility.

And so to the Food Trail. A group of around a dozen local independent food producers have banded together to offer a tour of local sites where you can taste and buy artisan foods. These entrepreneurs include a distillery, craft brewery, ice creamery, berry picking farm and vineyard. You can find out more about the Trail, and download a map, here.

Regular followers will know that A Different Kitchen likes to help promote independent producers, and I focused on two sites along the Trail that particularly took my fancy.

GORGE Chocolates are made and sold on site. My photo below shows an example of the selection available.

For a souvenir purchase, I chose dark chocolate shards with chilli (which pack a punch!), and a bar of salted milk chocolate. I also couldn’t resist these charming strawberry chocolate figures in the shape of a kangaroo and a koala bear.

Our second visit was to Dairylicious Farm Fudge, which also makes all its produce on site. They offer a tasting board with 6 or 7 different types of fudge to try. I settled on a bag of classic creamy caramel fudge, shown in the photo below.

If the bag looks a little light, it is because we had already started it while sat on the Dairylicious verandah, before my camera was ready!

Spectacular views and delicious local food. What more could I ask for – maybe the next track for the ADK Spotify Playlist! Here is Morcheeba with The Sea.

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Drinks

Happy New Year!

Cheers! Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year, from my travels down under in Australia.

I spent a rather nice day between Christmas and New Year with a group of family and frends, wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. This is a major wine production region in the hills north-east of Melbourne. I mentioned this in my previous post and thought I would add a little more.

Our choice of vineyard (there are many) was Yering Farm Wines, who offer what they call guided wine tasting. Some readers may be familiar with this concept, but it was a new experience for me. The idea is that you sample 6 or 7 of their different wines, while a knowledgable member of the vineyard staff talks you through the particular qualities of each.

There is a tasting fee of 10 AUD. However, if you then buy a bottle (or two) of your favourite wine, the tasting fee is deducted from the price.

My favorite was their 2019 Chardonnay (see my main photo). The tasting notes read: Aromas of warm, toasty oak with hints of banana and peach, on the palate peach, citrus and subtle toasty oak with hints of vanilla. Silky, mid-palate balanced with gentle acidity.

To be honest, I’m not sure that I detected all of those particular nuances in the taste, but it was certainly a very pleasant glass of wine! I paired it with a meal of Tasmanian salmon (smoked, infused with chilli and ginger) with roasted veg and savoury rice, eaten al fresco (see below).

First track to be added to the ADK Playlist in 2023 is from an Australian artist I discovered for the first time recently, when he played live on local TV here. This is Morgan Evans with Over For You.



Categories
Snacks

My Australian Cheeseboard

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a decent cheeseboard. Travelling down under this year, I made a point that our choices would all be Australian-made.

Cheese here is heavily influenced by Europe. You will find versions of the most popular cheese from France, Italy and England that have been home-made in Australia. Alongside these are many small and independent producers experimenting with new styles and presentation.

You can see my selection for our Christmas Day meal in the photo above. Here are the ones that made my final cut, including further information and links to the producers, should you wish to find out more:

  • Endeavour Blue is from King Island Dairy, which is based on a small island in the Bass Strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The island’s microclimate produces lush pasture, hence rich creamy milk and cheese. This blue is reminiscent of a good gorgonzola.
  • Gumleaf Smoked Cheddar from Bodalla Farm on the New South Wales coast, south of Sydney. Smoked in leaves of a gum tree, it is part of their Bush Tucker Cheese range. Thankfully, it doesn’t taste too strongly of eucalyptus, just good smoked cheddar!
  • Fresh Chevre Goat’s Cheese, dusted with ash, from Meredith Dairy in western Victoria. Ash helps balance acidity and develop a rind, while adding visual interest to your platter.
  • Brie from Udder Delights, an independent producer from Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
  • Camembert, also from Udder Delights.

I also enjoyed a trip with family and friends to the Yarra Valley Dairy. Their range of goats cheeses are served as part of a sharing platter along with other delights like olives, cured meats, cornichons, home-made relishes and terrine, see my photo below.

The Yarra Valley is a major wine and cheese producing region of Victoria, in the hills north-east of Melbourne. Here is a photo I took of the vineyard and hills beyond, while stopped for some Cellar Door wine tasting at Yering Farm Wines.

A gourmet experience of rich and creamy cheese, fine wines, in a beautiful rural setting with sunny weather (it reached 37C!). All in all, a Beautiful Day. Time to add U2 to the ADK Spotify Playlist.

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Sides

Chargrilled Sweet Veg with Feta & Balsamic

Christmas in Australia feels very different from the UK, coming in the middle of the summer. With temperature in the mid-20s C, the only ice you’ll need to deal with is the type that clinks in your martini glass as you relax on the sun deck. It’s more a case of barefoot on warm sand, than Jack Frost nipping at your toes. One definite advantage is having the barbecue as a cooking option while entertaining over the holiday period.

This dish is intended to be served as a vegetable side to a seasonal main, like turkey, fish or ham, and alongside roast potatoes. My photo below shows my prepped and skewered veg from the first time I made this. Since then, as you will see from the ingredients list below, I have added a few further types of veg.

My next photo shows the skewers cooking, alongside some meaty mains. The veg will soften and caramelise on the grill, the edges gently charring over the flame.

Once chargrilled, the sharpness of the feta cheese will complement the sweetness of the veg, with the balsamic vinegar giving just the right amount of sourness in the dressing. See my main photo above for the end result.

Servings

Alongside a seasonal roasted main like turkey, fish or ham, and roasted potatoes, this will serve as an extra side veg dish for up to 8 people.

Timings

15 mins prep, 20 mins grilling time.

You Will Need

  • 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 aubergine
  • 2 red onions
  • 2 courgettes
  • 1 butternut squash
  • oil to drizzle
  • 400g feta cheese
  • a good sprinkle of balsamic vinegar
  • 9 – 10 barbecue skewers
  • a bottle of craft beer to drink while bbq-ing (of course!)

Method

  1. Soak the skewers in cold water for about 10 mins. This will help stop them burning while cooking.
  2. While the skewers are soaking, cut the peppers and aubergine into pieces roughly 1-2cm square.
  3. Cut the courgettes into discs around 0.5 – 1 cm thick.
  4. Cut each of the red onions into 8 segments, so that each segment is still joined to the root end. This will help the onion layers hold together while cooking on the skewer.
  5. Peel the squash and discard the seeds and pith. Cut into cubes with sides roughly 1 – 2cm in size.
  6. Thread all the veg pieces on to wooden skewers and drizzle the oil over.
  7. Cut the feta into 1cm sided cubes, and set aside till the veg has cooked.
  8. Fire up the barbecue and, when it’s nice and hot, lay the skewers on the grill. Turn every so often until the veg has softened and the edges are nicely charred – likely to be around 20 mins.
  9. Remove from the grill. Scrape all the veg off into a warmed bowl, using a fork.
  10. Add the feta cubes and the balsamic, and give it a good stir so the ingredients are mixed well. See my main photo above for the end result.
  11. Serve alongside the rest of your meal.

Customise it!

Don’t have access to a barbecue? Or is it just a UK summer and too cold outside? Understood – I’ve been there lots of times! Not to worry – roast the veg in the oven at 180c for 30 mins, then mix with the feta and balsamic.

Talking of the weather, this post seems an appropriate time to add this Aussie classic to the ADK Playlist: Crowded House with Weather With You.

Whatever you’re cooking and wherever you are, have a great Christmas!

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Blog Desserts

Wish Upon a Cupcake

Have you ever had an issue arise while staying in an Airbnb? I’m pleased to say this one, on our current stay in Australia, had a very happy ending.

Our suspicions were raised about ten minutes after switching on the oven, and finding that it simply wasn’t heating up. Were we doing something wrong? Was there a magical button on the control panel that we were stupidly failing to press? Everything else about the apartment had been perfect, so surely the issue lay with us?

A note to the host followed, seeking help and advice. This led to a visit by her to check it out, only to conclude that, yes, the oven was indeed broken. A technical repair visit would be required and, it being nearly Christmas, the visit could not be arranged before next week, after we have moved on to our next place.

Another first world problem! For a few days we would not be able to warm a pizza, or heat up a quiche. What would we do? Aghhh!

Thankfully, the host made a very prompt and kind gesture by way of apology. She informed us that, as a measure of goodwill, a substantial gift voucher was waiting for us behind the counter at local cake deli, Wish Upon a Cupcake.

We paid a visit there the next day and were impressed. My photos show some of the cakes available in the shop. They are all baked on the premises here in Watsonia, a suburb of Melbourne.

Here is the selection we chose with our gift voucher. We were very satisfied.

You see, despite the best of intentions, things just sometimes go wrong, and it really isn’t worth getting worked up about it. Most things can be resolved through prompt, effective service. Nearly everything can be made better with cake.

Even the little buddha in the apartment’s back garden seemed to approve.

So there you are – for Christmas time, a story to warm the heart. Even if it didn’t warm our kitchen.

This coming week, they’re forecasting temperatures rising to around 29C as we move out by the beach on Mornington Peninsula, where we’ll be joined by a wider group of family and friends in the lead-up to our Australian Christmas. Time for a feelgood song! Here’s Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves.

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Blog

Keep Calm, Eat Ramen

Where to eat in the early evening before seeing the Melbourne production of the musical Hamilton?

This was today’s first world problem during my travels here in Australia. I’m now back from the wilderness (literally) for a few days to sample the cosmopolitan city life.

Handily, the city’s theatre district is close to Chinatown, which opened up a number of possibilities. A recommendation from my son (who is resident here), supported by a number of very positive online reviews, led us to Mr Ramen San.

I hadn’t really heard of Ramen before, but I now know it is a Japanese dish consisting of wheat noodles in broth, served with various meat or vegetable toppings. I opted for spicy chicken ramen, which came with toppings of spring onion, beansprouts, cabbage, seaweed and half a boiled egg (see my main photo).

I understand this may not sound the most tempting dish you’ve ever encountered, but take it from me – it was actually very tasty.

Given where we are in the world, it’s no surprise that Melbourne has sizable communities originating from all over south-eastern Asia. I believe this began with the discovery of gold in the mid-nineteenth century, when many Chinese in particular came here to join the prospectors. More recently, many others have followed, and Chinatown has grown up as a haven for not just Chinese, but Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and other restaurants.

In a strange juxtaposition of cultures, Chinatown is currently decorated to celebrate Christmas – a giant toy soldier from the Nutcracker guarding the ornamental gates.

And as for Hamilton? I hadn’t seen or heard it before, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it is based around the story of the American War of Independence, interpreted from a black minority ethnic perspective. It’s a very modern musical, featuring soul and hip hop.

Regular followers will know that I cannot claim either of these as my own top musical genre. However, the show rips along at a fast pace, with great music and dynamic choreography. It is definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.

No prizes therefore for guessing the latest addition to the ADK Spotify Playlist. Here is one of the catchiest tracks My Shot.

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Blog

Wild Wild Life

My first full week in Australia has been pretty wild. And I mean that literally.

After a few days in Melbourne to acclimatise and shake off jet lag, we headed south-east of the city to experience life in the remote, southernmost parts of Australia. First stop was Phillip Island, a delightful holiday island popular as a weekend getaway with Melburnians. We then moved on to a wilderness retreat in the State Park of Wilson’s Prom (short for Promontory).

These places are home to some of Australia’s most famous animals. My main photo shows a sleepy little koala resting above me in a gum tree, on Phillip Island.

My photo below shows a wallaby who came along looking interested in the barbecue I was cooking in the outback on Wilson’s Prom.

I also broke off from my barbecue to snap these kookaburras, laughing while perched in a nearby tree, at dusk.

The landscape and climate here shows nature at its wildest. We climbed the 558m high Mount Oberon for this view overlooking Norman Beach and Tidal River, the hub for visitors to Wilson’s Prom.

There seems to be an amazing, and practically deserted golden sands beach on every stretch of coastline. My photo below shows Sunderland Bay, taken at Surfie’s Point.

We have also waited patiently at sunset to watch Phillip Island’s penguin colony return from a day’s swimming and fishing, waddling in unison across the beach to the safety of their burrows. Also, as advised by Park Rangers, I’ve been taking care to protect the food for our barbecues from the visiting wombats.

With all of this wildlife, rugged coastline and amazing surf beach scenery, you may think I have become temporarily distracted from my usual focus on food. Well, there is probably some truth in that to be fair, but expect normal service to be resumed soon. Having said that, let me share with you this heavenly chocolate, peanut butter and almond slice I enjoyed at the Sanny Bakehouse in San Remo.

Choice of music this week has to be Talking Heads, with Wild Wild Life.