A trip to Melbourne to see Evita the musical
(source: Herald Sun newspaper)
This was my fourth visit to Melbourne in the last two years and on this occasion it was to see Evita the musical so as usual I took the opportunity to stay a couple of days longer to enjoy this fabulous city.
I stayed at The Langham in a lovely room with access to the Club Lounge. I hadn’t stayed at this hotel before but my friends Ray and Natalie and I wanted to stay close to where Evita was playing so we could walk to and from the venue so The Langham is what we chose. It was a very lovely hotel with a beautiful foyer area and as it was December it was decorated with a huge Christmas tree and decorations.
Every morning I would get up early and go for a walk along the Yarra River for about an hour, return to the hotel and after getting ready, pop upstairs to the Club Lounge for breakfast. whilst looking out over the city and the Yarra.
On my first day I walked to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy [I had done this on a previous visit so knew my way] walking past lovely tree lined streets and outdoor cafes and restaurants. 
It was about a forty-five minute walk and I had a list of vegan restaurants and cafes I had been given by a friend. I love the interesting buildings and terrace homes of Melbourne and in particular Brunswick Street so took the opportunity to snap a few photos.
Smith & Daughters was the first restaurant to visit on my list but unfortunately it was only open for dinner on the day I was there. I had bought their cookbook on advice from my same friend and it’s great but recipes are a little too complicated for me especially with me not being a cook of any sorts!!
The next restaurant I wanted to see was Tranformer which as its website says is ‘innovative plant based dining’ but by this time I was very hungry and had plans to eat at The Vegie Bar as the menu looked fantastic so continued walking. 
I arrived at number 380 Brunswick Street (The Vegie Bar) and saw there was a cafe next door called Girls & Boys which serves plant based desserts including ice cream/ gelato/smoothies/doughnuts and lots of other wonderful sweet things. I really could have eaten everything but decided to just buy a bar of vegan chocolate as I didn’t want to spoil my lunch.
Veggie Bar was definitely worth the wait. Communal wooden tables and a wonderful menu of both hot and cold dishes. And…santa clause sitting on a half moon near the roof!! I ordered a laksa with tofu and vegetables and a sparkling mineral water. The laksa was so good but incredibly filling I only could eat half.
The next evening my friends Ray and Natalie arrived from Canberra. I was having an alcohol free month so whilst they enjoyed some champagne in the Club Lounge I had some mineral water and again enjoyed the views over the Yarra River.
When the club closed we went downstairs for a late snack, a glass of scotch for Ray and Nat and a refreshing mocktail for me in the bar area of the hotel.
I woke up early again the next morning and took another stroll along the river followed by a walk around Melbourne city where I saw some interesting street art and also happened upon a lovely little Welsh church against a backdrop of a very modern building. It was nice to see the church as having dual citizenship it brought back lovely memories of my birthplace.
I always like to visit my favourite book store [Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller] where many years ago I bought a First Folio {first edition} of William Shakespeare’s plays; beautifully blue leather bound in their own case. 
Melbourne is known for its shopping especially its high end shops. Cartier being just one which was decorated for Christmas along with huge baubles hanging from trees and other wonderful displays of the festive season.
It was then time to see the musical as it was the main reason we had come to Melbourne…glad I saw it but not one of my favourite productions. But a visit to Melbourne is always worth my time!!
Peter’s family home is an apartment in a beautiful and very large complex complete with lake and lovely gardens. 
It only took us a short time to reach the restaurant which was quite small with plastic chairs and little wooden tables. Peter’s dad said it was his favourite restaurant and that the cuisine was Chongqing hot pot. (Chongqing used to be under the administration of Sichuan Province but now is separated and is under the direct administration of the central government similar to Beijing and Shanghai). Chongqing hot pot is spicier than Sichuan hot pot – I was a bit scared of my mouth burning!!!
I do like my food a little spicy but certainly not lip-tingling hot. Peter’s dad and Jon love spicy food so they both put an additional packet of oily chilli into their dipping sauce. (my blogging friend Gary would love the spicy food I am sure). 
Now for this dipping sauce – the cooked food is eaten with the sauce which is a combination of spices and herbs and made by the customer from a wide range of ingredients. Peter’s mum made mine and it was absolutely delicious with oil, garlic, tahini, chives, chopped peanuts and chilli.
As for the actual hot pot – each table has a two sided simmering pot of soup stock. On our table, one of the pots contained meat stock and chilli and mine of course contained no meat but delicious spices, tomatoes, goji berries and vegetable stock. 
We were seated at our little table and then the process is you walk up to the kitchen area and select what you want to eat, bring it back to the table and cook! I selected some fresh tofu, noodles, cabbage, mushrooms, thinly sliced potato and sprouts. These were also to be shared by others not just me. Another large fridge had shelves and shelves of meat and seafood which Peter’s dad selected for the table.
We returned to the table with our uncooked food and found the waitress had turned on the stove to heat the stock and ensure the hot pot is kept simmering. All ingredients are firstly placed on bamboo skewers and then placed into the pot. In true Chinese tradition both Jon and I were served by our hosts all night. Peter’s mum was so lovely ensuring that no meat was placed into my pot and kept the heat at a simmer rather than a boil to make sure the meat water did not bubble into my pot. 
Peter translated throughout the meal but Peter’s mum who speaks mainly Sichuanese can also speak some Mandarin so this enabled me to converse with her rather than have Peter translate all of our conversations which I know was very tiring for him.
The boys enjoyed some local beers which were bought from the restaurant.
One thing I did think was particularly cute about this restaurant was the small drawer in the table which contained our paper napkins – lots were needed. 
Dessert and snacks are also available from the kitchen area but we were all way too full to eat anything else.
I must say I genuinely enjoyed this evening and the food was really really good.
The weather on our last day in Seminyak whilst still hot and humid had rain looming along with dark clouds and strong winds. My brother and nephew wanted to take me out to lunch somewhere nice for our last day so I chose a place recommended by my friend Jane: Potato Head Beach Club.
I had quite a bit of food left over on our last day so my kind brother and lovely taxi driver were on the look out for dogs. My brother found one and we stopped and fed him. Next we found two dogs lying around so we got out of the taxi and fed them. I had a bit of food left and the locals told me that at this particular spot about four or five dogs came around. I asked if I could leave the food with them and they were very happy to take the food and feed the dogs later. I found the Balinese such lovely people; helpful and kind.
We walked a short distance walking past the open-air amphitheatre structure which was designed by an Indonesian architect and features a facade of coloured antique shutters, salvaged from across Indonesia.
The next structure we walked past was a tee-pee made from plastic bottles…
Then a sea of rubber thongs that have been lost by their owners…
And finally we arrived at the entrance to the restaurants and bars…
We were met by staff and shown to an area down towards the beach where there was a bar and restaurant and infinity pool. The bar and restaurant area is open air but covered and there are many chairs and tables and lounge chairs uncovered; all overlooking the Indian Ocean.
As can be seen by my photos, it was very winds so we sat on comfortable chairs undercover but with a view of the ocean. Whilst there were a couple of people in the pool but no-body on the beach or in the sea.
We were given our menu by a very friendly and helpful waiter. My brother and I ordered the Tropical Smoothie consisting of banana, mango, passion fruit, strawberry, citrus and coconut nectar. Our waiter, once informed I was vegan, went and checked on her own account to see if there was any yoghurt in the drink; there wasn’t! It was so good!!
I ordered the Jackfruit Nachos: corn tortilla, pulled jackfruit chili, coconut sour cream, pico de gallo, jalapeno, smashed edamame and grilled corn. I had not tasted jackfruit before and must say it was really good as was the coconut sour cream – dish was huge however so couldn’t finish it. [shame].
I also ordered a plate of sweet potato fries to share with my brother and nephew and these arrived with charcoal salt and a roasted capsicum sauce which the waitress told me was not vegan so I didn’t try it. Little did we know that both my brother’s and nephew’s dishes would arrive also with fries.
My brother ordered a steak sandwich which arrived on grape focaccia bread with charcoal grilled Tokusen beef, smoked cheese, onion jam, wild rucola, beefsteak tomato and duck-egg hollandaise sauce. As I mentioned this came with fries which my brother didn’t touch as the sandwich was very filling. My nephew ordered a Baby Huey Burger; prime beef patty with cheese, tomato sauce, pickles and spiced mayonnaise on a milky soft bun. Again arrived with fries which Braydon also didn’t eat. I was the only person who ate some fries that day. No surprises here!
I really liked this beach club. I know that in the later afternoon and evenings it is a place for the younger people with loud music and guess a lot of drinking; am sure it’s one of the places the younger Aussies tend to visit and on occasions sleep on the beach. So at night it would not be for me but for lunch it was superb.
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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