Tipsy Bull restaurant (2) – Braddon – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – February 2021

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ACT, Braddon, canberra, Gin, Lunch with friends, tipsy Bull restaurant, vegan dishes

photo courtesy of http://www.weekendnotes.com

There are so many nice restaurants to choose for lunch in Canberra and Tipsy Bull is definitely one of them. It’s located in the city suburb of Braddon which is about an hour’s walk from my home and whilst I have been to this restaurant a few times, it was lovely to revisit as they now have a very good vegan degustation.

The restaurant is actually well known as a gin bar. It has over 100 local and international gins to choose. When you order a gin, it arrives deconstructed on a wooden platter with gin, tonic, ice, gin making tools and garnishes chosen specifically to enhance the flavour of the gin you have selected.

There is a good range of wines to choose from including vegan options. On this occasion I went with four of my friends just to get together and enjoy a chat and a meal. We ordered a bottle of South Australian sauvignon blanc and whilst looking at the drinks menu, I saw a mocktail of pineapple, ginger and mint I really liked the sound of, so ordered one and it was thirst quenching and so delicious!

Everyone started off with crusty bread and cultured butter, mine arrived with olive oil. I always have to limit my bread consumption as I eat way too much and become full even before the first main dish arrives. My first dish to arrive was a very tasty salad of spinach and other leaves, fennel (my favourite), pomegranate, tomato, pepitas (or pumpkin seeds really) and a delicious lemon dressing.

The next two dishes were the cauliflower with garlic puree and olive oil and a dish that wasn’t on the menu but made for me by the chef and consisted of some sort of grain that I can’t recall the name of, a couple of vegetables topped with goji berries and parsley – this was so delicious.

The dishes here are really quite large so I was happy that my friends were willing to taste mine even though they had their own non-vegan dishes. My friend Ray, who is not vegan loves trying my vegan dishes and at this restaurant he particularly loved the grain dish. It’s funny with a degustation, even if the portions are small, I find after about three dishes, I am full. My final dish was dessert and I think I was lucky here as it was sorbet, so nothing too heavy after all the food I had eaten. From memory my friends had heavy dishes but even though they were full, all were finished! Another lovely lunch with great friends.

Lark Hill Winery – Bungendore – New South Wales – Australia – March 2021

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Australia, Lark Hill Winery, New South Wales, Reisling, Smith's Gap Quarry

There is extremely limited travel from Australia, I think we can only pop over to New Zealand and that takes a bit of planning to ensure you don’t have to isolate in either country. So of late I have taken to setting aside a day during the week to either drive somewhere or take a long walk.

A couple of months ago I drove about a half hour out of Canberra as for such a long time I have wanted to visit Lark Hill Winery and also when I have driven past, on occasions I have seen cars parked at the side of the road nearby and people jumping in what looked like a big pond, so definitely wanted to see exactly what this was.

I did a little bit of research and found it was part of part of any old quarry but not sure what was mined there. It is used for swimming these days however some people on-line say not to swim as the water is heavily contaminated. But there is a sign telling people not to dive so guess it must be ok to swim?

I then hopped back into my car and drove to the winery. I always enjoy country drives as the scenery is just lovely, and I don’t think it matters where you are, or which country you are in; it’s all rather lovely!

I hadn’t been to Lark Hill Winery before but have enjoyed a glass or two of their Riesling. Animal products are not used in the refining process which means it’s a vegan wine; hence my love of it. But back to the winery, it’s very sweet with a lovely area outdoor area where I can imagine buying a glass of wine in summer and sitting outside relaxing with friends.

I went into the Cellar Door and was greeted by the owner’s son Chris, and decided to try the Chardonnay and then was offered a sip of the 2020 Riesling which Chris took straight from the barrel; delicious. I bought two bottles of Riesling and a bottle of Chardonnay as I had a friend arriving that evening who only drinks Chardonnay. Prices really were not any different to those in bottle shops, maybe a little difference in price, but anyway I love the idea of buying from the actual winery…just seems nicer.

On the way home I stopped off at a couple of typical country roads to check out the animals in the paddocks and the letterboxes that are placed on the side of the road. There are some inventive letterbox owners out there; one was attached to a surfboard and another is a sink. I understand having all the letterboxes in the same place makes life much easier for the ‘postie’ who doesn’t have to drive along long unpaved roads to deliver the mail. I love seeing them whatever the reason.