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My last overnight trip out of Canberra was in June this year and during my stay in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, my friends Sharon, David and I went to lunch at a local winery.
Centennial Vineyards was a very short drive from our hotel and Sharon had made a reservation so we left with enough time to enjoy the lovely grounds leading up to the winery. The restaurant serves local produce which is great for the community.
When we arrived we saw a helicopter on the grounds with the pilot standing outside so all throughout lunch we played a game of ‘who in the restaurant owns the helicopter’. We all guessed different people for different reasons…but in the end we were all wrong, it didn’t belong to any of the diners but the owner of the winery. So much for our detective skills!
The restaurant’s atmosphere was pretty average I must say; a bit vacant and with very little character, but the food was very good so that made up for the absence of ambience.
The menu was brought after a short wait and there was a good selection of meals each of us could order.
Unfortunately none of the wine was vegan so Sharon and David enjoyed a couple of glasses but I stuck to sparkling mineral water.
David ordered a soup for entree which arrived in a glass all frothy with a feta and caramelised onion bruschetta. Such nice presentation!
For our meals, Sharon and I ordered the pear and candied walnut salad with a pomegranate dressing to share and for our main courses David ordered the dukkah crusted barramundi with vegetable pearl cous cous and harissa whilst Sharon ordered a parmesan and sage crumbed pork cutlet with apple and fennel slaw accompanied by a bacon and pumpkin relish. I ordered the lentil and vegetable shepherds pot pie with greens and thick cut chips. All meals were very good and enjoyed by the three of us.
After I finished my lunch I took a stroll out the back of the restaurant to take a few photos. I could imagine sitting out in the courtyard in nicer weather enjoying time with friends.
After this we decided to visit the little shop selling wine and a range of chocolates and condiments but none of us bought anything on this occasion.
It was then time to visit David’s home so we departed after a lovely afternoon.
The other night it was my Chinese friend Peter’s 30th birthday so we decided to go out to dinner and Peter chose a new restaurant in Canberra which is about a five minute drive from my home.
It’s a Chinese restaurant, quite casual and with an unusual name Chic Gourmet which if I had heard the name before we went I would not of thought it was Chinese cuisine…I guess I am so used to names with a Chinese connection!!
Peter ordered all the meat dishes and started off with the hand-made signature pan fried pork buns, hand-made pork wontons in a spicy sauce and a dish of stewed duck with beer and chilli oil. It’s a real shame those wontons were not vegan as I must say they looked fabulous.
Every dish really arrived very nicely presented and as with the majority of Chinese restaurants; food arrived quickly.
Every time we go out with Peter, he always orders what we think are way too many dishes but they seems to get eaten, every time! This evening there was five of us and I was the only one not eating meat so there was quite a bit of food to be eaten even lots of vegetable dishes.
And just when we thought the dishes had finished Katie ordered both her and I a bowl of traditional Peking style slow cooked pear and white fungus soup for dessert. I thought this was very sweet of her as she had brought a cake from the local cake shop and as it wasn’t vegan she wanted to ensure I had something to eat. Not my favourite dessert I must say but I took a few sips.
And as you do when you are with much younger people, you find out about Apps (beautycam) that makes your skin look fabulously smooth and adds ears and other things to photos, so we engaged in some frivolity for a little while before ending the very lovely evening.
Finally…we can travel…well domestically anyway. My friend and I decided to drive about two hours out of Canberra to a beautiful area of New South Wales called the Southern Highlands which is also considered a wine region. My lovely friend Sharon booked us a couple of rooms at Links House in Bowral. Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is known for its antique shops, cafes, house & garden stores and expensive homes similar to other areas in the Southern Highlands.
We drove up the side lane and parked the car and walked into the hotel. We were greeted by the owner who offered us a small glass of locally made port. Sharon indulged but because I don’t like red wine I declined. We were shown our rooms which were lovely with a country style; heated, clean and most importantly; a comfortable bed!
We spent the next hour or so with a friend and his family in their beautiful home; an old schoolhouse – and so beautifully decorated. No photos unfortunately as didn’t think it appropriate to be snapping at the home of people I have only just met!!! Then Sharon, David and I went out to lunch at Centennial Vineyards, a local winery, located in the same suburb as our hotel (but more on that in an upcoming post).
We met in the lounge area of our hotel which had a lovely fire and comfortable chairs.
By this time we were feeling a little tired so moved back into the lounge area near the fire for a chat before heading off to our rooms where I promptly fell straight asleep.
My walk took about an hour and whilst it was hard to see many of the homes from the street (I am definitely one of those people who loves to peer into other people’s homes!!), I could see driveways and parts of homes along from the footpath.
The gardens were beautifully maintained also and one even had little ducks walking along the grass; very country I must say.
Bowral has always been a place I would love to live but unfortunately now it’s way out of my price range…ah well it’s a lovely place to visit overnight or even for a few days.
We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then it was time to check out and head back to Canberra. On our way home we stopped at another country town called Mittagong to look at the shops – I love the stores selling all things fabulous like facial creams/soaps and candles – a little bit expensive but gorgeous. Sharon and I ended up buying a few things in one particular shop and I bought a present for my friends Ray and Nat who helped look after my dogs whilst I was away. I bought them a jigger – now I had no idea it was called this but you might, it’s the stainless steel measuring cup used to measure alcoholic spirits…so I learnt something (mindless) whilst away. 
We also went into a fabulous bread shop. I must say I love good bread but whilst I didn’t buy any bread I did buy an Indian vegan pie to take home which I have since eaten and it was very good; great pastry!
So as you can see we had a lovely time away and as it’s so close to Canberra it’s an easy place to visit regularly. I must return soon!
I love walking around Canberra; well anywhere really but because I live here in Canberra it’s nice to find new walks for both me and my dogs. The other day I happened to be driving in a nearby suburb called Watson (named after our third Prime Minister) and came across a great parkland where in parts dogs are allowed off-lead. I drove straight home, picked up the dogs and returned. Watson Woodlands is actually eighteen hectares but there is a cleared parkland contained on one side of the road with lovely ponds, ducks, walkways and beautiful Eucalyptus trees scattered around.
This area of the parkland has two walkways one out in the open with a well worn pathway and the other underneath a canopy of trees. I love both walks but most people with dogs walk along the well worn path so I usually walk this way as it’s nice for my dogs to see and play with the other dogs. The walk takes about twenty-five minutes one way then you turn around and walk back; simple!
Another of my other favourite walks is the reasonably lengthy circular walk around Lake Ginninderra. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes at a normal walking pace and my smaller dog Axel and I do the walk when we can.
The approximate seven-kilometre walk is reasonably flat and paved the whole way. There is a variety of birdlife; swans, ducks and waterbirds and bbq areas, a large and small enclosed dog park and a lovely running stream which flows into the lake.
I love this walk as the trees are beautiful and it’s wonderful to see so many people out and about walking/playing or having picnics.
And the final walk I want to mention today is a forty-five minute walk around Yerribi Ponds which is about a fifteen minute drive from my home. Similar to Lake Ginninderra, Yerribi Ponds has a paved pathway around the whole of the lake making walking and bike riding very easy. It’s another walk that I can take my dogs but they must stay on a leash.
There is also a large variety of birdlife along the ponds and many young children like to feed the birds and fish.
At one particular point along the walk there is some great street art created by John Voir which is found on pillars or columns that support the roadway. 
I find these ponds very children friendly as there is so much for children to do; an adventure playground, basketball court, double tandem flying fox and a pirate ship under a huge shade cloth. There is also a swing (Liberty Swing) that can be used by children in wheelchairs; now isn’t that just so lovely.
And when the sun goes down, the weather gets cooler and the scenery changes; looking differently to what it did during the day but equally as lovely I think. Time to go home – even the local men fishing decide to make it a day albeit without any catches!
This week I was working out how long its been since I have eaten out and the answer was ” it’s been a while”; not just for me of course but for everyone and I know how difficult it is for restaurant owners and staff – so I hope for their sake (and mine) that restaurants open soon. Then came some good news a couple of days ago that restaurants and pubs here in Canberra are opening with limited patronage…yay! Only ten people allowed inside to ensure adherence to social distancing but that’s fine as it allows me to go out and enjoy a meal with friends.
So…back to this post. Last October my friends Ray and Natalie invited me to Sage Dining Rooms located at Gorman House in Canberra for lunch to celebrate Nat’s birthday. Sage has an interesting history. The whole complex used to be accomodation for interstate public servants comprising small individual bedrooms with a series of lounges and a dining room. The hostel was decommissioned in the 1970s and the communal dining and living rooms were refurbished to create Sage. 
Sage is definitely one of Canberra’s best fine dining restaurants and has won many awards over the years. The wait staff are extremely well versed with the ingredients of every dish and as they are serving, they provide that information. The decor is lovely; fresh flowers on every table, linen tablecloths and napkins, cute chair and bench coverings and the place is spotlessly clean.
We ordered the three course degustation with mine being vegan to cater for my dietary requirements. There is also a five course degustation but I find it’s just too much food as the restaurant provides an amuse bouche with our first drinks (lovely glass of champagne) and then a complimentary small dish is also offered between each course – all delicious tiny mouth fulls but when you have five dishes and tiny bites between each you get very full very quickly!
All dishes are beautifully presented and food is absolutely delicious.
And desserts are fabulous too…
And then came a lovely surprise for Nat…
I am so looking forward to Sage Dining Rooms re-opening…
I absolutely love Chinese food! My two gorgeous Chinese friends took me and my friend Jon to a Chinese restaurant here in Canberra. It’s a Sichuan restaurant actually called Sichuan Chinese Restaurant which means that the dishes are all pretty spicy and clearly no great thought put into the name; guess you know what you are getting!
The restaurant is located in a suburb about a fifteen minute drive from my home and on Lake Gininderra which is lovely to walk around during the day.
My friend Peter selected this restaurant as it serves genuine Chinese food. No crazy Aussie versions of Chinese food to be found here and thank goodness. Peter always orders for us as he knows what dishes both Jon and I like. I love the beans which are usually dry fried with garlic and chilli – yum!
I also loved the chilli dry fried cauliflower and as you can see it certainly did have a lot of chilli. Peter also ordered a plate of white and brown buns (Mantou 馒头) which are steamed and soft; popular in northern China. They came with some sort of creamy sauce but I didn’t have any of it. 
A beef and chicken dish was ordered; the beef made with an enormous amount of chilli (loved by Jon).
The fried potato dish was so good; a bit too spicy for me as it made my lips numb but I couldn’t stop eating it.
And something I absolutely love is the black sesame glutinous rice balls (tangyuan 汤圆) and glutinous rice sticks in soy…again delicious. 
What a great meal. I really love the food at this restaurant. So much that I have been back about five times since my first visit.
Earlier this year I saw a restaurant called Momoda as I was walking past on my way to meet friends for a drink and since then I have dined there about four times. On this occasion, a few months ago, I arranged for a group of friends to join me for dinner. I invited my Chinese friends, my friend Jon and another friend Anne (who I have known since school). The menu is extensive with vegan and vegetarian options and also with lots of meat and seafood dishes.
The name Momoda is Chinese slang meaning kiss-kiss which is an expression of affection used at the end of text messages similar to “mwah” in English. Cute! The food here is delicious; so many choices for me as a vegan and lots of great dishes for my meat eating friends as well as the many choices of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and drinks.
I always order the cauliflower san choy bowl which comes with peanut satay and baby cos lettuce which allows you to make your own little parcels of deliciousness. Also on my list is my absolute favourite – crispy eggplant with Chiang-Jiang red vinegar, roasted sesame and ginger chilli. Now this is good!
I have also ordered the wild mushroom bun, with pumpkin seed, king mushroom and black pepper which was very good and there is a dumpling called the double cheeseburger dumpling – yes you read correctly; that is definitely a combination of West meets East – we didn’t order this. All the buns and dumplings we have eaten here have been great!
My friends shared quite a few dishes including the scallop and prawn dumplings topped with diced pickles, Grandma’s sticky pork belly; twice cooked pork with caramel lemongrass chilli jam, the pork and Chinese chive dumplings with black vinegar and ginger chilli dipping sauce and the BBQ pork Char Siu buns – all delicious I was informed.
The restaurant’s interior is worth the visit; dimly lit with a really lovely decor that includes Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, fans on the walls and unusual items like an old leather suitcase displayed on a shelf and non-Chinese lanterns hanging on the walls – all adds to the ambience I think. 
The owner Irean is from Mainland China and has a wonderful sense of humour. I love that she remembers you from previous visits. And to top it off, my Chinese friends Peter and Katie said to me at the end of the evening that they loved each of the dishes and because they are used to typical Chinese food they were so impressed with the quality and variety of the dishes. I guess this is because the dishes are traditional Chinese but with a very modern twist. Certainly not the Aussie/Chinese dishes like beef in black bean sauce or sweet and sour pork; both dishes my Chinese friends have never heard of.
About a half hour drive north from my home in Canberra is a lovely old town called Gunning which is located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. The town has a population of just over 600 people and located inside the historic and refurbished 1865 Royal Hotel is a lovely restaurant called Grazing. The restaurant serves decent size portions of food, made with fresh seasonal organic and local ingredients along with an extensive list of Canberra District wines.
It’s a lovely drive to the township through country farms and bushland. We arrived a little early and took the opportunity to walk along the main street and pop into a couple of stores. Then it was time for eating (yay)…we were seated in the main part of the restaurant; there are smaller more private rooms but usually for more than six or so people.
The meals were as good as they were on my previous visit. We started off with a salmon pate on crisp bread which I declined but my friends thoroughly enjoyed. 
I ordered a risotto which the chef was happy to make vegan. It arrived with Jerusalem artichoke and greens; beautifully presented and delicious. One of my friends ordered the original risotto made with braised lentils, Wagu beef cheek, Jerusalem artichoke, chestnut and truffle dressing.
Also ordered was the Barramundi which was oven roasted and came with curried celeriac and crab crust, buttered cabbage and fennel velouté. And we shared the baked eggplant with miso glaze, blackened Baba Ghanoush, sesame and labneh. Again I must say all the meals were beautifully presented.
We also ordered a couple of other dishes but looking at them now I genuinely cannot remember what they are well apart from the Brussel sprout dish; guess it’s such a long time ago and the dishes are not still on the Grazing on-line menu.
Gunning is a lovely little town to visit and Grazing is especially worth a visit with good friends.
I had made plans a few months ago to visit friends in Melbourne; really to get out of Canberra’s cold but also to just enjoy some time away whilst my friend looked after my dogs. This meant I could take my daily walks without two excited (but truly gorgeous) dogs pulling on their leads (maybe that means they (I) need additional training!!)…
I booked a boutique hotel near the city through Luxury Escapes and really got a great deal. I had a suite at the Royce Hotel that included free mini bar snacks, breakfast every morning and a voucher for a drink in the bar..very happy with all that.
My first evening I spent with two friends over dinner at Fatto Bar & Cantina overlooking the Swan River. 
My friends arrived and I thought I already knew what I wanted to order, having had half an hour to decide; firstly it was the Parmesan Scramble on sourdough but finally I decided on the Breakfast Pizza. 
As I was looking at the menu I had to confirm with the waitress that everything was actually vegan as it all sounded very non-vegan. But luckily it was!
We all shared a garlic bread and the warm potato salad. Bread was gone even before I had the opportunity to take out my phone to take a photograph…truly delicious as was the warm potato salad.
My friends ordered the Meatball Sub, the Mushrooms & Ricotta and the Classic Italian Basil Pesto & Roasted Vegetable Frittata…each enjoyed enormously by all.
And it’s not often I get to order dessert unless it’s sorbet so this time I definitley wanted something even thought I was a little full. Three of us ordered the baby donuts filled with a vanilla bean masala custard. And when I say we ordered them..we all ordered our own bowl of six donuts…I couldn’t eat all but tried my hardest and we all loved them!!
Another friend and I had booked tickets to see the Chinese ancient terracotta warriors at the National Gallery of Victoria the following day. Having lived in China for three years, I had seen them several times in their hometown of Xi’an, but my friend wanted to see them so I was very happy to go along; they really are impressive along with other amazing items discovered in the tomb.
There was also an exhibition by contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang who created a 10,000 porcelain bird exhibition within the gallery. Amazing!
After observing the exhibition, it was time for lunch so we ate within the gallery and I ordered a delicious meal of a cauliflower steak and my friend and I shared a bowl of french fries (staple diet of mine I think). The cauliflower was cooked to perfection and the accompanying lentils and sauce was delicious.
So after another great weekend away it was time to return to Canberra to arrive home to two dogs that were incredibly happy to see me. Love Melbourne!
I have known my friend Lyn for over thirty-five years so when she moved back to Australia from Canada I promised I would visit when they had built their new home. It’s exactly what I did a couple of weekends ago. The drive from Canberra to Ulladulla is exactly two and a half hours and is very pleasant.
The next morning we took a lovely walk with the dogs; through bushland and along the beachfront where the dogs jumped immediately into the water. It was about twenty-one degrees so no need for big jackets and gloves like I have to wear at the moment in Canberra.
The girls had booked a table for lunch overlooking the ocean at the Mollymook Golf Club but before we went there, we went to the local lighthouse where we walked along a pathway of interesting trees and shrubs to arrive at a viewing platform to see the ocean.
The views from inside the golf club were also very beautiful and it was here I saw my first whale (well a spout of water and a side fin) and a mum dolphin and her baby. Very exciting but no photos as it was too quick a sighting.
I really had a great few days with the girls as they are such great company and it was so nice to stay in their fabulous newly built home, but it was time to leave. I decided to stop at a lovely historic country town on the way home called Braidwood. I parked up one end of the main street and walked up and down both sides to check out all the shops and pick a nice cafe for lunch. There are some beautiful old buildings but wow it was so incredibly cold.
I decided on a warm and cosy cafe called Abion which was so pretty inside with its fresh vegetables on display as well as old aluminium cans and tins amongst many other things.
I ordered a really delicious coconut, sweet potato and split pea soup with a pot of peppermint tea and of course a small bowl of chips and sat on the old wooden bench before an old wooden table! A lovely environment to eat lunch on such a cold day.
And on the way back to my car I walk past more historic buildings and some street art next to a sign showing people their dogs cannot poop in the street!
