The waitress was a bit sour/uninterested, and took her time about meeting our eye to take the order, but when we discovered the delicatessen and shop at the back, we were much more impressed by the attitude of the staff and ended up buying up a lot of presents for future birthdays. What a great find! When I got back to Melbourne, I discovered that Darriwill Farm had an outlet in Maling Road, Canterbury, but I'll be back to visit the Hamilton one as soon as I can. It has a much bigger range.
I have decided that you could do quite a foodie tour around the Western district. We passed a lot of cheese making outlets, cafes and wineries which look very promising. And every time we talk to someone, they give us more eateries to add to the list.
In Melbourne, we got taken out to restaurants or cafes all over the city. I really believe Melbourne is one of the best cities in the world for restaurants, no matter your budget or ethnicity.
We had lunch at a favourite, Chocolate Buddha in the City Square. My bento box was so tasty that I forgot to photograph it until I had finished:
Another visit was to Glen Waverley. What a food mecca it has turned into! I t is alive and buzzing with eateries galore. We were very generously treated to dinner in the "Grand Tofu", which has a slightly Malaysian feel, and shared a variety of well cooked dishes:
But, we could have tried Mexican, Indian, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese........Fantastic! Another suburb to add to the "I'll be back" list.
I also enjoyed cooking for the family again. One of the meals I cooked was an old favourite that a friend's mother taught me many years ago: Lamb cutlets, marinated in ketchup and worcestershire sauce, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, rosemary and pepper, and baked in the oven. Very tasty, even though it is so simple.
Easter Sunday lunch was a very appropriate lamb roast
with baked vegetables (which included taro- unknown to some at the table, but universally deemed to be excellent)
beans
and potatoes
The dessert was amazing, and I didn't provide any of it. My daughter and daughter-in-law did the honours. We had hot cross buns both hand made and from Metro in Mt. Gambier. We also enjoyed a wonderful chocolate mousse cake from a Nigella Lawson recipe. And of course, there were the biscuits which the children helped to decorate. Plus, we had received some beautiful sugared chocolates.
and some middle eastern pastries ( my favourite was the little birds nest one full of candied pistachios) from a close fiend who knows we love the food from Hawat in Coburg. Mega yum.
And, we had some of the mini yoyos left from Rebecca's of Warnambool.
On Easter Monday, we were given another treat when my other daughter turned up with the ingredients for lunch: pasta with a creamy prawn or a salami, olive and tomato sauce. I, of course had to have both!
She even provided the salad
A young friend stayed with me to help me round the house, and when her mum joined us for dinner we had this easy comfort food: chicken stew. My young friend ended up having two servings - a miracle since she doesn't have a big appetite.
Of course, I also had lots of other lovely food while I was down, courtesy of my son, daughter-in-law, son-in-law and friend, and we tried out a lot of cafes, but sometimes I forget to photo and write down the details. Having a good time gets in the way !
Back home, I cooked a recipe based on one a lady in a Vietnamese food shop gave me when I was buying salted duck eggs. She was stunned that I, a non-Asian, knew how to use them, so insisted I try her recipe. Here it is, albeit with my personal twist:
Salted duck eggs and pork.
(Note that you can get these ingredients at most Asian groceries. I also buy my pork from an Asian butcher as they have the right cut and it is much cheaper! Oh, and if you don't want noodles, this dish is nice with steamed rice too. Just omit the noodles)
Ingredients
I piece of lean pork fillet, thinly sliced
2 salted duck eggs
Oyster sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon sliced ginger
1 onion diced
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 bunch mustard greens, cut into chunks
A dollop of Stones Ginger Wine
Thick fresh rice noodles
Oil
Method:
Hard boil eggs then remove from pan to cool. Cut into cubes.
Soak noodles in boiling water while preparing dish.
Heat oil and cook garlic, onion and ginger until softened. Add pork and brown till almost cooked. Stir in mustard greens, drained noodles, ginger wine, sugar and Oyster Sauce to taste. Stir in the eggs and serve.
