Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Alfajores

Ahh... I remember the day I had my first taste of alfajores, "two delicate biscuits filled with a delicious rich, creamy, milk caramel sauce (dulce de leche)" and I thought that I discovered gold :D These enormous cookies are popular throughout South America, but the premium Havanna brand is something of a "must buy" when in Argentina. A perfect tea time snack!

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stormiii at 9:54 pm

1cups of tea

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Freycinet

Part 4 of my Tassie vacation - Cradle Mountain to Freycinet.

Moving eastward, we left the rainy alpine atmosphere of Cradle Mountain and headed on the popular Bass Highway towards Launceston. The scenery along this stretch was remarkably similar to the gentle rolling fields and moo-moos one sees in New Zealand; there were even charming chocolate/cheese shops to stop by and sample :P Our tummies were still full of fresh Tasmanian cheeses and Valhalla ice cream when we stumbled upon a cute tearoom called "Serendipi-Tea" in the town of Westbury. Lunch was delicious lamb stew, quiche and salads - all made by the friendly owner. I couldn't resist the last serving of trifle - an English dessert made of layers of sultanas, nuts, orange jelly and ice cream :D The carrot cake was equally satisfying... burp!

Freycinet National Park is located right at the end of a strip of land branching out from the main island. It's famous for stunning coastal landscapes, gorgeous bays and isolated beaches. I was really anticipating this stop to be the highlight but the weather refused to cooperate on our first day!

I was cheered up by the sight of our accommodation at least ;P Freycinet Lodge was the priciest but my favourite by far; the rooms were designed for maximum relaxation - instead of a tv, there was a nice stereo and lots of comfy couches.

With a full schedule planned for the next day, we went in search of a good meal :P Only the hotel restaurants were opened so we checked out the neighbouring resort, "Edge of the Bay" and what a dinner we had :D Fresh oysters with pickled chilli and cucumber dressing.

A tasting plate of yummy seafood.

Duck ragout with parpadelle pasta.

Mushroom penne.

My fave - Pasta with lobster bisque!

Seafood pasta.

Blue eye trevalla fillet with rice.

We were greeted by a gorgeous blue sky and calm sea across Coles Bay the next morning - that's the view from my balcony!

We were able to fit in some walks around the coast and then kayaking at twilight... YAY! for Freycinet :D

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stormiii at 8:35 pm

2cups of tea

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Nihon ryori :D

We indulged in all things Japanese for last night's dinner - tempura ramen, takoyaki (1kg pack for A$12.50) and a selection of yummy sushi from Japanese wholesaler, Suzuran (1025 Burke Road, Hawthorn).

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stormiii at 2:00 pm

1cups of tea

Saturday, March 01, 2008

The Eastern

The Eastern freeway is part of the route that I take to work every morning during the week. It's usually smooth flowing at 100km/h until I have to exit at Chandler's Highway where I end up moving like a snail for 15 min :P It was pouring cats and dogs and the clouds were just letting up when I snapped this. Can you see the beautiful rainbow? A consolation, at least :D

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stormiii at 8:16 pm

1cups of tea