Reverse Dinner - Luxbite and Dainty Sichuan

I like desserts, and as I've said many times, when I go out to a restaurant, I always look at the dessert menu so I can make room for it. However, even then I sometimes over eat during the savoury courses and don't have room for dessert, a tragedy. So when I-Hua suggested a reverse dinner, I went "Genius, I'm in". I'm sure I remember seeing on The Supersizers that they did reverse dinners in the Elizabethan era (I'm probably making this up but go with my assertion for the sake of this story haha) and hence it was a long time tradition. The plan for the reverse dinner was to try out the Luxbite dessert degustation and then head over to Dainty Sichuan to eat our savouries. Others who were also excited about the reverse dinner were Daisy and Bryan, with the now famous Kate from Lune Croissanterie joining us for the main dinner.

Firstly our dinner started at Luxbite, where we drooled over all the macarons and cakes displayed before sitting down for our two course dessert degustation. First up, we tried a delicious fruit, jelly and meringue starter. It was light and refreshing and a great dish. Then it was onto a banana layer cake and a banana souffle. Wow, both desserts were excellent, especially the souffle. It was light and had such a great flavour. I really enjoyed it and wish it was available all the time.

After having our wonderful dessert, it was time for some spicy food at Dainty Sichuan. We ordered way too much food for the 7 of us and the table was heaving with spicy food everywhere. Thanks to Bernard and Yen who recommended some dishes, we had an awesome dinner. It still took a while to decide what to order when we all wanted to try everything. The first dish that we had was the Lamb Ribs as recommended. The ribs were so so good. Tender and crispy served with eggnets. An excellent dish.

A massive bowl of fish in spicy chili oil "soup" was also very good. The fish was tender and yes, it was spicy, but probably not as spicy as it looks in the photo. Although, by the end of the night, it was getting rather spicy and our mouths were so numb from the Sichuan peppers.

We ordered the famous Fried Eggplant, and they were excellent. Crispy, soft and with a sugary glaze, it was an addictive dish. Spicy Chicken and Spicy Pork (not pictured) as well as Stir Fried Beans (not pictured) were all great dishes. I loved the thin layers of pork in the spicy sauce and the drier chicken was really addictive too. The beans were a real highlight and the smokey wok breath gave the beans a wonderful flavour.

Lastly we had the Fried Pork dish as recommended. This was my favourite dish of the night amongst all the great dishes. Eaten with the spicy chili and dipping sauce wrapped in lettuce, this was a real winner.

I loved everything we tried and would definitely go back to eat more. Everything was hot, but for me it was at a tolerable (albeit sweat inducing) level. There was a lot of "sssssssssss" going on as the chili started to affect our tongues but it just made us want more of the spicy food. I'd highly recommend ordering some soy milk to help dull down all the spiciness. Service wise, food was served quickly and the waiters were surprisingly friendly for an Asian restaurant. The ambiance in the restaurant was boisterous and it was very very loud. I wouldn't expect any less and this type of place is right up my alley. A great cheap, delicious and fun meal.

Chocolate Brownie Meringue with Raspberry Cream Cake - Great Flavours and Presentation

I love baking, and one of my favourite shows on TV is The Great British Bake Off after Cherrie alerted me to it. It's such a brilliant show and the things they bake on it look so good. So Cherrie decided to host a Great British Bake Off Party, with other fellow fans of the show Michele, Lianne, Daisy, Ling and myself. We all had to bake a savoury and sweet item to bring and share.

For my sweet bake I decided to make the Chocolate Brownie Meringue with Raspberry Cream. The cake looked really stunning from the recipe photo and as it turned out, was as good in real life. This cake is a meringue plus base type cake similar to the Vanilla Meringue Cake with Cinnamon Sugared Almonds cake I've baked before. Unlike the other cake which is all baked at once, this cake is baked separately for the two layers. The layers sandwich a simple raspberry cream filling and is served with chopped nuts.

Baking the cake twice is more work but boy oh boy, this cake is amazing. The brownie base is still moist and contrasts with the meringue which has hazelnuts through it. Combined with the simple raspberry cream which helps to cut through the other layers, all the flavours and textures make for a great tasting, and looking, cake. Even the nuts on top add another flavour profile.

As usual, some tips to help you get the best bake:

* I underbaked the brownies a bit and then put the meringue over it for the second bake. This meant the brownies layer turned out really moist.

* As with any meringue, add in the sugar slowly and keep beating until the whites are very stiff.

* As it's such a simple cake, good chocolate really ensures the best outcome.

* Fresh raspberries are usually really expensive but if you can get your hands on some, it's preferred. Else use frozen raspberries.

* Roasting nuts can go terribly wrong if you don't watch it. Nuts burn really quickly so be careful. Getting the skin off hazelnuts is a pain but the flavour really adds significantly to this cake.

Chocolate Brownie Meringue with Raspberry Cream

INGREDIENTS

For the brownie base

200g/7oz good-quality dark chocolate roughly chopped
200g/7oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g/8¾oz icing sugar
3 free-range eggs
110g/4oz plain flour

For the meringue topping

4 free-range egg whites
200g/7oz caster sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar
100g/3½oz hazelnuts, roasted, chopped

For the filling

300ml/10½fl oz whipping cream
100g//3½oz icing sugar
200g/7oz raspberries

To serve

handful hazelnuts, chopped
handful pistachios, chopped

METHOD

1) Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease and line two 23cm/9in sandwich tins

2) For the brownie base, melt 180g/6¼oz of the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan over simmering water. Chop the remaining chocolate and set aside.

3) Meanwhile, cream the butter and icing sugar together in a separate bowl until light, creamy and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.

4) Gradually beat in the flour until the mixture is very smooth. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate and fold it into the mixture, then fold in the chopped chocolate.

5) Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared sandwich tins and bake for 10-12 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

6) Meanwhile for the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk the sugar until smooth and glossy, then fold in the chopped hazelnuts with a metal spoon.

7) Spoon the meringue topping onto the cooked brownie base. Use a palette knife to smooth the meringue mixture in one sandwich tin and use a skewer to make peaks in the meringue mixture in the other tin.

8) Return the sandwich tins to the oven for a further 30 minutes, or until the meringue is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Carefully remove the cakes from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.

9) For the filling, whip the cream and icing sugar together in a bowl until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Fold in the raspberries.

10) To assemble, place the flat meringue brownie, meringue-side down onto a cake stand or large plate, spoon over the raspberry cream and top with the remaining cake, brownie-side down. Sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts and pistachios.

Fa-Fah - You Want Pork With Your Pork?

Asians love pork. Fact. If you're Asian and you don't love pork, you're out of the Asian club. Get out. Now. I think from as young as I can remember, any special occasion demands pork, usually in the form or roast pork. From births to weddings to even funerals, bring out the roast pork. I've always loved pork from a young age. As I was exposed to pork and chicken the most living in Vietnam, I obviously came to love them. Only as I grew up in Australia did I start to appreciate beef, and then finally lamb. While I love roast pork, I tend to dislike char siu. Only in Hong Kong do I love the char siu, which is fatty and has that sweeter flavour. When I got an invite to try out Fa-Fah, I was told they do good pork dishes, including char siu. As I'm always willing to give anything a try, I accepted the invite.

Fa-Fah is another new restaurant that has opened up at Chadstone. I remember the days when the only options at Chadstone were food court stuff or Hungry Jacks or Pancake Parlour. Now there's my beloved Papparich, there's Miam Miam, there's Oriental Teahouse and now Fa-Fah to round out the Asian eateries. The space inside Fa-Fah looks good. I like the decor and it felt inviting. The large open kitchen has become the norm and it's good to see what the chefs are up to. We were greeted by the waitresses, who were very friendly to the point of almost being over the top friendly. We got in our drinks order and picked some items off the decent sized menu which consisted of various roast meats, noodles and rice dishes. There's enough variety to cater to most people and the prices are on the cheaper end.

As I was there to try the roast pork and char siu, we ordered that as a starter. To my delight, the roast pork was really good, with thin crispy skin and soft meat. An even better surprise, the char siu was actually good. I wouldn't go as far as saying they're as great as in Hong Kong, but I did like it. It was in the Hong Kong style with a fattier cut and slathered in a sweet honey type glaze. Strangely it was served with mustard. I tried the combination and didn't like it at all but my work mate loved it and said it was so innovative. You can go and decide for yourself. We also shared a Vinegar Pork dish and some glass noodles. The vinegar pork was awesome. Such great flavours of sweet, salty and sour. This was our favourite dish of the day. The glass noodles were also good, with a nice sour tang.

The Prawns Wrapped in Bacon sounded really good but when we tasted it, it wasn't bad but if anything, the bacon took away from the prawns rather than enhance it. I think if it was just the prawns fried in the batter, it would've been really good. In the background you can see my avocado drink, which was really good. Made fresh with real avocados, it was really refreshing.

This is a good solid place for a cheap meal and I would definitely return. I was impressed with the pork dishes and would definitely order those again. If you're in the Chadstone shopping centre area, I'd recommend you pop in for a meal as the food is good and the atmosphere is relaxing. You'll leave with change from a $20 easily so it's really good value.

We dined courtesy of Fa-Fah.

Mossgreen Tea Rooms - High Tea With a Side of Art

Apparently, real men don't eat quiche. Similarly, high tea is something that's associated with women. I contend that good food is good food and men and women can enjoy it. Hence when I got invited to attend a high tea at Mossgreen Tea Rooms, I happily accepted. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love cakes, so I was really looking forward to the high tea. I attended the high tea with Michele, Agnes, I-Hua and Aaron, Lianne and Daisy.

Mossgreen Tea Rooms is part art gallery and part restaurant. It adjoins the Mossgreen Art Gallery where you can find lots of interesting and beautiful art pieces to buy. The tea rooms are decorated with lots of works as well, all of which you can buy. It makes the space interesting and constantly evolving, which I love. I was thoroughly intrigued by the various art work and they made a great backdrop to the high tea. The high tea itself is catered by Peter Rowland Catering and consisted of savoury and sweet items as well as your choice of tea. I decided to go with the Mossgreen Tea Room Signature Tea, which unfortunately was not to my liking. The lemongrass and other spices in it made it taste a lot like a tom yum soup, which is not a good thing in a tea. Despite the questionable tea, I absolutely adored the Wedgewood China that the tea was served in and wanted to steal them. Look how stunning the crockery is. Things just taste better served in and on good crockery.

Luckily, the high tea items themselves were much nicer. The savoury sandwiches of smoked salmon, cucumber and ham I believe were all pretty good. The best items were the quiche and especially the pithivier, which was excellent. The sweet items were pretty good too, with chocolate cakes, banana cake, Swiss rolls, poppyseed cakes and macarons. The chocolate layer cake with jelly was good and the poppyseed cake was really amazing and my favourite for the day. The macarons had good flavour but (and I know it sounds silly) was too sweet. I've eaten many macarons and the good ones aren't sickly sweet somehow. Lastly, the scones looked really tempting but unfortunately maybe due to the small size, they were more like bread rolls.

The service was friendly with an air of class to match the whole atmosphere. People were all happily eating their food and drinking tea with their pinkies raised while enjoying the setting. The whole thing makes for a very relaxing and enjoyable high tea experience. I wouldn't say that every item of food was great but for $48 for the high tea experience, it's worth trying.

I was invited by Q Strategies and dined courtesy of Mossgreen Tea Rooms.

Joe's Bar and Diner - Excellent Smokey Ribs and Buffalo Wings

I've visited Acland street a number times for dining, but always in the South end, and never in the North end past Carlisle Street. However, when I was invited to visit Joe's Bar and Diner, I knew I had to pay a visit to the other end of Acland street as the menu was full of wonderful looking American dishes. I had tasted a lot of awesome American food on my holiday in the US and wanted to taste more of it here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, most American style diners in Melbourne serve rather sub-standard food that they wouldn't get away with serving in the States.

Joe's Bar and Diner is part bar, part diner. Funny that. A big bar area dominates the room while tables to one side of the room serves as the diner. Big open windows lets through the sunlight and funky (think Pulp Fiction soundtrack) music fill the room at just the right loudness. Hipster staff take a relaxed attitude when serving, which is good, although at times a bit of urgency doesn't hurt.

I attended the dinner with my work mates Ross, David and Joe. We ordered (or more accurately they left me to order) a selection of food that we shared. For starters we tried the Southern Fried Chicken, Carnitas (pork taco), Arrachera (beef taco), Fried Calamari and Buffalo Wings. The fried chicken was pretty good, not dry and had pretty good flavours. However, it was all chicken breast pieces, which I always find a bit boring. The pork tacos was really good, while the steak one was ok. The fried calamari was really nice, crispy yet still succulent. Squeezed with some lime, it was zingy and addictive. Lastly, the buffalo wings was awesome. It was already good by itself, but combined with the Creole mayo, it was freaking amazing. Joe really loved the Creole mayo and ate it with every other item on the table, and swears that it works with everything. I believe him.

Next we got to the main event of BBQ Pork Ribs, which we had with Sweet Potato Fries and Poutine (curly fries with gravy and cheese). The BBQ pork ribs were so crazy delicious. The sauce was so good and the ribs were juicy and had this beautiful smokey flavour. Everyone loved the ribs, and it went really well with the sweet potato fries for me. The other liked the sweet potato fries, but loved the poutine. The poutine (see above right photo) sounds and looks so wrong, but tastes oh so right. David loved it the most and finished about half of it himself. The salty cheese works so well with the fries and the gravy.

We were so full by the time we got to desserts but I convinced everyone to have some dessert as I really wanted to try the Beignets. Unfortunately they were not available so we tried the Chocolate Waffles and Pecan Pie. The pecan pie was ok but nothing like I tasted in New York. The chocolate waffles were rather bad as the waffles tasted like dry pancakes. The sauce was quite good but didn't really help to cover the bad waffles.

After dinner, Rob the owner came over to talk to us. We were chatting and talked about how great the ribs tasted and what a great authentic flavour they had. He then told us they had a proper smoker out the back, which he was happy to show us. Being engineers, everyone eagerly jumped at the invitation. When we got to the back and he showed us the smoke, we all went "oooh, so sexy". Then when he opened it, the smelled that wafted towards us was what I imagine Heaven to smell like. Smokey, meaty goodness. I learned that some places "smoke" their meat in electric smokers and then they're left there to be steamed just before serving. This gives the meat this soppy texture where it falls off the bone so easily. Also, the smokey flavour disappears rather quickly. They may also use artificial smoke liquids to amp up the smokey flavour temporarily. But it was surprising how we could all taste the difference in this properly smoked meat and commented how much nicer it was. Nothing beats doing it properly, using different woods to create different flavor profiles and time to ensure the meat is tender but still retains some texture.

Overall it was a really good meal and I'll definitely go back again. The two highlights were the amazing buffalo wings and the BBQ pork ribs. I'd love to try the beef ribs next time as I'm sure they'll be excellent as well given it's cooked properly in the smoker. Price wise, I think it's good value as you will get far inferior food for the same price. There's also a good beer and wine menu and the setting is very nice. Highly recommended.

All food was covered by Joe's Bar and Diner. Drinks were covered by ourselves.

Lee Ho Fook - Excellent Chinese Food

Fook you.

No, fook you.

Ok, if you insist, I'll go to Lee Ho Fook.

If you're not on the floor rolling in laughter, clearly you don't fall for bad jokes based upon bad Chinglish. That's probably a good thing. Bad jokes aside, the dinner at Lee Ho Fook was excellent and I'd happily go back any day. Usually, I wouldn't choose to go out to eat Chinese food. Given I eat so much of it at home, and the majority of it is done so badly, it's not an obvious choice for me. However, the famous people at Luxbite , Bernard and Yen, kept raving about Lee Ho Fook so we all decided to go and try it out. The equally famous I-Hua helped organised the dinner and the infamous Agnes came along as well, with Mama Spork in tow. We studied the menu long and hard and decided that the banquet for $48 provided the best selection of food for value of money. As we're gluts, we also ordered a couple of extra dishes to try.

Lee Ho Fook's fitout is rather funky and I loved the use of the occy straps for the lighting setup. It seems like you can't go to any restaurant nowadays with half a hipster vibe that doesn't have some funky light or other. As with my usual complaint, whilst the lights look good, at most places, including Lee Ho Fook, the lighting is too dark for my liking. With that small quibble aside, the setup at Lee Ho Fook does feel really comfortable and is a good environment for casual dining. The wait staff were friendly, efficient and knowledgeable, which is great as I hate style before substance.

The banquet started off with a selection of entrees, a Pork Bun and Prawn Toast with Foie Gras Butter. The pork buns had a dried pork type filling which was really great. The prawn toast had good flavour but was far too salty for my liking.

Next up, we ate what I thought was the best dish of the night. The Yee Sang of Ocean Trout with Jellyfish Salad was just pure brilliance. The flavours and textures bounced off my tongue and I kept wanting more of it. This dish was followed by the two dishes we ordered a la carte. The Salt Duck was a marinated duck and served with some beautiful red cabbage. It was pretty good. The Pork Belly with Pickles and Chili Sauce was stunning, mainly due to the chili sauce. Oh man, that sauce had me more than Tom Cruise had Renee Zellweger at hello. It was pure spicy goodness and combined with the pork belly and pickles, was an awesome dish.

Back to the banquet dishes, there was Steamed Barramundi with Ginger and Spring Onions, Crispy Skin Shangdong Chicken and Crispy Eggplant with Red Vinegar. The barramundi surprised me as of all the dishes it was the most "normal" Chinese dish that other restaurants serve but it was different enough to make it really stand out. The crispy chicken was beautifully done with a crispy skin and tender meat. Lastly, the crispy eggplant was brilliant. I love the texture and flavour of that dish and it definitely makes me want to eat more eggplant.

Finally for dessert, there was an Almond Jelly and a Jasmine Tea Creme Brulee. The jelly was nice, but boy oh boy, that brulee was sensational. The jasmine tea worked a treat in it. Gimme another one now. We also got a free dessert from the kitchen of Coconut Textures with Sake. It was refreshing but I won't say I loved it as it felt a bit disjointed.

As I said at the beginning, this is a Chinese restaurant that I'd definitely come back to and recommend for others to try. Would I recommend it to my mum, unfortunately no. She would still dislike it as it wasn't Chinese enough and still too expensive haha. It also didn't get Mama Spork's approval. But for anyone else who's not hung up on Chinese food only having to be traditional and cheap, this is a must try place.

Lune Croissanterie - Best Croissants In Melbourne

1/29-31 Scott St
Elwood, VIC 3184
03 9077 6463
Website
Twitter

Let me tell you a story, a story of how I came to find the best croissants in Melbourne. It all started in a galaxy far far away, known as the Melbourne CBD (I work and live in the 'burbs). One fashionable, funny and famous coffee addict called I-Hua frequently visits Patricia Coffee Brewers for her daily caffeine fix. The non-cake eating I-Hua would usually just have her coffee, but she noticed these pastries (which aren't cake as she doesn't eat cake so let's get that clear), espeically the pain au chocolat from Lune Croissanterie. She tried one, and loved it. From that point on, she tried numerous other things, so much so that she became friends with the genius behind the pastries, Kate.

Fast forward months and I-Hua, Aaron, Daisy, Ricky, Bryan and myself were going to dinner at Dainty Sichuan after our reverse dinner meal which started with dessert at http://luxbite.com.au/. Kate had joined us for the dinner part at Dainty as she loves spicy food too. By chance, I was sitting next to Kate and we talked about pastries and cakes. I asked her about some pastry I had in Paris that was like puff pastry but with a sugary outside. She told me it might be a Kouign Amann, a pastry that originated from a region in France. Then I asked if that's what the Dominique Ansel pastry I had in New York was. And she confirmed that was the case. I had absolutely loved those two pastries and the most amazing part of this story is that Kate was starting to make them. OMG. SHUT THE GATE. GET OUTTA HERE. I was beyond excited. A special meeting was setup and Daisy and I drove to Kate's shop to pick up this Kouign Amann, amongst other pastries. The Kouign Amann is mind blowingly awesome. The taste is so simple yet so perfect and just lingers on your tongue like a soft Autumn breeze on your face.....*licks lips*. Ok that's what Nigella would have said. I'll be a bit less poetic and say that the sugar on the outside works so well with the buttery pastry to give the most wonderful simple flavour. There are a number of textures too, from the sugar crunch, to the pastry crunch and the soft interior of the pastry. I've always loved simpler desserts and this is exactly my type of thing. Now I don't need to go to Paris or New York to eat one. The Kouign Amann is my favourite dessert of 2013. And if I have anything to do with it, next year in 2014, the Kouign Amann will become the next big thing as everyone should taste this amazing pastry.

Besides the Kouign Amann, Kate also makes plain croissants, almond croissants, pain au chocolate, cruffins (a croissant muffin) and special flavours of things such as pistachio croissants or anything else she feels like making. I've had the pleasure of eating all of her pastries. The plain croissants are beautiful, the best I've tried in Melbourne. They're flakey, crunchy, soft, buttery. Everything you want in a croissant. The almond croissant has also become my favourite almond croissant. Upon my very first tasting, I felt that I still preferred the Parisian Patisserie almond croissant. However, upon more tries of Kate's almond croissant, I prefer the crunchier texture (Parisian's is more like a squashed brioche and very strong in almond flavour) and the hint of orange in Kate's almond croissant. The orange is not for everyone, with a few others telling me it really puts them off it, so if you don't like orange in things, you may want to avoid the almond croissant as you'll really taste the orange. For me, the orange is what makes the almond croissant so beautiful. The pain au chocolat is also very good, but I'm strangely not a massive fan of chocolate in pastries. Be warned again that Kate puts smaller amounts of chocolate in her pain au chocolat like they make in Paris as it's "all about the pastry" and not overloading it with chocolate. So if this is not your thing, go to Noisette or Brunetti's for a more chocolate filled pain au chocolat. Lastly, we get to the cruffin. What a stroke of genius. It's croissant pastry cooked in a muffin tin. It's not just a gimmick as this method of cooking give it different textures and flavours as different parts crisp up. Kate fills the cruffins with a variety of flavours, with jam donut, nutella four ways, lemon curd and raspberry and peanut butter and jam some of the flavours she's done so far. I've tried two flavours and they're excellent.

When I first met Kate she was selling her pastries through other vendors, but now she has her own shop, so you can pop down and buy some directly from her and have a chat. At the moment, Lune Croissanterie is opened on weekends only, but check out her website and Twitter for regular updates. I urge you to get yourself to the shop and buy everything as the croissants are so good, especially that Kouign Amann.
The Lune Croissanterie serving window, with the Tin Tin poster that inspired the name.

An army of pastries, almond croissants, Kouign Amann, cruffin and pain au chocolate.

The almond croissant is really tasty, without that fake almond flavour.

Pain au chocolat, with a small amount of nice chocolate inside.

Jam donut cruffin is as awesome as it sounds.

The super amazing Kouign Amann. I can't get enough of them.

Lastly, here is an awesome super hilarious parody of the Downfall movie that is all about Lune Croissanterie. You can find out about Kate's past career as an aerospace engineer and how she gave all that up for the love of pastry.

Wine Food Farmgate in Mornington Peninusla + Giveaway Cherry Picking Experience

I really loved the Mornington Peninsula area, so when I was invited to try the new Wine Food Farmgate trails that the area has just implemented, I quickly accepted. It was such a great adventure as I got to go on the trip with Michele, Michelle, Agnes, Alastair, I-Hua, Aaron and Adrian.
I was invited by Q Stategies and dined and stayed courtesy of the businesses mentioned in this post.

The Wine Food Farmgate initiative brings together most of the producers, restaurants, wineries in the Mornington Peninsula area to provide you, the explorer, with an experience that will delight your senses as I found out. Basically, you can buy a trail kit and then work out all the places you want to go and plan an itinerary, collecting food and wine and eating on each stop.

In our two day trip, I visited and tried the following things:
Yabby Lake Winery
Green Olive at Red Hill Vineyard
2 Macs Farm
Red Hill Cherry Farm
Mornington Prime Cuts
Max's Retreat at Red Hill Estate
Somers General Store
Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm
Mornington Peninsula Brewery

Check out the other posts about this trip
Agnes' post
I-Hua's post

The first stop on the trip which we all experienced was lunch at Yabby Lake Winery. The winery has been around since the 1980s and is owned by the Kirby family. The kids loved yabbies so hence the name. And yes, I did ask, there are yabbies in the ponds on the vineyard. The winery is famous for their Pinots and Chardonnays as the soils in the are suit those varieties. We sampled a number of Pinot Gris, Chardonnays and Pinot Noir to match our lunch. I really enjoyed all the wines, especially the Pinot Noirs.

For lunch, we shared a number of entrees, mains and desserts. Entrees of duck and rabbit terrine was good, as was the antipasto platter. I really loved the white anchovies in the antipasto platter. However, my favourite entree was the mussels caught fresh that day from Dromana. They were so sweet and the tomato sauce was excellent. It was a hot item as we went to order another serve and it was all gone. So if they have it as a special, I'd highly recommend you order it quickly.

For mains, we shared a Lamb Tagine, Spanish Rice, Sanganaki and Cottage Pie. All dishes were good, but surprisingly I really loved the Cottage Pie the most. A good filling with soft potato topping.

Desserts was my favourite course for good reason. The fig and cinnamon cake with Persian fairy floss was really good. I love both the flavour and texture. The raspberry and white chocolate muffin was also really moreish. The Chin Chin dessert of meringue with honeycomb and ice cream wasn't too bad, but the highlight was surprisingly the rice pudding. It was stunning. The texture wasn't gluggy as I was expecting and the syrup and fruits worked so well in it.

After lunch, we split up to go to different stops along the Wine Food Farmgate. I went with Michele, Michelle and Adrian to Green Olive at Red Hill Vineyard. Green Olive is a restaurant, a farm, a food store and a cooking school. Chef Patrick showed us around the farm, from the fresh vegetables and herb that get used in the restaurant to the chicken and sheep that also get used and sold. We sampled a Chocolate Parfait with honeycomb and it was stunning. The parfait was really smoothy and chocolatey and worked so well with the honeycomb, which had a hint of bitterness. We also picked up a number of produce for our dinner which we would be cooking. Chef Patrick helped us gather a number of herbs, oils, rubs, sauces and lamb sausage. It was such a beautiful haul and I was salivating already at the thought of what we could cook up.

Next up, we went to my favourite stop for the trip, 2 Macs Farm. The wonderfully friendly Mary showed us around her farm which she runs with her husband Rob. Mary showed us around the farm where she plants lots of vegetables, keeps chickens, keeps lamb, harvest honey, makes raw butter, runs a B&B and soon will have a cooking school. It really was a delightful place and I'd definitely go back to stay at the B&B and take a course in the cooking school. Mary set us off on our trip with the best haul of goodies. There were leeks, garlic, cabbage, lemons, mint, honey, beetroot relish, raw honey, beans, nettle, pullet eggs (eggs from chickens under 1 year old) and my new favourite thing, raw butter, made with unpasteurised milk. The butter is so creamy and has a hint of sourness from the unpasteurised milk. It was so interesting to see the techniques that Mary used to grow and make her products and I have to say it definitely makes a different. Her produce are thriving and tastes so much better than the commercial stuff.

We all met back up at our accommodation for night, Max's Retreat at Red Hill Estate. The accommodation is stunning. A high ceiling classic house with 4 large bedrooms and beautifully decorated with eclectic decorations. It had a roaring wood fire heater, comfortable lounge area and a gigantic wooden dining room table. The kitchen was also well equipped so we got in there and started to cook up our dinner.

Everyone chipped in to help cook up dinner, in between watching the cricket of course and eating Red Hill Cherry Farm cherries. Michele used the lamb sausages and beans and herbs to cook up a lovely stew. Aaron was the king of sauces while I-Hua marinated the meats. Agnes and Michelle helped do prep work and hit the shops when we found out no one got bread. I was BBQ master (modest is my middle middle name) and BBQed sausages, lamb chops and a Peri Peri chicken. I was really happy with how everything turned out really well without being dry. Aaaron had brought a meat thermometer and we used it for the chicken and it ensured the chicken was perfectly cooked and still moist. Aaron also used the thermometer on the beef and it was perfectly pink. He combined it with a nettle soup/sauce and it was such an amazing dish, worthy of any restaurant. The meal was accompanied by the wonderful Yabby Lake wines and some Spotify retro music lists that Michele had organised. Mass karaoke ensued. After singing well into the night, it was time to go to sleep. While the bed was comfortable, I had a hard time sleeping. The intermittent rain on the metal roof was not something I was used it so I kept waking up to the sounds. If the rain had been continuous it would have been soothing, but instead I found it rather disturbing. Bring ear plugs if you stay here just in case in rains.

On our second day, we started our exploration at Somers General Store. I had been here before and Leisa, the owner, remembered me. The restaurant now has a liquor license and also opens during dinner on Friday and the weekends. Their primary thing is still breakfast and lunch, served in a really comfortable setting full of funky elements that will draw your eyes. We all ordered coffees and different meals. The coffees were good and I ordered the Ham and Eggs. A perfectly poached egg was served on sourdough with a hollandaise sauce and a huge slab of ham terrine. I loved all the element and the servings were so large I couldn't even finish it. The others ordered dishes of granola, Croque Monseuir, Eggs and Beans and the Big Breakfast that I-Hua got. The big breakfast was humungous, but being the brunch Queen that I-Hua is, she ate it all. Everyone liked their dishes but the massive servings defeated most of us.

After a short stroll along the cold beach next to Somers General Store, we were all ready to go back to something warmer. Off we went to Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm. I had not been there before, but wow, the strawberries were amazing, super sweet. I bought a few punnets to take home and eat, while sampling many while at the shop. You can pick your own strawberries, eat dessert in the restaurant and buy heaps of products from the shop.

The final stop on our trip was Mornington Peninsula Brewery. Owner Matthew told us about the origins of the brewery, which was when the Hawthorn Football Team won the 2008 Grand Final, he decided to start a brewery. As I'm a massive Hawks fan, I instantly liked the place already. We learned about the different beers that were brewed and then got round to sampling. We tried every, and I say EVERY, single beer that they serve, from pale ales, to IPAs to Brown Ales. I liked all the beers and the IPA and Brown Ale the most surprisingly. Usually I prefer lighter beers but these two really captured me.

The brewery also makes pizzas, so again we sampled a number of them. The pizza bases are made using beer, and they really worked. They were crispy and tasty. The toppings are kept fairly simple but there were lots of great combinations. Traditional flavours like salami, margherita, cheese sat aside pear & ham, lamb and yoghurt. All the pizzas were great and my favourite was the four cheeses one.

I had such a wonderful time on this trip and can't wait to go back to Mornington Peninsula and visit more places on the Wine Food Farmgate. There is such a huge variety of places to visit and I'm always finding somewhere new and great to visit. I highly recommend you check out the Mornington Peninsula region, as well as the Wine Food Farmgate trail for yourself. The region make a great one day getaway or for longer as it's very close to get to via the freeway now. I think you will enjoy the region as much as I do.

GIVEAWAY
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COMPETITION CLOSED

Thank you all so much for all your wonderful entries.

Winners randomly drawn are SK and The Dream World. I will contact you to send you your prize.
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2 x Voucher for a Family (2 adults, 2 kids) to pick and take home 1kg of cherries from Red Hill Cherry Farm.

The voucher expires January 31st 2015. Cherry season runs from November to January so it's worth booking in now.

HOW TO ENTER
Just leave a comment. You can write about anything.

Make sure there is a way for me to contact you. If I can't get in contact with you within 2 days, I will redraw the prize.

Conditions of Entry
- Anyone can enter. One entry per person. You can transfer the prize to friends or family.
- Competition closes December 18th 9pm AEST. The winner will be announced on the following day and published on this same post.
- The winners will be randomly drawn.
- I will contact the winner directly to get your address to send the vouchers.

Check out my previous posts about the Mornington Peninsula for some great places to visit:

Montalto Winery
Food Tour
Heronswood Garden
Red Hill Estate
Peninsula Hot Springs
The Long Table
Woodman Estate
Red Hill Brewery