Cafe153 - Apollo Bay, Southern Victoria

Apollo Bay, in the Christmas period, is a beautiful part of Victoria situated right on the Great Ocean Road. It is blessed with expansive wide open surf beaches, beautiful weather (well as good as Victorian weather can be on any given day) and a host of cafes, shops and hotels. Modern two storey units can be rented or if you like caravan park with cabins are available. It is a busy time of the year in this part of sunny Victoria with holiday makes, surfers and visitors alike.

I like my food and where better to practice the art of grazing in one of the finer cafes in Apollo Bay. Our first in town gave us our best “foodies” experience. Cafe153, though not a wholly imaginative name, did provide some dreamy food. I sat with about a dozen others and at the end of the night there was only praise for the food and even the service.

Let’s start with service. Firstly it’s a BYO cafe but if you would rather drink theirs than yours the beer and wine list is sufficient. Back to the service: extremely warm, funny and friendly. Meals (all dozen of them) were delivered hot and timely and all good portions. Big eaters may want an entree but meal size was sufficient. Start with some garlic bread while you decide your main. Everything on the menu looks delicious and smells divine. The decor is relaxed to modern and parking is easy. What is hard is picking what to graze on over a red or a beer. The food is all so nice. Nice one Cafe153!

Othello - South Bank, Melbourne.

I had no idea that where we were to spend New Year’s Eve would be at such a nice restaurant. We had also decided to stay in Melbourne knowing it would be a late night or make that an early morning. Thought not a cheap night of eats all restaurants large and small hike-up prices for this occasion. When you consider staff have to be paid public holiday rate and work ‘till late you can understand the extra cost. Don’t want to spend for this once-a-year occasion then home or with friends is the place to be. But for us it was in Melbourne for fireworks and a grand Greco nosh-up.

Staying in South Bank Melbourne is always a pleasant experience and my wife and I have dined at some different and exciting restaurants here but never before at Othello’s.  This well positioned restaurant is place out front of Eureka Towers just off the main South Bank walk. It not only has an indoor eating area for the cooler weather but a large outdoor undercover area. On the night a small Greek bank had the Greek community on the feet doing “The Zorba”. Fun to watch but not for me.

Our cots per head included about four courses and ALL delicious. Filling yourself on entree was a silly move because so much food followed. Even amongst some big eaters, at our table, we couldn’t finish it all. Service was efficient and friendly and the drinks list sufficient though not endless. Drinks cost were reasonable. Don’t come here for the drinks though this is a “foodies” haven if you like your Mediterranean cuisine. Crab, fish, meats, dips, breads, olives you name it we devoured with gusto like there was no tomorrow. In a funny way there was no tomorrow or more to the point no more 2012. All tomorrows will be in 2013 for the next twelve months. Hold my seat, in the words of Arnold “I’ll be back”.  Don’t wait twelve months to experience this well established and excellent taverna. Go now.

Gingsen - Frankston, Victoria

Looking for a nice night at the Chinese. Try Ginseng in Frankston on Napean Highway. You will not feel you have walked into an exotic Asian restaurant but what you have walked into is very nice Chinese food with staff who are efficient and friendly. Hanging a few fans and pictures on a bare white brick wall does not a Chinese restaurant make. But luckily the food and servive more than make up for it.

The menu is extensive with a number of banquets on offer. Some of the better meals are in the mid-twenty dollar mark and for what I got seemed reasonable. Beer and wine can be selected from the menu and this restaurant is BYO but there is corkage per glass. Of a large table of big eaters there was no complaints and I even sneaked in a banana fritter.  I went away full and quiet happy. I eat there long time.

Parking is available and easy depending on the night you arrive. The restaurant is large and would have no trouble accommodating big parties. It is one place I would be happy to revisit. C U in Frankston for a chopstick shootout! And banana fritter.

Aldi - Cheap beer but is it drinkable?

In an effort to cut down the price of my drinking habit I swapped some consumption to beer from wine and now looking for cheaper beer purchases. I started with Peroni and then went to Becks which can be bought for $40 a case. The Peroni was $54 a case. This is cheap beer when you think what you pay a glass at the local. I would suggest never purchase a six pack the price for twenty-four is far more economical. It want go off!

Peroni and Becks are both brewed, under license, in Australia with local and imported produces. Quite often a beer tastes as it does due to the water used. The brewers are not going to import water from Italy and Germany so locally brewed beer will be made with the local water, good or bad. I heard it said, many years back,  that Tasmanian beer had a fresher cleaner taste due to the fact that Tassy had the world's purest water. Not sure if that is still true now. Of the two beers, Peroni and Becks, I would slightly favor Peroni over Becks but they are both very similar tasting.

The two Aldi beers I am currently trying are Santiago Cerveza De Oror - $25 and Fraser Briggs - $30 a case. These are both very cheap beers even compared with the Becks ($40). The Santiago is fully imported so you get to sample their local water and the Fraser Briggs brewed in New Zealand for Aldi. At least they are not brewed in Australia with mostly local products. But are these beers drinkable?

Let's get the worst of the two out of the way first. The Santiago beer, brewed in El Salvador, is a weak almost tasteless beer. Pale in colour and pale in taste. I could not imagine an ozzie bloke wanting to down too many of these regardless of price. Australian beer has always been a big, bold flavored, heavy beer regardless of alcohol level. This beer would pass as mouth wash even at 4.6%. At $25 for twenty-four it may appear good value but from your first sip of this shockingly weak flavored beer you will feel ripped off. You wanted a beer and you got a beer flavored drink.

Fraser Briggs at least brings you some earthy yeast flavors and has a heady fresh bread bouquet. It has body and though a larger, it reminds me of a yeast beer. Even notes of banana and tobacco can be detected. You ARE getting a reasonable drinking beer for your $30 outlay. But once more this NZ brewed drop may not satisfy your hard drinking Australian. Better than the Satiago but not better than a lot of other beers. For the $5 extra per case, go for the Fraser Briggs. Nothing wrong with the water from the islands of the long white cloud.

Rivet comes in 330ml cans, the other two in long neck stubbies.  It is brewed in Vietnam and claims on the can to be "Full Flavoured" and a lager. A lager it maybe but like the Santiago beer it is almost without any taste. What this beer does have is the biggest, white, fluffy head I have ever seen on a beer. Pour slowly into a cold glass and make sure the beer has been in the fridge for at least 24 hours. The head is made up of fine white fluffy bubbles and looks delicious. Put the beer is disappointing and though 4.7% proof tastes like a light beer knock-off. Don't touch it!

Of the three beers tried the Fraser Briggs is by far the best. Followed a long way back by Santiago and I'm not even going to mention Rivet. Well I may have mentioned it but I will never buy it again. Even at $25/24 cans, it's just not a good drink. 

T'Gallant Winery - Main Ridge, Morington Peninsula

If there is one thing the Mornington Peninsula is not short on it is wineries. There are hundred of them. And thankfully these are generally accompanied by very nice indoor and outdoor eateries. To date Montalto's is our favorite but dropping in there recently on a Thursday saw us looking for another venue. Eating in the herb garden at Montalto is a lovely experience but one you can only experience on the weekend through summer. So onto T'Gallant's Winery we go. Luckily it's only a few minutes away.

At T'Gallant's we could chose one of about four different eating locations. The day being sunny we chose one of the outdoor locations but slightly shaded from the sun. There were sunnier spots with views over the fields of vines, a relaxing sight. The scenery is beautiful with rolling hills of green. Grab a table, order at the counter and sip a sumptuous red while your meal is being prepared. Meals are delivered to the table and staff are efficient and friendly. You get the feeling the owners are serving you and they have a real interest ensuring your time with them is good.

I love a sausage and especially an Italian one so my choice was easy. The meals are moderately priced and of fair size. If you're a big eater choose an entree' first. Of course there is a good wine selections but fewer by the glass. The bottle price is reasonable and the wines are delicious. There is plenty of parking but I would imagine on warmer days, on weekends, the place may get full. Not sure you can book just be early to secure a table.  Drop in for a meal, a wine or coffee, you will enjoy your time at T'Gallant's.

Blue Orchid Thai - Caloundra, Queensland

Feeling like Thai? Happen to be in the main street of Caloundra shopping center? Then drop into Blue Orchid Thai for a great Thai meal. Though the ambiance and decor doesn't scream Thai it is pleasant.  Being on the second floor, if you get a window seat, you get a view of the main street below. Unfortunately the night I dined here I was accompanied by old rock and pop music from the local radio station. Hardly conducive to extending the eating experience. A long flight of steep steps lead you from the street to your table.

I had a new waitress serve me that night and she was both helpful and friendly. The regular staff were efficient and helpful also. If you are in a bit of a hurry, worry not, the service is quite snappy. The food is very tasty with a good balance of spice and flavors and good portions. The Dim Sims are quiet different to their Chinese  cousins and worth a try. The locals talk in glowing terms of their experience of dinning here and go back regularly for their favorite dishes. Price is moderate and value is excellent. Why not join the fan club?

Formosa House - Nanawading, Victoria

Generally I not a big fan of Chinese food but being stranded in Nunawading around lunch had me drop in to Formosa House for a midweek meal. The decor is delightful and service is fast and efficient. Chinese music plays and I think this adds to the experience. The food and wine list are extensive and it is BYO. The restaurant is large and I would image on Friday to Sunday could be quiet busy.

Unfortunately this is where the good news end. Firstly the special fried rice was excellent. Served on a huge plate, enough for four big eaters, it was fresh, colorful and tasty. The Pork in spicy plum sauce was awful. The pork was dry, tough and lacked any flavor and the sauce spice was badly balanced against the sweetness of the plum. The pork may have been leftover from the night before or pre-cooked and re-heated or re-cooked again for my meal. Even the veggies lacked any freshness or flavor. I can't recommend this restaurant but maybe the meals are better at night? They'd want to be or this place will go bust real soon.