Category Archives: Australia

Australia, Australia, Hotels and Accommodation, Restaurants

Federal Hotel – The House of Schnitzel

June 20, 2018 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

If you have been to Australia before, you will know that the country is extremely large. You can drive for miles and miles and not see another car or a township. In a country of comparable size to the United States and Brazil it only has seven states and territories. Our home state of South Australia has some incredible wildlife and natural phenomenon’s that are hard to miss.

Places to eat in Mount Gambier | Cheap restaurants in Mount Gambier | The Federal Hotel | — A native possum at Umpherston Sinkhole. There are a couple of hundred that visit the sinkhole at dusk.

Our road trip down to the South East of the state takes us to beautiful Mount Gambier. The reason for our long drive is to check out the amazing Ghost mushrooms in the pine forests, Umpherston sinkhole and the limestone caves. Whilst here we also stop into the Federal Hotel and their House of Schnitzel.

First built-in 1856 and operating as the Federal Hotel since 1914, the Federal offers meals and accommodation to visitors to Mount Gambier. Rated a 3-star hotel the Federal offers affordable rooms, to visitors staying in town. We didn’t stay here this trip, instead opting to stay at the Old Mount Gambier Gaol. So, we will leave a review of the accommodation for another time.

The Federal Hotel is your normal pub, offering standard pub fare. Apart from the normal food choices their speciality is the beef or chicken schnitzel. With an astonishing eighteen different topping options the Federal Hotel prides itself on satisfying your schnitzel needs. Try the standard parmigiana topping, the Miss Piggy or the King Avocado. Alternatively, if you are courageous enough you can try their Ultimate Food Challenge to consume 1.2 kilograms of schnitzel and potato wedges. Do you think you can beat the best time of 8 minutes and fifty-two seconds?

We were sensible and decided to order three half schnitzels, one topped with gravy, one with mushroom sauce and the last one being a Texas Meatlovers. Each meal purchase comes with access to the hotels salad bar, which is frequently refilled with various vegetable and salad options.

The three schnitzels were of a decent size but weren’t anything fantastic. They were good everyday pub schnitzels with different toppings and a side of hot chips. We did opt for the smaller portion, which in my opinion was a good choice as a larger one would need a healthy appetite.

The hotel interior is fairly standard with table and seats spaced out around the room. The dining area also has a bar and children’s playroom, fit with an indoor climbing pod and slippery dip.

The Federal Hotel is just your standard country pub, with a range of meals. If you decide you’re not keen on having a schnitzel they do have other options that you might prefer. The prices are affordable, and they do half price or two for one meals on certain days throughout the week. So, pop into the Federal Hotel when you’re in Mount Gambier and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for Federal Hotel, Mount Gambier
Address: 112 Commercial St E, Mount Gambier SA 5290
Ph: (08) 8723 1099

Website: www.thefederalhotel.com.au

Accommodation AUD$55 – AUD$145 (US$40 – US$107) or (€35 – €93)

GENERAL OPENING HOURS

Sun – Mon 9am – 10pm

Tue – Thu 9am – 11pm

Fri – Sat 9am – 12am

BISTRO

Lunch: Every Day 11:30am – 2pm

Dinner: Sun – Thu 5:30pm – 8pm

Dinner: Fri – Sat 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Main Meal Price Range: AUD$16.00 – AUD$32.00 (€10.30 – €20.60)

Check out these fantastic accommodation options in Mount Gambier.

Federal Hotel rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =6
Atmosphere =6
Service =7
Price = 9
Food =7

Overall = 7

*Post Contains Affiliate links, please help us maintain this site by booking your accommodation via our link.

Australia, Restaurants

Port Adelaide’s Pride in the Port Club

March 13, 2017 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again in Australia when the cricket season is winding down and the football season is starting to gain momentum. The city of Adelaide has two Australian Football League (AFL) teams, Port Adelaide Power and the Adelaide Crows. Both teams are vying for the ultimate season prize, the premiership cup. Training is well under way and the clubs are currently finishing the pre-seasons JLT series to finalise their game plans. Ourworldinreview decided to head into the Port Club to test the food they produce for their loyal supporters.

The Port Adelaide Football Club is in Alberton situated in Adelaide’s Western Suburbs. The club was founded in 1870 and has been a dominant force in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) with 36 premierships, which happens to be a SANFL record. With the club’s entry into the national competition in 1997 Port Adelaide also known by their other moniker “The Power” have had some success, winning the 2004 premiership against the Brisbane Lions and competing in the 2007 Grand Final against Geelong.

An extremely proud sporting club, upon entry you are greeted by their 2004 AFL success, the premiership cup. Directly to the left after entering is the Port Club’s store. Here supporters can buy the clubs merchandise for the upcoming season. To the right of the premiership cup is the membership counter to obtain your season or game passes. Walking further into the Port Club it opens into a major dining area to the left and the clubs bar and poker machine area to the right.

Port Adelaide Football Club bar — The Port Club’s bar area

The club rooms are nicely decorated with club’s history and memorabilia on full display. So there is no doubt you are in the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The main dining area is nicely spaced and the service counter is well attended for that initial greeting and subsequent seating. The menu has a good range of dishes available at a fair price. As the hard working history of Port Adelaide being in the club’s mindset, it makes sure not to alienate its core supporters by overpricing their menu. The welcoming atmosphere and the friendly staff oozes pride in this football club.

Our main meal purchases consisted of the Cajun crusted chicken from the daily specials menu and their vegetarian lasagne. We also opted to try some of their available desserts and selected the banana nut sundae and the cookies and cream cheesecake. All food ordering is done at the main service counter and drinks are bought from the bar area. Any purchased main meals come with access to the Port Club’s well-stocked vegetable and salad bars.

As we arrived quite early during the meal service the main meals arrived in a satisfactory timeframe. The first meal to arrive was the Cajun crusted chicken. This spicy chicken is served on a bed of baby spinach and lettuce with fresh salsa and sour cream. The chicken was evenly flavoured and succulent and the combination with the sour cream and balsamic dressing made for a tasty dish.

Port Adelaide Football Club's Food — Cajun crusted chicken

Our next meal was the vegetarian lasagne, and it arrived as a large portion covered with cheese and a serving of chips. Unfortunately, the lasagne lacked flavour. Consisting of eggplant and zucchini layers with a thick layer of ricotta cheese, the lasagne just didn’t impress. The eggplant and zucchini was hard to cut through and the dense layer of ricotta was too much. Ideally other vegetables needs to be added to improve the dish or change the core vegetable groups. As a suggestion, by adding some grated carrot or layering it with some roasted butternut could give it more appeal. Additionally, if they add some herbs or chopped wilted spinach to the ricotta layer it would also change the outcome.

Once the main meals were cleared away we waited patiently for our desserts to arrive. After a little wait, with more and more patrons starting to roll into the club, the two desserts arrived. The banana nut sundae, was like any other store bought nut sundae, a serving of vanilla ice-cream covered with banana topping, a dollop of cream sprinkled with crusted nuts and a couple of wafers. Nothing to boast about, but it was sweet, tasty, a good size and value. These nut sundaes come in different flavours and would be a real hit with the kids.

The cookies and cream cheesecake was once again a nice portion served with vanilla cream and strawberry compote (topping). Although, I suspect it to be supplier made to guarantee a homogenous product, it was still worthwhile.

The Port Club is full of history and tradition, and the club provides honest food at a low-cost for the club and value for its patrons. The staff and service are good and the dining area is well maintained. You’d expect the atmosphere to be buzzing during the football season, therfore bookings will be essential. Although we found the vegetarian lasagne rather plain, the Cajun crusted chicken was excellent. The Port Club’s menu offers a good range of dishes, so patrons should be able to find the right meal for them. So, pop into the Port Club during the season, have a meal and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for the Port Club

9 Queen Street, Alberton SA 5014
Ph. (08) 8447 9902
Website: www.portadelaidefc.com.au

Club Memberships and supporter game package are available here, so don’t miss out.

Main Meal Price Range AUD$13.50 – $28.90

Trading Hours – Mon-Sun

Lunch 12 noon to 2pm
Dinner 6:00 to 8:30pm
Hours subject to change

The Port Club rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Décor =7
Atmosphere =7
Service =7
Price =8
Food =7

Overall = 7.0

Australia, Australia, Places to Go, Restaurants

Poddy Dodger’s- Wilpena Pound Resort – Flinders Ranges

March 6, 2017 OurWorldinReview 2 Comments

The Wilpena Pound Resort offers an incredible amount of natural beauty. The National Parks amphitheatre and the possibility of having interactions with kangaroos and emus in their natural habitat is heart-warming. Visitors who stay at one of the available accommodations has use of the resorts facilities. During our time, we make sure we fill the car with fuel, shop at the resort store and test the resorts bar and bistro, Poddy Dodger’s.

Wilpena Pound Resort's Poddy Dodger's — The dining and bar of Poddy Dodger’s

With a well-maintained bar and dining area, Poddy Dodger’s has a good range of South Australian wine and beers available. The staff is friendly respectful and helpful in choosing that right drink for you. The bar area is comfortable with a lounge area overlooking the swimming pool and a dining area looking out into the front gardens.

Resort Swimming Pool – All visitors welcome

The garden area is where the resort performs its welcome to country presentation nightly. Our recommendation is to make sure you visit the bar between 5pm and 6pm for the resorts happy hour. The resort also has a restaurant called Captain Starlight which is adjacent to Poddy Dodger’s. During our stay the majority of visitors we saw ate at the bistro. A bonus while eating or drinking at the bar is that if you wait long enough you just never know what kinds of animals may visit the garden.

Garden area at Wilpena Pound Resort — A very thirsty kangaroo drinking from a sprinkler

We initially sit on the lounge and take advantage of the AUD$5 glasses of wine. Honestly, you can’t go wrong. We also grab some menus to see what types of food they have on offer. After some glasses of wine, we move to a table and prepare to order dinner. The bar doesn’t have full table service, so ordering of your meals is done at the main counter.

Lounge Area at Wilpena Pound Resort — Resting in the lounge area overlooking the swimming pool

Since we are hungry from a long day of adventuring the Ikara-Flinders National Park we decide to order some garlic bread as a starter. Our mains consist of a Mediterranean salad for MacKenzie, a fish and chips for myself and a chicken schnitzel with pepper sauce for Josie. For dessert, we selected two Pavlova with mixed berries and a Cherry-ripe cheesecake.

Is isn’t too long before the garlic bread is served which disappears from the plate just as quickly. Soon the main meals come out. First to arrive is the chicken schnitzel with pepper sauce. The lightly panko crumbed chicken fillet is a good size, it doesn’t encompass the whole plate and is served with chips and salad. The pepper sauce comes in a small pot and is quite nice. Overall the whole meal is evenly cooked and meets our expectation.

Wilpena Pound Resort — Lightly panko crumbed chicken schnitzel with pepper sauce.

The next meal to arrive is the fish and chips. This mouth-watering beer battered Flathead fillets are golden brown and served once again with chips and salad. The Flathead fillets are small but as the serving comes with three fillets it is enough to satisfy my appetite.

Finally, the third dish to be served is the Mediterranean salad. Mac’s Mediterranean salad consists of mixed salad leaves, Spanish onion, feta, artichokes, olives, caper berries, cherry tomatoes, butternut pumpkin, cucumber and bell peppers dressed with a bush tomato balsamic. A chicken addition option is also available, but as Mac’s a vegetarian she eagerly consumes her fresh and tasty salad.

Once we finish our main meals, the staff efficiently clear the table and commence bringing out the three desserts. The girls both selected the Pavlova with mixed berries, cream and toffee crumb. The Pavlova was an interesting combination of ingredients with the large dollop of cream and the toffee crumb. Unfortunately, the girls were a little disappointed as the meringue base didn’t have that meringue crunch that you expect from a Pavlova.

The Cherry-ripe cheesecake was served with ice cream, a passionfruit sauce and biscuit crumb. Rich and strongly flavoured the large cheesecake slice was a little sickly. It had a creamy smooth texture and looked nice with a bright pink colouring, but it was very sweet.

Overall Wilpena Pound Resort’s Poddy Dodger’s was a nice bar and bistro. There is a good selection of dishes on the main and specials menus. The room is clean, the food is good and the adventurous wildlife is a bonus. So, visit the Flinders Ranges, head into Wilpena Pound Resort, have a meal at Poddy Dodger’s and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for Poddy Dodger’s

Poddy Dodger’s – Wilpena Pound Resort
Ph: (08) 8648 0004
Website: www.wilpenapound.com.au

Main Meal Price Range AUD$23.00 – $40.00

Trading Hours

Lunch 12 noon to 2pm
Dinner 5:30pm to 9pm (last orders)
Happy Hour 5 ~ 6 pm daily
Daily Specials board

Poddy Dodger’s rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =8
Atmosphere =7
Service =8
Price =7
Food =8

Overall = 7.5

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Australia, Australia, Places to Go, Restaurants

Making our way to the Marion Bay Tavern – South Australia

March 1, 2017 OurWorldinReview 4 Comments

South Australia has a lot of things for visitors or tourists to do. The problem is most of it is a couple of hundred kilometres away. Sure the city of Adelaide has plenty to do around this time of year as the festival season is upon us and the city comes alive. Yet, South Australia offers much, much more. With a few days to spare we pack some gear into the trusty car and just decide to drive and see where the road takes us. We drive out of the city and make our way onto the Yorke Peninsula and head right down to the foot of the peninsula to Marion Bay. Once there we try out the Marion Bay Tavern.

Welcome to Marion Bay — Hello from Marion Bay

Marion Bay is a popular stopover for fisherman and surfers. This is due to some of the beaches providing great surfing conditions and long jetties stretching out into the Great Australian Bight.

As South Australian’s we have been to the Yorke Peninsula before, usually just rushing to the place we need to go. But this time we know, time isn’t an issue and take our time visiting some of the small towns along the way.

Ardrossan's coastline — The small town of Ardrossan’s coastline

We have a quick lunch at a local tuck shop in Ardrossan, and stop for coffee and hot donuts in Port Vincent before arriving at our final destination of Marion Bay.

Port Vincent foreshore — Having coffee and donuts at Port Vincent

As we haven’t booked anywhere to stay we locate the Marion Bay Caravan Park and pay for a non powered site for AUD$25. Now I must admit I’m not the best camper around, preferring 5-star camping in big fancy hotels. My wife is the camper in our family, so in the name of being a good sport we quickly erect our two man tent before heading into the town for a meal.

The Marion Bay caravan park is a large spacious family park with playground equipment and an impressive kangaroo jumper (jumping pillow) for the children.

Marion Bay’s caravan park has a range of accommodation options with powered and non powered camping sites available. Don’t worry if you haven’t got a tent or caravan, because the park also has a variety of cabins available.

After my impressive display of erecting the tent (see above) and subsequent victory lap, we took a walk around the township to watch the sunset, take a stroll along the foreshore and find a place to have dinner.

Making our way past the popular fishing jetty we find the Marion Bay Tavern and head in for a meal. Uniquely, it has a pizza shop at the front for takeaway pizzas with a more casual dining area and front bar if you prefer to dine in.

Marion Bay Tavern dining area — Casual dining area with friendly staff and locals

The tavern has a good sized menu with a variety of dishes available from their popular pizzas to your more traditional pub fare. The wine menu was also impressive with an excellent selection of South Australian and New Zealand wines.

We decided to have a serving of their crusty bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Marion Bay’s local dukkah. The warm crusty bread was fresh and the Marion Bay dukkah was spicy and full of flavour. Unfortunately we ran out of bread and olive oil both before the dukkah was finished.

Beautiful warm crusty bread with Marion Bay Dukkah

Since we were in a fishing town we once again opted for a Seafood Basket. I mean unless you are allergic to shellfish, how can you resist fresh local seafood. The seafood was nicely cooked, but the scallops were tiny.

Seafood Basket Picture — Marion Bay Tavern’s Seafood Basket, unfortunately the scallops were tiny.

Finally our last food selection was a roasted field mushroom stuffed with baby spinach, caramelised onion and sweet potato. This was served with a dressed rocket and citrus salad. The dish was a perfectly constructed success, full of flavour and wonderfully cooked.

Marion Bay Tavern food picture — Roasted Field Mushrooms stuffed with spinach, served with a rocket and citrus salad.

For a country pub, the Marion Bay Tavern is a great place to have a meal. The friendly staff and local atmosphere is inviting, I could see myself spending the evening there and watching a band and getting to know the locals better.

Once dinner was over we took a leisurely stroll along the foreshore to the bluff (Penguin Point) to catch the spectacular sunset.

Sunset photo — A spectacular sunset from the bluff lookout at Marion Bay (click the photo for the full effect).

After watching the sun fade away, we headed back to the caravan park to settle in for an early night, ready for our early morning trip into the Innes National Park. Visit Josie Wanders for our experience in Innes National Park.

Additional Information Marion Bay Caravan Park

17 Willyama Drive, Marion Bay SA 5575
Ph: (08) 8854 4094
Website: www.marionbaycp.com.au

For other accommodation options on the Yorke Peninsula click here.

Additional Information Marion Bay Tavern

5 Stenhouse Bay Road, Marion Bay SA 5575
Ph: (08) 8854 4141
Website: www.marionbaytavern.com.au

Main Meal Price Range AUD$18.00 – $36.00

Marion Bay Tavern rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =8
Atmosphere =8
Service =8
Price =8
Food =8

Overall = 8

*Post contains affiliated links

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Australia, Restaurants

Pumped to be at the Aldgate Pump Hotel – Adelaide

February 5, 2017 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

If you head up the South Eastern Free-way away from Adelaide and exit at the Stirling off ramp, then drive another five minutes you will find the peaceful town of Aldgate. During the recent stage 2 of the Santos Tour Down Under, riders rode a lapped course around Stirling and Aldgate. This has been a popular stage as the hills locals are quick to embrace the spirit of the event. After meeting up with some friends we decided to eat at the nicely positioned Aldgate Pump Hotel.

The Aldgate Pump Hotel is located in a prime position to watch the race. Riders fly through the roundabout at the front as they make their way around the course. This historic hotel has two stories and offers reasonable fare for its customers. With a sports bar at the front, a dining area at the back and a gaming room, its patrons have a choice of where they would like to spend their time.

Outdoor Drinking Area — Front outdoor drinking and dining area

Because it had been a while since seeing our friends we organised to have lunch with them to catch up on the good old days. The dining room is situated at the back of the hotel, which I found a bit dark and gloomy. There is a selection of seating options, from the comfortable booths, standard table settings or the al fresco dining area through the back doors. Since it was a bit breezy outside we took up a comfortable booth seat.

Dining Area — These booths are quite comfortable, even though the room is a bit gloomy

Al fresco dining area — The al fresco area would be my pick if the day was a little better.

The Aldgate Pump Hotel provides a seasonal menu on top of their standard and specials menus. Additionally, since they are a bar they also have a good range of drinks to accompany your meals. Our choices for the day were the, salt and pepper calamari, a chicken breast schnitzel with Diane sauce, the caramelised tomato, shallot and feta tart and finally the crumbed seafood platter.

The salt and pepper calamari was well cooked, not oily or dry and flavoured evenly.

Additionally, the chicken breast schnitzel is standard pub food and the Aldgate do a good one.

Furthermore, my seafood platter was also good. I did find that the Moreton bay bug parcels had a strong flavour, yet I still enjoyed them.

And possible the pick of the meals was the caramelised tomato, shallot and feta tart.

After a good afternoon, we found the Aldgate Pump Hotel to be quite cosy. The food is good without being exceptional, and the beer is cold. In addition, if you are around the Aldgate area, pop into the Aldgate Pump Hotel and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information

1 Strathalbyn Road, Aldgate SA 5154
Ph: (08) 8339 2015
Website: www.aldgatepumphotel.com.au

Main Meal Price Range AUD$18.00 – $32.00

Trading Hours

Weekdays: 10am – 8pm
Saturdays: 9am – 8pm & Sundays 11am – 8pm

Book your accommodation around Aldgate here

Aldgate Pump Hotel rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =7
Atmosphere =7
Service =7
Price =7
Food =7

Overall = 7

*Post contains affiliated links

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Australia, Restaurants

Milano Cuccina, Adelaide – A taste of Italy

January 15, 2017 OurWorldinReview 2 Comments

Another early morning saw us driving into the city, where we had to make a drop off to the central bus station. Since we left before breakfast, we made our way to the eastern side of the Adelaide city centre to have a hearty meal. With many fabulous choices available we opted for the family owned and run café restaurant called Milano Cuccina.

Milano Cuccina is located on the corner of Hutt Street and Wakefield Street on the bottom floor of the channel 10 building. The cafe restaurant offers diners a traditional casual breakfast or an Italian influenced lunch and dinner service.

Upon entry into the establishment we were warmly greeted by one of the staff and offered multiple tables to sit at. We decided to sit at a comfortable looking booth and started by ordering some smooth creamy and delicious coffees.

Lattes at Milano Cuccina — Two Lattes and a Cappuccino

The waitresses were friendly and efficient and have some of the nicest Italian accents around. Not what you expect in little old Adelaide. Personally I liked their accents, because I could imagine myself sitting in a cafe in northern Italy ordering a meal from a local. The breakfast menu is fairly traditional with most of the dishes commonly found in most cafés around the city. I didn’t mind this because it was quite easy to come to a decision when choosing what to have.

We ordered the Milano Big Breakfast; the Eggs Benedict without ham for our vegetarian and some plain toast with that all important Vegemite.

My Milano Big Breakfast consisted of two poached eggs on a couple of pieces of toast, bacon rashers, a pork sausage, fried tomato, a field mushroom and wilted spinach, served with a hash brown. The serving was quite large and filling, with the majority of the dish nicely cooked. My only concern was that the pork sausage was a little dry, a tad bit overcooked and I was unable to finish it.

Milano Cuccina Eggs Benedict — Eggs Benedict without ham, served with two hash browns

The Eggs Benedict arrived at the table and looked rather plain on the plate. Our resident vegetarian was still happy with the dish, but couldn’t complete the whole dish (she’s quite little, and not a big eater). As for the toast, it is what you should expect. Simple, warm and easy to spread.

The interior of Milano Cuccina is quite comfortable. They have a couple of booths, a main seating area and al fresco dining for those perfect Adelaide days. The interior is colour coordinated and decorated nicely with photos and sport memorabilia hanging from the walls. They also show their support of upcoming Adelaide events with promotional material available near the front door.

Overall Milano Cuccina is a friendly everyday cafe restaurant. Their breakfast is quite common but good. The servicing staff is pleasant and the strong Italian accents are nice to listen too. They are also available in the Entertainment book for a dining discount. For the full Italian dining experience I recommend trying their Italian influenced menu for lunch and dinner. So when you’re in Adelaide pop into Milano Cuccina and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information

80 Hutt Street, Adelaide SA 5000
Ph: (08) 8227 0961
Website: www.milanocuccina.com

Main Meal Price Range AUD$18.00 – $30.00

Trading Hours

Weekdays: 7am – 10pm
Weekends: 8am – 10pm

Milano Cuccina rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =7
Atmosphere =7
Service =8
Price =8
Food =7

Overall = 7.5

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Australia, Restaurants

Silk & Spice, Adelaide – Don’t judge a book by its cover!

December 17, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

Since childhood you would have heard the phase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and nothing can be truer when describing The Silk & Spice Thai restaurant at Torrensville.

We recently attended this restaurant and I must admit from the outset I was a little wary about what we were getting ourselves into. The first impressions of the restaurant from the outside weren’t good. In fact we nearly missed it while driving past due to the exterior being quite dull. Silk & Spice is located in a re-purposed family home with two signs indicating it as a restaurant. Silk & Spice has approximately 16 off street car parks around the back of the restaurant; otherwise you may need to try finding a park on busy Henley Beach Road.

Once inside the restaurant you can’t help but be a little surprised at how nice the interior is. The owners have segregated the main rooms into small intimate dining areas, so noise from other guests is kept to a minimum.

Entry interior of Silk & Spice Thai Restaurant

The rooms are nicely furnished and have plenty of space to move around without having to bump into other restaurant guests.

Silk & Spice restaurant interior — Look at the space between these tables. No bumping into other customers here.

Upon entry we were immediately greeted by their friendly staff who quickly guided us to a corner table. The menu presented was quite large with all the usual Thai cuisine dishes available. Likewise the wine list was also well stocked with popular favourites, so finding that accompanying drink won’t be any trouble.

Dining areas at Silk & Spice — The rooms have been converted into small dining areas

We decided on our food selection and once the waitress arrived we ordered an entrée serve of Chicken Satay. For our main courses we ordered their chef suggested Lemon-grass Lamb and a Thai Crispy Chicken. We accompanied this with a serve of steamed rice to soak up those fragrant spicy flavours. Then for dessert we decided to try their Thai Sticky Rice with Banana and a Coconut Panna Cotta with mixed berries.

After some light conversation and photo taking our food arrived pretty quickly. The chicken satay was the first dish presented and was covered in a thick layer of tasty peanut sauce. The chicken was nicely cooked providing a good appetiser.

Chicken Satay at the Silk & Spice — Look at all that peanut sauce covering that chicken satay

Our main dishes arrived soon after and the Thai Crispy Chicken was coated with a tangy and spicy sauce that was delicious and gave the dish a little chilli kick. The meal came with a refreshing papaya salad which assisted in quenching the palate.

The chef recommended Lemongrass lamb once again was nicely presented with well trimmed lamb slices. The meat was cooked nicely and covered in a spicy curry sauce with quite a lot of bite to it. As a suggestion, try ordering the medium heat dish if mouth burning spice is not your thing.

Once the mains were polished off we waited for our highly anticipated desserts. My Thai Sticky Rice with Banana came with a side serve of coconut ice cream. The texture and consistency of the rice was smooth, with a mixture of crushed banana. Their coconut ice cream was fantastic, a beautifully presented and delicious dessert.

Sticky rice with banana and Coconut ice cream

Our Coconut Panna Cotta was served in a cocktail glass and topped with fresh berries. The sweet creaminess of the Panna Cotta was sensational and once finished, we definitely thought about ordering another.

Overall the Silk & Spice is an excellent place to eat, their location, outside exterior and advertising exposure needs a lot of work. As a customer, you could easily drive by this restaurant without knowing. Our recommendation is to stop and enjoy their good quality food. The serving staff is excellent, extremely friendly, and happy to have a quick chat with you. So give them a try and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you.

Additional information

211 Henley Beach Road, Torrensville SA 5031
Ph: (08) 8352 8888
Website: www.silkandspice.com.au

Main Meal Price Range AUD$12.90 – $27.90

Trading Hours

Lunch: Wednesday – Friday 11:30am to 2:30pm Dinner: Sunday, Tuesday – Thursday 5:30pm to 8:30pm (kitchen hrs) Friday – Saturday 5:30pm to 9:30pm (kitchen hrs)

Silk & Spice rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =9
Atmosphere = 9
Service =9
Price = 9
Food =9

Overall = 9

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Australia, Restaurants

Day trip to Hahndorf, South Australia and the Farm Shed

November 27, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

There are times in my life when I flash back to my childhood. I hear a phase like “Let’s go on a day trip” and I feel like I’m that little kid again, all excited to begin a new adventure for the day. So when the suggestion came that we head to Hahndorf for lunch at the Farm Shed, I was out the door and in the car waiting eagerly for everyone else.

Hahndorf is a popular historic German township about 28 kilometres from the Adelaide city centre in the spectacular Adelaide Hills. The township offers a variety of things to do for visiting tourists. It’s popular for its wineries, local stores like Udder Delights, the Hahndorf farm barn and Beerenberg store and Strawberry Farm. For some information about our trip to Hahndorf, visit Josie Wanders to find out why Hahndorf is considered a gem of a town.

Whilst enjoying the sights and playing tourist for the day we headed into the Farm Shed for a quick meal and to get out of a sudden rainstorm.

The Farm Shed is one of Hahndorf’s premier wine bars and restaurants. It is found inside a heritage listed building on the main street that was once Australia’s first Lutheran school. The Farm Shed contains two table serviced sections, a quaint front bar roadside and a restaurant down the gravel driveway. Head Chef, Brad Perrott has created an interesting menu, with a selection of native and standard meat cuts for his customers.

This trip we opted to stay in the front bar area and settle in for a quality lunch. The wine bar area has rustic furnishings that suit the style of the restaurant. Since we were eating in the bar area we decided we’d try out their pizzas, all topped with good local, fresh produce. We choose two of the tempting signature pizza’s, The “Big” Smoke and the vegetarian version of the Mediterranean.

Front Bar of the Farm Shed — The Farm Shed offer a good range of beers, wines and ciders.

The “Big” Smoke consisted of delicious smoked chicken, bacon, mushroom, caramelised onion and cheddar cheese on a perfect pastry base covered in BBQ sauce. It was probably one of the best restaurant made pizzas I’ve tried. The flavour and quality of the produce was second to none. A truly exceptional tasting pizza!

The "Big Smoke signature pizza — The “Big Smoke signature pizza

Our second pizza was the healthier vegetarian option Mediterranean, consisting of roast pumpkin, red onion, mushroom, roasted capsicum, baby spinach, cheddar cheese and crumbled feta. Once again a quality pizza with superb flavour combinations and fabulous local produce.

Hahndorf’s Farm shed offers it customers some excellent food, in the comfort of Australia’s first Lutheran school. Although the price of meals can become expensive, there is no doubt about the quality of the food served and the freshness of the produce. Hahndorf is definitely one of those not to miss towns in South Australia, so spend a couple of days there. Make sure you have a meal at the Farm Shed and tell them, Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional information

64 Main Street, Hahndorf SA 5245
Ph: 0451978848 or 0433155988
Website: www.farmshedonline.com

Price Range AUD$9.00 – $75.00

Book Available Accommodation in Hahndorf

Opening Hours

Mon: Closed

Tue: Closed

Wed: Closed

Thu: 11.30am to Close

Fri: 11.30am to Close

Sat: 11.30am to Close

Sun: 11.30am to Close

The Farm Shed rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =9
Atmosphere = 9
Service =8
Price = 7
Food =10

Overall = 9

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Australia, Restaurants

Cafe Bavaria – Last Morning in Victor Harbor, South Australia

November 17, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

It’s our last morning in Victor Harbor, the birds are making their morning calls, and there’s a slight chill in the air. Encounter Bay is calm, and George the friendly Pelican is sitting on his rock. He’s patiently waiting for a local fisherman to come along and give him some breakfast. Unfortunately there’s no fisherman today and like us George has to hunt down his own breakfast. He heads off to fish and we make our way to Café Bavaria.

Located in the heart of Victor Harbor, Café Bavaria offers their customers indoor or al fresco dining and from the number of people situated at the tables you can tell it is quite popular. There are some workers in uniforms having breakfast together and some tourists like us looking for a good nourishing start to the day.

As it is still a little cold, and I’m a little precious, I convince Josie to sit inside at one of the small tables. As the name of the café suggests Café Bavaria is German influenced and the menu reflects the same, with some German dishes. The interior of the cafe isn’t fancy; there are a few scattered tables, a service counter and a full cake display.

Café Bavaria cake display — Look at all those fresh cakes! I wonder if I’ll be able to fit a slice in?

As I’m feeling a little hungry we select their “Full Monty” breakfast option, a serve of pancakes and two café lattes for that coffee fix.

Café Bavaria cafe lattes — The morning coffee fix

The pancakes were served with cream, maple syrup and blueberry compote. The three perfectly round pancakes were light and fluffy and the cream, maple syrup and blueberry compote gave them a sweet delicious finish.

Sweet pancakes with cream, maple syrup and blueberry compote

The aptly named dish the Full Monty comes with eggs of your choice. In this case poached, bacon, knackwurst sausage, grilled tomato, mushrooms, a hash brown and continental toast. The food was good and piled up of each other and we were unable to finish the entire meal. This would definitely be my go to meal if I was suffering from a hangover and in need of a large breakfast.

Café Bavaria Full Monty — Now this is the Full Monty

Verdict

Café Bavaria is a good place to have breakfast. The meals are quite large so make sure you bring your appetite. Service is quick and efficient and the coffees are small but very good. In regards to price, the meals do give you value for money. The shop may become busy quickly, so make sure you time your visit carefully. You may have to do some sightseeing around the foreshore before a table becomes free. So if you are looking for a good hearty breakfast in Victor Harbor try Café Bavaria. Enjoy the large meals and remember to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional information

Café Bavaria 11 Albert Place, Victor Harbor
Ph: (08) 8552 7505
Website: www.cafebavaria.com.au

Business Hours: Daily 08:30am -03:30pm

Price Range: AUD$4.20 – $21.90

Café Bavaria rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =6
Atmosphere = 7
Service =8
Price = 9
Food =8

Overall = 7.5

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Australia, Restaurants

Exploring Baudins Restaurant at McCracken, South Australia

November 15, 2016 OurWorldinReview Leave a comment

After a busy day of having fun in Victor Harbor, you just want to have a nice relaxing meal. Maybe you’ve been exploring the local sights and enjoying that Fleurieu Peninsula hospitality. Hopefully you’ve jumped on the Cockle train to Goolwa or visited the educational South Australian Whale Centre. Now, you just want to rest have a good meal, a glass of wine and recap the days events. Well my advice is to make a night of it at Baudins Restaurant at the McCracken Country Club.

The Cockle Train from Victor Harbor to Goolwa

Baudins Restaurant is a part of the McCracken Country Club. The country club offers accommodation, an 18 hole golf course, bistro and Baudins Restaurant for a fine dining experience. To the left of the main entrance McCracken Country Clubs patrons enter a bar area which leads towards Baudins Restaurant. You are greeted at the main restaurant door by a waitress, and if your table is not ready you can make your way back to the bar for some pre dinner drinks.

Entry into the Baudin Restaurant — Entry into the Baudins Restaurant

The restaurant is in a large function room overlooking the picturesque golf course fairways. The tables are nicely spread out and consist of a mixture of booth tables and standard settings. Once our table was ready our waitress showed us to our booth table and we quickly settled in.

Baudin Restaurant dining area — Baudins Restaurant dining area

By comparison to other restaurants, the table was pretty bare. We didn’t have any place-settings, no cutlery, no side plates, just a stark table. It took about ten minutes before we were handed menus, which was not a good start. I could tell they were quite busy and with only two waitresses serving the room, you could see they were doing their best. It took about twenty minutes before we were served again to order food and some drinks and another 10 before the drinks arrived. Luckily the waitresses were friendly and we weren’t in any rush to leave.

The restaurants menu offers a good selection of meals created with locally sourced produce. We opted for the Chicken and Asparagus filled Filo pastry on a Napolitano base and the Twice cooked Pork Knuckle for our mains. For an entrée we chose a half a dozen Kilpatrick Oysters and for dessert we couldn’t resist trying the Eton Mess. Baudins restaurant also offers an excellent range of local wines to accompany your meal.

Some of the best Kilpatrick Oysters I’ve had in a long time

The meal started to arrive about twenty minutes after we ordered, which was a huge improvement from the initial service received. After eating the Kilpatrick Oysters all I can say is wow! The oysters were cooked to perfection and the balance of flavours was sensational. I must say these oysters were some of the best I’ve had. And do you know what, the food only got better from there.

Our mains arrived shortly after that and the chicken and asparagus filo was crispy, providing that crunch with every bite. The chicken and asparagus filling was not dry or over cooked. The filo encapsulating the moisture of the filling without it seeping through. Additionally ,that Napolitano puree added an extra smooth texture which enhanced a good meal.

What can I say about the twice cooked pork knuckle except it was a good size and the crackling was…. Awesome! It was served with creamy mashed potato, some braised cabbage and a spicy plum and ginger sauce. Full of flavour but a little hard to cut, more because I just didn’t know where to start. Do you go, crackling, meat, crackling, meat or do you have the vegetables first. Once I’d made my choice it was delicious and extremely filling. The plum and ginger sauce combined with the pork was always going to be an absolute winner.

With the main courses out of the way we patiently waited for our Eton Mess. Again we weren’t disappointed with the product placed in front of us. Unfortunately with no spoons available we had to wait while the staff searched for suitable spoons. It was a case of, do I need a spoon to eat this? I’m sure the other patrons would understand! It is Eton Mess! Although they returned with two different spoons it didn’t matter, as the Eton Mess was fantastic. The folding of meringue with the smooth cream and raspberry coulis was tantalising on the palate. Baudins’ Eton Mess was a perfect way to finish off a quality meal.

The Verdict

In my honest opinion Baudins Restaurant has a lot of potential to be an elite restaurant. I’d say the kitchen cohesion and food preparation must be excellent, because it reflects on the food that they produce and present to their customers. I cannot fault the food, the flavour, the menu options, they were all excellent. My main concern is the main room floor management needs a little improvement. The staff is friendly and helpful but the lack of room control, makes them look a little overwhelmed. A little thing like showing your customers to their tables with menus in hand gives the service some efficiency. Pre-setting tables so your customers aren’t waiting for cutlery, all reflect a well thought out service. With quality food on offer these minor front of house issues should be easily rectified.

When you are in Victor Harbor, I recommend making your way to Baudins Restaurant, their food is excellent and you must try their Eton Mess, over and over again. Have a great evening, drink some good local wines and tell them, Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

McCracken Country Club’s Baudins Restaurant additional information.

For Bookings, Baudins Restaurant is located at the McCracken Country Club, McCraken Drive, Victor Harbor. Phone: 08 8551 0200

Book your McCraken Country Club Accomodation here

Baudins Restaurant is open for dinner service Tuesday – Saturday nights

Entrée Prices range from AUD$6.00 – $16.00 Main meals AUD$18.00 – $44.00 Dessert prices AUD$9.90 – $16.90

Baudins Restaurant rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor =8
Atmosphere = 8
Service =6
Price = 8
Food =10

Overall = 8

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The Verdict

McCracken Country Club’s Baudins Restaurant additional information.

Baudins Restaurant rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

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