Indulging in the outback

This week I had an adventure in the outback.  I drove 850kms from Melbourne to Broken Hill (and loved every minute of it - amazing landscapes, funny characters and warm friendly country hospitality).  On the way up, I had a fantastic steak sandwich (with perfectly cooked steak) at the Mildura micro brewery (run by Stefano of 'Gondola on the Murray' fame).

Loved the coffee fudge ice-cream at the local gelateria:

Excellent spicy chicken and eggplant enchiladas at the Palace Hotel in Broken Hill (famous for its murals painted by a long term resident in the 1950s):

Incredible ceiling (all the walls were covered... the staircase murals were particularly beautiful, but the light was not so good there):

Two up game after dinner (the murals made a fantastic backdrop):

On the way back from Broken Hill, I had the slow cooked beef lasagne at Stefano's art cafe (I think it might be the best lasagne I have ever had... the meat was so soft and in big chunks).  I am a big fan of the earthenware dish too. 

The Persian love cake and iced lemon cake were interesting, but quite unusual textures... not too sweet... both quite wet (and eaten before I had a chance to take photos).

Such wonderful foodie experiences along the Murray and in the dessert...

:-)

Terrible dinner at Punch Lane

A friend had a voucher for Punch Lane (in Little Collins Street) and so we booked for 6 on a Saturday night.  It was a complete disaster.

1. They could not take us until 8:15pm.
2. When we did arrive, they were not ready for us, so they asked us to wait outside.
3. They didn't take our orders quickly.
4. They had run out of menu items (food and wine).
5. The food took a very long time to come.
6. When the food came, it was not cooked properly (lamb) and tough.

I had the pumpkin and hazelnut risotto (rather yuk, but I was hungry):

This was baby snapper (unsatisfying at $39):

This was another sort of fish:

Korean lunch down an alley near Melbourne Town Hall

Huy took Marnie and me to a Korean cafe behind the Melbourne Town Hall (off Little Collins Street).  It was full of people and we tried the $9.50 deal (meat, side and rice or pasta).  I had tofu (I don't cook tofu at home) and it was delicious (served on a bed of vegetables):

Cones, Hawthorn

A rainy weekend didn't stop Captain Foz and I eating icecream in Hawthorn at Cones.

Captain Foz had hazelnut (no nut pieces) and mint slice icecream, while I tried the lemon cheesecake.  They were a little disappointing (not enough crunch), but helped to kill time between house inspections.

RACV Club in Bourke Street Melbourne for lunch

Sara took us to her club for lunch today.  It was full of people and we had the $16 lunch (including salad, hot buffet, dessert and soft serve icecream!).  We had a good time trying all the tasty morsels.

Sara had veges, meat, gravy, spuds and pumpkin:

I tried the curries and salad:

Peter had curry, fish and rice:

 

Sara had a side of dumplings:

Dessert was fun... lamingtons, cheescake, apple pie, pavlova, chocolate cake and soft serve ice-cream!