Our last port on this 32-day cruise and final stop in Australia before heading to our final destination Bali was Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory. For a small city, it has a lot going for it and we decided to pop off the ship for a final dinner ashore as we were overnighting here. Our new friends, Priscilla and David, joined and we walked across the waterfront to the very busy and active dining spots just off the wharf. We chose SNAPPER ROCKS as the menu was quite varied and had, yes, OYSTERS. We really wanted some local ones, but the featured ones here were from Coffin Bay in South Australia, but we loved them as well. A couple dozen later we were thrilled as we chose them plain and also with finger lime "caviar" (really just a dash of these amazing limes from Queensland) and shallots ....what a great way to end our oyster journey.
Friday, March 15, 2024
Darwin's SNAPPER ROCKS really rocks for seafood, wine and more (3-14-24)
Thursday, March 07, 2024
Kaikoura, New Zealand's HAPUKU KITCHEN is a killer cooking experience not to be missed (2/23/24)
When a Kiwi friend of mine told me about the HAPUKU KITCHEN experience over a year ago, I started to check out this renowned location on a remote corner of the South Island and learned that the couple who created this amazing place in their home were pioneers of New Zealand modern cuisine and also just great folks. I knew our ship was scheduled to stay into the late evening in Kaikoura (which means "eat crayfish"!!) so we planned to do the cooking lessons in the afternoon followed by dinner as a private event for just Will and me.
Saturday, March 02, 2024
Hobart, Tasmania's FICO is fabulous for fusing Australian & Italian!!(2-17-24)
Two weeks ago as we began our 32-day cruise we stopped overnight in Hobart, the exciting capital of Tasmania where we had two brilliant days and also afforded for off-ship dining on our night in port. FICO (Italian for "fig") is an intimate setting in downtown with maybe a dozen local wood polished tables that are far apart from each other offering a very spacious feeling. The room is quiet, even when full (when did you last experience that?) and there is an open kitchen with a small bar/tasting table around it for some folks as well. The shelf around the top of the room had hundreds of empty wine bottles showing off the wonderful rare wines they offer from all over the world.
Monday, February 26, 2024
Melbourne's CHINCHIN makes for awesome Asian (2-14-24)
Those of us who know restaurants and fine dining always say to try and avoid eating out on New Year's Eve, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day as the menus are often inflated and not very good. We had no choice being in Melbourne for our last night before boarding a 32-day cruise to places in Australia, New Zealand and Bali. We checked with various dining establishments and when we saw the menu for ChinChin we confirmed and paid a month ahead(nonrefundable!) and it was the perfect choice indeed.
Monday, February 19, 2024
IDES in Melbourne is magnificent (2/13/24)
We had three nights in Melbourne, but the first night we drive in on the Great Ocean Road all day and had a quick Greek dinner at IPSOS in Lorne on the coast which is nothing to write about. The next night we chose IDES(pronounced as in "Ides of March"). we arrived and the small bar was in a room by itself with two couples drinking and James pioured us some Rhubarb Juice as we perused the bar menu for cocktail choices. Will decided on the Frozen Gibson which is a pre-made martini of their own make and I went for the Frozen Dirty Vodka, also pre-made with local Melbourne vodka. These are pre-mixed and bottled and kept ice cold for fun.
Adelaide's BOTANIC will blow your mind, mouth and beyond impress (2-9-24)
Our second and final night in Adelaide was at BOTANIC, aptly named as it sits in the magnificent Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and the team actually forages through the gardens for various ingredients and produces some of the most novel ingredients used for a meal that indeed impresses. Chef Justin James, who came over and chatted with us extensively at one point during out 4-1/2 hour journey, hails from Detroit and it's indeed a long story how he ended up in Adelaide! His team of Julius from Munich, Elle from the UK and Ruby & Chris(locals) were on top of everything for the 21+ course meal which actually included over 40 different dishes! Wine pairings were fabulous and since Will was not in the mood for booze, he chose the amazing Temperance Pairing. There is a huge open kitchen with a bar surrounding it for a view of the chefs all night. These guys often yell out like some kind of rugby team announcing something, but we never figured it out. The 15 or so tables are all surrounding the kitchen looking both ways as the entire pavilion is glass enclosed overlooking the gardens. Even the loo has bird sounds in it!
Friday, February 09, 2024
Adelaide's FISHBANK is fab for fish and more (2-8-24)
Our next stop in Australia was Adelaide, South Australia and we chose FISHBANK, literally across the street from our hotel as the fish here is so amazing everywhere. FISHBANK is actually in an old, converted bank and has super high ceilings, creating large noise reverberation, but a fun setting with a huge open kitchen at the rear set up more like a bar and with a video screen some 30feet long above it with watery video features. There is a cute bar at the center surrounded by stools and many tables oddly some with nice white tablecloths and some without! Our table was next to a noisy woman, but she left soon, and we were fine. It is hard to avoid the noise din here. The chairs also come in two types, very comfy and horrid, the banquettes are fine though.
Thursday, February 08, 2024
Sydney's ARIA is simply awesome (2-7-24)
Our last night in Sydney was another elegant space opposite the opera house and appropriately called ARIA.
Shangri-La's ALTITUDE in Sydney will take you to new heights (2-7-24)
Yesterday afternoon for lunch the sales manager of the Shangri-La hotel invited us to the 36th floor, the top floor of the magnificent Shangri-La Hotel where we were staying all week ,for a fabulous lunch which is served in Altitude with magnificent sweeping views over the entire City and Sydney Harbour. While our suite was 2 floors below and the views were similar, there was no way we could cook up a magnificent meal like the team at ALTITUDE did.