32 degrees on a sunny day, and lunch is iced coffee with “arancini bolognese”.
The fried suppli host a golden stream of molten mozzarella, to be tamed with the cold bolognese side dish – memories of watching a Hawaiian lava flow surrender to the cool Pacific Ocean.
And eat all of the salad roquette because it’s good for you …
It looks like a pie. That’s always a good start.
Thai chicken pie.
The Thai would be the hint of almost elusive chilli, the chicken would be the strands of pulled “poulet”.
Mild flavour without the all-too-common salt assault.
Yes, this is a good pie from Baker in the Rye
$5.50 bakerintherye.com Carlisle Street
East St Kilda
A beautiful spring morning and a Big Brekky Brioche.
Cheese, egg perfectly fried with that only just juicy yolk, spinach and multi layers of bacon.
The spicy sweetness of the sesame seeded brioche bun and home-made tomato chutney is reminiscent of the French South Pacific, lunching by the crystal waters of the Île des Pins (Isle of Pines) … but St Kilda Grocery Bar on Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, will do for now.
I don’t care. It’s Friday and I’ve earned it.
Real butter on crumpets. Wholesome wholemeal crumpets.
It’s been too long between crumpet.
If this sight offends you, look away for 5 minutes. No, make it 10 minutes – I might have another. With real Canadian maple syrup …
“Who’s too lazy to mash potatoes,” I was muttering, when a lovely old biddy – septuagenarian at least, with gnarled knuckles and hair in the little old ladies’ scarf – tapped my shoulder and gently said: “The best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. I’ve been mashing spuds for 50 years and nothin’ beats this. Can you reach a packet for me, please?”
Well! No marketing money can buy this sort of endorsement. Forget so-called “celebrity chefs”, this is experience talking.
I’m sold …
Who buys UNSALTED butter?
(Besides stupid me, not paying attention.) It makes the taste buds lazy.
That’s like decaf coffee, light beer, fat-free ice cream, vegan Four ‘N Twenty – an insult to the Universe and the natural order of things.
Now, where’s my Saxa salt …
It’s a new Winter, a new Covid strain, a new pie shape. Seemingly hidden on the wind swept, litter strewn Fitzroy Street – empty but for a homeless, toothless woman who is camped beween the two deserted kebab joints and is haranguing myself and the only other souls brave enough to walk by, being a stream of young-ish women in buttocks-tortioning “active wear” who power past on a portion of their permitted 2-hour daily exercise in Lockdown – is the promise of renewal. Which brings us back to the meat pie. Meat and bacon, to be pedantic, from the enduring “Aussie-French (Chinese/Filipino/Cambodian) Bakery”. The pies have a new shape and a new pastry crust (and new ingredients, I’m sure). It’s good! Out with the old quadrilateral shape – it’d become a bit square anyway – and in with a traditional oblong shape, reminiscent of the meat pies of old. See the (delicious) irony? Old is new. Again.
I like this new pie. This thinner crust facilitates access to the contents; you can easily get to the business end of proceedings. I also rescued two hash browns, which looked forlorn and abandoned, alone in the bakery’s lukewarm bain marie. Now, I take my hash browns seriously. I have breakfasted on hash browns and black pudding in almost every county of Ireland, both Northern and Republic. I’ve enjoyed – sometimes endured – hash browns from Buenos Aires to Bangkok to Brisbane to Beijing. (Disclosure: in Beijing they were the Japanese croquette, called “korokke”, being mashed potato with peas and corn, crumbed and fried. Delicious with soy sauce.) Korokke these are not. These are more your common Macca breakfast variety hash browns. They have been fried in a peculiar blend of oils, perhaps an emulsion amalgem combining both the 20th and 21st Centuries of the bakery’s history. I don’t know, I’m just postulating, because I find the exact source of that oil taste to be elusive and mysterious.
But wouldn’t life be boring, without hash browns, meat pies and little mysteries?
Lunch: steak of Scottish haddock with cheddar & leek melt, in a golden crumb, served with straight cut chips drizzled with Modena balsamic vinegar and a dusting of genuine Saxa seasoning.
(Aldi fish cake with frozen chips, and table salt, cooked in air fryer. If the local Aldi falls to Covid, I’ll give up and go see out my days in a bush cave at Wooragee …)
Healthy Holiday Hack: you have to like the sound of that.
Sydney’s Lake Macquarie is a huge well of wellness. Publicist Georgia Cook guides us with some great travel options …
Wellness tourism is one of the fastest growing segments in travel and Lake Macquarie, a 90-minute drive from Sydney, is a popular for healthy holiday seekers of all types.
Not everyone’s idea of a wellness weekend is the same. Some travellers are soul searching, others are looking for adrenaline-fueled adventures, while many just want to escape to the wilderness. We have rounded up Lake Macquarie’s top spots for Yearning Yogis, Nature Ninjas and Wilderness Wanderers – the ultimate Healthy Holiday Hack.
Yearning Yogis
Do: Visit Redhead Wellness Sanctuary
Eat: The Yoga Place Cafe
Stay: In2thewild Tiny Houses
Yearning Yogis are a healthy bunch. Not only are they in tune with their inner self, they are known to be bit of a ‘health nut’, enjoying the very best in vegan and organic foods. They love sunrise yoga and hunting down the most secluded spots to stretch and breathe in the sounds of nature.
Redhead Wellness Sanctuary’s 9am Flow Yoga Class held every Saturday is a favourite among local yogis.
Once you have flowed through the morning, head to The Yoga Place Café at Blacksmiths for some of Lake Macquarie’s most nourishing vegan-friendly brunch bites. Their coffee that is fully traceable back to its farmers.
When the day is over, get off the grid and escape to one of In2thewild’s tiny houses – think emerald forests, foraging fauna, campfire clearings, plenty of privacy and unique eco builds. Do not be fooled by the term tiny, because these luxurious, modern cabins are set with everything you need.
Nature Ninjas
Do: Out and About Adventures in Watagans National Park
Eat: 8 at Trinity
Stay: Gap Creek Campground, Bangalow Campground or Wangi Point Holiday Park
Nature Ninjas are adventure-packed and adrenaline-fuelled. Hit “start” on your smartwatch heart monitor and listen up, because Lake Macquarie is about to hijack your heartrate and push you to the red zone.
Head to the Watagans Mountains for the ultimate winter challenge, out of your comfort zone. Try abseiling the spectacular sandstone cliffs at Gap Creek Falls with Out and About Adventures’ sequenced programs beginning with small cliffs and progressing over a series of descents.
It’s a treat to find a holiday park that’s campfire-friendly, hidden deep in the Watagans Mountains: Gap Creek and Bangalow campgrounds, where Nature Ninjas light up a campfire as the sun sets behind the wall of forest trees.
Wangi Point Holiday Park, on the edge of Lake Macquarie, has Villas, Cabins and both powered and unpowered campsites.
Kickstart your morning at 8 with Trinity’s breakfast menu including Green Pea Pancakes topped with poached eggs, fetta, tomato relish, zucchini, and mint salad, and the longest, loose-leaf tea menu in Lake Macquarie.
Wilderness Wanderers
Do: Visit Belmont Wetlands State Park
Eat: Table 1 Espresso
Stay: Bluebell Retreat
Wilderness Wanderers can be into either strenuous treks or serene strolls.
Home to a rich and varied natural environment, Belmont Wetlands State Park has naturally diverse wetlands, tranquil native bushlands and impressive sand dune systems.
When hunger strike: Warners Bay Table 1 Espresso will test your willpower to keep your healthy holiday on track, with their delicious, decadent desserts. However, the superbowls, salads and Atlantic salmon specials, will re-energise your wholesome health vibes.
As night falls, replace step counting with sheep counting at cosy Bluebell Retreat, at Murrays Beach with stunning views of the lake and next to Wallarah National Park, another great Wilderness Wanderer destination for stunning beachside bushwalks.
Lake Mac is a Healthy Holiday Hack. with 32km of pristine coastline, majestic mountains, untouched bushland. Tick all the boxes for wellness tourism.
More:
http://www.visitlakemac.com.au/
Email: gcook@awassociates.com.au
Nature at work. Intricate, enduring, useful, beautiful. St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia.
Haxtrax 