We leave Sydney in NSW where recent summers have been full of rain. We finally get to WA were I have always remembered hot summers and what happens. A storm comes across South West WA which is dubbed as the once in a century storm. Please, it wasn't us who brought the rain. As we drove from Esperance to Albany we got some torrential down pours. The good thing is it helped give the car a good wash and now it doesn't look too bad.
We made it to Albany and we have a few nights in a farm stay just out of town. We got there and found that the owners are looking after some joeys in their Kitchen. Heidi was beside herself to investigate and say hello. Luckily she wasn't as keen as the animal park in Adelaide were she tried to ride them.
The next day we went exploring Albany and the weather is a lot milder than we packed for, so we had to make do. We headed along Frenchman Bay Road and checked out the Gap and the Natural Bridge. It really does have a beautiful rugged coastline line around here. The other main attraction to check out in Albany is WhaleWorld. As soon as I read the sign I had to head bang and we kept saying Party time dude, Excellent. Unfortunately it was not Wayne's World. Anyway we didn't bother checking out with Heidi as you had to pay for it (yeah yeah we were being tight arses). In to town we go.
We got into Albany and found ourselves the local bakery on Albany Hwy (the very beginning of it). Now this bakery had been in the Australian Pie Contest and had won a bronze medal for one of it's pies (displayed proudly in the window). I went straight for a meat pie and this time for a french vanilla slice, Hazel tried the caramel slice. It's definitely a sign of a good bakery and a place that takes pride in their work when they go to put the food in the bag and realise it's not up to scratch and won't sell it to you. She wasn't happy with the last Vanilla Slice available so she gave me the French Vanilla Slice.
Now as I took my first bite of the oval meal pie, my taste buds just exploded. Pastry was lovely and soft and it had the best tasting gravy with large chunks of beef. The temperature was perfection and I savoured every bite. It is definitely the best pie I have had so far and it got an 8/10. With Denmark Bakery tomorrow I have very high expectations. Now the French Vanilla Slice was nice, but I have to say I prefer the custard in Vanilla Slice and as some of you know, I do like pink.
We finished the day walking around Albany and down to the bay to see the old historic town. Have to say that Albany needs to sort out it's footpaths as to get from one park to another we went cross country and over gravel roads. It really isn't that hard to plan interlocking footpaths. A few more days and we will be in Perth and finally finish the massive roadtrip. Before then we head through Denmark and Walpole tomorrow, finishing in Bunbury, then on to Perth. There is room for a couple more bakeries, so bring on Denmark.
Get Behind.
Friday 14 December 2012
Esperance French Hot Bread - Esperance (WA)
After a long couple of days driving across the Nullarbor it was good to relax in Norseman for the night. The next morning we checked out the Iron Camels on the main street symbolising the camel trains that were used to cross the nullarbor in the olden days. Apparently there are 400,000 wild camels in the outback and we couldn't even see one crossing Australia.
It was a short drive to Esperance (only a couple of hundred k's) and we were there in no time. Before checking into the caravan park we had a walk up the main street and found the Esperance bakery. It was time for a mid-morning snack. I began with one of their meat pies. It was a struggle to get that as the girl serving me couldn't understand what a meat pie was and I had to repeat myself three times. Lets just say she wasn't a local. The pie served was delicious, oval in shape (thank god for no square pies) and juicy in the middle with the beef and gravy. It was demolished in no time. Starting to realise that the secret to a great pie is the temprature. No good having the best tasting filling if you spend most the time blowing on it to cool. The right temperature can even make a bad pie taste good. It was good to have found some high scoring pies again and this got a 7/10, just behind the Hanna's Pie in Sydney.
After the pie I had to try one of their vanilla slices (washed down with a masters choc). Now they had two kinds of slices vanilla and french vanilla. Vanilla have a pink topping while french have a white topping. When I was in albany I asked the baker what the difference was and it's the texture of the custard. Vanilla slices are much denser which I prefer. Now the pink vanilla slice reminded me of the one's I would get in high school. It was delicious and I have to say they should be entering it into the Australian Vanilla Slice contest as it was better than the runner-up I tasted in Mildura.
With 3 days in Esperance it was spent relaxing with minimal driving. We checked out the beaches in Twilight Cove (which had won best beach in australia). Heidi got her swimming gear on but I don't think she like the cold water. If you haven't been to Esperance you need to go as they are the best beaches I've seen. Pure white sand with turquoise blue water, you haven't seen anything like it. Later that day we walked along tanker jetty and saw sammy the seal. Unfortunately when we went to Lucky Bay it was very windy and we didn't see any Kangaroos sunbathing on the beach.
After a few days of relaxing and doing nothing it was time to hit the road again and head to our next stop being Albany. We only have a few more stops to go and I was looking forward to getting to Denmark to try what people say is the best pie in the country.
Get Behind.
It was a short drive to Esperance (only a couple of hundred k's) and we were there in no time. Before checking into the caravan park we had a walk up the main street and found the Esperance bakery. It was time for a mid-morning snack. I began with one of their meat pies. It was a struggle to get that as the girl serving me couldn't understand what a meat pie was and I had to repeat myself three times. Lets just say she wasn't a local. The pie served was delicious, oval in shape (thank god for no square pies) and juicy in the middle with the beef and gravy. It was demolished in no time. Starting to realise that the secret to a great pie is the temprature. No good having the best tasting filling if you spend most the time blowing on it to cool. The right temperature can even make a bad pie taste good. It was good to have found some high scoring pies again and this got a 7/10, just behind the Hanna's Pie in Sydney.
After the pie I had to try one of their vanilla slices (washed down with a masters choc). Now they had two kinds of slices vanilla and french vanilla. Vanilla have a pink topping while french have a white topping. When I was in albany I asked the baker what the difference was and it's the texture of the custard. Vanilla slices are much denser which I prefer. Now the pink vanilla slice reminded me of the one's I would get in high school. It was delicious and I have to say they should be entering it into the Australian Vanilla Slice contest as it was better than the runner-up I tasted in Mildura.
With 3 days in Esperance it was spent relaxing with minimal driving. We checked out the beaches in Twilight Cove (which had won best beach in australia). Heidi got her swimming gear on but I don't think she like the cold water. If you haven't been to Esperance you need to go as they are the best beaches I've seen. Pure white sand with turquoise blue water, you haven't seen anything like it. Later that day we walked along tanker jetty and saw sammy the seal. Unfortunately when we went to Lucky Bay it was very windy and we didn't see any Kangaroos sunbathing on the beach.
After a few days of relaxing and doing nothing it was time to hit the road again and head to our next stop being Albany. We only have a few more stops to go and I was looking forward to getting to Denmark to try what people say is the best pie in the country.
Get Behind.
Thursday 13 December 2012
Nullarbor Plain (SA/WA)
After spending a great few days in Adelaide it was time to hit the road to commence the longest part of our roadtrip. The next few days would take us through remote SA/WA as we made our way across the Nullarbor Plain. There would be few if any pies and it would be hello to emptiness and high price petrol and food.
We left Adelaide and headed north towards Port Augusta. We stopped in Port Pirie for a bit lunch and pushed through Port Augusta (or as Tony likes to call it Port A Gutter). We didn't have time to check it out instead we decided that it was time for a rest and to stop in the magnificent Iron Knob. This is the birthplace of Iron Ore mining in Australia, but those days were long gone and life support had been disconnected many moons ago. We drove through the main street and it was a ghost town, we quickly made an exit. Funny story about the place is we were talking to a guy in Norseman who had been on the road for 5 weeks. Just recently he had stayed in Iron Knob to meet a mate and attend there Xmas party. It would have been a cracker.
We reached Kimba which is officially recognised as half way across Australia and home to the Big Galah (Alf would be proud). But more importantly we got to the motel on steak night, yeaah. A few steaks and coopers and we were very relax, it was stinking hot as well, seeing we were in the outback. The next day we checked out the Big Galah and hit the road making our way to Ceduna to start the Nullarbor. We stopped by a roadhouse in Poochera where Heidi and I checked out a prehistoric ant (who knew). We chatted to the locals and one of them was jut heading off to there Local cricket game, only 85km away.
We made Ceduna by lunch time, we had originally planned to stay there the night, but lucky we had plenty of sense about us to keep going. Ritwik I completely agree with your assessment of the town, it was dodgeville. By the end of the second day we had well and truly entered the Nullarbor plain. Nothing around for miles to see and like an oasis appeared the Nullarbor Roadhouse. I have to say we were expecting the worse by for in the middle of nowhere it was decent accommodation. Obviously it was the most expensive motel we stayed in on the trip and petrol was a cheap $1.97L and a pub meal came with the 5 Star Sydney restaurant receipt, but it was all good.
The next day we left the roadhouse and commenced our longest drive of the trip. It would take us 900km to Norseman in WA. It was a weird part of the trip as we went through 3 different time zones and gained 2 1/2 hours. Apparently there is a western central time which is 45mins ahead of Perth so we were a bit "jet lag" by the time we got to Norseman.
Out first stop was border village and we passed through the SA/WA border, where border patrol was ready to meet us. Unfortunately there were no TV cameras to capture our entry or foreigners who didn't speak English trying to smuggle in a supermarket. Heidi was just very relieved that the border patrol man was taking any of her food. Heading through to Norseman we passed quite a few roadhouse's and I found out with the higher unemployment rates in the UK, where British/Irish people are getting jobs, WA Roadhouses. Every roadhouse I was served by a traveller. Hazel met a a Northern Irish girl in Balladonia who was 45min from her town back home.
On our final bit of the Nullarbor journey we drove down the longest straight of highway in Australia. 90 miles between Cagiuna and Balladonia. With cruise control on and not much need to steer, Hazel and I played 20 questions. I have to say that Hazel won the majority but it was difficult to beat her when she didn't even know the details about the famous people. She thought Glen McGrath was predominately a batter and was once captain of the Australian cricket team. I had no chance, she better brush up on Australia history before her citizenship test.
After our mammoth drive we final made Norseman at a respectable 5pm (those timezones helped) and we checked into the railway motel. After a long day I was looking forward to a beer and hopefully my first emu bitter being in WA. The local Norseman hotel had no EB, so I had to settle for VB and then she proceeded to tell me that it's one long neck, per person, per day. Lucky I also ordered a bottle of sparkling wine. Got to love these country towns. With the Nullarbor down and back in WA, we have the next week to check out some beautiful coastal towns and try a few WA pies for the diaries. Next stop would be Esperance which we were looking forward to a few days of no driving.
Get Behind.
We left Adelaide and headed north towards Port Augusta. We stopped in Port Pirie for a bit lunch and pushed through Port Augusta (or as Tony likes to call it Port A Gutter). We didn't have time to check it out instead we decided that it was time for a rest and to stop in the magnificent Iron Knob. This is the birthplace of Iron Ore mining in Australia, but those days were long gone and life support had been disconnected many moons ago. We drove through the main street and it was a ghost town, we quickly made an exit. Funny story about the place is we were talking to a guy in Norseman who had been on the road for 5 weeks. Just recently he had stayed in Iron Knob to meet a mate and attend there Xmas party. It would have been a cracker.
We reached Kimba which is officially recognised as half way across Australia and home to the Big Galah (Alf would be proud). But more importantly we got to the motel on steak night, yeaah. A few steaks and coopers and we were very relax, it was stinking hot as well, seeing we were in the outback. The next day we checked out the Big Galah and hit the road making our way to Ceduna to start the Nullarbor. We stopped by a roadhouse in Poochera where Heidi and I checked out a prehistoric ant (who knew). We chatted to the locals and one of them was jut heading off to there Local cricket game, only 85km away.
We made Ceduna by lunch time, we had originally planned to stay there the night, but lucky we had plenty of sense about us to keep going. Ritwik I completely agree with your assessment of the town, it was dodgeville. By the end of the second day we had well and truly entered the Nullarbor plain. Nothing around for miles to see and like an oasis appeared the Nullarbor Roadhouse. I have to say we were expecting the worse by for in the middle of nowhere it was decent accommodation. Obviously it was the most expensive motel we stayed in on the trip and petrol was a cheap $1.97L and a pub meal came with the 5 Star Sydney restaurant receipt, but it was all good.
The next day we left the roadhouse and commenced our longest drive of the trip. It would take us 900km to Norseman in WA. It was a weird part of the trip as we went through 3 different time zones and gained 2 1/2 hours. Apparently there is a western central time which is 45mins ahead of Perth so we were a bit "jet lag" by the time we got to Norseman.
Out first stop was border village and we passed through the SA/WA border, where border patrol was ready to meet us. Unfortunately there were no TV cameras to capture our entry or foreigners who didn't speak English trying to smuggle in a supermarket. Heidi was just very relieved that the border patrol man was taking any of her food. Heading through to Norseman we passed quite a few roadhouse's and I found out with the higher unemployment rates in the UK, where British/Irish people are getting jobs, WA Roadhouses. Every roadhouse I was served by a traveller. Hazel met a a Northern Irish girl in Balladonia who was 45min from her town back home.
On our final bit of the Nullarbor journey we drove down the longest straight of highway in Australia. 90 miles between Cagiuna and Balladonia. With cruise control on and not much need to steer, Hazel and I played 20 questions. I have to say that Hazel won the majority but it was difficult to beat her when she didn't even know the details about the famous people. She thought Glen McGrath was predominately a batter and was once captain of the Australian cricket team. I had no chance, she better brush up on Australia history before her citizenship test.
After our mammoth drive we final made Norseman at a respectable 5pm (those timezones helped) and we checked into the railway motel. After a long day I was looking forward to a beer and hopefully my first emu bitter being in WA. The local Norseman hotel had no EB, so I had to settle for VB and then she proceeded to tell me that it's one long neck, per person, per day. Lucky I also ordered a bottle of sparkling wine. Got to love these country towns. With the Nullarbor down and back in WA, we have the next week to check out some beautiful coastal towns and try a few WA pies for the diaries. Next stop would be Esperance which we were looking forward to a few days of no driving.
Get Behind.
Sunday 9 December 2012
Enjoy Cafe Bakery - The Parade, Norwood (SA)
I've lost count regarding what day we are on so I'm going to stop commenting about it. Travelling across the country and not working, everyday seems like a Saturday. Our next phase of the road trip took us to Adelaide where we were staying with Mel and Tony in the Adelaide Hills. For the few nights spent there, tony and I definitely smashed the wine cellar.
First day in Adelaide we wanted a break from long drives so we headed to Norwood to try the SA delicacy being a Pie Floater. Tony took us to the Enjoy Bakery in Norwood which serves pie floaters 24/7. The place looked dodgy on the outside but when we ventured in it was an impressive bakery with a wide variety of cakes. Tony and I went for the pie floater. Now I was a bit surprised as I thought floaters were covered in gravy. We went for a traditional meat pie (and it was round, was getting worried that square pies were taking over). She put it in a bowl and covered it with mushy peas and added a squirt of tomato sauce and vinegar (I did wonder how they served it if i asked for takeaway).This is what e local recommended so we went with it. We also had to have a stubby of farmers union coffee to accompany it.
Now to look at a floater it doesn't look appetising but after you get past that they really do taste amazing. They actually make a nice meat pie there but I have to put off scoring it as this was a gourmet pie (I would recommend there plain pie as it was better than Barmera Bakery). Heidi was even getting stuck into the mushy peas and then we washed it down with 750ml of farmers. The pie kept me full all day and night, but I think it was due to the ice coffee. Btw hazel had an awesome tandoori sausage roll, you should definitely go there for that.
After another night of coopers and barossa reds the next day was Hahndorf a sleepy German village in the Adelaide hills. As we waited for Mel and Tony to sort out there new car we had some lunch in the Hahndorf Inn. Seeing German meals are large we decided to get one dish between the three of us. We selected there signature dish being the 1m Bratwurst Hotdog. It came out and it was huge. In a metre long French roll it had 2 massive sausages covered in sauerkraut. Heidi couldn't believe her eyes. After polishing that off we headed with Mel and tony to the giant rocking horse. This is in the Hills and next to the Adelaide toy factory. As we were waiting to get in we spotted a koala bear in the wild. Now I thought these things were slow but it was sprinting along the ground trying to find a tree to climb into, it was awesome getting some close ups.
When we visited the Toy factory we saw it had a wildlife park where you could feed the animals. Tony and I passed the feed bucket to Hazel after the lady told us the animals recognise it and will be all over you. Have to say there were some crazy animals there. I couldn't get rid of an alpaca and goat who wanted my food and tony had Heidi riding a kangaroo (which she enjoyed). The day finished catching up with Si for a few quiet beers in a pub in Adelaide ( great bar but I can't remember the name) and shockingly if finished off with some more barossa reds. The next day it was time to leave and Heidi as usual was milking the attention from Mel and Tony. The next part of our road trip was to take us up past port Augusta and outback SA before hitting the Nullarbor.
Get Behind.
First day in Adelaide we wanted a break from long drives so we headed to Norwood to try the SA delicacy being a Pie Floater. Tony took us to the Enjoy Bakery in Norwood which serves pie floaters 24/7. The place looked dodgy on the outside but when we ventured in it was an impressive bakery with a wide variety of cakes. Tony and I went for the pie floater. Now I was a bit surprised as I thought floaters were covered in gravy. We went for a traditional meat pie (and it was round, was getting worried that square pies were taking over). She put it in a bowl and covered it with mushy peas and added a squirt of tomato sauce and vinegar (I did wonder how they served it if i asked for takeaway).This is what e local recommended so we went with it. We also had to have a stubby of farmers union coffee to accompany it.
Now to look at a floater it doesn't look appetising but after you get past that they really do taste amazing. They actually make a nice meat pie there but I have to put off scoring it as this was a gourmet pie (I would recommend there plain pie as it was better than Barmera Bakery). Heidi was even getting stuck into the mushy peas and then we washed it down with 750ml of farmers. The pie kept me full all day and night, but I think it was due to the ice coffee. Btw hazel had an awesome tandoori sausage roll, you should definitely go there for that.
After another night of coopers and barossa reds the next day was Hahndorf a sleepy German village in the Adelaide hills. As we waited for Mel and Tony to sort out there new car we had some lunch in the Hahndorf Inn. Seeing German meals are large we decided to get one dish between the three of us. We selected there signature dish being the 1m Bratwurst Hotdog. It came out and it was huge. In a metre long French roll it had 2 massive sausages covered in sauerkraut. Heidi couldn't believe her eyes. After polishing that off we headed with Mel and tony to the giant rocking horse. This is in the Hills and next to the Adelaide toy factory. As we were waiting to get in we spotted a koala bear in the wild. Now I thought these things were slow but it was sprinting along the ground trying to find a tree to climb into, it was awesome getting some close ups.
When we visited the Toy factory we saw it had a wildlife park where you could feed the animals. Tony and I passed the feed bucket to Hazel after the lady told us the animals recognise it and will be all over you. Have to say there were some crazy animals there. I couldn't get rid of an alpaca and goat who wanted my food and tony had Heidi riding a kangaroo (which she enjoyed). The day finished catching up with Si for a few quiet beers in a pub in Adelaide ( great bar but I can't remember the name) and shockingly if finished off with some more barossa reds. The next day it was time to leave and Heidi as usual was milking the attention from Mel and Tony. The next part of our road trip was to take us up past port Augusta and outback SA before hitting the Nullarbor.
Get Behind.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Barmera Bakery - Barmera (SA)
Day 4 we entered the great state of South Australia. A state home to magnificent wines, farmer's union ice coffee and a freeway that can only go in one direction. As we crossed the border into SA I instantly got to experience there unique take on road infrastructure. We crossed over a bridge in Parminga which I had to squeeze my car through on one lane. It would have been crazy to make it wider.
After an early start to the morning we needed a break and a bite to eat and pulled into the town of Barmera. There we found the Barmera Bakery which had been baking for 4 generations. It was a nice little bakery with a great selection of pies and cakes. I grabbed a meat pie and as I pulled it out of the brown bag I realised it was square. Thoughts of Macca came back to me saying he never found a good pie in SA and I was hoping to find one on my trip.
I have to say again like Hay it was disappointing they didn't make it round. The temperature was perfect, the beef and gravy were very tasty and the pastry melted in your mouth. But it was square. A nice try but I had to give it 5/10. Now Hazel had one of their sausage rolls and I would recommend one of those. The filling was nice and light with a mixture of meat and veggies. While I sampled Hazel's sausage roll, Heidi was getting her hands on the little milk pot for the tea and getting her daily fix. We finished off our stop with a bakery classic, the cream bun. Hazel hadn't had one like this before, the round bun with the cream oozing out and some jam smack bang in the middle.
It was time to hit the road again and we headed to the barossa valley. We stopped at Murray st vineyards for a tasting and lunch. While Hazel and I sampled some lovely reds and a cheese platter, Heidi was making a mess of the cellar door. We ordered up our wine (I just need to make sure my Dad doesn't drink it before we get to Perth) and we prepared to head to Mel and Tony's in the Adelaide Hills.
Hazel and I had to laugh when driving into Adelaide. As we drove through the classy suburb of Elizabeth, we spotted a food delivery truck in front of us. We laughed so hard when we saw that to advertise a mobile lunch van you've got to have a a cartoon character of a big boob lady serving up food. "Get it Fresh".
We got to the Adelaide Hills and it was great catching up with Mel and Tony again. Heidi particularly loved the new location with so many more rooms to explore and items to throw over the floor. We now have three days in Adelaide so looking forward to checking out Hahndorf, have a pie floater and a farmers union ice coffee stubby.
After an early start to the morning we needed a break and a bite to eat and pulled into the town of Barmera. There we found the Barmera Bakery which had been baking for 4 generations. It was a nice little bakery with a great selection of pies and cakes. I grabbed a meat pie and as I pulled it out of the brown bag I realised it was square. Thoughts of Macca came back to me saying he never found a good pie in SA and I was hoping to find one on my trip.
I have to say again like Hay it was disappointing they didn't make it round. The temperature was perfect, the beef and gravy were very tasty and the pastry melted in your mouth. But it was square. A nice try but I had to give it 5/10. Now Hazel had one of their sausage rolls and I would recommend one of those. The filling was nice and light with a mixture of meat and veggies. While I sampled Hazel's sausage roll, Heidi was getting her hands on the little milk pot for the tea and getting her daily fix. We finished off our stop with a bakery classic, the cream bun. Hazel hadn't had one like this before, the round bun with the cream oozing out and some jam smack bang in the middle.
It was time to hit the road again and we headed to the barossa valley. We stopped at Murray st vineyards for a tasting and lunch. While Hazel and I sampled some lovely reds and a cheese platter, Heidi was making a mess of the cellar door. We ordered up our wine (I just need to make sure my Dad doesn't drink it before we get to Perth) and we prepared to head to Mel and Tony's in the Adelaide Hills.
Hazel and I had to laugh when driving into Adelaide. As we drove through the classy suburb of Elizabeth, we spotted a food delivery truck in front of us. We laughed so hard when we saw that to advertise a mobile lunch van you've got to have a a cartoon character of a big boob lady serving up food. "Get it Fresh".
We got to the Adelaide Hills and it was great catching up with Mel and Tony again. Heidi particularly loved the new location with so many more rooms to explore and items to throw over the floor. We now have three days in Adelaide so looking forward to checking out Hahndorf, have a pie floater and a farmers union ice coffee stubby.
Hudak's Bakery - Mildura (VIC)
Day 3 took us to Mildura where we crossed the border into Victoria and left NSW. No more NRL, awesome! Heidi's milk drinking ability has taken off with her taking any opportunity to slurp down some milk out of a straw, whether we are at a truck stop or bakery.
Today was a short drive and we reached Mildura quite quickly and spent the afternoon checking out the town. We then stumbled across Hudak's Bakery and seeing it was lunch it was time to sample my first Victorian Pie. This bakery caught my eye as it was runner up the last two years for best Vanilla Slice in the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Contest.
We went in and ordered up a pie (& vanilla slice) and to my surprise I got an oval pie. At least it was a step up from my last square pie. Biting into the pie it was too hot and it was the blandest filling I've tasted so far. There were no stand-out flavours coming through and soon I just wanted to get it over with so I can have some Vanilla Slice.
Now the Vanilla slice was amazing and I could see why they scored so well. It was about half the size of a normal slab you would get but the icing and custard was so smooth and sweet. It's definitely about quality and not size. Hudak's should focus on the sweets and not the savoury food, I gave this pie 3/10, just go there for the slice.
Hazel also got to see some firsts with aussie wildlife seeing wild emu's and galah's around the Mildura Golf Course. After seeing the galah's we instantly had to practice our best Alf Stewart impersonations "You flaming galah"!.
Day 4 was to take us to Adelaide where we would be catching up with Mel & Tony and Simon and Kerry. Should be some good times had and just a couple of cheeky red wines.
Get Behind!
Today was a short drive and we reached Mildura quite quickly and spent the afternoon checking out the town. We then stumbled across Hudak's Bakery and seeing it was lunch it was time to sample my first Victorian Pie. This bakery caught my eye as it was runner up the last two years for best Vanilla Slice in the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Contest.
We went in and ordered up a pie (& vanilla slice) and to my surprise I got an oval pie. At least it was a step up from my last square pie. Biting into the pie it was too hot and it was the blandest filling I've tasted so far. There were no stand-out flavours coming through and soon I just wanted to get it over with so I can have some Vanilla Slice.
Now the Vanilla slice was amazing and I could see why they scored so well. It was about half the size of a normal slab you would get but the icing and custard was so smooth and sweet. It's definitely about quality and not size. Hudak's should focus on the sweets and not the savoury food, I gave this pie 3/10, just go there for the slice.
Hazel also got to see some firsts with aussie wildlife seeing wild emu's and galah's around the Mildura Golf Course. After seeing the galah's we instantly had to practice our best Alf Stewart impersonations "You flaming galah"!.
Day 4 was to take us to Adelaide where we would be catching up with Mel & Tony and Simon and Kerry. Should be some good times had and just a couple of cheeky red wines.
Get Behind!
Sunday 2 December 2012
Robertsons Hot Bread Kitchen - Hay (NSW)
We are now well on our way with our road trip to perth. It's day 3 and we are starting off from Hay, a small agricultural town in the middle of NSW. Day 1 started off with us driving to Canberra. After spending a couple of hours in our capital we were well and truly exhausted with all the excitement going on.
I was also left devastated with our visit to Parliament House. I spoke to information about areas to visit and she advised me of the great hall which contains portraits of all our former prime ministers, She then dropped the bombshell that Kevin Rudd's portrait had not been completed yet. I was gutted. But what did lift my spirits was to see a display of paintings which included portraits of famous Australian doctors and pioneers who have given so much to this country and bang in the middle was a painting of Brynne and Geoffery Edelstein. The portrait was definitely life size.
We finished the day by staying in Yass. As we drove in I saw the Timmers Pies and Cakes Bakery. Instantly I thought we have found our first bakery to try in the morning. Day 2 began and we swung by Timmers for a morning pie. I walked in and had to immediately walk out. I'd been duped by false advertising. Inside it had been turned into a convenience store with cake display empty and some packaged pies in a warmer. Shame, Shame, Shame (I just wrote that as saw derryn hinch on sunrise and it inspired me)
Next stop was the dog on the tucker box in Gundagai. Hazel wasn't impressed as it was a normal size statue, not a big one. Heidi was just happy to get some fresh air after bopping in the car. We headed through Wagga Wagga and finished the day in Hay. Before we left Hay in the morning we stopped for a late breakfast at Robertsons Hot Bread Kitchen, a local bakery on the Main Street in Hay (for some people I did look and there was no Hay St in Hay). It was a small quaint bakery and I ordered up a meat pie and got my first square pie, it was not looking good. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised as the pastry was crispy and it was a tasty filling with a good ratio of beef to gravy. That said it could have scored higher if it was round so it got a 5/10. Then Heidi had to finish her milk off through the straw, she is getting good at that. Before we left the bakery I had to grab a vanilla slice for the next stop and then it was off to Mildura.
I was also left devastated with our visit to Parliament House. I spoke to information about areas to visit and she advised me of the great hall which contains portraits of all our former prime ministers, She then dropped the bombshell that Kevin Rudd's portrait had not been completed yet. I was gutted. But what did lift my spirits was to see a display of paintings which included portraits of famous Australian doctors and pioneers who have given so much to this country and bang in the middle was a painting of Brynne and Geoffery Edelstein. The portrait was definitely life size.
We finished the day by staying in Yass. As we drove in I saw the Timmers Pies and Cakes Bakery. Instantly I thought we have found our first bakery to try in the morning. Day 2 began and we swung by Timmers for a morning pie. I walked in and had to immediately walk out. I'd been duped by false advertising. Inside it had been turned into a convenience store with cake display empty and some packaged pies in a warmer. Shame, Shame, Shame (I just wrote that as saw derryn hinch on sunrise and it inspired me)
Next stop was the dog on the tucker box in Gundagai. Hazel wasn't impressed as it was a normal size statue, not a big one. Heidi was just happy to get some fresh air after bopping in the car. We headed through Wagga Wagga and finished the day in Hay. Before we left Hay in the morning we stopped for a late breakfast at Robertsons Hot Bread Kitchen, a local bakery on the Main Street in Hay (for some people I did look and there was no Hay St in Hay). It was a small quaint bakery and I ordered up a meat pie and got my first square pie, it was not looking good. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised as the pastry was crispy and it was a tasty filling with a good ratio of beef to gravy. That said it could have scored higher if it was round so it got a 5/10. Then Heidi had to finish her milk off through the straw, she is getting good at that. Before we left the bakery I had to grab a vanilla slice for the next stop and then it was off to Mildura.
Sunday 25 November 2012
Hannah’s Hot Pies Bakery, Ultimo (NSW)
Today we went to Hannah’s Bakery on Harris
Street, which is only a short walk from our place in Sydney. Hannah’s has a famous connection to
pies in Sydney. This bakery makes
all the pies for the iconic Harry’s Café de Wheels based in Woolloomooloo. Harry’s most well known pie is the
“Tiger” but I will get to it later.
Hannah’s is a unique set-up as it’s on a
street corner and is a kiosk, just like the old school tuck shops. I grabbed one of their beef pies while
Hazel had a pasty. The pie
was outstanding. I pulled it out
of the brown paper bag and it was round, warm and appetizing. I took my first bite and all I could
think of is they have nailed the temperature. The pie was then demolished, but before I got to the end I savored
the juicy beef and gravy in the middle.
It had a slight pepper taste to it with nice big chunks of beef and
minimal spillage. Heidi tried a
piece but I think she enjoyed rubbing the gravy between her fingers, rather
than eating it.
I have to say getting the temperature right drastically improves the quality of the pie and experience. The pastry was also light and crispy to sink your teeth into. This was better than Bourke Street and it got a 7.5/10. After that I was still a bit peckish so had to have a tiger before leaving Sydney. Now this is what Harry’s Café de Wheels is known for. A tiger starts off with a meat pie, but the topping is mashed potato (baked like a shepards’ pie). They then put mushy pies on top and make a little well to pour in the gravy. You have to eat it with a fork so it doesn’t go everywhere. The Tiger should not be confused with a pie floater as only a small amount of gravy is used and it is not drowned in it. I will have to try a pie floater when we get to South Australia to see how it stacks up.
Well it’s less than a week now before we hit
the road. Final day of work later
in the week and everything is organized for the movers to pick up on
Friday. We drive out of Sydney on
Saturday. Our first day will
involve driving out to Canberra and then a night in Yass (50km past
Canberra). Can’t wait and will be
interesting to see where my next pie tasting will occur.
Get Behind!
Sunday 18 November 2012
Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills (NSW)
Two weeks to go until we leave Sydney. Packing is well on track with boxes all
over the flat and trying to live off minimal food so we don’t fill up the
fridge and cupboards. From my first post I got agreement from most people on
the judging criteria but there was a lot of people split over round vs. square
pies. Plus thanks for the
suggestions of places to try pies along the way (I know the challenge has been
laid down to South Australia)
So the other day we took a walk over to the
Bourke St Bakery to kick off the pie diaries. Bourke St is a local bakery in Surry Hills and it’s a well-regarded
establishment with lines outside the door every weekend. We were introduced to this place while
living in Sydney and it has awesome hot and sweet foods. If this were the sausage roll diary it
would win hands down. Here you
find the best sausage roll made with lamb and almonds. A must to try. Bourke St is also right on the way when
heading to the SCG. I’ve swung by
there a few times to pick up a box of sausage rolls before the footy (it goes
down better than a Villi’s pie).
We were at Bourke St as well to catch up
with Hazel’s friend Candice before we left Sydney. Now down to the pie.
I had eaten a beef pie here before, but it had been a while and was good
to get reacquainted with the taste.
I knew beforehand the pie was going to be tasty, so it would be a good
benchmark for the pie diaries (& maybe a potential winner). The beef pie here was round and served
in an aluminum case. Now I’m not a
fan of the case as too many pies seem to stick and when you grab it out it
falls apart. Alas this was not the
case, so all good.
So how did it stack up? My favorite bit of this pie was the
pastry. It was light and crunchy
and just a little bit sweet to the taste.
It was not flaky at all.
The beef and gravy inside was juicy and tasty, nice chunks that melted
in your mouth. The only issue with
the pie was the heat. It was too
hot inside and meant for slow eating.
Hazel and Candice also had the pie and confirmed this analysis (they
also had it with tomato sauce, but I won’t go there). Plus there was a bit too much gravy, which dripped
everywhere, but at the end of the day it was a delicious pie, which I scored
7/10. I then had to wash it down with
a lamb sausage roll, as it might be a while until I get one of those again.
With the first pie down, we said our
farewells to Candice and headed home to do some more packing over the
weekend. Next weekend I will be
trying out Hannah’s Pies on Harris St, for my last pie before leaving Sydney. Plus in between then Hazel and I have a
few final lunches to attend so it will be a busy week.
Sunday 11 November 2012
Welcome to the Pie Diaries 2
Welcome to The Pie Diaries 2 blog, which I
will use to capture our adventure as we embark on a road trip from Sydney to
Perth. So why the Pie Diaries
2? Well it goes back about 10
years when my good friend Macca did the original pie diaries on his road trip
from Perth to Tasmania. Along the
way he sampled pies at various bakeries to determine the best pie in Oz. The best pie he found was at the Denmark
bakery (we will be going past there on our trip so I can verify).
With us undertaking a road trip back to Perth
I thought it was fitting to bring back the pie diaries and see where the best
pie in Australia is (plus a few sneaky vanilla slices on the side). I’m also keen to find some good pies in
South Australia this time as in the original diaries a good pie could not be
found. I’m sure they have lifted
their game by now.
Now to have the pie diaries we obviously
need rules and judging criteria on accessing the best pie. Now I know everyone has their own idea
of what makes a good pie so my judging criteria factors in key points I got
from Macca (including celebrities) and some of mine own ideas of a great pie.
So firstly to make sure we are comparing
like for like across bakeries I will only be having a beef pie (no fancy
gourmet fillings). I’ll score
every pie out of 10 and to get a high score it will be judged on the following
criteria (in no particular order):
1.
Shape – Round pies are a must. A round pie is most efficient and every
bite of pastry will have meat and gravy.
Square pies are a no-no.
The corners are wasted and there is nothing worse biting into a pie and
just getting pastry.
2.
Heat – Warnie stated a good pie just
needs to be hot enough to suffocate it.
Therefore pies which you bite into and burn your tongue are no
good. Temperature needs to be
perfect.
3.
Filling – A delicate combination of beef
and gravy needs to be achieved.
Not enough and the pie is chunky and dry. Too much and you’ll need a spoon to eat it like soup. Obviously getting the combination is
one thing, but the beef and gravy used needs to be tasty with the beef melting
in your mouth.
4.
Pastry – Flaky pastry is no good. There’s nothing worse than finishing a
pie and finding half of the pastry in a pile at your feet. It’s needs to be light, but strong
enough to hold the contents and have a light crunch when you bite into it.
5.
Tomato Sauce – A sign of a bad tasting
pie is when tomato sauce needs to be added. Now I like a bit of sauce every now and then, but this is about
finding the best pie and a great pie doesn’t need sauce to cover up the
taste. As soon as I bring out the
sauce, no pie can score above 5.
6.
Atmosphere – Now this is very subjective
but something I believe is key to producing a great pie. A homely country bakery producing pies
on site with love and care is important to a great pie experience. Chains or over-rated bakeries miss this
and fail to deliver. I had to
introduce this rule after the Dunsborough bakery. One of the best bakeries around alas no more as it’s focused
too much on its name and has fallen down in making quality pies.
Now the criteria is established I will be
tasting two Sydney bakeries before hitting the road. They will be Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills and Hanna Pies in
Ultimo. Stay tuned for their
ratings in the next couple of weeks and at the end of November we pack up our
swag and hit the road, where the pie tasting will begin in earnest.
Get Behind!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)