Melbourne Summer Eats

I've just returned from a relaxing 10 day visit in Melbourne, soaking up the sun, nabbing a few bargains and doing lots of eating. Below are my top three Melbourne Eats, I confess I am missing Chapel Street and my brother's inner city apartment already. Suburbia seems overrated.










1. Suzuki Night Markets @ Queen Victoria Markets

Before you enter the markets you can hear a thumping folk band entertaining the hungry crowd. An intoxicating mix of smells greets you as you gently nudge your way through the people. The problem is how do you choose what to eat? Stalls sizzle with an international array of freshly fried, battered, stewed, grilled and baked foods. Worse still is watching what other people are eating - this induces serious food envy. The lack of empty tables necessitates eating wherever you can, perching on any empty space while you feast on New Orleans Creole Jambalaya with chicken and chorizo or honey dumplings and wash it all down with a sangria.





2. Hutong Dumpling Bar, 162 Commercial Road, Prahran

This upmarket Chinese restaurant has a dumpling viewing window so you can watch the chefs in action. The duck roasting oven is also on customer display and apparently cost $300,000! Either way, I enjoyed the shanghai dumplings as an entree when yours first bite releases the hot soup into your mouth, the specialty claypot melt-in-your-mouth scallops and eggplant and the very sweet pork spare ribs in a honey sauce. The service was a bit hit and miss though.



3. Ganache, 250 Toorak Road, South Yarra

My best friends swears this is the best chocolatier in Melbourne. I opted for the hazelnut fan slice and she had the passionfruit and mango slice accompanied by lemongrass T2 tea. The milk chocolate was velvety and smooth perfected by the wafer base sandwiching the crunched hazelnuts. I tasted her slice too which was light and fluffy, the sweetness of the fruit offset by the white chocolate mousse. This made for a rather decadent afternoon tea.

Whilst this isn't a "top 3" you have to eat Lord of the Fries if you're in Melbourne after a big night or snack attack, just a pity they ran out of the below:



All photos were taken on my iPhone. Big thanks to my bro for letting me crash on his futon! =)

Seminyak - From the Streets to the Beach

Below is a travel writing piece that I entered into a competition. Not one to sleep in on my 24th birthday I woke up and walked on the beach at 6.30am...

Before stepping for the very first time on a plane to Bali, your head is filled with too many preconceived notions. Images of negative newscasts, of sunburnt tourists and harassing hawkers are the cause of apprehension blurring your excitement ever so slightly.

On the streets the stereotypes begin to fade. Motorbikes fill the roads driven by locals and tourists alike expertly darting through traffic. One motorbike has a white surfboard strapped to its side.

My taxi driver practices his English and burgeoning French on visitors. Wayan tells me that the fruit in season are mangoes, durian and the curious looking mangostien or “manggis” with tough purple skin and white flesh inside. Stopping at a junction, I watch as children use a long stick to prod manggis from a tree to be caught in a turquoise painted woven basket.

Waking up early for a stroll, I’ve found that the morning mist has broken on Seminyak Beach. My bare feet leave prints on the diamond dusted grey sand. I dodge the tiny crabs that make sandcastle homes on the beach. The sand is a kaleidoscopic pattern comprised of tiny balls of sand.

“Salamat pagi!”
Two young boys jog barefoot in their ragged t-shirts and shorts. Smiles envelope their faces as they wave at us, pausing to run backwards before breaking into a bolt.

I continue to walk across the cool sand, which is devoid of litter but strayed with seaweed and shells. I’ve approached the Balinese street dogs standing guard. One white skinny dog curls himself like a banana oblivious to the morning activity.

A family of fishermen untangle their long spiderweb nets, cackling with laughter. They drag the nets out meticulously, ensuring the red and orange baubles are upright.

Balinese children sit in the sand, drooping globs of wet sand through their fingers. A little girl with dark tresses of hair falling down her back wears solid gold earrings that catch in the sun. She twirls and runs and falls into the sand, only to pick herself up, dusts off her bright floral dress and dances again.

An offering lies on the beach. Encased in a pale beige square rattan basket, it contains colourful flowers, pandan leaves and a couple of cracker biscuits. The pandan leaves are “haram” meaning “nice-smelling” of a sweet earthy scent. A red incense stick in the middle blows smoke into the air.

Breathing in deeply, I can smell the pungent incense. The salty moisture in the air leaves my arms feeling smooth. It’s 6.30 am on Sunday morning. Good morning Bali.

The Spa at The Samaya Villas, Bali

Upon entering the Samaya Villas you know you're stepping into a special place. After walking through the open air reception area and the lantern lined paths, the lagoon pool and the horizon stretched out before us. The Samaya is a well-maintained resort, although it appeared to be rather quiet at the time of our visit.

To make the day spa experience more "special" I had specifically chosen a spa outside of our hotel - a decision which I was very happy with! I pre-booked my mother and myself in for the Shita Ladies Package a four hour deluxe spa treatment - this included complimentary pick up from our Seminyak hotel. The spa manager promptly greeted us and offered us chilled lime juice. We sampled the massage oils on our skin settling on "relax" and "calm".

Guided into the couples room a "Wow!" escaped my lips.
"Do you like the room?" Ani, my therapist smiled.
Uh, absolutely!



Large windows framed the spectacular view of waves breaking onto the shore. The room contained a sofa with two foot spas, two massage beds with rose petals strewn across them, a jet spa, a bathroom, shower, steam room and wardrobe. Attention to detail was paramount, with the walk in wardrobe having little jewellery boxes for your accessories.

The treatment began with an all natural foot spa with fresh limes and sea salt. We had a chat to our therapists, who both lived in Denpasar city and ride their own motorbikes to work. Both our therapists looked incredibly youthful, but were in their early thirties with young families.

My mother asked about whether Bali was afected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Ani replied, "No, because we are guarded, protected by the Gods."

Our therapists began the aroma massage and asked if the pressure was all right. I prefer a firm massage to ease away my desk job-induced upper back and shoulder tension. The candlenut scrub followed feeling cool on my skin. After a quick shower, a lavendar body lotion was applied all over and my skin felt incredibly buffed and smoothed.

Our milk bath was prepared for us and I've always rather greenly thought that a milk bath involved a lot of full cream milk. It was actually milk powder added to the warm water, with lots of bubbles. We enjoyed a tea ceremony in the bath - a sharp tasting ginger tea and lempur which is a specialty Indonesian dessert - glutinous rice wrapped around mince chicken.

A Decleor facial ended the treatment in the ocean view room and we were ushered into the salon for an OPI spa pedicure.

The service at the Samaya was faultless, both our therapists were warm, patient and welcoming. Even when mine had to gently wake me up after my massage. A little too relaxed perhaps?





After the spa I felt like drifting away but we ended up having sunset cocktails followed by dinner at the Breezes restaurant. It's the only way to end a perfect day in Bali.