Wilson's Promontory

Wilson's Promontory National Park or Wilson's Prom as it is fondly called, is the southern most tip of Victoria. The most accessible parts of the national park are along the east while to access the west part of the national park, one will need to walk a day and stay overnight there. One of the more popular walks is to the lighthouse, where you can stay overnight at the lighthouse and walk back the next day. I heard that the views are spectacular. But so are the views from the east side of the park. 

We walked up to the summit of Mount Oberon and were rewarded with these views of the Bass Strait. In total it was about a 3 hour return journey for medium fitness walkers like us. The incline was steep and relentless. The last leg of the journey involves climbing flights of stairs against a mountain face in very windy conditions. I was terrified. But look at the views from the summit: 

There are many walks to choose from, ranging from easy to very difficult overnight walks. The Wildlife Walk was one of the easiest ones. It is just a meander through flatlands, bushes and trees. The only mildly strenuous bit is avoiding the kangaroo droppings along the way. There are no prescribed path on this walk, one is free to walk wherever you can see wildlife.

We saw many kangaroos on the walk but no other wildlife even though we really wanted to see wombats.

This is Squeaky Beach - yes the sand is so fine that it squeaks if you rub it! But the scenery is amazing too, lots of interesting rock formations with colours of the sunset.

This is one of the most surprising walks we've been on, mainly because it was not planned but short (about 1.8km) and we were rewarded by beautiful views of the bay on both sides. There is Norman Bay on the left and Leonard Bay on the right.

There is so much to do in Wilsons Prom - swimming, enjoying the beach, camping, walking, photography, wildlife observing, the list goes on. We enjoyed our trip very much and all the locals were so friendly.

Burma Lane, Melbourne CBD

If you want a great lunch and pay only half the price, then go to Burma Lane in the CBD. Burma Lane is a sister restaurant to Red Spice Road, so if you enjoy the food at RSR, you will like Burma Lane too. It serves modern fusion Cambodian cuisine and have the same bold, intense flavours as RSR. It also has a version of the famous pork belly on its menu. On Mondays, it has a Feed Me set menu on half price (limited to 4 people only, normally $39 pp). 

The Feed Me menu changes regularly so you don't have to worry about eating the same thing because you've gone twice in two weeks like I did, because I enjoyed the food so much. The Feed Me menu provides for 2 small dishes, and 3 mains.

Dumplings, can't go wrong with dumplings! The second time I visited, it was shan tofu which I found a little bland, unlike the dumplings. 

Smoked chicken wings. Deep fried then covered in smoky spicy dressing. It was sticky, sweet, smoky and spicy.

Deep fried barramundi pieces, sweet potato in a spicy honey soy sauce. It was a little bit fishy, but not bad. On the second time I was there, they served braised beef cheeks which was just marvellous!! The meat was tender and melted in the mouth. It was braised in the same kind of sauce (notice how most of the sauces on the menu seem a little similar in colour and flavour..?) but was so good.

Papaya salad - my friend enjoyed this immensely as she loves papaya salad. It was crunchy and refreshing. The second time I visited there was wok tossed greens which included green beans, which I enjoyed more.

Pork Belly - 1 cube per person. Similar to RSR, it was sticky and melted in the mouth, and is a constant on the menu.

The dish that I most enjoyed in Burma Lane was the braised beef cheeks, surpassing the pork belly which can be a little stringy at times. I also enjoyed the wok tossed greens which had the breath of wok in the dish. The portions are generous, and no need for rice to fill the tummy up. So if you were ordering from the ala carte menu, don't go past the braised beef cheeks!