Queenscliff

Across from Geelong over the Port Phillip Bay is Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. They are seaside towns, less touristy than Lorne, Torquay and the other areas of the peninsula but bustling with holiday makers wishing to enjoy the great Australian sea, sand and sun. 

We took this picture of the sunset at Queenscliff after a 32 degree day. There was a group of youngsters blasting pop music on the beach, a couple sitting on chairs they brought from home with their feet up on the railing enjoying the sunset.

Families occupying the little cottage accommodation on the foreshore occasionally peeked from their lounge rooms to watch the sun set. Some people drove up to the beach, looked at the sunset then drove back like us, in search of dinner and other things to do.

We had fish and chips, and a cold drink for dinner. The fish and chips restaurant on the main street is very popular. Orders for pick up is called out over a microphone that reverberates outside the shop. Numbers stretched to the 400s while we were waiting. We were not disappointed. The fish was fresh and crispy. The chips were crispy and fluffy on the inside. 

The next day, after a hot balmy night spent in Circa 1902 and 3 cold showers later, we went to the marina. The observation tower is serviced by a lift and provides a great view of the pier, the bay, and the town. 

Compared to the day before, the weather was chalk and cheese. The sky was overcast and the wind howled through the ventilation holes of the tower. Nevertheless, the weather was more pleasant than the scalding hot day yesterday.

We drove to Point Lonsdale and walked around the lighthouse. It used to be open for tours guided by volunteers but those have ceased due to Covid. 

The foreshore has several small bunkers used by soldiers to spot enemy ships. They are very small and looked uncomfortable but it would fit 3 people. 

After the hustle and bustle of trying to organise Christmas which was eventually cancelled due to someone in our family contracting Covid, it was lovely to relax by the seaside, browsing the local shops, watching the sunset and enjoying the architecture of old history filled buildings around the town. 

Jalan Alor, Ferntree Gully

In Malaysia, Jalan Alor translates to Flow Street. I'm not sure why it's called that, but this street is famous for being a foodie's street because of the number of food stalls and restaurants there. The hustle and bustle on this street escalates to a cacophony of traffic sounds, people's voices and stall owners' cooking sounds at night.

While Jalan Alor restaurant in Ferntree Gully does not have the same busy ambience, it does serve some authentic Malaysian tai chau / zi char (street food). The sar hor fun ($15.50) has plenty of wok hei (breath of the wok), so much so that a quarter of the wok peeled off and was served along with the noodles. I am not joking, there were many bits of black soot in the dish. 

There were perfect pairs of almost everything - a pair of prawns, a couple of fish cake slices, two pieces of calamari, one leaf of bok choy cut in half.. if I were to assemble the little pieces of bbq pork in the dish I would not be surprised if there were exactly two regular slices of bbq pork. There were lots of noodles which were silky smooth with lots of breath of wok and pieces of wok and egg gravy though.

The braised pork knuckle on rice ($15.50) is a new item on their menu, so I ordered to try. I miss the real braised whole pork knuckle from new Centro in Box Hill. They serve a true Cantonese style braised WHOLE pork knuckle with rice for a ridiculously cheap price. I am not sure if they survived Covid, but it was a memorable dish that I crave once in a while. Normally, whole braised pork knuckle is a dish served during festive occasions only because of the work involved. The knuckle has to be deboned but still leaving the meat attached to the skin and braised till tender. 

It was interesting that the weekend specials were not advertised, nor were we informed at the time of order. But when another customer striked up a conversation with the waitress and asked about other dishes on the menu, she offered the information that there were special priced dishes available. It was a total savings of $8 off the regular prices. They are generous with information just as they are with the amount of protein in their dishes.

I think I will stick to the zi char dishes when I dine here like sar hor fun, and char kuey teow, but not for another long while because while I loved the wok hei, I didn't want pieces of wok in my dishes! 

Update 2024: 

Jalan Alor introduced a range of $10 dishes last year and we have been going now and then to try. Although the meals are priced competitively, the portions, amount of protein and flavour are all on par with other restaurants. I found myself wanting to patronise this restaurant more often to offer our support. Despite the reasonably priced meals, the place is usually only half full at best on most days. 

We have tried the lor bak ($10). It is a little mushy inside because of the introduction of white radish as an ingredient. It is not the type of lorbak I am used to, which uses only meat and five spice rolled in beancurd skin.

Nasi lemak with curry chicken ($10) is good value and comes with a whole egg! The peanut and fried anchovies were spot on in taste and flavour. The rice is fluffy and has a nice coconut aroma and taste.

Hainanese chicken rice ($10) has a good amount of silky chicken. It is cooked well because although tender, it is not bloody. The rice has a good chicken stock flavour but a tad mushy.

The other $10 dishes are chee cheong fun, kolo mee, sarawak laksa, pork noodles (also another of our favourite), spring rolls.

The Australian Synchrotron, Clayton

Do you know what a synchrotron is? I didn't, until my visit to the Australian Synchrotron Open Day last year. It turns out that this major research facility is located in my backyard and I didn't even know about it! Simplistically, electrons are charged up, directed by a bunch of magnets to make them go round and round a circuit until they're whizzing around at the speed of light. As the particles move through the magnets, they emit radiation which are captured and directed to different parts of the facility called beamlines. There are 10 beamlines in the Australian Synchrotron currently. 

The radiation emitted by the particles is used for various research purposes for example, x-rays, planetary science, food safety (radiating food to kill germs).

The facility is shaped like a circle (by necessity) and bigger than football field. There were many scientists there on the Open Day to give the public an explanation of the research they do at each beamline. Some of the equipment was open for display, but no touching! They look unimpressive for the important work that they do. I remember one of them were covered by what looked to us like heavy duty aluminium foil, which is used because it is most efficient in diffusing heat quickly. 

The synchrotron was not running on the day for safety reasons, but on days when it is in operation, it is safe enough that researchers do not need to wear special suits. 

It was an eye opening experience for me. I did start from a low base, not being very interested in science and techy stuff. I learnt many new things from the Open Day (like what a synchrotron does, and the Haldron Collider - which is simplistically charges up particles and enables them to smash against each other in the hope of recreating another Big Bang). My understanding and description of the facility is therefore from a viewpoint of a lay person with no background in science. There is a much better description that I found here: https://theconversation.com/an-electrons-near-light-speed-tour-of-the-australian-synchrotron-34081

Curry Vault, CBD

What are some of the more interesting locations you have eaten at? I was mulling over this today and can say I have eaten in restaurant located in a crypt, on a boat, on top of a mountain with views as picturesque as a Chinese brush painting, on a swing. What brought me to think about this is our visit to Curry Vault, which is a located in a semi basement on Bank Place off Little Collins St. It doesn't have much visibility because of its location but it is always bustling. The restaurant runs many promotions and the food is good enough to return without dining on a promotion. The service is fast and friendly and we had no problems ordering a meal that had just the right spice level for our palate. 

We ordered the chicken pakora ($12.80), a hot entree consisting of deep fried chicken pieces in chickpea flour batter. Chickpea flour is heavier than wheat flour, and so a plate of these chicken morsels and I'm almost full. But I prepared room in the stomach for the good food to come. 

For mains, we had mixed tandoori platter ($28.90), chef's special goat curry ($22.50), basmati rice ($4.00) and garlic naan ($5.00). Gaz also ordered a mango lassi ($6.00). It tasted like it was made with real mangoes and yoghurt unlike some very artificial flavour that mango lassi can be from other restaurants.

The tandoori platter had tandoori chicken, sheesh kebab, lamb cutlets and chicken tikka. Some pieces had char marks which adds to the smokiness of the food. My favourite was the lamb cutlets which was juicy and tender. The chicken pieces were a little dry but the platter comes with a dipping sauce.

One of my favourite meat is goat and the goat curry here did not disappoint. It was just spicy enough (we asked for mild), the goat pieces were braised until tender and they were meaty unlike some restaurants that serves only bony pieces. It was a perfect to eat with garlic naan which was very fragrant. 

The restaurant was busy but the service was fast enough that I wasn't left hangry. The prices are more expensive than the suburban Indian restaurant but given the high rents in the CBD it is probably justified and on par if not lower than the pricing of other 'casual fine dining' restaurants.