I recently attended the 2017 National Clubs Gymnastics carnival in Bendigo to watch Miss 16 compete for Delta Brisbane. I wrote a description of the drive to Bendigo and back to Canberra on my other blog, viz., My Thoughts and Stuff.
This post will be a review of the food I ate on the trip.
The drive from Canberra to Bendigo
Google Map
Here is a map of my drive from Canberra to Bendigo. You can click on the place markers and get information including photographs from my journey.
Vanilla slice number 1 at Holbrook
This vanilla slice wasn’t too bad. The custard was quite firm though and a little too gelatinous. The icing was nice, not too sweet and the pastry was crispy without being hard or tough.
It went down well with a cup of black tea.
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Pork belly in Wangaratta
I can highly recommend Cafe Derailleur in Wangaratta. For lunch, I enjoyed a dish of caramelised pork belly with an Asian slaw salad. To wash it down I had an apple, pear, lime and ginger juice.
Get yourself there and try out the menu.
A pot of tea with a lamington
Even though I tend to go for vanilla slices, when I reached the Violet Town Cafe there were no vanilla slices left. The lamingtons looked good so I asked for one with a pot of black tea.
The lamington was perfect. The cake wasn’t too dry or moist, there was just enough coconut and it was coated nicely without too much loss.
Some friends on social media asked about jam. Nope, there was no jam in this lamington.
A really nice peppercorn sauce can overcome a tough steak
I had dinner on the first night at the Lake View Hotel which is a few minutes walk down the road from the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna.
I asked for the scotch rib fillet cooked rare with a peppercorn sauce, hand cut chips and broccolini. The sauce was amazing. I love a fiery peppercorn sauce that makes my mouth feel like there’s a party going on between my lips. The steak itself was okay in terms of flavour but it was a bit tough.
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A signature omelette at the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna
You can read more about how I feel about my accommodation on my other blog (referred to above).
My first breakfast in the motel’s restaurant was a delicious omelette.
A so-called Chinese platter with a touch of the subcontinent
While Miss 16 was travelling from Brisbane to Bendigo via Melbourne, I visited the Golden Dragon Museum which celebrates Bendigo’s significant Chinese heritage.
I took lunch at the end of my visit at the museum’s restaurant. I chose the Chinese platter which consisted of a deep fried dim sim, prawn crackers, a char siu bao, a deep-fried spring roll and a couple of samosas which I don’t think of as Chinese. This was all served with some Plum sauce which a dear Chinese friend tells me would never be served with a proper Chinese meal.
What can I say? It was a plate of deep fried tasty snacks plus a pork bun. It filled a hole in my belly.
I’ll never be vegan, I love a meaty pizza with extra anchovies
I planned on Saturday night to watch the North Queensland Cowboys play against the Sydney Roosters in the second preliminary final of the National Rugby League’s 2017 season. I needed footy food. Pizza!
I had walked past Luchiano Pizza & Pasta the night before on the way to the Lake View Hotel. I looked up Luchiano Pizza & Pasta online and discovered I could order online so I paid for a meat lover’s pizza with extra anchovies. It was delicious. I’d happily eat another one.
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Smashed avo with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce
Sunday breakfast in the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna restaurant was some nice smashed avocado with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. I think I inhaled it. It was really good.
Gymnastics means gems
The tuck shop at the Bendigo Stadium is pretty good and well appointed. They do potato gems (tater tots) with or without gravy. Potato gems are perfect for watching gymnastics.
A delicate belly means a light dinner, how about a salad?
As I left Bendigo Stadium on Sunday afternoon I started experiencing some intense intestinal colic. I thought I should still eat so I went to the Lake View Hotel and asked for a Caesar salad.
The salad was delightful with nice long anchovy strips and a poached egg encased in a crumbed shell. The Caesar dressing was just a thin coating on really crispy lettuce leaves and the bacon was crispy as were the croutons.
The colicky bowel pains continued into the night and finally disappeared at 3 am.
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Bacon and eggs of course
For my final Bendigo breakfast, I enjoyed crispy bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Breakfast of champions.
You had one job Bendigo Stadium tuck shop, one job!
After watching Miss 16 compete in the finals I went to the tuck shop to enjoy some potato gems. They had run out. There were none left. How could this be? I was disappointed. I had to make do with hot chips.
Crumbed steak and a delicious dessert
On my final night in Bendigo, I dined in the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna restaurant. I chose the crumbed steak with pepper sauce, chips and greens. I love crumbed steak, especially with a nice sauce. When the steak has been well seasoned and tenderised, the crumbed coating adds so much extra to the mouthfeel.
For dessert, I chose the blueberry ice cream sundae with white chocolate and honeycomb. This was a great dessert. I had neglected dessert while in Bendigo so this was a great finish to my trip.
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When a dunny stop turns into first breakfast
Google Map
Here is the map of my drive from Bendigo to Canberra. You can click on the place markers and get information including photographs from my journey.
My belly was still a little delicate so I made sure that I took regular breaks on the drive north from Bendigo to Canberra.
My first stop was in Murchison which is about an hour out of Bendigo. After the toilet stop I went into the Murchison Bakery & Tearoom. As I entered I noticed in the display case some nice looking apple turnovers. I asked for one along with a cup of coffee.
The apple turnover was delicious. I’d happily eat another from the Murchison Bakery & Tearoom.
Yes, I’m a Hobbit, I need second breakfast
A short drive from Murchison is Benalla and Hide’s Bakery. I love this place. I felt the need for second breakfast so I asked for some toasted raisin bread and a coffee. This would have to be the best raisin bread I’ve ever tasted. It was so light and pillowy. It had a magnificent combination of fruit and flavour.
Before I left I also picked up a vanilla slice which I enjoyed for morning tea at a truck stop northbound on the highway.
No trip is complete without a meat pie, or better yet, a potato pie!
The driving conditions were great and it didn’t take long to get to Henri’s Wodonga Bakery which is the destination I had planned for lunch.
I really like this bakery. It is well appointed and has everything you could want in a bakery including pink icing vanilla slices.
I decided on a potato pie with bacon bits sprinkled on the mashed potato. It was delicious and a perfect lunch on a road trip.
No tucker in Tarcutta
I did stop in Tarcutta for a dunny break but I wasn’t hungry so there was no tucker in Tarcutta.
That’s about it. When I got back to the flat I made a salmon and salad dinner which I really needed after so many high meat and sweet food and a general lack of vegetables.
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Other posts you may enjoy
Delicious panko chicken thigh with avocado rice and potato gems
Chicken thigh schnitzel, potato gems and panko prawns with mashed potato and gravy
That’s a whole lotta tasty food there Gary, sounded like a great trip and pretty much all the food was terrific. Pity you ended up feeling not so great, hope you came good really quickly once home. Those potato gems did sound ‘the business’ too, I would have been devo if there were none left.
Thanks, Anna, sadly I’m still feeling crook. Hopefully, I’ll feel better when I get back to work on Tuesday. I probably should buy a bag of gems to help me feel better 😃
My stomach actually started growling when I was reading this post. The vanilla slice custard looks a few days old and a bit disappointing. I love fresh custard in a vanilla slice. It’s really the best.
I agree wholeheartedly Lorraine, fresh custard is always best. I love the stuff.
You had some fabulous meals Gary; all your photos are excellent – love potato gems – can’t believe they ran out.
Thanks, Sue. I probably should have rung ahead and informed them the gem eater was on the way there.
I’m backing you on the no vegan policy and anchovies on the pizza, my friend!!
I truly don’t mind when I eat out with people who are vegetarian or vegan, in my mind it means more meat for me. That said, I do like to think about how an animal has lived and died and processed. I think there are way too many children and young adults in the world today who have no idea about how their food gets from the paddock to their plates.
I don’t understand the lack of anchovy love from people. They seem a perfect accompaniment to a pizza 😃
They are great on pizza! I think it’s like when one child turns his nose up at spinach – no kid likes it!!
But hopefully, as they get older their taste will change. I remember Mum and Dad trying to tell me spinach would make me like Popeye. It didn’t work then but then when Mum made me a feta and spinach puff pastry roll, it all changed when I discovered spinach could be good.
Pork belly, mmmm.
It never fails to impress Brother. Can you imagine a special Spam version made with belly and shoulder pork?
LOVE a good pepper sauce. Pity the steak wasn’t great 🙁
My guess is that it wasn’t allowed to rest for long enough. There was a bit of blood on my plate as I started cutting into it. I keep on asking for rare knowing how I cook a steak. Perhaps it would be safer to ask for medium rare and then wait five minutes before starting after it has been served.
Certainly quite the food trip like you showed on your other blog, Gaz. Sometimes it can be hard to find good tasting chips, but if that’s all that’s left, then that’s left. I wish they were more crinkle cut hot chips readily available.
Do you use your Sony to take photos when you are eating out? They are always good food photos 🙂
Thanks Mabel. Most of my food photography when I’m out and about is shot with my iPhone 7 Plus. I use the Lightroom mobile app and edit in app.
Likewise, I like crinkle cut hot chips too.
Maybe you could make crinkle cut hot chips for dinner sometime, Gaz 😃 Hope you are feeling better after resting today. Maybe you caught that bug in Victoria. Seems to me that I am starting to go downhill a bit 😞😦 Take care.
Oh no Mabel, I hope you stay well. I may well have been infected while in Bendigo, it could have been from someone from anywhere in Australia. There were clubs from all over the place. Hmmm….I will have to look at making my own crinkle cut chips 😃👍
Sounds like you are better already, Gaz. I felt better this morning but tired again now lol. You could cut your own crinkle chips, or take the easy way out get some frozen ones and bake 😀
Thanks, Mabel. Unfortunately, I’ve still got a headache, my nose is blocked and my finger joints are sore. Hopefully, by Tuesday I’ll be fine. Now I want chips for breakfast 😃