Bright Brewery

121 Great Alpine Road
Bright
Victoria 3741

Bright Brewery sits on the Great Alpine Road with a 'hop terrace' backing on to the Ovens river. We visited on a busy early spring public holiday weekend after riding the rail trail up from Wangaratta. The venue was busy and we hadn't booked but managed to grab a table for 2 outside. Inside the large space felt cosy, maybe that was because the evening became a bit chilly later!

I had the quinoa veggie burger with sun-dried tomato and macadamia nut pesto, mushroom, rocket, beetroot and hummus served in a hemp roll with sweet potato fries. The combination of flavours was great, with the only challenge keeping the burger together while eating it.

The Hakaage fried chicken with soba noodles, kewpie mayo and Asian pickle went down well.

On a busy evening we did have to wait a while for our meal, as was to be expected. The brewery is a good spot for a casual meal with lots of outdoor space for the right times of year.

Co Thu Quan

10 Droop Street

Footscray

Vic

3011

Replacing the fairly short lived Thai restaurant Issan Thai Street Food, Cô Thư Quán (pronounced 'Go Tu Quan' or 'Miss Thu's Restaurant') has a menu with a diverse range of street food and cuisine from across Vietnam. In December 2016 the first incarnation of the restaurant had to close after the fire in the Little Saigon Market.

Inside little had changed since the previous occupants in terms of the fit out, we ended up seated in the back section.

We kicked off with some prawn spring rolls, which were on the skinny side but had the expected crunch and flavours.

Th Bun Mam or Fermented fish noodle soup had a murky brown broth flavoured with fermented anchovies and fish sauce along with cat fish, pork, eggplant, fishcake, prawns and a topping of chives. The combination of flavours was full on and I mixed in condiments to get something I enjoyed.

The Bang da cua Haiphong or Haiphong red rice noodle crab soup was also packed with a variety of ingredients and flavours.

The bill came to $37 and the service was friendly and fairly quick. I'd be happy to try some more of the dishes on the extensive menu on another visit.

Finigans Gourmet Fish & Chips, Nightcliff

66 Aralia Street
Nightcliff
NT 0810

Finigans Gourmet Fish and Chips stands on one corner of the block of shops on Aralia Street in Nightcliff. The decor is classic Aussie Fish and Chip Shop style, almost like taking a step back in time.

We ordered and I settled in to wait for our choices to be prepared, which didn't take long despite a few other customers also waiting.

I was soon carrying a familiar smelling paper box back to the apartment, and once there plating up the spoils.The crisp golden batter enclosed moist flavoursome 'Local Barra' and chips were well cooked too.

The 2 pieces of barramundi and medium chips came to $30, a bit on the expensive side but just about worth it given the quality of the food!