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!

Cucina Sotto Le Stelle, Nightcliff

Seabreeze Carpark
Chapman Road
Nightcliff
NT 0810

The Cucina Sotto Le Stelle truck only rolls onto the Nightcliff foreshore on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. When we arrived on Friday evening around dusk there was a queue to order and dozens of people already sat around either waiting for or tucking into their pizzas.

After making it to the front of the queue we put in our orders at the busy counter/kitchen and got ready for our 40 minute wait... plenty of time to build up an appetite!

Eventually our number was called and we to tuck into our dinner. My Giardino with its capsicum, eggplant and onion added to the wood fired base, sauce and mozzarella was authentic and hit the spot.

The Napoletana with its classic capers and anchovies kept the better half happy.

Both pizzas were $15, and although not super large kept us both happy. If you arrive at a busy time, be prepared for a wait, but with great views out across the Timor Sea, there are worse places to while away time!

Darwin Trailer Boat Club

8 Atkins Drive
Fannie Bay
NT 0820

The Darwin Trailer Boat Club is cities oldest seaside club dating from1958, when it was based in a modified caravan. It faces west is providing great views of the tropical sunsets over the water.

We didn't quite manage front row seats for the sun slipping below the horizon, but were happy with our spot none the less. It actually got quite dark at our table later which wan't a problem, except for the photography! After selecting our dishes, we headed up to the counter which also featured a giant version of the menu and the specials board.

The Thai chicken salad contained green paw paw, bean sprouts, rice noodles, cucumber, coriander and peanuts, was dressed nicely and went down well

I went for the Barramundi burger, with the chunk of battered local fish encased in a brioche bun along with tartare sauce and salad, topped with burger rings. The basket also contained some chunky chips and I was also able to visit the salad bar... The burger worked well and the rest of the meal left me satisfied.

The meals came to $40.50 which seemed like good value. The laid back vibe and beach-side location with awesome views make it a quintessential Darwin experience.

Beachfront Hotel, Darwin

342 Casuarina Drive
Rapid Creek
NT 0810

The Beechfront Hotel over looks the beach across Casurina Drive in Nightcliff. It has recently been refurbished and has a modern feel and was lively on the Friday evening we visited. We found ourselves a table out the the front and then grabbed a menu, which focused on Aussie pub dished with a bit of an NT flavour, before ordering at the counter.

The lemon pepper dusted squid was tender and came with chips and salad.

I had the battered NT Threadfin Salmon fillets with chips and salad. The Blue Threadfin inhabit coastal waters throughout the Indo Pacific including northern Australia waters, so it was good to try out a local catch. It was a flavoursome fish, well cooked with crisp batter.

Our meals came pretty quickly despite the pub being packed on the Friday evening. The meals came to $45. The sunset views over the ocean make it a nice spot to grab a pub meal in Nightcliff.

Vamos

1st floor, 37 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
3000

Vamos is tucked away on the first floor of the top end of Bourke St, although it is reasonably well  signposted. We had a table overlooking the street, the fit out features plenty of wood and downlights in the fairly dark space.

We ordered a series of tapas dishes and the plates came out in ones and twos. The Patatas Bravas were first to arrive, a favourite of ours and these didn't disappoint.

We gave the scallop special a go and they were perfectly prepared.

The broccoli topped with walnuts and chilli wasn't a traditional eat with a tooth pick style tapas dish, but the caramelisation made it stand out.

The crisp skin and rich flavour of the salmon was well matched with a red pepper puree.

The stuffed eggplant was filled with huitlacoche (a Mexican truffle) and spinach then topped with salsa which was a winning combination.

The polenta chips finished things off nicely and left us well satisfied.

The service was good, with the plates arriving at a good pace. The bill came to $76.50 although we were on a dimmi deal giving 50% off food which is certainly worth grabbing if it comes up again!

Wabi Sabi Salon, Collingwood

94 Smith Street
Collingwood
Victoria
3066

Wabi Sabi Salon was well located for our Friday evening plans, we'd booked a table which turned out to have been a good move as it was pretty busy when we arrived at around 8pm

Inside the typical Smith St storefront the interior sloping 'roofs' provided a Japanese touch and a cosy feel. Out the back there was also a small courtyard area that was also busy with a group of diners.

On top of the standard menu, there were some specials:

We kicked off with our favourite Japanese entrée of Edamame which we managed to get through pretty quickly, despite the the need to prize the beans from their casings.

We both went with bento boxes. The Rockling karaage with chilli garlic vinegar sauce was a winner with the better half.

I had the Agedashi tofu and eggplant with shiitake and ankake sauce. There were plenty of silky textures and great flavours!

The service was good throughout. The bill came to around $80 including a few drinks, which seemed fair. We'd happily go back if we are in the area again.

East Beach Fish and Chips, Port Fairy

146 Griffith Street
Port Fairy
Victoria 3284

Tucked away on Griffiths street near the beach, opposite the Gardens Caravan Park and across the Moyne river from the center of Port Fairy, East Beach Fish and Chips is easily missed.

The menu covers the basics with aussie style burgers and souvas on offer too. 

We tried it out on a family camping trip over Easter and unsurprisingly it was busy when we arrived to collect the order we'd put in by phone. We didn't have to wait too long to have our number called out, and we were soon back at our site ready to dine alfresco.

I'd gone with the Blue Grenadier which was great covered in fantastic crisp batter, the choips wree good too.

With an amazing sunset to watch, it turned out to be a perfect meal!