Finally, Pie in the Sky at Olinda

Every time one talks about Mount Dandenong or pies, often times, I am told about this place that serves amazing pies- Pie in the sky. The first time I made it to Mount Dandenong was last Easter which I briefly mentioned in yesterday's post but never did make it to this much acclaimed pie shop.

To continue where I left off from yesterday... after Miss Marple's and Quaint Tea Shop in Sassafras (interesting town name) and further on, Sky High Mount Dandenong,  I drove LD and JD to another town or perhaps, a village called Olinda. It was on our way out of Mount Dandenong - where Pie in the Sky is situated - towards home and if not mistaken, the first town we reach when we first headed into the mountains.

According to its website,  Pie in the sky has won 11 gold medals in the Great Aussie Meat Pie competition since 1993 and is voted Victoria No.1 and Australia Top 10 Pies. Even JD who's lived in Melbourne for at least the past 5 years of his life has been here on numerous occasions when his family has had friends and families from overseas visiting.

Love the high ceiling and the woodsy interior feel. Spacious eatery with plenty of tables and seats for its many patron, locals and tourist. It was about 3pm in the afternoon and the place was half occupied with more customers trickling in. After perusing the menu, I decided to be adventurous and try the Tandoori Chicken Pie whilst the boys had the house specialty of beef pies.

The way to eat pies is with tomato sauce!

My Tandoori Chicken Pie with a slightly burnt heart shaped crust on the top.

The Tandoori Chicken was interestingly alright but I reckon their beef pies was more tasty and at the end of the day, that is what I would recommend people in the future. You can have a selection of beef pies with different feelings ie beef with cheese, beef with onions etc. 

Pie in the Sky
43 Olinda - Monbulk Road
Olinda 3788
Victoria

Would I come back here again? Yeah sure, if I have friends and families visiting from overseas. I saw scones in the menu but just didn't have any more room for more food. As per reviews in Urbanspoon, the scones are decent. Definitely will have to give that a go the next time I am there, which will be pretty soon.

Wheee.... How to save money like that??! LOL.

Hello again, Miss Marple's ...

This is long overdue as many of my other posts seem to be. LOL.

Last May, I blogged about our friend, AhLih from Brisbane, Queensland and our visits to the Dandenong Ranges and in particular Miss Marple's Tea Room. Well, early in February, I brought my sister's cute intern, LD - visiting from Malaysia - and his cousin, JD to Mount Dandenong.

We, of course made our way to Miss Marple's for a delightful lunch engorging ourselves in the finger  bites (can't remember the name of the one we ordered darnit!), scones set and pot of tea! JD had his fill from the soup of the day - creamy pumpkin soup.

LD and I, on the other hand kept our tummies for the scones. From the picture, you can see it is not the regular sort of scones where else it looks more like cakes and it is so. Well, I've read from a blog (sorry but I've to go hunt the blogger's url first) that there is another eatery that serves authentic scones and that Miss Marple's is better known for the finger bites.

I am hoping to try this other shop when friends and family come to visit. Will definitely blog more about it when I do. Anyways, all three of us enjoyed Miss Marple's scones especially with the heavenly whipped, light and decadent cream and its partners-in-crime, strawberry jam and creamy butter! It is my humble opinion that the butter and cream is what makes the scones famous. Without them, the scones would be just that... minus the fame. LOL.

After satiating our cravings, we made our way next door to the quaint 'teapot shop' that boasts to be 'Melbourne's largest range of tea and teapots' to get some coffee beans. Next up, I drove the boys up to the Sky High Mount Dandenong or rather look out point, in my own words.

It's a nice look out point with amazing view and you can apparently see glimpses of  Mornington Peninsula right across to Port Phillip Bay, if I am not mistaken. Costs AUD5 per car per entry. Apparently, there has been weddings held here and other functions.

Occasionally, there are some interesting events such as World's longest lunch and Christmas in July. In June, there'll be a Masquarade Ball. How fascinating! There's also several attractions such as The Giant's Chair, The Australiana Tree, The Wishing Tree, A Maze and World Fountain, to name a few.

The morning before I left my house to pick up the boys were pretty gloomy. I almost thought to call off the outing but just prior to leaving, the sun came out to play. As we were enjoying our lunch, seated by the side windows overlooking the road at Miss Marple's, we saw the dark clouds that came and go accompanied by showers of rain. 

I figured since we already made our way up to the mountains, we might as well journey forth to the observation deck despite the sorry weather. Fortunate for us, it wasn't misty and despite the grey overskies, the view that greeted us was just breathtakingly scenic. Glad I didn't call the trip off!

LD and JD

Aaahh... to be young and be packed with abundance of energy. Waitaminute... I still have that! LOLs. It was interesting to hang out with this two hip and happening guys and participate in their ever-oh-so-entertaining-conversations. Laughed till I had stitches in my sides.

The Australiana Tree

Boys will be boys.. plucking lavender flowers and sniffing its scent.

I won't be surprised if 'Please don't pluck any flowers' sign pops up on my next visit after this.

One can only wonder what situation caused this sign to be displayed... itchy handed boys?

See what I mean? Can't leave poor Mr. Percy, The Possum alone... in peace. ;p

The maze was close that day much to the boys disappointment. After exploring about for an hour or so amidst plucking lavender flowers and sniffing them like addicts, we decided to head to Pie in the skies for tea time!

Next up... Pies in the Skies.

Awesome Tom Thumb at Matthew Flinders Hotel

Remember I was talking about this awesome place yesterday, TOM THUMB in MATTHEW FLINDERS HOTEL (near Chadstone Mall) offering AUD10 MEAL DEALS with the first drink on the house??! Well, I kid you not. Look at the above picture. It's for EVERY Friday night from 7-9pm. Not a minute sooner... we were there 10minutes to 7pm, went to order only to be told that the chef is really particular and patrons can only place orders 7pm and after.

So, we waited just slightly after 7pm and placed our orders. Before our mains, we were served with bread and butter. Not to sound like I am whinging (Aussies say this instead of whining) but it was nothing spectacular to shout about although it did appease our growling stomachs. 

Now, not all pubs/hotels serve buns. So far, based on our experience, only Lunico (I have yet to blog about) doesn't serve any. MCCLUSKEY'S at Knox Club was lovely; the bun was warm and the right dough texture complimented with the delightfully creamy butter.

Whilst waiting for our food, we took in our surroundings. It was simple, spacious and cosy. I think slightly dimmed lights tend to lend a warm and intimate feeling to the room. If it is too bright, it's harsh to the eyes, highlighting the area's imperfections, at times. Around 7pm, the dining area was relatively sparse with people starting to walk in.

Just a couple of tables were seated with a family and another, a table of friends, I presume. 

And soon enough, Mr. C's dinner choice for the night was a lovely looking Chicken Parmigiana; chicken schnitzel topped with napoli sauce, ham and cheese with fries buried underneath (seems to be the usual style of presentation) accompanied at the side by a simple green salad.

The chicken texture was the opposite of dry. It was fried on the outside but juicy and tender on the inside. And the Napoli sauce? It was superb combined with the ham and cheese. My opinion is that the sauce is important in completing the whole taste of this dish. Some Chicken Parma's I found lacking is usually in the sauce whereby it wasn't tasty enough or at times, just tasted like plain tomato sauce.

Suffice to say, Mr. C savoured every bite of his meal as he had his occasional gulps of Carlton Draught. Free beer is always welcome news to the men even if it's just a pot. Mind you, when I say pot, I don't mean a teapot size ya. For beers, there's a jug, a pint, a pot then a schooner when it comes to ordering the size you wish to consume it in. Of course, not forgetting.. a bottle, too! ;)

See, I learn a fair bit in this land of punching kangaroos and sleepy stoned koalas. LOL.

 

 

Shortly after Mr. C's Chicken Parma arrived, my Chicken and Mushroom Risotto promptly followed. And for AUD10, the amount was generous and taste was NOT compromised! If you know me, you'd know that I can eat a lot for a girl and especially if it comes to something I like to eat! Risotto seems to be my favourite, of late.

And mind you, this is definitely one yum risotto! The one I had at McCluskey's was different in the sense that it was Moroccan Chicken risotto where else this one was chicken and mushroom. Both is simply delicious in their own ways. However, this one trumps it as it costs only AUD10 on a Friday night, that is and comes with a free drink! For my first free drink, I chose coke since I wasn't feeling up to any alcoholic drinks plus they were not serving any coffee.

 

All in all, we enjoyed our dinner immensely. How could we not? The food was superb accompanied with the reasonable price tag. A deep, sexy, manly voiced crooning live on stage as we feast. He was pretty good and receiving many rounds of applause from his small audience. I would have enjoyed it more if he had played some familiar and popular songs.

I think we usually enjoy a concert, a live band playing especially when we know the songs.

 

 

Matthew Flinders
667 Warrigal Road,
Chadstone 3148

We left with our tummies happily filled, definitely more than contented. And to be greeted by beautifully cooling weather with bright skies even at 8 something in the evening, it was a great way to start the weekend! 

We will definitely come back to Tom Thumb another time. And with friends and family coming to visit, it'll be a great place to bring them for good food with affordable price (even after conversion)! 

Note on 9/3/12 : We have been raving to friends (Mr. C's colleagues) about this eatery and  it seems, they are keen to try out this place though I must say that the reviews via Urbanspoon weren't exactly flattering. 

Perhaps, Mr. C and I had a good night. We'll try it another time and see if the good experience is repeated. ;)

Sumptuous dinner at Cafe Cavallino

The menu of never ending choices

On Friday night, our ex-Korean house mate, J from Brisbane visited us over the weekend. He decided on a last minute, impromptu visit as he is headed back to Korea for good in a week's time. After picking him from Tiger Airways terminal, right next to Tullamarine Airport, we headed over to Lygon St. for dinner.

Lygon St. is situated in the northern part of Melbourne city in a suburb called Carlton. It is generally known as the Italian precinct bursting with plenty food eateries. 

At about 10pm, some restaurant's kitchen was already having last call. We decided to cross from the street where Il Gambaro was situated over to the opposite street which was more lively and breaming with people. We settled on Cafe Cavallino, well known for it's F1 theme filled with Ferrari interior decoration and of course, the food. It has earned 4 out of 5 stars on Urbanspoon, a site where restaurants are reviewed by critics, bloggers and basically, the general public who makes the effort to give their two cents worth of opinion.

Iced Mocha

I was feeling greedy and craving something sweet, hence, I decided to give the Iced Mocha a go. Well, let's just say, it wasn't my smartest idea ever. Then again, if I'd never tried it, I wouldn't have known that it wasn't that great. Suffice to say, I won't be trying the Iced Mocha here again.

Pizza Paesana

As J wasn't too good with English and seriously, it is nice to have choices but the variety in the menu was just mind boggling. Even I had to go through it a few times to decide on something. In then end, we decided to go with the Pizza Paesana, medium sized and the Cardinale pasta I forgot to take any pictures. We ordered entree sized and even then, it was quite feeling. 

It's not because Mr. C and I are small eaters but rather, we had our dinner earlier at Tom Thumbs in Matthew Flinders Hotel. I'll blog about this place another time but boy was the food there worth it! 

AUD10 for main meals with the first drink FREE! Price was cheap, food was tasty and portion was generous!

That was the main reason why we couldn't stuff ourselves any further with the tasty morsels at Cafe Cavillino and left it to J to do the honours. After all, the man flew closed to two hours over to us on an empty stomach. It's only fair, we feed him. And feed him, we did! ;)

The Pizza Paesana was alright. I thought the potato was an interesting ingredient to have as I've never ever had potatoes in my pizza! LOLs. Usually, I only have Hawaiian Chicken, Pepperoni, Meat Lovers or Mr. C's concoction that usually consists of prawns, onions, cheese and chicken. 

Cafe Cavallino's Pizza Paesana consisted of potatoes,  mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, salami, origano and basil. It wasn't anything much to shout about. It wasn't bad but neither was it outstanding. It was just... alright. I would most likely try a different pizza, if not, hop next door to Cafe Notturno that I blogged before... TWICE!

The Cardinale pasta was much more tastier but I only had a scoop of that. That was the most space I could muster after my dinner AND Iced Mocha. Besides that, service was alright. It wasn't too busy at that time on a Friday night where most people would probably be at pubs or clubs.

The walls and ceiling covered in all sorts of Ferrari memorabilia

Mr. C having to make a hook turn which Melbourne city is famous for...

After dinner, we brought J sightseeing around the city showing him Eureka, Flinders Train Station, St, Paul's Cathedral, Southern Cross Station, Parliament, King St.that is famous for its strip clubs etc, mostly the city's main landmarks as we drove about.

And then, we headed home... about half an hour journey out from the city. ;)

Hello Autumn!!

Belgium Hot Chocolate

What a better way to start Autumn than with a cuppa with a friend, JT! ;) We were at Chadstone. After lunch at Wagamama, we headed to Koko Black. Wagamama's food was alright but a tad pricey ranging from AUD15 to AUD25. Koko Black wasn't really any much cheaper as they're well known for their premium chocolates.

I was SO tempted to try the Iced Chocolate/ Mocha but at AUD7+, it was definitely pricier than the usual. If I didn't have an 'expensive' lunch, I wouldn't hesitate to splurge a bit on my sweet tooth. However, my simple rice dish drenched in gravy topped with chicken at Wagamama burnt an AUD18 hole in my pocket. Hence, I settled for a hot mocha.

It was a nice day out. A reprieve from the usual series marathon. And just like that, we've seen two months of 2012 come and gone. Were those two months good? Fruitful? Momentous? Will it set the pace for the next ten months to come?

Well, only time will tell and it is always us, who should call the shots and set the pace.

This is me, calling a stop to all hedonistic activities and come Monday, it's time for some serious disciplining of self.

Fancy Hot Mocha