Markets and Mead

It's been a while since I've been to the fresh food markets at Fyshwick. Things have changed - there is an additional space, called the Niche Markets, which features more boutique shops and food outlets. I took some photos of the various wares on offer. 

Not everything is open yet, but there promises to be a range of goods to purchase from furniture to clothing, and coffee and doughnuts. There's also a florist and a barber, and due to come is a cat cafe - that should be fun for cosy feline cuddles!

Beautiful prints at Flamingo + Sass

Amid the fabrics and glamour, there are also flowers and greenery at the rather gorgeous Urban Jungle florist.

Hunger pangs are also catered for with a range of eating options. I love the ramen noodles from Umami. The Korean-born chef, Den Han, has previously worked at Chairman and Yip and Tipsy Bull. While waiting for this stall to be open he had a pop-up noodle bar outside Plonk, which has been providing the perfect warming lunch over the cold winter months. 

The doughnuts from Krofne are also super-tasty baked to a Croatian recipe with flavours ranging from salted caramel and strawberry glaze to vanilla custard or rosehip jam. The nutella variety is a firm favourite.

Nutella Krofne Donuts

Ramen from Umami

The reason I was there in the first place was to work - although some might say that facilitating a tasting of the fabulous offerings from Four Pillars gin is not exactly a tough gig. The Spiced Negroni gin showcases spices such as Tasmanian pepperberry leaf, cinnamon, West African spice grains of paradise and Indonesian cubeb, along with fresh ginger. It is highly aromatic, rich, spicy and my pick of the bunch.

Four Pillars Gin line-up; not your usual suspects

And on my day off I walked up Mt Painter with Him Outdoors and we rewarded ourselves with breakfast at Little Oink, a cafe at the bottom of the mountain (it's really just a hill, but if the cartographers call it a mountain, so will I). 

From the top of Mt Painter

A Street Library found en route

French toast with added deliciousness

A perfect breakfast

It was a thrill to find this in the mail! Now I just need to attend the ceremony, take the pledge, and be a citizen. This pleases me. I struggle with the concept of being a citizen of two countries, a resident of another, a tax-payer in all three and a registered voter in none. That's going to change.

We have been invited to a Canamerica dinner by some new friends. Combining celebrations of both the USA and Canada's national days, all food is to have a North American theme. We are encouraged to take along a suitable dish, so I have cracked out the recipe books. Because one of these friends is an Oregonian, and we have recently had such a great time there, I thought I would honour the state.

Individual pear cobblers

The following day Him Outdoors wanted to suss out the local meadery - so we gathered some friends together and headed out to Win's Creek Meadery in Murrumbateman. We've driven past the old cottage many times and always thought it would make a great pub - the building is an old Traveller's Rest Inn, complete with corrugated iron roof and wooden verandah. It has a beautiful room with a large open fireplace but, unfortunately, the fire wasn't lit when we were there and it was freezing. We sampled a selection of meads and shared a couple of pizzas. 

The locale doubles as Bindaree Bee Supplies and features a gift shop displaying beeswax candles, home-made ceramics, stained-glass ornaments, soft furnishings, and (naturally) honey.

A sort of mead flow-chart

Him Outdoors, Dr Kay and Patience Itself

We did enjoy the food and drinks, but the place was so cold that we all kept our coats on and were not inclined to linger over the produce. Instead we pushed on to Eden Road, where we tasted some fine wines, bought some more and took them home to carry on the afternoon in comfort and style. 

Wine-tasting crew

Arboretum, Yarra Valley Tasting and Multicultural Festival

I met Little B at the National Arboretum for a coffee and a chat about theatre, and then we went for a wee walk over the hills to look at the views. The Arboretum was created in response to the bushfires of 2001 and 2003, which wiped out much of the city's forests. It features threatened, rare and symbolic trees from around the world, many of them ceremonial trees planted by visiting heads of government and ambassadors.

There are lots of little trees that will grow into big trees and help to reforest the bush capital. The National Bonsai collection is also held here. They won't grow into big trees.

I like the sculpture 'Wide Brown Land' by Marcus Tatton, Futago Design Studios and Chris Viney. It depicts words taken from the poem 'My Country' by Dorothea McKellar, which describes her perception of Australia. The sculpture is based on McKellar's handwriting, and was designed to be large enough to be seen from miles away on Canberra's roadways, while also inspiring visitors to engage with the artwork.

Little B with Wide Brown Land

Canberra panorama

 

 

Wide Brown Land

The Pod Playground looks like a lot of fun. Apparently it is designed to challenge and excite, encouraging children to climb, swing, slide and explore. Giant wooden acorns and banksia seedpods are connected by slides, chutes, net tunnels, climbing frames and ladders.

Little B says it is relatively easy for an adult to get stuck in the chutes. She claims to have this information on good authority.

The pod playground at the National Arboretum

For my work I attended a trade fair for producers of gin, wine and cider from the Yarra Valley. Four Pillars have a new gin called Spiced Negroni, which is inspired by the classic cocktail. It is highly aromatic with spicy characteristics of Tasmanian pepperberry leaf, cinnamon and Grains of paradise (an exotic West African spice with notes of clove and sichuan). It is also distilled with organic blood oranges and ginger. It's spicy, refreshing and intense. I liked it a lot.

Four Pillars Spiced Negroni Gin

Cheese from Yarra Valley Dairy

Yarra Valley Dairy supplied us all with delicious cheese. The white savourine (white mould goat's milk cheese; robust, tangy and slightly nutty) and black savourine (ashed white mould goat's milk cheese) were subtle yet flavoursome. The Persian fetta, marinated in garlic, fresh thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and olive oil, was creamy and salty with a big finish, and I particularly enjoyed the Gentle Goat with its creamy citrus texture and flavour.

The Soumah 2013 Single Vineyard Chardonnay was spectacular and my favourite wine of the evening. The tasting notes explain, 'the delicate yet complex bouquet displays a struck match, yeasty brioche character with a fresh and vibrant palate of citrus and cashew with a clean finish of great length.' For once, I agree entirely with the tasting notes. 

Soumah Wines

Mandala Wines

We did a circuit tasting the chardonnays and the bubbles. Mandala (as well as having a glorious Renaissance-inspired label) did a fine Blanc de Blancs (nutty, biscuity notes; aromas of honeysuckle and lemon zest; flavours of golden apple and ripe nectarines) and a peach/pear - lemon-lime style chardonnay in The Compass (2012).

Giant Steps Single Vineyard Wines

At the weekend the Multicultural Festival filled the city centre with colourful costumes, food and drink, and music and dancing. We sat and watched the Indonesian contingent as they returned from the parade. 

 

 

 

 

It's thirsty work watching all these people in costumes on a stinking hot day, but fortunately there were some watering holes.

The Plonksters

Him Outdoors as Handsome Barman

Children ignoring the Peruvian panpipers

 

 

Latin American music, apparently. It sounded a bit like rockabilly to me, which was rather entertaining, but I left when they got out the banjo. No one needs to hear that.