Sigh. Yet again AHW has been left by the wayside, a short period of semi-regular updating interrupted by work and travel.
While AHW is a lot less active than it used to be, you’ll find me updating a little more regularly on Twitter. When you’re constantly meeting deadlines, a short update of 140 characters is a lot easier to file on the fly than a full-blown blog post.
Anyhow, I hope you’re all well. I do have some posts I need to finish and post including something on Sud de France’s worldwide tasting that was an interesting exercise, even though only five wines were looked at. Soon. I hope.
In honour of a new Twitter follower today from Tasmania by the name of @TasUnbottled, a snap from a thoroughly enjoyable diesel-powered c(r)ampervan holiday we completed around the island in 2008. Who says 29 (back then) isn’t the new 50?
While an impromptu solo meal gave me the opportunity to check out a new hawker joint in the neighbourhood, it also meant I was without my camera. I’m sure people will survive, but in keeping with the “house style” of AHW, here’s a pic of the mighty, mighty Wong Hawker’s (1995-2009). I’m proud to say the Veenhuyzens were (gastronomically) brought up on the cooking of this esteemed house of Asian dining.
But I doubt anyone’s here for nostalgia. So without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the BBQ wonton noodle soup – a Hong Kong and Singaporean hawker staple and my second most frequently-ordered meal at Wong’s after the chicken rice – I enjoyed this evening at Victoria Park’s Fusion Delight (which, for the record, is a pretty ordinary choice of name as the menu consists largely of the same straight-up Chinese fare as neighbouring Chinese restaurants of which there are a lot in Vic Park).
Broth – meaty, well seasoned. Not too hot which is always nice for those with a complex about burning their mouths.
Noodles – Good and bitey thin egg jobbies.
Pork (char sui) – super decent: succulent meat with good porkiness.
Wonton – fine, only three of them though.
So this is like a solid B+ with Fusion Delight’s biggest pitfall being value, especially with only three wontons for the $10.50 asking price. None the less, the care shown with the dish was pleasing enough to warrant a return visit to try the menu proper.
I’ll remember to grab the address and contact details next time I’m in the neighbourhood (likely grabbing a half kilo of roast pork from Wah Fung at the ill Good One BBQ next door) but for impatient wonton noodle fiends, it’s between Mint and Sussex Streets, a few doors down from the Pizza Hut and directly opposite the shops.
ASighWhine – providing ambiguous instructions since 2005.
But not as we know them. Unless you’re of Indian descent.
Marie and I certainly aren’t and it was reiterated to us when we entered Victoria Park’s Jewel of the Park this morning for breakfast.
That we were the only ferringhi (Hindi for “foreigner”; think gaijin to the Japanese, farrang to the Thai) in the restaurant was a little intimidating, but also a good sign that the breakfast items were going to be pretty close approximations to the real thing. Enjoyable dinners here in the past also bolstered confidence and expectations.
The heady masala chay (milk tea) soothed with its spicy, milky embrace. Of the three dishes we ordered – roti canai, vada and cheese dosa – the latter was the standout: a fine shade of golden brown and crisp at the edges that got progressively fluffier as you ate your way towards the melted, cheesy centre. Accompanying the Indian crepe was a trio of condiments: coconut chutney, an addictively sweet tomato chutney and sambar: think a slightly watered-down dhal with the addition of vegetable pieces.
Growing up with Singaporean roti curry has prejudiced my palate towards meaty, slightly oily curries, so the bright yellow, dhal-heavy accompaniment to the thick roti we were served tasted a little light-on.
Served with the same accompaniments as the dosa, the vada doughnuts were ace and best described as doughy pakoras with its lentil and onion flavours. Plenty of breakfast for our buck: our meal came in a touch more than $30 and three dishes was ample for the both of us. We’ll keep that in mind for when we return.
Jewel of the Park, 765 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park, (08) 9361 1041. Breakfast ’til 10.30am on weekends only.
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a Polaroid of some broadbeans.
This shot wasn’t taken today, but in November when these springtime delights were in season – I just haven’t posted the image anywhere.
The above image was taken with my trusty SX-70 loaded with Time Zero Artistic (TZ Artistic) blend that was likely the final film release from the Polaroid corporation before they closed down their Dutch film production plant in 2008.
While the film produced atmospherically murky images tinted khaki and brown, the unstable nature of the chemicals – apparently the batch was produced using expired original Time Zero chemical material – meant that the images would never “set” properly and would eventually turn into these pooey sepia-type images. But who knows, maybe others might like that sort of thing, I can’t say.
However, with a little bit of inspiration from the manual for a new’ish Fade 2 Black film release, I figured out that by opening the image up once it had finished developing not only set it permanently, it’d also give me a very large transparency that I’m thinking of intriguing uses for.
I don’t want AceHighWine to morph into one of those pieces of Cyberia where the majority of posts come across as thinly-veiled gloating about the places people have stayed, but it’s worth bigging up Yallingup’s Smiths Beach Resort, an incredibly beautiful part of the world.
This shot from the balcony of our apartment – one of the three-bedroom ones towards the back of the property – should give you an idea of the area’s photogenic nature.
Despite the gorgeous views and the sleek, modern fit-outs of the apartments, staying at Smiths Beach Resort is actually decent value if you can get two other couples to join you in one of the aforementioned three-bedroom joints. Based on a six person occupancy, the price per person per night is comparable to a stay in a good hotel, plus the self-contained facilities means it’s possible to prepare your own meals (the on-site deli and bottleshop has a decent range of foodstuffs and booze) if you don’t feel like eating at the in-house restaurant Bathers.
On top of that, Smiths Beach Resort holds a special place in my memory bank as during a stay there in February last year, I bumped into one of my sporting heroes, Danny Green, while he was holidaying with his family.
Anyhow, the place is well worth considering if you’re looking for somewhere casually luxe when visiting Margaret River.
What cruise ships used to look like in the 70s.
..o.r what happens when a Polaroid geek takes his SX-70 on holiday with him.
