Holiday eating in two states and some awards and a meme

I returned only one week ago from two weeks on vacation, and it was marvellous. I had a very relaxing time, spent with my family interstate. It was my Mum's birthday, so I spent one week with her and my brother at home in Queensland, and then took her away for a week to Perth, Western Australia, where neither of us had been before (well, I had passed through, but no more). My posts during that time were all pre-scheduled, which explains my lack of responsiveness during that time.

In case you are ever "Down Under", I thought I would share a few foodie experiences from my vacation with you.

First up, for my mother's birthday, we went to lunch at Weis Restaurant in Toowoomba. This is a famed seafood smorgasboard restaurant that many visitors to Toowoomba put on their "must do" list, along with attending The Carnival of Flowers, which is incidentally on this weekend.



Weis Restaurant turns 40 this year, so to celebrate, they have placed this enormous cake in the dessert bar (presumably not to eat, although someone had sliced into it on one side):

The Weis smorgasbord caters to all tastes, with hot food such as soup, roasts and battered fish in the hot boxes:

and of course, lots of seafood:

accompanied by salads:

and my favourite, the dessert bar:

Weis Restaurant is situated in a lovely 1930s house, and diners will be seated in one of a variety of rooms, all decorated differently. We were fortunate to be placed in a room that had a roaring open fire (it was a cold day!), adding a warm glow to the atmosphere.

In Perth, one of our first activities was to go on a wine and chocolate tour with Swan Valley Tours into the Swan Valley, just outside Perth and a little closer than the famed Margaret River. We took the option of travelling in the morning by coach to various wineries, then returning in the afternoon via a river cruise up the Swan River. All up, we visited 4 wineries (Waters Edge, Ambrook, Jane Brook and Lancaster) and the Margaret River Chocolate Company, followed by a cruise with a fully operating complementary bar service and live music (of sorts!!), but on other tour options, you can visit up to 5 wineries, a brewery, the chocolate factory and have a nougat tasting.

It was gorgeous weather while we were there, as can be seen from this shot of Ambrook Winery:

The chocolate factory visit was rather chaotic, because it was Fathers Day when we visited, and it felt like half of Australia was packed into one shed. This meant that the visit was a "get in and get out ASAP" experience. However, I managed to escape with some booty, and although the chocolate is expensive (AUD$12 for 180g), it tastes devine.

Here is my haul for the day - a bottle of Frogmouth tawny port from Waters Edge, a bottle of Bianca Dolce from Ambrook, a beautiful Ludlow cheddar cheese from Lancasters, and a box of truffles and a bar of chocolate from the Margaret River Chocolate Company:

If you have lasted this long through my post, here is a close-up of my bar of brazil nut chocolate from the Margaret River Chocolate Company to make you drool:

and a peek in my box of truffles, which included various pralines, a cookies and cream chocolate, and truffles such as champagne, liqueur cherry, caramel and white chocolate and raspberry:

Gotta tell ya, these were good! (Although I liked the bar of chocolate the best, which you will be pleased to hear I split with my Mum).

Finally, my Pilates instructor, Dom, had recommended the Indiana Restaurant, right on the beach front in Cottesloe, so I persuaded my Mum to try it (although she finds fine dining pricing a shocking extravagance):

The fantastic thing about this restaurant is the waterfront views afforded while you are dining:

The interior of the restaurant is decorated in the style of an imperial British Indian residence:

To give you a feel for what you will get for your buck, here is a photograph of my meal, being chicken breast marinated with garlic, lemon and truffle, honey roasted parsnip, and sauteed chorizo, mushroom and fetta:

I hope you enjoyed sharing these experiences with me.

Still with me? I was recently honoured with a number of awards, the first being the Brillante Weblog award:

I received this award twice - once from Susan of Food Baby, a new blogging friend, and once from Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy. Both girls have fantastic blogs with lovely recipes - if you haven't visited them yet, I highly recommend that you do.

The purpose of this award is as follows:

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere.

The rules of this award are:

1. when you receive the award, post about it on your blog,
2. name the blogger who gave you the award,
3. award the diamonds to seven other bloggers,
4. link to them in your post and
5. let them know that you are passing this fab award onto them

I am giving this award to the following bloggers, in no particular order:

Emiline of Sugar Plum, who is currently having a ball in NYC;

The Caked Crusader, creator of delicious cakes and the CAFTAs;

Margaret of Kitchen Delights, where you can find more yummy cakes;

Ivy of Kopiaste, a dear blogging friend and queen of Greek cuisine;

Arfi of Homemades, who creates wonderful dishes from her lovely New Zealand garden;

Vicious Ange, an Aussie blogger who inspired me to start my own blog with her lovely recipes; and

Swati of Swati's Sugarcraft, who will take your breath away with her gorgeous cake designs.

I have also been tagged for the Magic Lamp of Luck meme by Swati of Swati's Sugarcraft (some time ago - sorry for the delay Swati!!), and by Rosie of Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake. So what is this all about? Well, here goes:

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere.

We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!

The rules are:

1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck. 2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck! 3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List. 4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!

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I am passing the Magic Lamp onto Mary of Shazam in the Kitchen, Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures, Dee of Choos and Chews, Adele of Tales of the Basil Queen and Agnes of Off the Spork.

Whew! You've made it to the end - thanks for hanging in there!