Will Drive for Pie

How could we leave Australia without trying meat pies? When Cater told us to go to the Dandenongs for a short hike to Olinda Falls and said there is a meat pie place near the falls that would be worth trying, we decided to go. So on the one rainy day, we headed to the mountains, took pictures of nature from the comfort of our car (cause it was raining of course), and picked up six pies for dinner. And a blueberry almond pie for dessert. We made some good decisions yesterday.

Man on a mission for meat pies

First we took a detour to nature

Trees were actually quite beautiful. Too bad the rain prevented a hike--and swatting at bugs! :)

After we picked up the meat pies, we stopped by Little Elixir for coffee. Carlos was so happy to finally be at a place that serves filtered coffee instead of espresso-based, he engaged in a long conversation with the barista about the various kinds he could get. Cool cold filter contraption right?

Simba was so distracted staring out the window at the cloudy sky (or who knows what else), we couldn't get her to eat much. Come on, fat kid. 

Little Elixir barista served the syphoned coffee for Carlos in a cognac glass because it's more aromatic (the coffee wasn't the best though).

Some of the remaining meat pies that we got "take away" (Australian for "to go") from Pie in the Sky. Like Cater and Shodai, we agreed the most traditional Aussie pie is a bit too gelatinous and not flavorful. Our favorites were the tandoori chicken and beef curry.

Queen Vic and Melbourne Now

We're lucky enough to be in Australia during summer so tons of festivals and other activities are happening all over. One of them is the Night Market (lots of food) at Queen Vic Market. Little did we know how crowded it would be, which led to a bawling Simba. So after a quick bite of meatballs we left (the lines were pretty fast though and the entire place had a good buzz--it's what things like Smorgasbord in New York should actually be like). 

Anyway, we returned this morning to see the market on a normal day and we loved it. The market sells veggies, fruits, meats, cheeses, retail. Great atmosphere. Melbourne's downtown is relatively small so after walking up to the market from Flinders Street Station, we wandered back down through streets and laneways to Federation Square. We happen to be here for the NGV's "Melbourne Now" exhibit, which showcases contemporary Australian artists. Federation Square is an interesting space cause it's clearly where all the tourists go, but the feel of it is still great--I would still enjoy it if I lived here. It's right next to the Yarra River. And the many free museums make it even better. 

Our near-daily coffee break this time at Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird (love the names of all these cafes)

How could we not get some meatballs from this big pot?

A satisfied customer

Queen Vic Market a little less crazed

On our way to... 

Cup of Truth. Coffee wasn't as good as some other places, but the guy was really, really nice. Also a pretty good spot in the subway. 

Flinders Street Station 

The funny thing about the Australian Open being on in Federation Square is that everyone was sitting there watching quietly as though we were really at the tennis match! 

An addition to the "Melbourne Now" exhibit  

Of course I'm having fun!! 

View from Southbank after we crossed the bridge  

A Little Bird

On Tuesday, we all made our way into inner Melbourne to meet up with a friend from the St. Mary's/Seisen/Sacred Heart international school circle. The Grain in CBD was expensive (as we've found many restaurants here to be), but the trout with mashed potatoes was yummy. Afterwards, we headed to A Little Bird Told Me, the one and only cafe in Melbourne that Shodai rated a 10. Tasty and nice, airy atmosphere. The prevalence of good coffee and cute cafes here has been amazing. But even after all this good coffee in Melbourne we're looking forward to Omotesando Koffee when we get back to Tokyo! 

What fountain hasn't she danced in?

We didn't get to stop in the Chinese Museum until near closing time, but what we were able to see suggests that the history of Chinese Australians parallels that of Chinese Americans

The State Library of Victoria was totally worth a peek

And the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos all over Melbourne have been a nice source of music while we've been here

Previewing Singapore's upcoming cuisine (over Simba's sleeping head) at Papparich in the QV building. Roti canai was good!!

 

Yarra Valley

We learned from Sonoma Valley that there's very little that's more relaxing than sunshine and wine tasting. That sentiment was reconfirmed by the afternoon we spent in the Yarra Valley with Cater. Sunshine + wine tasting = :)

Carlos really wants to be called Rafiki

The strawberry, rhubarb, ginger panna cotta type dessert at Oak Ridge was tasty, right Simba?

Mine, mine, mine, says Papa

Cater told us that wineries plant rose bushes at the end of each row because roses usually succumb to disease most quickly and the winery can then treat the disease earlier on.

Moving on to the Chandon winery...

I don't understand why I don't get to taste!!

 

Australian Wildlife

Some of the "wildlife" in Australia we haven't been so excited to see (i.e. flies), but koalas and penguins are a different story. So once we got back to Melbourne, we headed to Phillip Island the next day.

We stayed at Cater's friend's parents' place, which had an amazing view of the water 

Staying one with nature, we spent some time staring at and taking pictures of these colorful--and apparently typical--birds in the tree right next to the porch. Then we told ourselves to stop being like our birder friend Adam.

But still we went to see the Penguin Parade. Baby penguins wait for their parents to come back from the ocean at dusk with food.

The next day, we went to Wooloomai Beach and after some initial fussing, Simba stared at the waves for more than an hour.

We stopped for food in Oakleigh on the way back from the beach. Melbourne supposedly has the largest number of Greeks outside of Greece. The food totally tastes like it! One of our favorite meals in Melbourne.

Gratuitous Commentary on Race Relations

Carlos's brother in law had told us that white people generally seem to see themselves at the top of the racial hierarchy in perhaps a more obvious way in Australia than in other places and thinks that Asian women are not really seen as leaders here--at least in his work setting. But I was still a little shocked one night when I crossed paths with an older white man and got slightly mixed up about who was going which way, that man aggressively barked: "Piss off you g**k!!" I hadn't said anything to him and I may have even said a quiet excuse me before what he said because it seemed like one of those situations where both persons are not sure which way to go to avoid running into each other. In another setting while not pushing the baby in a stroller in an unknown neighborhood at night, I would have retorted something back. But it didn't seem like quite the place and time to lecture someone on race relations (even with Mr. third degree black belt by my side). 

Anyways, I haven't read much how racism in Australia manifests, but I always find it interesting how long it might take in a new place for these types of overtly racist encounters to happen. Says something about the place and the society. Three days in Sydney. 

Interestingly, Carlos happened to see the following flyer posted in a couple of the neighborhoods that we walked through:

Mean Ass Vietnamese Food

Mean ass Vietnamese food is how Margot described what we could get in the Marickville suburb of Sydney. Since we've been in search of amazing pho, we ended up walking 6 km in the midday heat (so Simba could nap and so we could work up our appetites) to PhD Pho. Totally the food highlight of our trip to Sydney. We also tried Marickville Pork Roll afterwards, and got especially excited after seeing the quick moving line, but Bahn Mi Saigon in New York is still number one in our minds. That pho though. YUM.

We spent the rest of our last day in Sydney slowly wandering through Marickville and Newtown back to Redfern. So many great neighborhoods in Sydney. But I should probably note the obvious gentrification in so many of these places. Interestingly though it seems like Sydney has some law that requires the "Development Proposal" notice to be posted on the front fence/door of the building under consideration. Seems like better notice at least than in New York. Okay, I'll stop being a lawyer now.

MORE PHO!!!!

One of the nicest things about Australia has been the tasty afternoon coffee break. We used Double Roasters in Marickville as a break from the heat, a feeding spot for Simba, and a changing and washing room for all the poo that came out of Simba's diaper. Multi-purpose stop. 

Educating Simba during story time at Better Read than Dead on King Street in Newtown

As we wandered back to Redfern on Wilson Street, we happened to come across more Sydney Festival art events inside CarriageWorks. Amazing space.

Eveleigh Market is right outside CarriageWorks and open with artists' booths over the weekend so we got to see the empty space on Friday.

We stayed on the first floor of this Redfern building.