Sambal Kampung

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Sambal Kampung is located in the heart of Melbourne’s Chinatown. It is one of the few Malaysian restaurants that have opened up in recent years on Little Bourke St. It’s probably my most visited Malaysian restaurant in the CBD as there aren’t many Malaysian restaurants to choose from in the city.

I believe there have been changes in menu and cooking over the years though so it can be a bit inconsistent and well, I went there a couple weeks ago and it definitely wasn’t as good as before.

The image on top is of their variation of the Mee Goreng, and to be honest, it was actually quite good. I’m not a big fan of the sweet and strong tomato tasting Mee Goreng’s, and in this dish it isn’t overpowering. It also has hints of chilli with it too, so that’s a plus. Squeezing some lemon juice on top also gives this dish an added layer of freshness over the slightly oiled noodles so overall it’s a balanced Mee Goreng.

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We ordered a Tom Yum Nasi Goreng, with seafood. I expected it to have a a really fake tom yum taste but again I was pleasantly surprised with how it tasted. It wasn’t too overpowering but you could definitely taste that it was tom yum and it had a great balance between the spicy, sweet and sour elements of tom yum. Matched with the nicelycooked seafood, it was quite a nice dish.

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Their satay snack dish is one of their newer menu items and it was again, surprisingly tasty with loads of flavour.

The few negatives I would say about this was the actual meat was overcooked and a tad dry, and since there wasn’t really enough satay sauce to dip into, parts of the meat went without sauce and it didn’t taste as good.

Also the fresh cucumber was soft when it should be crunchy with some bite to it. You could tell it was probably not at its peak ripeness.

However, the satay sauce was the hero of the dish. It was packed with flavour. It had a strong nutty flavour, slightly sweet balanced against a great nutty and slightly viscous texture.

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I was a bit disappointed with their drinks menu. The black jelly drink had no sweetness to it at all, and was just ladled with ice so you didn’t really get your monies worth.

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Same goes for the Three Colours drink, which had red bean, cendol, syrup and ice. It didn’t have the sweetness to make it nice, as the red bean and cendol aren’t sweet at all. The loads of shaved ice also made this a difficult drink to well…drink. It just made what sweetness was existent disappear when the ice melts and so it was just kinda bland.

As mentioned before, we ate here again and it was disappointing to see that their dishes just lacked the flavour that it used to have.

Sambal Kampung on Urbanspoon
Sambal Kampung

234 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne, 3000

(03) 9663 2666

ABC Cafe

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Update: ABC Cafe has closed its doors and I believe a Vietnamese eatery will take its place.

ABC Cafe is situated in the heart of Glen Waverley, on the popular Kingsway street, right next to Petaling Street.

It isn’t a very big eatery, and it doesn’t serve that many people but if you want good Malaysian food for a decent price it’s here.

What differentiates ABC Cafe from the other Malaysian restaurants is that it serves Mee Rebus on the menu. Not very many eateries cook Mee Rebus. As I don’t think it’s as commonly known and I think the many Australian Australians’ just don’t know what it is so restaurants don’t bother serving it and just stick with the Char Kway Teows’, Nasi Gorengs’ etc.

What makes Mee Rebus so good, and ABC Cafe’s is the sauce. The sauce is everything, it is like a viscous soup, and with the noodles, tofu, bean sprouts, prawns and garnish. It just makes a perfect combination. I probably don’t know what an ‘authentic’ Malaysian Mee Rebus is, as I’ve only eaten it a couple of times when I went back but it sure tastes good and that should be all that matters really.

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Their Curry Laksa is also no too shabby, it packs the flavour, spiciness and slight creaminess that makes a Laksa appetising. Also, a great Laksa includes both the Hokkien Noodles and Bee Hoon Noodles which ABC Cafe do include.

Portion size is also quite decent, as is with the Mee Rebus.

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Their Ice Kacang is also a winner, although it doesn’t have peanuts in there. The flavour and syrups used are just what it should be, just a word of caution even on a cooler day it melts quickly. I think it’s due to their fine ice shavings as opposed to larger ice shavings which seem to stay cooler, longer, and hence hold its form.

I would put the ABC Cafe’s Ice Kacang above Petaling Street and The Grand Tofu’s offerings. It just happens to tick the most boxes when it comes to flavour and the ingredients they used. Definitely like what I had in Malaysia.

I’m pretty happy to dine at ABC Cafe, I’m just not quite sure why it’s not as popular as the other Malaysian restaurants in the same area as some of their dishes taste better then the others.

ABC Cafe

109 Kingsway

Glen Waverley, 3150

(03) 9561 6888

Spudbar

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My love of potatoes knows no bounds. I’ll eat it mashed, grilled, fried, boiled, cut up into wedges or fries and then deep fried or oven baked. I don’t think I’ve stopped loving potatoes and their versatility. So when a baked potato store opened, my sister (Also a potato head) found it and got me to try it. It was just simply perfection.

The name of the store is Spudbar, and it’s been a firm favourite ever since I went there a couple of years ago.

They have a number of stores around Victoria, and when I went to get my Macbook replaced in Doncaster Shopping Centre, I just had to go back there.

On this occasion, I tried their Tuna Melt Spud, there are plentiful dishes you can order and you can also make your own spud selection but just for convenience sake I chose the Tuna one. They used to have one called ‘Hot Stuff’ which included, kidney beans, a nice spicy sauce and vegetables but over the years I guess people weren’t interested in it.

The Tuna Melt Spud, is quite tasty. I doubt anyone can ruin potatoes for me, anyway. The only downside was that the dressing and tuna are cold, and well it makes the warm spud just a bit too cold for my liking. Nonetheless, it was still delicious. I added some chilli flakes, and tabasco sauce just for some added kick and it was great.

The mixture of the cheese, peas, carrots, corn, dressing, tuna and of course the potato all worked really well together and it’s really filling so you know you got a good meal out of it.

If you love all things potatoes, this is the dining experience you’ll not want to miss.

Spudbar on Urbanspoon
Spudbar

Westfield Doncaster Shopping Center
619 Doncaster Rd,
Doncaster VIC
Phone: 03 9840 2007
Fax: 03 9840 2007
Email : doncaster@spudbar.com.au
Open 9am – 5pm Sat – Wed
Open 9am – 9pm Thurs – Fri

Pie In The Sky

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Pie In The Sky is one of Victoria’s premium Pie restaurants. Famous for it’s award winning pies and their ‘Pie In The Sky’, a pie floating on top of a soup. It is quite a tourist attraction in itself.

Located in Olinda, it’s nestled away near The Dandenongs and for a small regional town it surprisingly brings many people from all around Victoria and possibly Australia here. I guess it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise if you have had the chance to eat here. The food speaks for itself really.

Having a great variety of pies, from your customary Meat Pie, to the more adventurous Curry Pies and their gourmet Guinness and Steak Pies. It truly is hard to pick what to eat and with a wide selection of sides, such as salads, chips, and your very English mash, peas and gravy. You can always have a different meal experience every time you visit.

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After a very lengthy time deciding, I finally chose the Guinness Pie with Mash Potatoes, Gravy and Peas. It’s reasonably price too for what you get and tastes great too. I don’t think I really have anything bad to say about the pie, the pastry was light and crispy and the Guinness flavoured steak was delectable and just cooked nicely.

The ‘Pie In The Sky’ looked interesting too but as I’m not a big fan of celery flavoured soup I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much. It certainly has a great ‘home cooked’ aroma too it though. It’s definitely worth a try.

Pie In The Sky also serves desserts and teas, with many varieties of cakes and another English classic, Devonshire Tea. I think I mentioned before the scones here are really tasty, light and fluffy as they should be. The second time we tried them, it just wasn’t as good but maybe it was just an off day.

You don’t necessarily have to dine in to try it out, they also sell many of the pies ‘to go’ and as I mentioned in my Stay Fresh Scones post, they sell a really good Raspberry Jam part of the Mornington Peninsula association I believe, they also sell Strawberry Jams too but I’m more of a raspberry fan nowadays.

Pie In The Sky is well worth the drive over, and it’s a great way to support our local communities too. If you ever come down this area, check out the candy store which has a great selection of lollies from the UK and the US, and also the chilli store with their famous death sauce.

You can check out their website below and peruse their menu, that way, when you arrive you can order straight away without having to take ages to decide!

Pie in the Sky on Urbanspoon
Pie In The Sky

43 Olinda – Monbulk Rd,

Olinda  3788,

Victoria, Australia

 

Petaling Street

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Petaling Street is one of the newer entries to Kingsway, Glen Waverley. Replacing the Kowloon Cafe, a Hong Kong style eatery. When they first opened, it was shockingly terrible. Horrible service and the food wasn’t too flash either. I believe a year and a half later, they are doing fine. One of the more popular places because of it’s variety of dishes, cheaper prices and great portions. It has turned itself around.

I believe they have another store in Hawthorn but according to some friends, it’s not as good. The image above is of a Crispy Noodle Combination, it’s actually pretty good. Maybe just as good as The Grand Tofu’s offerings.
I always come back here for their Nasi Goreng Pattaya, it looks pretty cool and well it tastes good too. Here it is below. The sweet chilli sauce and the really thin egg layer gives this Nasi Goreng some added flavour and texture.

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Below are some other dishes they have. I think the first one is a Combination Hor Fun and I can’t remember what the second one is, maybe a Spare Rib Noodles or something but it wasn’t that great.

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Even on weekdays, Petaling Street at around lunch time can get full. People always come back for more and you can see why, the food is good and their portions are reasonable. The only real negative is that the service is still kinda lacking. Sometimes they are quick but most of the time you have to go out of your way to get them to take your order and the wait for your food is a whole other issue. If you do want to try it out, probably it’s your best bet to try it ‘off peak’ either before 12pm or after around 2pm.

Petaling Street Glen Waverley on Urbanspoon
Petaling Street

111 Kingsway
Glen Waverley VIC 3150
(03) 9561 1388

Chilli Mama – Roti Bar

Roti Bar - Chilli Mama
Picture above taken by avlxyz

We came across this Indian/Malaysian store whilst trying to find something decent to eat in Chadstone Shopping Centre. I believe it has recently opened, and when I mean recently I mean the last time I shopped at Chadstone which was a couple months back (We went there in November I think) So anything Malaysian, I just have to try it out.

It looked pretty good for a food court eatery, having a wide selection of savoury and sweet Roti dishes but also various noodle dishes like Mee Goreng and Fish Head Curry. Plus the commonly served, Char Keow Teow. First time around we had the Curry + Rice dish, with those curries served at front and not cooked to order. It was pretty good for a food court meal and not very expensive either, surprisingly. This time around we ordered the Mee Goreng and Char Keow Teow.

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Both were on the slightly small side for their price, well compared to what I’m used to but it was by no means over priced.

Served on a nice banana leaf, the Mee Goreng was tasty and didn’t have a strong sweet and tomato taste like some other’s I’ve eaten but my mother’s home cooked Mee Goreng with added chilli probably tops it, just because it’s spicy.

The Char Keow Teow was decent too, not too oily but might just be a tad over oiled and had all the ingredients to make it tasty. Just that I like it spicy, and we ordered it spicy, but it wasn’t at all. Probably they forgot, as a couple of their curries were slightly spicy.

Anyway as mentioned multiple times, it’s very surprising to come across a really decent food court meal for a reasonable price, and a Malaysian/Indian one at that. So we probably would eat there every time we go to Chaddy but probably won’t go out of our way to get there.

Chilli Mama – Roti Bar

Chilli Mama on Urbanspoon
(Urban Spoon Link)

A: Shop Lower Level

P: (03) 9568 2263

OPENING HOURS

Mon – Wed 9am – 5.30pm

Thur – Fri 9am – 9pm

Sat 9am – 5pm

Sun 10am – 5pm

Public Holidays 10am – 5pm

Lindt Chocolat Cafe

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Lindt, famously known for all things chocolate have opened two stores in Victoria in the last couple of years. Situated inside Chadstone, the fashion capital, I believe this is the second Lindt Cafe in Victoria after the first one opened on Collins St in the city.

It doesn’t look as impressive as the City one as it has that ‘I’m in a shopping centre not a cafe’ feel to it. Alas, it’s the closest one around for the South East Melburnians.

As a lover of all things macarons, I had to try them. Obviously. I’d tried them before when my cousin came to visit in October, I tried the Champagne Vanilla flavour and it was good. Not too sweet and the cream filling was quite nice.

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I think the yellow one was a Salted Caramel, the brown one was Hazelnut and I have no idea what the pink one was. Strawberry maybe? with a vanilla filling? My memory is already fading.

Salted Caramel was pretty good because it’s not overly sweet like some macarons can be, it has a slight bitter tinge to it that I quite enjoy.

I think the hazelnut macaron was a let down, I haven’t had a strong hazelnut flavoured macaron yet so I’m still waiting. Unless I make a spectacular one. Jokes aside, Lindt Cafe have a tasty selection of macarons, like Pistachio and Passionfruit but none of them stray to the odd and strange side like Zumbo’s creations in Sydney. They are also quite a decent size compared with Cacao and Le Petit Gateau which are a little on the small size for a similar price.

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Their cakes also looked quite appetising but it was 11am and after already ordering macarons, it probably wasn’t a good idea to order a slice.

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I had a Mocha, and boy is it chocolately good. Might be a bit too sweet , had to add a bit of hot water into it and it was perfect.

Check it out if you’re shopping there.

Lindt Chocolat Café on Urbanspoon
Lindt Chocolat Cafe
Shop B193, Lower Ground Level
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Tel: (03) 9568 2444
Mon – Wed 9am – 5.30pm
Thur – Fri 9am– 9.30pm
Sat 9am – 5.30pm
Sun 10:00am – 5.30pm

Claypot King

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Claypot King in the bustling Kingsway street, Glen Waverley is another popular Malaysian and Chinese eatery. I believe there is one in the city too, with a slightly different menu.

One of the best things about Claypot King is their sizzling dishes. Which I just had to order of course.
I ordered the Black Pepper Beef Sizzling Noodles. I’ve ordered the Salmon one before, which was good but the salmon wasn’t that flavoursome so I didn’t really want to eat it again. Although, it was still nice, just that black pepper is always good in anything.

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I love it when it arrives and it is still crackling and sizzling about. It’s just one of those cheap thrills.
This dish had a pretty strong black pepper taste and combined with capsicum, Hokkien noodles and loads of beef. It was just an overall pleasant and tasty dish. However if you don’t like to have a black pepper overload, this is probably not the dish for you.

I’ve tried their Thai Fried Rice and that’s a pleaser too! Claypot King is definitely a eatery you’d want to go back for. Mind you, it’s slightly more expensive then the other Chinese/Malaysian eateries on Kingsway.

Claypot King on Urbanspoon
Claypot King
Kingsway
Glen Waverley
Victoria

03 9561 8884

Chef Lagenda

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Chef Lagenda is a somewhat new restaurant that has popped up in Flemington, right next to the well known Laksa King. They predominantly serve Malaysian cuisine, just like Laksa King.

Inside the restaurant it has mainly low lighting, with minimal natural lighting. With a nice decor, rustic wooden tables and walls, combined with brick walls and rendered walls. An old building made modern but it hasn’t thrown away all it’s old charm. It’s definitely one of the better looking Malaysian restaurants I’ve been to. It’s slightly small on the ground level, but it seems like there was another floor when it gets busy.

Their selection of food is quite expansive, having the quite well known famous Malaysian dishes in Australia such as Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Mee Goreng, Laksa and Char Kway Teow from the less well known ones like Fish Head Curry and desserts you can only find in Malaysia eateries such as Ice Kacang and Ice Cendol.

They have a big selection of each big category of rice, noodle soups and fried noodles, also having main dishes (larger servings) and appetizers.

I ordered the Char Kway Teow (extra spicy) as I wanted to compare it to the other Malaysian restaurants I’e been to. Service was quite good, orders taken promptly and our meals arrived quickly too.

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It looked quite appetising, and the serving portion was excellent too. It had a nice taste to it, and had all the requirements for a good Char Kway Teow, it wasn’t dry, not overly oily and had a good mix of bean sprouts, kueh teow, egg and Chinese sausage. However, it wasn’t spicy at all. Luckily they had fresh chopped chillies to spice it up a bit.

I think if it was spicy before having to add the chillies, it would have been the perfect dish as one of my favourite Char Kway Teow’s is from ABC Cafe in Glen Waverley usually is really tasty, maybe just a tad oily on occasion.

I don’t know if I’d drive all the way to Flemington, when Glen Waverley is much closer to me for this dish but for those up north it will satisfy your Malaysian cravings.

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I also tasted their Curry Laksa. It was actually quite nice, different to what I was used to but still tasty. It was creamier than other ones I’ve tasted, I presume they used coconut milk but it wasn’t overly creamy to put you off eating. It had a slight spicy tinge to it, which helped balance the dish. It would probably be one of the better Laksa’s I’ve eaten.

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I tried the Nasi Lemak, a very Malaysian dish. It usually contains anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, coconut rice and either a Beef Rendang or Curry Chicken. Then one I tasted was a Beef Rendang.

It was actually a decent dish, for those that prefer a sweeter curry sauce. It reminded me of a satay sauce but curry. Not necessarily bad, but having vacationed in Malaysia a couple months ago, it didn’t really feel authentic. The rice was also a bit too wet, but it’s a more what you prefer thing here. Overall, it was okay. I didn’t mind it and I wouldn’t mind trying their Curry Chicken option out too to see the difference.

We ordered the Ice Cendol and Ice Kacang to try.

Firstly, the Ice Cendol. For those that don’t know, it is a mix of coconut milk, palm sugar syrup, cendol (the green pandan jellies) and usually shaved ice.

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The serving size was smaller than I’m used to and for the price you would expect more. I guess taste is what matters, however, to my disappointment it didn’t taste that great either. It lacked the sweetness of the palm sugar syrup, and the coconut milk they used had a sharpness to it that made it a slightly odd experience. The cendol itself was great, it was smooth, a bit soft, a bit chewy and wasn’t sweet like some cendols’ are. However, the shaved ice was quite coarse and it shouldn’t be if you’re using shaved ice instead of ice cubes.

It was a decent attempt, but lacks the flavour to make it an authentic Malaysian Ice Cendol and for the price, it really isn’t worth it.

Now onto the Ice Kacang. Before we go any further, I didn’t eat all this alone. I had help!

For those that might not know, Ice Kacang can be quite a creative dessert, with many fruits, sweet syrups, nuts, jellies and usually condensed milk (sweet and evaporated) all mixed together to make a very appetising and well just a fun dessert to eat.

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Chef Lagenda’s Ice Kacang consisted of chopped roasted peanuts on top, with longan, a bit of sweet corn, red beans, cendol, black jelly and a yellow and white jelly too if I can recall, longan, and palm seed. With a red syrup and I think the condensed milk.

The serving size was decent, usually they are priced around $4.50 to $5 but this was $5.50, and might be a tad small when compared to those at the lower end of the scale.

Onto the taste. The shaved ice, again, was coarser then I’m used to but not too coarse to make it doesn’t detract from the taste. With all of the ingredients mixed together, it was quite nice, a bit less sweet to those other Ice Kacang’s I’ve eaten. For those looking to have a dessert that isn’t too sweet but still sweet enough to satisfy your sugar cravings. Here it is. Nonetheless, a good offering by Chef Lagenda.

I would still probably put The Grand Tofu (Glen Waverley) and ABC Cafe (Glen Waverley) as the better ones, because they are cheaper, have larger portions and are just well, tastier.

I had a decent experience dining at Chef Lagenda, it had a pleasant atmosphere, with nicely cooked meals that I didn’t have any major problems with. I would definitely go there again to taste their other dishes on offer but it isn’t a ‘have to go there again really soon’ kinda thing.

Chef Lagenda on Urbanspoon
Chef Lagenda
16 Pin Oak Cres
Flemington, 3031
Victoria
(03) 9376 2668

Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm

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Visited Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm in Main Ridge (Mornington Peninsula). I’ve heard about these from travel shows like Postcards and it looked like a great place to find local alcoholic drinks, jams and food. I think it started out as a family business and has grown extensively.
It seemed like it was quite a popular place, many cars parked there already before midday on a weekday too!

Sunny Ridge first and foremost is a strawberry farm, where customers can pick their own fruit. Usually customers are able to pick not just strawberries but raspberries, blueberries and avocadoes too, although I think due to the strange Victorian whether we had that they didn’t have enough plants for picking.

You can also buy their produce if you didn’t want to pick them yourself, it also has jams, syrups, wines, chocolates, ice creams and a nice selection of desserts and snacks. Their selection of jams; strawberry (of course), raspberry, and I think blackberry, in assorted sizes. Plus many tasty looking chocolate and fruit syrups like passionfruit and strawberry. Sunny Ridge has chocolate coated freeze dried strawberries and blueberries too. I didn’t get to try them but it looked quite nice.

Wines
We tasted a wide selection of alcoholic beverages under the brand Robello Wines, which is an extension from the family business. liquors (two variations – a Fragola Cielo Strawberry Liquor and Fragola Amore Strawberry Cream Liquor) both quite sweet and light. The strawberry cream liquor tasted like a strawberry milkshake, a similar texture to Baileys.
They stocked a Charlotte, a 100% Strawberry Sparkling which has won numerous Australian Fruit and Wine awards. This had such a nice flavour, a strong strawberry punch. An instant like.

The Strawbellini (Moscato Strawberry Sparkling) was also another favourite of mine. It was refreshing and had a nice strawberry flavour to it too. This wine has recently been placed in the top 5 sparkling wines of the San Francisco International Wine Competition, that is quite the feat.

The Lolo Semi SweetStrawberry Wine was a bit of a let down after trying two fantastic sparkling wines, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. It just didn’t pack the same punch as the two sparking wines.
They also stock a Fragola Port, which I somehow missed.

Sunny Ridge also had a new line of ciders, Apple and Apple & Strawberry. The Apple & Strawberry cider had a nice flavour, it had a sweeter and well, stronger flavour to it then the Apple. The Apple one, compared to the Strongbow varieties, it didn’t really stack up but the Strawberry cider did have a different flavour to keep me interested.

For the non-alcoholics, they had Sparkling Strawberry flavoured beverage which wasn’t there for tasting, but I presume with the many fantastic strawberry wines they had, that this one would be excellent too.

Cafe
Then we went onto the cafe, they had a great range in their menu. Cakes, tarts, ice creams, sundae, teas, milkshakes. Pretty much everything. Their desserts looked quite scrumptious, it was hard to choose!

We ended up trying the Strawberry cheesecake, Devonshire tea and their ice cream.
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The cheesecake was served with a chocolate and strawberry syrup, whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It looked and tasted fantastic, it had such a great taste to it, it was smooth and soft with a nice biscuit bottom. Plus the syrups and cream just added an extra texture and flavour to it all.
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The Devonshire tea (aka Scones + jam) was nice, it wasn’t the lightest and fluffiest scones I’ve ever eaten but it was certainly better than the ones I attempted to make.

We tried the Roasted almond ice cream and the Strawberry ice cream. I liked them both, it tasted real and fresh without any fake flavouring that many ice creams seemed to have. There was a Strawberry farm in Tasmania that tops this one, but it was still good nonetheless.

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We managed to devour everything and Sunny Ridge definitely made a lasting impression on me.
Their wide selection of products means we’ll be heading there again and I can see why it is so popular and a great tourist attraction for the Mornington Peninsula.

Check it out, it is certainly worth a stop by:

Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm on Urbanspoon
Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm
244 Shands Road, Main Ridge

Victoria 3928,

AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 3 5989 4500
Email: info@sunnyridge.com.au

Opens Daily 9am to 5pm (Nov to Apr) or weekends 11am to 4pm (May to Oct)