A 7 day Perth/Margaret River Itinerary

Perth had always been overlooked as a travel destination for Brad and in the past. Let’s be honest, the allure of Singapore or Thailand, for around the same airfare, with food that’s going to be so delicious and way cheaper...it’s hard to pass up going overseas.

However, I’m not sure what kind of travellers you are, but Brad and I basically do the following things when we travel:

1. Wander around town and explore
2. Pop into interesting museums, and points of interest
3. Go to a zoo/aquarium/equivalent animal interaction (no surprises that I’m the instigator of this)
4. Eat. Obviously.

You may notice shopping isn’t on that list, and that’s because Brad does not shop. I do, and usually Brad will just chill out in the hotel room, which is fine now and again, but not everyday, all day.

Keeping the above list in mind, I had been wondering if it was worth doing another visit to Singapore, but considering we had explored most of Singapore already, and seen the museums - I wasn’t sure what we would do other than eat (and wait for me while I go shopping).

Which isn’t a problem for me, but as a unit? We need to have an activity to do together than we haven’t done before.

So Brad made the suggestion, why don’t we go to Perth then? We had racked up some Velocity points so the flights weren’t going to cost too much and I had never been! How would I know if I liked it or not if I didn’t go?

Since Perth is a bit of a hike to get to, we thought it made sense to go for a little longer, to check out Perth, and also get out to Margaret River to check out a bit of the countryside and drink all the wine.

So if you’re contemplating a west coast trip, here’s a little taste of how we broke down our week to see how we distributed our time and how long you might want to spend in each area.

Friday night

• Take evening flight (we flew Virgin) from Melbourne to Perth. 
• Check into Alex Hotel in Northbridge. 
• Get supper.
• Pass out.

Saturday - Perth CBD

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Wander over to King’s Park and go for a stroll.
• Lunch back in Northbridge/CBD. 
• Explore the CBD and shops.
• Pop into the art gallery. 
• Grab a drink.
• Play in timezone (cause I’m a nerd).
• Dinner in Northbridge (you’re spoilt for choice!)

Sunday - Freemantle

• Brunch at a cafe in the CBD (again, spoilt for choice).
• Check out of hotel and into Freemantle Airbnb.
• Explore Freemantle markets for lunch.
• Wander around Freemantle and poke your nose into one of the many cute little shops, or walk along the coastline for a bit.
• Pop into Little Creatures for a beer tasting platter, and never leave. Seriously. 

Monday - Rottnest Island

• Get the 9:30am ferry over to Rottnest Island.
• Do a lot of cycling. 
• Take a lot of photos of quokkas.
• Take the ferry back over to Freemantle at 4:30pm. 
• Eat dinner in Freemantle. 

Tuesday - Drive to Margaret River

• Have a quick breakfast in the apartment.
• Pick up rental car.
• Drive down to Busselton to check out the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere and eat fish and chips near the beach.
• Drive into Margaret River and check into Airbnb.
• Dinner in Margaret River town.

Wednesday - Margaret River

• Yahava Coffee for morning sustenance.
• Check out Jewel caves in the morning
• Leeuwin Estate visit.
• Lunch at Voyager Estate (which goes for 2-3 hours)
• Pass out from drinking (because Brad’s obviously designated driver on this particular day) in the evening back at the Airbnb.

Thursday - Margaret River

• Check out Mammoth cave in the morning.
• Cape Grace Wines.
• Howard Park Estate.
• Lunch at Vasse Felix.
• Cullen Wines. 
• Margaret River Chocolate Factory.
• Repeat yesterday.

Friday - Back to Perth

• Brunch in Margaret River town.
• Gabriel Chocolate.
• Windows Estate. 
• Windance Estate. 
• Swing by to check out the views at Sugarloaf Rock. 
• Lunch in Dunsborough at Yarri Restaurant.
• Drive back to Perth.
• Check into Tribe Hotel.
• Dinner in Subiaco. 

Saturday - Time to go home

• Brunch in Leederville. 
• Uber over to Corica bakery to buy an apple strudel to bring home (worth the Uber fare).
• Check out of hotel.
• Catch 12pm flight home to Melbourne.
• Cry because you’re back in reality. 

Now I haven’t gone into detail into exactly which restaurants we went to in Perth, because I’ll cover that in another blog post (...well if I get around to writing it) but have given you an indication of which wineries we went to in Margaret River as I roughly tried to group wineries that were closer together to make for easy driving.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas for your very own jaunt out to Perth and Margaret River!

Hellenic Hotel

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant. All opinions are my own

The night before I went to Hellenic Hotel, I drank too much, and stayed out far too late. There were plenty of regrets the next day. I was so terribly hungover, that I was almost worried I wouldn’t survive the drive out to Williamstown, despite drinking about four litres of water throughout the day and sleeping for half the afternoon too.

Fortunately, the night of Hellenic Hotel negated plenty of the night before - and no regrets were had!

Hellenic Hotel has comfortably nestled into it’s spot in Williamstown, recently celebrating it’s two year birthday - and as always - I’m surprised I haven’t been by sooner! The casual,  contemporary and delicious Greek eatery found an unexpected home in the former 106 year old Hobsons Bay Hotel, where they’ve retained a lot of the structure and facade on the outside, but step in and the space is totally transformed. Totally painted white, with graphic applications of bright blue - evoking imagery of beach side Greece (appropriately), tables clustered cosily but not so that you’re on top of the diners around you.

I want to eat everything on this menu, with small things to share, big things to share or individual souva’s if you’re in the mood for something all by yourself - there’s something for everyone.

But start with the grilled saganaki with peppered figs, because who doesn’t like hot cheese? I adore the sweet and savoury play on this dish, with the figs bubbling away on arrival, gorgeously caramelised and so delicious.

I had just mentioned to Brad on the drive over how long it had been since I had fish and chips, so when I saw the Fisherman’s basket with fish, calamari, prawns, mussels and chips...well that just ticked the box perfectly. One thing I do love that Hellenic Hotel gets so right, are their perfectly golden and crunchy chips. Potatoes are forever my downfall.

Another dish I’ve always said I love to eat, but would never make at home, is moussaka. So Mary’s moussaka (George’s mother own recipe) with braised beef and lamb with eggplant, potato and bechamel, was another must order for me. And boy did it hit the spot - it’s exactly what you would hope for, rich, creamy and heart warming.

I don’t often do a big call out for the sides, but the beans with almonds, garlic, and herb butter really hit the spot for me! Could’ve happily eaten just a couple of serves of this with some chips!

The pace of the night was great - service was on point, attentive and so friendly. I was also so impressed they recognised me on my second visit! The vibe and atmosphere the whole night was so welcoming, as the restaurant filled through the evening, a nice little buzz and hubbub of activity built. We did get left a little long on our own towards the end of the night, but could see how busy the guys were!

We had already eaten so much...but we of course had to try out dessert as well!

The guys were sweet enough to make a mini version of their Yo-Chi ice cream sundae, made with frozen yoghurt goodness from Yo-Chi of course. The flavour changes week to week, and when I heard it was peanut butter, with caramel and peanut butter cups...well what’s not to love?

We also, couldn’t resist the HH pavlova, which is exclusive to the Williamstown location and comes out loaded with seasonal fruit.

The pavlova is seriously huge, and perfect for sharing if you’re with a group...or just a fatty like me. It’s so good.

I just overall loved the atmosphere at Hellenic Hotel, it was much more unpretentious than I had thought it might be, and I found it so inviting, and exactly the type of place I would bring my family to for a relaxed shared meal...which is exactly what I did a month later for mum’s birthday (where we were all equally blown away by the perfectly golden crispy chips)!

Hellenic Hotel

28 Ferguson St

Williamstown 3016

A little Melbourne recap

So. I’m so behind this whole year - my backlog of photos is atrocious. This is is me doing a quick sift through the hundreds of photos I’ve taken this year to share some of my favourite things

Gluten free acai Super Bowl at Shanklin cafe, with puppies at the table next door who are so hopeful we might give them something. And delicious scrambled eggs - Brad’s been backing off the baked eggs more recently and getting more into a chilli scramble and I feel like everyone’s been lifting their golden scramble game. It’s great!

Moscato granita and sumptuous charcuterie boards at Innocent Bystander. Perfect for when that summer weather starts sneaking back in! I adore the new space, it’s so spacious and chilled out. I imagine even when it’s full it’s not going to feel anywhere near as claustrophobic as it had a tendency to before!

We are just so terribly spoilt in Melbourne to have so many great gelaterias. I was chatting with someone from Sydney who said their only option was Messina, whilst we’ve got Pidapipo, Piccolina, Spring Street Grocer and a bit newer on to the scene Lavezzi Gelato. Oh my goodness guys, get your lips all over this stuff, the nutty flavours in particular are so strong and rich, and I’m so into it.

Considering my office moved from South Melbourne to Hardware Lane in March - it took me way too long to get into Miznon and discover just how good simple vegetables can be. Miznon’s whole roasted cauliflower is magic, and just the way I love it. A light coating of oil, falling apart tender and sweet. The golden bag of brisket isn’t bad either!

I really need to do a full post on this meal still! I was thinking we should save Vue de Monde for our 10 year anniversary, but was really keen to go, so Brad said we could go for our eight year dating anniversary, as in the year’s coming we would then be celebrating our wedding anniversary instead. The meal of course, was exceptional, and not like anything we’d had before but man, if I could just go up and order the chocolate souffle alone? Once a month at least - so rich, so chocolatey, with that dollop of espresso ice-cream to cut through the richness. It was perfection even on a 30 degree day.

In Capi’s gorgeous headquarters, joining Sophie Cookes on one of her 10 dinners to celebrate 10 years in the catering gig, has to be one of my favourite invitations this year. Each of the dinners she featured a different ingredient, and I was there on fish night. The crumbed King George whiting sandwich with anchovy mayo is forever etched in my mind as a perfect sandwich. Sophie is also just one of the most lovely hosts, who just exudes warmth, laughter and rich conversation, making for such a gorgeous evening.

I’ve recently been finding myself heading back to cafes I’ve visited before, rather than seeking out new places to go. Loved Northcote STN’s broadbean falafel with pomegranate tabbouleh, red cabbage spiced cauliflower, red cabbage, rainbow beets, almonds and a blood orange and coriander dressing. So much flavour. So much veggie. So much happy.

Bomba’s new rooftop is fabulous, bigger than ever, but also covered, so it’s good for all seasons - but what’s really exciting are their bikini sandwiches. In particular the Joselito 35 month Iberico jamon, with black truffle and mahon. Oh lord have mercy.

I’m loving the low key Italian resurgence Melbourne seems to be experiencing at the moment. I was fortunate enough to be invited to Pentolina, where my mum and I sat at the bar, with a direct view into the flambe action in the kitchen, and ate our body weight in homemade pasta. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the bolognese, my favourite of the night was the conchiglie salsiccia - pork and fennel sausage with crispy cauliflower and rosemary. All the flavours! Also reckon the prosciutto melone is going to be just the thing to start off many a summery night soon too.

I love it when friend’s make recommendations. It really doesn’t happen that often. Brothers Keeper is a cosy little cafe in Kooyong that’s never been on my radar, but once it was introduced to Brad and I by one of his friends, we’ve been back twice since (which hardly ever happens)! Delicious cauliflower tempura, with white quinoa, baby beetroot, pickled shallots, tomato, radish and generous smear of hummus around the bowl is one of the most delicious vegetable brunch dishes I’ve had recently.

Shanklin Cafe

500 Toronga Road

Hawthorn East VIC

Innocent Bystander

316-334 Maroondah Hwy

Healesville 3777

Lavezzi Gelato

334 Lygon Street

Carlton 3053

Miznon

59 Hardware Lane

Melbourne 3000

Vue de Monde

Rialto Towers, 525 Collins St

Melbourne 3000

Northcote STN

382 High St

Northcote 3070

Bomba

103 Lonsdale Street

Melbourne 3000

Pentolina

2/377 Little Collins Street

Melbourne 3000

Brothers Keeper

481 Glenferrie Rd

Kooyong 3144