The Bald Critic

23 March 2020

Photos Do Not Justify This Park - Tasman National Park

Photos do not justify Tasman National Park (situated on the Tasman Peninsula), it is far more spectacular and breathtaking in person, no wonder it’s a popular tourist destination.

Finding the park is very easy, we left Hobart and headed to Port Arthur by the Arthur Highway – an advisable, welcoming stop while traveling to Port Arthur.

There are plenty of large road signs clearly displayed (you can’t miss them) along the highway for tourists to easily locate the monumental rock formations - Tessellated Pavement, Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen.

Free parking is available – I have found that if you do take part in this activity, then it is best to start in the morning (we started our travels at 9am), you will definitely find parking, as time goes by, this place becomes very busy.

Safe, easy walking trails or bushwalks are provided for scenic walks - perfect photo opportunities and lots of flora to be seen and if you’re lucky enough fauna too.

You could easily take a few hours just to absorb the beauty, reading and learning the history of the place and how the rock formations formed (you will find information at scenic points-of-interest, giving the history of the place) while enjoying the walk at the same time.

It is advisable to wear comfortable walking shoes as the gravel could be slippery and sunscreen and a hat to avoid getting sunburnt as the sun reflects off the water and a bottle of water. What to wear?

We visited the park in December, the Summer weather in Tasmania is like Autumn weather, fresh in the mornings and evenings but can get rather hot during the day, especially if you are planning to walk along the trails.

To make your visit more enjoyable, comfortable and practical, layered dressing is the way to go, so you can take layers of clothing off when needed.

There was also a ‘Doo-Lishus’ van, where you can buy a range of ice-creams (in cups or ice-cream cones) mixed berries with ice-cream and cream in a cup is very refreshing and delicious, drinks of hot snacks (‘National Meat Pies’, as well as fish and chips, etc) –

I’m not too sure if this service is available throughout the year? What is more spectacular about this place? It is all for FREE!

#travelblog #travelblogger #travelbloggers #travelphoto #adventure #landscape #cityscape #traveler #welivetoexplore #liveauthentic #igshotz #exploretocreate #travelandlife #huntgram #instagoodmyphoto #worldplaces #bestvacations #thebest_capture #beautifuldestinations #bestplacestogo #bestdestinations #worldtravelpics #ig_travel #sharetravelpics #travelworld #travelgram #natgeotravel #natgo #welltravelled #mytinyatlas #huffposttravel #tasteintravel #wonderful_places #travelblog #travelphoto #travelbloggerlife #wanderlust #recipe #foodlovers #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #nomnom #food #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite #foodporn #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite #plantbased #recipe #exploretocreate #travelandlife #huntgram #instagoodmyphoto #worldplaces #bestvacations #thebest_capture #beautifuldestinations #bestplacestogo #bestdestinations #worldtravelpics #ig_travel #sharetravelpics #travelworld #travelgram #natgeotravel #natgo #welltravelled #mytinyatlas #huffposttravel #tasteintravel #wonderful_places #travelblog #travelphoto #travelbloggerlife #wanderlust #solotraveler #whatitalyis

22 March 2020

Australia's Best Fish & Chips... May Be Questionable? - Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods.

We stayed at the Hobart Airport Tourist Park but on our way there, there is a huge sign displayed while traveling on the Tasman Highway, that caught our attention “Australia’s Best Fish & Chips… As Voted Peoples Choice 2017” that made our decision easy where we are going to have dinner.

We dined at Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods during the summer school holidays in December 2019 on a Friday at 5pm (opened seven days a week, from 9am to 6pm). You have the choice of eating indoors, outdoors or take-away.

The ambience of the place was extremely busy, we ordered and paid for our meals at the counter, the service was fast (considering they were really busy – about half an hour wait), staff friendly and provides table service.

We were seated at a square table for four, just enough room for food and drinks, plenty elbow space and their chairs were reasonably comfortable.

Right beside the counter, there is a display of fresh fish, where you may choose the fish you want to have cooked for your meal. And where you enter the restaurant, just on your right, they proudly display the trophies they have won.

I wasn’t that adventurous in my meal, I ordered Fisherman’s Basket @ $24.90 (2 x Battered Fish of the day, 2 x Crumbed King Prawns, 2 x Crumbed Scallops, 2 x Crumbed Squid Rings) with the option either chips or salad – I chose chips.

My wife and my two daughters wanted lasagne but they didn’t have any, so they decided on a Beef Burger @ $10.90 (also with the option of either chips or salad, they all chose salad).

The Fisherman’s Basket was well presented, clean and fresh in appearance with a wedge of lemon - the chips were nothing fancy, just your typical frozen chips. I expected my meal to be extraordinary rather than ordinary – it was no different to any other Fisherman’s Basket I have had before at other restaurants, it was a bit ‘Blah’ experience for me.

The batter was the right thickness and crisp and equal with their crumbed fish. The fish pieces were tender too.

As for my wife and girls, their burgers were HUGE! We had no idea (nor did we ask) what a beef burger has. Well I can tell you that the beef burger had ‘the lot’… beef patty of course (but very thick, grilled to perfection and tasty), lettuce, beetroot, egg, tomatoes, bacon, pineapple ring, cheese and I’m guessing their homemade dressing / mayo.

They absolutely loved their burger but unfortunately, was very hard to hold the contents together – very messy. They had to pick pieces of food out until they were able to wrap their mouths around the burger – no complaints there, it was packed with flavour and they were able to finish the whole lot – their tummies were full.

Their salads looked very appetising, full of colours, fresh, crisp with tangy delicious dressing – a welcoming finish to their burgers.

I did have the best of both, as one of the girls couldn’t eat their salad, so I ate it myself – highly recommend their salads, if you had to choose between chips and salad.

Overall, we did enjoy our experience, their meals, walking distance to / from our cabin and we definitely walked back to our cabins on a very full stomach. The place did not disappoint and I have found the price to be fair.

21 March 2020

Well Laid Out and Organised Tourist Park - Hobart Airport Tourist Park

Accommodation at the park was chosen purely because it is located near the Hobart International Airport (approximately five-minute drive) and that the cabins are self-contained. I didn’t want to travel too far on my first day arriving at the airport, I just wanted to drive to a nearby place where I could just have a relaxing break and start afresh the following day.

You will receive your key to the cabin and white card to operate the boomgate at Reception with a map of the park, so you can easily locate the cabin you’re staying in and Wi-Fi password.

An impressive, neat and clean park, landscaped with native flora, free Wi-Fi access available with reasonably fast connection too – great hotspots.

Inside the cabin, on the dining table, there is a guest booklet to ensure your stay is comfortable. The booklet reveals all the services and facilities available on site plus local restaurants, stores and medical emergency nearby.

The park is dog-friendly, but are not allowed to stay inside cabins, unless they are guide dogs.

I found the cabin to be spacious, clean and well laid out. The beds come with clean linen and towels, with complimentary mini bathroom accessories (shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion). A complimentary coffee and tea starter kit is provided (including 300ml milk in the fridge).

Offers one free marked car park space per cabin (right in front of the cabin). The park also offers a convenience store which is located at reception (basic supplies); fully equipped camp kitchen; BBQ area; playground area for the children; laundry (3 x washing machines and 3 x clothes dryer – both take 5 x $1 coins to operate machines).

There are two restaurants that are located nearby (approximately 5-minute walk) and within the guest booklet, the two restaurants menu and price list. This is quite handy to have because it takes the guess work out of it and well prepared what the restaurants have on offer and if it meets your budget. I have found both restaurants at mid-range prices. Subway is also a five-minute walk, located at the BP Service Station.

I did have a comfortable sleep but be prepared for the occasional plane noise flying over at random times – it doesn’t happen that often (nothing to be concerned about), if memory serves me correctly, the first plane to depart in the morning is at 6am.

What I do enjoy most about this park is the convenience within close range – restaurants; service station; car wash (both automatic or hand wash); airport; and close to Hobart city (approximately 45-minute drive) – made my stay more enjoyable. And on top of that, they also offer ‘Free’ shuttle bus for any guest checking in or departing the park, to and from the airport between 9am to 5pm.

Staff are very friendly and are there to help you at any time. I highly recommend this park, it has everything at your fingertips!

Hobart Airport tourist park BBQ Facilities

20 March 2020

Vietnamese Cuisine - Mylan Vietnamese Restaurant Wollongong

This is my first experience eating at a Vietnamese restaurant. We dined at Mylan restaurant on a Friday night, which was quickly filled by 7pm – I highly recommend to make reservations, which is what we did.

Although the place is very busy, we didn’t have to wait long to be greeted by friendly staff and seated promptly at our table with bottles of water and glasses.

There is a relatively large number of meals to select from their menu and yes, there are meals for vegans and dishes that are gluten free.

Their prices are mid-range: Entrées from $4 to $13 and Mains from $19 to $33. I ordered ‘Spring Rolls’ for my entrée, which you get four spring rolls with a bowl of dipping sauce – the dipping sauce was bland (it had no flavour) but the spring rolls were cooked to that ‘crunchy’ perfection and the ingredients were delicious.

For my main, I ordered ‘Sweet and Sour Pork’ (tomato, pineapple, cucumber, capsicum, celery and onion) at $21 – the presentation and colour of this dish looked amazing, the taste of the food was loaded with flavours and that this meal was made with fresh ingredients.

One of my friends ordered ‘Fresh Rice Rolls’ as an entrée at $9 and ‘Prawn Satay’ at $25 – which the presentation looked equally amazing and I was told that it tasted very nice but the prawn satay was a little too spicy to enjoy the meal thoroughly – which he did tell staff when we left the restaurant for future patrons.

The portion of our dishes were of normal size. This restaurant is clean, family friendly, very welcoming and the ambience is fun – a perfect place to catch up with friends and family. The service was quick, we didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive and our meals arrived piping hot.

What I was not impressed with, was that this restaurant is BYO, which I brought with me a bottle of wine – the twist top bottle. When we paid for our meals, we were charged an extra $15 for corkage ($3 per person – there were five of us), which I can’t understand how they can justify that when we didn’t need any corkage service! I’m not too sure if this is a common thing at BYO restaurants but if you brought beer, you weren’t charged extra – go figure!

They have bathroom facilities available. Metered car parks are free for general public use after 5pm. A nice place to experience Vietnamese food.

19 March 2020

Super Mario Indeed - Mario's Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria

My last night stay on the Gold Coast and we decided to do Italian for dinner – it is my brother’s favourite Italian restaurant and saved the best for last.

We visited Mario’s Italian Restaurant And Pizzeria on a Tuesday night, the place was packed with the with a huge lineup along the path.

I don’t know how they do it, but they managed to churn the customers inside with little waiting time and yes… we were walk-ins and felt most welcomed.

The waitstaff were fantastic with good old-fashioned service – good to see this type of service still exists.

You do have a choice to dine either indoors or outdoors – they also offer takeaways or delivery service too.

I had ‘Pollo Cartoccio’ at $34.90 (chicken breast, mushrooms, prawns, shallots, light brandy mustard cream sauce and roast vegetables). The food was well presented, the serving was a large serving with a generous amount of prawns too and the food was tender and ever so tasty.

My friend had ‘Chicken Avocado’ at $35.90 (chicken breast, brandy, light cream sauce, avocado, cashews and roast vegetables). Again, excellent presentation, large serving and a definite ‘thumbs up’ from my her. And my brother had a pizza medium sized pizza ‘Marinara’ (mixed marinated seafood, garlic, parsley and olives) available in three sizes, he ordered the medium size at $25.90. We also had Garlic Pizza to share – yum! Although we struggled a little, we all managed to eat every single bit of our meal, as we are big eaters and washed it down with a bottle of red wine amongst us.

An incredible Italian experience, well trained staff, very family friendly, with an amazing Italian culture and atmosphere ‘Little Italy’. I can understand why it is my brother’s favourite Italian restaurant.

If you’re a lover of fine, traditional Italian dining, this is the perfect place to go.

18 March 2020

What a Quacker-Up - Aquaduck Gold Coast 1 hour City and River Tour.

Highly recommend Aquaduck Safaris experience for tourists, an ingenious way to see the Gold Coast, with the two-in-one package city tour on road and river cruise – our very own ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, only it doesn’t fly.

The tour is $40 per person for an hour (children @ $30 per child). Bookings are essential, tickets may be purchased online or in person (which is what we did), located just across the road from the Aquaduck on Cavill Avenue– you can’t miss it.

My first experience on an Aquaduck, staff are super friendly, very funny, entertaining and the commentary was very informative both with history and what you can do in the Gold Coast. The tour guide will show you the ‘key landmarks’ to visit while in the Gold Coast.

Then you can take in the beauty by water – perfect photo opportunity of ‘Surfers Paradise’ (see my photo). While on the water, kids even get to have a go at steering the duck with the Skipper. The best way to learn about the Gold Coast.

You can purchase souvenirs on the Aquaduck as well. The tours run everyday except on Christmas day, tour times 10am / 11:15am / 12.30pm / 1:45pm / 3pm / 4:15pm (and an additional tour at 5:30pm only from September to April).

The best parking for Aquaduck is at the Bruce Bishop car park, located at 3110 Gold Coast Highway with an ‘early bird’ fee @ $9 if you enter between 5.30am and 8am but you must leave the premises no later than 6pm. Or simply use the G:Link trams (which is what we did) to travel that will take you to Surfers Paradise and you can walk the rest – not too far to walk (about 100 metres away from the tram station), easily visible – you can’t miss the duck - it will take you approximately a five-minute-walk to get there.

This team really knows their stuff and know how to treat their customers – fantastic tourism experience.

#aquaduck #aquaduckgoldcoast #aquaducksurfers #aquaduckrivertour #travelblog #travelblogger #travelbloggers #travelphoto #adventure #landscape #cityscape #traveler #welivetoexplore #liveauthentic #igshotz #exploretocreate #travelandlife #huntgram #instagoodmyphoto #worldplaces #bestvacations #thebest_capture #beautifuldestinations #bestplacestogo #bestdestinations #worldtravelpics #ig_travel #sharetravelpics #travelworld #travelgram #natgeotravel #natgo #welltravelled #mytinyatlas #huffposttravel #tasteintravel #wonderful_places #travelblog #travelphoto #travelbloggerlife #wanderlust #recipe #foodlovers #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #nomnom #food #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite #foodporn #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite #plantbased #recipe #exploretocreate #travelandlife #huntgram #instagoodmyphoto #worldplaces #bestvacations #thebest_capture #beautifuldestinations #bestplacestogo #bestdestinations #worldtravelpics #ig_travel #sharetravelpics #travelworld #travelgram #natgeotravel #natgo #welltravelled #mytinyatlas #huffposttravel #tasteintravel #wonderful_places #travelblog #travelphoto #travelbloggerlife #wanderlust #solotraveler #whatitalyis

17 March 2020

Spanish Delights At Spanish Doughnuts

While walking around aimlessly and sightseeing in the Gold Coast, a typical tourist, we happened to come across this mouth-watering place ‘Spanish Doughnuts’.

Very attractive on the eyes with a magnetic force, you just couldn’t simply walk past it.

Churros is Spanish for doughnuts. There is a plethora of churros to choose from, the original star-shaped sticks, fluffy inside and crispy outside rolled in cinnamon sugar or for the adventurous ones, the non-traditional (you will see in my photo).

It's like the display of churros are having a party. It is very hard to choose from but I decided to go for the ones that were plain on the outside with filled centres.

I love my custards and bought ‘Hot Churro Fillers’ with custard filling at $5.95 each (they also come in jam, chocolate, caramel and Nutella fillings).

As a novice, I was not prepared for what was going to happen next. I took a bite out of the churros, only to find that the custard spurted out on the other end like a fountain. Had I known, I would have blocked the other end of my churro with my thumb before taking a bite or leave it in the paper bag that was served in, instead of wasting the custard.

I wasn’t disappointed in my custard filled churro though, very delicious and served warm. The churro is cooked deliciously - fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and the custard wasn’t that plastic type of custard, it was creamy that just melted in your mouth.

Also, I am impressed that the word ‘doughnuts’ is spelt the way it should be in Australia for a change.

16 March 2020

Wacky Start to Your Day At The Wacky Whisk

We were looking for somewhere to have brunch and wanted to start our morning right as we had a fun-filled day planned ahead of us.

What lured me to ‘The Wacky Whisk’ was the word ‘Big Brekky Special’ for the price of $9.90 clearly displayed on their chalkboard at the front of the restaurant.

We were greeted promptly, with a friendly smile, you have the option to dine indoors or outdoors. This place is clean, relaxing and feels like home. My brother on the other hand ordered ‘Hash Stack’ at $14.

My Big Brekky Special was a generous serve that consisted of one rasher of bacon, two sausages, two eggs, tomato, a hash brown and toast and most of all the food was not greasy and tasted scrumptious. I had the choice how I wanted my eggs cooked, I have chosen fried – “over medium” perfectly cooked, yolks a little runny and whites silky and soft.

The Hash Stack consisted with a piece of Turkish bread topped with wilted spinach, smashed avocado, two hash browns, bacon and two poached eggs with a side of hollandaise sauce, presentation was amazing and my brother mentioned that the food was mind-blowing.

If you’re a coffee connoisseur, then you must try their coffee. The aroma is strong and hypnotising, best pick-me-up and start to your day– hats off to the Barista! The staff are attentive, super nice, welcoming and friendly, service was fantastic and the chef’s passion was shown through their food presentations (as you would see in my photos).

Fresh food ingredients and flavoursome that awakened my tastebuds. This place is a genuine gem leaving you with an ‘outta-this-world’ experience – the best brunch I have had by far at low prices and most definitely value for money!

If you don’t want to eat, grab yourself a coffee, trust me… it is the best coffee in the Gold Coast. Cannot recommend this place enough for family, friends, couples or simply on your own.

Do yourself a favour and be sure to get this unique experience when you visit the Gold Coast – well worth a visit.

27 February 2020

Stepping into China from DownUnder - Royal Dynasty Surfers Paradise

For authentic Chinese food experience, I highly recommend Royal Dynasty – you have the option to dine in or outside. Greeted by friendly staff and seated promptly at our table – walk ins are accepted, which is what we did.

The service was quick and we didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. The flavours in the food are so amazing, flavoursome and fresh, servings are generous and reasonably priced – considering this restaurant is situated in the heart of Surfers Paradise.

The restaurant is very clean, spacious table with plenty of elbow room and comfortable chairs. As a group of three, we ordered ‘Sweet and Sour Pork’, ‘Garlic Beef’, ‘Honey Chicken’ and ‘Special Fried Rice’ all at $22.80 each except for the fried rice at $14.80.

I truly loved the different texture of Sweet and Sour Pork, where the capsicum retained the crunch, the pineapple wasn’t overcooked and the pork was absolutely delish, nice and tender with a crispy coating and I didn’t encounter any gristle.

Garlic Beef was so juicy, succulent that melts in your mouth – no stringy tendon bits. Honey Chicken was flawless too, nice tender pieces, coated amazingly with just the right amount of honey to give it that sweet, sticky taste and again, didn’t encounter any gristle. Not experiencing gristle during my meals is a big deal for me as it is off-putting and a loss of appetite instantly.

Special Fried Rice was cooked to perfection, I just can’t explain what I mean, but the rice has that Asian authentic flavour that you can’t achieve at home. Perhaps it’s their searing wok that is the key to their secret? The texture of the rice was cooked to perfection – fluffy and slightly dry, the peas not overcooked, scrambled egg pieces moist and prawns tender.

We also shared a bottle of nice red ‘Grant Burge Merlot’ at $38.80. Needless to say, the meals we ordered met our standards, you won’t be disappointed with the sensation of individual, unique flavours, and surrounded with oriental atmosphere – it’s like you literally stepped into Chinatown.

The staff are very friendly, welcoming and looked after us really well. We walked out with an amazing Asian experience and very full bellies! Highly recommend this restaurant without any hesitations. Great place for family and friends. Wheelchair and disability access.

#recipe #foodlovers #foodgasm #foodporn #foodphotography #foodblogger #nomnom #food #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #eatfamous #vscofood #lovefood #noleftovers #forkyeah #eeeeeats #buzzfeast #myfab5 #spoonfeed #eatingfortheinsta #foodprnshare #thedailybite

Pages