Decided to escape the hustle and bustle of Melbourne over Christmas and went down to Lakes Entrance, also known as the Victorian Riviera due to its temperate weather. The shot below was taken at the lookout coming into Lakes Entrance on the A1 from Melbourne.
There’s some great beaches in the area including the vast expanse of 90 mile beach. They also do a great fireworks display on the Esplanade at Lakes Entrance if you’re there on New Year’s Eve – it’s also a lot less crowded than Melbourne. We left our accommodation at 10.30 PM and were able to find a park 5 minutes walk from where the fireworks were.
On the way back to Melbourne we detoured to the Bullant Brewery at Bruthen for lunch. It was well worth the detour. If you’re in the area do yourself a favour and check it out, they have a heap of their own (very nice) beers on tap which are brewed on site. The two most popular ones are the pilsner (on the left below) and the pale ale (on the right). The pale ale was a bit hoppier than I’m used to but still pleasant. On the whole though I preferred the pilsner which had a crisp, clean favour without being completely bland.
Now on to the food. Pictured below is the share platter for 2 for $30. I didn’t expect much because at most city restaurants you can’t even get a main for this price but the serving size here was generous to say the least. From left to right: vegetable and chicken mini pizza, indian chicken breasts up the back, BBQ pork with honey glaze in front with, tempura style calamari rings and then hand cut wedges with macca’s shaker salt (at least that’s what it tasted like). They came with a nice yoghurt dip and a tomato chutney thing. The food was really tasty with the super crispy calamari rings and thin cut wedges being the standout.
Ordered the bruschetta ($16) as well as I thought the share platter wouldn’t be enough for 2. As it turns out the platter was plenty but the bruschetta was still a welcome addition.
