any gd things to buy in australia?

[plsoong]

I'm a Singaporean Melbournian.

HI 5!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep Crumplers, all your sports apparell,

if really nothing else better to do, go touring around the region lor

Great wines in Barossa Valley. Look out for Penfold's Grange, St Henry's Drive...

Oh yar......look out for one particular wine called:-

Late Harvested Orange Floral Muscat vintage 1997. (this is a much better version than the newer ones) U will absolutely LOVE it



PL

 

[charvy]

A$ going up against S$.... One year ago, it was lower than S$ but now it is on the upward trend... 2 weeks ago, was A$1 to S$1.18 and this week at about S$1.21/2. I'm also waiting for the right time but it is not easy to predict. I will settle for S$1.20 as my holidays is coming up in Dec...

I've been monitoring the rate since 2-3 mths back when it was still S$1.08~ and I thought it'll go down hence I didn't change.. now come to think abt it... arghhss... but then again its hard to predict also.. my holidays is in end jan 04.. so shld i change now or later... :sweat:

 

[Larry]

nougat... yum yum.

xmen1977, if you got spare luggage space, buy some back for me k?

 

[cheers]

my god, u counted?

..NuTs..

No... maybe she sampled.

just kidding

 

[Ansel]

HI 5!!!!!!!!!!!
Great wines in Barossa Valley. Look out for Penfold's Grange, St Henry's Drive...
PL

Hello PL, Grange is cheaper in Singapore due to our tax system (flat). St. Henry's Drive? It's either Penfold's St. Henry Shiraz or Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz. Two very diff wines

 

[frisky]

I've been monitoring the rate since 2-3 mths back when it was still S$1.08~ and I thought it'll go down hence I didn't change.. now come to think abt it... arghhss... but then again its hard to predict also.. my holidays is in end jan 04.. so shld i change now or later... :sweat:

Yup, it is something like 20% higher for NZ. Quite a surprising change, normal they move with the asia currency market........

 

[NitroTech]

And if you like ice cream, head down to Charmaine's at Federation Square...... their Plum Pudding ice cream is to die for.

Also at Fed Square, a restaurant called Chocolate Buddha. They serve "the best Ramen outside of Japan"(quote from a mag).

 

[charvy]

Since we're at it... pls recommend the places to go to @ melbourne.. I'll be there for the aussie open mens final.. can hardly wait..

Thanks in advance for any inputs!

 

[darrelchia]

go vic mart and buy fresh cherries .... hehe

 

[plsoong]

Hello PL, Grange is cheaper in Singapore due to our tax system (flat). St. Henry's Drive? It's either Penfold's St. Henry Shiraz or Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz. Two very diff wines

yeah, i meant St. Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz



hey ansel, u're oso into wine rite?

lets go for a really good drink one of these days
I'm more towards Old World wines nowadays though

Anywayz Melbourne .......the city of 4 seasons in a day kakakkaka

be careful

i kana hail the moment i went out for dinner one of the days when i was stardeeing there

damn painful

 

[plsoong]

Since we're at it... pls recommend the places to go to @ melbourne.. I'll be there for the aussie open mens final.. can hardly wait..

Thanks in advance for any inputs!

depends on which part of Melbourne u are at

for great italian food:- go to Lygon street.....i highly recommend Universal cafe (great portions at darn cheap prices) for a more upmarket italian desserts and cakes and stuff liddat...(basically tea time stuff), Brunettis is great. Cafe Nocturno is not bad, but damn ex.

If u have $$$ to spare, head down to Cafe Greco (my all time fav) at Crown casino......damn solid mediterrenian food there and check out the FLAMING larboghini.

If u go to St. Kilda's beach. i highly recommend a fantastic restaurant by the sea side for that someone special:-

Donovan's or Stokehouse. Stokehouse is rather high class...so depending on budget

for asian cuisine:- WHO CAN FORGET MEKONG or Pho ?!?!?!? Try their Vietnamese Sliced Beef and CHicken noodles... (the texture of the noodles is about like that of AUTHENTIC Ipoh Horfun, not like those in S'pore, sadly none of them are at all authentic)

There's this place called BoBa or something and alot other great places to eat like SEOUL HOUSE (great for Beef Bulagi) or KIM CHI HOUSE.

for Icecream, go for New Zealand's Natural @ Melbourne Central (in S'pore oso got liao) but my fav is the famous Lygon street GELATI (opens during all seasons cept winter)

If u wanan buy fresh food and normal groceries, go to Vicmart. when its near closing time, the prices plummet to ridiculous pricing! imagine a bushel of potatoes for AUD$1 :sweat:

For places to visit:-
Great Ocean Road, including lorne, apollo bay, blah blah blah
Phillip Island (esp great for charbors n kids)
Mount Buller (for skiing during winter<- not the best yet)
Mount Hotham (better)
Grampians (if u got energy)
Wilson's promonatary (always fully booked, so book damn early in advance)

 

[NitroTech]

To add:

for excellent Fusion Cuisine head down to Ezard at Adelphi. It's located at Flinders lane, behind St Paul's Cathedral. They also got a website: www.ezard.com.au

For Italian food, I swear by Piccolo Mondo at Lygon St. The Tiramisu!!!! :cry:

Yeah and also the GOR, blah blah blah......... everything else PL has mentioned

 

[plsoong]

For Italian food, I swear by Piccolo Mondo at Lygon St. The Tiramisu!!!! :cry:

STOP MAKING ME HUNGRY :angry: :kok:

That one is ONE :thumbsup: DESSERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

damn i keep forgetting to mention Mark's place for pizza (half-half tangy chicken)

damn :thumbsup:

 

[charvy]

Wow, thanks for the heads up folks! Will be keeping in my diary of all these locations..

I'll be spending 7 days in melbourne city area and 5 days at Lorne (great ocean road)...

May I know how long does it take to drive from melbourne to yarra valley (the wineyards) ?

 

[Watcher]

Wow, thanks for the heads up folks! Will be keeping in my diary of all these locations..

I'll be spending 7 days in melbourne city area and 5 days at Lorne (great ocean road)...

May I know how long does it take to drive from melbourne to yarra valley (the wineyards) ?

A few hours (about 3). The last time I went there, we had a driver on the bus so the whole lot of us were already eburiated before lunch :nono: :bsmilie: .

While in the city, do visit the Greek Precinct. The desserts there are just too good to just look at... :sweat: . If you love French pastry, there is a cafe perpendicular to the Burke St Mall between Burke and Little Collins. Just out of the world. Nice mid-price (cf SG) at Lygon? Try DiMattinas. Owned by a group of the footy players . The Gelati place described by plsoong is authentic, operated by an Italian family, home-made... :lovegrin: .

If you love Jap food, good Jap food is very reasonably priced. Try Kuni at the start of Little Lonsdale or Daimonji :lovegrin: :sweatsm: :thumbsup: . I used to visit Kuni almost every week and Daimonji every fortnight. :sweatsm:

 

[JermsDayOut]

Hmm... anctually if you buy Quicksilver, Billabong, Rpi Curl stuff and other surf wear, can take an hour's drive to Geelong, Torquay. Down that long straight stretch before the beach on the left hand side, you'll see a strip of cafes. Park your car near that stretch of eateries and walk into the slip roads nearby. you'll find about 3-4 warehouses selling past season's stuff and even factory outlets.

i got my quicksilver stuff for only A$10. more expensive stuff like boardshorts cost about A$25-30.

It's DIRT CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even sell Neil Pryde, wakeboards, boots! arggggh!!! i miss Melbourne man!

 

[plsoong]

la pochetta is cheap for pizzis stuff.

jap food is great

if u've got enuf moolah, go to SHARKS FIN House (or issit restaurant) can't remember, lunch time dim sum

eat until si kiao kiao

sigh....i hope i can go back Melbourne

even the every day adrenalin rush of not paying for the tram rides and not getting caught are so exciting liao :sweat:

 

[lazyfiddler]

HI 5!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep Crumplers, all your sports apparell,

if really nothing else better to do, go touring around the region lor

Great wines in Barossa Valley. Look out for Penfold's Grange, St Henry's Drive...

Oh yar......look out for one particular wine called:-

Late Harvested Orange Floral Muscat vintage 1997. (this is a much better version than the newer ones) U will absolutely LOVE it



PL

huh? u know Barossa Valley? Are u also in Adelaide?

 

[NitroTech]

i know Barossa Valley too. But i'm not in Adelaide....

 

[Watcher]

la pochetta is cheap for pizzis stuff.

jap food is great

if u've got enuf moolah, go to SHARKS FIN House (or issit restaurant) can't remember, lunch time dim sum

eat until si kiao kiao

sigh....i hope i can go back Melbourne

even the every day adrenalin rush of not paying for the tram rides and not getting caught are so exciting liao :sweat:

La Porchetta? There are much better pizzarias on Lygon St and elsewhere. They even offer to cook the pizza in front of you, using traditional wood-fired ovens :lovegrin:. Very big difference from the crap PizzaHut stuff we have here... .

Jap food must go to good ones which are significantly cheaper than the same class of Jap food in SG. Go for the ones I had recommended or the one at the basement of Grand Hyatt (along Collin St) and have a good one. The lower end Jap food is not much difference in terms of quality and price cf SG. I had spent about A$55+ at Daimonji each time. In SG, I will have to spend at least 2x, usually after the +++, 3x .

For dim sum (or yum cha as it is known there), it is generally alright, though the crowds on weekends are just impossible. Sharksfin House is quite good actually, but you have to queue and go early. A French restaurant near MEX (Melb Exchange) with a 3 course dinner + wine comes to A$30 :sweatsm:.

As for the tram rides :bsmilie: Me too! I got a 10-trip ticket so anytime the conductors come up, I :dent: . I have actually seen them coming up both the front and rear doors at the same time. Some actually ran! :bsmilie: Wah exciting chases sia!

I had forgotten one thing you can try: Restaurant on the Tram. You have a proper 6-dinner done on a specially built tram while it goes around inner Melbourne. There are 2 seatings and the cost is around A$60 per person with free-flow alchohol! Very worth it, I think.