Hahndorf the German Village

Are you planning a trip to Adelaide and want to visit a nearby country town but do not want to hire a car to drive there? Then head straight to Hahndorf in Adelaide Hills! 

In fact, going to Hahndorf has never been easier if you plan to get there by bus. Just check out the Adelaide Metro bus website at http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/864 to find out which bus stops at nearer your hotel, hop on it and it will take you straight to Hahndorf. The bus that goes to Hahndorf stops at several locations in Adelaide CBD. However, make sure to get a bus schedule when you are on the bus so that you will know when the last bus leaves Hahndorf. That is of course not much of a concern as most of the shops in Hahndorf closes at 5pm. So you will not need to be there till late anyway. 

Being in Hahndorf can be a magical moment if you know when to visit the village. If you dislike strolling along a crowded touristy-looking town, then visiting Hahndorf during the summer months, weekends and public holidays are an absolute no-no. Over the past few years, the village has grown its popularity and various eatery and retail shops have been sprawling across the village’s main streets. Hence, if you visit this place during the peak seasons, you would barely be able to absorb the tranquil ambience of a village. 

On the other hand, if you visit Hahndorf during the colder seasons and on weekdays, you will be enthralled with its unique German setting, piquant streets and lovely architecture that are drop dead gorgeous. Strolling along the streets of Hahndorf during these times will make you feel as if you were walking along a tranquil village in Europe. 

The main attractions of Hahndorf besides its European looking setting are the various eating outlets along its main street. In order to fully appreciate its German history, I would encourage you to try out the German cuisine sold at the village. Although do be aware as the German bratwurst (sausage) and German salted pork chops may be a little too salty for the normal pallet. The trick is to eat these meats with lots of salads and bread. 

Besides main course meals, the Germans are well known for their cakes and desserts. I would highly recommend you to try the German Bee Sting Cake, Black Forest cake and German Chocolate Gateaux. The best place to eat these desserts is at ‘The German Cake Shop’, a restaurant situation along one of the side streets of Hahndorf. 

If you are a keen tourist and like to collect souvenirs, do not fret as you will not run out of tourist shops in Hahndorf. Although do take into consideration that this is a tourist location so souvenirs sold here are relatively more expensive than those sold in Adelaide. 

Below are some photos that I have taken during my numerous visits to Hahndorf while I was living in Adelaide: 

The road leading towards Hahndorf in Adelaide Hills, South Australia

The significant German Bee Sting cake

A unique Black Forest cake

A delicious German Chocolate Gateaux cake

German salted pork chops with sauerkraut, sourdough bread and chips

German bratwurst (sausage) with potato salad and sourdough bread

The quiet streets of Hahndorf town during winter

Hahndorf is a lovely German village set upon the peaceful surrounding of Adelaide Hills. You can get easy access to the place through public transport if you do not want to hire a car to get there. You can visit the place several times and never leave the place disappointed. I have been to Hahndorf for so many times and I never get sick of the place. 

Hope this post helps. 

Cheers, 

Caroline Poh

Malaysian Style Chilli Crabs

This is my first time cooking crabs!

Yup, I finally found the courage to cook crabs after a few years of gathering courage to do so.

I love eating crabs and have always wanted to cook crabs myself, but I was afraid that cleaning the raw crabs would be a very difficult task to do. That was why I had put off the idea of cooking crabs for so many years.

Last week, I finally plucked up the courage and told myself that it is now or never to cook crabs or I’ll never do it. So off I went to order some crabs for dinner.

I was not able to get any of my friends to teach me how to clean the raw crabs, but thanks to You Tube, nothing is impossible! After watching a few You Tube videos on how to clean raw crabs, I finally learnt how to clean the raw crabs. Cleaning the raw crabs are surprisingly easier that what I thought it would be! All you need to do is cut the crabs into portions and clean off the gills and other unwanted bits off the crabs.

Finding the recipe for cooking the crabs was very easy too. I got this recipe from one of my favourite food blogs called www.rasamalaysia.com. I followed the recipe with some minor modifications and found that the sauce was too watery, so I added more cornstarch/corn flour to it. The recipe was good and the end result was absolutely divine.

Here’s the recipe with some of my modifications:

Malaysian Style Chilli Crabs 

Malaysian Style Chilli Crabs

Ingredients: 

4 raw blue swimmer crabs
3 tbsp oil 3 garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, sliced
3 tbsp cornstarch/corn flour (mixed with some water)
1 egg, beaten
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Sour and Spicy Sauce 

5 tbsp tomato sauce
5 tbsp Lingham’s Chilli Sauce
1 heap tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese Rice Wine
½ tsp white vinegar
1 cup water

Method: 

Refer to You Tube videos to learn how to clean the raw crabs.

Mix the ingredients for the Sour and Spicy Sauce in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat up wok with oil until hot. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry until slightly browned. Add the crabs and fry for about 10 seconds. Add the Sour and Spicy Sauce and stir the sauce together with the crabs. Cover the wok lid and boil on medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the crab is cooked.

Uncover the wok and add in the cornstarch/corn flour mixture into the sauce. Stir until sauce thickens. Add beaten egg and swirl it around the sauce. Cook for about 30 more seconds and add salt, sugar and more cornstarch mixture if needed.

Serve with rice, steamed buns or fried Chinese buns.


Cheers,

Caroline Poh

The Best Chinese Roast Duck and Roast Pork in Adelaide

My visit to Adelaide is incomplete without a visit to my favourite Chinese roast duck and roast pork restaurant. To me, Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant serves the best Chinese roast duck and roast pork in Adelaide.

The restaurant is situated in Chinatown, near the Adelaide Central Market. You can easily recognise the restaurant by looking out for the roast pork and roast ducks hanging outside the shop’s side window. The restaurant’s interior is not very posh. Hence, the prices of the meals there are very reasonable. My husband and I can get a meal for roughly $10 which can be shared between the two of us because of its large portions. Imagine having a complete Chinese meal of meat, vegetables and rice for two people at around $10…That’s only $5 per person!

When you order the Chinese roast duck and roast pork in Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant, you can choose to have your roast duck and roast pork served with rice. You can also choose to takeaway the roast duck and roast pork and cook your own rice at home.

My husband and I will usually order the two combination meat (roast duck and roast pork) or the (roast pork and BBQ pork) since my husband loves their BBQ pork. If we are doing our grocery shopping in Chinatown and have no time to get home to cook the rice, we would order the combination meat and rice. If we are not in a hurry to eat straight away, we would normally takeaway the meat and cook the rice ourselves. By cooking the rice ourselves, we get to save money on our food expenses.

We introduced many of our friends and family members to the roast duck and roast pork at Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant. They were all very happy with the roast duck and roast pork that were served there.

Besides the roast duck and roast pork, Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant also serves other delicious ala-carte meals such as sweet and sour pork with rice; roast pork and beancurd in bean sauce with rice; battered fish and sweet corn sauce with rice; and salt and pepper whitebait with rice. Most of the dishes we ate there were really delicious.

No matter how many roast ducks and roast pork I ate at various restaurants in Adelaide, to me, Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant still serves the best Chinese roast duck and roast pork in Adelaide. Try it and you’ll love it!

The roast duck I ate at Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant, Adelaide

If you are interested to dine at Hong Fat BBQ Restaurant, below are the contact details:

3/75 Grote St Adelaide SA 5000
(08) 8410 0908

Cheers,

Caroline Poh

Rundle Spices, Adelaide, South Australia

Whenever I am in Adelaide, South Australia, I always look forward to dining at Rundle Spices. Rundle Spices is Chinese/Malaysian/Thai influenced restaurant serving a wide variety of dishes from finger food to main course meals.

The restaurant is situated at Rundle Street, just minutes away from Adelaide’s famous Rundle Mall shopping centre. The restaurant is opened for lunch and for dinner. If you want to get better value for your money, I would recommend you to go there during lunch time as they would have set lunch menus on offer at a fraction of the price as compared to if you were to dine there for dinner.

Although there are many dishes to choose from at Rundle Spices, Adelaide, my husband and I would always order their Thai fried rice and fried spring rolls as those dishes give us the best value for our money. As the Thai fried rice comes in a huge serving portion, we are able to share one plate of fried rice and just order a plate of fried spring rolls for our side dish.

We have been to Rundle Spices, Adelaide, South Australia many times and we were never disappointed. Their food tastes very authentic, their waitresses are very polite and helpful; and they always give us very fast service. The interior of the restaurant is also very pleasant and the chairs there are really comfortable.

Thai Fried Rice

Fried Spring Rolls

I highly recommend you to dine at Rundle Spices, Adelaide, South Australia simply because it is a really nice restaurant with great tasting food and wide variety of dishes to choose from. Try it and you’ll be back for more food from Rundle Spices!

Here is the address of Rundle Spices:

278A Rundle St Adelaide SA 5000
(08) 8232 9288


Cheers,

Caroline Poh

Houseboats in Riverland,South Australia

Have you ever been on a houseboat?

When my husband and I first moved to the Riverland, South Australia, we were brought by a friend to see the houseboats at Kingston on Murray, Riverland, South Australia. According to her, houseboats in Riverland, South Australia are one of the attractions of the Riverland. That was the first time I had ever seen houseboats.

During our trip to see the houseboats at Kingston on Murray, I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the houseboats because I was so fascinated by their unique structures and superior exterior. Back then, my husband and I were not able to view the interior of the houseboats because we were told that we had to hire a houseboat to be able to do so. Since that day, I always had a deep curiosity on what it would feel like living on a houseboat.

After a few months living in the Riverland, our friend from church invited us to her house for lunch one day. Her house was situated in Lyrup, Riverland, South Australia. It was quite a long drive (about 20 minutes) from our place at Barmera, Riverland, South Australia.

Her house was situated amidst bushlands near the Lyrup Forest. When we pulled over the car at her house compound, we got out of the car wondering where her house was. All we could see were some wild bushes and nice pot plants around her compound. Our friend happily greeted us upon our arrival and showed us to her house. When she showed us to her place, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she actually lives on a houseboat! I was so excited.

The interior of her houseboat looked like a normal two bedroom unit. It was fully equipped with a small wood fire heater, an air conditioner, a fairly big flat screen television, a modern kitchen and a deck at the back of her houseboat.

During our visit, we enjoyed our lunch at the deck overlooking the magnificent Murray River. While having our lunch, our friend shared with us about her experience living on a houseboat. According to her, she gets her electricity supply from her solar power system, collects rain water for her water supply and uses the generator if she does not get enough electricity supply from her solar power system. As she is unable to have a landline, uses the mobile broadband for her internet and she subscribes to a mobile telephone provider. She also has to pay special rates to the government to park her houseboat by the river as it is of public property.

On a separate occasion, when my sister came down to the Riverland for holiday, our friend invited my sister, my husband and I for dinner at her houseboat. This time, she took us along a cruise on her boat along the Murray River.

It was a very relaxing outing as we enjoyed looking at the tranquil water and natural surroundings. Seeing the sunset, watching the wild birds and ducks go by was very therapeutic for me. Combined with the light and easy music, lovely Aussie barbecue dinner prepared by our friend and beautiful ambience, I was able to relax and unwind easily during the river cruise. I would have to say that the river cruise was a really amazing and memorable experience for me.

Houseboats at Kingston on Murray, Riverland, South Australia

From left: Me, my sister, our friend and my husband outside our friend's houseboat

The spectacular view from our friend’s houseboat during our river cruise

With my wonderful experience at the houseboat, I would highly recommend anyone to view the houseboats in Riverland, South Australia. You can hire a houseboat for your next holiday vacation at Riverland, South Australia. It costs quite a lot but it is worth the experience if you have the money. If not, you can just take a picture outside the houseboats, like what I did when I went to Kingston on Murray, Riverland, South Australia.

Whatever the case, you will surely enjoy viewing the houseboats in Riverland, South Australia.

Cheers,

Caroline Poh