SQ A350 Regional J to MEL: Melbourne is Open for Business! (And Leisure!)

[yflyer]

The next day was reserved for a full day private tour of the Yarra Valley wine region, where our guide, Steve, would take us around several Yarra wineries for wine tastings.



The day started out really foggy, but by late morning, the fog had cleared to reveal brilliant blue skies...



As Miss yflyer no.1 did not drink, our first stop was the Yarra Valley Dairy, for some cheese tasting...



The Yarra Valley Dairy had a restaurant and cheese shop...



There was a very nice selection of cheeses...



We ordered a platter to share...



It was great to eat a little before heading to the wineries...from that point on, it would be a liquid diet...

[yflyer]

The first stop on our winery tour was Yering Station...



The Cellar Door was large and very impressive...



...with a large tasting room...



...and a smaller room for private tastings and events...



There was a great selection of wines to taste...



...including a premium tasting selection...



We must have run through the entire list, starting with their sparking wines...



...then their whites...



...before moving on to their red wines...



...and their Reserve selections...



This was our first stop, but I think we were already starting to sway on our way out...

[yflyer]

Outside, we headed to their restaurant to for a look around...



We did not dine there as lunch was already planned at another Vineyard later on...



...but what a nice setting for a meal!



Thank goodness we had a guide to drive us around the Yarra Valley, we could indulge in wine tasting to our heart's content...

[yflyer]

Our next step was Tarrawarra...



The Tarrawarra Cellar Door and Restaurant complex were sit on a hill with stunning views...



We just stood there for a long while to take in the amazing views before heading inside...



While the others headed straight to the restaurant, I headed to the Cellar Door to check it out...



It was quite busy inside...



Tarrawarra offers a full sit-down wine tasting programme...

[yflyer]

Rather than taste their wines in the Cellar Door, we would have lunch in the restaurant, and sample their wines over lunch...



This was a superb restaurant, with an inspired tasting menu, with wine pairing...



As Tarrawarra did not do sparkling or fortified wines, the first and last wines on the menu were not from the estate, but the other 3 wines were, and were a great introduction to the Estate.

Delicious spelt sourdough, with plant-based butter...



Pommes Dauphine, beautifully presented, with edible flowers...



Paired with their Rousanne Marsanne Viognier...



Delicious trout...



...which paired beautifully with their Reserve Chardonnay.



For the next course, the pairing was their reserve Pinot Noir...



Perfect with the duck breast...



Macademia tart for dessert...



The vegetarian options were equally inspired, with a 4 course plant-based menu...



The veggie courses looked delicious...



Overall, an excellent lunch across both meat and plant-based menus, with a great wine pairing. A very impressive restaurant, worth a special trip to Tarrawarra for a meal.

We ended our tour at Medhurst, another vineyard set in lush, beautiful surroundings...



...with a beautiful modern tasting room, lined with full length glass windows to showcase the view...



We sample a few more wines before heading back to Melbourne...



All in all, a wonderful tour, and a very pleasant day out.

[SQfanatic]

Very nice TR yflyer. There was a time before the pandemic where SQ never (or rarely) put regional aircraft to SYD or MEL and mostly put the 77W or A380. The J class looks nice and interesting flight maps and entertainment system.

Melbourne looks really nice and I could tell it's winter there so not a bad time since I heard how hot the Australian summers are. I'd like to visit Australia one time in the future, in the Northern Summer, Southern Winter.

Hilton (I guess most Hiltons are like that) remind me a lot from a design and also background perspective of the one I stayed at in New York. It's definitely one of the reputed brand name hotels. As far as the food, some of the vegetarian Chinese/Asian food you outlined from the menu kind of makes me want to have some of it.

[yflyer]

Very nice TR yflyer. There was a time before the pandemic where SQ never (or rarely) put regional aircraft to SYD or MEL and mostly put the 77W or A380. The J class looks nice and interesting flight maps and entertainment system.

Melbourne looks really nice and I could tell it's winter there so not a bad time since I heard how hot the Australian summers are. I'd like to visit Australia one time in the future, in the Northern Summer, Southern Winter.

Hilton (I guess most Hiltons are like that) remind me a lot from a design and also background perspective of the one I stayed at in New York. It's definitely one of the reputed brand name hotels. As far as the food, some of the vegetarian Chinese/Asian food you outlined from the menu kind of makes me want to have some of it.

Thanks, SQfanatic! The new SQ regional J product on the A350 is pretty good. This seat would be adequate for long haul even.

There is really no bad time to be in MEL, although in summer there might be a few really hot days.

Vegetarians would have no problems at all in MEL I think. Lots of very inspired vegetarian cuisine available here!

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

With round the clock internet connectivity, no one is ever cut off from local or international news, but the next morning, as we headed out of the hotel, I caught sight of the Sunday morning newspaper in the hotel, and saw that Australians had decided on a new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese...



Australia being Australia, apart from reading that on the front page of the newspaper, there was no indication anywhere else in the city, that I could discern anyway, that a change of government had taken place...

[yflyer]

Mrs yflyer and I headed to South Melbourne Market...



There was quite a lot on offer: apparel, handicraft, party supplies...



...and at least one book store...



Meat, poultry...



...and lots of fresh seafood..



This seemed to be a good spot for Sunday brunch...



Lots of interesting food, including some familiar Asian cuisine...



Takeaway dumplings...



Always amused to see "Singapore Noodles" on sale...



There were also items I had never heard of before...what was a Borek?



Mrs yflyer and I had a big lunch coming up at a relative's place, but we couldn't resist indulging in a few fresh oysters...



...purchased...



...and eaten on the spot...



Yum!

[yflyer]

For Sunday lunch, we headed to a relative's home in Lilydale, one of Melbourne's pleasant outer suburbs, just over 30km away from the CBD, and very close to the Yarra Valley wine region...



This was perfect weather for a barbeque...



My relative's husband was an expert at the grill...



...who immediately got busy flame-grilling a mouthwatering spread of burgers, sausages and lamb chops...



While that was going on, I checked out the garden, where all kinds of fruits and veggies were being grown...



Lemons...



...limes...



...and very unusual (and spicy) chilli's...



Needless to say, lunch was superb!

[yflyer]

That evening, before dinner, I decided to work off a few calories by heading to South wharf for a twilight run...



My route took me past riverside eateries, as well as the Pan Pacific hotel, which used to be the Hilton South Wharf, one of the hotels I used to stay at when I came to Melbourne.



The sunset that day was a stunning orange...



I ended my run just as the evening fire show at the Crown Casino began...

[yflyer]

Dinner that evening was at the Viking themed restaurant, Mjolner...



When Mrs yflyer mentioned she had booked a Nordic restaurant for dinner, I had expected minimalist Scandinavian cuisine...

Well, Mjolner was something else all together...a Viking and Norse themed affair which could have sprung from the set of a BBC Viking epic or Game of Thrones...

This was complete fantasy and make believe...and a lot of fun!



There were helmets on display...



...and animal horns to drink out of...



...many, many, animal horns...



Think "Hard Rock Cafe" with a Viking aesthetic...



Someone must have had a lot of fun putting the cocktail menu together, here's just one of many pages filled with these fantastical creations...



The menu...



Each place setting came with a small horn-shaped shot glass...



Once the shot glass was filled, it had to go down the hatch...there was no way to put the glass down!



I couldn't resist ordering Heimdallr's Horn...



Mrs yflyer decided to get into the swing of things as well by ordering a sampling flight of beers...to her mild shock these were really generously sized "samples"...

[yflyer]

Foodwise, the selections here were very impressive...

Charred veal loin...



Very refreshing trout caviar...



The standout starter was the bone marrow...



After polishing off the soft, sinful marrow on toast...



...you had the option of blowtorching the bone...



...and using the bone to drink a shot of whisky...



Not as easy as it looks!

[yflyer]

An OTT choice of knives for our mains (!)...



The knives looked more suitable for hand to hand combat than slicing steak...



The steak was decent...



...no match for Rockpool Bar & Grill of course, but we didn't expect it to be...



The fish dish was crusted rockling in a Norwegian clam chowder...



I paired these mains with a flaming cocktail, Jormungunder Fire...



More flames were in store for us during dessert...



Poured over our Bombe Alaska...



Very satisfying!

Overall, this was a very fun evening...as mentioned this was all fantasy and make-believe, but with cuisine and beverages done to a high standard, along with very friendly and enthusiastic service staff who make it seem like drinking out of horns is a very normal thing...

If you want to be transported to the era of Vikings for a few hours, you could do worse than have dinner at Mjolner's!

[SQ777]

Always amused to see "Singapore Noodles" on sale...

SG gahman should run a campaign to rename these to bee hoon with gravy or something (even though the noodles are sometimes wrong) and put an end to this naming nonsense lol

There were also items I had never heard of before...what was a Borek?

Börek is a really nice filled Turkish savoury puff pastry (usually feta cheese, or spinach, or sometimes with meat). We used get these a lot in Berlin where I grew up. You might even find them freshly made at the TK lounge in IST should you happen to fly via there on one of your future trips.

You should try it with some Turkish coffee -- recommended! Not surprised Melbourne has this due to the sizeable Turkish population there. Levant cuisine generally is huge over there and one of my go-tos, amongst other cuisines, whenever I am in Melbourne.

Loving your pictures btw. They are really making want to visit Melbourne later this year after an all too long hiatus. Cannot wait for your next instalment in this series!