West Coast Living

Going to Adelaide is always about going to see Mum.  The nursing home in which she resides is on the left in the picture below.  I took the photos walking from the bus stop to the home.

note stobie poles, sure sign you're in SA

The bus and train times work well, and the views from the train are stunning.

West coast beaches have features not known on East Coast Tassie,

like graders leveling imported sand, for instance.

I stayed chez Pearl, a wise choice for she has location, location, location,

 

including a gym

and horses!  Perfect holiday resort.

Just beyond the horses you can see Harbour Town.  I have always been dismissive of factory outlets and cynical about Harbour Town but my opinion has changed.  The shops are not all under one roof.  There is fresh air and the best landscaping I have seen in a shopping precinct.

A pleasure.  Of course, I didn't buy anything except a delicious yiros from the food court which is

interestingly designed so you can watch the goings on and up at Adelaide Airport.

Pearl had very kindly not drunk the bottle of wine I left last visit.  The first two nights we ate at home, healthy salmon, salad and veggies.

Then we got into the spirit of things and went Indian, gracing the Cinnamon Club on Henley Beach Road.  We ordered a plate of entrees and then noticed some curious things being brought to the table behind us.  I assumed they were a dessert of some kind.  They are chandi chowk ke puchke, a chickpea shell into which you pour the green sauce.  The people at the next table showed us how it was done, so we ordered some.  The restaurant claims it is street food but I'm perplexed how you could juggle all this  at a stall, plus how are the shells made?  See https://adelaidefoodcentral.com/2019/06/04/cinnamon-club-app-launch/ for more info, but not enough info!

After such exhilarating mains we decided to follow with a dessert platter.  So beautiful and delicious.  The chocolate samosas are one of the best chocolate hits I've ever had.  Equal to a good pain au chocolat.  The spirit was sated.

Our next food adventure was the Greek restaurant opposite the Cinnamon Club (not the same night...).  I haven't had moussaka since the heady days when I went to Melbourne for work and always lunched at a Greek restaurant.  This was very good with a nice amount of salad.  Pearl chose spanokopita to boost her spinach intake for pumping iron at the gym equipment and Curves.  Naturally I had baklava too.

And then there was The Stunned Mullet, a takeaway fish and chip shop next to the Greek place.  This was a different night, of course..., and we took our meal back to Resort Pearl, along with a jar of SA crab.  All perfectly cooked and, I hate to say it, better than Triabunna fish and chips.

It wasn't all a munchathon.  At least 5 hours each day were spent in visiting Mum, though admittedly I often bought lunch at a Thai restaurant a short stroll from the nursing home.  Pearl and I also went for exploratory walks in the seaside suburbs.

I was very taken with these Birds of Paradise juxtaposed against a yet-to-leaf frangipani

And we visited the new premises of The Mockingbird Lounge in Glenelg, chocker with second hand books, gifts and cafe food.  I had a cute macchiato and chocolate pear - being so health conscious.

Pearl picked me up from the nursing home on the Thursday after my last visit to Mum.  I was about to achieve a long-held ambition.  The Ocean Garden is a Chinese restaurant on the Esplanade at Christies Beach.  I have been past it a zillion times but have never had the opportunity to try it out.  This was the night.

It is a charming old style Chinese restaurant with the sort of menu you get at RSL clubs in country towns in NSW.  It's worth going for the view and passing parade.  It was my last night and, though we were far from hungry, I suggested we return to the Cinnamon Club at Henley Beach for a dessert platter.

We did.