Another Dromana Weekend

A bunch of us went to Dromana last weekend, coinciding with the Red Hill Market, to relax and enjoy the sunshine. The Red Hill Market occurs on the first Sunday of every month and last time round we missed it. It's worth the drive, if you are into crafts, wine and the freshest produce from the region. I bought 5 pots of herbs for $10, passionfruit butter, for $4, a heat pillow for $5, and a gigantic bacon, eggs and sausage roll for $3.60. Nice family day out.

After that we headed off to the holiday house and waited for everyone to arrive. We were hoping to go into Portsea to have fish and chips at this popular eatery. But at 3pm, there wasn't much lunch left. So we snacked on crisp chicken and pies and saved our stomach for dinner at the Portsea Hotel.

Got to say, Portsea front beach is just beautiful. The water was clear, shallow and not too crowded. Portsea Hotel was fantastic as well... so picturesque! The place was packed with locals and funky people when we arrived but luckily we found an al fresco table overlooking the sea. The menu was extensive, we took ages just to decide what to get. Between the 9 of us, we got a variety of entree, sides and main:

• Twice Cooked Duck Breast, served on a bed of Roasted Root Vegetables with a Gin and Juniper Berry Jus
• Oven Baked Osso Bucco topped with Parmesan Mash
• Portsea Chicken Parmigiana topped with Roasted Roma Napoli, Shaved Ham, and Mozzarella Cheese served with Fries and Salad
• Calamari Rings Lightly Fried and served with Chips and Tartare Sauce
• Chargrilled Marinated Chicken Fillet Served with Greek Salad, Tzatziki, Hommus and Charred Pita Bread
• Grilled Trevally Fillet served on Seasonal Vegetables with Parisienne Potatoes and a Lemon and Wine Butter
• Poached Tasmanian Salmon Fillet tossed through Portsea Caesar Salad $19.50
• Grilled chicken caeser salad
• Local Mussels Poached in Curry and Chilli
  

It was such a lovely meal with lots of wine, beer and laughter.

The next table had the "Fisherman's Catch For Two" with Natural Oysters, Fresh Crab, SA King Prawns, Basket of Fried Fish, Scallops, Calamari and Prawns served with Chips. That looked massive but looked delicious.
Back at the "Ranch", we had more beer, more wine, watched Borat on a labtop screen, got hooked on sudoku and told stories from our travels. We were all very exhausted when we went to bed.

The next day after Anna’s gourmet breakfast of grilled chorizos, corn bread, scrambled eggs with herb, grilled tomatoes and toast, we went to Sorrento for a dip. We wanted somewhere where there was going to be shade from the 38C heat. Another beautiful sunny day and the water was so warm and shiny.

For late lunch, Michael grabbed us some fish and chips, and calamari rings from the Koonya Hotel. Expensive ($40) but oh so yummy!

All in all, a weekend of indulgence.

Thanks Anna and John!

Portsea Hotel
3746 Pt Nepean Road

PORTSEA
03 5984 2213

Koonya Hotel
1 The Esplanade

SORRENTO
03 5984 2281